INFORMATIONAL BOOKS

KAKAPO RESCUE: SAVING THE WORLD'S LARGEST PARROT

written by Sy Montgomery

photographs by Nic Bishop

Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Boston, Massachusetts

2010

 

SUMMARY

In Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot, Sy Montgomery leads readers on a ten day expedition through Codfish Island off the coast of New Zealand as she and Nic Bishop track Kakapo Parrots.  These parrots are the heaviest parrots in the world, don’t fly, are nocturnal, and can live to be at least seventy years old.  Montgomery begins with a history of the Kakapo and how they nearly fell to extinction.  Readers then follow the team as they move through a quarantine process to prevent the birds from exposure to any diseases or germs that could put them at risk.  Once on the island, Montgomery and Bishop became part of the conservation team, feeding, tracking, and monitoring the parrots while trying to increase the Kakapo population.  In addition to photographs of the Kakapo, this book is peppered with photos of other flora and fauna found on the island.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

 

Conservationist Sy Montgomery shares her passion for saving the endangered Kakapo parrot while creating a story that gives readers the feeling of being right by her side.  Montgomery’s narrative style speaks to the reader, eliciting emotions not always experienced in informational literature.  Her straightforward language enables readers to understand a scientific journey on a lesser known island.  
The National Kakapo Recovery Team Leader, Emma O’Neil, read the entire manuscript for accuracy, which lends credibility to the text.  A bibliography is included, giving readers the ability to follow up on the topic.  Montgomery has included an index, but the story in this book is intriguing and is better read from beginning to end.  The index might, however, be helpful when looking for specific information after finishing the book.

Nic Bishop’s photography is superb.  The colors are vibrant and appealing, following the story and making it easy for readers to picture exactly what Montgomery is talking about.  The pictures take readers on a photo-journey through Codfish Island, highlighting the work being done by volunteers and showcasing the Kakapo.

A fun design element included in Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot is the egg shape around page numbers.  As the story progresses, the egg shows cracks, breaks, and finally opens completely, indicating the hatching stage of the Kakapo.  There are pages with pale green ferns printed on them and pages with a green shaded background; these pages tend to venture away from the ten day journey to provide background or other information about the area.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

 

School Library Journal - "Excellent photos and a readable, conversational text provide an intimate look at a concerted effort to save a drastically endangered species unfamiliar to most of the world outside Down Under. Readers who enjoyed this author/photographer team's The Tarantula Scientist (2007) or Quest for the Tree Kangaroo (2006, both Houghton) will gobble up this tribute to ecological science in action."

Booklist -  "Montgomery and Bishop, whose highly lauded titles include two Sibert Honor Books, offer yet another winning entry in the Scientists in the Field series.  ---  As usual, Montgomery's delight in her subject is contagious, and throughout her enthusiastic text, she nimbly blends scientific and historical facts with immediate, sensory descriptions of fieldwork. Young readers will be fascinated by the incredible measures that the passionate workers follow to help the new birds hatch, and many will share the team's heartbreak when some chicks die. Bishop's photos of the creatures and their habitat are stunning; an awe-inspiring, closing image of the world's eighty-seventh known Kakapo emerging from its shell captures the miracle of birth, for any species."

Kirkus - "Under the careful supervision of forest rangers and volunteers on an island off the New Zealand coast, the nearly extinct, flightless Kakapo parrot is the object of an intensive rescue effort described by this experienced writer-photographer team...As always, the photographer's remarkable and clearly reproduced photographs support and enhance the text. The book's careful design is unobtrusive: The progress of an opening egg sets off page numbers, and fern patterns provide a subtle decoration. Bibliography and a website encourage readers' further explorations. Wonderful."

Booklist - "Montgomery’s delight in her subject is contagious, and throughout her enthusiastic text, she nimbly blends scientific and historical facts with immediate, sensory descriptions of fieldwork. Young readers will be fascinated."

The Bulletin - "More than most books about environmentalism or endangered species, this will encourage kids to consider how hands-on action can genuinely make a difference and how scientific contributions can be made by people who never go near a test tube."

