• Title: Pompeii: Lost & Found
•  Author: Mary Pope Osborne
  
• Illustrator: Bonnie Christensen
  
• Age Range: 3 - 7 years
• Grade Level: Preschool - 2
• Lexile Measure: 980L
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (January 10, 2006)
• Language: English (Amazon.com)

Synopsis:

The day that Mount Vesuvius exploded is a day that made history and entombed an entire town. Thousands of years later, archaeologists have worked at unveiling the daily life in this Roman town and readers get a glimpse of what it may have been like on that fateful day.

 Review:

This was an interesting book. I chose it because natural disasters like this one always fascinated me as a kid and I think that kids who are interested in archaeology, volcanoes, or ancient civilizations would be interested in this book. The illustrations are whole-page sized, with a short paragraph located on every second page. Illustrations have an "aged" look that lends authenticity to the feel of the story, such as this one:

The bottom right of the page shows some ancient tools that were used. One thing that I really liked about this book (even though it made me extremely sad) is that it didn't shy away from harder topics like slavery and death: " The plaster shapes reveal family members huddled together, their faces twisted with pain and fear" (Osborne, 10) and "One shape reveals a watchdog, struggling to break free from his chain" (Osborne, 10). These descriptions are of bodies that left shapes behind in the ashes they were covered in. By using plaster, the archaeologists were able to create statues out of the impressions left behind from the lost people.

I even learned that being a gladiator wasn't as glamorous a job as I'd always pictured, "The most famous people of Pompeii were a special group of slaves and prisoners-- the gladiators" (Osborne, 16). I never knew that gladiators were actually slaves...or that out of a town of 20,000 people...8,000 were slaves (Osborne, 16).

 

The last two pages give a lesson on how frescoes are made and answers to questions posed throughout the book. I didn't see a bibliography page, but there was an "Acknowledgements" page at the back of the book. I learned a lot about Pompeii through this book and it changed from just being an "event" in history, to being a civilization with actual people. 

River Boy The Story of Mark Twain

•  Title: River Boy The Story of Mark Twain
  
•  Author: William Anderson
  
•  Illustrator: Dan Andresen
  
• Age Range: 4 - 8 years
• Grade Level: 2 - 5
• Lexile Measure: 880L
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (February 18, 2003)
• Language: English (Amazon.com)

Synopsis: This biography on Mark Twain goes through and shows how his childhood had such an important impact on his future writings. Sam Clemens was born in Missouri and raised alongside the Mississippi River. He had a decent childhood until his father died and he had to start working to help support the family at age twelve. Clemens worked at a newspaper, on a steam boat, and then as an author and lecturer. Clemens married, had children, and grew into an old age with a fantastic home he built for his family.

My Review: This book provided lots of fascinating information about Mark Twain's life without once being boring! One fascinating piece of information found is that Sam Clemens was born on and died during the arrival of Haley's Comet. I especially loved all of the scenes mentioned from his childhood that come straight out of some of his more famous novels. I never knew that Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn were based so much on his real life. The full page illustrations were nice, but the colors weren't vivid enough for me. Perhaps the color scheme was supposed to mimic the murky waters of the Mississippi? Not sure, but I definitely think that the illustrations need some work bringing more life into the story. Another awesome thing I learned was that Clemens actually was a steamboat pilot at one point in his career. The only "tool" provided in this book is a timeline at the back of "The Life of Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain." The lack of bibliography is a little disturbing, and I think an author's note would have been helpful as well so the audience could get to know more about why the author chose to write about Mark Twain. Overall, I'd  say that it was fun and interesting, but lacked crucial tools to enhance the story. 

A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams

 

• Title: A River of Words The Story of William Carlos Williams
• Author: Jen Bryan
• Illustrator: Melissa Sweet
• Age Range: 7 and up
• Grade Level: 2 and up
• Lexile Measure: 820L (What's this?)
• Hardcover: 34 pages
• Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers; First Edition edition (July 9, 2008)
• Language: English (Amazon.com)

Synopsis:

This book walks young people through the life of William Carlos Williams from his childhood through his death while incorporating his poetry throughout the illustrations of the book.

Characters:
William Carlos Williams: a renowned poet who spent most of his life as a doctor
Hilda Doolitle, Ezra Pound, and Charlie Demuth: friends that WCW met in college and encourage his writing.

My Review:

This biography of WCW was great because it didn't just highlight his poetry, it highlighted his day-to-day of being a doctor and dealing with real-world concerns of providing for his family. The book is inspiring because Williams managed to be a doctor and still stay true to his passion for writing. The layout of the book is intriguing because there are images just layered over one another, almost like the story is just part of a scrap-book. It was a nice touch when they added a few of his full poems at the back of the book. The snippets that they provided throughout the book left me wanting the entire poem. The book has an "Author's Note", "Illustrator's Note", and "For Further Reading" area. The one thing I wish this book provided was an actual reference page. Overall, I would recommend this book for younger audiences who want a general description of William Carlos Williams. I think it could have gone more in-depth in certain areas, but for an introductory piece, it was good.

•  Title: Hurricane & Tornado
  
•  Author: Jack Challoner
  
• Age Range: 8 - 12 years
• Grade Level: 3 - 7
• Series: DK Eyewitness Books
• Hardcover: 72 pages
• Publisher: DK CHILDREN (August 9, 2004)
• Language: English
                       -Amazon Review  

This book gives a wide coverage on not only Hurricanes and Tornadoes, but many other natural disasters as well. Flash floods, droughts, blizzards, and landslides are a few other topics covered. This book includes an: "Amazing facts" section, "Questions and Answers" section, a "Timeline" section, and a "Find out more" section in addiction the glossary, index, and acknowledgments sections found in most books. Because I chose a topic for my last entry on something I knew nothing about, I chose this week to focus on something that I did know a little about.

