Some Great New Books

Book Expo and the ALA Conference both came to LA this year. What a treat for a book junkie! The multitudinous stacks of new books on the floor create both an enticing and daunting prospect for the coming months. Among the many novels are nonfiction stunners as well, a few noted below. The fact that most of the authors and illustrators are INK bloggers is purely coincidental. (If there is such a thing!)

APOLOGY: I’m sorry not to show the gorgeous covers of all these books, but I’m still working out how to upload, format, etc etc.

First, I must mention VULTURE VIEW by April Pulley Sayre, illustrated by Steve Jenkins. This is a 2007 book, as evidenced by its shiny Giesel Honor Book sticker, awarded at the aforementioned ALA Conference. This book is exquisite in every way. Word perfect, picture perfect. Who knew vultures could be so poetical and beautiful?

ELIZABETH LEADS THE WAY by Tanya Lee Stone, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon is a gem – highly polished and dazzling – with a skillful mix of the personal and historical portrayed in words and pictures. Best of all is the author’s voice filled with exuberant passion that perfectly matches the subject and theme of the book.

Don Brown has two forthcoming books, each recounting one memorable day. ALL SYSTEMS DISTRESS! relates the grim horror of the sinking of the Titanic. LET IT BEGIN HERE! sends us back to April 19. 1775: The Day the Revolution Began. Brown gives us an hour by hour, mile by mile account of the Battle of Lexington and Concord filled with dozens of personal details. (I’d never heard the name of Paul Revere’s horse before.) We all know that the Patriots were the good guys, the Brits the baddies. But in this account of a traditionally “heroic” event, we see the brutality of war that infects both sides. A British soldier bayonets an American. An American splits the skull of an injured Englishman. One small ray of light: in the middle of the battle, as the Concord courthouse burns, both sides worked the bucket brigade to put out the flames.

CHRISTO AND JEANNE-CLAUDE: THROUGH THE GATES AND BEYOND by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan presents some of my favorite artworks and their irresistible creators. The photos, text, and book design are beautifully integrated to tell the story of these artists who make some of the most democratic, joyful, gorgeous art you’ll ever see.

1968 by Michael T. Kaufman travels around the world and into space to tell the exhilarating and sobering story of that tumultuous year. Vietnam, Paris, Prague, Chicago, Mexico City, and Apollo 8 all get chapters. As a New York Times reporter, Kaufman was on the scene for some of it. Photos, headlines, and NYT articles intensify the drama. I was over 21 that year, and even marched in Paris in May 1968. But it takes a book like this to begin to understand what it – we – all meant.

I know, I’m going on a bit, but I can’t stop without mentioning THE NEGRO SPEAKS OF RIVERS, E.B. Lewis’s pictorial homage to Langston Hughes’s poem. [I claim poetry for the nonfiction camp!] I don’t think I’ll ever read the poem again without seeing Lewis’s sublime watercolor close-ups, long shots, landscape, and portraits.

Summer Books "Go Green"

Continuing the topic I started last month, here are more fantastic books to keep the kids busy this summer. And there's a bonus: these books get kids to go outdoors and to use recycled materials... what more can you ask for?

Nature's Art Box: From t-shirts to twig baskets, 65 cool projects for crafty kids to make with natural materials you can find anywhere
Laura C. Martin (author)
David Cain (Illustrator)
Storey Publishing June 2003
Parent's Choice Approved Award-Winner

With a great cover like that, how can you not catch the crafting bug? As Martin says on the second page, 'To craft means to make something with your hands and people have been making crafts since time began.' Throughout the book, Martin adds insight on the history of each craft and material, engaging the reader in the entire creative process. Each project is made with a easy-to-find materials from the environment... it's a natural!


Recycled Crafts Box
Laura C. Martin
Storey Publishing March 2004

Once again, another eye-catching cover!
Most of the projects that I teach in my Art Appreciation Classes and Summer Arts and Crafts classes involve the use of recycled materials. Not only is it politically correct, it is inexpensive -- a perfect combination.
Believe it or not, I learned a few things about recycling that I didn't know. The book is written in a fun, non-preachy way.
This summer, I highly recommend that everyone go see Wall-E at the theaters and after the movie sit down and go through this book; your environment, your karma, and the future will thank you.


