Literacy Now

Spring has sprung—depending where you live, you may or may not have noticed. Spring is the time of International Waffle Day (March 25), Betty MacDonald’s birthday (March 26), and Poetry Month (April) (or all of them). Following are some picture books and novels that will help you celebrate every day of this new season. Happy spring—and reading with your students.

Picture Books and Nonfiction

And Then It’s Spring by Julie Fogliano

It has been an unusually difficult winter in New England this year, with several feet of snow arriving in the region. Although my Bernese Mountain Dog, Lance, has enjoyed every flake, I find myself longing for the first day of spring. That sense of joy—of the brown, dry earth coming to life—has been brilliantly captured in Julie Fogliano’s And Then It’s Spring. A perfect book to use to explain cycles of life, or the seasons, to 2- through 8-year-olds, the text begins “First you have brown, all around you have brown.” Then a young boy plants seeds and wishes for rain, until the color becomes “a hopeful, very possible sort of brown.” As the boy places more seeds in the earth, he worries about them, fearing that birds and bears might have taken them away. But, at the end of the story, just as the boy hoped, the brown earth has been replaced by green.

Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909 by Michelle Markel

Clara Lemlich was born March 28, 1886, in the Ukraine to a Jewish family. Following a pogrom in 1903, Clara and her family immigrated to the United States. She stood a mere 5 feet tall, but as Brave Girl tells us, she had grit and was going to prove it. No one will hire Clara’s father; so to support her family, this intrepid teenager goes to work in the garment industry, carrying her own sewing machine each day. That industry has set up harsh rules for workers—a few minutes late means losing a half-day’s pay, and a girl can be fired for pricking a finger and bleeding on the cloth. Working by day and going to school at night so she could learn English, Clara tries to make her way in the world. But as she begins to understand what is happening in the workplace, Clara finds herself smoldering with anger over the treatment of the women. She becomes an organizer of pickets and strikes; she’s arrested 17 times and has six broken ribs to prove it. Then in 1909, Clara helps women organize the largest walkout of women workers in the history of the United States.

Marching for Freedom by Elizabeth Partridge

On March 21, 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. began the 5-day protest march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama—a triumphant event in the Civil Rights movement. A few months later, the Voting Rights Act was signed into law, outlawing literacy tests and other measures used to keep African Americans from registering to vote. A remarkable book came out in 2009, Marching for Freedom: Walk Together, Children, and Don’t You Grow Weary by Elizabeth Partridge, which explores in vivid detail the eight tumultuous months in 1965 that ended with the Voting Rights Act. On January 2, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at the Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Selma: “We’re not on our knees begging for the ballot. We are demanding the ballot.” On March 7, Bloody Sunday, troopers turned tear gas and billy clubs on peaceful marchers. By the time readers come to the events of March 21, they completely understand what is at stake—and just how brutal the fight for voting rights was.

Novels

Calvin Coconut #9: Extra Famous by Graham Salisbury

March is Humorists Are Artists Month. I totally agree with this sentiment. So often, when children are asked what kind of book they want to read, they respond, “a funny book.” And yet the craft of making this type of book often gets overlooked and is rarely awarded. So I’d like to acknowledge the comic genius of Graham Salisbury in Calvin Coconut #9: Extra Famous. As a writer, Graham demonstrated his ability to craft fascinating and serious historical fiction for older readers, in books such as Under the Blood-Red Sun. But several years ago when he began to write for children ages 7–10, Salisbury used Hawaii—the state where he grew up—for the setting and employed a much lighter touch with the content.

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted relies on the content and structure of “Cinderella.” Although this fairy tale can be traced back to the first century BC, the best-known version in the west was created by French writer Charles Perrault in 1697. For anyone hunting for a folk tale to show children how the same story is told in different cultures, Cinderella remains one of the best—with great cultural adaptations such as John Steptoe’s Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters, Rafe Martin’s The Rough-Face Girl, and Ai-Ling Louie’s Yeh-Shen. For Ella Enchanted, however, Gail Carson Levine took the story and expanded and changed it, making it into something completely new. As a baby, Ella, daughter of a wealthy merchant father and fairy mother, receives a gift from the fairy, Lucinda. She is given obedience—something that proves to be a curse. If someone commands Ella to do something, she cannot refuse, even if it would be in her best interest to do so. While her mother lives, Ella can be protected from the worst problems this gift causes. But after her mother’s death, she suddenly finds herself in finishing school and at the mercy of an odious student who has discovered her secret. In this vaguely medieval land of giants, elves, and ogres (languages that Ella can speak), Ella runs away, searching for Lucinda to get her curse removed.

Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath

Waffles have a long, glorious history. In Colonial times, President Thomas Jefferson brought a long-handled waffle iron from France to the United States. In 1869, Cornelius Swarthout, a man with a great Dutch name, patented the first U.S. waffle iron. Polly Horvath’s quirky and funny Everything on a Waffle, is a Newbery Honor Book. Living in Coal Harbour, British Columbia, Primrose Squarp, an 11-year-old with hair the color of “carrots in an apricot glaze,” loses both parents when a typhoon blows them out to sea. She always believes them to be simply lost; her neighbors and those at school insist they must be dead and that Primrose must live in reality. But reality is not Primrose’s strong suit—she excels in imagination and whimsy. Eventually, her bachelor uncle Jack moves to Coal Harbour to care for her. He also seems attracted to the possible real estate development of this now-sleepy little spot. Even under his care Primrose manages to get into a lot of scrapes in chapters entitled “I Lose a Toe” and “I Lose Another Digit.” For a short time, she gets placed with a foster family, but she continues to believe in a happy ending to her plight—when her parents return.

