Secrets of a Civil War Submarine: Solving the Mysteries of the H. L. Hunley--review

The following review is in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for LS5603.20, Genre 4—nonfiction.

1. Bibliography

Walker, Sally M. 2005. Secrets of a Civil War Submarine: Solving
the Mysteries of the H. L. Hunley. Ill. by Laura Westlund.
Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books. ISBN 1-57505-830-8

2. Plot Summary

Secrets of a Civil War Submarine is the story of the first submarine
ever to sink an enemy ship. The submarine was the H. L. Hunley,
and she was built for the Confederate navy in 1863. This book is
divided into two sections. The first four chapters describe how and
why the Hunley was built, her mission, and the disaster that sunk
her. There is also a description of how a submarine works. The
second section of the book is about the archaeological efforts to
locate and raise the Hunley and find and interpret the artifacts
found inside her.


3. Critical Analysis

Secrets of a Civil War Submarine won several major awards when
it was published, including the Robert F. Sibert Award, ALA Notable
Book, Booklist Top 10 Sci-Tech Books for Youth, International
Reading Association Teacher’s Choice, and Orbis Pictus Recom-
mended Title. Such awards are a good indication that the infor-
mation in the book is accurate. Ms. Walker has won awards for
another one of her other books as well.

Secrets is organized chronologically, beginning with the building
of the Hunley during the Civil War and ending in 2004 with the
burial of the remains of her crew. The pages in the chapters
about the search and recovery efforts are a different color than
those about the building and sinking, which makes finding specific
information easier. The book has a table of contents, an index,
and a glossary that are also helpful in finding information.

There are photographs and drawings on almost every page. Each
one has a caption that describes it. There are photographs of the
recovery process and some of the artifacts found in the Hunley.
There are also drawings, reproductions of paintings, and maps.
Some of the most striking photographs are those of the recon-
structions of the faces of the crew members that were created
by forensic artist Sharon Long.

Secrets of a Civil War Submarine is a 112-page book filled with
many details and a lot of technical information. Ms. Walker does
not hesitate to use scientific terminology that may not be
familiar to readers, but she explains it and defines it in the
glossary. It is clear that she is fascinated by the Hunley and by
scientific research. In her author’s note, Walker says that as she
was conducting her research for this book, she felt a connected
to the builders and the crew of the Hunley and also to the
scientists and historians who are studying her now. Walker
makes sure that her readers feel that same connection by
including details about the crew and objects found inside the
submarine, and about the recovery process used. She includes
amazing facts as well. Here are just two examples. (1) After
the Hunley sunk the USS Housatonic, it was fifty years until a
submarine again sunk an enemy ship during World War I.
(2) Crewman George E. Dixon should have died at Shiloh on
April 6, 1862, but his life was saved when the bullet struck a
gold coin given to him by his sweetheart. That coin was found
in the Hunley.

This book is an interesting read and a valuable resource and
reference for anyone interested in history or archaeology.


4. Review Excerpts

Booklist: “Thoroughly researched, nicely designed, and well
illustrated with clear, color photos, the book will serve as an
informative guide to anyone interested in the Hunley or intrigued
by archaeology.” — Carolyn Phelan

School Library Journal: “This is a finely crafted account of the
Hunley from its inception to the modern archaeological quest
to exhume her from the water…. The archaeological process is
well documented in both words and pictures, and the conclusions
are interesting and even surprising. Highly recommended for
school and public libraries.”--Anna M. Nelson

VOYA: "Walker skillfully combines history, science, and storytelling
in clear and accessible writing that will appeal to middle school
students as well as older readers. . . Abundant photographs and
illustrations are attractive and informative, and the layout is clean
and attention grabbing. . . Walker lets readers know the people
behind the facts . . . the Hunley is fascinating and should captivate
readers looking to savor a real-life historical mystery."



5. Connections

This book could be used in conjunction with a study of the Civil War
or of archaeology.

In an art class, students could recreate the molds made of the
crew.

Students could write letters or journal entries from the crew
members.

