Sisters and Brothers: Sibling Relationships in the Animal World

Bibliography:

Jenkins, Steve and Robin Page. 2008. Sisters and Brothers: Sibling Relationships in the Animal World. Ill. by Steve Jenkins. New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 9780618375967.

Summary:

Animals have families too. Sometimes animal sisters and brothers act much like human kids, but others act very differently. Armadillos are always identical quadruplets, but termites have millions of siblings. Cheetahs and falcons use their brothers and sisters to practice hunting, being careful not to hurt each other. Did you know that whiptail lizards have only sisters, or that black widow spiders eat their siblings?

Analysis:

Jenkins and Page present an informative and fascinating book for children interested in animals. Each page has a title (“Living together,” “Sibling rivalry”), a block of text, and a collage picture of the animals. There is plenty of white space to keep the book from being overwhelming. Lots of facts about siblings and the daily life of these animals are presented in a compact way, and additional facts are given in the back of the book. Children will identify with sibling fights and play, and be wide-eyed at other habits, such as crocodiles hiding in their mother’s mouth.

Reviews/Awards:

“Enough data is afforded to satisfy many children, and adults are offered some further readings to suggest to the insatiably curious. Eye-catching, and with an interesting approach to the animal world, this book should appeal to a wide variety of ages and interests.”
School Library Journal, starred review

“Most talk about animal families focuses on the parent-child relationship, but this riveting picture book, illustrated in Jenkins’ signature style, is packed with amazing facts about how young animals nurture one other or compete for survival and leave home.”
Booklist, starred review

Connections:
* Read other books about animals by Steve Jenkins, such as Never Smile at a Monkey and Actual Size.

What To Do About Alice?

Bibliography:
Kerley, Barbara. 2008. What To Do About Alice? Ill. by Edwin Fotheringham. New York: Scholastic. ISBN: 0439922313.

Summary:

Alice Roosevelt was a girl who wanted to “eat up the world.” She wanted to see, learn, and do everything, no matter how crazy it sounded. Her father Teddy said, “I can be president of the United States or I can control Alice. I cannot possibly do both.” As a child, Alice jumped on the sofa, roamed the streets of Washington, and taught herself using her father’s library. She was seventeen when her father became president. Although many still considered her behavior outrageous for a young lady, she thought it was fun. She became a trusted advisor to Teddy Roosevelt, went on diplomatic trips overseas, and “charmed the world.”

Analysis:

This picture book is a charming biography of Alice Roosevelt that covers most of her life in brief. The text is minimal but informative, and quotes are attributed. Sometimes the text becomes part of the illustrations, as newspaper headlines convey information. The full-page pictures are full of color and show action well – the vivacious Alice sometimes seems to be bouncing off the page. Young girls especially will be inspired by Alice’s wit and determination. Older readers can do additional research, as the author has not covered everything about Alice.

Reviews/Awards:

“Theodore Roosevelt’s irrepressible oldest child receives an appropriately vivacious appreciation in this superb picture book.... Kerley’s precise text presents readers with a devilishly smart, strong-willed girl who was determined to live life on her own terms and largely succeeded.”
Kirkus, starred review

“Kerley’s text gallops along with a vitality to match her subject’s antics, as the girl greets White House visitors accompanied by her pet snake, refuses to let leg braces cramp her style, dives fully clothed into a ship’s swimming pool, and also earns her place in history as one of her father’s trusted advisers. Fotheringham’s digitally rendered, retro-style illustrations are a superb match for the text.”
School Library Journal, starred review

Connections:
*Read in conjunction with a biography about Alice’s father, such as Theodore Roosevelt For Kids: His Life and Times.

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball

Bibliography:

Nelson, Kadir. 2008. We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball. New York: Hyperion. ISBN: 0786808322.



Summary:

In the early days of baseball, African-American players were not allowed on the white teams, so they formed their own league. This book is their story. The league officially began in 1920, although teams were playing long before that. Players endured a lot of hardship on the field and on the road, from name-calling to segregation that wouldn’t allow them a place to eat or sleep. The book covers team owners, all-star players, and some of the peculiarities of Negro baseball. There are chapters on playing in Latin America and on playing against white teams. Some white owners tried to pass off black players as Cuban or Native American, but integration didn’t really begin until Jackie Robinson joined the Dodgers in 1945.

Analysis:

The illustrations really make this book. They are paintings that take up the whole of a large page, or often a two page spread or a fold-out. Some of Nelson’s individual paintings from this book have been shown in museums. They are full of color and really capture the emotion on players’ faces and the excitement of the ball game. The text is beautiful as well; as Nelson says in an author’s note, the narrator is a collective “we,” honoring all the players in the Negro leagues. This book celebrates their achievements and their strength, and gives readers a chance to hear about all-star players that never made it to the major leagues. It’s organized into nine “innings,” each chapter covering another aspect of playing in the league. Extra material and a bibliography are in the back. For readers in grade 5 and up.

Reviews/Awards:

Sibert Medal
Coretta Scott King Award

“Nelson’s extensive research (including interviews with former players) yields loads of attention-grabbing details: how much money players made; where, when, and how often games took place; who the standout owners, managers, and players were; and so on. And not surprisingly, he often returns to the impact of racism on the leagues, teams, and individual athletes. His grand slam, though, is the art: Nelson’s oil paintings have a steely dignity, and his from-the-ground perspectives make the players look larger than life.”
Horn Book, starred review

“A gatefold depicting the first “Colored World Series” is particularly exquisite—a replica ticket opens from the gutter to reveal the entire line-ups of both teams. And while this large, square book (just a shade smaller than a regulation-size base) succeeds as coffee-table art, it soars as a tribute to the individuals, like the legendary Josh Gibson, who was ultimately elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame without ever playing in the major leagues. As Nelson's narrator says, “We had many Josh Gibsons in the Negro Leagues.... But you never heard about them. It's a shame the world didn’t get to see them play.””
Publisher’s Weekly, starred review

Connections:
*Read other books illustrated by Nelson, such as Testing the Ice: A True Story about Jackie Robinson.

The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom

Bibliography:

Engle, Margarita. 2008. The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom. New York: Henry Holt. ISBN: 0805086749.

Summary:

In 1850, Rosa was a young slave in Cuba, learning how to heal using plants and natural remedies. In 1868, she was freed along with other slaves as a declaration of independence from Spain. Yet she was not really free, as this began the first of three wars. For the next 30 years, Rosa and other refugees hid in the jungle, escaping from the Spanish soldiers. With a price on her head, Rosa and her husband nursed many wounded people back to health, including some of their enemies. They took in those who escaped from the brutal “reconcentration camps,” and they survived to see Cuba free from Spain but purchased by the United States.

Analysis:

This is a verse novel where the poems are in the first-person and narrated by various characters: Rosa, her husband Jose, a young refugee Sylvia, an enemy slavehunter, and others. The free verse poems are full of beautiful language and haunting imagery, and they tell the story well. Often concise, the poems convey powerful messages about war, freedom, courage, hardship, compassion, and much more. Because of the book’s length and the violence present in some poems, this is a story for older readers. Rosa the healer and most of the other characters were real people, though some of the details are fictionalized. The author’s great-grandparents were refugees in Cuba during these events, bringing additional meaning to the story.

Reviews/Awards:

Pura Belpre Author Award
Newbery Honor Award

“Engle’s new book is written in clear, short lines of stirring free verse. This time she draws on her own Cuban American roots, including stories from her grandmother, to describe those who fought in the nineteenth-century Cuban struggle for independence. At the center is Rosa, a traditional healer, who nurses runaway slaves and deserters in caves and other secret hideaways.”
Booklist, starred review

“Often, popular knowledge of Cuba begins and ends with late-20th-century textbook fare: the Cuban Revolution, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Fidel Castro. The Surrender Tree, however, transports readers to another, though no less tumultuous, era. Spanning the years 1850–1899, Engle's poems construct a narrative woven around the nation's Wars for Independence.”
School Library Journal

Connections:
*Pair this book with Engle’s The Poet Slave of Cuba.

Messing Around on the Monkey Bars and Other School Poems for Two Voices

Bibliography:

Franco, Betsy. 2009. Messing Around on the Monkey Bars and Other School Poems for Two Voices. Ill. by Jessie Hartland. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 9780763631741.

Summary:

As the title indicates, these are all poems about school, specifically elementary school. They include poems on riding the bus, giving reports, standing in the lunch line, searching the lost and found, playing at recess, and many more. The author incorporates a variety of voices with fun results, such as two bikes having a conversation at the bike rack.

Analysis:

These nineteen poems are meant to be read by two or more voices, alternating lines or saying them simultaneously. One example is a poem about meeting a new kid (“Where did you come from? / Far away. / Miss your friends? / Every day.”). Because of both the theme and the style, these poems would be perfect for a classroom to read together. Many poems rhyme, and all of them have great rhythm. Some even include sound effects, like tapping, that kids will enjoy. The book has a loose organization that goes from the beginning of the school day to the end, and at the back of the book is a resource for teachers and librarians on different ways to read the poems. The gouache illustrations show a bustling, fun, multicultural school.

Reviews/Awards:

“While the poems in this book can be read silently by one person, they are written for two or more voices and come alive when read aloud. Beginning with a verse about the bus ride to school, the selections cleverly incorporate alliteration and action. Franco adeptly uses meter and rhythm to capture the fast-paced action of jumping rope on the playground, and students will recognize the descriptions of typical classroom sounds that distract them from finishing schoolwork.”
School Library Journal

“Reading aloud is essential for re-enforcing pronunciation, phrasing, vocabulary - but for all those not doing the reading out loud its deadly dull. Thats why Franco’s Messing Around on the Monkey Bars is such a great idea. Two voices can also mean two groups: two rows, boys and girls, back and front. Everyone is engaged because everyone acts and responds.”
ForeWord Magazine

Connections:
*Practice reading the poems in pairs or groups, and pick one to perform.
*Read other poems for two voices, such as Joyful Noise by Paul Fleischman.

This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness

Bibliography:

Sidman, Joyce. 2007. This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness. Ill. by Pamela Zagarenski. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 0618616802.


Summary:

A grade school class reads William Carlos William’s poem “This Is Just to Say,” and they decide to write their own poems of apology. These “sorry” poems range from serious to humorous as kids apologize for hurting a sibling, sneaking brownies, and hitting a friend with a dodge ball. Then the people the kids wrote the poems to write their own poems of forgiveness in response.
(Thomas: “I have stolen/ the jelly doughnuts/ that were in/ the teacher’s lounge”; Mrs. Garcia: “Of course I forgive you/ But I still have to call your mother.”)

Analysis:

The book is inventive and touching. It is all from the author’s imagination, I believe, but she successfully captures a variety of child and adult voices, and puts in details that makes it seem like a real class project. Some poems bring up serious issues, like a father’s abandoning his daughter, and the response is moving. There are a variety of poetical forms, though most don’t rhyme, and they flow nicely. All the apology poems are in the first section and the forgiveness poems in the second, but the best way to read it is to flip through and read the corresponding apologies and responses together. Children will enjoy the poems and the colorful illustrations, which are a mix of sketches and collage.

Reviews/Awards:

Claudia Lewis Poetry Award

School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

“Zagarenski’s (Mites to Mastodons) inventive mixed-media illustrations brim with items found in a classroom: a dictionary entry on “apology,” for instance, becomes part of a student's clothing, and white hole reinforcements resemble a character's stolen doughnuts.”
Publisher’s Weekly

“Mrs. Merz assigns her sixth-grade students to write poems of apology, and what emerges is a surprising array of emotions, poetic forms, and subjects from dead pets and biting hamsters to angry siblings and betrayal of trust.”
School Library Journal, starred review

Connections:
*This book lends itself very well to a project like that found in the story – children writing poems of apology and/or forgiveness.
*The author has used many different poetry forms, like haiku and pantoum, and the book can be used to study types of poetry.