Lincoln: A Photobiography

Freedman, Russell. 1989. Lincoln: A Photobiography. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 0395518482

This well-written and well-organized biography of Abraham Lincoln is full of fascinating photographs, important quotes from the president and his contemporaries, as well as a clear delineation between the true Lincoln and the "legendary" Lincoln. The text is clearly written, and for once I really understood why the Civil War took so long for the North to win, when they had more people, more weapons, more factories, more everything. The book is organized chronologically, following Lincoln through his childhood, early years as a lawyer, his failures as an aspiring politician and his journey to the White House. Of course, the majority of the book focuses on his time as president and commander-in-chief. This book shows what an extraordinary leader Lincoln was, but it also shows that in many ways, that he was also an ordinary man with concerns as a father, husband and friend.

AWARDS & REVIEWS:

1988 Newbery Medal Winner
Jefferson Cup Award Winner

"Few, if any, of the many books written for children about Lincoln can compare with Freedman's contribution. More than 80 photographs and prints illustrate the crisp and informative text. The pictures have been well-placed to coordinate with the text; captions have been written with care as well. While many of the photographs are well-known, many less familiar pictures are also included." --School Library Journal

CONNECTIONS:

Other biographies by Russell Freedman include: Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery, The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane, Out of Darkness: The Story of Louis Braille, and so many others!

There's also a biography of Russell Freedman that students could read (Russell Freedman by Susan P. Bloom) if they are interested in what motivates his choices of who he writes about and why.

This biography would also be a great companion piece to portions of The Civil War: A Film by Ken Burns.

Danger! Volcanoes by Seymour Simon

Simon, Seymour. 2003. Danger! Volcanoes. New York: Sea Star Books. ISBN 1587171813

Beginning with a definition of a volcano along with definitions of lava, magma, and more, Simon also covers the different types of volcanoes found in the world: dome volcanoes, composite volcanoes, shield volcanoes, etc. Simon discusses both the fiery, destructive power and the creative power of a volcano (Did you know that most of the Earth's surface comes from volcanic eruptions?). The text is directly and simply written, and the pictures are evocative and stunning. My children had me read the book to them once, but then they thumbed through the book over and over, just looking at the amazing photographs of volcanic eruptions, lava flows, and ash clouds. This is a straightforward science text with fascinating pictures that will be sure to please younger children who are interested in the world around them.

AWARDS & REVIEWS:

"Volcanoes begins with two full-page spreads of volcanoes erupting, first with a sky of smoke and then with a sky of fire. There can be no doubt in youngsters' minds that they are reading about something powerful, and Simon describes the damage as well as the positive aspects of these explosions. The photographs are so compelling that it is a shame that they are not identified (although the sources are given). How a volcano changes the weather and how lava comes through that hole in the ground are left unanswered, but this introductory book is meant to whet the appetite, and that it does." --School Library Journal

"Basic information about volcanoes' inner core, shield, dome, and the different types of volcanoes and the serious danger that composites pose are all clearly presented." --Children's Literature

CONNECTIONS:

Other introductory volcano informational texts include Volcanoes by Franklyn Mansfield Branley, Time for Kids: Volcanoes from the TimeKids series, and Volcanoes by Nancy Harris and Lynn Armstrong.

This would be a great companion book to read with the time-honored tradition of building your own volcano using vinegar and baking soda!

For older readers, this piece could be used to briefly introduce the science behind Don Wood's graphic novel Into the Volcano.

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. 2005. Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0439353793

This non-fiction book tells the story of children and teenagers who grew up in Germany during Hitler's rise to power and throughout World War II. This book is organized chronologically, but also is organized around the experiences of twelve different young people: some of them were members of the Hitler Youth, some were resisters, and some were persecuted Jewish youth. One of the most beautiful things about this book is that it avoids moralizing: the story and experiences are told sparely, using primarily the young people's own words, gleaned from interviews, diaries, and memoirs. This allows the reader to draw their own conclusions about the Hitler Youth organization. While this book is filled with interesting facts about the day to day operation of the Hitler Youth, the book is also a treasure trove of poignant pictures that capture the public face of the Hitler Youth and the private shame of Hitler's anti-Semitic policies. This is an extremely interesting, informative and insightful book about what it was like to grow up "in Hitler's shadow".

AWARDS & REVIEWS:

1996 Newbery Honor Book
1996 Sibert Honor Book

"Bartoletti lets many of the subjects' words, emotions and deeds speak for themselves, bringing them together clearly to tell this story unlike anyone else has." --School Library Journal, starred review

"Nonfiction writing at its best. Essential for WWII collections as well as teaching units on conformity, peer pressure and resistance." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Bartoletti draws on oral histories, diaries, letters, and her own extensive interviews with Holocaust survivors, Hitler Youth, resisters, and bystanders to tell the history from the viewpoints of people who were there." --Booklist, starred review

CONNECTIONS:

Other books that are appropriate for this age group that could be paired with this non-fiction book include Number the Stars by Lois Lowry and Anne Frank's Diary. The back of the book also has an extensive reference list that a teacher might use to glean further first-hand information about the experiences of WWII.

