Classroom Library Buy – Page 95

Blog Tour with Review!: Blood Brother: Jonathan Daniels and His Sacrifice for Civil Rights by Rich Wallace and Sandra Neil Wallace

September 21, 2016 by Kellee

Nonfiction Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

Blood Brothers: Jonathan Daniels and His Sacrifice for Civil Rights
Author: Rich Wallace and Sandra Neil Wallace
Published September 13th, 2016 by Calkins Creek

Goodreads Summary: Jonathan Daniels, a white seminary student from New Hampshire, traveled to Selma, Alabama, in 1965 to help with voter registration of black residents. After the voting rights marches, he remained in Alabama, in the area known as “Bloody Lowndes,” an extremely dangerous area for white freedom fighters, to assist civil rights workers. Five months later, Jonathan Daniels was shot and killed while saving the life of Ruby Sales, a black teenager. Through Daniels’s poignant letters, papers, photographs, and taped interviews, authors Rich Wallace and Sandra Neil Wallace explore what led Daniels to the moment of his death, the trial of his murderer, and how these events helped reshape both the legal and political climate of Lowndes County and the nation.

Blood Brother has received two starred reviews so far from Kirkus and Booklist, and a very strong review from School Library Journal:

*”This powerful biography of a little-known figure underscores the fact that civil rights workers in the 1960s South knowingly put their lives on the line for the cause…. The authors deftly convey Daniels’ complex personality, drawing from letters and interviews, including 18 they conducted. Numerous photographs, relatively large print, and an open design invite readers in… An unusually inspiring story skillfully told.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

*”Outside of his hometown (Keene, New Hampshire), the name Jonathan Daniels isn’t well known, but it should be… a thoroughly researched, meticulously documented biography, which is interesting from the start, but increasingly absorbing… The many well-chosen photos show up beautifully on the large, glossy pages. The riveting story of one individual among the many working for Civil Rights during the 1960s.”—Booklist, starred review

“In a masterly demonstration of scholarly research and nonfiction writing, the Wallaces have crafted a powerful biographical narrative of civil rights activist Jonathan Daniels…. careful annotations and thorough indexing help readers keep track of the many players and scenes in this true-life drama. The authors have created a biography that brings to light the life and legacy of a lesser-known civil rights activist… this visually stunning and morally significant history is highly recommended…” —School Library Journal

About the Authors: Sandra Neil Wallace had a lengthy career as a news anchor and ESPN sportscaster before writing realistic fiction and nonfiction for young readers. A pioneer in the journalism field, she was the first woman to cover the National Hockey League on network TV. Selected as a promising new voice in children’s literature by The Horn Book, Wallace’s titles have been named to state and national awards lists including Bank Street College’s Best Children’s Book of the Year, ALA-YALSA Quick Picks, and Booklist’s Top 10 Sports Books for Youth. Visit sandraneilwallace.com.

Rich has been writing since he was a little boy, when he wrote and illustrated his own comic books. He has since published more than 25 novels for kids and teenagers. Many of those books have been award winners. Rich has an extensive background as a writer and editor, having served for many years as a senior editor at Highlights for Children magazine. He still writes the monthly “Timbertoes” feature for that venerable publication. Writing about sports and athletes comes naturally to him, as he has competed in athletics his entire life. He was a champion runner in high school and college, and still competes in Masters track and field. He’s also played a lot of basketball and soccer. For several years he was a newspaper sportswriter.

These days, Rich continues to pen a wide range of novels in addition to writing about human nutrition and other health issues for the adult market. Rich and his wife Sandra recently moved to New England with their dog Lucy. He is the father of two sons.

Review: This book is not just an important book for young adults to read, it is an important book PERIOD. The story of Jonathan Daniels and his impact within the Civil Rights Movement shows how rights for equality is a fight for all people, not just those who are being discriminated against. Daniels had the guts to stand up for what he believed in. The connection between Jonathan Daniels’s story and the current racial tension is scary yet hopeful because it shows how differences can be made by those who believe in equity, equality, kindness, and love.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This is a text that needs to be in social studies and language arts classrooms in middle and high school. It needs to be shared. View the publisher’s Educator’s Guide, Blood Brother Educator’s Guide, to view some suggestions on how to use the text in your classroom.

