THE WEDNESDAY WARS, by Gary D. Schmidt

Quick Facts:
- Newbery Honor Book
- 272 pages

The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt, opens in 1967 with the improbably named Holling Hoodhood bemoaning the start of his seventh-grade year. His new teacher Mrs. Baker, Holling asserts, hates him. Loathes him. Is actively orchestrating his downfall. Holling attempts to rally support from his family, but to no avail. His mother doesn’t believe him, his sister dismisses him, and his father is more worried about maintaining positive business relations with Mrs. Baker’s family than he is with his son’s concerns. And thus the stage is set for Holling, who (because he is a Presbyterian) is the only student who doesn’t leave school early on Wednesdays, and must therefore spend his final period on those days alone with Mrs. Baker, literally and figuratively. 

The book chronicles Holling’s seventh grade year, from start to finish, with historical events like the Vietnam War, the assassination of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., and Yankee baseball as the backdrop. Through his time with Mrs. Baker, Holling slowly learns to see the world as a more complicated place than he once thought, and to appreciate his ability (and responsibility!) to shape the course of his own life.

One of the strongest aspects of The Wednesday Wars is the authenticity that Schmidt brings to Holling’s perspective of 1967 and 1968. Though there are major, historically massive events taking place in the background of the novel, Schmidt addresses them always through Holling’s eyes and experiences, never giving the seventh grader more of a reaction or more of an opinion than is believable.

This balance of having Holling serve as an unbiased and yet authentic lens through which the reader experiences history is struck also in Holling’s reading of Shakespeare. When Mrs. Baker decides that reading Shakespeare is the best use of their Wednesday one-on-one time, Holling is not thrilled. Though he comes to an appreciation of Shakespeare (particularly Shakespear’s insults), Schmidt never pushes Holling's literary appreciation too far. For example, though he likes The Tempest a lot, Holling thinks that Romeo and Juliet is the story of how, “If Romeo had never met Juliet, he would have been all right,” (Schmidt, page 150).

However, Holling’s believability would have been all for naught if Schmidt had not created around his hero an authentic and relatable setting. Again, Schmidt strikes the right balance of including details and side plots that reinforce the period without taking the focus away from Holling himself. One of the strongest of these is Mrs. Bigio’s relationship with Mai Thi. Mrs. Bigio is the school cook, whose husband is killed in action in Vietnam. Mai Thi is a Vietnamese student sponsored by the Catholic Relief Agency. Without spoiling the arc of their story, Schmidt handles both of their situations with delicacy and a commitment to genuine human emotions.

The New York Times observes that, “Mrs. Baker often seems too good to be true.” Though I understand the reaction here, I disagree. True to the novel’s perspective, Mrs. Baker is seen only through Holling’s eyes. Thus, as Holling’s experiences with Mrs. Baker develop, so does her portrayal in the book. The reviewer is certainly right to note that by the novel’s end, Mrs. Baker assumed almost unbelievable integrity. However, the reader must also recall that Mrs. Baker began the novel as Holling’s most feared and diabolical enemy— a characterization equally unbelievable. If Mickey Mantle’s treatment of Holling represents the fall of an idol, Mrs. Baker represents the rise of one. There are plenty of hints to the adult reader that Mrs. Baker is as flawed and human as anyone else (asking a thirteen year old to clean out a rat cage without supervising him? Rolling her eyes at students?) These, however, are not things that register with Holling; for Holling, what resonates about Mrs. Baker is that she is there for him time and again. Her seeming “too good to be true”, then, is appropriate when one considers Holling’s perspective.

What sets The Wednesday Wars apart from other historical novels that feature the same historical events is Holling’s unique position as a character coming of age, and Schmidt’s dedication to making that journey as authentic and relatable as possible. Holling is more than a lens through which the reader views history; his is a vehicle for the reader to experience for themselves the hard questions and realities of that time. The Wednesday Wars is outstanding historical fiction because it does more than simply represent a time period or show a boy growing up; it reveals the way in which these two things are inevitably intertwined, while still writing a hero universally human enough to resonate with young readers today.

GUACAMOLE: UN POEMA PARA COCINAR, by Jorge Argueta

Quick Facts:
- bilingual with full text in both English and Spanish
- a "cooking" poem
- 32 pages

“Guacamole” is a recipe poem written by Salvadoran poet Jorge Argueta. It is the third book in Argueta’s bilingual cooking poem series. His first two books, titled “Sopa de frijoles / Bean Soup”, and “Arroz con leche / Rice Pudding”, are structured similarly to “Guacamole. In all three, the poems’ verses span several pages, provide full text in both Spanish and English, and are accompanied by illustrations that enhance the text.

“Guacamole” is short, takes about seven to ten minutes to read aloud, and Mexican artist Margarita Sada’s accompanying oil-paint illustrations are as colorful and vibrant as the guacamole Argueta describes making. The illustrations are authentic in their depiction of the ingredients and materials needed throughout the poem, but use a much more round, cartoon feel when depicting everything else. By giving the family depicted a generic, light olive skin tone and brown hair, illustrator Sada remains true to the Spanish heritage that traditionally makes guacamole, while still making the book accessible to a wide variety of children reading and looking to see themselves in the illustrations:

One of the things I love about this book is that the title is the same in English and in Spanish: Guacamole. Thus, despite the poem being presented in two different languages, the finished product is one with which native speakers of either language can relate. Cooking is such a social part of families and culture that the idea of making food to bring one’s family together is one with which nearly all readers can identify. One of my favorite lines in "Guacamole" is when Argueta encourages this social aspect of cooking and tells the reader/cook to sing and dance as they taste, "because food tastes better / when you sing and dance." (Guacamole)

Because the poem is presented as a recipe rather than a more traditional story, there is a great deal of room for the reader to insert his or her own experience with cooking between the lines of the poem, and particularly of making guacamole. This can spark great discussion about why we cook for our families, who does the cooking, what ingredients we use, etc.

