NONFICTION & BIOGRAPHY

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. 2005. HITLER YOUTH:  GROWING UP IN HITLER'S SHADOW. New York:  Scholastic Nonfiction.
ISBN:  0439862736

PLOT SUMMARY

   In 1926 Adolph Hitler devised a plan to secure the future of Germany under the Third Reich.  His idea was to muster the youth of Germany with his Nazi organization, "Hitler Jugend".  His concept to captivate and exploit the hearts, minds, and energy of young people became a chilling success in the 1930's.  Hitler is quoted, "What can happen to a people whose youth sacrifices everything in order to serve it's great ideals."
   Susan Campbell Bartoletti, using extensive resources like oral histories, diaries, and other personal accounts, relates the stories of twelve of these children and teens.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

   Bartoletti's impeccable research and thoughtful presentation has garnered such praise for this book as "Best Books for Young Adults, 2006" from the American Library Association; the John Newbery Medal, 2006 Honor Book, the Orbus Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, 2005 Honor Book, and the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, 2006 Honor Book.
   The reasons for these honors are evident in the design and contents of HITLER YOUTH.  The author uses fluid prose, ample dialogue, and photos on every double page spread to relate the involvement of these children and teens in the Nazi youth brigade.  In the case of Melita Maschmann, she felt that Hitler brought hope for the future of Germany, "I believed the National Socialists when they promised to do away with unemployment and poverty...I believed them when they said they would reunite the German nation."
   In other cases, some of the youth, as they grew older (and as membership became mandatory), began to question the Nazis and formed resistance efforts.  One of these was Hans Scholl, who had become disillusioned with the loss of personal freedom and individual rights, "I must go my own way and I do so gladly, I'm not anxious to avoid a host of dangers and temptations.  My sole ambition must be to perceive things clearly and calmly."
   There were those who resisted and later paid the ultimate price, as well as those who trusted the cause, but who survived with subsequent shame and remorse.
   Bartoletti has substantiated her research with a five page bibliography, five pages of quote sources, notes about the  photographs used and a timeline of the Hitler Youth. 

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Booklist:  "The handsome book design...will draw in readers and help spark deep discussion, which will extend beyond the Holocaust curriculum."
Kirkus Reviews:  "Case studies of actual participants root the work in specifics, and clear prose, thorough documentation and an attractive format with well-chosen archival photographs make this nonfiction writing at its best."

CONNECTIONS

*Would make an excellent addition to any study of World War II
*For more of a literature study, Bartoletti's historical fiction:  THE BOY WHO DARED, based on the life of Helmuth Hubener, the 17 year old executed by the Nazis in 1942 for resistance activities, profiled in HITLER YOUTH

NONFICTION & BIOGRAPHY

Jenkins, Steve. 1995. BIGGEST, STRONGEST, FASTEST. New York:  Ticknor & Fields Books for Young Readers.
ISBN:  0395697018

PLOT SUMMARY

   It's all about the superlatives in this concept book about the "record holders of the animal world."  Jenkins has answered those often-asked questions such as, "Who is the fastest?, smallest?, slowest?, biggest?"  Colorful and astonishing paper collages illustrate the double page spreads.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

   The simple, one sentence, large type descriptions given for each animal will appeal to a younger audience, "The Galapagos tortoise lives longer than any other animal" ; "The strongest animal for its size, is the ant."  And older students will appreciate more detailed information displayed in smaller type in the page corners.  This also includes silhouette comparisons of the animals to humans.

   Jenkins poses science in an artful manner, some illustrations overlap the edges of the page and others begin on one page and extend to the next.  There is also a handy chart on the last page that compares animal records, sizes, diets, and ranges.  The rich paper collages are intricate and realistic depictions.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Booklist:  "Here's proof that power isn't just about size and that science can be a lot of fun."

Children's Literature:  "Cleverly done and sure to appeal to both the littlest an biggest of readers."

CONNECTIONS

*For a math application, use measuring tools to measure out the size of the animals featured, for the larger animals, go outdoors and use chalk or string to represent the size

*Other books by Steve Jenkins:

  LIVING COLOR (2007)

  MOVE! (2006)

  DOGS AND CATS (2007)

  ACTUAL SIZE (2004)

NONFICTION & BIOGRAPHY

Freedman, Russell. 1997. OUT OF DARKNESS: THE STORY OF LOUIS BRAILLE. Ill. by Kate Kiesler. New York: Clarion Books
ISBN:  0395775167

PLOT SUMMARY

   OUT OF DARKNESS is the story of Louis Braille, who, at the age of three was blinded by an accident in his father's saddle-making shop.  When he was older he received scant lessons from the village priest and the local school master, and his parents worried about his future.