Discussion Questions: How does the Civil Rights Movement compare to the Black Lives Matter movement?; Jonathan Daniels did what he knew was right even though there were dangers. What does this tell you about Daniels?; What did Daniels sacrifice for the Civil Rights Movement?; How did the structure of the text impact the central idea and theme of the text?

Book Trailer:

Read This If You Love: Learning about the Civil Rights Movement

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Kerry at Boyds Mills Press for having me be part of the blog tour!**

A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston

September 16, 2016 by Kellee

A Child of Books
Authors: Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston
Published by September 6th, 2016

Summary: New York Times best-selling author-illustrator Oliver Jeffers and fine artist Sam Winston deliver a lyrical picture book inspiring readers of all ages to create, to question, to explore, and to imagine.

A little girl sails her raft across a sea of words, arriving at the house of a small boy and calling him away on an adventure. Through forests of fairy tales and across mountains of make-believe, the two travel together on a fantastical journey that unlocks the boy’s imagination. Now a lifetime of magic and adventure lies ahead of him . . . but who will be next?

Combining elegant images by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston’s typographical landscapes shaped from excerpts of children’s classics and lullabies, A Child of Books is a stunning prose poem on the rewards of reading and sharing stories—an immersive and unforgettable reading experience that readers will want to pass on to others.

Review: Oliver Jeffers has a way of writing such thought-provoking books with beautiful artwork that are just a bit weird yet so brilliant that you can’t help but reading it over and over. I know that sounds like such a fan girl review, but if you’ve read any of his books, you know exactly what I am talking about. Jeffers’s newest book is no exception. This book is about how stories can carry you wherever your imagination can imagine. The brilliance of actually using words from classic books to carry the main character on her journey shows how all of these books have carried so many readers on adventures that only an author’s imagination mixed with the reader’s imagination could take them on.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Allusion and theme are where my mind automatically goes to when reading this book. First, you can look at the words that are used as the setting to look at why the authors chose these specific allusions. For example, during the sea scenes, they use Gulliver’s Travels, The Adventure of Pinocchio, The Swiss Family Robinson, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Robinson Crusoe, The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle, and more. Why would these books specifically be chosen for those scenes? What other pieces of literature are used throughout the book and why? I also think the theme is very clear, but it will spark a really great conversation.

Discussion Questions: What is theme of the book?; Why did the author chose specific texts for different settings?

Flagged Passages:

“I have sailed across a sea of words to ask if you will come away with me.”

Read This If You Loved: Anything by Oliver Jeffers, The Marvels by Brian Selznick, Nibbles: The Book Monster by Emma Yarlett, Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard by Jonathan Auxier, The Whisper by Pamela Zagarenski

Recommended For:

Shy by Deborah Freedman

September 15, 2016 by Ricki

Shy
Author and Illustrator: Deborah Freedman
Published: September 27, 2016 by Viking

Summary: Shy loves birds. He’d love to watch them fly and hear them sing, but he’s only ever read about them in books. . .until a real bird comes along. He’s dying to meet her, but there’s just one problem: Shy is, well, shy–so shy, in fact, that he’s afraid to leave the gutter of the book. Can Shy overcome his fears and venture out onto the page?

This sweetly relatable picture book from the acclaimed Deborah Freedman speaks to every child who’s ever felt like hiding instead of facing the daunting world.

Ricki’s Review: I have read this book dozens and dozens of times with my son. He absolutely loves the story. When my husband walked him upstairs to bed the night after we got the book, he didn’t even make it to the top of the stairs before he requested his reading choices for the night, “Race car books and Shy, please.” The book features a character who is Shy and who is unable to say hello to a yellow bird. I won’t give anything away, but this is a book that will teach many lessons to readers (and not just the shy ones!). It’s a daunting, scary world out there, and all kids will be fearful in situations. This book teaches lessons of courage and friendship. This stunningly beautiful book captured my attention from the start, and I immediately shared it with colleagues.