How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O’Connor

When I thought about a funny, engaging character who faces an ethical dilemma, Georgina Hayes of Barbara O’Connor’s How to Steal a Dog came instantly to mind. O’Connor moves with grace through this story of a young girl, abandoned by her father and now facing hard times. Her opening line grabs readers’ attention immediately: “The day I decided to steal a dog was the same day my best friend, Luanne Godfrey, found out I lived in a car.” Thrown out of their apartment because they cannot pay rent, Georgina, her mother, and her younger brother, Toby, all work desperately to keep their lives as normal as possible. Georgina becomes more and more unkempt, begins to fail at school, and loses her friends. But she is a girl with a plan—she wants to help her mother get enough money for a deposit on a place to live. When she sees a sign that offers a $500 reward for finding a dog, Georgina’s mind begins working overtime. If she can’t find this dog, why not steal another one and then claim the money?

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

Because her father worked as a mining engineer, Betty MacDonald spent many years of her childhood traveling around the West. Eventually settling in Seattle, MacDonald attended the University of Washington and wrote The Egg and I, a funny account of her married life on a chicken farm. As accomplished as her adult books were, MacDonald is remembered and celebrated for her series of books for children ages 6–10 about a charming, but no-nonsense widow who lives in a small town named Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. Although experts like to say that children want to read books only about other children and are not interested in adults, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is an exception to that rule. She loves children and entertains them in a house she has turned upside down. To these young people she gives sound advice about living with and understanding parents.

Rules by Cynthia Lord

In the past few years, several notable children’s books have included a child with autism or a focus on autism. My favorite book on the topic remains Cynthia Lord’s Rules. Not only does she deal with how autism affects a family but she also writes a compelling story with a believable and totally lovable protagonist. All 12-year-old Catherine longs for is a normal life and a chance to have a reasonable conversation with her young brother David. But he suffers from autism, and the family, slowly and inextricably, begins to revolve around his disability and his needs—rather than Catherine’s. In order to make their life more normal, Catherine tries to help David grow and mature. David’s autism makes him a stickler for rules, so she makes a list of rules for him that include imperatives like: “Don’t stand in front of the TV when other people are watching it.” Or “No toys in the fish tank.” However, no matter how many rules Catherine can think of, David always manages to careen out of control.

Poetry

Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman

As publisher at Houghton Mifflin, I saw the manuscript for Joyce Sidman’s first book of poems, The World According to Dog, which was sent to me by her editor Ann Rider. I loved Joyce’s voice and her ability to capture the essence of an animal in a few well-chosen words. Also, I was a natural enthusiast for a book of well-written dog poems. Since that time, Joyce’s books have won more major awards than most poets for children ever see, including a Caldecott Honor and a Newbery Honor this year for Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night. When I read this book, and her other title published in 2010, Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature’s Survivors, I realized I still loved her voice. In these 10 years, Joyce has moved from a poet of promise to a seasoned, intelligent craftsperson who selects ambitious subjects for books.

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

If I could make any single volume the book of the month, I would choose Sharon Creech’s Love That Dog, published by the Newbery Medal winner author in 2001. In a small volume of 100 pages, Sharon uses free verse to celebrate poetry and the writing of poetry. Love That Dog also provides a lesson in modern poetic forms. And it shows, in a believable way, a young reader who becomes an advocate of poetry — a form he once hated. On the first page we meet Jack, a student of Miss Stretchberry’s. He tells us simply “I don’t want to/because boys/don’t write poetry./Girls do.” But then readers watch Jack make some small attempts and respond to poems being read. (Many of these have been included in the book.) As the school year progresses from September through June, Jack develops as a writer—responding in more sophisticated ways to what has been presented to him. Over time, his own poetry grows in complexity and skill.

Stardines Swim High Across the Sky and Other Poems by Jack Prelutsky

In Stardines Swim High Across the Sky and Other Poems, Jack Prelutsky, America’s first Children’s Book Laureate, has created 16 poems that combine the animate and inanimate world. “Stardines swim high across the sky,/And brightly shine as they glide by./In giant schools, their brilliant lights/Illuminate the darkest nights.” With her signature collage artwork, Berger places the “stardines” at appropriate spots in the night sky. Then the readers meet a whole group of creatures: bluffaloes who combine attitude and bulk, fountain lions who run water day and night, messy slobsters, noisy magpipes, and happy jollyfish. Each imaginary creature has been given a short but snappy poem to describe its qualities. Prelutsky’s poetry is always fun to read aloud. But this volume is particularly spectacular in its artistic treatment. The entire book has been set up as a scientist’s specimen book or box, and many of the pages are lined as if placed on tablet paper.

With a unique career in children's books, Anita Silvey has served both as the editor of The Horn Book Magazine and as a publisher of a major children's book imprint. She is the author of several books, including Henry Knox: Bookseller, Soldier, Patriot and I’ll Pass for Your Comrade: Women Soldiers in the Civil War. Her latest project, The Children’s Book-a-Day Almanac, is an interactive website she describes as a “daily love letter to a book or author,” with each entry offering a glimpse into the story behind the story. Her columns are culled from the reviews on her website.

The power of poetry goes beyond  beautiful and/or emotional responses to life. It offers opportunities for language development for readers of all ages. Better readers and writers are built through hearing and reading rhyming words. Poetry offers multiple perspectives on themes, objects, or life situations, and the pure pleasure of hearing it is not to be overlooked. Listening to it read aloud is an important classroom activity for children and teens and its word play, descriptive metaphorical language, imagery, and more create a lasting impact.