   Louis was admitted to the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris in 1819.  This school was the first of its kind in the world.  Louis took courses in history, grammar, arithmetic and geography.  He was introduced to a new method of writing (based on word sounds) using dots and dashes punched into paper.  But after recognizing its awkwardness, Louis worked intently on an improvement.  At the age of fifteen, he developed a more simple and efficient method which "allowed him to represent any letter of the alphabet within the space of a fingertip". The technique still bears his name and is still widely used by the blind today.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

   Russell Freedman uses a simple, evenly pitched prose accessible to middle grades students.  The voice and tone are clear and honest and the descriptions are vivid, "He recognized people by the sounds of their voices, but could no longer picture their faces.  Spring became associated with the sweet smell of wildflowers blooming...rain was the sharp wetness on his face."

   This account of Braille's talented and generous life is crafted into eight chapters (and an index) on smaller pages with wide margins.  The pencil drawings and the watercolor jacket illustration lend authenticity to the narrative.

   The only shortcoming is that research and information sources are only indicated by acknowledgements to the Director of Information of the American Foundation of the Blind and to the Custodian of the Louis Braille Birthplace Municipal Museum.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Kirkus Reviews:  "With warmth and care, Freedman deftly delineates a life."

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books:  "...competently conveys Braille's pioneering spirit, and kids will be particularly interested in Braille's youth at the time of his invention and his battle against the establishment for its acceptance."

Children's Literature:  ...a fascinating and inspirational, but not saccharine, biography of a young man who changed the world for the blind."

CONNECTIONS

*This biography would undoubtedly lend itself to a classroom read aloud.

*Other books by Russell Freedman:

  ELEANOR ROOSEVELT:  A LIFE OF DISCOVERY (1993)

  COWBOYS OF THE WILD WEST (1985)

  CHILDREN OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION (2005)

  WASHINGTON AT VALLEY FORGE (2008)

POETRY

Lewis, J. Patrick. 2002. ARITHME-TICKLE. Ill. by Frank Remkiewicz. New York: Silver Whistle/Harcourt, Inc.
ISBN:  0152164189

PLOT SUMMARY

ARITHME-TICKLE is a collection of 18 mathematical "riddle rhymes".  All of the poems deal with different math operations such as addition, subtraction, time calculations, and weight, height and distance measurements.  In the poem "Going to Kalamazoo", this premise is presented:  "It's 100 miles from me to you / (You're in Detroit: I'm in Kalamazoo) / How many miles do you think it would be / If we were halfway between you and me?"  The text is printed on blue-lined notebook paper and the answers for each riddle are given in small, reverse type below each poem.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This individual and topical assemblage of rhymes is poetry and math lessons all rolled into one.  Most of the poems have fluid rhythm and rhyming patterns, but others are a bit awkward.  In the case of "A Regular Riddle", there is a strong use of assonance in an addition and subtraction activity:  "What is the number of points on a regular star, / Less the number of wheels on a regular car, / Plus the number of teeth in a regular mouth, / Less the number of states that begin with South."
A more awkward rhythm is evident in one of the "Arithme-Riddles":  "Dr. Nast said, 'I'll give you three shots / to get rid of those hideous spots. / One shot every half hour.' Goodness sake! / How long did those nasty Nast shots take?"
The illustrations are colorful and comical, with just enough detail to be amusing without being too busy.  This is especially evident on the two-page spread for "How Many Coconuts?"  For any students who are anxious about math, this book of "riddle-rhymes" could introduce the fun that can be had with numeration!

REVIEW EXCERPTS

The Horn Book Guide
"...the lighthearted approach to math is just right."

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Teachers who discover this title before their students do have a month's worth of daily math challenges right in hand."

