Nonfiction

Born Hungry: Julia Child Becomes “the French Chef” by Alex Prud’homme, illustrated by Sarah Green

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Calkins Creek

Summary:  “I was born hungry, not a cook,” Julia Child said of her early days.  Her family employed a cook, so young Julia never had to learn to prepare food.  With a hunger for adventure, Julia volunteered for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II, where she was sent to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and met her future husband, Paul Child.  Paul had lived in France and introduced Julia to fine food and wine.  After getting married, the couple moved to Paris, where Paul worked at the US embassy and Julia threw herself into learning French cooking.  She signed up for classes at Le Cordon Bleu and read French cookbooks at night.  The book ends with her opening L’Ecole des Trois Gourmandes (The School of the Three Hearty Eaters) with two French friends and a picture of Julia on TV.  Includes a two-page author’s note with photos that gives more information about Julia’s television career, an extensive list of resources, and a recipe for scrambled eggs (Oeufs Brouillés) .  40 pages; grades 1-5.  

Pros:  Alex Prud’homme’s grandfather was Paul Child’s brother, and he worked with Julia Child on her memoirs.  His intimate knowledge of her life makes for an engaging picture book, with mouth-watering descriptions of food that are enhanced by the illustrations (often accompanied by the word “Yum!”).

Cons:  I was sorry that the story ended just as Julia’s career as the French Chef was beginning.

Love In the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, illustrated by Yas Imamura

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Published by Candlewick

Summary:  Tama and George have been at Minidoka, a prison camp for Japanese Americans, for a year.  Tama works in the library, and George visits every day to check out a stack of books.  The camp is dusty and hot in the summer, brutally cold in the winter, with monotonous days and no privacy for anyone.  Tama tries not to think about her previous life, when she would have graduated from college, instead immersing herself in the world of books at the library.  When she sighs over a book, George asks her what’s wrong.  Tama tries to put into words all that she’s feeling, and George assures her that she’s human to feel that way.  Tama realizes that George isn’t coming to the library just to check out a stack of books.  The two of them get married and have their first child in camp, and Tama sums up her experiences in her journal: “The miracle is in us.  As long as we believe in change, in beauty, in hope.”  Includes an author’s note about her grandparents, George and Tama (with a photo), and with additional information about the 120,000 Japanese Americans who were incarcerated during World War II.  40 pages; grades 2-6.

Pros:  This moving story does not hesitate from looking at the bleak conditions of Minidoka nor the racism that brought George, Tama, and so many others to live there, but also focuses on the hope and beauty of their story.  

Cons:  Early elementary kids may not relate to the romance of this story.

To the Front! Clara Barton Braves the Battle of Antietam by Claudia Friddell, illustrated by Christopher Cyr

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Published by Calkins Creek

Summary:  Clara Barton’s role in the battle of Antietam is documented in her own words, poems written by the author, and realistic illustrations of battlefront scenes.  She nurses men (including one who is shot as she is giving him water), helps doctors, and cooks gruel from Indian meal she unexpectedly finds used as packing material.  At the end of the ordeal, she’s put on a makeshift bed in the back of a wagon and driven 80 miles back to Washington, where she collapses from exhaustion and typhoid fever.  Includes several pages of additional biographical information about Clara Barton, a bibliography, and a list of places to visit.  40 pages; grades 2-5.

Pros:  The narrative and illustrations combine to portray the horrors of war, as well as the tirelessness that Clara Barton brought to the battlefield.  The extensive back matter will help researchers understand more about Barton’s life.

Cons:  Kids will need some prior knowledge of the Civil War and Clara Barton’s life to understand what is going on.

Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight: Patsy Takemoto Mink and the Fight for Title IX by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Toshiki Nakamura

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Published by Quill Tree Books

Summary:  Growing up in Hawaii, Patsy Takemoto learned about her family’s Japanese heritage, including the expression “fall down seven times, stand up eight” that meant persisting in the face of adversity.  Patsy faced adversity over and over again, being rejected from medical schools despite excellent grades, struggling to get a job as a lawyer after graduating from the University of Chicago law school, and being defeated in a bid for Congress.  On her second try, though, she won, and in 1965, Patsy Takemoto Mink became the first woman of color in the U.S. Congress.  Her personal experiences of discrimination, as well as letters she got from women all over the country, led her to fight for civil rights.  She cosponsored Title IX, a bill requiring schools to treat men and women equally.  It passed, but another bill was introduced that would have made sports exempt from the ruling.  After a fierce fight, that bill was defeated, and Title IX became the law.  Includes an author’s note, timeline, and bibliography.  48 pages; grades 1-5.