Ages 4–8

Among a Thousand Fireflies. Helen Frost. Ill. Rick Lieder. 2016. Candlewick.

The gentle poetry of Helen Frost, coupled with the beautiful photography of Rick Lieder, makes for a natural winner in this book of science, poetry, and photography. Step Gently Out (2012)and Sweep Up the Sun (2015) launched their set of books devoted to explaining phenomenon in the natural world. In this latest volume, a female firefly steps onto a flower and begins her series of flashes. As other flashes appear in the dark, it seems she is searching for one particular flash. As the endnote explains, “Each kind of firefly has its own pattern of flashes.” This female firefly is indeed waiting for a certain male firefly to match her flashing pattern. Through the night photography and simple lyrical language of Among a Thousand Fireflies, young readers will observe the fireflies in the dark as they find each other. This is a beautiful book on every level.

Every Day Birds. Amy Ludwig VanDerwater. Ill. Dylan Metrano. 2016. Orchard/Scholastic.

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater introduces young children to 20 North American birds through simple poetry. Each bird is introduced on a page with its name in bold capital letters; a portrait, composed with cut colored and textured papers; and a few words describing its physical characteristics, behavior or habitat. Each grouping of four birds creates a verse. For example, “Eagle soars above the land. / Oriole hangs her nest. / Owl swoops soundlessly late at night. / Robin puffs his chest.” The birds included are species that children can easily spot in their backyards or a park or at the seashore. A four-page glossary with pictures adds further information about each bird for young bird watchers.

Slickety Quick: Poems About Sharks. Skila Brown. Ill. Bob Kolar. 2016. Candlewick.

Opening with the great white shark, Brown goes on to present lesser known species of sharks, 14 in all, in poems written in different forms. Some poems are written as concrete poems such as the one about the nurse shark in which the first line of poetry is shaped like a frown across the face of the shark; or the verse about the  cookie-cutter shark, which is written in a swirl to look like a cookie.  Kolar’s digitally created illustrations always maintain the feel of underwater movement, sometimes catching the sharks from above while at other times showing them hugging the ocean bottom. Other fish float in and out of each picture, sometimes providing dinner and at other times representing just neighborly sharing of ocean space. Additional information about each shark appears on the double spreads in a smaller type. Young readers will be left with a great deal of knowledge about sharks in their ocean habitat, presented in poetry and artwork.

Ages 9–11

Kooky Crumbs: Poems in Praise of Dizzy Days. J. Patrick Lewis. Ill. Mary Uhles. 2016. Kane Miller.

The whimsical pastel-colored waves on the endpapers sail the reader into the silly pages of poetry waiting inside this book. Former Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis has created a collection of dizzy poems celebrating often unheard-of holidays throughout the year. The introduction says, “No matter the day, no matter the month, no matter the year, there’s always something to celebrate!” So true! Rhyming couplets, concrete poems, and limericks are just a few of the forms of poetry found within. Fun illustrations add to the frivolity of these crazy poetic celebrations. The National Weatherperson’s Day poem, “Weather Is for the Verbs,” for example, is a list poem that begins “Wind whines, / Fog blinds, / Rain thrums, / Hail drums, / Ice crumbs, / Sleep whips, / Snow grips, / Frost nips— / Weather persons, / ‘Winter worsens.’” Other poems celebrate Inventor’s Day, Pancake Day, National Hat Day, World Telecommunications Day, National Zipper Day, Change a Light Day, National Sportsmanship Day, and many more. These zany poems can be used as starting points for having young children suggest other dizzy holidays and write poems to celebrate them.

The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary. Laura Shovan. 2016. Wendy Lamb/Random House.

Debut author Laura Shovan has created a novel in verse centering on the closing of Emerson Elementary. Ms. Hill, their teacher, asks her 18 fifth-grade students to write a poem each day for their journals to express how they are feeling about being split up and sent to different schools once Emerson has been bulldozed to make way for a shopping area. She will be the only one to read the journals, and at the end of the year they will be placed in a time capsule. As the 18 youthful voices emerge in the poems, we see what a diverse class Ms. Hill has. The students write about their personal lives with situations like an aging grandfather, a father leaving home, immigration to this country, and friends that are pushy. Shovan has captured the voices of fifth graders as they express their thoughts through writing acrostic, concrete, haiku, or free verse poetry. The author has added a detailed appendix of the different poetic forms used by the students.

Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems. Bob Raczka. 2016. Roaring Brook.

This lively group of 21 poems has no illustrations because the poems are the illustrations. Cleverly grouped topics and words create a visual experience that is fun for readers but may be a little frustrating. For example, in “Crossword,” readers have to read up and down and across to get the rhythm of the poem, and in “Hopscotch,” it may take them time to realize they have to read from bottom to top. Students (and adults) will have fun not only figuring out these very clever concrete poems but also taking another minute to appreciate the cleverness of the construction of the concrete poems, the wordplay, and the use of light and dark. Readers will get into the spirit of this book from the cover, on to the table-shaped table of contents, through all 21 poems, to the circular copyright notation. The last poem, “poeTRY”, says it all when reaching out to young poets to express their ideas by creating concrete poetry: “Poetry is taking away the words you don’t need / poetry is taking away words you don’t need / poetry is words you need /poetry is words / try.”

Ages 12–14

Free Verse. Sarah Dooley. 2016. Putnam/Penguin.