CONNECTIONS

Students could read other books in the Scientists in the Field Series, particulary those pertaining to endangered animals.

Students could read other books about Kakapo parrots:
Ballance, Alison. Kakapo: Rescued from the Brink of Extinction. Nelson, N.Z.: Craig Potton Pub, 2010.

This would be a great book to use with students who are studying conservation, endangered animals, New Zealand/Australia, or volunteerism.

AWARDS

2011 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award


Montgomery, Sy, and Nic Bishop. Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot. Boston [Mass.]: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2010.

INFORMATIONAL BOOKS

The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look and Abraham and Mary

written by Candace Fleming

Schwartz & Wade Books

New York, NY

1996

SUMMARY

The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary begins with an extensive timeline, detailing events from the lives of these two historical figures from birth to death.  As Fleming takes readers through their lives, she creates small snippets, in chronological order, moving easily through their lives.  The details from Abraham’s poor beginnings and Mary’s life of privilege to the political highs and lows of Abraham’s career to Mary’s death after many years of mental instability, Candace Fleming has written in a style that makes readers feel they are listening to a friend.  Although daunting in appearance, Fleming has created a book that is difficult to put down.

 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The accuracy of details appear substantiated through Fleming’s close work with Dr. John Sellers, an American Civil War specialist and curator at the Library of Congress; Thomas Schwartz, a state historian and interim executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum; Jason Emerson, a Mary Lincoln scholar; and Keya Morgan, a scholar of Lincoln photography.  Candace Fleming also enlisted the assistance of Dr. Herbert Lasky, a retired professor of history at Eastern Illinois University, to verify all the facts in this book. 

Fleming included a timeline at the beginning, listing all events related to Abraham in normal font, those details pertaining to Mary in italics, and everything that involved the two of them in bold italicized font.  She also included an index at the end, which enables readers to find specific details quickly.  A “Notes” section near the end cites the primary sources of all quotes found in the text.  The use of primary documents lends credence to the facts Fleming has included in this book.  Some of the pictures are small and dark, but sticking with original photos make it difficult to present modern day quality.

Candace Fleming designed this book to look like a true scrapbook, including pictures with short stories detailing the events, people, or places.  She chose to use a font type reminiscent of the time period and left everything black and white to preserve the time period.  Fleming’s love of everything Lincoln shines through her writing.  She has created stories that evoke emotion (sadness to laughing aloud) in the reader.

 

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Kirkus Review: "The scrapbook technique . . . remains fresh and lively, a great way to provide a huge amount of information in a format that invites both browsing and in-depth study."


Booklist: "Fleming offers another standout biographical title, this time twining accounts of two lives—Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln—into one fascinating whole."


School Library Journal: "It's hard to imagine a more engaging or well-told biography of the Lincolns."


Horn Book Magazine: "Fleming is able to compare and contrast the president with his first lady, giving us not only greater insight into each of them but also a fuller picture of the world in which they lived."


New York Times Book Review: "The format of 'The Lincolns' may be aimed at young readers, but, given Candace Fleming's unerring eye for the dramatic quotation (with the Lincolns, there were a lot of those), this birth-to-death biography of Mary and Abraham is hard to put down even for readers who know the story."

 

CONNECTIONS

Students could read other books about Abraham and Mary Lincoln:

• Freedman, R., & Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana (Library of Congress). (1987). Lincoln: A photobiography. New York, N.Y: Clarion Books.
• Phillips, E. B. (2007). Abraham Lincoln: From pioneer to president. New York: Sterling Pub. Co.
• Pascal, J. B., & O'Brien, J. (2008). Who was Abraham Lincoln?. New York: Grosset &     Dunlap.
• Osborne, M. P., & Murdocca, S. (2011). Abe Lincoln at last!. New York: Random House.
• Foster, G. (1944). Abraham Lincoln's world, 1809-1865. New York: Scribner.
• Stevenson, A., & Robinson, J. (1986). Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator. New York: Aladdin Books.
• Winnick, K. B. (1996). Mr. Lincoln's whiskers. Honesdale, Pa: Boyds Mills Press.