Other books about archaeology and the Hunley:

Archaeology for Kids: Uncovering the Mysteries of Our Past by
Richard Panchyk. ISBN 978-1-556-52395-3

Archaeologists Dig for Clues by Kate Duke. ISBN 978-0-064-45175-8

The Magic School Bus Shows and Tells: a Book About Archaeology
by Joanna Cole. ISBN 978-0-590-92242-5

Eyewitness: Archaeology by Jane McIntosh. ISBN 978-0-789-45864-3

Finding the Titanic by Robert D. Ballard. ISBN 978-0-590-47230-2

Exploring the Titanic by Robert D. Ballard. ISBN 978-0-590-41952-9

Shipwreck Search: Discovery of the H. L. Hunley by Sally M. Walker.
ISBN 978-0-822-56449-2

The Story of the H. L. Hunley and Queenie’s Coin by Fran Hawk.
ISBN 978-1-585-36218-9

Autumn Across America--review

The following review is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
LS5603.20, Genre 4—nonfiction.

1. Bibliography

Simon, Seymour. 1993. Autumn Across America. New York: Hyperion
Books for Children. ISBN 1-56282-467-8

2. Plot Summary

Autumn Across America shows and describes the fall season in
America. Simon discusses the changing colors of the leaves and what
causes the change. He talks about the migration of birds and the way
that insects and plants prepare for cooler weather. Simon shows that
autumn looks different in different parts of the country.

3. Critical Analysis

Autumn Across America is a beautiful book. Each brilliantly colored
photograph is a treat for the eye, whether it is a panoramic shot of
the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve or a close-up of a milkweed
plant scattering its tiny seeds. The photographs are the main
attraction of the book.

Simon includes correct scientific vocabulary in Autumn Across
America. He uses words like chlorophyll, photosynthesis, antho-
cyanins, deciduous, and equinox. In most cases, there is a brief
explanation of the scientific word in the text. Although the
information in the book is technically correct, it is presented in
a way that reads more like a textbook than a book to read aloud
and enjoy. The book does not use quotations or anecdotes or
interesting bits of information that grab the reader’s attention.
It just presents facts.

Autumn Across America is a relatively brief book (32 pages), but
it includes a lot of information. Because the pages are not num-
bered and there is not a table of contents or an index, the only
way to find information is to read through the book page by page.


4. Review Excerpts

Booklist: “each turn of the page [is] a delightful shock, not unlike
the astonishment of seeing the first orange tree of fall.” “As usual,
Simon presents his subject with flair.” (Reviewed Nov. 15, 1993)—
Kathryn Broderick

School Library Journal: “A great deal of information is packed into
the dense text. It is clearly stated, but often requires conceptual-
ization beyond the reach of the intended audience. Since there is
no index and no table of contents, children looking for specific
information will be frustrated. The book's main attraction is its
design-beautiful photographs set in pages of glowing fall colors.
Seasonal materials are always in demand; this one is a good choice
for browsers.”--Louise L. Sherman


5. Connections

The photographs in this book would be a good way to introduce a
study of autumn.

Have students draw or make rubbings of fall leaves and write one
fact about fall on their pictures. Bind the pictures into a class
book. Make a book for each season.


Other books about the seasons:

Winter Across America by Seymour Simon. ISBN 978-0-786-80019-3

Reasons for Seasons by Gail Gibbons. ISBN 978-0-823-41238-9

Anno’s Counting Book by Mitsumasa Anno. ISBN 978-0-690-01287-3

Sunshine Makes the Seasons by Franklyn Mansfield Branley.

ISBN 978-0-060-59205-9

Seasons by Paul P. Sipiera and Diane M. Sipiera.
ISBN 978-0-516-26439-4

The Snake Scientist--review

The following review is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
LS5603.20, Genre 4—nonfiction.

1. Bibliography

Montgomery, Sy. 1999. The Snake Scientist. Photographs by Nic Bishop.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-87169-7

2. Plot Summary

The Snake Scientist is about the work of Bob Mason, a zoologist at
Oregon State University. There are chapters about his work with
snakes at the Narcisse Wildlife Management Area in Canada and at
his home, about the features that make snakes unique in the animal
kingdom, about his research into snake pheromones, and about how
snakes are useful to humans.