Seventh-grade Sasha has lost everything she loves in the small coal mining town of Caboose, WV. Her mother left the family years ago, her father was killed in a mining accident, and now her caregiver brother, Michael, has been killed in a fire. Sasha is sent to live with a kind foster mother, Phyllis. Sasha’s anger builds and sometimes her emotions vent into violent outbursts, which she cannot control or even remember. She begins to spend time with Mikey, the kid next door, who she later discovers is related to her. Learning to become a friend leads her to join the school poetry club. This membership opens an entire new world to Sasha in which she learns the power of poetry, particularly haiku. It’s short, it’s sharp, and it can express exactly how Sasha is feeling. Haiku gives her the outlet she needs to talk about her life, her feelings, and her losses. Author Sarah Dooley has intermixed a story about a girl who hurts with the poems the girl writes. As her poetry collection grows and Sasha discovers more forms of poetry, she is on the path to recovery and opens up to possibilities for her future.

Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph. Roxane Orgill. Ill. Francis Vallejo. 2016. Candlewick.

Zero in on the subtitle, “The Making of a Famous Photograph.” In 1958, Esquire magazine agreed to support graphic designer Art Kane when he came up with the idea to take a photograph of all the jazz greats he could bring together at one time. This was no easy task. Jazz musicians work late into the night. The appointed time for taking the photograph was 10:00 a.m. Aug. 12 at 126th Street in Harlem. Although jazz artists might be expected to be on the road or still sleeping in, more than 50 musicians showed up for the photo session. Art Kane had his work cut out for him. Organizing this group of outgoing performers was like herding cats. They were all greeting each other and catching up on their lives. Deep and friendly conversations were going on and the chatter was noisy. After four or five hours, Kane got them lined up for what was to become the famous photo “Harlem 1958.”Roxane Orgill’s poems about that day feature many of the jazz greats in the photo but also other things that were happening such as children gathering to watch the photo shoot and other people in the neighborhood coming out to see all these famous musicians gathered in one spot. The collection of poetry about this day, of course, leads to the pièce de résistance, a foldout page that reveals the actual photograph. Back matter includes an author’s note on the backstory, short biographies of the musicians, source notes, and an extensive bibliography.

Ages 15+

American Ace. Marilyn Nelson. 2016. Dial/Penguin.

Award-winning poet and historian Marilyn Nelson brings another piece of history to the poetry arena. Written in free verse, the story of the true identity of Connor Bianchini’s grandfather comes to light upon the death of his beloved Italian-American Nonna Lucia. Connor’s father, Tony, always believed he was Irish-Italian based on family stories. When his mother dies, leaving him a letter, a ring, and pilot’s wings, Tony learns that his biological father was African American. Though Tony is devastated by this news, 16-year-old Connor is fascinated and devotes his honors history research paper to finding out about this newly found grandfather. His research leads him to Wilberforce University, the oldest historically black college and university in the U.S., where he learns that his grandfather had been part of the famous Tuskegee Airmen of World War II. When Tony suffers a stroke and is hospitalized, Connor and his father spend time together delving into the research and begin to feel a sense of great pride in their heritage.

Karen Hildebrand is a retired school librarian active in ILA and NCTE. She is part of the Teacher Fellowship program at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., serves as the Education Curriculum Chair of the Delaware County Historical Society in Ohio, and recently served on the Notable Trade Books in the Social Studies committee. She currently serves as the chair of the NCTE Award for Excellence in Children’s Poetry.

These reviews are submitted by members of the International Literacy Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) and are published weekly on Literacy Daily.

What’s better than reading a good book? Having a friend to whom you can recommend it as a good read. We have worked together on reviewing books for close to a decade and over that period have recommended to each other many engaging, challenging, and thought-provoking books. Here are some of our recently shared books, books to provide readers pleasure and insight into unexpected experiences.

Ages 4–8

Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood. F. Isabel Campoy & Theresa Howell. Ill. Rafael López. 2016. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

When young Mira gives her colorful drawings of an apple, a flower, a bird, and a heart to people she meets on the street, she spreads a little joy. Inspired by Mira’s picture of the sun that she has taped to a grey wall, a man with a pocket full of paintbrushes, who identifies himself to her as a muralist, begins to spread color throughout the streets. Mira joins him and soon they are passing out brushes to others. Working together people transform their drab neighborhood into something beautiful and joyful.  A note from the authors provides background for the book that was inspired by the work of Rafael López, an artist (and creator of the illustrations for Maybe Something Beautiful), and his wife, Candace, a graphic designer, who transformed the East Village near downtown San Diego, CA, into a colorful community.

—CA

This Is Not a Picture Book! Sergio Ruzzier. 2016. Chronicle. 

A duckling is thrilled when he finds a book and then disdainful and disappointed when he finds no pictures in it. In a moment of remorse at his outburst, he looks into it again.  A bug asks him whether he can read the book with no pictures. Ruzzier’s illustrations, rendered in pen and ink and watercolor, show the duckling and bug crossing over into a world filled with words (pictured as odd shaped, unidentifiable objects). He begins to recognize a few words such as flower, bee, and clouds. With growing excitement, he discovers that words  not only take him on a journey and then return him home again but also stay with him forever. Young children just beginning to explore the world of reading will find fun, sympathy, and comfort in the story of the little duckling. Adding content to the book, the front endpapers are filled with lines of mostly indecipherable words while the back endpapers have a readable text, a story about a little duckling discovering the power of reading.

