Lynn: Remember a few weeks ago when Cindy demanded more estrogen in the picture books we blog? I have JUST the book that should please her and keep our focus group happy too. Brontorina (Candlewick 2010) is about a ballet dancer AND a dinosaur. In fact it is about a dinosaur who wants to be a ballerina. Brontorina has a dream - she wants to dance! When she shows up at Madame Lucille’s Dance Academy for Girls and Boys, Madame Lucille is at first nonplussed. But when she looks in Brontorina’s eyes she sees a true dancer. Others are not so sure. For one thing she doesn’t have the right shoes! Madame agrees to teach Brontorina with the request that she not “squish the other dancers.” As the weeks go by it is clear that although Brontorina is extremely graceful there are major problems. She doesn’t fit into the studio and how will a male dancer ever lift her over his head? Fortunately Madame Lucille is a flexible adapter especially when the right shoes are provided by a fellow student’s mother. “The problem,” says Madame Lucille, is not that you are too big. The problem is that my studio is too small.” Oh be still my heart! As school starts, I hope every child will have a Madame Lucille!
James Howe’s wonderful story is sweet and funny and Randy Cecil’s charming oil color illustrations in soft colors are ideally suited to the story. Brontorina spills grandly across the gutters, dwarfing the tiny dancers beneath her feet. There are lots of fun details that add to the fun.
Our focus group loved this book - somewhat to my surprise - proving that a little estrogen is not a bad thing - at least as long as dinosaurs are involved.
Cindy: What will Lynn come up with next? A jewelry craft book about a pirate that makes his own earrings? Hmmm. Maybe I’d be interested in that one. Silliness aside, Brontorina is a book that parents, teachers, and children are all going to embrace. After a weary week of professional development, it is this book that refocuses my thoughts on what it means to be a good educator (or a good parent). Kids will laugh and cheer, and adults will be moved by the philosophy within. Cecil’s illustrations are delightful: The piano accompanist who is threatened with being crushed, Brontorina trying to jete while scraping a hole in the ceiling, the ginormous tear that appears when Brontorina is told she is too big to dance, and the Picasso-esque double eyes that grace each profile shot.
I’ve always thought myself too clumsy for dance class but if dinosaurs and cows can do it, maybe I should dare to dream.
Cindy: For those of us heading back to school jobs, summer is quickly drawing to a close, or has already. I start a week of 8-4 professional development tomorrow morning and am reminded today of my favorite end-of-summer quote. It’s posted below and hails from Hilary McKay’s fiction book, The Exiles. We posted about this book last year, but it’s a fun series worth promoting again for those of you who missed it the first time around. I need to add this one to our Commonplace Page in the Info section of our blog. Have you looked at those book excerpts…or our lists of favorite book and library quotes? Take a trip over to the left frame of the website and browse around. Leave us your favorite in the comments here to be added to our lists.
?The last days of the holiday, like fairy gold counted in the sunlight, disappeared as fast as they were numbered. The shining wealth of summer that had been theirs to squander dwindled to a few dull-gleaming days. Ruth, Naomi, Rachel and Phoebe began to spend them with the distraught recklessness of those who see the end of the world.?
Lynn: Even when I was still a middle school librarian I had very mixed feelings about the start of the school year. Like Cindy I wanted to cling to these wonderful days of swimming, bike rides and picnics. On the other hand I loved the excitement of a new school year. I love the energy of the fall season, the gorgeous leaves, the brisk cool weather and all the activities. These days I am even more mixed in my emotions. Sadly I am still missing my job and it is downright painful to watch my friends go back to school without me. Balancing that is the fact that my twin grandsons are returning to school too. After having them with me all day for the summer, I am feeling a little giddy with the realization that I will have all day to myself! Don’t get me wrong - there is a LOT to be said for bug-hunting expeditions, afternoons at the pool and building legos but the thought of reading quietly on the patio, eating lunch without someone spilling and taking a bike ride without butterfly nets and a bug cage has a lot of attraction!
Enjoy the last golden days of summer. All too soon you’ll find me at the bus stop with the boys. I’ll be the one waving goodbye as the bus pulls away - smiling and weeping all at the same time.
