Unleashing Readers

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 4/8/19

April 14, 2019April 8, 2019 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It’s also a great chance to see what others are reading right now…you just might discover the next “must-read” book!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, decided to give It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit – join us! We love this meme and think you will, too.

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

CONGRATULATIONS
Laura M.
for winning the Yogi giveaway!

Tuesday: Student-Created Interactive Timeline on the Struggle for Equal Rights in America

Wednesday: A Brief History of Life on Earth by Clémence Dupont

Friday: Blog Tour with Review and Educators’ Guide!: Bat and the End of Everything by Elana K. Arnold

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Fostering Kindness and Empathy Through Literature” by Amalie Jahn, Author of The Next To Last Mistake

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

Kellee

I’ll be reviewing As She Fades by Abbi Glines for ALAN Picks, but let me tell you one thing–the twist–whoa!
The Kidnapped series by Gordon Korman was everything I’d want in a series titled Kidnapped. Twists, turns, suspense, surprises, fear, relief… all the best suspenseful emotions!
Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen McManus will probably be as popular as her first novel, One of Us is Lying as it keeps the reader guessing just like the first! I will say that the resolution did surprise me, so that is a plus!
Allegedly by Tiffany Jackson was one of those books that you want to throw at the end of it because it is so good yet so heartbreaking and messed up at the same time.
I have a student who devoured Joan Bauer novels in the fall, so I promised her I’d read some of her favorites. I started with Close to Famous and WHOA! Not what I was expecting based on the cover. It is a story about abuse, small town exploitation, chasing your dreams, reading disability, & more.

I just love me some Frog and Toad, and so does Trent. I’ll have to see if we can find another audio to listen to.
Georgia’s Terrific, Colorific Experiment by Zoe Persico shows that science and art go hand-in-hand and neither is better than the other. On top of the message, I adored the illustrations! Look at these:

Ricki

This week, I read On the Come Up by Angie Thomas. I promptly went into my course syllabus for next semester and swapped out another book to include this one. There are so many things that I love about this book. In particular, I really liked how this book tackled the issues of violence against and the assumptions stereotypically made of black females. There are only a few other recent books that tackle these issues, and they are critically important. There are so many other phenomenal aspects of this book. I am sensing a longer blog post…

My students and I read the third edition of Reconceptualizing the Literacies in Adolescescents’ Lives (Edited by Donna E. Alvermann & Kathleen Hinchman). We loved the variety within the book, and each chapter led to rich conversations. The book tackles so many issues that made us think about reforming the practices within literacy classrooms. This book is great for starting conversations and inspiring change.

Kellee

Reading: A Danger to Herself and Others by Alyssa Sheinmel
Listening: A Grimm Warning by Chris Colfer
Reading with Trent: Dog Man Brawl of the Wild by Dav Pilkey
Listening with Trent: A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond

Ricki

A few months ago, I started Sadie on my Kindle. I got distracted and forgot to go back to it. I just started the audio, and I am loving it. I think I prefer the audio to the Kindle book for this one.

Stop by tomorrow if you have read several #metoo YA texts. I’d love your advice for my course!

Tuesday: #metoo Literature Circle Books

Wednesday: You Are Never Alone by Elin Kelsey

Thursday: Wake Up, Color Pup by Taia Morley

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Why Mix Fantasy and History?” by Angie Smibert, Author of Bone’s Gift and Lingering Echoes

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

and

Author Guest Post!: “Fostering Kindness and Empathy Through Literature” by Amalie Jahn, Author of The Next To Last Mistake

April 7, 2019 by Kellee

“Fostering Kindness and Empathy Through Literature”

Kindness, at its very essence, is the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. Of course, these are all qualities we should all strive to exhibit, but as much as we’d like to think that kindness is something inherent in our society, quite the opposite is true.

Many studies suggest human nature drives us to be competitive instead of kind. It makes sense, since ultimately our very existence is tied to one simple goal: survival based on competition for resources. Our planet has a finite number of these life-sustaining resources so it seems obvious that, as a species, we would do whatever was necessary to make sure we secure enough of those resources for our own survival.

Unfortunately, kindness is actually quite counterintuitive to that.