The language in “Guacamole” is, as one might expect, wonderfully poetic. Argueta describes the his ingredients in vivid language that really gets the reader hungry! For example:

“Sing to the salt
as you shake it
so that little spatters
of white drizzle
fall like rain on the green avocado.”
- "Guacamole"

The bottom line is that I suggest a visit to the grocery store before reading "Guacamole". The best way to read this book is like this:

THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM - 1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis

Quick Facts:
- Newbery Honor Book
- Coretta Scott King Honor Book
- 224 pages

I had the strangest experience reading The Watsons Go to Birmingham- 1963. For the first fifty pages or so, I knew what was going to happen next. Exactly what would happen next. I knew, for example, that By would get his mouth stuck on ice in some way before he and Kenny even went outside. It wasn't that I remembered reading it before, it was more that I remembered experiencing the scene before. So while the text all felt new, the direction felt familiar.

My guess is that I began reading The Watsons Go to Birmingham- 1963 at some point in my childhood, and then never finished it for some reason. I say never finished it because the premonitions stopped after a while. But I think that it speaks to the power of author Christopher Paul Curtis' writing and of the characters he has created that even without finishing the book, such an impression was made that it lasted over nearly two decades.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham- 1963 is not a novel concerned with getting anywhere. Despite the trip indicated in the title, the first two-thirds of the book is spent focused on character development. The reader gets to know and to love narrator Kenny Watson, and to understand the complicated but loving dynamics of his family. By the time they finally set out on their trip, the  reader is left wondering what exactly is going to make this trip worth the title of the book. Those with prior knowledge of the historical events covered in the book are wondering how Curtis will do them justice with over half of his book nearly over already. The answer, for me, lies in Curtis' audience.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham- 1963 is a work of fiction. The goal of good fiction is not to tell the reader the facts of an event, but rather to make the reader feel an event as acutely as if they were there. In Curtis' case, he had another goal as well: to make the reader identify directly with the people affected by the tragedy he recounts. It is for this reason that he has the reader spend so much time with the Watsons at the beginning of the novel.

The Watsons are an African-American family, which is not something that matters much in the first part of the novel. Though there are mentions of segregation, and of the Civil Rights movement sweeping the nation, the focus is really on the Watsons as a familiar, loving family unit. By having the reader follow Kenny through his conflicts with By, his moral dilemma with his friend Rufus, and his observations of his parents, Curtis allows the reader (and particularly the child reader) to identify with Kenny as a child. Not as a distinctly African-American child, but as a child just like we once were. We see in his family shades of our own, and this is the purpose of the first two-thirds of The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963.

In Birmingham, the Watsons are witnesses to one of the most horrific events of the 1960s: the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. This is an event that younger readers may or may not have yet encountered in their studies, but one with which older students and adults are likely very familiar. The facts are heartbreaking. But the emotional impact of the event is made that much more acute when it occurs to characters with whom we've spent nearly 180 pages identifying. The reader's reaction becomes necessarily much more personal.

Had Curtis focused his novel more on the details of the bombing, had he used his characters functionally more as eyes into the event, the reader would likely learn more of the facts of what occurred that day. But by making his characters instead souls with whom the reader empathizes, Curtis drives home the emotional impact of that day: that bomb killed little girls. Daughters. Sisters. Friends. People we've come to know and love were threatened, for a reason as arbitrary as the color of their skin. By the time you reach this point in the book, you can't help but feel your heart race for Kenny's sister Joey, even if you do know the historical facts. It is this that makes The Watsons Go to Birmingham- 1963 so powerful. 

The Watsons Go to Birmingham- 1963 was made into a tv movie in 2013. There are suggestions in the trailer below that the film places more emphasis on the Civil Rights Movement and awareness of segregation. I can't comment on the appropriateness of this choice (if indeed that is the direction the film makers went), as film is an entirely different medium and I have not yet seen the full movie. However, I do think that in terms of his novel, Curtis made the right storytelling choice: to give children an experience of injustice, rather than another history lesson.

BLACK ELK'S VISION: A Lakota Story, by S.D. Nelson

Quick Facts:
- 56 pages
- Illustrated by author, S.D. Nelson

"Black Elk's Vision: A Lakota Story" is a narrative biography of the life of Black Elk, a Lakota Sioux leader who lived from 1863-1950. Black Elk witnessed and survived the forced relocation of his people, and became well-known to the American public upon the 1932 release of Black Elk Speaks: being the life story of a holy man of the Oglala Sioux, by John Neihardt. 

S.D. Nelson, who authored and illustrated "Black Elk's Vision: A Lakota Story", is a well-respected Lakota Sioux artist and writer. He describes Black Elk's vision (which becomes a metaphor for the man's life) as, "uniquely Native American, filled with images of painted horses, rabbits, deer and rumbling Thunder Beings." However, Nelson then counters this with an observation into how, "what he witnesses speaks to something fundamental in the human experience- the universal quest to connect with the all-encompassing force that is the Great Mystery."

Thus this is a story told by a voice authentic to its topic, and which strives to be at once distinctly Native American and also universal in the applicability of the questions it asks. I believe it succeeds.

Nelson's illustrations are done with careful attention to traditional Lakota Sioux artwork. Compare the following artwork:

Traditional Lakota Sioux pictorial muslin.

Illustration from "Black Elk's Vision: A Lakota Story", by S.D. Nelson

Notice how Nelson draws on the same colors used in the traditional art: reds, blues, browns and goldens. He draws the horses long, legs outstretched, with warriors on their backs at near ninety-degree angles. The background of the image is the same light, brownish-tan it would be if it were on muslin or animal hide.

And yet, Nelson also brings a more intimate, and more contemporary feel to his illustration. The images are larger, and closer together, so that much less of the canvas is visible. The colors are brighter, more vibrant, and he adds detail that adds visual interest (like the painting of the horses). All of these contribute to making Nelson's heritage more accessible to the reader.

Additionally,  Nelson makes the decision to spell Lakota words phonetically. For example, the Lakota word "Wasichu" ("White Man") is spelled through out the book "Wha-shi-choo". Clarifying the three-syllable pronunciation in this way makes the word one that native English readers can say with confidence, and minimizes the cultural distance created when readers encounter language they are not sure how to navigate. 

Though Nelson created a great deal of artwork for this book, he made an excellent decision to include alongside his art photos of the times and of the people discussed in the book. This not only serves to remind the reader that despite the narrative form of the text and the gorgeous illustrations, the events Black Elk recounts were very real and had terrible repercussions. 

