The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy)

Image courtesy of Scholastic Press

Bibliography

Kerley, Barbara, and Ed Fotheringham. The Extraordinary Mark Twain (according to Susy). New York: Scholastic, 2010. Print. ISBN 978-0545125086

Plot Summary

Susy Clemens, the oldest daughter of Samuel Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain), writes this insider’s view of Samuel Clemens’ life. Through the lens of his daughter, we are shown a truthful look at Twain’s personality. She contrasts his public and private selves. A youth-accessible biography, The Extraordinary Mark Twain, renders the most important influences of Twain’s life. Among learning of his wife’s role in editing out inappropriate passages of Twain’s text and the children’s story times from Twain’s daily writings, readers learn many intriguing details that cast Mark Twain as a dynamic person.

Critical Analysis

Kerley writes of Mark Twain in a simple, yet elegant manner that people of all ages can appreciate. Excerpts of Susy’s journal are pieced into the center of each page layout, displaying a historically, charming rendition of the life and language of the time in the Twain home. Each layout details an entry of Susy’s journal. Children will be fortunate to have this book to journey into this lovingly, yet honestly written portrayal of Mark Twain. The book’s detailed, cartoon-like, color illustrations are brilliantly done with care to illustrate every tale of his lifestyle. Written with humor, surprise, emotion, and seriousness, the book is in perfect balance to maintain readers’ curiosity throughout. The bold coloring gives it an attractive flair, while the fonts, word choice, images, journal pages and scrolling pen work throughout beautifully allude to an earlier time in history.

Kerley’s use of the original manuscripts of Susy Clemens along with other primary source letters and biographies authenticates the accuracy of the quotations and narrative included. With a bit of intrigue built in the story, readers can also take in the author’s touching note about Twain and his daughter at the end. And if you happen to be a Mark Twain fan, it is imperative that you take in the end note. Just make sure you have tissue on hand! Kerley also provides how to instructions for kids wanting to write biographies of their own as well as source notes and a time line with a photograph of the family. You can tell through all the quality details of this book that Kerley and Fotheringham put their hearts into this artful biography.

Review Excerpts and Awards

2010 CYBILS Nonfiction Picture Book Award

Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Books Gold Award, California Reading Association

Winner of the Oregon Spirit Book Award for Nonfiction -- OCTE

Orbis Pictus Recommended Book

Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People

Notable Children’s Book in the English Language Arts

From School Library Journal: “Kerley and Fotheringham again craft a masterfully perceptive and largely visual biography, this time about the iconic 19th-century American writer.”

From Kirkus Reviews: “Edwin Fotheringham’s digital, old-fashioned–looking illustrations whimsically depict life in Twain’s household, from a cross-section of the family’s sprawling house to their menagerie of cats.”

From Publishers Weekly: “Kerley contextualizes the teenager’s admiring musings with vivid familial backdrops.”

Connections

Read all or portions of this book, emphasizing the way Twain read bits of his stories to his children in the evenings. Also, read aloud The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (ISBN 978-0486403496). Additionally read Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led her People to Freedom (ISBN 978-0786851751) and Henry’s Freedom Box: a True Story from the Underground Railroad (ISBN 978-0439777339).

Use as a resource for an author study.

Use the author’s guide to writing a bibliography. There is a printable version available at www. Barbarakerley.com/teachers.html.

Encourage children to journal as Susy did her family life.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was controversial at the time it was published and banned in many places. Have children study the political events of the time period to learn why. Students may create a newspaper featuring period news and a review of the book.

The Crossing: How George Washington Saved the American Revolution

Bibliography

Murphy, Jim. The Crossing: How George Washington Saved the American Revolution. New York: Scholastic, 2010. Print. ISBN 9780439691871

Plot Summary

Image courtesy of Scholastic.

For those who didn’t know George Washington didn’t come at success easily… The Crossing details Washington’s struggles to transform a small, amateur militia into a loyal, revolution-fighting military. He and his troops suffered losses, soldiers abandoning battles, being outnumbered by the superior British army, and Washington’s own lack of experience in strategic commanding. From 1775 to 1781, Washington learns to command the respect and loyalty of his men which eventually forces the British to sign a peace treaty acknowledging America’s independence.