Pros:  This excellent biography tells the story of a woman who may not be known to many but who helped bring about changes that have had a positive impact on girls and women all over the country.

Cons:  No photos.

Ablaze with Color: A Story of Alma Thomas by Jeanne Walker Harvey, illustrated by Loveis Wise

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by HarperCollins

Summary:  As a child in Georgia, Alma Thomas loved observing the bright colors around her and making things with her hands.  She and her three younger sisters weren’t allowed to go to the white school or library, so their parents filled their house with books and teachers.  When Alma was 15, her family moved to Washington, D.C. to give their daughters more opportunities, and Alma graduated from high school and college, where she studied art.  She taught for many years before retiring at age 69 and pursuing her own art.  Using the bright colors she had loved as a child, she created paintings inspired by nature and by space travel.  Alma was the first Black woman to have a solo show at the Whitney Museum in New York.  Years after her death in 1978, Barack and Michelle Obama chose one of Alma Thomas’s paintings to hang in the White House, the first artwork there by a Black woman.  Includes notes from the author and illustrator, photos, a timeline of events in Alma’s life and the United States during her lifetime, and a list of sources.  40 pages; grades K-4.

Pros:  I had never heard of Alma Thomas, but I loved her story and the illustrations inspired by her art.  While the intended audience may not appreciate the fact that Alma’s art career took off after she turned 70, I found that inspiring.

Cons:  It seemed at odds with the theme of the book that the photo of Alma was in black and white.

Her Name Was Mary Katharine: The Only Woman Whose Name Is on the Declaration of Independence by Ella Schwartz, illustrated by Dow Phumiruk

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Published by Christy Ottaviano

Summary:  Mary Katharine Goddard grew up in the Connecticut colony with her parents and younger brother William.  Unlike most girls of the time, she learned to read and write alongside her brother.  When her father died, she and her mother moved to Providence, Rhode Island, while her brother served an apprenticeship as a printer.  He started several newspapers but had the unfortunate habit of abandoning them to move onto other endeavors.  Mary Katharine learned the business and took over the papers, first in Providence, then in Philadelphia, and finally in Baltimore.  When William started a new project, creating a postal service for the colonies, Mary Katharine took on additional responsibilities as postmaster of Baltimore.  She was known as a loyal patriot, so when the Continental Congress decided to print a copy of the Declaration of Independence with the names of the signers, they gave her the job.  Usually, Mary Katharine used the name M. K. Goddard for her printing work, but for the Declaration she used her full name, the only name of a woman to appear on the document.  Includes an author’s note, list of important terms with definitions, and a list of sources.  40 pages; grades 2-5.

Pros:  This is a great resource to add to American Revolutionary War units, featuring a little-known but fascinating woman who seems to have been way ahead of her time.  The author’s note gives lots of additional information, including the fact that Mary Katharine had an enslaved woman who helped her run her business (and to whom she granted freedom and left all her possessions when she died).  

Cons:  I saw this recommended for kids as young as 5, but the text-heavy story, small font, and need for some historical context make it a better choice for older kids.

I Am Mozart, Too: The Lost Genius of Maria Anna Mozart by Audrey Ades, illustrated by Adelina Lirius

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A handful of picture book biographies about women arrived for me at the library this week, and since March is Women’s History Month, I’ll be featuring them for the rest of the week.

Published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

Summary:  Maria Anna Mozart, known as Nannerl, tells the story of her life growing up with her younger brother, Wolfie.  The two of them took to music at an early age and were playing concert halls in cities across Europe from the ages of five and ten.  Nannerl also loved composing, but her father forbade it, saying that writing music was only for men.  When Nannerl turned eighteen, she was told that touring was over for her and that she would stay home and get married.  Wolfie continued to tour, and their correspondence grew less and less frequent until one devastating day when she learned of his death.  Nannerl lived for almost forty more years, returning to Salzburg and her beloved harpsichord.  Includes an author’s note explaining that this book is creative nonfiction, not a strict biography; also, a timeline, glossary, and list of books and online sources.  40 pages; grades K-4.