Kellee’s Review: Deborah Freedman can do no wrong. Her ability to illustrate differently depending on the story and her ability to tell such a wide variety of stories just moves her to an all-star level. In Shy, Freedman tells us a story of Shy who could represent any kid who fears doing something. His story helps kids who may feel like him go through his journey of facing his fears. I also love that books are such a large part of Shy’s life and really help him with the real world.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Teachers might have students analyze the way shyness is portrayed in this book. They can examine the wording, mood, etc. Then, as a class or in small groups, they might pick a different emotion to portray. They could create and publish their own creations. Then, they might compare and contrast the way the emotion shapes the text as a whole.

Discussion Questions: When is a time that you felt shy? Did you gain the courage to be brave? What happened to the bird when Shy wasn’t brave?; It isn’t until later in the book that we know what kind of animal Shy is. Why do you think the author structured the story this way? What does it add to your reading?

Flagged Passage: “But Shy didn’t know how to talk to a bird. What if he stuttered? What if he blushed? What if–“

Read This If You Loved: Blue Chicken by Deborah Freedman, Little Tree by Loren Long, Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae, Say Hello by Jack Foreman, The Cloud by Hannah Cumming, Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, By Mouse & Frog by Deborah Freedman

Recommended For:

and

Blog Tour with Review and Author Guest Post!: The Curse of the Were-Hyena by Bruce Hale

September 14, 2016 by Kellee

The Curse of the Were-Hyena
Author: Bruce Hale
Published July 5th, 2016 by Disney-Hyperion

Summary: What do you do when your favorite teacher starts turning into a were-hyena?

a) Flee in terror?
b) Try to cure him?
c) Bring him carrion snacks?

Mr. Chu, the coolest teacher ever, has developed some very unusual habits, like laughing hysterically for no reason, sniffing people’s homework, and chasing chickens. When best friends Carlos and Benny decide to find out what’s happening to him, they get caught up in some moonlight madness. And it looks like just the beginning of the weirdness that has arrived in the town of Monterrosa. . . . This first entry in a silly, sassy, and suspenseful new series will leave readers howling with laughter.

About the Author: Edgar-nominated author Bruce Hale is passionate about inspiring reluctant readers to read. He has written or illustrated more than 35 seriously funny books for children, including the popular School for S.P.I.E.S. and Chet Gecko Mysteries series; as well as picture books such as Clark the Shark, Snoring Beauty, and Big Bad Baby. An actor and a Fulbright Scholar in Storytelling, Bruce is in demand as a speaker, having presented at conferences, universities, and schools around the world. Bruce’s book The Malted Falcon was an Edgar Award Finalist and Murder, My Tweet won the Little D Award for Humor Writing. He lives in Santa Barbara, California with his wife and dog.

Connect with him on Twitter and Facebook

Review: There are so many kids who are going to love this new series! It immediately reminded me a bit of the Bailey School Kids series because it does such a good job being funny and scary (but not TOO scary; just enough), so this series is going to be a wonderful ladder between Bailey School and Goosebumps. I also really liked the easy inclusion of a diverse cast of characters. This will help a wide variety of readers to see themselves in one of the characters.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: In addition to a good Halloween or full moon read aloud and definitely a classroom library addition, The Curse of the Were-Hyena would be a good cross-curricular read because of the projects Mr. Chu has his students do as well as the interesting look into African art. First, Mr. Chu assigns an oral report on “Something that Makes me Crazy.” This would be a fun tie in to the book, and it would be a good public speaking opportunity. There is also mention of a social studies project which seems to be about traditions of cultures from around the world. These two things in addition to the African art (and even the moon cycle and comics) help the book tie into different subjects. Lasly, Hale’s use of imagery throughout the book makes for a perfect reading or writing mentor text.