Some of these are fiction, some are nonfiction.  Students might look for more information     about a particular story they found intriguing.  If they are reading a fictionalized account, they could verify details in the fiction book with those details found in The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary.

 

AWARDS

2008 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
2008 Booklist Children's Editors' Choice
2008 Horn Book Fanfare
2008 Kid's Indie Next List "Inspired Recommendations for Kids from Indie Booksellers"
2008 Book Links Lasting Connection
2008 L.A. Times Book Prize
2009 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
2009 Great Lakes Book Award
Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices
ALA Notable Children's Book
IRA Teachers' Choices
New Jersey Garden State Teen Book Award
Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award



Fleming, C. (2008). The Lincolns: A scrapbook look at Abraham and Mary. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books.

INFORMATIONAL BOOKS

 The Heart: Our Circulatory System

written by Seymour Simon

Scholastic, Inc.  

New York, NY

1996

 

SUMMARY

Seymour Simon begins this book by telling readers the size of their hearts (about the size of their fists).  As the story continues, Simon explains what the heart does and how it works.  He also describes for readers some of the things that can go wrong with the heart.  The photos are intriguing, computer enhanced, and sure to catch a reader’s attention.  Simon has also included colored drawing and diagrams that help explain the functions of the heart.  Readers will gain an understanding of the heart and its importance.

 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Scientific American reviewed The Heart, calling it a “useful book.”  Dr. Raymond Matta, M.D., a cardiologist in New York, read the complete manuscript for accuracy.  A scanning electron microscope (SEM) shows pictures with details not seen with the naked eye.  Other illustrations are detailed and accurate, helping the reader understand the text more completely.  Seymour Simon is a former Science teacher who has written nearly 300 nonfiction books, winning many awards for his writing.  Simon uses terminology readers will understand without feeling like they are being talked down to.  Missing from this book are a bibliography, table of contents, index, and glossary.  This book is written for the middle elementary level reader, who would find these features helpful when looking for information.

 

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Scientific American - In The Heart Simon presents as clear and thorough a look at the human circulatory system as he has at so many other subjects. With the aid of computer-enhanced photographs taken with an electron microscope, Simon explains the system of blood vessels, the role of blood, lungs, and the heart, and a few of the problems which can develop in the circulatory system. At times he uses familiar references to make a point, explaining, for example, that the heart weighs only "about ten ounces, about as much as one of your sneakers." The text, layout, diagrams, and photographs work together to make an eye-catching and useful book.

School Library Journal - Simon approaches the human heart as he approached outer space and oceans: as an adventure to be explored. As always, the full-page, full-color photographs are spectacular, and the text is crisp and full of detail. In a conversational yet instructive style, the author presents young readers with fascinating information that will almost certainly spur them on to read more. Topics include types of blood vessels, coronary bypass surgery, strokes, and anatomy of the heart. There is no index, but since each two-page spread clearly addresses a specific topic, one isn't necessary.

Kirkus Reviews - "Make a fist. This is about the size of your heart," Simon (Spring in America, p. 232, etc.) begins, and with this simple, concrete image he introduces the wonders of the human heart, circulatory system, and blood to a picture-book audience. Elsewhere, even abstract ideas become comprehensible, e.g., the average human body contains about twenty-five trillion red blood cells, or "hundreds of times more blood cells than there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy." Stunning full-color photos appear on every page, many taken inside the human body with scanners, X rays, and other devices, and then computer-enhanced. The same science savvy and enthusiasm that has made Simon's titles on the universe so popular has been turned inward to uncover extraordinary facts about the human body.

 

CONNECTIONS

After reading The Heart, students could create PowerPoint slides to share the information from the book.

Students could create posters to share information about how the heart works.

 

AWARDS

Seymour Simon received the Lifetime Achievement Commendation from the National Forum on Children’s Science Books.

Simon, Seymour. The Heart: Our Circulatory System. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1996.

