Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery

Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery by Russell Freedman is a biography of one of the most well known and influential of all the first ladies to live in the White House. Award winning author Russell Freedman presents an accurate believable and compelling look a Eleanor's life. Her painful childhood,her education, courtship, marriage, family life and time as the first lady of the White House are explored in Freedman's well-written style.

He is very honest about the struggles Eleanor experienced in her marriage to FDR. He also shows how despite her difficult personal life, she emerges as a strong capable woman who serves her country with great courage and unusual talent.

The book is illustrated with many black and white photos that chronicle the life of this remarkable woman. The book will hook young readers into wanting to learn more about her life.

I am always fascinated with anything about American history and this book didn't disappoint me. Having read other Russell Freedman biographies, I can truly say that this is just as good as the others. I appreciate the way he is able to tackle the very human weaknesses of important people and still help us to maintain our respect for the contributions they have made. His study of Eleanor Roosevelt is wonderfully researched and well-written.

The book would be a great supplement to a unit on important American women, the great Depression or World War II. I would recommend it for 5th grade and up.

Keywords associated with this book: Eleanor Roosevelt, President's spouses, biography, first ladies, Great Depression, World War II.

Bats

Most of us think of bats in very negative terms. They are considered to be aggressive, filthy, disease carrying creatures who should be feared. Children may associate them with Halloween, haunted houses or scary dark caves, but not many people think of bats in a positive light. In Bats by Gail Gibbons, the author shows us that bats may not be the most pleasant creatures, but in a way they are actually our friends. If they weren't around to eat insects, we'd have way too many bugs crawling around us. Also, most of them are shy, gentle creatures. We learn about the different kinds of bats and their characteristics in this informative book. Most people don't know that there are about 1000 different varieties of bats: the smallest one weighs about one fourteenth of an ounce; the largest one weighs about two pounds. They live on every continent except Antarctica.

While there are no actual photographs of bats in this book, the color illustrations will be very interesting to children and make the bats seem a little less scary. I thought this was a good introduction to one of my least favorite mammals. Some of the illustrations were a little humorous and cartoonish, but the facts were presented in an engaging manner. It helps children to see that everything we hear about these creatures isn't necessarily true and that some of the ugliest animals actually serve a purpose in nature.

I would recommend this book for grades K-3. It would be a great supplement to a study on unusual animals.

Keywords associated with this book: bats, mammals, nocturnal creatures

Locomotion

Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson, is a verse novel and tells the story of Lonnie, a young boy whose parents were killed in a fire. Written from Lonnie's perspective, it is a journal of his grief process written in poems -- all kinds of poems. With his teacher's encouragement, Lonnie writes out his feelings about the death of his parents, missing his young sister and living in a foster home. Over sixty poems in many different styles, chronicle the life of a young boy who has to face some stark realities and grow up quickly, but shows strength in the process.

This novel in verse can serve two purposes: teaching children how to deal with grief and also teaching them that poetry can take many forms. Through Lonnie's experiences with writing different types of poetry, children will learn more than they could ever learn by having to analyze a poem line by line in the classroom. Lonnie teaches by example and they can relate to him.

I think this book was an ingenious way for the poet to teach children more about her craft. The examples of the different types of poetry, from free verse, to haiku and others, make this a great "hook" to get kids interested in writing poetry. I found myself wanting to experiment with writing some poems of my own.

The story of Lonnie was sometimes painful to read. Even so, it warmed my heart that this story was able to show his courage and how he was able to find hope in unexpected places.

This book was chosen for the Coretta Scott King Honor. I would recommend it for the 5th grade and up.

Keywords associated with this book: death, fires, tragedy, foster care, orphans, adoption, school, poetry, African-Americans.

It's Raining Laughter

It's Raining Laughter, by Nikki Grimes, is a collection of poems about children in all kinds of happy situations. Illustrated with photographs by Myles C. Pinkney, it shows children in everyday settings where they are having fun: at the playground, running, reading books at the library, or spending time with friends. It also shows children learning to be happy about the way they look, even if they are too skinny or wear glasses.

While the book only shows pictures of African American children, all children will identify with the poems and pictures. The joy on the children's faces clearly illustrates the title and theme of this book of verse.