In terms of reader age, I believe this book is most appropriate for upper elementary and middle school, because of the themes addressed and the complexity of the writing, Younger students simply don't have the background knowledge or experience for the significance of events like Little Bighorn to register, or for the connection between Black Elk's vision and reality to resonate. Though the text is straightforward, with few tricky grammatical structures, there is a lot of it and it is dense with information:

"Black Elk's Vision: A Lakota Story" is a beautiful book that brings alive the experience of the Lakota Sioux at the turn of the century. Too, it is a Native American story told by an authentic Native American voice, and so is all the more valuable for its perspective.

YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO BE SIR ISAAC NEWTON!: A Lonely Life You'd Rather Not Lead, by Ian Graham

Quick Facts:
- illustrated by David Antram
- part of series (You Wouldn't Want to Be . . .)
- 32 pages

"You Wouldn't Want to Be Sir Isaac Newton!: A Lonely Life You'd Rather Not Lead" is part of a series of informational books for children, all of which utilize the device (and titular structure): You Wouldn't Want to Be . . . 

Overall, this is a fun, informational book with a structure entertaining and accessible to children. Simple sentence structure, amusing illustrations, and careful page layout make it developmentally a very appropriate text for mid to upper-elementary students. It includes a table of contents, glossary and index, which makes more easily navigable.

The illustrations lend a great deal of humor and accessibility to the test, while also supporting the information presented in the text:

Though the cartoon is funny, it also reflects the information immediately preceding it: that Isaac Newton's father died before his birth and so he had only his mother, and that he was raised in a manor house. The layout of multiple picture with accompanying text keeps the reader engaged while also moving the story along chronologically:

You'll note that the events depicted move chronologically from top to bottom, through the early years of Isaac Newton's childhood. 

I do, however, have one major reservation about this book. The "You Wouldn't Want to Be . . . " series covers everything from more general subjects (like "You Wouldn't Want to Be A Pirate's Prisoner: Horrible Things You'd Rather Not Know") to specific biographies, like this one on Isaac Newton. The signature device of the series is that they directly address the reader to inform on the lesser-known, often grosser and more outrageous facts of a given topic. This works very well for subjects like pirates, where the "gross-out" factor is actually kind of fascinating, and makes the book a funnier read. With biographies, however, this device words less well.

In this biography of Isaac Newton, the outrageous facts highlighted are things like the personal tragedy of his upbringing (no father, and a mother that abandoned him at a young age) and his individual demons (like battling depression). These do not have a humorous effect, though they certainly support the titular statement. Consider the following:

"YOU ARE a remarkable person, but you have trouble getting along with other people. your obsessions quarrels, and secrets make you lonely and unhappy."
- "You Wouldn't Want to Be Sir Isaac Newton!: A Lonely Life You'd Rather Not Lead", page 5

I take issue with information presented like this. It's one thing to present factually the ups and downs of Newton's life. It's another to spend the book reinforcing the title: "A Lonely Life You'd Rather Not Lead". This suggest that the hardships and lows in Newton's life were not worth the successes. This is a very dangerous message to send to children, who are the book's target audience. Greatness in any field requires hard work and sacrifice, but that does not mean that we should not strive for it.

NURSERY TALES AROUND THE WORLD, by Judy Sierra

Quick Facts:
- collection of diverse folk stories
- 128 pages

Nursery Tales Around the World, selected and retold by Judy Sierra, is a collection of traditionally oral folktales from around the world, organized by theme and/or storyline. Sierra explains in the introduction that her focus when making the selections for this collection was on stories strong in rhythm, rhyme and/or repetition, as they are "tailored to children's developing memory and imagination and to their unique way of viewing the world." (Nursery Tales Around the World, xi)

Thus, by design, these are stories that reward those who read them aloud. One section particularly demonstrative of this is the "Runaway Cookies" section. In the Norwegian folktale "The Pancake", the following exchange takes place as children watch their mother making a pancake:

"Oh, give me a bit of pancake, Mother dear," said one of the children.
"Oh, darling Mother," said the second child.
"Oh, darling, good Mother," said the third.
"Oh, darling, good, nice Mother," said the fourth.
"Oh, darling, pretty, good, nice Mother," said the fifth.
"Oh, darling, pretty, good, nice, clever Mother," said the sixth.
"Oh, darling, pretty, good, nice, clever, sweet Mother," said the seventh."
- Nursery Tales Around the World, page 11

Not only does this passage play with rhythm and repetition, but each child's addition of a new adjective reflects a child's growing awareness of language. Children discovering the power of adjectives will likely find this passage quite funny, and identify with the speakers' implication that they will be chosen for the prize if they choose the best adjective to contribute. Sierra introduces each section with a short author's note about the stories included. In the note accompanying the "Chain Tales" section, she specifically cautions parents to resist the temptation to skip the repetition in the stories, as "young children love it, and will soon begin repeating the chains along with you." (Nursery Tales Around the World, page 57)

I was concerned, at first, that having traditional stories for each of the five identified story types would ultimately mean that the book contained only five truly distinct stories, that the story type would be more distinctive than the tales themselves. Though Sierra groups stories with a clear thematic link, her selections are distinct enough to stand out from the others in their grouping. For example, within the "Incredible Appetites" section, she includes first what is essentially a poem ("I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly"), then a tale that revolves around a father and a son ("The Boy Who Tried to Fool His Father"), and finally a story about a cat so arrogant he can't stop eating ("The Cat and the Parrot"). Each of these involves extraordinary feats of consumption that grow more incredible as the tale goes on, but each is also very distinct from the others, keeping the reader from feeling as though they are reading the same story over and over. For young readers, this is likely a strength of the book, as it helps them identify story patterns.

Sierra identifies at the start of each story its country of origin, and Stefano Vitale's illustrations help give evoke the culture of each contributing culture while still giving the book as a whole a "folk tradition" feel.  Compare, for example, the following illustrations that appear at the start of "The Boy Who Tried to Fool his Father" (Zaire) and "The Cat and the Parrot" (India):

"The Cat and the Parrot"

"The Boy Who Tried to Fool His Father"

"The Boy Who Tried to Fool His Father" is from Zaire, Africa, and Vitale's use of muted colors and a wall-carving style evokes art from Zaire (see left image below). Meanwhile, the rich red, greens and purples of "The Cat and the Parrot" suggest traditional Indian artwork:

Painting of Hindu deity Ganesh.