Discussion Questions: What clues were there that Mr. Chu was a were-hyena and not a werewolf?; Predict as you read about who you think the alpha were-hyena is. Were you right? What clues did you miss?; Benny and Carlos went about solving the mystery in a quite dangerous way. How would you have done it?

Free discussion guide and activities can also be found on Bruce’s website!

Flagged Passages: “As I reached for my final item, the mauled tennis show, Mr. Chu surprised me. He peeled back his lips and growled–a serious growl, like a Doberman giving one last warning before taking off your arm. His eyes rolled upward, showing only the whites, which totally creeped me out.

All the little hairs on my body stood straight up. It felt like someone had dumped a six-gallon Slushie down my back.” (p. 6)

Author’s Guest Post!: I asked Bruce his formula for writing creepy books for kids, and he shared these secrets with us!

“Scaring kids for fun and profit”

When my wife and I were sharing the movies from childhood that really creeped us out, I couldn’t wait to show her The Omega Man, a movie that gave me nightmares when I was young. “This’ll knock your socks off,” I told her. When we watched it, however, we both burst out laughing at the cheesy special effects and stilted dialog. (To be honest, her movie, Monkey Shines, was no 28 Days Later either.)

That got me thinking. Tastes change. What scares kids can be quite different from what scares adults. And when it comes to writing creepy tales for the younger set, it’s good to bear three things in mind.

It’s the antici…pation

Master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock famously said, “There’s no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.” Writing scary stuff for kids isn’t just about piling on the startling scares; it’s largely about setting up expectations. That’s where true suspense lies. For example, if a kid is walking down a dark street and suddenly a monster pops out, that’s a surprise. Suspenseful? Not so much.

However, if everyone tells your young hero that something has been making neighborhood pets disappear, and that they’ve heard strange growls outside at night, that sets up an expectation. Then, when she’s forced to take a nighttime walk, it will be fraught with the terrors of her imagination. Every twig that snaps, every shadow that looms becomes a threat. And after all that anticipation, when the monster finally shows, the suspense goes off the charts.

Hold the murder

A dash of violence is fine, if it stays on the cartoony side. But when writing for middle-graders, it’s best to stay away from explicit murder and bloodshed. Kids that age can’t handle it. Or if you must get gory, see if you can keep most of the bloodletting offstage. Even the Goosebumps books, which were spooky to the max, didn’t feature any onstage murder.

Of course, just because nobody’s getting killed doesn’t mean you can’t make things scary. Close calls, chases, betrayals and so forth will keep the fear factor going just fine. And your readers won’t miss the murder.

Find the safety in scariness

When I was a kid, I reveled in scary movies—heck, I even had a shelf-full of hand painted classic monsters like Wolf-Man and The Mummy. But I liked the movies best when they weren’t too scary. It’s the same thing for young readers today. There’s a limit to how much actual, pulse-pounding terror is appropriate for 8-12 year-olds.

That’s why, when I wrote The Curse of the Were-Hyena, I deliberately sought a balance between humor and chills. By leavening the scariness with jokes, I made it less threatening. Of course, the trick is to find that happy balance. Make it too jokey, and the creepiness is lost. Make it too scary, and your readers hide under the covers.

If you manage to pull off all three of these things, you just might have crafted a scary tale that keeps young readers glued to your pages. Whether they roll their eyes when they re-read it as adults is another matter entirely.

Read This If You Loved: Goosebumps (series) by RL Stine, Bailey School Kids (series) by Marcia T. Jones and Debbie Dadey

Recommended For:

The Full Moon of the Were-Hyena Howling Good Giveaway!

Ten winners will receive a copy of Bruce Hale’s The Curse of the Were-Hyena. Four Grand Prize winners will receive The Curse of the Were-Hyena plus an advance reading copy of the second book in the series, Mutant Mantis Lunch Ladies! And as a bonus, Grand Prize winners will also get a signed photo of Bruce Hale disguised as a were-wolf! Click here to enter.