Because let’s face it, if there are only three apples but four hungry people, what would compel anyone to share with someone else?

The answer, of course, is empathy.

Those people who recognize their own hunger in others are more inclined to share than those who don’t.

Although we are driven to survive through competition, we are also wired to empathize with one another. Empathy is a learned behavior, though the capacity for it is inborn. Think about empathy as an innate ability that needs to be developed. This quality is what ultimately gives us our humanity, but empathetic responses don’t just happen spontaneously. They need to be fostered, and because they aren’t necessarily our ‘go-to’ reaction, this is especially true for those of us who are wired for self-preservation.

Research shows people who value friendships, their social connections, and are embedded in their networks are more likely to display empathy than those who consider themselves outsiders. There’s a caveat to this, of course, and it’s that these empathetic people are inclined to reserve their kindness for the friends who are most like they are. While they show great consideration for the friends they understand, there’s often a limit when it comes to extending that kindness to those they see as “other.”

I believe, if we want to encourage empathy, the first step is to stop dwelling upon these differences and focus instead on those things in life which makes us the same. In essence, we need to embrace the common human experience.

Love, loss, friendship, fear … these are all things every human experiences in life. When we realize that, regardless of age, color, religion, or socioeconomic status, we are all far more alike than we are different and begin to celebrate those things that bind us instead of belaboring the minutia tearing us apart, we’ll be able to achieve our purpose in life – which is to care for one another and to be kind.

This begins with feeling vested in the lives of other people. When we focus on our differences, it’s difficult to experience empathy. However, when we realize just how tethered to one another we truly are, we can begin to see through the veil which separates us and imagine other people’s lives as mirrors of our own.

I firmly believe that simple exposure to other people’s stories through literature will inevitably foster empathy and the capacity for kindness. Because, let’s face it, we all tend to be kindest to people who are most like we are, but if we can see ourselves in people who are different from us and understand that most human experiences are largely universal, we’ll start choosing kindness over competitiveness in our everyday lives. Books are tremendous tools in our arsenal for fostering kindness among the diversity of our world.

Books give us the opportunity to experience life through other people’s stories which often promotes understanding. When we spend 300 pages getting to know a person and their story, we’re more inclined to imagine ourselves in their shoes and empathize with them.

The empathy we develop through reading will inevitably breed kindness in the real world. The connections established inside the stories make it easier to identify and honor the fundamental truths behind our differences.

And when we understand and embrace our differences, kindness becomes our default setting.

About the Author: “Masterful character development and story lines woven with the common threads of human experience make Amalie’s novels relatable to both young and old alike. Her ideas are born from the passions of her own heart which she uses to share her vision of the world with her readers.”

USA Today Bestselling author Amalie Jahn is the recipient of the Literary Classics Seal of Approval and the Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal for her debut novel, The Clay Lion. Her latest novel, The Next to Last Mistake, is a character-driven YA contemporary about cows, the power of female friendships, and finding your place in the world. She is a contributing blogger to the Huffington Post and Southern Writers Magazine, as well as a finalist in the 2015 Kindle Book Awards. A TED speaker, human rights advocate, and active promoter of kindness, she lives in North Carolina with her husband, two children, and three extremely overfed cats.

About the Book: The Next to Last Mistake speaks to the beauty and richness that fills life when we cross race and culture to find common ground, forge new friendships, and challenge our own world view. Amalie’s novel speaks to a deep need in today’s America and will inspire young readers to reexamine the relationships in their lives.

Tess Goodwin’s life in rural Iowa is sheltered and uncomplicated. Although she chooses to spend most of her free time playing chess with her best friend Zander, the farm-boy from next door, her skills as a bovine midwife and tractor mechanic ensure that she fits in with the other kids at West Hancock High. But when her veteran father reenlists in the Army, moving her family halfway across the country to North Carolina, Tess is forced out of her comfort zone into a world she knows nothing about.

When Leonetta Jackson is assigned as her mentor, she becomes Tess’s unexpected guide through the winding labyrinth of cultural disparities between them, sparking a tentative friendship and challenging Tess to confront her reluctant nature. As the pieces move across the board of her upended life, will Tess find the acceptance she so desperately desires?