Carved mask from Zaire, Africa

Sierra includes both a bibliography and a note on her sources for and retelling of each tale. Where she chose to retell parts of a story, she notes that her choices in retelling were primarily prompted by poor transcriptions of oral tellings or "awkward" rewrites of the tale that detracted from the storytelling.

Nursery Tales Around the World is a well-researched, well-written, and well-organized collection of both familiar and new folk tales that will entertain both children and adults.

But do yourself (and Judy Sierra!) a favor: read them aloud. Keep their oral tradition alive.

DARK EMPEROR & OTHER POEMS OF THE NIGHT, by Joyce Sidman

Quick Facts:
- illustrated by Rick Allen
- poetry
- collection
- Newbery Honor Book

"Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night" is a collection of poems linked by the theme of what happens in nature after the sun goes down. The poems are organized in a natural progression, beginning (appropriately) with "Welcome to the Night" and ending with "Moon's Lament", which reflects the moons feelings about the coming dawn.

Despite their strong thematic link, each poem is distinct and self-contained enough to be enjoyed on its own. The effect of this is that the poems complement one another, rather than relying on one another. You can enjoy "Night-Spider's Advice", for example, completely on it's own. But you see it in a different light once you've read "Cricket Speaks", simply for the way in which you can imagine these two perspectives might be at sometimes fatal odds.

One of the most interesting choices author Joyce Sidman makes is to include an informational blurb with each poem, printed on the page opposite the poem. This information actually serves to support and deepen the reader's understanding of the poem, while also providing a teaching moment about nature. For example, on page 8 the poem "Snail at Moonrise" refers to a snail as "shell-maker". The informational blurb on page 9 then elaborates on this, telling the reader that young snails produce a special material that helps them add layers to their shells as they grow. By focusing the informational blurb to what is relevant to the poem, Sidman not only provides support for understanding her poems, but encourages the reader to be active in their reading of her poetry.

"Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night" contains many different poetry styles, each poem playing with rhyme, rhythm and sounds in different ways. For example, consider this portion of one of my favorite poems, "Ballad of the Wandering Eft":

"Come all you young efts,
so brave and so bold,
and don the bright colors
of scarlet and gold.

Step out from your puddles
to breathe the sweet air
and wander the woodlands
with hardly a care.

     For it's wild and it's windy
    way out in the woods,
    where the moss grows like candy
    and the hunting is good,
    where the rain falls from heaven
       and mud's underfoot
    It's wild and it's windy
    way out in the woods.
- "Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night", page 24

As is typical with ballads, it has a repeating verse (the italicized one), and uses consistent syllable patterns and rhyme to create a rhythmic flow to the poem. The poem is structured symmetrically: verse, verse, chorus, verse, verse, chorus.

Now consider "Dark Emperor". Along with having no rhyming pattern or syllabic consistency, "Dark Emperor" plays with words in a wholly different way:

The poem looks like an owl! The final verse, which references a "tiny hiccup" when considering the owl's predatory prowess looks (in contrast and placement) like a small animal about to become the owl's prey. This diversity in poetic style and structure makes "Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night" an excellent introduction for students to the variety of forms poetry assumes.

Finally, Rick Allen's woodcut illustrations are appropriate and support the poems not only by highlighting both the grit and beauty of nature, but by using the play of darkness against light in a way suggestive of the moon glinting through leaves:

These images support the sense that the poems give the reader of glimpsing into a familiar and yet unknown world, the effect of the woodcut style and the play with light rendering familiar images more complex then we are used to seeing them.

DRAGON RUN, by Patrick Matthews

Quick Facts:
- 336 pages

If I were nine to thirteen years old, I probably would have loved this book. I can say this with some confidence, because it came highly recommended to me by a thirteen year-old with whom I typically share literary tastes. That said, I found Dragon Run, by Patrick Matthews, to be a solid exercise in common fantasy motifs, with enough originality to raise it above a bit above most of its competition.

The premise of Dragon Run is that on the annual "Testing Day", young adults are each tattooed with a number (1-7) that is supposed to represent their ability and therefore worth to society. Their number determines their rank in society and their future occupation. Our hero, twelve-year old Al Pilgrommor, enters Testing Day nervous but calm. His parents are fours, surely he won't be lower than a three.

The number tattooed on the back of Al's neck is a zero.

Zeros don't exist.

Zeros don't exist because as soon as one is identified they are killed, along with their entire family line.

This is perhaps the best plot device in Dragon Run. In making Al a zero, Matthews immediately upsets the familiar ordinary-boy-finds-out-he's-extraordinary storyline. And to his credit, Matthews never subverts this. Throughout the entire novel, I expected Al to discover that his labeling was a mistake, or that zeros were actually individuals with so much potential for power that they were eliminated for the "good of civilization." This never happens. Though Al does learn more about the ranking process and what qualities are actually used to make a zero ranking, he remains a zero throughout the entire story.

This allows for some very worthwhile exploration of what it means to be seen as the lowest-of-the-low, and can serve as fodder for discussion about how valid it is to judge someone based on appearance or superficial ranking. Al is the story's hero, despite his zero status, and he is appropriately heroic at the appropriate times. Thus, another excellent discussion point is raised: what does it mean to be a hero?

Another aspect of Dragon Run that I thoroughly enjoyed (and actually wish Matthews had indulged in a bit more!) was its world building. Al's world is ruled by rarely-seen dragons, who apparently created humans (as well as the other races that populate the novel) and use a select few humans through which to communicate and exert their power. This is a very interesting concept, and the dragons as indifferent and malevolent god-figures is a theme present but not fully explored in terms of its implications for human society. Though one of the major story arcs involves an act of atrocity committed by dragons on humankind, the atrocity was dealt on a very specific group of people and then kept largely a secret afterwards. What blame people did place was on another human, rather than on the dragons. While I realize this was necessary for the way in which Al's adventure unfolds, I can't help feeling that it was something of a lost opportunity. For a society to be as established and entrenched as this one apparently is, so little acknowledged acrimony for the beasts bringing the public arbitrary suffering seems improbable.