Lynn: Unless you are one of those irritating people who read it overnight, you are probably immersed in Mockingjay right now. I am reading it as fast as I can and trying to avoid the spoilers on the listservs. What IS it with those people? They can’t wait till Monday to start discussing? Some of us have lives, small energetic children to keep up with, college students to move! Humpff! Anyway, when you do surface you will surely find a horde of teens asking what they can read next.
Here is one terrific page-turner of a book to hand them. I Am Number Four (Harper 2010) is the perfect book for those last precious days of summer. I remember reading the blurb on the galley when it arrived and thinking that it really sounded like fun. I hauled it in for our book club and that was the last I saw of the book for weeks. The teens adored it, raved about it at our meetings and handed it off to each other. I finally exerted executive authority and grabbed the book to read myself. You can’t beat the premise. A group of aliens fled to Earth ten years ago following the destruction of their planet, Lorien. The nine young children with their mentors have hidden here, moving constantly, waiting for their tremendous powers to develop during their adolescence. They are being hunted by the evil Mogadarians who not only want kill them but also have plans to wipe out all life on Earth. The story focuses on young John Smith who is weary of running and hiding and wants to try to live a normal life. For the first time he has friends and has fallen in love. But the news is dire. The Loriens can only be killed in strict order. Number Three just went to the great spaceship in the sky and John is Number Four!
You don’t want to spend any time dwelling on plausibility - just hang on for the ride. Happily there are more books to come from the mysterious Pittacus Lore. This is high-energy escapism at its best - enjoy!
Lynn: I have been clear that I really don’t like books that make me cry so the fact that this one did and I am recommending Layla, Queen of Hearts (Farrar 2010) anyway should send a loud message! Layla Elliot has a problem. Senior Citizen Day is approaching fast for her third grade class and since Layla’s beloved nana died a year ago she has no one to bring. Layla confides in her best friend, Griffin Silk, and the friends take the problem to Griffin’s Grandma Nell. The Silk family may be an unusual one but Layla blends right in and although Griffin is willing to share his grandma, Nell understands that Layla wants someone of her own to bring. Soon the List of Likely Candidates is created and Layla, Griffin and Nell set out on interviews. It is the Last Resort, the forgetful Miss Amelia who Layla choses. Layla knows Miss Amelia is the right choice because they both share a nickname given to them by a loved one who has passed on: Queen of Hearts. Miss Amelia remembers her lost love, John William, perfectly, but often forgets who Layla is between visits. Senior Citizen Day is a success but not long after that, Miss Amelia becomes more and more confused and Nell explains that Miss Amelia has an illness that may mean she will have to go someplace where someone can look after her all the time. In time Layla has to handle one more loss.
Millard beautifully shows the story of people, young and old, who are able to understand and appreciate what lies in the hearts of others. This so easily could have been treacly sweet but Millard avoids sentimentality and gives us genuine emotion in an understated but completely effective style. Barton’s black and white sketches are adorable with just the right touch of whimsy. Just keep the kleenex handy.
This is the second book about Layla and Griffin. I haven’t yet read The Naming of Tishkin Silk (Farrar 2009) but it’s on my list for my next trip to the library!
Cindy: I think Lynn has been around me too long if she is starting to warm up to sad books! But then, she’s turned me into a more regular science fiction reader so I’m glad the mind meld is symbiotic. This was a bit of a tough read the week following my mother’s death, but Layla and the Silk family warmed my heart and kept me laughing in between the tears. In the Kingdom of Silk (the Silk family’s house) Saturday breakfasts are a big deal and, weather providing, are eaten outdoors. The description of one with collected and fabricated birds nests at each seat filled with soft-boiled goose eggs resting on maple leaf placemats is delightful. The crowning touch? Nell knitted striped pom-pom topped beanies for each egg. Can I have breakfast at the Kingdom of Silk? Can I get a Queen of Hearts dress in my size? Can I buy some original art from Patrice Barton? Kids are going to love this book and it would make a great read aloud, but I’m being selfish today. This book was a tonic for my soul. Thank you to Glenda and Patrice. I can’t wait to go back to read the first book and hope we have a lot more of Layla yet to come.