Thank you to Amalie for this post that truly embodies much of what we believe about how reading can help change the world!

Blog Tour with Review and Educators’ Guide!: Bat and the End of Everything (Bat #3) by Elana K. Arnold

April 5, 2019April 5, 2019 by Kellee

Bat and the End of Everything (Bat #3)
Author: Elana K. Arnold
Illustrator: Charles Santoso
Published March 26th, 2019 by Walden Pond Press

Summary: Bixby Alexander Tam (nicknamed Bat) has been the caretaker for Thor, the best skunk kit in the world… but the last day of third grade is quickly approaching, and Thor is almost ready to be released into the wild.

The end of school also means that Bat has to say good-bye to his favorite teacher, and he worries about the summer care of Babycakes, their adorable class pet. Not only that, but his best friend is leaving for a long vacation in Canada.

Summer promises good things, too, like working with his mom at the vet clinic and hanging out with his sister, Janie. But Bat can’t help but feel that everything is coming to an end.

National Book Award finalist Elana K. Arnold returns with the third story starring an unforgettable boy on the autism spectrum.

About the Author: Elana K. Arnold grew up in Southern California, where she was lucky enough to have her own perfect pet—a gorgeous mare named Rainbow—and a family who let her read as many books as she wanted. She is the author of picture books, middle grade novels, and books for teens, including Damsel a Michael Prinz Honor Book, and What Girls are Made of, a finalist for the National Book Award. She lives in Huntington Beach, California, with her husband, two children, and a menagerie of animals. You can find her online at www.elanakarnold.com.

Praise for Previous Titles in the Series:

“Comfortably familiar and quietly groundbreaking, this introduction to Bat should charm readers, who will likely look forward to more opportunities to explore life from Bat’s particular point of view.” -Kirkus Review, Bat #1

“A winsome blend of humor and heart, vibrant characters, and laugh-out-loud dialogue, Arnold’s narrative also gracefully explores life through the eyes of a boy on the autism spectrum.” -Booklist, Bat #2

Review: Bat is dealing with the school year ending and while everyone else is excited, Bat knows that the end of the school year means the end of his time with Thor, Babycakes, Mr. Grayson, and even his best friend for the summer. For a kid that struggles with change, this is a mighty big change that he is going to have to deal with (the book begins with 4 days until summer begins). A transitional period like this can be hard for any kid, and Bat’s struggles with these changes is one that many a kid will connect with.

And although Bat’s stories are primarily character-driven, Arnold does a great job giving Bat hiccups along the way to move along his story.

But do you know what my favorite thing is about Arnold’s writing in Bat? Her imagery. Bat is so in tune with his senses and Arnold does a great job writing about what Bat is hearing, seeing, smelling, touching, and tasting which allows readers to be drawn into Bat’s world and also help understand Bat’s point of view.

I am a pretty big fan of Bat’s books–I love their quiet strength and the compassion within the pages. And this book really is everything I wanted from the final book in the series. If you don’t listen to anything else I say in this review, just go pick up the first Bat book and sit down and get ready for a purely enjoyable read.

Educators’ Guide:

Flagged Passages: “Chapter One: An Offer

How do you say good-bye to a friend?

That’s what Bixby Alexander Tam (known to everyone as Bat) was thinking about, sitting with Babycakes, the class rabbit, in the pen at the back of Mr. Grayson’s class. It was the first Monday in June. In four days, the school year would end, and Bat would have to say good-bye.”

“Chapter Two: A Perfect Plan

Soon the classroom was full of noise and color and smells and movement as Bat’s classmates poured inside.

Mei, who sat in the desk to the right of Bat’s, smelled like strawberries today.

‘You smell like strawberries,’ Bat said.

‘I got a new shampoo,’ Mei said, smiling. ‘Do you like it?’

‘Yes,’ said Bat.

‘Thank you,’ said Mei, which was a weird thing to do–to thank someone for liking something.

But Bat knew that what he’d said made Mei happy. ‘You’re welcome.’

All around him, kids were laughing and unzipping their backpacks and scraping back their chairs and tapping their pencils. It was the last week of school, after all. Everyone was excited.

Well, almost everyone. Bat was not excited.”