3. Critical Review

The Snake Scientist has won many awards including the International
Reading Association Award, Booklist Editor's Choice, and Orbis Pictus
Honor Book, among others. These awards are a good indication that
the book is well-written and accurate. The author herself is also
well-respected in the field of informational writing.


Sy Montgomery captures the reader’s attention from the very first
sentences of this book. She says, “You hear them before you see
them,” and then she describes the sound of the snakes as “a rustling
like wind in dry leaves.” Her sentence, “It’s the sound of thousands
of slithering snakes” brings to mind the sound of snakes hissing and
description of the snakes looking like moving ground would let the
reader know exactly what that many snakes together would look
like, even without the accompanying photograph.

Throughout the book, Montgomery uses interesting facts to keep
The Snake Scientist lively and interesting. She describes a bracelet
that Bob Mason wears that is made of snake bones. She also relates
the story of Mason’s career aptitude test that said he would not
make a good scientist. She uses that story to gently encourage
students to follow their dreams, saying that even tests can be wrong.

Montgomery does a good job of keeping the reader interested. She
uses quotes from Mason and some of his students and volunteers.
They are so excited and passionate about their work that it makes
the reader want to know more. She encourages that curiosity by
having questions throughout the book, including some that scientists
haven’t yet answered. Montgomery uses vocabulary appropriate
for a book about science, including technical terms like gas
chromatograph, pheromones, and mass spectrometer.


Nic Bishop’s photographs add to the visual appeal of the book, as
well as reinforcing the text by showing exactly what the writer is
saying. There are extreme close-up shots (a snake flicking its
forked tongue, another swallowing a tadpole, still another with its
mouth wide open and ready to strike), shots of thousands of snakes
in their den, and shots of scientists and volunteers working and
studying. Most of the pictures have a brief caption so that the
reader knows what he or she is seeing.

The book includes an index to help the reader locate information on
a specific topic. It also lists books for further study, information on
visiting the Narcisse snake dens, and a list of still-unanswered
questions about snakes.


4. Review Excerpts

School Library Journal: The lively text communicates both the
meticulous measurements required in this kind of work and the
thrill of new discoveries. Large, full-color photos of the zoologist
and young students at work, and lots of wriggly snakes, pull readers
into the presentation. A list of "unsolved mysteries" about the
snakes and instructions on visiting the snake dens will keep interest
high to the very last page.--Ruth S. Vose

Scientific American: “It may even make grown-ups want to grow
up to be scientists.” --Joan Silberlicht Epstein


Booklist: "A stellar example of how good such books can be."

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books: "Montgomery's zippy
text gives an engaging portrait of the scientific work, with assistants
weighing snakes in margarine tubs and putting them by the handful
into pillow cases, as well as the specific discoveries that Mason's
group has made…Mason's general and unstudied enthusiasm for
science in general will also galvanize many young readers…The
liveliness of the text and the synthesis of narrative and science make
this a particularly stellar entry."

About the author: "Sy Montgomery has insight into the Others that
every nature writer on this continent envies. I am no exception.
Clear, emotionally telling and always right to the point, her accounts
of the other forms of life are without peer.”—Farley Mowat, author of
Never Cry Wolf


5. Connections

Use this book as part of a science unit on reptiles in general or snakes in particular.

Make papier-mache snakes and paint them to look like the red-sided
garter or other snakes.

Use this book as a tool to teach reference skills like using an index.


Other books about snakes and reptiles:

I Wonder Why Snakes Shed Their Skins and Other Questions About
Reptiles by Amanda O’Neill. ISBN 978-0-753-40753-0

Slinky, Scaly Snakes by Jennifer A. Dussling. ISBN 978-0-789-43439-5

Snakes by Seymour Simon. ISBN 978-0-064-46165-8

100 Things You Should Know About Reptiles and Amphibians by Amy
Kay and Steve Parker. ISBN 978-0-760-75401-6

Out of the Dust--review

The following review is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
LS5603.20, Genre 3—poetry.