Critical Analysis

This interesting turn-by-turn, sequential account of Washington’s tactical maneuvering of soldiers to outwit the more experienced, highly trained British forces is blended with quotes from a wide range of historical figures. Jim Murphy has a reputation for writing accurate nonfiction books for youth. His source notes provide verification of the accuracy of the information in this book. An index, website resource listing, and a timeline provide an abundant supply of quality resources for extending research on the American Revolution. Notes on the painting, Washington Crossing the Delaware offer insight for an in depth understanding of Leutze’s famous piece of work. Seven chapters dividing the major events make for a manageable study of Washington’s time as commander in chief of the Continental Army.

Well-placed, sepia photographs, paintings, illustrations, maps, and newspaper clippings placed frequently throughout support comprehension of the events as well as create interest in the topic. A few color illustrations would have lent even more interest. All in all, The Crossing is a thorough compilation of the events and viewpoints of the time laid out to the reader with a fluid style and impartiality.

Review Excerpts and Awards

Book Links Lasting Connections of 2010, Social Studies

2010 Margaret A. Edwards Award

From Kirkus Reviews: “Murphy brings the winter of 1776 to life with powerful prose and captivating illustrations.”

From Booklist: “Murphy offers a refreshingly frank, vivid, well-researched account of a pivotal time in American history.”

From School Library Journal: “…each step or misstep is as riveting as if readers were following at the heels of ‘the old fox’.”

From Publishers Weekly: “Murphy again digs into the well of history, this time emerging with a well-researched, absorbing account of the early battles of the Revolutionary War with Gen. George Washington at their center.”

Connections

Use as a resource for students studying the American Revolution.

Project the painting, Washington Crossing the Delaware, and promote critical thinking in class discussions of what the painting means. Use the book’s notes on the painting to guide students in the artist’s intentions.

Have students compare and contrast the French and American Revolutions.

Have students study the viewpoints on both sides of the American Revolution with a culminating debate. Add additional resources such as, King George III: America’s Enemy by Philip Brooks ISBN 978-0531207390

Start a study blog with students in England to gain a variety of perspectives.

Create a 3D map illustrating an event in the American Revolution.

      

         

Bomb: The Race to Build -- and Steal -- the World's Most Dangerous Weapon

Image courtesy of Roaring Brook Press

Bibliography

Sheinkin, Steve, and Jay Colvin. Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon. New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2013. Print. ISBN 9781596434875

         Plot Summary

In the 1930’s scientists were discovering the nature of atoms’ particles. They were curiously studying radioactive elements. As scientists learned more, it became clear that creating an atomic bomb was a possibility. As tensions rose between the Axis and the Allies in World War II, a race ensues to become the dominator with the first atomic bombs. Bomb accounts the sabotage, theft, and building of the atomic bomb by scientists, special military forces, government leaders, and spies.

         Critical Analysis

From the first ideas of atomic fission to the American bombing of Hiroshima to the creation of the first atomic bomb in the Soviet Republic, Bomb portrays all angles of the big story in a chronological sequence that is easy to follow. Chunked into four major parts, Steve Sheinkin delivers photographs at the beginning of each section and proceeds to draw readers into the intense, covert drama surrounding the start of nuclear weapons. Each part is organized into short narratives that describe the story from a certain angle. These given titles in an old fashioned typewriter font, lend the book an air of the time period. The photographs are designed in a scrapbook layout at the beginning of each section, so when reading about a character or event you can easily flip back to the layout and review the photos. If I had a wish the only thing more I’d want in this book is more pictures, especially some placed throughout the sections.

Each small narrative section is written as a true short story, making the book lively, easily followed, and hard to put down. Quotations from the people involved ensure the reader gets the authentic experience. All the information is accurate with source notes and quotation notes included. An index helps readers search or refer back to details. With such important facts told in a way that only lets the reader in on the secret developments one bit at a time, Sheinkin keeps his readers looking for more. His source notes provide ample resources to further one’s research.

