GENRE: Nonfiction and Biography

A biography...

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Stanley, Diane. 1998. Joan of Arc. New York: Morrow Junior Books. ISBN: 0688143296.

PLOT SUMMARY

This book is a historical account of the life of Joan of Arc. The book takes the reader from Joan of Arc's childhood all the way to the moment of her death. Stanley recounts what is known and recorded of what France was going through during the 100 Year War and how that war shaped the life of a peasant girl who believing she was summoned by angels to intervene and make a difference in France she lived her life fulfilling the command of her visions. The events in the book are historically accurate and portray accurately the life of Joan of Arc.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Diane Stanley does a beautiful job in the biography of Joan of Arc. Stanley gives her readers a good foundation of the events that happened before, during and after the life of Joan of Arc by including at the beginning of the book the section titled "A Hundred Years of War." The author also includes a helpful and interesting pronunciation guide of the French words included in the biography along with a map of the areas travelled and mentioned throughout the book. At the end of the book Stanley also includes a bibliography and a list of books about Joan of Arc recommended for young readers. Stanley's book is a vivid and well-detailed biography on the life of Joan of Arc. At the end, the author makes a statement that sums up about the facts found in her biography. This is what Diane Stanley says:

"The transcripts of Joan's trial for heresy is much more than just the record of a judicial proceeding; it is the autobiography of Joan of Arc. Through her answers, in her own simple words, she gives us a first-person account of her childhood, her visions, and her extraordinary career."

Overall, the book does a wonderful job of relating the facts in a way that keeps young and old mesmerized with every word that recounts the life of a hero, Joan of Arc, and the pictures are beautiful and complement the story just right.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Starred reviewed in Publishers Weekly. "Appealing to the audience's intelligence and imagination, this book stimulates an interest in both its particular subject, Joan of Arc, and history in general."

Reviewed in School Library Journal. "This narrative description of the greatest of French saints is a work of art, a good story, and a model of historical writing."

CONNECTIONS

This is a book has an interdisciplinary purpose in a classroom. It can serve as a literature work, a book to learn about history or a book to analyze and learn about art. It is a valuable tool in any classroom.

To learn more about the author, Diane Stanley, click on this link. Some other biographies written by Stanley are:

Saladin: Noble Prince of Islam

Michaelangelo

Peter the Great

Sibert Award winning book...

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. 2005. Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow. New York: Scholastic. ISBN: 0439353793.

SUMMARY PLOT

This nonfiction book tells the story of the children that found themselves in the middle of Hitler's movements and rise to supremacy in Germany. Hitlerjugend, Hitler Youth, was an organization formed by teenagers to serve and dedicate themselves to Hitler's ideology. Susan Campbell Bartoletti's book gives a gruesome and chilling picture of what it was to be growing up during the era of Hitler's rise and how he attracted so many young and susceptible minds to carryout atrocities against the Jewish people. The book tells of how some supporting parents, and others who were not, allowed their children to be drawn into these groups of children who were devoting their lives to Adolf Hitler. Unfortunately, these children became part of history by becoming part of Hitler's followers and following his orders. The book retells story after story of children's lives on how they followed or did not follow Hitler, how some of them destroyed their families for loyalty to Hitler, and how most of them risked their lives either by being on or against Hitler's side.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Campbell Bartoletti chronicles the lives of some of the children who found themselves in the middle of the Hitler turmoil. The events are retold in simple language that convey the message thoroughly and very vividly. Many personal stories are told such as the one of Hans Scholl. He was a young man attending the University of Munich in 1942. He and others were the founding members of the group called White Rose. They spoke out against Hitler and the atrocities being committed against Jews. With the use of a duplicating machine, Scholl and others courageously passed out leaflets of information in Munich and southern Germany.

Just like his story several others are told in Campbell Bartoletti's book. The book chronicles young lives that some were supporting Hitler and others were not. Not only the powerful words written by the author get to the readers, but also, the vivid pictures found throughout the book. No one that reads this book can forget the faces and emotions plastered all over the pictures. Such is the case of the picture found just right before the Foreword. It is of a young boy not older than six or seven years old in full Storm Trooper uniform with swastika and all doing the Nazi salute.

The sections at the end of the book do a great job in wrapping up all the facts in the book. The Epilogue tells the reader of what became of each young person met throughout the book. The time line of the events involving Hitler's youth make it easy for readers to put all the events together and understanding year-to-year the different things that happened that shaped the youth of that era in Germany.

Overall, this book is great for anyone to read and learn about the youngsters that found themselves in the middle of the historical events that led to and of World War II. The authors does a wonderful job of informing the readers of what happened during that time to some young people who decided to follow Adolf Hitler and some who decided to go against him. A much recommend book for young and old to read and learn and enjoy.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Reviewed in Publishers Weekly. "Bartoletti's portrait of individuals within the Hitler Youth who failed to realize that they served "a mass murderer" is convincing, and while it does not excuse the atrocities, it certainly will allow readers to comprehend the circumstances that led to the formation of Hitler's youngest zealots."