Students could also conduct their own research on the people interviewed for this book (I found ample material about Helmuth Hubener, Karl Heinz-Schnibbe, etc.) and discuss what the author left out and why (for example, Helmuth Hubener was excommunicated from his church but reinstated posthumously).

Stop Pretending by Sonya Sones

Sones, Sonya. 1999. Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0439250706

Stop Pretending, a beautifully written and honest verse novel, is the story of Cookie, whose sister "goes crazy" on Christmas Eve. Cookie writes about not only her sister's mental illness, but also other typical adolescent concerns: a new boyfriend, the betrayal of friends, and dealing with parents. Cookie's struggle to reconcile the happy memories of life with her sister before her mental illness with the harsh reality of visiting her sister in a mental institution is not only thought-provoking, but also makes for beautiful poetry. She wonders:

Does the
man who wanders
the neighborhood, wearing
three heavy overcoats in the
swelter

of the
summer, have a
little sister who lies
awake at night wondering where
he is?

Adolescents will identify with the confusion that Cookie feels--not just about her family situation, but also about school and friendships. Adolescent readers will also rejoice as Cookie begins to find her footing in this new world, this world where her sister is not quite the sister she remembers fondly, where her family doesn't quite work the way it did in the past, where she herself is not quite as carefree as she used to be.

AWARDS & REVIEWS:

2000 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA)
2000 Quick Picks for Young Adults (Recomm. Books for Reluctant Young Readers)

"Individually, the poems appear simple and unremarkable, snapshot portraits of two sisters, a family, unfaithful friends, and a sweet first love. Collected, they take on life and movement, the individual frames of a movie that in the unspooling become animated, telling a compelling tale and presenting a painful passage through young adolescence." --Kirkus Reviews

CONNECTIONS:

Compare one of the poems in this novel with a poem from another verse novel (maybe Out of the Dust) to look at the differences in the authors' style, meter, and word choice.

Students could create artwork for one of the poems or for several of the poems (one of the poems specifically talks about the art Cookie creates of her family: her mother's eyes are zippers, her father's eyes are broken windows).

Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars by Douglas Florian

Florian, Douglas. 2007. Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars. Ill. by Douglas Florian. Orlando: Harcourt. ISBN 9780152053727

This thematic collection of poems focuses on outer space, just as the title suggests. There are poems about galaxies, stars, the sun, Venus, and Earth, among others. While I have enjoyed other Douglas Florian poetry books, this one fell flat for me. The rhymes seemed simplistic and forced at times (for example: "On a clear night you might try / To gaze upon the starry sky. / A telescope or binoculars are / Great aids to observe a star."), and it seemed to me that the content information often overtook the poetry (probably much to a science teacher's delight!). However, there were several bright spots as well: the concrete poem on galaxies that spirals around and around, the playful spacing in some of the poems that provides illustration of concepts (like long spacing between each word of empty to convey the meaning of the word), and above all, the paintings. The paintings are a beautifully crafted combination of beauty and information, of design and function. With the cut-out holes in certain paintings allowing other colors to peep through from previous paintings, children will enjoy the bright colors and fascinating details.

AWARDS AND REVIEWS:

"The poet-painter's latest book brings warm wit to the outermost reaches of cold, dark space. . . . Florian's illustrations depict the marvels of space with luminous texture and detail." --The New York Times Book Review

"Nothing gladdens the heart of believers of good poetry for children more than a new collection by Florian. . . . This one literally sings the music of the spheres. . . . In both language and artwork, Florian strikes the perfect balance between grandeur and whimsy." --School Library Journal

CONNECTIONS:

This book is almost a must-read any time you teach about space or the solar system. Need I say more?

This book would also be an excellent example book for writing non-fiction poetry (perhaps a minilesson?)

Compare/contrast the author's other poetry collections/books: Beast Feast, Handsprings, Dinothesaurus and Insectlopedia, particularly looking at the way the author finds poetry in non-fiction topics.

Additional poetry books dealing with space:

Sing of the Earth and Sky: Poems about Our Planet and the Wonders Beyond by Aileen Fisher, illustrated by Karmen Thompson

Space Songs by Myra Cohn Livingston, illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher

Star Walk, edited by Seymour Simon

This Is Just to Say by Joyce Sidman

Sidman, Joyce. 2007. This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness. Ill. by Pamela Zagarenski. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN o618616802

This Is Just to Say is a delightful poetry collection. The fictional framework for the poems of apology and forgiveness is a sixth-grade class who is inspired by William Carlos Williams to write their own poems to people in their own lives. These poems are powerful--sometimes funny, often emotionally charged--and range in topic from an apology for dodge ball vendettas to an apology to a mother who is disappointed that her son doesn't win the spelling bee to a daughter apologizing to her father for not being perfect enough. One of the most interesting parts of this book is that during the second half of the book, the recipients of the poems of apology answer with their own poems.