As a whole, I found that Dragon Run held little for the adult reader that was original or surprising. The characters are largely stock fantasy figures, with predictable dialogue. Take, for example our introduction to Trillia, the token "big-talking-but-secretly-soft-female" best friend:

"I swear I will pull these pins out of my hair and jam them up your skinny-"
"I think you missed a spot," Al interrupted.
. . . She turned her glare on him. "Don't think I won't beat you up. Right here. Right now. Right in front of everybody, Mister too-good-to-get-dressed-up."
- Dragon Run, page 4

For an young reader or someone new to fantasy, this is probably a very entertaining character introduction. For those of us a bit older, and who have spent a fair amount time in the fantasy genre, it's less novel. We've met this girl a million times already, and we know her story arc before it even begins.

I therefore recommend Dragon Run as a solid addition to any teacher's fantasy section of the bookshelf, particularly in the upper elementary and middle school grades. It's fast-paced and has the feel at times of a live-action movie, which many students are sure to enjoy. And as discussed above, it opens doors to a number of worthwhile conversations. It just may not hold adult readers in thrall as much as it will the kids.

THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, by Katherine Applegate

Quick Facts:
- Newbery Award Winner
- Illustrated by Patricia Castelao Costa
- 305 pages

The best thing about The One and Only Ivan is that once you've finished it, once you've cried and cheered and rooted for Ivan for 305 pages, you find out that it's true. You learn that there was actually a silverback named Ivan who lived in solitary captivity in Washington state until public outcry and pressure led to his being sent on "permanent loan" to Zoo Atlanta, where he lived to the age of 50. You learn that he was known for his paintings. You begin to wish that this book had come out just a few years earlier so that after you read it you would still have the chance to visit Ivan. To maybe purchase one of his pictures.

And that's when it starts to hit you. If there really was a silverback named Ivan whose life took the general trajectory of the titular character in Katherine Applegate's novel, then it's not just the good parts that are true, it's all of the hideousness and pain that came before them as well. It's little Ivan being ripped away from his parents. It's Tag dying en route to America. It's a mighty silverback gorilla living, alone, for twenty-seven years without seeing any others of his kind.

And didn't you- in your elation over his existence and your wish that you could visit him- didn't you just represent the very culture that allowed these things to occur?

The power of Applegate's novel lies not simply in how relatable she makes Ivan, but in the questions she forces us to face in ourselves. One way she does this is by making his captor frighteningly relatable. It's easy to read the scene in which Mack goads Ruby with the claw-stick and think, "How terrible, I would never stand around and allow that to happen!" It's less easy to say that about the scenes of Ivan growing up in Mack's house.

"It was Mack who pried open that crate, Mack who bought me, and Mack who raised me like a human baby."
- The One and Only Ivan, page 130

Ivan wears diapers, drinks from a bottle, sleeps in human beds, and is even taken to dinner with Mack and his wife. He is not abused or left in a cage alone, and really, the image of a baby gorilla in a diaper is so adorable- can it really be such a bad thing? Would we really react to it as animal cruelty if we saw it on the street? The hard answer is that unfortunately, most of us would not.

Despite the how relatable these scenes are, Applegate never for a moment lets the reader forget why it is, indeed, pure selfishness and cruelty:

"One day, after many weeks of loud talking, Helen packed a bag and slammed the front door and never came back.

I don't know why. I never know the why of humans.

That night, I slept with Mack in his bed.

My old nests were woven of leaves and sticks and shaped like his bathtub, cool green cocoons.

Mack's bed, like mine, was flat, hot, without sticks or stars."
- The One and Only Ivan, page 141

Though Mack does not physically abuse Ivan, he tries to treat him as though he is human, and in doing so denies the very fact that Ivan is a gorilla. This complete removal of everything that makes Ivan a gorilla is itself abuse. Gorillas are not pets, and there is no in-between about it: keeping a gorilla as a pet is just as wrong as turning a gorilla into a roadside attraction.

Here, Bob the mutt serves as an interesting contrast to Ivan's situation. Unlike Ivan, who was born and (initially) raised a wild animal before falling into human captivity, Applegate implies that Bob was the product of a different type of human cruelty altogether: overbreeding and indifference.

"Bob used to have three brothers and two sisters. Humans tossed them out of a truck and onto the freeway when they were a few weeks old. Bob rolled into a ditch.

The others did not."
- The One and Only Ivan, page 35

Bob, the product of dogs bred as house dogs even if he himself is not one, can barely scrape by on his own, in this human world into which he was tossed to die. He is not a wild animal, he is a natural and deliberately bred human companion. Thus, the fact that he ends the novel living with Julia is more than just a happy ending, it's where he should be, where (like Ivan at Zoo Atlanta) he is most likely to thrive.

And yet, still, there is something unsatisfying in both of their stories. Because really, we don't want Ivan at Zoo Atlanta, we want him to have never been ripped from his family in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We don't want Bob to have come to Julia the way he did; we wish that he and all of his brothers and sisters could be living with her. But are either of those things even possible in today's world? Or are zoos and loving people who show up after the fact the best we can hope for?

It is these complicated and emotional questions that make The One and Only Ivan such a powerful story, particularly for children. Because, of course, the answer is that if human attitude towards and treatment of animals is going to change, it has to begin with the children.

Below is a video of the real Ivan, released by Zoo Atlanta after his passing in 2012:

BETTER NATE THAN EVER, by Tim Federle

Quick Facts:
- 304 pages
- 2014 Odyssey Honor Book
- 2014 Lambda Literary Award Nominee for LGBT Children's/Young Adult
- this review is based on the audiobook
   + read by author Tim Federle
   + 5 hr, 55 min

There are books you read, both as a child and as an adult, that you enjoy because the characters inspire you in all the ways that they are different from you. They are braver and wittier and stronger, and you take from them lessons about how you can be all those things.

And then there are books you love because the characters are so like you, so awkwardly and painfully and hilariously real, that there are times it's as if the author jumped inside your head and used your thoughts.

In Nate Foster, the droll hero of Better Nate than Ever, author Tim Federle has created a character with whom it's nearly impossible not to empathize. The book chronicles Nate's attempt to crash an open audition in New York for a new Broadway show: E.T.: The Musical. The obstacles Nate encounters along the way, and his reactions to them, are just so perfectly authentic and treated with such humor, that you find yourself rooting for Nate even when you know something isn't going to go as he plans.