—SW

The Wildest Race Ever: The Story of the 1904 Olympic Marathon. Meghan McCarthy. 2016. Simon & Schuster.

McCarthy’s story of the first Olympic marathon held in America, which took place at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, will leave readers marveling over the contrast of this incredibly wacky race with marathon running today. McCarthy uses an abundance of direct quotes from newspaper reports of the race run by 32 competitors from six countries over a hilly, dirt road route in 90-degree heat. Her cartoon-like double spreads, featuring the motley bunch of runners with googly eyes and lopsided grins, highlight some peculiar events such as South African Len Tau being chased a mile off course by a dog; Cuban Felix Carvajal stopping to chat with spectators to practice his English; and Fred Lorz, overcome with cramps at mile 9, riding in an automobile, but then running again near the finish line and coming in first (he was disqualified for cheating). Back matter includes notes on the marathon runners and the 1904 World’s Fair and a bibliography. The endpapers picture postcards of the fair with handwritten messages.

—CA

Ages 9–11

The Big Dark. Rodman Philbrick. 2016. Blue Sky/Scholastic.

As Charlie Cobb watches a northern lights display along with most of the other residents of the small town of Harmony, NH, on New Year’s Eve, a brilliant solar flare flashes across the sky. Immediately, all is dark:Lights go out and even battery-operated flashlights and cars fail. Nothing electrical works. Used to outages in inclement weather, no one is too concerned until days go by without a restoration of power. Science teacher Mr. Mangano identifies the problem as Geomagnetic Interference (GMI), a massive disruption of the Earth’s magnetic field. The town’s part-time policeman and school janitor, Mr. Kingman, organizes a community survival plan that works for a time. Racist, anti-government Webster Bragg, who lives in a compound on the edge of town, burns the only local grocery and pharmacy and takes control of resources at gunpoint, declaring himself leader of the new town of Liberty. It is young Charlie’s incredibly dangerous trek down the mountain to Concord in search of medicine for his diabetic mother that young readers will find most compelling. Charlie overcomes the dangers of skiing and snowshoeing in extreme weather, encounters with wild animals, and the unexpected hostility toward strangers  to become a local hero, with the help of a few caring individuals.

—CA   

Far From Fair. Elena K. Arnold. 2016. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Odette is disappointed that her parents have sold their house and bought an RV, which her mother calls the Coach, in preparation for a road trip to Orcas Island, off the coast of Washington, to take care of Grandma Sissy, who has cancer. The family’s downsizing means they have one cell phone, no privacy, and only the possessions that will fit in the Coach. Odette feels a growing loss.  In a moment of sympathy, her father brings her a dog, only it is not the sleek Labrador puppy with soft, silky ears of her dreams, but a full-grown, ratty little black dog.  Even with Odette’s parents considering a divorce and her brother, Rex, prone to exhausting tantrums, the family leaves Southern California, camping along the way north. Grandma Sissy encourages Odette to have fun on Orcas Island telling her, “Sometimes we are powerless over what life gives us. But we have power over what we are given.” Odette’s list of all that is not fair grows before she discovers how she can make what she is given work.

—SW

Pax. Sara Pennypacker. Ill. Jon Klassen. 2016. HarperCollins.

Pax, an abandoned fox, has been motherless Peter’s constant companion for five years. Now 12-year-old Peter is being sent to live with his grandfather. His father, who is going off to war, insists that Pax be released in the wild. The story is told from the points of view of Peter and Pax in alternate chapters: Peter immediately realizes the wrongness of the separation; Pax doesn’t understand his abandonment. Against the background of an all-to-close war, boy and fox have encounters that change them. Pax learns survival skills from Bristle, a vixen, and her brother, Runt. Peter, who injures his foot in his hurry to make progress on the 300-mile trip back to where they left Pax, is sheltered by Vola, a hermit and veteran with PTSD. She sets his broken bones, makes him crutches, and puts him on a rigorous training program so that he can resume his trip, while also helping him understand that his reunion with Pax may not be in Pax’s best interest, even if it is possible. Pax is a beautiful, moving story of the love and loyalty of a relationship between a wild animal and a boy.

—CA

Ages 12–14

Hour of the Bees. Lindsay Eagar. 2016.  Candlewick.

Carol, her parents, and toddler brother are spending the summer at her grandfather’s ranch in the desert of Southern Arizona to take care of him as his dementia progresses. When they arrive, they find the grandfather sitting on the porch, much-aged, tubes from an oxygen tank feeding into his nose. The dog, Inez, welcomes the family, but Carol’s father, Raul, is as incredulous that the dog from his youth would be alive as he is surprised at the dried-out condition of the ranch.  Her grandfather (who insists on pronouncing her full name, Carolina, as Carol-leena, telling her she has a beautiful name) tells her a story of life of the ranch. His fantastic stories about the village, lake, the measure of time, the life-giving tree, and Rosa, his wife and Raul’s mother, become more believable when Carolina discovers a closet of treasures from around the world that Rosa had collected in her travels.  Her grandfather’s insistence that the bees will bring the rain have increasing credibility for Carolina even after her parents sell the ranch and place Grandfather in an assisted living community. As her grandfather’s stories unfold and Raul comes to understand what happened to his mother, Carolina makes decisions that affect all of them.

—SW

The Smell of Other People’s Houses. Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock. 2016. Wendy Lamb/Random House.