CONNECTIONS
*The math connections are obvious:  have students solve the riddles.
*Other books by J. Patrick Lewis:
PLEASE BURY ME IN THE LIBRARY (2005) ; BIG IS BIG (AND LITTLE LITTLE): A BOOK OF CONTRASTS (2007) ; BLACK CAT BONE (2006)

POETRY

Hesse, Karen. 1997. OUT OF THE DUST. New York:  Scholastic Press.
ISBN:  0590360809


PLOT SUMMARY

OUT OF THE DUST is a novel built with individual poems strung into a personal narrative of a young girl living through the Great Depression.  Billie Jo is fourteen years old in 1934 and lives on a farm in Oklahoma.  Her family barely survives on failed crops brought on by drought and wind and dust.  She loses her mother and baby brother after a kitchen fire and her father withdraws into his own despair.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The circumstances are grim and joyless, but Billie Jo's thoughtful observations are expressed in the abreviated language of blank verse.  Upon her best friend moving away:  "Now Livie's gone west, / out of the dust, / on her way to California, / where the wind takes a rest sometimes."  When the women come to help after her mother died:  "The women talked as they / scrubbed death from our house. / I / stayed in my room / silent on the iron bed, / listening to their voices. / 'Billie Jo threw the pail,' / they said. 'An accident,' / they said. / Under their words a finger pointed."

Vivid images and emotions are created in carefully crafted phrases.  As time passes and internal and external wounds are healing, Billie Jo declares, "The way I see it, hard times aren't only / about money, / or drought, / or dust. / Hard times are about losing spirit, / and hope, / and what happens when dreams dry up." 

This book won the Newbery Medal in 1998.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Booklist
"The story is bleak, but Hesse's writing transcends the gloom and transforms it into a powerfully compelling tale of a girl with enormous strength, courage, and love."

Horn Book Magazine
"...expressly depicts both a grim historical era and one family's healing."

CONNECTIONS
*This book would supplement an American history lesson about the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl of the 1930's.
*Other books by Karen Hesse:
WITNESS (2001) ; BROOKLYN BRIDGE (2008)

POETRY

Singer, Marilyn. 1995. PLEASE DON'T SQUEEZE YOUR BOA, NOAH!.  Ill. by Clement Oubrerie. New York: Henry Holt and Company.
ISBN:  0805032770


PLOT SUMMARY

Animal lovers will appreciate this collection of 22 silly poems about ownership of some likely and some unlikely pets.  A few of the featured creatures include cats, dogs, frogs, fish, camels and of course, a boa constrictor: ("Be fonder of your anaconda / That's what you must do / Please don't squeeze you boa, Noah / Or he might just squeeze you.")


CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The poems vary in length and the apropos illustrations are colorful, cartoon exaggerations of pets and their owners.  In the poem about Tommy Tenkin's toad ("Ginger Jenkins liked to tease / Tommy Tenkin's toad Louise / She dressed it up in ballet clothers / And made it spin upon its toes"), the words of the poem are printed in wavy lines that mimic the hopping motion of the frog.

The rythms definitely lend themselves to reading aloud ("Remember that your guppy / Is a fish and not a puppy / You can't kiss it, you can't hug it / You can't take a leash and tug it").  A few of the rhymes are weak and awkward ("Here's my spider, big and hairy / Do you think she'd be less scary / If I said her name was Mary?").  But this weakness is compensated by the hilarious illustration:  the spider has curly blonde hair, a big smile, tickly eyelashes and red high-heel shoes!

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Booklist
"The popularity of the subject matter and the witty treatment Singer gives it should ensure a brisk checkout record."


CONNECTIONS

*Other books by Marilyn Singer:
QUIET NIGHT (2002) ; CITY LULLABY (2007) ; EGGS (2008) ; I'M YOUR BUS (2009)

*Invite children to create drawings of their ideal pets, and have a two-dimensional pet show.

TRADITIONAL LITERATURE

McKissack, Patricia.  2006.  PORCH LIES.  Ill. by Andre Carrilho.  New York:  Schwartz & Wade Books      ISBN:  9780375836190

PLOT SUMMARY

   This collection of nine "tales of slicksters, tricksters, and other wily characters" was assembled from memories of Patricia McKissack's childhood.  During the summertime she would go to her grandparents home in Nashville, Tennessee where friends and family would often stop by to visit.  She explains, "Some of these visitors loved to tell stories, or porch lies, as we called them - tales of humor and exaggeration told to listeners of all ages gathered together on the porch."