Read This If You Love: Rules by Cynthia Lord; Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper; The Categorical Universe of Candace McPhee by Barry Jonsberg; Rain, Reign by Ann M. Martin; How to Speak Dolphin by Ginny Rorby; Juana and Lucas by Juana Medina; Stella Diaz Has Something to Say by Angela Dominguez; Wonder by RJ Palacio

Recommended For:

Don’t Miss the Other Blog Tour Stops!

March 26 Nerdy Book Club @nerdybookclub

March 27 Kirsti Call @kirsticall

March 30 Read Now Sleep Later @frootjoos

April 1 Bluestocking Thinking @bluesockgirl

April 2 The Book Monsters @thebookmonster

April 3 Educate*Empower*Inspire…Teach @melissaguerrette

April 4 Librarian’s Quest @loveofxena

April 5 Novel Novice @novelnovice

Unleashing Readers @unleashreaders

Lit Coach Lou @litcoachlou

**Thank you to Walden Pond Press for providing a copy of the text for review!!**

A Brief History of Life on Earth by Clémence Dupont

April 22, 2023April 3, 2019 by Kellee

A Brief History of Life on Earth
Creator: Clémence Dupont
Published March 19th, 2019 by Prestel Junior

Summary: The story of life on earth unfolds in dramatic fashion in this amazing picture book that takes readers from 4.6 billion years ago to the present day.

It’s difficult to grasp the enormous changes life on Earth has undergone since it first came into existence, but this marvelously illustrated book makes learning about our planet’s fascinating history easy and entertaining. In an accordion style, the series of pages take readers through every major geological period, with bright artwork and detailed drawings. Opening on lava-filled oceans and smoking volcanoes, the book unfolds, era by era, to show how life evolved from tiny protozoa and crustaceans to dinosaurs and mammals.

Fully expanded to 8 meters (26 feet), this spectacular visual timeline is a very impressive panorama that reveals evolution in all its glory. Each page is brimming with illustrations that readers will turn to again and again. A celebration of life, this extraordinary and beautiful book illuminates the history of Earth for young readers in an unforgettable and delightful way.

About the Author: Clémence Dupont is an illustrator living in Strasbourg, France. This is her first book.

Review: This book is so beautiful, useful, and just plain neat! First, I love that it folds out (as does Trent!):

When folded out, it reaches 26 feet with one side showing the images created by the author for each of the time periods while the other side has a timeline which is to scale showing how long respectively each time period was.

This book is a work of art. How each time period stands alone yet also is part of the entire timeline when folded out is beautiful to see. Additionally, I adore the artist’s technique of art with rough edges and bright colors.

Each spread focuses on one time period and the life on Earth at the time with a brief write up in the bottom left corner; however, many of the organisms/animals/plants not mentioned in the paragraph are labeled allowing readers to jump into inquiry about them if they wish.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Did anyone else do the activity in elementary school where the teacher had the class convert the miles(?) between planets into centimeters then had the class create a to-scale solar system showing just how far apart the planets are? This book reminds me of that activity in that it shows the true expanse of time Earth has existed versus the very small time humans have. I would use this timeline to create a similar to-scale idea for students to show the history of life on Earth.

Also, as I stated above, each time period only has a brief write up and leaves much to research if one is interested.

Discussion Questions:

What surprised you about the history of life on Earth?
What did the timeline on the back show you about the history of life on Earth?
When did dinosaurs appear? When did the first human ancestor appear? (etc.)
What animal surprised you that has been around a long time?
What do you believe is the author’s purpose in creating the book in this structure?
How did the Earth change from one period to the next? Take two periods and compare and contrast them.

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: Animals, Biology, Geology, Earth’s history

Recommended For:

Student-Created Interactive Timeline on the Struggle for Equal Rights in America

April 22, 2023April 2, 2019 by Kellee

When I began planning my research unit for my Advanced Reading classes, I took to asking my students what they would be interested in learning more about, and overwhelmingly they asked to learn about the Civil Rights movement and other aspects of Black American history; however, when we began planning, my students took note that there are many other fights for equal rights in American History, and they asked if we could focus on all of them. That is when this idea unfolded.