1. Bibliography

Hesse, Karen. 1997. Out of the Dust. New York: Scholastic, Inc.
ISBN 0-590-37125-8

2. Plot Summary

Out of the Dust is the story of two years in the life of a 14-year-old girl
named Billie Jo living in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl. In addition to
the hardships of the Dust Bowl and the Depression, Billie Jo must

endure the pain of a fiery accident that kills her mother and leaves her

hands badly injured. The injury to her hands is an especially cruel blow
because she is a gifted pianist. The book describes Billie Jo’s struggles
against the dust and the Depression, against her mother and father,
against her injuries and the loss of her mother, and against herself. As
she matures, she begins to understand that hard times are more about
losing hope and giving up on dreams than about money or hardship. At
the end of the book, Billie Jo realizes that her struggles have made her
what she is and that what she is is good enough.

3. Critical Review

Out of the Dust is a beautifully written book and a winner of several major awards, including the Newbery Medal, the Scott O’Dell Award, School Library Journal Book of the Year, and ALA Best Book for Young Adults. The story about Billie Jo’s struggles during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s is very believable because of the detail presented in the story. Karen Hesse doesn’t just say that the dust blew. She describes turning the plates and glasses on the kitchen table over until dinner is ready and then picking them up to see the circles left in the dust. She talks about coughing up mud and about dust blowing in like a prairie
fire, turning midday to midnight.

Out of the Dust is filled with examples of effective use of imagery and figurative language. When Billie Jo sees her pregnant mother standing in the rain, she describes her as “round and ripe and striped like a melon.” She says that a great-uncle is “old as ancient Indian bones, and mean as a rattler.” When she is angry at her mother, she glares at her“with a scowl foul as maggoty stew.” When she is hungry, she says that her stomach “grizzled.” On almost every page there is imagery that appeals to the senses so that the reader can see and smell and taste and feel the dust.

Karen Hesse has chosen to write Out of the Dust in blank verse. The
poems do not rhyme and have lines of varying lengths, which is very
effective for the story she is telling. When asked why she sometimes
chooses to use blank verse and tell her stories with so few words, Hesse answered, “Anything that doesn’t move the story forward, anything that doesn’t contribute to the reader’s understanding of the character does not belong no matter how juicy the tidbit, how beautiful the writing.” (http://www.karenbeil.com/hesse-interview.html) In writing Out of the Dust, Hesse chose her tidbits well and left in plenty of beautiful writing. This book meets the definition of poetry as experience distilled.

Karen Hesse says that reading historical fiction is valuable because it
“gives us perspective . . . It gives us a safe place in which we can grow, transform, transcend. It helps us understand that sometimes the questions are too hard, that sometimes there are no answers, that sometimes there is only forgiveness” (Karen Beil interview). She has fulfilled that objective with Out of the Dust.



4. Review Excerpts

Booklist: “The story is bleak, but Hesse’s writing transcends the
gloom and transforms it into a powerfully compelling tale of a girl
with enormous strength, courage, and love....blank verse [is] a superb
choice for bringing out the exquisite agony and delight to be found in
such a difficult period lived by such a vibrant character. It also spares
the reader the trouble of wading through pages of distressing text,
distilling all the experiences into brief, acutely observed phrases.
This is an excellent book for discussion,and many of the poems stand
alone sufficiently to be used as powerful supplements to a history
lesson." (Reviewed October 1, 1997)— Susan Lempke

Amazon.com: “Hesse won the 1998 Newbery Award for this elegantly
crafted, gut-wrenching novel….”--Gail Hudson

Publisher’s Weekly: "This intimate novel, written in stanza form,
poetically conveys the heat, dust and wind of Oklahoma. With each
meticulously arranged entry Hesse paints a vivid picture of her
heroine's emotions."

5. Connections

Out of the Dust would be an excellent addition to a unit of study on
the Dust Bowl. It would add vivid and personal details that would
make history come alive for students.

Students could use a map to trace different routes that people might
have taken from Oklahoma to California.

Any of the poems in Out of the Dust would be easily and effectively
presented as reader’s theater.