**Thank you to Barbara at Blue Slip Media for hosting the tour and providing a copy for review!!**

Emma G. Loves Boyz: A True Love Journal Volume One by Taro Meyer

September 9, 2016 by Kellee

Emma G. Loves Boyz: A True Love Journal Volume 1
Author: Taro Meyer
Published November 24th, 2015 by Red Sky Presents

Summary: Emma G. Loves Boyz: A True Love Journal is the first book in the new Tween Girl Series by Taro Meyer – the exuberant journal of a star-struck fan who vows to stop at nothing – not even doing chores! – for a chance to see her favorite boy band perform live…

Emma G. is CRAZY about Aaron, lead singer of Boyz3000. Of course, she doesn’t actually know him, but so what? Feelings are feelings. That is until Josh appears… and he’s soooooo CUTE. Navigating her two crushes and her middle school life, especially with eighth-grade hater Renee around, is a challenge. And oh yeah, she’s got to earn money for an AWESOME trip to the Bahamas to see the band of her dreams. Hello???? How much can one thirteen-year-old take???

Review: Oh man! This book brought flash backs to every boy band obsessed student I have taught over the last 10 years! Emma’s love for Boyz3000 can represent any middle school fangirl/boy who is so in love with the band, their music, and one of their members so blindly that they feel that the love is the most real thing they’ve ever felt! (And this is coming from a girl who cried when she saw Hanson live for the first time, so I know this emotion!) In addition to the story about Emma’s love of Boyz, Emma also has to learn responsibility to earn money to go see them in concert as well as some mean girl issues in middle school all told in a journal format which I think middle schoolers will find true to their voice.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This is a perfect book for a middle school library/classroom library! So many of my students are always looking for a romance book that is appropriate for them, and this is perfect!

Another aspect of Emma’s journal is that she writes poetry, so her story could be a perfect inspiration for students who are interested in writing poetry or need to find an outlet for emotions.

Discussion Questions: How does Emma’s want to go see Boyz make her become a bit more responsible?; How does Josh change Emma’s perception on life?; Why do you think Renee is so mean?; How does the structure of the text affect the way the story is told?

Flagged Passages: “Oh my God. I just woke up completely happy, thinking I HAD FINALLY GOTTEN A TICKET TO A BOYZ3000 CONCERT and would meet Aaron, their lead singer. I’ve entered at least five contests and haven’t won any yet. 🙁

But sadly, I’d only fallen asleep in front of my computer and it was just a dream, and I still had to write a make-up essay for Language Arts because of the stupid D I got today!

I cannot believe I got a D in Language Arts! I plan on being a writer, and really, what kind of writer gets a D on an essay?

A D could ruin my entire future!” (p. 5)

Read This If You Loved: Cici Reno #MiddleSchoolMatchmaker by Kristina Springer, Radiate by Marley Gibson

Recommended For:

**Thank you Brittany from Red Sky Presents for providing a copy for review!**

Blog Tour with Review: Race Car Dreams by Sharon Chriscoe

September 18, 2016September 8, 2016 by Ricki

Race Car Dreams
Author: Sharon Chriscoe
Illustrator: Dave Mottram
Anticipated Published: September 13, 2016 by Running Press Kids

Goodreads Summary: After a day at the track of zipping and zooming, a race car is tired and ready for bed. He washes his rims, fills his tummy with oil, and chooses a book that is all about speed. All toasty and warm, he drifts off to sleep, he shifts into gear . . . and dreams of the race!

Ricki’s Review: I know I won’t be the only parent to say that my child cannot get enough cars. He eats, sleeps, and breathes cars, so I jumped at the chance to review this book. And boy, I wasn’t disappointed. The characterization within the text is engaging and fun, and I loved all of the integration of car parts/ideas in the race car’s preparation for bedtime. The race car comes to life, and I am grateful to have this book to read before bedtime. It engages my son while making him a sleepy boy! This charming book is going to be a story that parents read again and again.