I teach three classes of Advanced Reading equaling 47 students. I wanted to make sure students were given choice in their topics and also were choosing topics based on their interests and not who is in their group, so I made different topics/time periods they could choose from and asked them to rate their interests. I then grouped them based on this and the students began to work.

The students began by researching their topic/time period independently and brainstorming a list of everything important that they could find that happened during that time period. Then, as a group they decided which ten or more events they were going to expand on and include in our timeline.

Once they had their events, they collaboratively researched the events creating a paragraph about each (with a link to sources) and an image (with a caption and source) to add to the timeline.

They then each added to our timeline creating what I believe is a resource that doesn’t exist anywhere else on the internet. The timeline begins with 1688 Quaker Petition Against Slavery and ends with the 2019 rejection of Trump’s Border Wall touching on events and people who have changed the course of our history.

Please view it on Sutori, and I hope you find a way to utilize and share it.
(Embedding it puts the whole timeline and it is VERY long.)

Also, please note: If you see anything that I missed (and my colleagues who helped vet the timeline missed) that is incorrect or not written in the most progressive way, please feel free to reach out to me at Kellee.Moye@gmail.com with any comments, questions, or concerns.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 4/1/19

April 1, 2019 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

Wednesday: Review and Educators’ Guide: Taking Cover: One Girl’s Story of Growing Up During the Iranian Revolution by Nioucha Homayoonfar

Thursday: The Last Last-Day of Summer by Lamar Giles

Friday: Blog Tour with Review and Giveaway!: Yogi: The Life, Loves, and Language of Baseball Legend Yogi Berra by Barb Rosenstock
Giveaway open until Thursday!!

**Click on any picture/link to view the post**

CONGRATULATIONS
Rica K.
for winning The Missing Piece of Charlie O’Reilly giveaway!

Kellee

I had a great visit with my sister and her new baby! One of the biggest highlights? Watching Trent read to Gunnar!

I also had no obligations, which was so nice and meant a lot of time to read! Here’s what I’ve read since I last shared on the 11th that I haven’t already blogged about:

My book club has a virtual visit with Todd Mitchell today, and I am happy to say that I read three of his books–all of them were so different, too! Backwards is a combination of Every Day and Before I Fall.
Check Please was a 2019 Morris Finalist, and when I saw that a graphic novel about a baking hockey player was receiving accolades, I knew I had to read it, and boy do I love that book! Unique format along with its unique premise, too! Can’t wait for the next anthology.
Gareth Hinds’s work is beautiful. Period. So I had no doubt The Iliad would be as well, and I was right. Just as he did with The Odyssey, he takes the original and transforms it by illustrating the story. They are so well done and really do help with comprehension of the story.
milk and honey by Rupi Kaur is a title I had heard here and there and have had a couple of students talk about how much they love it, but when I had a new student say it was her favorite book, I asked her if she owned it so I could borrow it. I can definitely see why my teenage students love the angst and love in this poetry anthology.
#murderfunding by Gretchen McNeil is the sequel to #murdertrending and WHOA! This series is so messed up and crazy (in a I CAN’T PUT DOWN THIS BOOK sort of way). Pretty gruesome and suspenseful, but is also just so much fun to read!

Anyone who truly knows me knows that The Giver is my heart book, so adapting it had a high bar to meet for me, and P. Craig Russell met all the expectations. Beautiful and heart wrenching just like the original. All the feels were there all over again!
So glad a student recommended and lent this Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps by Andrea Warren, a Sibert Honor, to me! Another POV of the pure travesty that was the Holocaust. Great pairing with Prisoner B3087 or even Hitler Youth. Such an important read as we face hatred around us.
I just love Phoebe and Marigold Heavenly Nostrils! And their adventures and narrative are so endearing and evolving—I can’t wait to see what they do next! I’ll definitely be getting this newest one when it comes out next month.
What kept me from reading this series for so long?! So many kids are afraid of long books, and I’m always searching for a solid middle school book with a great plot and well written but not too long to help get them going—well, I found it! Kidnapped: The Abduction is a continuation of the On the Run series, but it is not required that you read it.