POETRY

RED SINGS FROM TREETOPS:

               A year in colors

               written by Joyce Sidman
        illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
     Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
                 Boston, Massachusetts
                              2009

SUMMARY

Joyce Sidman wrote poems focused on the four seasons of the year, using colors to draw on the emotions of the reader.  Using the five senses, Sidman brings the readers attention to the little details of every season, the smell and taste and sounds of nature as the seasons change.  A Royal figure (depicted by the crown) moves through each season, experiencing nature at its finest.  “Yellow...smells like butter, tastes like salt” and “Brown rustles and whispers underfoot” are examples of how Sidman uses the senses to keep the reader interested. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The descriptions of the seasons are full of figurative language; examples of metaphors and personification create vivid images for the reader.  Although the poems have a rhythmic quality when read aloud, only a few contain actual rhyming lines.  The illustrations by Zagarenski provide an additional visual interpretation of the seasonal poems, helping readers “see” the seasons from different perspectives as the seasons change.

Although Red Sings from Treetops: a year in colors appears to be a poetry collection, it reads more like a story written as a poem.  The seasons each have a subtitle, but the poems focus on how the colors relate to each particular season.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

New York Times Book Review: "It's wonderfully strange to read of colors with sounds, smells and tastes."

Kirkus Reviews: "A charming inspiration to notice colors and correlate emotions"
Horn Book: "Sustaining the playfulness of the text and its sense of awe, mystery, and beauty, the illustrations contribute gracefully to the celebration."

Booklist: "As the title implies, the colors that surprise on every page, do sing."

CONNECTIONS

This would be a great book for choral reading, giving each child a differnt color from a different season.

After reading Red Sings from Treetops: a year in colors, students could use watercolors to create pictures of the seasons.  They can also write their own seasonal poetry, using felt-tip markers to copy them over the watercolor pictures.

AWARDS

2010 Caldecott Honor Award
2010 Claudia Lewis Poetry Award
2010 Minnesota Book Award
2009 Cybils Poetry Award
2009 Horn Book Fanfare
2009 Bulletin Blue Ribbon
2009 Booklist The Best of Editors’ Choice
2010 CCBC Choices Recommendation
New York Public Library's "100 Titles for Reading and Sharing"
ABC "Indie" Best Book
Junior Library Guild Selection



Sidman, J., & Zagarenski, P. (2009). Red sings from treetops: A year in colors. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN-13: 978-0-547-01494-4

POETRY

Comets, Stars, the Moon and Mars:

Space poems and paintings

 

 

 

 

written and illustrated by Douglas Florian
Harcourt
Orlando, Florida
2007

SUMMARY

With these poems, Florian shares facts about each of the planets along with other celestial bodies.  The poems are rhythmic, using short lines that rhyme to provide information about each topic.  One poem, "A Galaxy," is written in a fun spiral shape, yet still includes rhyming phrases.
Florian includes a circular-shaped die-cut on many of the pages, providing readers with a quick, sometimes mysterious peek at what is coming up next.  This book helps create an interest in the universe and the elements that hold it all together.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars opens with a table of contents, providing readers with an easy way to locate poems about specific topics related to space.  Florian has organized the poems starting with the largest view, "Skywatch" and "The Universe," then moving away from the sun until he focuses on comets, black holes, and the great beyond.

The illustrations appear to have a wash of watercolors in the background with simple labeled shape in the foreground.  The pictures are not realistic depictions of the planets or space, but they are interesting and visually appealing.  The die-cut provides one more aspect of interest for the reader.  Often the die-cut is not noticed until the page is turned, which gives the reader an element of surprise.

Florian ends his book with a “A Galactic Glossary” and, through this section, shares important information about each of the topics in the book.  This gives readers another push toward further research.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

The New York Times Book Review:  “The poet-painter’s latest book brings warm wit to the outermost reaches of cold, dark space. . . . Florian’s illustrations depict the marvels of space with luminous texture and detail.”