Four Alaskan teens tell their individual stories about events that take place over spring and summer, although one of the stories starts before then in a prologue that tells of the death of the father of one of them, Ruth, not long before Alaska became a state. Ruth’s story takes her to an abbey in the Yukon, where she learns about the life of her grandmother, with whom she lives, who grew up there among the nuns. Another narrator, Alyce, living in Fairbanks, longs to be a dancer but is eager to help her fisherman father and uncle. A third narrator, Hank, and his two brothers, whose father, a fisherman, was lost at sea, leave their mother and stow away on a ferry bound for Prince Rupert. A fourth narrator, Dora, an Athabascan girl, lives with a family in Fairbanks, and becomes involved with Ruth’s family. While the teens search for a way to make their lives better, they discover that family is also those people they love and who love them. The narrators, in recounting past experiences that have shaped them and their lives, discover that they sometimes need to hold on to whatever they can.

—SW

Ages 15+

The Memory of Light. Francisco X. Stork. 2016. Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic. 

Sixteen-year-old Vicky Cruz wakes up in the psychiatric ward of Lakeview, a public hospital, after a failed suicide attempt. Working with her therapist, Dr. Desai, and getting to know Mona, Gabriel, and E.M., the three other teens in her therapy group, Vicky realizes she needs to stay longer in this supportive environment. Her father and stepmother, however, feel she must come home and get back to a normal routine if she is to have a future (as in getting into a top-tier college like her sister did). Stork tells the powerful and realistic story of Vicky’s movement from the darkness of her clinical depression, in which she felt alone and without a reason to live, to recovery to the point that she can return home with the strength to live if she has some control over what that life will be. In his author’s note Stork talks about his own suicide attempt and living with depression. He says he hopes that Vicky’s story will make it easier for young people to recognize depression in themselves and others and to talk about it.

—CA 

Sandip Wilson serves as associate professor in the College of Health and Education of Husson University in Bangor, ME. Carolyn Angus is former director of the George G. Stone Center for Children's Books, Claremont Graduate University, CA. They worked together as editors of the Children’s Literature and Reading SIG’s journal, The Dragon Lode, from 2008 to 2014.

These reviews are submitted by members of the International Literacy Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) and are published weekly on Literacy Daily.

E.G. Foley is actually two authors. The husband/wife team Eric and Gaelen Foley write middle-grade literature and have found success in the world of indie digital publishing. Together they write the fantasy series The Gryphon Chronicles. Gaelen Foley knows the busy world of publishing houses and made a conscious decision with her husband to launch their books for younger readers independently.

Here’s the obvious one you’ve probably answered a billion times, why write together and use a single name?

We’re a unit! Actually, this was my doing, and a strategic decision. I wanted to signal my large audience of loyal romance readers—who also happen to be moms, grandmas, and aunts, i.e., the main book buyers for kids in their families—that it was me, the same “G” (Gaelen) Foley they know and trust and have been reading since 1998. But at the same time, I wanted to draw a clear enough distinction between the two names that we wouldn’t have our kid readers coming over to the romance novels, thinking those are for them, too, because they’re not. Those are for grownups.

How did you make the transition from romance to young adult writing?

When I saw famous male writers like James Patterson and John Grisham making the transition from writing their mega-bestseller suspense novels to young adult books, that got my sassy side riled up, and I thought, “Hey, if those guys aren’t afraid to try something completely different and nobody blinks an eye about it, then I’m not going to be intimidated out of trying it just because I’m a female author.” Plus, writing middle grade is just so much fun that I would’ve continued working on it with Eric even if we never ended up publishing it. It was always a labor of love, not commerce.

What I have learned by just forging ahead with it is that there really is no reason for a writer to pigeon-hole him or herself artistically just because the industry is set up to do it that way. It’s dangerous to allow others to define who we are. Also, the basic skill set involved in novel writing transfers from one type of book to another. Once you understand how to do characterization, conflict, pacing, story structure, etc. then it just becomes a matter of exercising your imagination to apply those tools in a new way.

Put it this way, if you’re a good cook, it doesn’t matter so much whether you’re making casserole or cupcakes—it’s going to be yummy, simply because you know what you’re doing in the kitchen. Whatever you do a lot, you get good at. Well, I’ve been writing full-time for 17 years, so even though there is always more to learn, I came into writing kidlit with a very solid foundation of over 2.5 million words in print and many appearances on national bestseller lists under my belt. You never know what you can do until you try!

Are your books applicable for the classroom and how?

Indeed. First, I’d mention that The Gryphon Chronicles are now accepted in the Accelerated Reader Program in schools. The Lost Heir (Book 1) was pegged at 5.5 grade level, but we’ve heard from parents and kids as young as 8 who have enjoyed them. It just depends on the kid. The areas where I think teachers would find it useful would be for language arts, since we do not dumb down our writing style—kids are smart! Also, for any history modules dealing with the Victorian era, for example: How kids in the 1800s were educated, from governesses and home tutors to prep schools and finishing schools for the rich and mandatory education for the poor. (Did you know that in Victorian times, kids were only required to go to school to age 9?! Sorry, kid, you’re 10 now, go get a job! LOL. Hard to imagine!)

Other topics include things like child labor, the apprenticeship system, orphans and orphanages, and crime and punishment for children in Victorian England—quite appropriate, since our hero, Jake, starts out as a pickpocket! The series would also be of use in a study of mythical creatures from British folklore. The Victorian era saw a wonderful resurgence in the old fairy lore. Another area that we touch upon (especially in Book 2, Jake & the Giant) is the many inventions of the era. Jake’s sidekick, Cousin Archie, is a boy genius who loves inventing things, so that lets us touch upon the scientific news of the day, such as whatever Mr. Edison and Mr. Tesla were up to that year. Obviously, these books take a lot of research! 