Cindy: Want to hook young readers on the genre of biography? Give them All Aboard! Elijah McCoy’s Steam Engine (Tundra, 2010). The opening scene shows a 6 year-old Elijah happily running to fix his father’s broken horse-drawn mower. His talent and love of working on machines started early. In 1866 Elijah returned to his ex-slave parents in Michigan having finished engineering schooling in Scotland, but his dreams of working as a mechanical engineer were dashed when the only job he could get as a black man was as an ashcat, shoveling coal into the train’s firebox and “greasing the pig,” oiling the wheels and bearings. While doing this dangerous, tedious work Elijah had time to think and at night he worked on drawings for his first major invention, an oil cup that would keep the train greased while it ran, preventing the frequent stops and delays for this work that was necessary to keep the train running.
Elijah McCoy is one of the inventors on the list our sixth graders research every year so I have read about his life and was familiar with his inventions. Some of my students could benefit from this book, although it is meant for a much, much younger audience. Sometimes the students get sidetracked with the minutia of the inventor’s life and come out of the research project still not understanding the major contribution of the inventor. Maybe a picture book reading first would help. Kulling presents an entertaining and informative overview of Elijah’s passion that just might spark young readers to follow their curiosity…or at least to read more biographies.
Lynn: Those of us with school librarian blood running in our veins get really excited when we find good books that can be used in lots of ways and here is a book that does just that. All Aboard can be tied into many subject areas from history to science to language arts. Cindy mentioned the introduction of biographies but there is also a great tie-in to the use of idioms. Being around our focus group all summer, I have remembered how interested that age group is in language and just how mystifying some of our common expressions can be to kids. Kulling does a great job of explaining the origins of our expression, the real McCoy, in a way that will really intrigue young readers and get them thinking even more about our fascinating language. If you don’t know where that expression comes from you have one more good reason to read this book
Bill Slavin’s illustrations, done with pen and ink with watercolor, are really charming and filled with humor and period details. They are large enough to make this a good book to read to a group and the lure of steam trains will capture kids’ attention right from the start.
This is the second book in the Great Ideas series by this team. Add this one to your back-to-school shopping list.
Lynn: Ahoy me hearties! Here’s a whale of a tale perfect for the young buccaneers heading to back to school. A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade (Feiwel 2010) chronicles a small boy’s first day at school accompanied by his invisible pirate crew. Every step from “shining his snappers” to meeting “the new cap’n Silver - and a fine old salt was she ” - is written in buoyant pirate jargon that bounds off the page. The illustrations are irresistable. The little boy with his tousled red hair is drawn in bright colors while his imaginary pirate mates are sketched around him in brown pencil tones. The bold pictures and large size makes this a terrific book for a group while the plentiful humorous details also make it a rewarding lap book. Reassuring and packed with humor, this is a perfect choice for any small swabbie feeling a little nervous about setting sheets to the wind for first grade. Our focus group who will be starting second grade soon loved this too even though they think they’re seasoned veterans these days. Arrrr!
Cindy: Do you know what they charge pirates to get their ears pierced? A buck an ear! Harrr. Sorry, it’s my favorite pirate joke. This book is a fun spin on the back to school tale with lots of visual humor and a reassuring tone. My favorite illustration of Greg Ruth’s is the one of the young lass walking the plank (a teeter totter being held horizontal). I also appreciate the author and illustrator’s inclusion of just how tiring it is to be at school for a whole day. I’m headed back next week and I am ready for a nap already. The nod to libraries and reading at the book’s close is a nice touch too. There’s a beginner’s pirate talk glossary waiting at the end of the book for young land lubbers who need to brush up on their pirate vocabulary. As Gillian Engberg points out in her review linked above, this book is just in time for September 19th’s Talk Like a Pirate Day. Dinosaurs and pirates all in the same week. Hmmmm…I think we may need to inject some estrogen in our picture book selection process!
Lynn: Cindy is always chiding me for hyperbolic praise for books so brace yourselves for her section because I’m probably going to be in for a scold. I love this book! The focus group loves this book! Picture us jumping up and down waving our arms and shouting at you to get Chalk (Marshall Cavendish 2010) and read it immediately because it is terrific. The book is wordless and the story is wonderfully imaginative: delightful, scary and satisfying in turn. The illustrations fill the entire page, are from unique perspectives, filled with wonderful details and saturated with color. They are so masterfully drawn that it is hard to believe they aren’t photographs or computer generated. You know you have something special when the bibliographic information includes an assurance that Thomson drew each illustration by hand!