Which is not to say that Better Nate than Ever is a pure exercise in comedy. In a video for the New York Times "Culture" section, Federle discusses his awareness of the "gatekeepers" in children's literature. His goal when writing, he says, is to write something authentic that will entertain the adults as much as the children (he refers to it, appropriately, as the "Pixar Model".) Two major influences on his comedic style have been Ellen Degeneres and Bill Cosby, specifically for the way in which they addressed real topics with humor and without resorting to the "low hanging fruit" of "being mean or swearing."

I mention all of this because Better Nate than Ever deals with some very real issues. Nate is an exceptional child, and that makes him a flashing target for people's crueler impulses- even those of his own family. There are some really painful scenes, particularly involving Nate's brother and the way that Nate is treated in school. Federle never allows these scenes to become too heavy, primarily through Nate's humor about them, but it is clear nonetheless that the very humor that gets Nate through it is also a coping mechanism for survival.

Better Nate than Ever was nominated for the Lambda Literary Award, which recognizes books addressing the LGBT experience. However, it is not at all an LGBT issues book. Federle makes the wise and effective choice to place Nate as an individual at the center of his novel, so that everything else is secondary to Nate's own unique experience. Regarding his sexuality, Nate says only:

"My sexuality, by the way, is off-topic and unrelated. I am undecided. I am a freshman at the College of Sexuality and I have undecided my major, and frankly don't want to declare anything other than "Hey, jerks, I'm thirteen, leave me alone. Macaroni and cheese is still my favorite food- how would I know who I want to hook up with?"
- Better Nate than Ever

This refusal to label his thirteen-year old protagonist allows Federle to truly explore all the uncertainty, self-questioning, and confusion that comes with puberty in a way that is accessible for all young adults. Will young boys like Nate relate more closely to the character? Of course. But Nate's determination not to fit in to any box or allow himself to be labeled sends a much needed message to these kids (and to all kids): it's ok to be confused. It's ok to be unsure of yourself. You're still a kid, and you don't have to decide or announce anything to anyone.

The audiobook for Better Nate than Ever was a 2014 Odyssey Honor book, and I strongly recommend listening to it, even if you have already read the print version. Federle's reading of his novel brings Nate to life in all of his awkwardly hilarious glory and when it was over I felt strangely bereft of a friend.

Fortunately for me and for the world, Federle has already written a sequel to Better Nate than Ever: Five, Six, Seven, Nate!. I've already downloaded the audiobook to my phone.

GOOD BOOKS, GOOD TIMES!, compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Quick Facts:
- illustrated by Harvey Stevenson
- poetry collection
- 32 pages
- contributing poets include: Karla Kuskin, Jack Prelutsky, Arnold Lobel, and more

Good Books, Good Times! is an anthology of poems collected specifically for their focus on books and reading. There are fourteen poems in all, and each poem is given a full, two-page spread for both the poem and its accompanying illustration. The effect of this is that the reader is truly able to focus on and get lost in each poem, without any distraction from the accompanying page. I love Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends, but I remember as a child rushing through certain poems because the illustration on the opposite page made its poem look so much more interesting. Good Books, Good Times! therefore does an effective job of allowing each poem to really be appreciated on its own.

One thing that impressed me about this anthology was the variety of poetry styles that are represented. Despite having only fourteen poems, the collection includes everything from free verse to familiar rhyming patterns to poems with only two words in each line. This makes it a wonderful introduction to poetry for children who may have the idea that poetry has to rhyme, or is always bound by specific syllable patterns. I love imagining students' faces after having this poem read to them:

AN HISTORIC MOMENT
by William J. Harris

The man said,
after inventing poetry,
"WOW!"
and did a full somersault.
- Good Books, Good Times!

Harvey Stevenson's illustrations to a wonderful job reflecting the poems they accompany in ways that often bring even more humor to the poem, and can help new readers of poetry begin to understand how you read and take meaning from poems. For example, look at the illustration that accompanies "An Historic Moment" from above:

There are many ways this could have been illustrated that would have shown the events of the poem. For example, Stevenson could have chose to divide the story in to separate frames, telling each moment (inventing poetry, WOW!, and the somersault) individually. However, that would not have been a true reflection of the poetry style Harris uses here. The poem is short, abrubt, unexpected. The entire poem, is in effect, a single moment- the moment that the man invented poetry. Thus, Stevenson's choice to show only that moment of movement into a somersault is completely appropriate. Too, it's funnier!

Which raises another point about the poems in this book- they are fun to read. Below is the first verse one of my favorites, by Isabel Joshlin Glaser and titled "What If . . .":

What if . . .
   You opened a book
   About dinosaurs
And one stumbled out
And another and another
   And more and more pour
Until the whole place
Is bumbling and rumbling
And groaning and moaning
   And snoring and roaring
And dinosauring?

Not only does it address a very real, rather wishful thought many of us have about our books (even in our twenties!) but it's fun to read, particularly aloud. "Bumbling and rumbling" and "snoring and roaring and dinosauring" are just silly and fun to say. This is important because the theme of the collection is the joy of reading. If it were full of poems that discussed the joy of reading without bringing any joy to their own reading, the collection would have fallen a bit flat.

Good Books, Good Times! is an excellent introduction to several different types of poetry, and to a variety of poets who whose work is truly fun to read. The illustrations lend humor while also providing support for interpretation of each poem. Overall, it is an excellent read-aloud choice for young readers of all ages, but is a particularly good starting point for independent readers beginning to grasp the concept of rhythm and rhyme.

NELSON MANDELA, by Kadir Nelson

Quick Facts:
- 40 pages
- Written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson
- Coretta Scott King Honor Book

Considering the incredible position he holds as a symbol of hope and freedom from oppression in South Africa, and the profound respect with which he is viewed worldwide, it is surprising to me that Nelson Mandela is not often included in elementary curriculums. Mandela is certainly more immediately relevant to world politics than many of the figures students regularly study. That is not to say that these figures should be removed, but rather that Mandela's influence on world politics makes him as worthy of our students' attention as other great leaders of peace, like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi.

I was very, very excited, therefore, to discover Nelson Mandela, an illustrated, biographical account of Mandela's life, written and illustrated by the award-winning Kadir Nelson.