Since you’re self-published, do you find getting books in hands more difficult?

Paperbacks, yes; e-books, no. I think we sell many, many more middle grade e-books than publishers do because our price ($4.99 or so) is half of theirs. … Indie platforms allow us to control our pricing ourselves, and as with all things indie, it’s very empowering having that control. Plus, we can afford to do that for our readers because we don’t have to pay for a skyscraper in Manhattan!

Do you think you would be ready to sign on with a publisher for your children’s work now that you’ve had some success independently?

The reason we never sought a publisher in the first place was because I didn’t want the stress of two sets of legally binding contract deadlines. In the ensuing years, though, I’ve become much more efficient at juggling several different projects at one time. So I don’t think that would be an issue anymore.

We’re open to giving publishers a first look at our next series, as they certainly have a wonderful infrastructure in place for getting kids’ books into schools and libraries and, of course, into all those super-fun children’s indie brick-and-mortar bookstores and the national chains. However, there would need to be some negotiation to ensure the contract would not infringe on our ability to continue self-publishing other projects at the same time, and they’d have to at least match the very good money we can make on our own with the far more generous royalty rates … (from) indie platforms give to authors/content creators. Contracts can be minefields that tie up an author’s rights for the life of the copyright (i.e., until 70 years after you’re dead). So the pros would have to outweigh the cons.

April Hall is editor of Literacy Daily. A journalist for 20 years, she has specialized in education, writing and editing for newspapers, websites, and magazines.

At any given time in history there are thousands, maybe millions of ordinary people living extraordinary lives. Books about those people in depth can inspire and inform readers with historical context and how it is possible to overcome barriers and still achieve a dream, even if it must be altered in the process. As we enjoy reading the life stories of people, we also learn how individuals shaped and were shaped by their times.

Ages 4–8

Dr. Seuss: The Great Doodler (Step Into Reading). Kate Klimo. Ill. Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher. 2016. Random House.

Young children who listen to adults read Dr. Seuss’s many picture books such as Horton Hears a Who! and If I Ran the Circus and are beginning to learn to read books such as Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat now have a biography of Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904­–1991) that they can read on their own. The book shows how Geisel, a lifelong doodler, went from making imaginative drawings of animals in a zoo near his childhood home in Springfield, MA, to being the author–illustrator of more than 40 books that continue to be loved by children today. The incorporation of drawings by Geisel in Johnson and Fancher’s paintings add interest. Dr. Seuss: The Great Doodler will also be a good addition to read-aloud sessions when sharing one or more of the books mentioned in the biography.

—CA

The Kid From Diamond Street: The Extraordinary Story of Baseball Legend Edith Houghton. Audrey Vernick. Ill. Steven Salerno. 2016. Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Edith Houghton (1912–2013), the youngest of 10 children, grew up playing baseball with her brothers and neighbors on Diamond Street in Philadelphia.  When she was not playing, she was watching games being played on a baseball field across the street at night from her parents’ bedroom window.  When she was 10 years old, Edith heard that an all-female baseball team, the Philadelphia Bobbies, was looking for players.  She auditioned and became the youngest member of the team, a team that won against all-male teams and built such popularity that the team was invited to play in Japan in 1925.  Rendered in charcoal, ink, and gouache with additional color added digitally, the double-page illustrations show the thrill of the games and events of the team’s travels.  An author’s note includes archival photographs and additional details on Edith’s life such as her serving as a WAVE during World War II and being hired as a major league scout for the Philadelphia Phillies. In The Kid from Diamond Street,young readers exploring the world of biography have a book that combines sports history and the lives of girls who follow their dreams. 

—SW

You Never Heard of Casey Stengel?! Jonah Winter. Ill. Barry Blitt. Schwartz & Wade/Random House.

Following the format of his earlier You Never Heard Of picture book biographies of Sandy Koufax and Willy Mays, Jonah Winter pays tribute to Casey Stengel (Charles Dillon Stengel [1890–1975]). The witty, conversational narration introduces young readers to this sports hero, focusing on Stengel’s 12 years as manager of the New York Yankees 1949–1960, during which the Yankees won 10 American League pennants and seven World Series. Britt’s pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations, featuring caricatures of Casey, and the inclusion of Stengelese quips such as “The teams has come along slow but fast” and insets of stats and trivia make this an engaging addition to books for young people about baseball history. Back matter includes a glossary of baseball terms, a note on sources of the statistics used in the book, and an author’s note.

—CA

Two Friends: Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass. Dean Robbins. Ill. Sean Qualls & Selina Alko. 2016. Orchard/Scholastic.

Qualls and Alko’s beautifully-composed mixed media illustrations and Robbins’ lyrical text tell the story of the friendship of two famous American civil rights activists, Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906) and Frederick Douglass (1818–1895), who came together to share cups of tea and ideas in Rochester, New York, in the mid-1800s. Robbins uses parallel phrasing to express how both individuals recognized that some people had rights that others did not have. Anthony wanted rights for women. “The right to live free. The right to vote.”Douglass wanted rights for African Americans. “The right to live free. The right to vote.” Cutout collage waves of handwritten words that move across some of the double spreads emphasize Anthony’s and Douglass’s tireless efforts in speaking out for a shared goal, that one day all people would have the same rights.  The book ends with an author’s note, bibliography, and portraits of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass.