Oh, Dog Man. You have my son’s heart, and I cannot thank you enough for that. You are the reason, right now, that he wants to go to bed: so he can read.
In Syracuse, Trent and I vowed to finish The House at Pooh Corner, and Milne’s stories are so nostalgic and fun to read.
I love myself an interactive narrator and the panda has some real fun with his narrator in this one. Does the panda have a problem or is he the problem?!?! Read this fun book (so fun my son had us read it over and over) to find out: The Panda Problem by Deborah Underwood.

Ricki

I love every book in this series, and We Are (Not) Friends is no exception. I am excited to review this one in full in a few weeks. It addresses issues surrounding friendship (including/excluding others and claiming people as our friends). Both of my sons really enjoyed this, and it is very accessible to different age levels. It’s resting beside me on our coffee table because my kids have asked to read it several times since we got it a few days ago. Lovers of this series will appreciate this new installment. If you haven’t checked out the series, I highly recommend it!

I finished listening to I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez. Ahhh, it is so beautifully written. I found the last third of the book to be very unpredictable, which I really enjoyed. This book tackles so many critical issues and would make for a great classroom text. I plan to use it in my college YAL course the next time I teach it.

Kellee

Reading: As She Fades by Abbi Glines
Listening: Kidnapped: The Search by Gordon Korman
Reading with Trent: Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild by Dav Pilkey
Listening with Trent: Frog and Toad Audio Collection by Arnold Lobel

Ricki

I am slowly savoring On the Come Up by Angie Thomas. I’m about 3/4 of the way through, and I have loved every minute of it. Bri’s voice is very strong.

Next, I plan to read a bunch of #metoo-related books. I am preparing for a literature circles unit on the books, and I am trying to decide which books to choose. I have some definite favorites, and then I have a long list of books I have not read. I’ve gotten some amazing feedback from some blogger friends (Kellee, Crystal B., Sarah A.), and they’ve really helped me narrow the other lists. They’ve also helped with the #metoo list, but I haven’t read enough to be decisive. Which are your absolute favorite #metoo books?

Tuesday: Student-Created Interactive Timeline on the Struggle for Equal Rights in America

Wednesday: A Brief History of Life on Earth by Clémence Dupont

Friday: Blog Tour with Review and Educators’ Guide!: Bat and the End of Everything by Elana K. Arnold

Sunday: Author Guest Post!: “Fostering Kindness and Empathy Through Literature” by Amalie Jahn, Author of The Next To Last Mistake

and

Blog Tour with Review and Giveaway!: Yogi: The Life, Loves, and Language of Baseball Legend Yogi Berra by Barb Rosenstock

June 4, 2019March 29, 2019 by Kellee

Yogi: The Life, Loves, and Language of Baseball Legend Yogi Berra
Author: Barb Rosenstock
Illustrator: Terry Widener
Published February 5th, 2019 by Calkins Creek

Summary: The life and famous words, such as “it ain’t over till it’s over,” of Major League Baseball player and New York Yankee Lawrence “Yogi” Berra are celebrated in this nonfiction picture book.

Yogi Berra loved his family, his neighborhood, his friends, and, most of all, baseball. He was crazy for it, ever since he was a young kid playing with friends in an abandoned dump. But baseball didn’t love him back–at least not at first. Yogi was different. He didn’t have the right look. When he finally made it to the major leagues, Yogi faced pranks and harassment from players, sportswriters, and fans. Their words hurt, but they made Yogi determined to show all that he could do. This book looks at the talents, loves, and inspirational words of this celebrated New York Yankee and American icon, who earned a World Series ring for each finger and made baseball love him back.

About the Creators:

Barb Rosenstock is best known for her many picture book biographies, including Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library, Ben Franklin’s Big Splash,The Streak, Dorothea’s Eyes, and Blue Grass Boy, all published by Calkins Creek. Her other recent titles include a picture book about Vincent Van Gogh, Vincent Can’t Sleep, and a picture book about Vasily Kandinsky, The Noisy Paint Box, which won the 2015 Caldecott Honor Medal. She lives outside Chicago with her family. Visit her at barbrosenstock.com.