Pros:  This is a fascinating story made more interesting by being told in Nannerl’s voice.  The illustrations are a beautiful addition, particularly the ones that show the music created by the Mozarts.

Cons:  A quick look at Wikipedia tells me there is a lot more to Maria Anna’s story and her relationship with her brother and father than this book is able to cover.

Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, illustrated by Daniel Minter

~ Janet Dawson ~ 3 Comments

Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Summary:  Blue may be the color of the sky and the ocean, but for much of human history, it was a difficult color to produce.  Ancient Egyptians crushed the blue stone lapis lazuli to make paint and eye makeup that only the very wealthy could afford.  Later, people discovered shellfish that produced a blue dye, but each organism only produced a drop or two.  Finally, the indigo plant, a native of Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas, became more widely known and cultivated.  The value of the plant’s blue dye led to abuses as people were tricked into growing it instead of food and enslaved to help mass produce it.  In 1905, Adolf von Baeyer was awarded a Nobel prize for, among other things, creating a blue chemical dye.  Now everyone can own something that’s blue, but the rarity of blue and the suffering created in its production remind us of expressions like “the blues”, “feeling blue”, and “out of the blue”.  Includes two pages of additional information and a list of selected sources.  40 pages; grades 1-5.

Pros:  Here’s a fascinating history of something I had no idea had a fascinating history: the color blue.  Kids will have a greater appreciation for blue jeans and other commonplace items after reading about the struggles and high value associated with blue.  The gorgeous illustrations feature many different colors but appropriately highlight blue.

Cons:  Some of the claims about the expressions noted above were pretty speculative, and when I looked into them, they don’t appear to have the connections to the color the author writes about.

A Pandemic Is Worldwide by Sarah L. Thomson, illustrated by Taia Morley

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Published by HarperCollins

Summary:  This book presents a straightforward look at what a pandemic is, with a brief history of past pandemics and an introduction to Covid 19.  There’s a quick look back at the development of vaccines and antibiotics and precautions that were taken in our current pandemic before a vaccine was developed.  The book ends on an optimistic note: “Everyone who wore a mask or washed their hands or stayed home until it was safe helped bring about the day when the pandemic was over at last.”  Includes a glossary, hand washing instructions, and a timeline of past pandemics.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  The Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out series continues to do what it’s done well for the last 60 years: present science in a clear and understandable way to preschool and early elementary students.  At least that’s their target audience: I feel like by now I should know the difference between an outbreak, an epidemic, and a pandemic, but I learned that from reading this book.

Cons:  I wasn’t crazy about the small font.

That’s Betty! The Story of Betty White by Gregory Bonsignore, illustrated by Jennifer M. Potter

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Published by Henry Holt and Co.

Summary:  When the narrator gets assigned to do a project on a trailblazing woman, he chooses Betty White.  Not everyone is thrilled with his decision: his teacher and one of his dads keep asking, “Wouldn’t you rather choose someone more…traditional?”  But his mind is made up, and off he goes to the library to do his research.  A woman in sunglasses and a big hat gives him some help, adding some details about Betty’s early career as an actress and producer and continuing to her fame in The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls.  His presentation turns out to be a smashing success, and the mysterious lady is there to cheer him on.  As the crowd in school watches her drive off in a red convertible, it suddenly dawns on them: “That’s Betty!”  Includes a timeline (which sadly ends with the 2022 entry “Betty turns 100 years old!”), photos, and a list of sources.  48 pages; grades 1-5.

Pros:  Appropriately, this picture book biography of Betty White is somewhat unconventional with a quirky cast of characters that includes Betty herself.  Clearly the book was written to coincide with the actress’s 100th birthday, and although she didn’t make it to that milestone, the book feels appropriately celebratory.

Cons:  This is a book that may be enjoyed more by adults than kids, who may not be familiar with Betty White and her acting career.