Author Archives: Anne Hales

Lucas and the Capoeira Circle

Posted on by

Lucas wakes excited for his capoeira moving up ceremony. Getting ready to go in the morning, he eats his breakfast and practices. His little sister tries the moves too, but fall and loses her ginga, or her confidence. As Lucas waits his turn during the ceremony, he starts to wonder what would happen if he lost HIS ginga. And when it happens, he’s not sure he will be able to earn his new cordas like his friends. This story shows the importance of family, community, and capoeira’s movement and music in the Brazilian community. It also speaks the importance of perseverance, effort, and the support of community in self improvement. In the end, Lucas earns his new cord and his nickname.

The inclusion of Portuguese words enrich the cultural experience of the book. The pictures portray the art and motion of capoeira with dynamic expressive illustrations.

In Our Solar System: A Counting Poem About Outer Space

Posted on by

In Our Solar System captures young people’s fascination with planets and space. The use of the “Over in the Meadow” rhythm for the poems provides the information in a catchy format for younger children and aids in fact retention. Illustrations then portray the number from the poem also providing a counting opportunity for young children. Each poem is then accompanied by a paragraph detailing more complex information about the topic. As the numbers increase in the rhyming poems, the topic is moving further from the sun. Topics include: the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and comets.

The combination of short catchy rhyming poems, colorful illustrations, and interesting facts will make this a great book when reading with a diversity of ages.

Seoul Food

Posted on by

Hana, a young biracial girl is excited that both her grandparents will be visiting. She wants to cook a perfect meal that blends her African American and Korean roots. Hana’s mother and father offer suggestions and encouragement as she wrestles with ideas. The blending of the two food traditions with lots of love results in the creation of Kimchi Gumbo. Hana’s dinner is a huge success and so is the family gathering.

Seoul Food uses a young girls efforts to incorporate her grandparents’ cuisine into a single meal to symbolize both the challenges and the joys of blending two cultures. The cute illustrations clearly portray the characters’ emotions. The recipe for Kimchi Gumbo is included at the end.

The Keeper of Stories

Posted on by 
A library is
a keeper of stories.
     A keeper of memories.
          A keeper of hope.

Founded in 1893, the library at New York’s Jewish Theological Seminary collected the stories of Jewish people from around the world. These stories and the information preserved in this building were particularly precious because historically so many Jewish stories have been erased through war and suppression. The top level of the library’s tower caught fire in 1966, endangering the whole collection. Despite efforts to protect as many of the books as possible, water damage was catastrophic. Neighbors and strangers alike gathered “Operation Booklift” to hand over hand pass the books out of the ruined building. Many methods were tried to safely dry the books until volunteers finally found that repeatedly placing paper towels between every other page dried the books. Ultimately, 70,000 books were turned to ash, but 170,000 books were saved.

A Keeper of Stories is a reminder that even in times of devastation, when individuals work as a community, much can be saved. A library is a keeper of stories, but we are the keepers of stories too.

A Tree for Me

Posted on by

The book A Tree for Me is a celebration of the diversity of trees found in a temperate climate. A boy, his father, and a dog take a walk through the park and point out noteworthy characteristics of the trees they come across. The details described are typical of what a young child might notice and are usually inadequate to differentiate specific trees. The story ends with the boy choosing a tree from a nursery to plant at their home.

Colorful illustrations lend the book a cheerful feel. A Tree for Me is a good pick for Arbor Day discussions or for a young explorers just starting to notice the world around them. Endpapers include a picture glossary of the trees from the park as well as a bulleted list and resources titled “Why We Love Trees.”

Caged

Posted on by

Caged is a very poignant picture book based on the author’s experiences as a child in a Hmong refugee camp. It tells how being watched over by guards, eating meager meals, and waiting for approval to leave were normalized in the lives of children. Yet despite all of this, the children’s imagination, youthful joy, and loving connection to family make the story one of hope. While physically caged, the essence of the individual, the families, and the larger community refused to be bound. Creative and colorful illustrations help juxtapose the feelings of confinement and hope.

In the Author’s Note, Kao Kalia Yang describes how a question from her daughter about the detention of immigrant children on the US-Mexican border inspired her to revisit her experiences as a child in a refugee camp. Beyond it’s picture book audience, this powerfully personal story has abundant curriculum connections for secondary social studies.

See a Pumpkin Grow

Posted on by

From seed to sprout, seedling to bloom, See a Pumpkin Grow walks the reader through the life cycle of a pumpkin. The simple text and colorful up-close photographs make the content accessible for young readers. Chapter headings and bold glossary terms provide content support.

This is a perfect addition to all elementary school libraries. See a Pumpkin Grow can be used to support life cycle lessons or to introduce the pumpkin patch or farm field trip.

Animal Scales

Posted on by

Animal Scales is part of the Amazing Animal Parts Level 1 Blastoff! Readers. Starting with the scales on a butterfly’s wings, this book will help broaden young readers understanding of animal features. The book goes on to highlight scales on snakes, eagle’s feet, and fish.

The book contains a Table of Contents, bolded glossary terms, illustrated glossary, and an index. More information is available digitally through Bellwether’s Factsurfer links. The links include text information on butterflies, snakes, and a video on scales and feathers.

Amazing Animal Parts Level 1 Blastoff! Readers series focuses on the how different animal features help with survival. The series also includes: Animal Ears, Animal Eyes, Animal Feet, Animal Noses, and Animal Tails.

Eloísa’s Musical Window

Posted on by

Despite her family’s poverty, a young girl satisfies her love of music by listening to the songs of daily life through her window. Looking out into the street, the whole world seems at times like a parade. The cats, dogs, cows, and horses add their sounds to the bustling past. It all makes Eloísa want to dance, though she’s too shy to do so out in the street. Also anchoring her to the inside of the window is her mother’s illness. When the village children gather their instruments to practice right outside her window, As Eloísa and her family listened, symphony of music invigorated her mother enough that she ventured outside.

This is a story about the power of music and rhythm of life in a small rural community. It also portrays the feelings of isolation and helplessness when a loved one either does not receive or does not respond to medical care. The story is set in the past in a Cuban village and interspersed with Spanish words.

Careers in STEM: Zoologist

Posted on by

In Careers in STEM: Zoologist, the reader is introduced to what a zoologist is and the explores some of the diverse kinds of animals a zoologist might study. The book continues with information on what types of things that zoologists study and how they go about that study. It also includes how a person becomes a zoologist.

Bellwether Media again does a great job with a series that provides age appropriate content in an engaging and accessible way. With supportive non-fiction text features (table of contents, labels, bold glossary terms, and index) the reader has helpful tools to enhance comprehension.

Additional resources linked through Bellwether Media’s FactSurfer portal provide extended learning opportunities with one text resource and one video resource. A third link is not functional at this time.