School Library Journal: "Nothing gladdens the heart of believers of good poetry for children more than a new collection by Florian. . . . This one literally sings the music of the spheres. . . . In both language and artwork, Florian strikes the perfect balance between grandeur and whimsy."

Kirkus Reviews:  “Stunning mixed-media illustrations accompany a series of poems that celebrate the wonder and mystery of space.”

CONNECTIONS

After reading Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars, students could make mobiles of the planet and other heavenly bodies.

After reading Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars, students could write their own poetry.  This might be about planets, stars, and Mars, but could be any non-fiction topic.  The poems would show them that poetry can be factual and give them a framework for developing another non-fiction topic into poetry.

AWARDS

Horn Book Fanfare List - Best Books of 2007 Poetry
Kirkus Reviews - Best Children 's Books 2007



Florian, D. (2007). Comets, stars, the Moon, and Mars: Space poems and paintings. Orlando: Harcourt. ISBN-13: 9780152053727

POETRY

 

                       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

HURRICANE DANCERS

written by Margarita Engle
Harry Holt and Company
New York, New York
2011

SUMMARY

Hurricane Dancers is a historical fiction novel, written in poetic verse and changing voices to allow readers into the minds of several characters.  Set in the early 1500s, Quebrado (the broken one) has been a slave boy for many years, captured after his father (a wandering Spaniard) abandoned him.  He now works aboard Bernardino de Talavera’s pirate ship, where Alonso de Ojeda, the governor of Venezuela, is being held captive.

Quebrado’s entries speak of the fear he has of his captors and his terror during a devastating hurricane.  When the ship finally sinks, Quebrado is rescued by a fisherman, Naridó.  Quebrado is held in high esteem with Narido’s people, and, when de Talavera and Ojeda finally make their way into the village, Quebrado has the opportunity to decide their fate.  Once he decides to set them free, he feels that he has a new life.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Hurricane Dancers tells its story from several different points of view.  Because the story focuses on the stories of five different characters, it is necessary to pay close attention to which character is speaking.  Engle’s includes notes at the beginning and the end, which help the reader with little background knowledge of this time period.
The journal entries have a definite rhythmic feel, sometimes soft and timid and other times harsh and angry.  Personification, similes, and metaphors are found throughout this novel in verse.  Engle’s use of figurative language generates vivid images for the reader, creating a sense of the deep emotions felt by the characters.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Publishers Weekly: "The story, based on historical events, feels too rich for Engle's spare, broken-line poetry. Still, the subject matter is an excellent introduction to the age of exploration and its consequences, showing slavery sinking its insidious roots in the Americas and the price paid by those who were there first."

Horn Book Magazine: "Like intersecting rip tides, several first-person narratives converge in this verse novel of the sixteenth century."

Booklist: "Once again, Engle fictionalizes historical fact in a powerful, original story."

School Library Journal: "Unique and inventive, this is highly readable historical fiction that provides plenty of fodder for discussion."

CONNECTIONS

Read a short biography of Alonso de Ojeda at http://www.chroniclesofamerica.com/bios/alonso_de_ojeda.htm
Using a T-Chart, or other appropriate graphic organizer, list facts from Hurricane Dancers that are accurate and those details that were fictionalized.
Discuss why an author might fictionalize some aspects of the story, while keeping other information accurate.

When studying the Caribbean Islands, read this historical fiction novel to students.  Discuss those aspects of the story that depict the culture of the region and what life must have been like for the enslaved (like Quebrado), the pirates (like de Talavera), and prisoners (de Ojeda).
Ask students to write a journal entry as one of these characters for the day after Quebrado allowed de Talavera and de Ojeda to go free.


AWARDS

2012 Pura Belpré Author Honor
ALSC 2012 Notable Children’s Book for older readers
ALA Best Books for Young Adults nominee
Poetry for Children Blog’s Top 20 Most Distinctive Books of Poetry 2011



Engle, M., Herzog, L., & Henry Holt and Company (2011). Hurricane dancers: The first Caribbean pirate shipwreck. New York: Henry Holt & Co. ISBN-13: 978-1250040107