Review #11: Destination: Jupiter

Bibliography

Simon, Seymour.  1998.  DESTINATION:  JUPITER.  New York:  Morrow Junior Books.  ISBN 0688156215

Summary

This book introduces readers to the largest planet in the solar system.  It begins by describing what Jupiter looks like from Earth, its distance from Earth, and its size.  Then it describes the planet’s appearance and composition, its weather, and its family of moons, with special focus on the large Galilean moons. 

The book is lavishly illustrated with color photos of Jupiter and its moons taken by the Hubble telescope and the Galileo and other space probe flybys. 

Analysis

The large text font and limited text indicate that this book is meant for earlier reading levels.  While it is quite informative and accessible for young readers, the need to keep the text simple has resulted in a rather flat writing style.  Despite the use of such vivid observations as the fact that 1,300 earths could fit inside Jupiter’s volume, the text seems dry at times. 

The illustrations are of high quality and are well-integrated with the text.  It should be noted that many published images of the outer planets have been enhanced with brighter colors to bring out the details.  The text only touches on this in one spot, where it mentions that a blue sky shown in a picture of Ganymede was actually added by a computer.

Overall this is a good primary introduction to the solar system’s largest planet.

Review Excerpt

“Expertly balancing the verbal and visual presentation, Simon again demonstrates his ability to inform and entertain simultaneously.”  School Library Journal

Connections

Jupiter has extreme weather, with wind speeds of over 400 miles per hour.  How fast do the winds blow on the Earth?  Would it be possible to build a building that could survive winds of 400 miles per hour?

Jupiter’s moon Europa is covered with ice.  Scientists think that an ocean of liquid water might possibly lie beneath the ice, and that this ocean might possibly support life.  What sort of life could live in that ocean?  Would these creatures be able to see, or would they have to use other senses like some blind cave fish?

The discussion of Jupiter’s rings mentions that they only show up when a beam of light slants through them at the right angle.  Demonstrate how a beam of light in a darkened room can make a puff of dust particles visible.

Review #10: Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow

Bibliography

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell.  2005.  HITLER YOUTH:  GROWING UP IN HITLER’S SHADOW.  New York:  Scholastic Inc.  ISBN 0439353793

Summary

Bartoletti examines Nazi Germany from the perspective of those who spent their childhood and adolescence there.  The book’s 10 chapters follow the history of the Hitler Youth and of youth in Germany in general from Hitler’s rise to power through the defeat and aftermath of the Nazi regime.  While the progression of chapters is broadly chronological, each also develops a theme prominent during a particular time, such as Nazi education and the growing persecution of Jews.

The book begins with thumbnail profiles of 12 Germans born between 1916 and 1931.  The story is told largely through their life histories and reminiscences.  An epilogue describes what became of these 12 individuals.  Some, such as the Scholl children, were well-known for their resistance to the Nazis.  Others were simply ordinary children and youth caught up in their times.

Analysis

This carefully researched work draws on extensive primary and secondary sources.  It is well-written and accessible.  The numerous photographic illustrations are of generally good quality and are well-integrated with the text.  The end-notes, bibliography, and index are exceptionally good for a work of popular history at any age level.

Bartoletti goes beyond common clichés of the period to give an appreciation of the complexity of the conditions in which the people of Nazi Germany lived and the diversity of their attitudes and motives.  The use of the stories of a variety of actual German youth helps to put a human face on the upheavals and tragedies of the era.  At the same time, these stories are shown within their greater context.   This would be an excellent introduction to Nazi Germany for teen readers. 

Reviews

“Bartoletti has created an exceptional portrait of Nazi Germany by focusing on how Hitler created a new world on the shoulders of the youth of Germany.”  Book Links

“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

Connections

Other non-fiction accounts of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust:

Armstrong, Jennifer and Opdyke, Irene Gut.  IN MY HANDS:  MEMORIES OF A HOLOCAUST RESCUER.  ISBN 9780679891819

Cartlidge, Cherese and Clark, Charles.  LIFE OF A NAZI SOLDIER.  ISBN 1560064846

Wiesel, Elie.  NIGHT.  ISBN 97803743999

Review #9: What My Mother Doesn't Know

Bibliography

Sones, Sonya.  2001.  WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW.  New York, NY:  Simon & Schuster.  ISBN  0689841140

Plot Summary

Sophie, a teenager in contemporary Massachusetts, describes her experiences with a series of boys she meets, from an intense crush on a dreamy fellow named Dylan, through a potentially dangerous online flirtation, to an encounter with a masked figure at a Halloween dance, to her eventual realization that the homely but good-hearted Murphy is “Mr. Right.”  Along the way she must deal with quarrelsome, negligent parents.

Critical Analysis

The story is told entirely in the first person by Sophie, through a series of unrhymed, free-verse poems, which range from a few lines to about two pages in length.  Their titles make them look like a series of tiny chapters.  E-mail exchanges use prose and different fonts.  Near the end a series of drawings of a kissing couple appears in the lower right-hand corners of the pages to symbolize the budding romance between Sophie and her Mr. Right.  In a clever touch the author, who has taught animation, drew them as a flip-book sequence—flip the pages and the reader sees the couple exchange a kiss.