Other books about the Dust Bowl:

● Treasures in the Dust by Tracy Porter. ISBN 978-0-064-40770-0
● Children of the Dust Bowl: True Stories of the School at Weedpatch
Camp by Jerry Stanley. ISBN 978-0-517-88094-4
● Dust to Eat: Drought and Depression in the 1930s by Michael L. Cooper.
ISBN 978-0-618-15449-4
● Dust for Dinner by Ann Turner. ISBN 978-0-064-44225-1
●The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck ISBN 978-0-679-42040-8

A Dime a Dozen--review

The following review is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for LS5603.20, Genre 3—poetry.

1. Bibliography

Grimes, Nikki. 1998. A Dime a Dozen. Ill. by Angelo. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0-8037-2227-3

2. Plot Summary

Nikki Grimes is the 2006 recipient of the NCTE Poetry Award. In this Junior Library Guild selection, she uses poems to tell about family members and childhood events that helped shape her life and lead her to become a writer. The book is divided into three sections: Genius, The Secret, and A Dime a Dozen. The first section deals with the author’s relationships with her family members and with her dream of becoming a writer. The overall impression of the section is that this is a loving family that encourages the author’s writing. When she wakes her sister up at night to share a new poem, the sister says, “We have a genius in the house.” The second section, The Secret, is about some problems that arise in the family. The parents are divorced, the father gambles and doesn’t keep his promises, the mother is depressed and drinks too much, and the children go to a foster home. The section ends on a note of hope when the author reveals her secret—that she knows that her parents still care for each other. A Dime a Dozen, the last section of the book, shows that the author is growing up and becoming more independent. She argues with her grandmother, refuses to eat food she doesn’t like, says she wants to be her own person like her father is, and promises that someday her mother will stop telling her that writers are a dime a dozen and be proud to say, “My daughter, the Writer.” The book has a table of contents which lists the three sections and the individual poem titles.

3. Critical Analysis

A Dime a Dozen is told in first person. It is the author’s story of growing up and wanting to become a writer. Because of the way the story is told, it is very authentic and believable. The author has feelings and emotions that are common to all young people. It is obvious that she loves her family, but is still sometimes angry with them (“The Last Word”) and disappointed by them (“Daddy’s Promises.”) She is also proud of them (“Self” and “Something New”) and worried about them (“Less Than Perfect.”) The author shows herself to be a strong person because she will not let anyone discourage her from becoming a writer. She is able to grow and change as the story progresses. In the first section of the book, she needs her sister’s approval to know that her poems are good, but by the last poem, she is listening to her own heart instead.

A Dime a Dozen is filled with figurative language and rich imagery. The author’s dream is “to poet/like a laser,/pierce darkness/with one word!” She accomplishes her goal by using phrases like “The choir paints/the sanctuary walls/with bands of sound/more glorious than gold” and “Mom’s shadow of a grin/brightens into/a smile so wide/I could dive/into her dimples/and disappear/for days/and not be missed.” Some of the poems use rhyme, but many are free verse, which makes them more effective because it is like the reader is just hearing the thoughts of the writer.

Angelo’s illustrations are pencil drawings that are so detailed and realistic that they look like black and white photographs. Each picture seems to be a perfect likeness of someone in the author’s family, based on her descriptions of them in the poems.

Each poem in A Dime a Dozen could stand alone because it expresses one thought or idea, but when they are collected together, they tell a compelling story of a young girl with a gift and the determination to use it.

4. Review Excerpts

Booklist: “The black-and-white drawings illustrating each poem reinforce the sense that the African Americans in the poems are vivid individuals, not fuzzy generalizations. Free-flowing and very accessible, the poetry may inspire readers to distill their own life experiences into precise, imaginative words and phrases.” (Reviewed December 1, 1998)— Susan Dove Lempke

School Library Journal: “Grimes's carefully crafted word placement matches the rhythms and messages of the poems. …emotion flows through these verses. The melodic rhythms gracefully sing when read aloud. Resembling photographs, the soft black-and-white illustrations portray the family members and offer images of the words without infringing on readers' imaginations or personal reactions to the poetry. A quietly profound, heartfelt work.”--Shawn Brommer

VOYA: “Through twenty-eight slice-of-life poems, Grimes tells a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story that comes alive with stunning black-and-white drawings by Angelo….The poems describe the emotional highs and lows that a young girl, aged probably eleven to fifteen, experiences as her parents go through divorce.”