The cover sets the stage. Open the book. The endpage - a close picture of rain hitting a puddle - shows us that it is a rainy day. Next we look up at a big green dinosaur spring ride with a bag covered with stars and moons hanging from the mouth. Along come three children with an umbrella. Of course they open the bag and inside is chalk. One of the children draws a sun on the sidewalk and magically the rain stops and the sun begins to shine! What should they draw next? Finally the boy who has a mischievous glint in his eye draws a dinosaur and the story gets scary as a T-Rex pulls itself up out of the drawing. Don’t worry - one of the children knows just what to do and all is well.
My grandsons were mesmerized by this book. They loved telling me the story and pointing out details on the pages. When we got to the end, they wanted to read it again immediately…and then again…and again. They decided it is too scary for Henry but perfect for them. Since Henry is only a month old I agree but I also think the scariness factor stretches the age level higher as older kids will find it intriguing too.
I could rave on but I need to leave things for Cindy to say. The focus group and I agree that Chalk is definitely in our top ten for the year!
Cindy: I can see Lynn perched at her kitchen bar counter not being able to pound the keys of her ancient MacBook fast enough to rave about this book (when will she upgrade THAT dinosaur so we can play online scrabble?) I would roll my eyes at her effusive praise, but this book is just as awesome as she claims. Chalk is definitely a send up to Chris VanAllsburg’s Jumanji with the magical game that brings beasts alive, but with art that is worthy of comparison to that 1982 Caldecott Medal winner. I love wordless books and the opportunity they provide to children to invent their own storytelling. I could see elementary teachers asking their students to draw a picture of what they would bring to life and to write a short story about what happens. It would make a great jump start for a writing lesson for young students.
My favorite scene is the one with the boy pulling out his piece of chalk and readers will KNOW from the look on his face that he is up to no good. It’s such a universal boy moment, perfectly captured in acrylic paint and colored pencil. Mothers everywhere will cringe while children will know the fun is just beginning. The little boy looks an awful lot like our two focus group members. I think I’d be wise to keep one eye peeled for colored chalk the next time I spend the day with them!
Lynn: Cindy and I were lucky enough to hear Susan Campbell Bartoletti talk about her research for They Called Themselves the KKK: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group (Houghton 2010) at ALA Midwinter. Every person in that room walked out yearning to get their hands on the book. This is definitely a case where the advance PR was accurate. There aren’t enough superlatives in my thesaurus to do justice to this outstanding book. It is brilliantly researched, documented and written and completely accessible to its young audience. From its unforgettable cover to the fascinating bibliography and source notes, this is nonfiction at its best: compelling, thought-provoking and meticulously supported by evidence.
There is so much to talk about with this book and Booklist’s Gillian Engberg has done an outstanding job with her review and The Story Behind the Story feature in the August issue and I want to point you especially to those.
Bartoletti builds the history of the Klan carefully, never leaping ahead of her documentation, with primary sources that use the language of the time. That language, shocking and cruel, underscores the attitudes of the period - an important consideration for students. It is a shameful and sobering piece of our history and critical to a complete understanding of the forces that shaped this country and Bartoletti takes us there step by step.
In a time when terrorists are the subjects of nightly news, students need to also understand that this is indeed an American terrorist group. From the moment in 1866 when John Lester said, “Boys, let us get up a club,” the Klan used violence, abuse and the careful cultivation of fear just as surely as any extremist group operating today. In her source notes Bartoletti also talks about “how I thought about silence and the many ways it implies agreement, whether it’s a failure to speak out against a racist or hateful remark or joke or a failure to confront the bullying, stereotyping, and scapegoating and other injustices.”
If I were in charge of American schools, I’d make this required reading for every high school in the country!