Reviewed in Booklist. "The handsome book design, with black-and-white historical photos on every double-page spread, will draw in readers and help spark deep discussion, which will extend beyond the Holocaust curriculum. The extensive back matter is a part of the gripping narrative."

CONNECTIONS

This link takes you to the author's official site, Susan Campbell Bartoletti.

Another Siber Award book by Susan Campbell Bartoletti:

Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine 1845-1850

Nonfiction book by Seymour Simon

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Simon, Seymour. 1987. Animal Fact/Animal Fable. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., a Random House Company. ISBN: 0517588463.

PLOT SUMMARY

This book gives a popular statement about a given animal and asks the reader to decide if it is a fact or fable about the animal. At the turn of the page, the reader will find out if indeed the statement is a fact or a fable about the animal. The reader not only will find out if it is a fact or a fable, the reader will learn about the basis of the statement given and learn the specific facts.

The illustrations in the book by Diane deGroat are wonderful in depicting the statement given about the animals in a humorous way. Again, at the turn of the page, the illustrations turn serious and educational. The illustrations certainly detail the content of the book in a very eloquent and entertaining way.

The reader will learn about different kinds of animals from domestic to wild animals. The book is full of fables, facts and facts about where the fables might have originated for each animal in the story.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This is a nonfiction book that will keep young readers entertained and educate them as they are reading. The book is designed in such a way that the reader can read a statement and try to decipher if it is fact or fiction. For example, most of us have heard that some bees sting only once which Seymour Simon explains that it is a fact. The author, in a very simplistic way, gives the facts behind this statement. Simon does it in such a way that the reader will close the book knowing the facts behind some fables known about some animals.

Also, the pictures are a great complement to the book. The pictures are done in a dual way. They literally depict the fact or fable for the statements given in the story.

It is a truly wonderful and recommended book for young readers to enjoy and learn at every turn of the page.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Starred reviewed in School Library Association. "Combining instruction with amusement can be a tricky business, usually one aim is sacrificed to the other. Here is a book that manages a balance, and succeeds...A very fine collaboration."

Reviewed in Publishers Weekly. "Every entry is a surprise is the best kind of book-one that entertains while it educates."

CONNECTIONS

This is an excellent book to use to teach young children about fiction and facts about animals. The following link takes you to a website full of extension activities that go along with Seymour Simon's book:

http://www.macmillanmh.com/reading/2005/student/activity.php3?story=117

GENRE: Poetry

Book of poetry...

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Grimes, Nikki. 1996. Come Sunday. Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN: 0802851088.

PLOT SUMMARY

The poems in this book take the reader through each facet of a typical Sunday of the main character, LaTasha. The first poem is of her mother waking her up Sunday morning to get ready for church. As the story keeps going, Nikki Grimes offers a poem for arriving at church and seeing the ladies of the congregation, the description of what the ladies are wearing, the walking-in of the ushers, the singing, baptisms, Sunday school, the offerings, supper at church, the preaching, the end of the day, and laying herself back to sleep. Each poem is from a little girl's point of view of how she perceives a Sunday and what happens at church. The poems take the reader from the beginning of Sunday to the end of the day.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Nikki Grimes does a beautiful job in narrating a Sunday at church through the use of poetry. Each poem is written in such a precise way that the reader gets a sense of being at church right next to LaTasha, the narrator of the poems. The language used is simple, but yet, so descriptive that when reading each line you can almost feel the laced gloves, you can almost taste the sweet glazed yams, you can feel the uncertainty of going in the water during baptism, and you can feel the strong faith of the LaTasha when she implores to him at times. The poems turn a typical day at church into an interesting, sweet and inspirational day through the descriptive words used by the author. It is a wonderful book of poetry that turns the mundane into celestial.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Review in Booklist. "Grimes' short poems, boxed neatly into each ink-and-watercolor double-page spread, capture both the jubilation of a spirit-filled African American congregation and the more solemn moments. Yet both author and illustrator make sure that all this wonder is reflected strictly from the child's point of view."

Review in School Library Journal. "Grimes's topical poems are short and down-to-earth enough to engage children and occasionally will sweep them along with a bouncy rhythm or a spark of recognition that brings LaTasha's Sunday to life."

CONNECTIONS

This book is an excellent way to present children with well-written poetry. They are short but full of description. This book can be a wonderful tool in the classroom to also introduce descriptive writing and sequence of events, and there will be plenty of personal connections since the poems deal with a universal theme of religion and congregations.

Other books by Nikki Grimes are Oh, Brother! and The Road to Paris.

This is a link to Nikki Grimes website:

http://www.nikkigrimes.com/

A verse novel...

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BIBLIOGRAPHY


Hesse, Karen. 1997. Out of the Dust. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN: 0590360809.

PLOT SUMMARY

Billie Joe. Dust storms. Things lost. Things gained. Karen Hesse writes the story of a young girl growing up during the hard times of the 1930s in a farm that does not cease to see dust storms. She lives with her stoic father and her determined, pregnant mother in a farm that is not yielding much for everyday leaving. Although much is happening that could kill the spirit, they keep going forward and making ends meet as much as they can. They are looking forward to the birth of the new baby, but unfortunately, a tragic accident eventually takes the life of the newborn baby and Billie Joe’s mother. Billie Joe blames herself of the events that took her mother and brother away, and deep down, she can’t forgive her father for inadvertently setting up the very thing that made the accident happen, a pail of kerosene next to the stove.