5. Connections

Use this book to invite young people to share their own hopes and dreams, and to talk about achieving them in spite of circumstances or other people’s opinions.

Read the poems aloud. Some of them would work well as call-and-response readings, especially “Family Movers” and “The Last Word.”

From Nikki Grimes’ website (http://www.nikkigrimes.com/poems.html):
●have students create a poster or other display depicting their dreams
●play a charades game performing an action from one of the poems (playing hopscotch, chopping food, moving furniture, etc.) and let other students name the poem that goes with the action

A Pizza the Size of the Sun--review

The following review is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
LS5603.20, Genre 3—poetry.


1. Bibliography

Prelutsky, Jack. 1994. A Pizza the Size of the Sun. Ill. by James Stevenson. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN 0-688-13236-7

2. Plot Summary

Jack Prelutsky, named Children’s Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation on September 27, 2006 (http://www.jackprelutsky.com/), has written a collection of 105 funny poems about animals, siblings, and other experiences of childhood. Most of the poems are illustrated by James Stevenson’s ink drawings.

3. Critical Review

A Pizza the Size of the Sun is made up completely of poems by a single author, Jack Prelutsky, and illustrated by James Stevenson. Prelutsky’s work is familiar to and loved by most school children because of its humor and the unexpected twist at the end of many of the poems. There are no chapters or divisions within the book. The order of the poems seems to be random, and could probably be rearranged without losing meaning or enjoyment. The book has one index arranged by title and one arranged by first line, which is a very helpful feature since the order is random and the first line and title are different in some of the poems.

One poem in the collection that is universal and timeless is “Hurry Grandma Hurry.” The narrator urges Grandma to watch while he engages in childhood antics like swinging from a tree, skating backwards in the street, eating bugs, and climbing ladders. When Grandma reacts in typical grandma fashion by fainting, the child is puzzled.

Prelutsky uses puns and word play in many of the poems in this collection. One good example is “I Hide My Dromedary:”

I hide my dromedary
inside of our garage,
my parents don't suspect it's there...
it's wearing camel-flage.

Some of the most interesting poems in the collection make unusual use of the arrangement of words on the page. “I Am Your Mirror Image” is written backwards so that the easiest way to read it is by holding the book up to a mirror. In “Reverso Is Name My” the words are not a mirror image, but the lines must be read from right to left in order to make sense. “I Was Walking in a Circle” is a never-ending poem that encourages the reader to turn the book in a circle to read the poem.

James Stevenson's illustrations add to the fun of the book. The cartoon-like drawings show what is happening in the poems. The faces of the people and animals shown are very expressive and show their reactions to the sometimes silly situations.

Whether read a few at a time or all at once, the poems in A Pizza the Size of the Sun are fun and entertaining.



4. Review Excerpts

Booklist: “…another magical anthology of light verse....The verse finds perfect visual expression in Stevenson’s witty ink drawings touched with gray wash. A delightful addition to poetry collections that will not stay on the shelf for long.” (Reviewed Sept. 15, 1996) — Carolyn Phelan

Publisher’s Weekly: “Prelutsky's predilection for playfulness percolates throughout this collection of slyly subversive rhymes, and he couldn't ask for a better partner in crime than Stevenson, whose droll, minimalist sketches so enlivened the duo's previous escapades The pages are peppered with kinetic black-and-white drawings; like Thurber, Stevenson wrings a wealth of humor and emotion out of a few dashes of ink. If a laugh is what's needed, just hand over the keys and let these two drive.”

School Library Journal: “Perfect for reading aloud or alone, it will be reached for again and again by teachers, parents, kids, librarians, and anyone else who likes poems that make them chuckle. As a matter of fact, this book should be required reading for those out there who claim they don't like poetry. If you can only afford one poetry collection this year, make it this one.” — Carrie Schadle

Bookpage.com: (also quoted on the back cover of the book) “Here is another wondrously rich, varied, clever -- and always funny -- collection. Meet Miss Misinformation, Swami Gourami, and Gladiola Gloppe (and her Soup Shoppe), and delight in a backwards poem, a poem that never ends, and scores of others that will be chanted, read, and loved by readers of every age. The Prelutsky-Stevenson duo is irresistible. Whether you begin at the beginning or just open the book at random, you won't stop smiling.”