[NOTE: Confusingly, "Nelson" is the name of both the subject and the author. Thus, Nelson Mandela will consistently be referred to by either his full name or his last name "Mandela", while author Kadir Nelson will be referenced as "Nelson".]

Nelson Mandela is arranged as a chronological series of vignettes in Mandela's life, incorporating both iconic images like the one shown above (which is also the cover of the book) as well as the author's imagining the landmarks in Mandela's life. In both instances, Nelson uses lyrical free verse and richly-colored illustrations to tell the story of how a young Madiba boy named Rolihlahla became Nelson Mandela. Take, for example, the pages shown below:

The text reads:

"Nelson was nine when his father
joined the ancestors in the sky.
To continue his schooling,
Nelson was sent miles away
to live with a powerful chief.
"Brace yourself, my boy."
His mother held her tears
and said good-bye."
- Nelson Mandela, pages 3-4

The text is tells of a painful time of change for Mandela, a time during which he lost his father and was sent away from his mother. It is appropriate, then, that the color red dominates both Mandela and his mother. Red is the color of pain, of suffering, and that reflects Mandela's life at this point. The horizon, however, fades from shades for red into shades of blue, and I believe this a deliberate choice when once considers where Mandela is going. He is leaving to continue his schooling, the beginning of a journey that will lead him to become a great global symbol of peace. Blue is the color of peace and tranquility; by placing it behind Mandela and his mother, Nelson hints that despite their present pain, their separation will ultimately lead to peace.

Perhaps one of the most appropriate choices in Nelson Mandela was to have every illustration a full-bleed, two-page spread. Kadir Nelson's biography is telling the dramatic, legendary rise of a man who not only fought for equality in one of the most divided nations in recent history, but who then successfully, and peacefully!, led that nation it its unification. This story of Nelson Mandela is larger than life, and turning page after page of rich, two-page illustrations reinforces that.

Both an author's note and a bibliography are included at the end of Nelson Mandela, as reference for its biographical claims. As a companion to the book, a DVD was recently released with Forest Whitaker reading the book and an interview with author Kadir Nelson at the end. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but it comes highly recommended by School Library Journal.

I visited South Africa this past May, and the respect and genuine love with which every South African I met spoke of Nelson Mandela (regardless of their skin color) affected me profoundly. He is truly one of the most incredible historical figures of the past fifty years, and this book is a beautiful tribute to his life and work.

THE BEST BOOK OF BUGS, by Claire Llewellyn

Quick Facts:

- 32 pages

- nonfiction

The Best Book of Bugs is a bold title for author (and illustrator?*) Claire Llewellyn to have chosen, especially since there are an abundance of picture books about bugs for children. However, while I lack the bug-book background for wide comparison, I can confirm that this is a truly excellent book about bugs, describing the habits, habitats and life cycles of a variety of insects.

Information about bugs aside, perhaps one of the best things that The Best Book of Bugs does is help develop a young reader's pragmatic awareness of how traditional informational texts are arranged. The book begins with a table of contents where the reader can determine the location of each topic discussed in the book. This table of contents includes illustrations to accompany the text, so that even emerging readers can determine (for example) that bees are discussed on pages 12 and 14:

The pages are numbered along their bottom outside corner, and each section is labeled (in font larger and bolder than that found on the rest of the page) identically to the way it was named in the table of contents. Pages 32-33 at the very end of the book contain a glossary of terms used throughout the book. That said, glossary terms are not bolded throughout the book, which means that in terms of full functionality as an information text, The Best Book of Bugs is better suited to readers with a bit of familiarity already with how a glossary works.

In terms of the information and page-layout, The Best Book of Bugs does not waste any space, while still maintaining readability and flow. Consider the following page:

There is a lot going on here, but it is carefully organized. Each bug shown is clearly labeled, with lines connecting label information to specific parts of the bug. For the two illustrations which have a more substantial amount of text accompanying them (the central, cross-page stream and the Damselfly Nymph), a small triangular bullet precedes the text, pointing in the direction of its accompanying illustration. Bookending the central information are panels showing information on two clearly labeled topics. Along the far left edge, moving down the page, are outlined the steps a dragonfly nymph follows to catch a meal. Along the far right edge, moving down the page, are three examples of how different water bugs obtain oxygen. This structure allows a great deal of information to be shared in a way that is simple for the reader to navigate and digest.

The illustrations accompanying the text in this book are wholly realistic, which is appropriate both for an informational text and also for the detail with which the text at times discusses its subject matter. Take, for example, the following section on the "stag beetle":

A more impressionistic illustration, focusing primarily on shape and color (like those in Planting a Rainbow) would not permit the reader to see the way in which the stag beetle's jaws look like "horns or antlers." What's more, it would provide little basis of comparison for the reader to distinguish the differences between the different types of beetles shown later:

Overall, The Best Book of Bugs is a very informative, easily navigated book about bugs for young readers. Because of the size of it's type (average is about size 12 font), the scientific language used ("nymph", "oxygen", etc.), and the lack of bolded glossary words, I would recommend it for ages 8+. 

Also, for readers interested in bugs. You have to really like bugs.

*This seems implied by the bibliographic information, but is not explicitly stated. 

PLANTING A RAINBOW, by Lois Ehlert

Quick Facts:
- picturebook
- 40 pages
- Written and Illustrated by Lois Ehlert

This book is an excellent introduction for young children to the process and steps involved in growing a garden, as well as to a variety of colorful plant species. The story is simple, and established in the very first line:

"Every year Mom and I plant a rainbow"
- Planting a Rainbow, page 1

Note that the colors used in the text for "rainbow" are the colors of the rainbow, in backwards order than children will later learn them in school (ROY G BIV, anyone?) This simple and yet careful attention to detail is characteristic of the book as a whole.

Both the language and illustrations Ehlert uses are developmentally appropriate for beginning readers and young children (not always the same thing!) Though she uses vocabulary specific to her topic of gardening (e.g. bulb, seedlings, sprout, soil), her sentence structure remains very basic:

"In the fall we buy some bulbs and plant them in the ground."
- Planting a Rainbow, page 2-3

You'll notice that in both quotes I've used, I've made the text larger. This is to reflect Ehlert's use of large, easy-to-read font, which not only lends itself to the aesthetic of the book, but makes it easier for little hands to point as they read.