The text has a strong stream-of-consciousness quality.  The reader is very much in the “boy crazy” Sophie’s mind, hearing her describe her feelings, actions, and impulses.  Hers is a believable narrative voice that many young female readers will likely identify with.

The book contains some four-letter language and quite frank descriptions of youthful feelings and fantasies.  It has been challenged in some areas.  One might also have concerns as to whether teens, who are often already obsessed with thoughts of romance, should be encouraged to think about it even more in their reading.  Recommend with caution.

Review Excerpts

“Sones is a bright, perceptive writer who digs deeply into her protagonist’s soul.”  School Library Journal

“Drawing on the recognizable cadences of teenage speech, Sones poignantly captures the tingle and heartache of being young and boy-crazy.”  Publishers Weekly

Connections

Other novels-in-verse by Sonya Sones:

ONE OF THOSE HIDEOUS BOOKS WHERE THE MOTHER DIES.  ISBN 9781416907886

STOP PRETENDING:  WHAT HAPPENED WHEN MY BIG SISTER WENT CRAZY.

ISBN 9780613349796

WHAT MY GIRLFRIEND DOESN’T KNOW.  ISBN 9780689876035

Review #8: Red Sings From Treetops: A Year in Color

Bibliography

Sidman, Joyce.  2009.  RED SINGS FROM TREETOPS:  A YEAR IN COLORS.  Ill. by Pamela Zagarenski.  Boston, MA:  Houghton Mifflin.  ISBN 9780547014944

Plot Summary

This book gives a tour of the four seasons, beginning with spring.  Each chapter-like division of 7-8 pages illustrates and describes the colors one sees at that time of year.  Colors are shown playing different roles according to season—green dominates spring and summer and fades in fall and winter; white is associated with storms in spring, ice cubes in summer, the autumn moon, and the snows of winter. 

Analysis

The unrhymed free-verse text seeks to evoke the sights, sounds, and tactile sensations of the seasons through descriptions of color.  The colors are treated as active agents.  White lightning in spring storms makes sounds.  Yellow, in the form of the summer sun, melts things, but also has a flavor in the form of buttered popcorn; in the fall it “grows wheels and lumbers down the block” in the form of a school bus. 

The mixed media illustrations show fanciful images of characters personifying the colors moving through semi-realistic seasonal landscapes.  Words and illustrations were clearly planned to work together here, with each verse depending upon the accompanying visual to help the reader to understand it.  For example, the line “Red:  crisp, juicy crunch!” appears beneath a tree laden with red apples in the fall.  Each color’s name is printed in that color.

Though the style of the art may not be to every reader’s taste, the images and text together do a wonderful job of evoking the experience of each season and the sheer delight that comes from slowing down long enough to pay attention to the environment around us.  While the text includes words such as “cerulean” and “lustrous” that younger readers may find unfamiliar, this should not deter offering the book to independent readers, or from reading it aloud.

Review Excerpts

“The changing seasons have been the subject of many a picture book, but this one has a particularly unique take on the topic.”  Booklist

“Children will find many small stories waiting to be told within the detailed paintings and enjoy looking at them over and over.”  School Library Journal

Connections

Create a list of evocative words like those in the poem.  Ask the children to close their eyes and listen to these words.  Ask them what the words make them think about or feel.

Other poems about color, nature, and the world around us:

O’Neill, Mary Le Duc.  HAILSTONES AND HALIBUT BONES.  ISBN 9780385244848

Stevenson, James.  CORN-FED.  ISBN 006000598x

Thomas, Patricia.  NATURE’S PAINTBOX.  ISBN 9780822568070

Review #7: Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings

Bibliography

Florian, Douglas.  2009.   DINOTHESAURUS:  PREHISTORIC POEMS AND PAINTINGS.  New York, NY:  Simon & Schuster.  ISBN 9781416979784

Plot Summary

Writer/illustrator Florian presents a series of poems describing 18 species of dinosaur.  These are bookended with brief poems on “The Age of Dinosaurs” and “The End of Dinosaurs” that serve, respectively, as a kind of introduction and coda.  A two-page “Glossarysaurus” at the end gives further information on the subjects of each poem.  Also at the end are a page of entries on several notable dinosaur museums in North America and several suggestions for further reading.

Critical Analysis

The rhyming poems have a delightfully humorous quality and wordplay reminiscent of the poems of Ogden Nash (“The pterrifying pterosaurs/Flew ptours the ptime of dinosaurs.”).  Each dinosaur poem is named for its featured species, with a pronunciation guide and translation of the creature’s scientific name below the title.  From 4 to 12 lines in length, each poem highlights a particular noteworthy aspect of the dinosaur species—the 3 horns of Triceratops, the massive head of Stegoceras, etc. 