Organic Crafts: 75 Earth-Friendly Art Activities
Kimberly Monaghan
Chicago Review Press March 2007

Fantastic, fun projects that would also be great for classrooms.
Of course, printed on 100% recycled paper!





Summer Crafts: Fun and Creative Summer Projects for the Whole Family
Marjorie Galen
Hylas Publishing June 2005

Two years ago when I saw this book (after reading a wonderful review in the Chicago Tribune), I fell in love. Sadly, the book is no longer in print. In my INK posts, I have tried to review books that are in print, but this book had to be mentioned in today's post. Make sure you check this book out of your library.

Summer Crafts is illustrated in beautiful photographs. My right-brain likes photographs. I like to 'see' the craft and how it is done... and these photographs are creative, artistic and fun! The crafts are some of the best I have seen; simple, unique, using naturally found/recycled materials and, most importantly, involving the family. Our family has made many of the projects.

I hope everyone is having a fun, crafty, earth-friendly summer. Get outside and enjoy the weather and nature.

Celebrate America the I.N.K. Way

In anticipation of July 4th, I thought it would be fun to put together a list of books that we as nonfiction readers and writers might choose to celebrate America. So I emailed our I.N.K. bloggers and asked them to recommend a title or two. Here are their responses.




Sue Macy:
My book to celebrate America is The Roaring 20: The First Cross-Country Air Race for Women by Margaret Whitman Blair (National Geographic, 2006). This account of the 1929 National Women's Air Derby from Santa Monica, California, to Cleveland, Ohio, is a wonderful adventure story, starring Amelia Earhart, Louise Thaden, and a host of other aviation pioneers. It's an exciting read, gripping at times, with triumph and tragedy, telling a story that foreshadows the expanding role of women in our society.

Kelly Fineman:
For the fourth of July: I'm torn. I'd pick Independent Dames by Laurie Halse Anderson and the two Statue of Liberty books (Lady Liberty by Doreen Rappaport and Naming Liberty by Jane Yolen)I reviewed in tandem on my blog.

I chose Independent Dames because it spotlights the contributions of women and girls to the American Revolution.

I selected the Statue of Liberty books because they both tell the story of what may be this country's best-known icon, with slightly different foci. The Yolen book has the bonus of including an account of the immigrant experience coming to this country (and we are a country of immigrants, after all).


April Sayre:
HENRY HIKES TO FITCHBURG by D.B. Johnson.
It reflects some of the many aspects of American spirit and it has that New England flavor that makes me think of the origins of our nation.

Loreen Leedy:
For the July 4th list how about Celebrate the 50 States! It's a picture book that explores the diverse features of all fifty states, plus the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. A trivia question for each one (e.g. What is a Hoosier?) is answered in the back.

Kathleen Krull:
For your list to celebrate America - I nominate I HEAR AMERICA SINGING: FOLK SONGS FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES, collected & arranged by me, ill. by Allen Garns. But what better way to celebrate than by singing your head off, that's what I say.

Jan Greenberg:
Celebrate American Artists and Poets Books by Jan Greenberg
Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by Twentieth Century American Art (YA)
Action Jackson (picture book of Jackson Pollock painting Lavender Mist) (ages 7-10)
Romare Bearden: Collage of Memories (ages 7-10)
Christo and Jeanne Claude: Through The Gates and Beyond (Middle Grade)

Susan Goodman:
One thing that makes a society great is to be able to tell its stories without whitewashing them. So I'll recommend:

The Middle Passage by Tom Feelings that describes the journey of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic in searing detail without a single word.

This Land Was Made for You and Me by Elizabeth Partridge--a fabulous biography of Woody Guthrie that sensitively but unsparingly looks at his greatness and his demons.

See How They Run by Susan E. Goodman, a shameless plug for my new book, which uses humor to tell the real story behind our wonderful but very imperfect government and the people who have led it.

Linda Salzman:
Democracy is best contemplated through the eyes of those who struggle for equality. A Dream of Freedom.The Civil Rights Movement From 1954 to 1968 by Diane McWhorter is my favorite children's book about this important period in American history.

America is very much about a sense of place. To me, nothing beats my hometown. For kids to get a real feel for my city This is New York, a classic written in 1960 by Miroslav Sasek, is still the best.