The mixed media illustrations are whimsical and fun and appropriate for the theme of school (dictionary definitions are used as clothing, graph paper is the background of choice, etc.). The pages are colored in muted blues, reds, yellows and greens which tempers the often deeply emotional poems with a more playful illustration.

Teachers will love the different examples of different kinds of poems, but they will also love the free-form poetry which may free students to feel more confident in finding their own poetry voice.

AWARDS & REVIEWS:

2008-2009 Texas Bluebonnet Award

"While it is disappointing to realize that the authors of the poems are fictional, each poem still feels as if it were written by a child, expressing dismay at hurting a teacher's feelings or admiration to an older sibling who seems so much cooler than the author. The illustrations are reminiscent of drawings and doodles of children and manage to suggest that children had a direct hand in writing and illustrating the poems in the book."--Children's Literature

"Sidman's ear is keen, capturing many voices. Her skill as a poet accessible to young people is unmatched. Zagarenski's delicately outlined collage drawings and paintings are created on mixed backgrounds-notebook paper, paper bags, newspaper, graph paper, school supplies. This is an important book both for its creativity and for its wisdom." --School Library Journal

CONNECTIONS:

Teachers will find this book to be an extraordinarily helpful addition to their poetry teaching tools: it's full of different types of poem forms (haikus, pantoums, etc.) that could be used in minilessons to teach these poem forms. It is also a great source for finding figurative language to share with students.

Students can read William Carlos Williams' original "This Is Just to Say" poem. Students can then write their own poems of apology (or forgiveness) to people in their own lives based on either the form or the spirit of William Carlos Williams' original poem. They can ask the recipient to write a poem back in response.

With older students, this collection could be used as a framework for a response to a text: students could write poems of apology/forgiveness from one character in a novel or short story to another.

Dinorella by Pamela Duncan Edwards

Edwards, Pamela Duncan. 1997. Dinorella: A Prehistoric Fairy Tale. Ill. by Henry Cole. New York: Scholoastic. ISBN o590689487

An alliterative variant of the classic Cinderella tale, Dinorella is notable for its fantastic illustrations and its alliterative text. Dinorella is a dinosaur who wants to go to Duke Dudley's dance, but her dinosaur stepsisters keep her from the party with all kinds of work. When Dinorella's Fairydactyl shows up, the evening takes a turn for the better, and Dinorella gets to make an appearance (and save the day!) at Duke Dudley's dance after all. Cole's illustrations are so clever--prehistoric dinosaurs who dress in 1950s-era clothing (there is one picture of one of the dinosaurs putting on her pantyhose that is hilarious). The bright acrylics and creative touches (like the license plate which reads X-TNKT) make the illustrations a pleasure to look at.

The text, which is written using primarily D-words ("He dumped Duke Dudley and departed double-quick") is generally fun and light-hearted, but does occasionally flatten out because of the reliance on alliteration (calling teeth "dentures" for example, seems forced). Although the basic message of the book is lovely (being a hard worker is rewarded over laziness) some parents will have a problem with the name-calling ("disgusting dummy," "dopey domestic," etc.) in this book. However, although I as a parent had some reservations about this book, my kids love it, especially my four-year-old dinosaur-mad son. My six-year-old daughter likes to read it aloud, because she likes the way "all those D-words sound".

For me, the illustrations were the high point of this book, but my kids like to hear the story as well.

AWARDS & REVIEWS:

"Cinderella and dinosaur devotees may find humor in this retelling, but there's a forced zaniness in the settings and situations, and Dinorella comes off a bit daffy and dreary." Publisher's Weekly

"In this retelling of Cinderella, it is an indentured dinosaur who escapes her life of servitude through the aid of a fairy godmother to begin a new life with a prince. In this version, the fairy godmother is a pterodactyl and Dinorella rescues the prince from a meat-eating dinosaur by tossing dirtballs and diamonds. Filled with words beginning with "d" and comical illustrations, this light-hearted book takes a new slant on an old tale." Children's Literature

"The alliteration begins to get away from Edwards, dictating the storyline and resulting in dialogue and descriptions that prove distracting after the first few pages. The story deteriorates further with name-calling: "dopey domestic," "disgusting dummy," "dimwit," "dingbat," and "dumbhead." Cole dazzles in this dumbed-down classic, which goes from hilarious to tedious in very short order." Kirkus Reviews

CONNECTIONS:

This book could be a great way to teach alliteration (even to older students) and then ask them to try to write their own fairy tale variant using alliteration as well.

Dinorella could also be used as part of a Cinderella compare/contrast or as a fictional story to go along with a dinosaur unit.

Edwards has also written Some Smug Slug which also uses alliteration (although clearly, S-words instead of D-words). If students like the alliterative text, they might enjoy reading that as well.