   All the stories compiled here are original creations, but they were fashioned after "the myths, legends, and historical figures who often appear in the African American oral tradition."  The formulation of the characters and situations in each story is rich.  Each tale is introduced with the particulars of the storyteller and the ocassion of their visit.  The band director at the high school stops by to encourage a neighbor to rejoin the band; an insurance agent comes by to collect a one-dollar premium and remembers a story when asked if he had change for a hundred dollar bill; a former boarder, who had become a physician, spends an afternoon during a visit to the medical college.
   Each of these nine recollections involves a cast of characters whose main protagonist is either a "fast-or-slow talking, well dressed city slicker or and innocent-looking country bumpkin...gifted with a silver tongue tarnished by an oily reputation."  In "Change", Mingo Cass is a alleged con-man who can't pay for his shoe shine because all he has to pay with is a one hundred dollar bill, and he knows change cannot be made.  The owner of the barber shop accuses him of "bamboozling" and wagers a bet of a year of free haircuts that "you aine got nothing that looks like a hundred-dollar bill in yo' wallet."
   In "Aunt Gran and the Outlaws", the main character is an innocent grandmother who enlisted the help of "two businessmen from Missouri" who turned out to be Frank and Jesse James.


CRITICAL ANALYSIS

   The winning charm and clever wit of seemingly unsavory characters is portrayed in humorous and sometimes scary situations.  McKissack's prose captures the sound of each storyteller's voice.  Each story also contains one black and white illustration by Andre Carrilho.  The people and surroundings are captured in exaggerated and comical caricatures combined with darkly sharp images.


REVIEW EXCERPTS

Library Media Connection
"This collection is a sheer delight to read and could encourage teachers, students and parents to imaginatively compose tales of a similar genre."

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Crackling dialogue fuels humorous plots, making this collection perfect for a classroom read aloud."


CONNECTIONS
*Other books by Patricia McKissack: 
THE DARK THIRTY: SOUTHERN TALES OF THE SUPERNATURAL
STICHIN' AND PULLIN': A GEES BEND QUILT
MIRANDY AND BROTHER WIND

*This collection of stories would be an excellent adult read aloud in the classroom or a library story time for older children.

TRADITIONAL LITERATURE

Goble, Paul.  1988.  HER SEVEN BROTHERS.  New York: Simon & Schuster
ISBN:  068971730X


PLOT SUMMARY

   HER SEVEN BROTHERS is a retelling of a Cheyenne legend.  A young girl who has no brothers or sisters lives with her parents.  But she never felt alone because she could speak to the birds and animals.  "She understood the spirits of all things."  She learned to embroider deer and buffalo skin robes with dyed porcupine quills.  She became quite skilled and was admired by everyone for her beautiful designs.  
   One day she began to make several shirts and pairs of moccasins. When she had completed seven sets she told her mother that she made the clothes for seven brothers "who live by themselves far in the north country where the cold wind comes from...they have no sister..I will ask them to be my brothers."  She set out and found the brothers and gave them the clothes and became their sister. 
   Then one day the chief of the Buffalo nation demands to have the girl, but her brothers refuse to let her go.  The Buffalo stampede and the youngest brother shoots an arrow up in the air and a pine tree appears.  The girl and her brothers climb the tree.  When the buffalo start to tear the tree down, the young brother shoots another arrow and the pine tree grows and they climb higher and "they were carried far away up among the stars...and there they all jumped down from the branches onto the boundless prairies of the world above."
   The book concludes with the message that the girl and her seven brothers are still here.  "They are the Seven Stars in the northern sky, which we call the Big Dipper."


CRITICAL ANALYSIS

   Paul Goble displays an admiration and reverence for the Native American culture as he retells this legend.  The authenticity is evident not only in the respectful tone of the storytelling, but also in the attention to detail in the illustrations.  Rather than taking a dramatic approach in describing the events, the tale is told in the quiet tone of a tribal storyteller.  The author references museum pieces for the designs used in the ink and watercolor paintings.


REVIEW EXCERPTS

Publishers Weekly
"This is a spry telling, dignified but lively."

School Library Journal
"Once again Goble's admiration for the Plains Indians has been combined with his considerable gifts as a painter to produce a seamless whole."

CONNECTIONS

*This book could be used in conjunction with Social Studies lessons on the Plains Indians of the central United States.
*Other books by Paul Goble:  THE GIRL WHO LOVED WILD HORSES (1978), THE GIFT OF THE SACRED DOG (1980), BUFFALO WOMAN (1984)