Gretchen Woelfle:
Come Back, Salmon: How a group of dedicated kids adopted Pigeon Creek and brought it back to life, by Molly Cone; photos by Sidnee Wheelwright, Sierra Club Books for Children, SF 1992. This is an older book but represents everything I love about our country: its land and wildlife, the energy of its people, and its openness to change.

Jeannette Rankin: Political Pionner (Boyds Mills/Calkins Creek: 2007) First Congresswoman, lifelong peace activist, praised and vilified -- indomitable.

Steve Jenkins:
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction.It's rude and irreverent (and includes a photo of the nine Supreme Court justices nude) and my kids love it. Interestingly, there's quite a bit of real history and social studies in the book. And the fact that a book like this can be printed (and be a bestseller) says a lot about the country, in a good way.

Anna M. Lewis:
Here are two fun, craft books full of projects to inspire the red, white, and
blue passion:
Star-Spangled Crafts
Kathy Ross
Millbrook Press (January 2003)
Easy-to-follow, fun projects made from readily available household
materials. Bright, colorful drawings add to the fun.

Celebrate America: Learning About the USA Through Crafts and Activities
Jill Frankel Hauser (author)
Michael Kline (illustrator)
Williamson Publishing Company (April 2004)
Fantastic variety of crafts and projects to aid in educating American
History. A must for teachers and parents. I even learned a few things about
our Nation.

Stretch Your Mind

In the front of the children’s room of a local library I was excited to see a new display with a sign “Stretch your mind with some new Nonfiction.” I immediately thought of Susan Goodman’s post about alternative phrases for nonfiction. "Stretch Your Mind" might be the most appealing one yet. The children’s librarian saw me looking at the books and rushed over to me to tell me they had lots of great new nonfiction and pointed me to the shelves. She’s my new favorite librarian.

Time to fess up. I can be very finicky about my nonfiction selections. I read a lot of nonfiction yet I can easily pass over (aka be very judgmental about)some things that look to me to be fictionalized accounts, mostly photos with little information, or 250 pages on a subject I never gave much thought to. This time I decided to go with the motto-- stretch my mind-- and try some books I might otherwise have past up.

One book I picked up had the first section dated 1678, accompanying paragraph written in the first person. I would normally drop such a book immediately or at least try to reshelve it properly in fiction. I must admit I actually wound up liking I, Vivaldi by Janice Shefelman.
After reading through the story of the young Vivaldi's life, I realized that fictionalizing some of the story of this 17th century composer's life may have been the only choice. The book does a great job of showing how someone can follow their passion even if other responsiblities sometimes get in the way. I love that the author recommends a specific recording of The Four Seasons, adding to the feel that the author and illustrator had a special connection to the music.

I don't usually go for any nf book with a commercial connection but I do enjoy facts so I tried Kermit's 501 Fun Facts and was pleasantly surprised.
The facts were interesting, varied and fairly specific given the small amount of space allotted to each one. I think this was way above the level for the average Sesame Street age viewer and no self-respecting fourth grader would be caught carrying around a Kermit book. Maybe they can go back to the old paper bag book covers for a while because any fact loving 4th or 5th grader would really enjoy this.

How Big Is It? is the kind of glossy, big photo nonfiction book that I usually pass over for a more erudite choice.

So when I pushed myself to read it I was pleasantly surprised that it was actually chock full of information, some of which I had been trying to find on my own. On one spread about airships, Hillman juxtaposes photographs of a modern 747 next to the Wright Brothers plane, next to the Hindenburg. When I was researching dirigibles, I spent hours trying to get the actual dimensions of these different airplanes so I could compare them to a dirigible. And now, there it was, in both words and photo, with the impact just as dramatic as I had imagined. As Steve Jenkins mentioned in his post, scale can be very important in helping a reader relate to a topic. This book uses that concept very successfully.

After having expanded my nonfiction horizons, I went home to face the book on World War II that had been sitting on my desk for weeks. I feared this would be a really dull read and had been avoiding it. When I finally picked up The Causes of World War II by Paul Dowswell, I couldn't put it down.
It was a very concise, well written account of what led up to the war, the major players,and the position of the many countries that entered the war. It answered many of the questions I had been struggling with in my research and I was sorry I hadn't read it sooner.

Lesson learned. Follow your friendly librarian to the nonfiction section. Inhale deeply. Stretch.

Girls Rule!