Cindy: This was the book I was most eager for all spring and yet once I had it in my hands I kept finding reasons not to pick it up. It’s written by a favorite author, has a haunting cover with a striking photo of a sweat-stained Klan hood, and is about a group that has received little coverage in books for youth. Still. I knew the subject matter would be sobering and I never found myself in the mood to want to “go there.” But, as Bartoletti implies with her comments about silence, to pretend this violence and hatred doesn’t exist only reinforces it, and so I finally cracked open the cover. As Lynn describes, the book is as good as the early promotion indicated. The supplementary photographs and engravings and other illustrative matter add to the understanding for youth today. The KKK might not be as strong today as it was in its reconstruction era days, but The Southern Poverty Law Center in 2008 estimated there were 926 active hate groups in the United States. A year or so ago, a cross was set afire in the yard of a Jamaican family in our town. The response against the act of hatred was swift and visible, including a full page ad signed by all of us who opposed such horrific treatment, but it was sad none the less that we haven’t come as far as we should have as a society. The justification that acceptance of differences (like that of homosexual lifestyles) is against God’s plan is being used in the same manner that the early Klan members used it to fight against African Americans’ freedom. Add to that the post 9/11 attention on terrorism and there is plenty here for current events classes to discuss as well as U.S. History classes.
When you are booktalking this riveting book to your students, be sure to point out the section in the Bibliography and Sources pages in which the author describes her chilling weekend attending a modern Klan Congress. Readers who don’t pour over back matter might miss it. It doesn’t matter how many copies of this book you buy, it won’t be enough to meet demand. While there are hundreds of memorials in our country to honor the war and historical leaders who were also proud Klansmen, Bartoletti discovered there were none for the victims of Klan violence. She wrote this book to create one. I’m grateful to her for that. I’d also like to see us add a few more in bronze or marble or granite. What do you say?
Cindy: My first experience with Wuthering Heights comes from a Classics Illustrated version of the title from my childhood. Still, Heathcliff haunts me and who wouldn’t be intrigued by the story behind this brooding, evil character living on the English moors. The House of Dead Maids (Henry Holt, 2010) is Clare Dunkle’s creepy prequel-of-sorts to Emily Bronte’s classic. Readers don’t need to be familiar with Heathcliff to enjoy this dark tale of orphan Tabby who comes to be the nursemaid for the young master of Seldom House. She begins to see the ghosts of the dead maids who came before her and is baffled by the lack of a church in the small village. The events get stranger and the book gets harder to put down, especially once the reader learns that Tabby and her charge have been marked by the villagers as the next sacrifice.
Whether or not this book leads teens to read Wuthering Heights remains to be seen (Bella’s adoration of the classic in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series might have already moved a few readers in that direction) but the slim story with a chilling cover is a perfect read-alike for fans of Phyllis Reynold Naylor’s Jade Green. For teens who do get into the Wuthering Heights connection, Dunkle has a wealth of supporting material on her website. Dunkle grew up surrounded by Bronte’s work, her mother wrote her master’s thesis about Heathcliff, and it remains one of her favorite classics. She hopes teens will use this book as a small appetizer to whet their appetites to move on to the main course. So, are you a Wuthering Heights fan? We want to know. I probably should give the book another shot someday, but in the meantime, I’m definitely a Clare Dunkle fan! If you haven’t read her Hollow Kingdom trilogy….do so ASAP.
Lynn: I was an English major and am a Gothic lit fan so I do like Wuthering Heights but it has been a looong time since I read it. I set out reading this book somewhat nervously wondering if I would remember enough of the original story to keep up! I was quickly swept into the absolute creepiness of the this book and just as quickly stopped worrying about books and university classes gone by. The atmosphere of horror and foreboding are done extremely well here and teens won’t have to know anything about Heathcliff to find this book haunting their sleep. There is a scene in which the villagers are getting ready to bury the children alive that almost made me put the book down except that I believed in Tabby’s resourcefulness. YIKES!
I loved how Dunkle brought all the story threads together at the end and there is a definite ah ha moment that I predict will send a lot of teens to the library to try Wuthering Heights for themselves. This book will publish in September so make sure it doesn’t get missed!
Cindy: Jack tales have to be among my favorite folktales and when you have one written by a special author and combine that with a tribute to storytelling and feature dessert, you know up front how I will feel about this book! Clever Jack Takes the Cake (Random House/Schwarz & Wade, 2010) is an original picture book in the tradition of the great Jack tales. Birthday party presents are a dilemma for all children. Invited to a posh birthday party…what does one gift to the birthday girl or guy? Well, imagine Jack’s angst over getting an invitation to the princess’s 10th birthday party. He has nothing to give and no money to buy a gift but he doesn’t let that get in the way. He uses his trademark resourcefulness and trades and barters to get the ingredients to bake the most wonderful cake:
That same night, Jack stood back to admire his creation–two layers of golden-sweet cake covered in buttery frosting and ringed with ten tiny candles. Across the cake’s top, walnuts spelled out “Happy Birthday, Princess.” And in the very center–in the place of honor–sat the succulent strawberry.