Not only does Billie Joe lose loved ones but also, she loses her ability to play the piano which is the one and only thing in which she resembles her mother. During the accident, Billie Joe burned her hands terribly. So much that she is unable to play the piano without feeling great pain. That pain leads for her to stop playing the piano which is the one thing she loves. Among the things lost, Billie Joe also copes with a strained relationship with her father.

After many tries of coping with all things lost and the dust storms, she decides to run from the dust and the pain. Later, she understands that getting out of the dust is futile because the dust is inside of her as she explains it to her father. It is an intense moment of revelation both for Billie Joe and her father, and at that moment, their relationship becomes stronger and more understanding.


As the story is coming to an end, Billie Joe’s father is courting a woman who is trying to understand what they have been through and is not trying to replace or step on no one’s toes. Little by little, Billie Joe starts to open the doors to her soul to this woman who is making things better at home. The novel ends with Billie Joe letting the reader know that things will be fine, and she will keep growing to be a stronger person next to her father and the new woman.


CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Karen Hesse touches the reader in an unbelievable way. The award-winning novel keeps the reader hooked through the intense rollercoaster ride of emotions and events. The reader is at the edge of the seat as each powerful event unfolds in the novel in which Billie Joel, the main character, takes us through her everyday life filled with hardships and life-learning moments. Hesse does a wonderful job of describing the emotions inside of Billie Joe which range from happiness to regret, from sadness to anger. In this novel, the reader learns about the hardships of the Great Depression, the difficult and intriguing life in an area of dust storms, family bonds and the “growing pains” of a young girl. The novel is beautifully written in verse-form, and it will surely leave the reader with a better understanding of life and family. This timeless novel is much recommended. No one that reads it will be unmoved by the canny way Hesse writes each verse in the novel that difficult to put down once it has been started.

REVIEWED EXCERPTS

Starred review in Publishers Weekly. "This intimate novel, written in stanza form, poetically conveys the heat, dust and wind of Oklahoma. With each meticulously arranged entry Hesse paints a vivid picture of her heroine's emotions."

Starred review in Booklist. "A powerfully compelling tale of a girl with enormous strength, courage and love."

CONNECTIONS

As this novel was being read, many connections were being made to what the present-day economy is going through here in the United States. This novel is a must read during anytime but more so during these difficult times that U.S. families are facing. In the classroom setting, many connections can be made in an interdisiciplanary setting. Students can learn about history, geography, science, literature, human spirit and so much more.

The following is a great link to use to learn about The Dust Bowl. It provides timelines, maps website links and images that are great, useful tools to teach students:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dustbowl/

A book of poems...

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=a+pizza+the+size+of+the+sun&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2


BIBLIOGRAPHY


Prelutsky, Jack. 1994. A Pizza the Size of the Sun. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN: 0688132359.


PLOT SUMMARY

This book is a compilation of funny poems. Some are long and some are short, but mostly, they all go to a rhyme. The topics vary from a crazy computer to a shy lettuce. The illustrations done by James Stevenson capture Prelutsky's poems with much precision. Such is the case of the poem "I'm Drifiting Through Negative Space" well depicted simply by a gray background in which the tone of the poem is negative and contrary. Overall, this book of poems is full of humor ready to be enjoyed, and the indexes at the end of the book come in handy in locating the poems in the book.


CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Jack Prelutsky along with James Stevenson can readily put a smile on someone's face with these silly and funny poems. It is a book that can be enjoyed and read time and time again. Poems can be read one at a time, or chunks at one time, or read all in one seating. They are meant for young and old and girls and boys. Prelutsky does a wonderful job of playing with words and silliness such as in "Llook!", a poem about llamas.

Being one that is usually not inclined to read poetry, I found myself picking up the book time and time again to read these poems. One quickly became a favorite because it remounted me to my childhood in which I often thought of inanimate objects having feeling and thoughts. That poem is "If." I have read it many times, and every time I find something new to understand and enjoy.

This book is recommened for easy-going reading that will lift the spirit and find a smile lurking as it is being read.


REVIEW EXCERPTS


Reviewed in Booklist. "The verse finds perfect visual expression in Stevenson's witty ink drawings touched with gray wash. A delightful addition to poetry collections that will not stay on the shelf for long."


Reviewed in School Library Journal. "Perfect for reading aloud or alone, it will be reached for again and again by teachers, parents, kids, librarians, and anyone else who likes poems that make them chuckle. As a matter of fact, this book should be required reading for those out there who claim they don't like poetry."


CONNECTIONS

SLJ's review hit right at home when they recommend the book to people who supposedly do not like poetry. I am one of those, and I can say I thoroughly enjoyed the book by Jack Prelutsky. I will give Prelutsky's other books a try, too, for sure.

The New Kid on the Block (starred reviewed)
Something BIG Has Been Here (starred reviewed)
My Parents Think I'm Sleeping