Her accompanying illustrations reflect the accurate and yet easy-to-read nature of her prose. Rather than including incredibly detailed pictures of the plants she describes, Ehlert elects to show instead the general impression the flower (or bulb) makes, focusing on shape and color as her means of communicating this. For example, observe the five different bulbs and flowers shown in the illustration below:

Each bulb and flower is unique, reflecting through shape and color the overall effect of the flower. Furthermore, each labeled species is accurately depicted, distinct from the ones surrounding it. Compare, for example, the below images of a daffodil and its bulbs to the center illustration of a daffodil above.

Daffodil (Narcissus)

Daffodil (Narcissus) Bulbs

Ehlert has depicted daffodils accurately in shape and color, down to the darker yellow/orange center and the bulbs that are larger, and grayish in contrast to the red/orange of a tulip bulb and the purple of a hyacinth bulb (see the below image of tulip and hyacinth bulbs for proof of this contrast).

Tulip Bulbs

Hyacinth Bulbs

Childrens' ability to perceive the details that distinguish objects develops as they grow older. A very young child, for example, might perceive only that these are all flowers because they have basic characteristics the child associates with flowers: growing out of the ground, a stem, a colorful head. Thus, Ehlert's focus on the overall effect of the flower, rather than on more realistic detail, is appropriate for very young readers who are still develop their ability to classify objects. Though they are both flowers, Ehlert's illustrations make it easy to tell (for example) that the daffodil is differs from the tulip in color and shape, both of which are characteristics children can use for object classification early in their development.

On the topic of color, Ehlert ends her book with a call back to the rainbow of the very first page. Once the flowers have all bloomed, she takes her readers through each of the species, organized by color, and in order of the light spectrum:

Each color marks the edge of a page, which is identical to the one showing in structure. The flowers shown on each page reflect the color shown on the right side of the page. This not only aids children in developing their color classification, but subtly reinforces the spectrum colors, and the order in which they appear.

Planting a Rainbow is a beautiful and informational book for readers of all ages, but it is designed to be particularly appropriate for the development of very young children and readers.

THE BIRD ALPHABET BOOK, by Jerry Pallotta and Edgar Stewart

Quick Facts:
- Illustrated by Edgar Stewart
- alphabet picture book
- 32 pages

The Bird Alphabet Book, written by Jerry Pallotta and illustrated by Edgar Stewart, is a beautifully illustrated alphabet book that introduces the reader to twenty-six different species of bird (plus one bonus mammal!) The book does a lovely job of presenting specific information about each of the species that is likely to engage young readers, and which anticipates their questions about each bird.

Consider, for example, the following page for "T":

As an informational book, Pallotta is bound to provide factual information on the birds he chooses to represent each letter. However, it is clear that he put a good deal of thought not only into which birds would be the most visually interesting for young readers, but which ones were likely to inspire childrens' questions. By choosing a toucan to represent the letter "T", Pallotta not only selected a bird that is unique and interesting to the eye, but that looks a little goofy. You can imagine a child giggling and pointing to the long orange beak, asking, "But why the beak so long?"

This is where the collaboration between author and illustrator becomes clear. Rather than explain that the toucan's beak helps it reach food deep inside tree holes, Pallotta allows this information to be shown by Stewart's illustration. This leaves Pallotta free to address the next likely question: but isn't the beak heavy? One of the frustrating aspects of informational books for both parents and children can be when the book doesn't have information to answer the questions children have. Though The Bird Alphabet Book certainly doesn't answer all questions, it does endeavor to anticipate and respond to as many of them as possible.

Perhaps one of the best moments of anticipating the readers' questions occurs at the very beginning of the book, with the letter "B":

The text here reads:

"B is for Bat. Hey, wait a second! Bats are not birds. Bats are mammals Even though they have wings and they can fly, they do not have feathers. Get out of this book, you Bats!

Now that the Bats are gone, let's find a bird whose name begins with the letter B."

-The Bird Alphabet Book, page 2-3

Bats, by virtue of the place they hold in popular culture as a symbol of the night (and also the way their name rhymes with "cat" and "mat" and "sat"!), are some of the first animals with which children often become aware- even if they've never seen one in real life! The bird that Pallotta chooses for "B" is the blue-footed booby. Without the page shown above, it is easy to imagine a child turning to their parent and asking, "But what about bats? Bats start with B. Why no bats?" And quite frankly, most parents would probably have to Wikipedia to determine why a bat would not be included in a bird alphabet book for children (I would have!)

Thus, Pallotta addresses the question head on, using a full, two-page spread to do so. By not placing the bat on a single page next to a bird, Pallotta sets bats apart from the birds he discusses. Each of the birds gets only one page, and so this section about the bat actually interrupts the flow of the book. All of this contributes to the main point Pallotta is making about bats: that they are NOT BIRDS. 

Like Pallotta, Stewart had an obligation to depict each species as accurately as possible, and his gorgeous watercolors are successful in this. However, frequently uses the animals' eyes to show expression and personality that make the illustrations more engaging than they might be otherwise. Look particularly at the eyes of the crocodile below (included on the page for Crocodile Bird):

He looks like he's laughing! Another excellent example is the White-faced Scops Owl page, in which the owls' eyes make them look very stern:

These images remain accurate to the animals' actual appearance, but lend life to the watercolors.

Perhaps my only reservation about this book is that there is very little that is lyrical or funny about the prose (much less both). Which is not to say that all books for children must be written lyrically or be crammed full of laughs! However, I think that an alphabet book is an obvious place to use lyrical language, particularly since children learn their alphabet in the form of a song. In terms of the humor, it is present in a few places (like the "Bat" page) but is not consistent in its usage. This, at times, made the writing feel a bit too dry for me, despite the wonderful job Pallotta did in selecting the information he presented for each species. I think that this, as well as the overall flow of the book, could have been improved had either the language bit more lyrical or the humor more consistently employed.

Overall, this a book best suited for readers 2nd-3rd grade and older. Though younger readers will enjoy having it read too them, some of the species choices (such as "Indigo Bunting", "Blue-footed Booby) and "White-faced Scops Owl") are simply not appropriate linguistic challenges for beginning readers.