—CA

Ages 9–11

Mercy: The Incredible Story of Henry Bergh, Founder of the ASPCA and Friend to Animals. Nancy Furstinger. Ill. Vincent Desjardins. 2016. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Henry Bergh was born into privilege and wealth as one of three children of a ship builder in New York City in 1813.  Uninterested in going into the family business, Bergh displayed similar disinterest as a law student at Columbia College. His growing passion against cruelty to animals emerged in a trip to Europe and later as an emissary to the Russian Court.  Bergh was aware of the founding of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in the 1830s in England. Appalled at the treatment of horses and the cruelty of cock and dog fights in New York City, Bergh lobbied for the founding of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 1866. As its president, he worked to protect animals such as working dogs, dairy cows, and draft horses for the rest of his life, often facing the ridicule of adversaries and the press. He was also instrumental in the founding of the Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Furstinger’s use of primary sources provides Bergh’s perspective as he exposed cruelty in sports hunting and horrific treatment of animals in slaughter houses. The digitally-created illustrations and archival photographs complement the text. Back matter includes an author’s note, a timeline, quote sources, a bibliography, and an index.

—SW

Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor. Robert Burleigh. Ill. Raúl Colón. 2016. Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster.

Burleigh has Mary Tharp (1920–2006) tell her own life story of an early love of maps nurtured by traveling around the U.S. with her father, a surveyor and mapmaker, and her determination to overcome the barriers to working in a field of science not accepting of women in the 1940s. As an assistant in the ocean-studies lab at Columbia University, Mary, who could not go out on the research ships (having a woman on board was considered bad luck), took the data of soundings made at sea and began the important project of mapping the Atlantic seafloor. Her meticulous cartography revealed the deep mid-Atlantic rift that confirmed the theory of continental drift. Colón’s stunning pencil and watercolor illustrations for this picture book biography include some dramatic ocean scenes. Back matter includes additional information on Mary Tharp and her scientific contributions, a glossary of terms, a bibliography, Internet resources, and a “Things to Wonder About and Do” section. 

—CA

Ages 12–14

Radioactive!: How Irène Curie and Lise Meitner Revolutionized Science and Changed the World. Winifred Conkling. 2016. Algonquin.

Irène Curie and Lise Meitner lived different lives although their work in physics and chemistry intersected.  Irène, the first-born child of two Nobel Prize-winning physicists, earned her doctorate at the Sorbonne and became a collaborator with her mother, Marie Curie. Lise was the third of eight children, struggled to earn admission to university, and then applied to work in Max Planck’s laboratory in Berlin, the center of science at the time.  Irène married Frédéric Joliot, and the Joliot-Curies won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery of artificial radioactivity. Never married, Lise worked with Otto Hahn for more than 30 years and, continuing the work of the Joliot-Curies, discovered fission, an accomplishment for which Hahn took the credit. During the rise of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, Lise’s life became increasingly imperiled since her grandmother was Jewish and, after Hitler’s forces invaded Austria, her passport provided no protection.  Secreted out of Germany by colleagues, she continued work in Sweden, collaborating with Hahn. This biography of the two scientists is also the story of the evolution of nuclear physics and the study of radioactivity in the 20th century. Captioned photographs and back matter, including a time line of the lives of the two women, an extensive glossary, a “Who’s Who” section, and source notes, provide additional information.

—SW

Ten Days a Mad Woman: The Daring Life and Turbulent Times of the Original “Girl” Reporter, Nellie Bly. Deborah Noyes. 2016. Viking/Penguin.

Leaving her family home and her work as a writer for the Pittsburgh Dispatch, Elizabeth Jane Cochran, who became known to newspaper readers as Nellie Bly, set out for New York City to find a position as a reporter in 1887.  The first part of the book chronicles her investigation of the practices of an insane asylum for women in which she convinced doctors and nurses that she was insane and lived in the asylum on Blackwell’s Island as an inmate for 10 days without any assurance of how she would be able to leave. The book also details her investigations of big business and government for which she had her own byline, unheard of at the time, before The World’s publisher, Joseph Pulitzer sponsored her round-the-world trip to learn whether Jules Verne’s 80 days could be beaten. Integrated into this biography that spans Nellie Bly’s life time are archival photographs and inserts that detail particular moments in her life, including her family and married life, and of the newspaper world. The author’s note provides more information and the source notes document the primary sources used in the book.

—SW

Ages 15+

Hillary Rodham Clinton: A Woman Living History. Karen Blumenthal. 2016. Feiwel and Friends.

Reading this biography gives teens an engaging and accessible portrait of Hillary Rodham Clinton, from her birth in 1947 and childhood years in Park Ridge, IL, to her April 2015 announcement that she would run for the Democratic nomination for President. Throughout the book, Blumenthal offers a clear picture of the people and experiences that have guided Clinton in the life choices she has made and the challenges she has faced as a woman in her professional and political life while wanting to keep her private life separate from her public life. The inclusion of an abundance of captioned photographs and “Drawn and Quartered” sidebars of editorial cartoons add interest. Back matter includes a time line; a bibliography with a note from Blumenthal on the shortage of “reliable, accurate, or complete information” about Hillary Rodham Clinton, which was a challenge in writing Hillary Rodham Clinton: A Woman Living History; source notes; and an extensive index.

—CA

Sandip Wilson serves as associate professor in the College of Health and Education of Husson University in Bangor, ME. Carolyn Angus is former director of the George G. Stone Center for Children's Books, Claremont Graduate University, CA.

These reviews are submitted by members of the International Literacy Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) and are published weekly on Literacy Daily.