Nonfiction

Trapped! A Whale’s Rescue by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Wendell Minor

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Published by Charlesbridge

Summary:  A humpback whale is traveling from the Arctic along the California coast, doing all the beautiful and majestic things humpback whales do, when she gets entangled in the ropes attached to crab traps.  Divers work to rescue her, mindful of potentially deadly dangers.  Slowly and carefully, they free her tail and fins, until she is ready to swim away.  She seems to thank them before she makes one last dive and is on her way.  Recommended for preschool to grade 2, although older kids could enjoy this.

Pros:  The spare, poetic text is beautifully illuminated by Wendell Minor’s amazing paintings.  There is plenty of information about whales as well as an exciting rescue story.  The end notes tell a more complete story of the rescue, provide more information about humpback whales, and have a wealth of resources if the reader wants to learn more.

Cons:  The books in the resources section are all several years old.

Elvis: The Story of the Rock and Roll King by Bonnie Christensen

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Henry Holt

Summary:  This picture book biography focuses on Elvis Presley’s early years, growing up in extreme poverty in the south.  From a very young age, Elvis was drawn to music, and he was surrounded by a wide range of influences.  Even though his town was segregated by race and class, the music of jazz, blues, and gospel was everywhere.  When Elvis was 13, his family moved from Mississippi to Memphis, and he learned to play guitar.  A few years later, he managed to get a recording session with Sun Records.  It was turning into a disaster, when Elvis started singing “That’s All Right”, a Delta blues song he infused with country and gospel.  That song became a hit, and Elvis Presley was on his way.

Pros:  Kids today may see Elvis Presley as something of a joke, and this story really humanizes him, portraying him sympathetically as a nervous kid who loved music.

Cons:  Elvis looks a lot better in these illustrations than he did when I saw him in the candy aisle at Walmart last week.

Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin solved a Mystery That Baffled All of France by Mara Rockliff illustrated by Iacopo Bruno

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Candlewick

Summary:  When Benjamin Franklin was in France to get support for the American Revolution, he became intrigued by the new process of mesmerization.  An Austrian doctor named Franz Mesmer was wowing Europeans with his new technique, which he claimed could people into a suggestive trance.  He would then tell them what to do, which was usually healing themselves of diseases.  Franklin arranged to have a demonstration with Mesmer’s assistant.  Using the scientific method, Ben blindfolded patients and was able to prove that their reactions to “mesmerization” were actually caused by their own minds.  Franklin reported his findings to the King of France, and soon after, Mesmer left the country.  Recommended for grades 2-5.

Pros:  Not only is this book packed with information about Benjamin Franklin, 18th-century science, and the scientific method, but it is presented in a way that is both interesting and aesthetically pleasing.  The text is in different fonts, with words of varying sizes, and occasional sidebars to explain related concepts.  The illustrations are both beautiful and amusing.

Cons:  The author’s note, while fascinating, was a bit overlong for the average 21st-century attention span.

Queen of the Diamond : the Lizzie Murphy Story by Emily Arnold McCully

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Published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

Summary:  When Lizzie Murphy was growing up in turn-of-the-century Rhode Island, girls didn’t play baseball.  But Lizzie’s brothers played, her father had played, and she wanted to play, too.  She became batgirl for her brother’s team and carried her father’s old ball and glove everywhere.  At one game, both teams realized no one had brought a ball.  Lizzie had her ball, but refused to lend it unless they’d let her play.  After a star turn at first base and four hits, she was a member of the team.  She continued to play into adulthood, making a living on the Warren, Rhode Island semipro team, and was the first person of either gender to play on both the National and American Leagues’ all-star teams.  She even got a single off of legendary pitcher Satchel Paige while playing on a Negro League team.  She finally retired from baseball in 1935, at the age of 40.  Recommended for grades 1-3.

Pros:  An interesting and little-known story about a woman athlete who refused to give up her dream despite enormous obstacles.  Emily Arnold McCully doesn’t disappoint with either the story or the illustrations.

Cons:  Too bad Lizzie didn’t blaze a trail into MLB for other women.

Drum Dream Girl : How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Rafael Lopez

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Published by HMH Books for Young Readers

Summary:  Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Chinese-African-Cuban girl growing up in 1930’s Cuba, dreamed of playing drums.  But only boys were allowed to be drummers.  She kept dreaming, though, and practicing any way she could, until finally her father allowed her to take drum lessons.  By the age of 15, she was good enough to play at President Franklin Roosevelt’s birthday celebration, and she went on to perform with many of the great jazz players of her time.

Pros: This is really a poem inspired by the story of Zaldarriaga.  It’s a celebration of following your dream, illustrated with eye-popping neon colors that perfectly capture the celebrations and street cafes where Millo hears the music she loves.

Cons: You’ll need to give some context for kids to understand what this book is about. The historical note at the end is a good place to start.