Kellee’s Review: Any fan of Pixar cars or race cars in general is going to love the race car’s story. The personification of the car is adorable, I specifically like how his emotions can be read by looking at his eyes, and I love that the race car reads before bed! I would love to have students write their own stories of bedtime for vehicles (or other inanimate object) to see how school buses or tow trucks get ready for bed. In my life though, it is a bedtime story that my son loves to read.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: It would be really fun to compare and contrast this book to some of the texts listed below in the “Read This If You Love” section. As avid readers of vehicle books, we know that each book has a different angle, and these are nuances that kids recognize and appreciate. It would be interesting to capitalize on these comparisons and differences to talk about how authors craft stories creatively and uniquely.

Discussion Questions: What does the race car do to prepare for bed? How does this compare to your bedtime routine?; How does the author make the race car come alive with personification?; How does the author craft the story in ways that make you sleepy?

Flagged Passage: “The zooming has stopped. The sun’s almost set. / A race car is tired. He’s wringing with sweat. / His day has been filled with high octane fun. He’s hugged all the curves. He’s had a good run.”

Read This If You Love: Race Car Count by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by by Sherri Duskey Rinker; The Racecar Alphabet by Brian Floca, Alphabeep: A Zipping, Zooming ABC by Debora Pearson, The Three Little Rigs by David Gordon, Ten Little School Cars by School Specialty Publishing

Follow the Tour!:

9/6 My Word Playground

9/7 MomReadIt

9/8 Unleashing Readers

9/9 Once Upon a Time…

9/10 Stacking Books

9/11 Geo Librarian

9/12 Flowering Minds

9/13 Unpacking the POWER of Picture Books

9/14 Little Crooked Cottage

9/14 MamaBelly

9/15 #kidlit Book of the Day

9/16 Just Kidding

Recommended For:

and

**Thank you to Cassie for providing copies for review!**

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

September 7, 2016 by Ricki

Nonfiction Wednesday

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
Author: Alison Bechdel
Published: June 5, 2007 by Mariner Books

Summary: In this graphic memoir, Alison Bechdel charts her fraught relationship with her late father.

Distant and exacting, Bruce Bechdel was an English teacher and director of the town funeral home, which Alison and her family referred to as the Fun Home. It was not until college that Alison, who had recently come out as a lesbian, discovered that her father was also gay. A few weeks after this revelation, he was dead, leaving a legacy of mystery for his daughter to resolve.

Review: I don’t tend to read many adult books each year, but I kept seeing this book referenced. I noticed it was a 2007 publication, and when books are still being discussed frequently almost ten years later, you know they have to be good! I finally requested it from my library, and boy did I love it. I usually try to review only new books, but this book was too good not to share. I felt deeply connected with Alison and her life—despite the fact that it is nothing like mine. I was really drawn to the psychological themes she embedded and the phenomenal writing. She is incredibly smart, and this shines in her writing. The drawings are equally captivating. I am not surprised that young adults tend to read this book. It’s quite edgy and many sections made me blush, but I know this doesn’t stop teens. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: I am not a stranger to controversy, but I’d probably use this book for close reading because the images might be a bit uncomfortable for some (but not most!) of my students. There is a lot of nudity, and there are sexually explicit drawings. That said, I most certainly would have it in my classroom (nothing stops me, controversy-wise, if a book is really good and a great learning tool). A close reading of many of the beginning chapters would lead to fantastic conversations about family dynamics and psychology. There is so much to teach from this book: Tone, Author’s Perspective, Vocabulary, etc.

Discussion Questions: How does Alison navigate her childhood?; What is her response to her father’s death? Why might this be?; What role does the Fun Home play in her life? How does this graphic novel differ from others that you’ve read?; How is the author’s writing style similar to short vignettes? What scenes stand out to you? Why might this be?

Flagged Passage:

Source of Image

Read This If You Love: How the World Was: A California Childhood by Emmanuel Guibert; The Photographer by Emmanuel Guibert; Alan’s War by Emmanuel Guibert; The Stranger by Albert Camus; The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Recommended For: