Author: Janet Dawson

Game Changer: John McLendon and the Secret Game by John Coy, illustrated by Randy DuBurke

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Published by Carolrhoda 

Summary: In 1944, two college basketball teams met for a secret game. The men from Duke University Medical School knew they were playing a game, but had no idea until they arrived, that they were playing an African American team at the North Carolina College of Negroes.  Coach John McLendon had arranged the game, even though he knew he could face death if the local Ku Klux Klan got wind of his actions.  The game started slowly, but pretty soon McClendon’s team started to dominate.  The final score was 88-44, North Carolina College of Negroes.  The teams then mixed it up to make things more even, playing shirts versus skins.  Afterwards, the Duke team members visited the other team’s dorm and sat around talking basketball.  For years, no one ever knew about the game for fear of reprisals.  John McLendon went on to win three national titles at Tennessee State, and was the first African American coach inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. 32 pages; grades 1-5.

Pros:  A fascinating and powerful story about one man’s contributions toward ending racism and promoting greater understanding.  The illustrations have plenty of great basketball action and grow more colorful as the story unfolds.

Cons:  The less colorful illustrations on the first several pages, combined with the typewriter-like font, had an unappealing look.  The second half of the book was better visually.

House Arrest by K. A. Holt

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Published by Chronicle Books 

Summary: 12 year-old Timothy is starting a year of house arrest for stealing a wallet. As part of his probation, he has to keep a journal about his feelings.  Writing in verse, Timothy recounts his life with his mother and baby brother, Levi, whose respiratory problems force him to have a tracheotomy.  This life-threatening health issue proved too much for Timothy’s dad, who abandoned the family when Levi was just a few months old.  Their mother works to support the family and takes care of Levi day and night.  Timothy reveals that he took the wallet so he could fund Levi’s medications for a month and try to give his mom a break.  His gruff but kind probation officer and his young, earnest psychologist are just two of the people who help Timothy find his way through a long and difficult year.  It’s a roller coaster ride, but the end holds out hope that all members of the family will make it.  304 pages; grades 5-8.

Pros:  This fast-paced novel is hard to put down.  Reluctant readers will get caught up in Timothy’s life, and the verse format makes the story move quickly.

Cons:  Novels in verse can be a hard sell for kids unfamiliar with the format.

The World in a Second by Isabel Minhos Martins, illustrated by Bernardo P. Carvalho

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Published by Enchanted Lion Books

     

Summary:  What goes on around the world in one second?  This book looks at what occurs at the exact same moment (8:32 a.m. Eastern Standard Time) in 23 different places around the world.  While a boat is tossed on the waves of the Baltic Sea, a volcano erupts in Papua-New Guinea.  A boy in Angola rides his bike for the first time while a girl hurries home from school in Iceland.  Each incident is illustrated with a two-page spread showing a great variety of perspectives.  The final page shows a map of the world with all 23 locations labeled.  Ages 8 and up.

Pros:  This Portuguese import offers an intriguing look at life around the planet.  The illustrations are amazing, large graphic art portrayals of each location, teeming with activity.  Students could use this book as a springboard to research places around the world or to write more about what is going on in the different scenes.

Cons:  Although this looks like a picture book for younger kids, it could be a difficult book to fully appreciate before third grade or so.

The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz

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Published by Candlewick 

Summary:  14-year-old Joan Skraggs lives on her father’s farm with three older brothers, and records daily life in 1911 in a journal.  Since her mother’s death a few years previously, Joan has been doing all the housework on the farm.  Her father is a brute; the last straw for Joan is when he burns her three beloved books that were given to her by her teacher before she was forced to leave school.  She makes up her mind to run away, and in a well-planned escape, makes her way to Baltimore.  Unfortunately, her plans end there.  She is sitting on a bench with night falling, when she is rescued by Solomon Rosenthal, a young Jewish man whose wealthy family runs a department store.  Taken on as the Rosenthals’ hired girl, Joan finds a home filled with love, beauty, and books.  Pretending to be 18, she falls in love with younger son David, and finds innumerable ways to get in trouble with every member of the family.  Joan’s loving heart triumphs in the end, though, and with the help of the Rosenthals, she is well on the way to making a better life for herself as she reaches the final pages of her journal.  392 pages; ages 11-15.

Pros:  Readers will cheer for Joan (who wisely changes her name to Janet when she leaves home), a strong but impetuous girl whose roller-coaster emotions will be familiar to 21st-century teenagers.  The historical details are interesting, too; running a household in 1911, not to mention a kosher one, was not for the faint of heart.

Cons:  The story bogs down a bit once Joan is settled in Baltimore and writes in great details about her longing for David Rosenthal and her religious struggles.

Sail Away poems by Langston Hughes, art by Ashley Bryan

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Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Sail Away | Book by Langston Hughes, Ashley Bryan | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster

Summary: 15 of Langston Hughes’ poems, all having to do with the sea or water, are presented here, illuminated by award-winning illustrator Ashley Bryan, still going strong at age 92. The pictures are collages with swirls of bright color that perfectly capture the sea and the ships and people that travel on it.  40 pages; ages 5-10.

Pros:  I confess my knowledge of Langston Hughes is limited to “Harlem” (“What happens to a dream deferred?”).  I was surprised that he wrote so many beautiful poems about the ocean.  They’re accessible for young children, with language and imagery that could be appreciated by older ones.  Readers will love the brightly colored illustrations and may be inspired to try their hands at collage.