These poems made me smile, which is what I think Nikki Grimes had in mind when she wrote them. The delightful pictures and joyful verses reminded me of my childhood. Laughter is a gift and this award winning poet offered it up in a beautiful package.

I would recommend this book for children ages 3-8 years old. Adults will enjoy it as well!

Keywords associated with this book: laughter, smiles, fun, children. growing up, poetry, African-Americans.

Dog Days: Rhymes Around the Year

Dog Days: Rhymes Around the Year by Jack Prelutsky takes children through every month of the year as seen through the eyes of a yellow dog. Every month has a four line rhyming verse which tells what Dog likes to do during that month. The verses are written from the point of view of the dog and bright colorful illustrations by Dyanna Wolcott give young children a visual picture of the verse.

This book of verse provides a good way to teach about the months of the year and the pictures will definitely catch the eyes of children. In my opinion, some of the verses seemed a little too sing-songy and trite, but the illustrations more than made up for it. An adult reading this book of verse to a child might want to spend some more time talking about the pictures, which show the yellow dog in a variety of humorous situations. The best poem was written for the month of December and shows the dog cuddled up with his mistress.

While this certainly isn't the best example of this award winning poet's work, it is a book that young children can enjoy, even if it's only for the illustrations. It is best suited for ages 3-7.

Keywords associated with this book: dogs, calendar, months, year, poetry, rhymes.

A Caldecott Celebration: Six Artists and their Paths to the Caldecott Medal

A Caldecott Celebration: Six Artists and their Paths to the Caldecott Medal by Marcus S. Leonard is a non-fiction book that explores the lives of several well known Caldecott winners: Robert McCloskey, Marcia Brown, Maurice Sendak, William Steig, Chris Van Allsburg and David Wiesner. An introduction provides valulable information about the history and importance of the Caldecott Medal. Each chapter is illustrated with photos of the authors, book covers of their award winning books and some of the original sketches that finally found their way into their final books. It shows a clear picture of how much work is involved – frequently years – in completing a picture book worthy of the Caldecott Medal. It’s interesting to note that while inspired by a British illustrator, the Caldecott awards are only given to Americans.

I enjoyed reading about the early lives of some of my favorite authors. The first chapter on Robert McCloskey brought back childhood memories of other books he wrote such as Homer Price and Centerburg Tales: More Adventures of Homer Price. It dawned on me what an amazing versatile artist he is. I loved looking at the progress of Marcia Brown’s Cinderella illustrations. How I loved that book as a child (and still do!). I was fascinated with the story of Maurice Sendak’s unique books. My children adored his In the Night Kitchen, which won a Caldecott Honor in 1971.

This book is a great way to teach the history of the Caldecott Medal and to learn about the lives of some of their favorite authors. While best suited for upper elementary through junior high level, it will be interesting and useful for adults as well.

Keywords associated with this book: Caldecott Award, Caldecott Medal, Caldecott Honor, Robert McCloskey, Marcia Brown, Maurice Sendak, William Steig, Christ Van Allsburg, David Wiesner, children’s book illustrators, children’s book awards, children’s books.

An Egg is Quiet

An Egg is Quiet, by award winning author Dianna Aston, introduces children to the many different varieties of eggs. The ink and watercolor illustrations by Sylvia Long, along with the hand-lettered text teach children facts about how eggs: what they look like, where animals lay their eggs, how their markings help them fit in with their surroundings, about their textures. It also illustrates various stages in the development of chicken, salmon and grasshopper eggs. The last page of the book shows how bird eggs make a noisy transformation into cheeping birds.

This non-fiction book is very eye-pleasing. The hand lettering was unique for this genre and gave it a fiction storybook "feel". While it has too much information for a regular group story time, it could certainly work for a one-on-one story time. Parents of younger children, could omit some of the text and just talk about the pictures. I really liked the two page spread at the end of the book that showed illustrations of birds, butterflies and bugs that hatch from eggs. I would use this book as part of a science unit on biology or birds.

I would recommend it most for children ages PreK-3, but could also be used for older children.

Keywords associated with this book: eggs, birds, nests, fossils, embryology, biology.