My Review:

This book is full of information. So much information it was hard for me to believe. The text itself is only half of the information of the book, if that. There is so much information gained from reading the detailed captions that go with each photograph and illustration. I thought I knew a lot about weather, but I knew almost nothing about the history of early forecasting, which is the first section of the book. There were some fascinating instruments developed prior to Benjamin Franklin's kite experiment. Another section taught me how much I did not know about hail. Did you know that there is actually a "Hail Alley" in the U.S.? I mean, we've all heard about the "Tornado Alley", but I've never heard of this "Hail Alley" term. Apparently, hail creates millions in crop damage each year.
Besides all of the textual information I learned, the photographs found in the book are captivating and illuminating. Certain pieces of information are just too hard to learn without visualization. One example of this would be the development of a supercell. Without the diagrams and photographs, I never would have known what a supercell was merely from the text.
  One thing that I noticed was missing was a bibliography. Looking at the acknowledgements section, I saw that most of the recognition was for the photography found within the book-not the knowledge. So, after realizing there was no bibliography, I looked for an "About the Author" page. No go. I know that this DK series is very popular and is a reputable company, but I still think that the author's credentials should be in the book, as well as a bibliography section.
Overall, I would recommend this book for kids to read if they are interested in extreme weather. There is a "Useful Website" section in the back of the book that would definitely help kids out to further their knowledge on the subject.

Franklin & Eleanor

• Title: Franklin & Eleanor
• Author: Cheryl Harness
• Age Range: 8 and up
• Grade Level: 2 and up
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
• Published:  (December 16, 2004)
• Language: English

-Amazon Review


This dual biography on Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt contains a Roosevelt family tree, a chronology of events, a bibliography, and engaging illustrations that help the audience identify more with Franklin and Eleanor. I chose this book specifically because I knew nothing about Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and I wanted to see how much I could learn from a youth nonfiction. Surprisingly, I learned a lot and had fun doing it! Not only did I get an insight into this prominent American couple, but this story placed Franklin and Eleanor within the context of their time period.

Characters:

Franklin D. Roosevelt- born to wealthy parents, went to Harvard, became Governor of New York and then President of the United States.

Eleanor Roosevelt-born to wealthy parents who died early, was raised by her grandmother, educated in London, became First Lady of the United States.

My Review

Roosevelt's presidency saw the end of the Great Depression and the beginning of WWII.  The book looks at how Roosevelt's personal fight against Polio and Eleanor being orphaned at a young age helped make them the strong people that altered not only U.S. History, but the world. They fought for better lives for all people and Eleanor Roosevelt helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for the UN. One thing that I never realized before was that Franklin and Eleanor were distant cousins. I think the author could have mentioned that this was a common practice for the time period so that youth aren't overly concerned about distant cousins being married.

Overall, the story moved nicely and youth would not have any problems reading it. The story was told through a third person narrator who managed to make Franklin and Eleanor personable through the generations.

 

 

Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot

 

By Sy Montgomery (author) and Nic Bishop (illustrator)

Price: $15.39 (hardcover)

Published: 2010

 

• Age Range: 10 and up
• Grade Level: 5 and up
• Lexile Measure: 950L (What's this?)
• Series: Scientists in the Field Series
• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers; None edition (May 24, 2010)
• Language: English

-Amazon

 

Synopsis

 

The narrator and his photographer take a ten day excursion to a private nature reserve in New Zealand to get a first hand experience of the work going in to try to save an almost extinct parrot species: the Kakapo (Kar-ka-po). 

The photographs included are amazing

A few key characters: 

Narrator: presumably the author, Sy Montgomery

Nic: the photographer

 

Female Kakapos: Rakiura, Apirima,Cyndy, Lisa, Flossie

Male Kakapos: Sirocco, Richard Henry, Sinbad

 

The humans trying to save the Kakapos: Catherine, Lynnie, Jeff, Jo, Tristan, Becky, Daryl, and Deidre

Review

This book uses narrative nonfiction to elicit an emotional response from its readers. By telling the story of these individual parrots (each with their own names), the readers really begin to care about these parrots. At the end of the story is an address where people can donate money to help save the Kakapo. This book does a great job at making people care about these birds that they will never see and they would otherwise care nothing about. The books educates readers on what the Kakapo is, why it is facing extinction, and what is being done to try to preserve this species.

 

 

The book itself is full of tools to help readers out. There is a map of New Zealand at the beginning of the book to let readers know where the story is taking place (not unlike a Tolkien novel). All of the fantastic photographs have captions explaining either the photograph or an interesting piece of information about the Kakapo. Some interesting sections added are the "fast facts", "New Zealand's Splendid Isolation", and "The Two Richard Henrys". These sections give context and history to the story. At the end of the book is also a selected bibliography and an index. 

 

How adorable are these birds?!!

The narrator lets the reader see ten days of activity on this isolated island that is dedicated to the preservation of the Kakapo. We see all of the nuances that the rangers and volunteers do every day to care for these birds. We are told that there are only 87 Kakapo on the island when the narrator leaves. The eggs and chicks are the most prized because they are the possible future of this species and the loss of even one is heart- wrenching.

 

My favorite part of the entire story is "A Night with Sirocco." Sirocco is a parrot that was raised by humans. As such, he has a bit of an identity problem and thinks he's in love with every human he meets during mating season. This part appealed to me the most because it made me feel amusement "Jeff split open his toe when he was racing downhill toward the hut, trying to run past the parrot and escape his unwanted attentions" (p35) and an extreme sadness for this little bird that will never find love because of careless human involvement.