Terry Widener is the award-winning illustrator of many picture books on athletes, including The Streak: How Joe DiMaggio Became America’s Hero, Girl Wonder: A Baseball Story in Nine Innings, American Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle,and Lou Gehrig, The Luckiest Man. He is also the illustrator of The Kite That Bridged Two Nations by Alexis O’Neill. He lives in McKinney, Texas, with his wife and is the father of three grown children. Visit him at terrywidenerart.com.

Praise:

*“This excellent character study will be useful as a model for students writing research-based biographies since it includes extensive author’s notes, baseball statistics, a note about Yogi-isms, and secondary quotes about the man himself, but it will loved most of all by Yankees fans.” –School Library Connection, starred review

“(T)his picture-book biography…does an excellent job covering Berra as both baseball player and cultural icon. Widener’s illustrations…ably capture Berra’s short stature and big personality. Thorough back matter concludes the book, including a double-page spread of Berra’s ‘amazing’ stats, a bibliography, an author’s note, several photographs, and source notes.” –The Horn Book

“Rosenstock covers all the bases, focusing on Yogi’s great love of baseball, his determination to succeed, and, most of all, his longing for baseball to love him back. His perplexing, witty, and wise ‘Yogi-isms’ are incorporated in the text as well as appearing in large, hand-lettered blurbs within the illustrations. Widener’s colorful, muscular acrylic cartoons…beautifully capture his essence. A loving homage to a charismatic baseball hero.” –Kirkus Reviews

“(A) loving tribute to New York Yankee baseball legend Yogi Berra. Back matter documents his amazing career… and complement the storylike text that introduces a simple Italian kid from Saint Louis who loved his family, loved his friends, and really, really loved baseball. The illustrations capture the wistful, nostalgic mood… readers will come away with an appreciation for both the amazing athlete and the humble, unique individual. Source notes, a bibliography, and additional background information elevate this offering into viable research material, making this an entertaining and worthy addition to sports biography collections.” –Booklist

Review: I am always so impressed with Barb Rosenstock’s multi-faceted biographies.

You can tell she is a historian because of the accurate and well-represented history of whomever she is writing about as well as the detailed and interesting back matter that is included in her books. This one particularly is impressive with its research notes, statistics, Yogi-isms, and quotes about Yogi.
You can tell she is a master storyteller because her biographies are never dry history but are instead a beautiful narrative that brings the subject and their story to life.
You can tell she is a caring person because of the themes she incorporates within her stories and the people she chooses to write about.
With Yogi, you can tell she is a baseball fan because she represents the sport with the heart that those of us who love baseball can feel.

All of this, paired with an illustrator that brings movement and emotions to life, lends to a very engaging picture book biography!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This text is a perfect addition to the classroom with its many uses across literacy, history, physical education, and math!

Educators’ Guide provided by the publisher:

Discussion Questions:

How did the author incorporate “Yogi-isms” throughout the narrative? Choose one quote and explain how it fits in with the story.
Read the quotes about Yogi in the backmatter. Find evidence from the story to support the statements made by these individuals.
Make a list of character traits that Yogi Berra displayed in the story. Find evidence to support these traits.
Words hurt. But Yogi wouldn’t let them stop him. What does this tell you about him?
In what way do you think Yogi Berra impacted the players around him the most?
What makes Yogi Berra one of the best baseball players ever? Use evidence to support your statements.
Why do you think his parents let him go play baseball but not his brother?
In what way did the author and illustrator compare Yogi’s job as a gunner’s mate during World War II and his job as a catcher in the MLB?

Flagged Passages:

Book Trailer:

Read This If You Love: Baseball, Picture Book Biographies, Quotable Quotes

Recommended For:

Don’t Miss the Other Stops on the Blog Tour!

Monday, 3/18                       Mile High Reading
Tuesday, 3/19                      Book Q&A’s with Deborah Kalb
Wednesday, 3/20               Mrs. Knott’s Book Nook
Thursday, 3/21                     Behind the Scenes @BMP
Friday, 3/22                          Anatomy of Nonfiction
Monday, 3/25                      The Nonfiction Detectives
Wednesday, 3/27                KidLit Frenzy
Thursday, 3/28                    Celebrate Picture Books
Friday, 3/29                          Unleashing Readers

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**Thank you to Boyds Mills Press for providing a copy for review and giveaway!**