Each poem has a two-page spread illustration.  The illustrations are done in gouache, collage, colored pencils, stencils, “dinosaur dust,” and rubber stamps.  In some illustrations children or objects are used to give some idea of the dinosaur’s scale.  Different media and graphic designs are used in different illustrations.  The art is interesting and varied, but is not realistic and gives only a vague idea of what many of the dinosaurs are supposed to have looked like.

The brief entries in the “Glossarysaurus” and the notes on museums and further reading are accessibly written and informative.  The book might be okay for reading aloud to small children, but would be best for older readers.  Dinosaur-loving children should love it, and might be stimulated to learn more about dinosaurs on their own.

Review Excerpts

“Florian’s art—in gouache, collage, colored pencil, stencils, etc.—is gorgeous and fun.”  NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

“This smart marriage of dinosaurs and poetry will delight a wide audience.”  SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

Connections

Note how some of the illustrations illustrate figures of speech in the poems.  Have students make drawings of figures of speech they know.

Other early books of animal poems:

Alarcon, Francisco X.  ANIMAL POEMS OF THE IGUAZU.  ISBN 9780892392254

Florian, Douglas.  ZOO’S WHO.  ISBN 0152046399

Rosen, Michael.  THE CUCKOO’S HAIKU.  ISBN 9780763630492

Review #6: The Great Ball Game: A Muskogee Story

Bibliography

Bruchac, Joseph.  1994.  THE GREAT BALL GAME:  A MUSKOGEE STORY.  Ill. by Susan L. Roth.  New York:  Dial.  ISBN 0803715404

Plot Summary

Long ago the Birds and the Animals chose to settle an argument with a game of stickball.  After being left out by both teams, Bat is finally accepted by the Animals and uses his unique abilities to win.  The defeated Birds were forced to leave the country for half of each year.

Analysis

This is a retelling of a Muskogee (or Creek) Indian Nation legend, which Bruchac heard from a Muskogee elder named Louis Littlecoon Oliver.  It is a “pour quoi” tale that explains why birds fly south for the winter and why bats fly at dusk.  The ball game is a southern variant of lacrosse.

Roth’s art is all done in colorful paper collages.  Dark paper silhouettes illustrate the latter part of the story, which takes place in the evening.  The artist used papers, some handmade, collected from a number of different countries.  The rich textures make the reader want to touch the pages.

The story is reminiscent of the fable of “The Bat, the Birds, and the Beasts” attributed to Aesop, but here the Bat actually joins one side and becomes a hero.

Review Excerpts

“Bruchac’s retelling is elegant and graceful.”  Horn Book

“The helter-skelter compositions distract readers from what is otherwise an entertaining tale.”  School Library Journal

Connections

Talk about bats—how even though they have wings like birds, they are really mammals like bears and dogs.

Other books based on Native American stories:

Bruchac, Joseph and Ross, Gayle.  THE STORY OF THE MILKY WAY:  A CHEROKEE TALE.  ISBN 0803717377

Davkovich, Lydia.  THE POLAR BEAR SON:  AN INUIT TALE.  0395975670

Review #5: The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs

Bibliography

Scieszka, Jon.  1989.  THE TRUE STORY OF THE 3 LITTLE PIGS BY A. WOLF.  Ill. by Lane Smith.  New York:  Viking Penguin.  ISBN 0670827592

Plot Summary

Alexander T. Wolf tells how an errand to borrow sugar from the neighboring pigs led to his accidentally destroying the houses of straw and sticks by sneezing at them.  In the process he accidentally (so he claims, at least) kills their porcine occupants and eats them so as not to let good wolf food go to waste.  He then has an altercation with the rude occupant of the house of bricks that leads to his being arrested and jailed by pig police and turned into a villain by sensationalistic news reporters.

Analysis

This is a witty variant on a traditional tale that many children even today have probably heard.  Certain familiar phrases from the traditional versions (“He huffed and he puffed”; “Chinny chin chin”) are recast in the wolf’s version of the story.  Unlike some bowdlerized versions, this one depicts the unfortunate pigs in the flimsy houses falling victim to the wolf—but then, as the wolf points out, animals such as pigs are the wolf’s equivalent of cheeseburgers.

Lane Smith’s painted art depicts what is happening clearly enough.  It is full of clever details, some (notably a capital letter made up of sausage links) a bit grotesque.  The art’s muddy colors and prickly, edgy character may strike some readers as rather unattractive.  

Overall this is a clever retelling.  Depending on how one chooses to view it, it may be seen either as a lesson in the difference one’s perspective makes or an example of a tale told by a narrator of questionable reliability.

Review Excerpt

“It’s the type of book that older kids (and adults) will find very funny.”  School Library Journal

Connections

Read a more traditional version of “The 3 Little Pigs”, followed by this story.  Talk about how a story can have more than one side to it.

Other versions of the story:

Seibert, Patricia.  THE THREE LITTLE PIGS.  ISBN 1577683676

Wiesner, David.  THE THREE PIGS.  ISBN 0618007016