         Review Excerpts and Awards

            2013 Robert F. Sibert Medal

            2013 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction

            2013 Newberry Medal Honor Book

             From Kirkus Reviews: “It takes a lot of work to make a complicated subject clear and exciting, and from his prodigious research and storytelling skill, Sheinkin has created a nonfiction story young people will want to read.”

             From The Horn Book: “Sheinkin here maintains the pace of a thriller without betraying history (source notes and an annotated bibliography are exemplary) or skipping over the science; photo galleries introducing each section help readers organize the events and players.”

             From Publishers Weekly: “Suspenseful play-by-play moments will                            captivate…”

              From School Library Journal: “American history is brought to life in this engaging story.”

         Connections

Use a single narrative section to introduce a unit of study in science around atoms or nuclear energy.

Use a single narrative section as an exemplar for students to absorb the style of effective writing.

In a career research assignment, use as an extension for those with an interest in military or engineering careers. Ask students to create a video reflection after reading.

After reading, students may want to research World War II further or extend research and learn about the status of nuclear weapons programs from that point to current time. Students may want to create a multimedia presentation like a Pixton comic, Timetoast digital timeline, or an Animoto video of nuclear weapons programs.

Have students study and contrast the use of nuclear power for different purposes. Invite a guest speaker from a nuclear energy agency.

Have students create a skit to dramatize the events of nuclear development.

Brown Girl Dreaming

Courtesy of Nancy Paulsen Books

Bibliography

Woodson, Jacqueline. Brown Girl Dreaming. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2014.  ISBN 9780399252518

Plot Summary

Born in 1963, Jackie grows up partly in South Carolina at her grandparents’ house. Brown people are marching and protesting for civil rights. We see through Jackie’s eyes as a child learning to take in all the problems of the south and making sense of the religion around her. Jackie’s mother later moves the children to Brooklyn, New York, where she encounters many cultures and faiths. Jackie is passionate for both the south and the north. She believes in her dream of becoming a writer. As Jackie matures, she begins to make sense of integrating her beliefs.

Critical Analysis

Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming is a charming telling of her rearing amidst the American turmoil during civil rights fighting and her own family’s drama. Woodson has a special way of making the reader feel emotionally attached to her family and rooting Jacqueline on to winning her dream. Her words flow in a smooth rhythmic flow, longer poems and shorter poems. Each is written to take the reader back through time to show how Jacqueline came out of a history that paved the way. Imagery of her beloved South Carolina is especially sweet. The way she combines the beauty of the South and the struggles leads to an in depth understanding of how her personality developed.

Woodson shows herself discovering a dream and following it all the way through. She models strength and courage for new generations of young people. Extremely empowering! I wish I had read it as a young girl.

Review Excerpts

2014 National Book Award Winner

2015 NAACP Image Award Winner

2015 Coretta Scott King Award Winner

2015 Newberry Honor Winner

2015 E.B. White Read-Aloud Award Winner

2015 Sibert Honor Winner

From New York Times: “The triumph of ‘Brown Girl Dreaming’ is not just in how well Woodson tells us the story of her life, but in how elegantly she writes words that make us want to hold those carefully crafted poems close, apply them to our lives, reach into the mirror she holds up and makes the words and worlds she explores our own.”

From Kirkus Reviews: “Woodson cherishes her memories and shares them with a graceful lyricism; her lovingly wrought vignettes of country and city streets will linger long after the page is turned.”

From The Horn Book: “An extraordinary – indeed brilliant – portrait of a writer as a young girl.”

From School Library Journal: “Sharp when it needs to be sharp, funny when it needs to be funny, and a book that can relate to so many other works of children’s literature, Woodson takes her own life and lays it out in such a way that child readers will both relate to it and interpret it through the lens of history itself.”

Connections

Read aloud as an introduction to civil rights studies.

Read individual selections as part of poem of the day activity.

Read pages 3-5 for references to civil rights leaders to give students ideas for researching or ask students who they look up to and make a new list for research or celebration. Perhaps feature tidbits about the life of each during advisory or announcements or on bulletin board.

Discussion questions around civil rights or self-awareness and goal setting.

Pair with another for study of experiences growing up in the north and the south.

·       Mississippi Trials ISBN (9780142501924)

·       Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963 ISBN (9780385382946)

Offer as a resource for an author study.