I didn't originally plan on posting about NF books that promote strong women, but the topic has been on my mind a lot lately. Strong women and girls rule because:
a) My daughter, who is also my first born, turns 16 years old this week. I am proud to say that she won "Most Strong-Willed" award in her kindergarten class. I think they created the award just for her. She's somewhat shy and reserved BUT she definitely knows her mind.
b) At this point in our historic Presidential race, I still have no idea who I'm voting for. If there is a small chance that the US support of a woman Presidential candidate would make a difference in other countries where women have little or no rights, then I'm in full support of a woman President.
c) I am a woman.
d) With all the negative influences in the media (from rap music to the fashion industry... to even the toy industry), we should empower our daughters every way we can.

Here are some really cool books that show girls that they can do ANYTHING they set their minds to and the possibilities are endless:


Her Story: A Timeline of the Women
Who Changed America
Charlotte S. Waisman
Jill S. Tietjen
Collins April 2008

This beautiful book is shelved in the Adult NF but should definitely be located in the YA and Children's NF sections. Each page explains years of amazing accomplishments by women and the timeline format illustrates so well the role of women in US and world history. The professions index is fantastic because it groups the women by all the varied occupations; in all areas of arts, business, politics, sciences, and advocacy. Just think of all the inspiration in this book! Hundreds of biographies with wonderful photos illustrate the history very clearly... and will keep children (and adults) of all ages interested.





The Sky's the Limit: Stories of Discovery by Women and Girls
Catherine Thimmesh (author)
Melissa Sweet (illustrator)
Houghton Mifflin 2004 (paperback)

A sequel to the book below, this fun, informative book delves more into the discoveries of women in science: i.e. anthropology, astronomy, biology, medicine. Of course, don't forget the word Girls in the title. There is a fantastic chapter on young girls that made great discoveries.
Wanted to add: just returned from library with daughter. While we were there, she announced, "I need some books on influential women/current history/European for AP European History." I gave her this book and she was happy!


Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women
Catherine Thimmesh (author)
Melissa Sweet (illustrator)
Houghton Mifflin 2002 (paperback)

I fell in love with this book when I saw the cover. How great is this?
Women Inventors! Yes, to a toy inventor this book is golden.
When I entered industrial design school, I was one of just a handful of girls. (My roommates thought that was really cool but not for the reason I write this post.) I was lost in the shop room and no one was willing to help. Thankfully, girls now take shop class in school along with the boys. (Whoops, got a little off topic.)
Very importantly, there's even a chapter on how to produce and submit your inventions.
I have a few patents already... hum, maybe I can be in this book someday. Even grown-up girls can dream!

Cool Women, Hot Jobs: And How You Can Go for It, Too!
Tina Schwager
Michele Schuerger
Free Spirit Publishing 2002

A current complaint of parents today is that high school is too much like college. Students choose classes geared for their major/profession beginning their freshman year and occasionally in 7th and 8th grade. How can children possibly know what they want to be 'when they grow up' when they are that age? (Heck, I'm still asking that... but that's another issue.)
Cool Women, Hot Jobs wonderfully exposes a variety of professions through interviews with 22 fascinating women and then lays out the tools needed to discover your dreams and how to achieve them.

Friday Fun: Join the Big Sell

There has been the beginnings of an interesting discussion this week on the Children's Writer's and Illustrator's chat board. Apparently the already undersized NF sections in bookstores are shrinking rapidly. Word is, no one is interested in these subjects, least of all those boring ol' historical topics.

I'm convinced we here at I.N.K. have the charm, wit, and good looks to do what has never before been successfully attempted. That's right-- we can recommend the near perfect NF selection for any NF neophyte. Yes, it's the NF blog handsell.

Examples? Yes, of course.

You say you really enjoyed the terrific humor and insights of the recent Newbery honor winner THE WEDNESDAY WARS? Well, let me tell you, if you liked those rats, you'll be blown away by Oh, Rats! The Story of Rats and People by Al Marrin. It's rats through the ages, reproducing and thriving, even in a court of law.

Are you the more sensitive type who usually enjoys a tender tearjerker like Jenny Downham's BEFORE I DIE about a girl's battle with incurable cancer? We NF people do diseases--and lots of them. Why not give ace NF writer James Cross Giblin's When Plague Strikes. The Black Death, Smallpox, AIDS a try? Mr. Giblin does not disappoint in his ability to totally immerse his readers in infection, illness and disease.

Please chime in with your best blog handsell.