But, as Jack tale fans know, nothing is ever simple for Jack. The trip to the castle is fraught with peril as each part of the cake is picked off by an animal or troll or other interloper on his trip. He finally arrives before the princess empty handed. Or is he? In the end, there is always story to save the day.
Oh how I love this book and its message about the value of things versus story. When you add in the delightful gouache and pencil drawings of G. Brian Karas, you have a delightful package. Candace Fleming, you are as clever as Jack. I lift a strawberry to you.
Lynn: Fleming’s delicious story of the steadily diminishing cake is an absolute treat for readers. Her clever text flows with the lovely cadence of classic fairy tales and is a delight to read aloud.
The road grew narrower. The trees grew thicker. The light grew dimmer. Soon it was so dark that Jack couldn’t see the cake in front of his face. “Turn back!’ the wind whispered. “Turn back!”
Aside from the fact the storytelling weaves an enchanting spell, the story also offers some terrific possibilities for discussion with young readers. Ask the audience to predict what will happen to the cake next. What will Jack do? Should Jack go empty-handed to the princess or should he just go home? Is Jack really clever or silly? We adults can’t resist a story where perseverance prevails!
The lesson never whacks readers over the head and both Fleming’s humor and the Karas’ charming cartoon-style illustrations increase the fun. This is a perfect book for reading snuggled together so children can peruse the pictures with all their clever details. One of my favorites is the drawing of Jack getting his initial idea and there is a candle floating over his head - it is the middle ages after all.
We had this book in galley so the focus group and I read it with the pages slipping and sliding away from us and it was so fun they didn’t care.
Hey Cindy, strawberries are great but the little boys and I will go you one better. We lift strawberry smoothies to Clever Jack!
Lynn: Remember a few weeks ago when Cindy demanded more estrogen in the picture books we blog? I have JUST the book that should please her and keep our focus group happy too. 
Cindy: For those of us heading back to school jobs, summer is quickly drawing to a close, or has already. I start a week of 8-4 professional development tomorrow morning and am reminded today of my favorite end-of-summer quote. It’s posted below and hails from Hilary McKay’s fiction book, 
Lynn: Unless you are one of those irritating people who read it overnight, you are probably immersed in Mockingjay right now. I am reading it as fast as I can and trying to avoid the spoilers on the listservs. What IS it with those people? They can’t wait till Monday to start discussing? Some of us have lives, small energetic children to keep up with, college students to move! Humpff! Anyway, when you do surface you will surely find a horde of teens asking what they can read next.
Lynn: I have been clear that I really don’t like books that make me cry so the fact that this one did and I am recommending 
The description of one with collected and fabricated birds nests at each seat filled with soft-boiled goose eggs resting on maple leaf placemats is delightful. The crowning touch? Nell knitted striped pom-pom topped beanies for each egg. Can I have breakfast at the Kingdom of Silk? Can I get a Queen of Hearts dress in my size? Can I buy some original art from Patrice Barton? Kids are going to love this book and it would make a great read aloud, but I’m being selfish today. This book was a tonic for my soul. Thank you to Glenda and Patrice. I can’t wait to go back to read the first book and hope we have a lot more of Layla yet to come.
Cindy: Want to hook young readers on the genre of biography? Give them 
Check out more great nonfiction on 
Lynn: Ahoy me hearties! Here’s a whale of a tale perfect for the young buccaneers heading to back to school. 
Lynn: Cindy is always chiding me for hyperbolic praise for books so brace yourselves for her section because I’m probably going to be in for a scold. I love this book! The focus group loves this book! Picture us jumping up and down waving our arms and shouting at you to get 
Lynn: Cindy and I were lucky enough to hear Susan Campbell Bartoletti talk about her research for 
Today’s 
Cindy: My first experience with 
Whether or not this book leads teens to read Wuthering Heights remains to be seen (Bella’s adoration of the classic in Stephenie Meyer’s 
Cindy: Jack tales have to be among my favorite folktales and when you have one written by a special author and combine that with a tribute to storytelling and feature dessert, you know up front how I will feel about this book!