The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage by Selina Alko, illustrated by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Arthur A. Levine Books

Summary:  Yes, the couple who took their fight for legalizing interracial marriage all the way to the Supreme Court was named Loving.  Richard Loving and Mildred “String Bean” Jeter were both from Central Point, Virginia.  When they decided to get married in 1958, they had to travel to Washington, D.C., because Richard was white and Mildred was part African-American and part Cherokee.  They moved back to Central Point, but a few weeks later they were jailed for “unlawful cohabitation”.  Eventually, they made a home in Washington, D.C., but they took their case to the Supreme Court.  In 1967, the Court decided it was unconstitutional to make marriage illegal based on race, and the Lovings were finally able to move back to Virginia.

Pros:  This is a fascinating story, particularly in light of recent changes in laws around gay marriage.  The illustrators are also an interracial couple, and the author’s notes about their marriage and the blending of their artwork are interesting as well.

Cons:  There’s only one photograph of the Loving family at the end of the book, and it’s kind of hard to see their faces.

Growing Up Pedro: How the Martinez Brothers Made It from the Dominican Republic All the Way to the Major Leagues by Matt Tavares

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Published by Candlewick

In honor of Opening Day at Fenway Park!

Summary:  The book opens with this 1998 quote from Pedro Martinez: “Ramon is the biggest reason I have gotten where I am.  He is the great one in this family.  I am still Ramon’s little brother.”  Tavares then relates the story not only of pitching great Pedro Martinez, but of his older brother Ramon, also an MLB player, who inspired Pedro to work as hard as he did.  Growing up in poverty in the Dominican Republic, the brothers dreamed of playing professional baseball.  When Pedro was 12, his brother began his pro career training at the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Dominican academy.  Pedro tagged along and learned alongside Ramon.  Eight years later, both of them were playing in Los Angeles.  Pedro went on to a legendary career, including leading the Red Sox to a World Series victory in 2004, but his ties to his brother and his home in the Dominican Republic remain strong.

Pros:  Add this to Matt Tavares’ list of great baseball biographies, along with Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Ted Williams.  Sports fans will be inspired by the brothers’ rags-to-riches story and will enjoy the large, vivid illustrations.

Cons:  It would be interesting to know more about what Pedro and Ramon are doing now via the author’s note.

Fatal Fever: Tracking Down Typhoid Mary by Gail Jarrow

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Published by Calkins Creek

Summary:  Everyone’s heard of Typhoid Mary, but who was she really?  Uncovering her identity was a medical mystery that began in the summer of 1906.  The detective was Dr. George Soper, a sanitation engineer who helped control a typhoid epidemic that swept through the town of Ithaca and Cornell University.  When a wealthy family on Long Island was sickened with typhoid, they hired Soper to figure out what had caused the outbreak.  He eventually tracked it to Mary Mellon, their former cook.  Not only that, but he was able to trace several other outbreaks to her.  The book chronicles her capture and confinement on an island off of Manhattan for most of the rest of her life. The reader will also learn about typhoid, its role in history, and how it has gradually been eliminated from most of the western world.

Pros:  I had heard of typhoid and Typhoid Mary but knew nothing about it.  The lack of sanitation in the U.S. less than a century ago was pretty appalling.  Celebrities like Abigail Adams, Wilbur Wright, and Stephen Douglas all died of typhoid.  Although this book is nonfiction, it reads like a novel.

Cons:  You may find yourself looking askance at your tap water.  And you will surely nag your children more to wash their hands.

Legends: The Best Players, Games, and Teams in Baseball by Howard Bryant

~ Janet Dawson ~ 2 Comments

Published by Philomel Books

Summary:  Each chapter of this book stands alone, chronicling the history of a player or team.  The first section, “Spring”, tells the stories of individual players from Babe Ruth to Rickey Henderson.  “Summer” moves on to teams, like the 1914 Boston Braves and the 1998 New York Yankees.  Finally, “Fall” recounts some of the more amazing World Series.  Don’t worry, Boston fans, both the 1975 and 2004 Red Sox made the final cut.

Pros:  Not being a huge baseball fan, I thought I would just read a few of the chapters. I got hooked with the first story of Babe Ruth and ended up reading the book cover to cover.  Even the most avid fan will likely learn something new from this book, and will undoubtedly enjoy reliving favorite baseball memories.

Cons:  It seems like a no-brainer to have lots of pictures in each chapter.  Instead, there are a mere 18 photos, all stuck at the end of the book.

Where Is the Great Wall? by Patricia Brennan Demuth, illustrated by Jerry Hoare and David Groff

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Published by Grosset and Dunlap

Summary:  Starting with the answer to the question in the title (China), the book explores how and why the wall was built within the context of Chinese history.  In addition to the main narrative, there are many single-page sidebars that contain information on relevant topics such as Confucius, making silk, and Chinese inventions.  Liberally illustrated with simple black line drawings, the text covers the history of the Great Wall from the construction of the first walls around 4000 B.C. to Deng Xiaoping’s ambitious plans to restore the Wall at the end of the twentieth century.

Pros:  This is one of a fabulous series of books published by Random House.  There are many, many excellent biographies in the “Who Is” series, and now there are “What Is” and “Where Is” titles that cover mostly U.S. history, but also some world history.  Filled with kid-friendly facts such as: if the Great Wall were in the U.S. it would stretch from Florida to the North Pole, and over a million Chinese workers died while building the Wall.

Cons:  The world timeline at the end could be a little more complete to show what was going on in the rest of the world during important Chinese events.