Cons:  There was no author’s note.  I would have loved to learn more about Hughes and how he came to write these poems.

North Woods Girl by Aimee Bissonette with illustrations by Claudia McGehee

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Published by Minnesota Historical Society Press

Summary: Grandma doesn’t look like other grandmas. She’s tall and bony, and she likes to tuck her pants into her boots and go tramping through the woods.  She doesn’t bake cookies, but she knows how to grow and can tomatoes and string beans.  Grandma’s daughter worries about her living alone in the woods, but her granddaughter knows she would be unhappy if she had to live away from the animals and birds that she loves.  As the two of them lie in the snow out by the pond on a moonlit night, the little girl hopes that she will grow up to be just like Grandma.  32 pages; grades K-3.

Pros:  A beautiful intergenerational story illuminated with lovely illustrations showing Grandma’s cozy cabin and the woods surrounding it.  This would be a great mentor text for characterization.

Cons:  I can’t help thinking there must be a real “North Woods Girl”, but there was no author’s note.

Inside Biosphere 2: Earth Science Under Glass by Mary Kay Carson, with photographs by Tom Uhlman

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Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing 

Summary: Back in 1991, eight scientists sealed themselves inside Biosphere 2, a gigantic structure built to approximate different habitats on Earth. They lived there for two years, eating food they raised and breathing oxygen created through photosynthesis.  Those Biospherians have moved on, but the structure still stands in the Arizona desert, and it is still being used by scientists to model various ecosystems.  Chapters in the book cover rainforests, oceans, earth science, and sustainability.  Each chapter profiles a scientist working in one of these fields, the work he or she is doing, and how it is relevant to our lives.  The original experiment is described in the first chapter, and sidebars entitled “Flashback to the Biospherians” scattered throughout the book tell anecdotes about what life inside Biosphere II was like for those eight.  Back matter includes a glossary, bibliography, and how to find out more information.  80 pages; grades 5-8.

Pros: Another excellent entry from the “Scientists in the Field” series which seems to unfailingly be able to make science look both fun and inspiring. As always, the photos and text work together to bring the science to life.

Cons:  I read quite a bit about the Biospherians while working at the Boston Museum of Science in 1991, and they seemed a little loony to me.  This book didn’t do a whole lot to dispel that perception.

The Boy Who Fell off the Mayflower, or John Howland’s Good Fortune by P. J. Lynch

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Published by Candlewick 

Summary:  John Howland describes his voyage from England to the New World, working as a servant to John Carver.  He does, indeed, fall off the Mayflower, right in the middle of the storm, and is extremely lucky to be seen and pulled back on board.  For much of the trip, he dreams of his family back in England, and of returning to London to start his own business.  During the first tough year in Plymouth, Carver dies, and Howland is a free man.  When a ship arrives with another group of residents for the new colony, John thinks he will go aboard and sail back to England.  But his friend Lizzy Tilley convinces him to stay with his new community and help build the colony.  An author’s note explains that John and Lizzy got married and had ten children, certainly doing more than their share to populate the New World.  64 pages; grades 2-6.

Pros:  P.J. Lynch is known more for his illustrations than writing, and the pictures here capture the wild sea and sick misery of life on the Mayflower.  The writing is engaging, as well, with John’s voice a perfect blend of 17th century words and 21st century wit.  The whole group of Mayflower passengers really come to life as this story unfolds.

Cons:  Too bad I didn’t read this a few weeks ago.  Oh well, only 50 weeks until next Thanksgiving.

What James Said by Liz Rosenberg, illustrated by Matt Myers

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Published by Roaring Brook Press 

Summary:  The narrator is in a fight with her best friend James because James said that she thinks she’s perfect.  How does she know?  Because James told Aiden, who told Hunter, who told Katie, who told Dante, who told Anna, who told Emily, Anna, and Declan, who told his little sister, who told the narrator.  Now she is mad at James and won’t be friends again, even though he tries to find out what’s wrong and is extra-nice to her.  At the end of the day, there’s a big art show.  The narrator’s painting is on display.  “It’s perfect,” says James.  “That’s what I tell everyone.”  The misunderstanding is uncovered, and the narrator is so happy, she doesn’t hear the art teacher announcing her name as the winner for Best in Show.  When she finally gets her ribbon, she changes it to Best of Friends, which is what she and James are once again.  Ages 4-8.

Pros:  An entertaining look at the damaging effects of rumors and gossip.  The big, bright illustrations, decorated with children’s handprints and other artwork, complement the story perfectly.

Cons:  I think someone owes James an apology.

My Wild Family by Laurent Moreau

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Published by Chronicle Books 

Summary:  The narrator compares each member of his/her family to an animal.  “My little brother. Flighty and a dreamer, his head is often in the clouds.  He’s also an excellent singer.”  The illustration shows a bird perched on the back of a desk chair in a classroom full of children.  Mom is a giraffe, tall and beautiful who prefers not to stand out.  Uncle is a bear who devours anything and everything.  The book is oversized, and the pictures are so large, it may take kids a few seconds of hunting to find the animal.  The last page invites readers to think about what makes them special.  Ages 3-5.

Pros:  A good introduction to metaphor.  Kids would have fun coming up with their own comparisons for themselves or friends and family members.

Cons:  The grandparent characterizations were a little stereotypical—the sweet, generous grandmother who likes to stay home and watch TV, and the tired and slow grandfather.