Brer Rabbit is a trickster that lives in the folktales told for hundreds of years and collected by Joel Chandler Harris in the 1880’s. This is a collection of seven tales and the language has been modernized from the original, but the humor remains. Kids will love hearing about the escapades of Brer Rabbit as he pulls his tricks on Brer Fox, Brer Bear, and Brer Turtle.
Speaking Dog: Understanding Why Your Hound Howls and Other Tips on Speaking Dog
This new series from Capstone is of high interest targeting struggling or reluctant readers. The vocabulary is controlled and the sentence structure is short and direct. All parts of a non-fiction book are included such as a table of contents, glossary and index. The photos do a good job of showing exactly what is referred to in the text. The quick guide to canine body language data table does a nice job of explaining what dogs are trying to say if they could speak. A book every school library should have to enable struggling students to experience success in reading non-fiction.
Monsters Don’t Cry!
Things happen that disappoint, make you sad, and even hurt, but it’ll get better, and crying won’t help. That’s the message here. But then sometimes you have to cry because nothing else will do. That’s okay, too.
The Pets You Get!
This is a cute little story with fun pictures. It deals with peoples differences and learning to appreciate each others and enjoy them. It is a quick easy read that young children would enjoy. The words are large easy to read font. The pictures are bright and colorful. It’s a fun addition to our library.
The Story Behind Maps
This reference on maps gives a brief history of mapmaking and famous mapmakers. It also provides information on types of maps, reading maps and on map projections. It ends a chapter titled, “The Future of Maps” that discusses satellites and sky surveys. There is a timeline, glossary, resources for more information at the end of the book in addition to the beautiful photographs and maps throughout the book. However, the book is aimed at a very young audience, and as a high school teacher, I do not know if it will find an audience in an elementary school.
The Ten Year Century
This book takes stock of the major events that occurred during the first decade of the twenty-first century: “breaking down the decade’s most significant events year by year, from the 2000 presidential election recount to the rise of globalization to the advent of Twitter…” From the dot.com bust, WMDs, the Surge, the Maverick to the Audacity of Hope, the major stories of the period are examined. The epilogue states that “…our constant flow of information from the media makes every crisis seem all the more dramatic.” One of our English teachers looked through this book and said that excerpts from it would be great to use for lessons in reading informational text. That in itself makes it a useful addition to the library.
Genetically Modified Foods
The world of genetically modified foods is discussed in this volume of the Nutrition and Health series. The author explains how GM crops were developed, how GM foods are made, and the advantages of and concerns about GM foods. The pages are visually appealing with color photos, fact inserts, and full page articles with related information. The book does a good job presenting both sides of the issue and provides a glossary, organizations to contact, and a list of references for more information. There is not enough information for upper level high school students doing research, but for younger students or those just looking for a place to start, it will suffice.
Bush v. Gore The Florida Recounts of the 2000 Presidential Election
This book takes what was an extremely volatile issue at the time, and what is likely to be seen by many students now as confusing, and leads the reader clearly through each of the chain of events that led to the Supreme Court decision Bush v. Gore. The explanations are clear. There are enough photos, inserts and quotations and excerpts from primary source documents to keep the material interesting. A timeline of events and rulings, a glossary, and additional resources are included.
Buried Alive: How 33 Miners Survived 69 Days Deep Underh the Chilean Desert
This is account of the 33 Chilean miners who were trapped in a mine after a collapse is absolutely riveting. The photographs of the miners in the mine, their families above ground waiting, hoping and praying, the rescuers, the technical pictures of the rescue equipment and the reunion of the miners with their families and the outside world are incredible. Every chapter had the word “together” in the title, Working, Surviving, Waiting, Planning Together, and more. It is clear that if the men had not worked together as one group they might not have made it. And if experts from all over the world had not offered their expertise the rescue might not have been a success. Natural leaders emerged in the group underground, men who understood that if the miners did not continue to work at something, they might languish and die. The story was incredible and this telling of it captures the despair, the fear, and the ultimate joy.
A Midsummer NIght’s Dream: The Graphic Novel
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, another volume in Gale’s Classic Graphic Novel Collection, did not disappoint. I have read and enjoyed several in this collection and this one is very good. The illustrations change color pallette depending on the location of the action, the characters involved or the type of action. The language is simplified; very little of the text is in Shakespeare’s original words, although occasionally speeches are in the original. I can’t figure out if there is a pattern behind which speeches retain the bard’s own words. However, that does not distract from the graphic novel. The art is well-done; the layout draws the reader into the story. I would highly recommend this series.