5. Connections

Jack Prelutsky’s website ( http://www.jackprelutsky.com/ ) has a wealth of ideas for classroom and home activities based on his poems. Some of the ideas include making a paper or cloth quilt out of favorite poems, setting poems to music, putting on plays based on poems, and having a Jack Prelutsky poetry contest with themes like silly people, strange animals or imaginary creatures. The website also features children’s letters to Prelutsky and their portraits of him.

Other books by Jack Prelutsky:

The New Kid on the Block. ISBN 978-0-688-02271-6
Something Big Has Been Here .ISBN 978-0-688-06434-1
Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant. ISBN 978-0-060-54317-4
The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders. ISBN 978-0-688-16719-6
In Aunt Giraffe’s Green Garden. ISBN 978-0-066-23868-5
It’s Raining Pigs and Noodles. ISBN 978-0-060-29194-5

Porch Lies: Tales of Slicksters, Tricksters, and Other Wily Characters--review

The following review is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for LS5603.20, Genre 2—traditional literature.

1. Bibliography

McKissack, Patricia. 2006. Porch Lies: Tales of Slicksters, Tricksters, and Other Wily Characters. Ill. by André Carrilho. New York: Schwartz & Wade. ISBN 0-375-83619-5

2. Plot Summary

This book is a collection of “porch lies”—humorous, exaggerated stories based on tales that the author heard as a child while sitting on her grandparents’ front porch in Tennessee. There are ten stories, including stories about: a man who manages to get free pies from two different women, one who never pays for anything even though everyone knows that he has a hundred-dollar bill in his pocket, one who wins an argument with the devil and decides that his mama was right all along, and one who wins a lying contest by telling the truth. Other stories are about a granny who adopts Frank and Jesse James, a man whose life is saved by the weight of a feather, one who protects himself from the King of the Ghosts with an earth bone, and one poor soul who has died twenty-seven times. Each story stands alone, with the exception of the last two, which combine to tell the story of one man.

3. Critical Review

Porch Lies is a collection of ten stories. The common thread that runs throughout the book is that the stories are ones that were told on the porch of the author’s grandparents when she was a child. They are not familiar stories, but they mention some familiar people (Frank and Jesse James) and they involve some familiar themes like making deals with the devil, weighing a soul with a feather, and departed spirits returning to earth. The stories occur in the South, but they are universal. They could happen anywhere because they are really about human nature, not about a specific area of the country. Each story is relatively short and has just a few characters. The plot moves along quickly and is very easy to follow. Each story in the collection is briefly introduced by McKissack. She mentions the original storyteller and sets the scene for the story. Unlike some traditional literature, the stories mention specific dates. Often the storyteller figures out the date when the story occurred by linking the time to events in his own life, as people in real life often do. (“I’ll always remember the year, ‘cause it was ‘fore baby Lucille was born in ‘forty and after sister Cinty got hooked up with that notorious John Henry George in ‘thirty-eight. Yes, it was nineteen thirty-nine.”) The book has a table of contents and an author’s note, but no other reference information.

Typical of the stories is The Best Lie Ever Told, a tale about Dooley Hunter, “who won the state liar’s contest five consecutive years—that’s in a row—one, two, three, four, five.” The story uses dialogue that is believable. The reader can almost hear the southern accents when McKissack uses words like “‘bout” and “gotcha” and “hollerin’.” She injects humor in unexpected ways. In describing the main character of the story, she says that Dooley had “all twenty hairs combed, and every one of his four teeth brushed.” She describes his appearance while he is on stage at the liar’s contest by saying that his eyes “looked like a deer’s in the headlights,” and “Dooley looked like a lump on a log.” Who needs a picture with a description like that?

The stories in McKissack’s book are pure entertainment, but each one manages to convey a lesson about human nature along with the laughter.

André Carrilho has illustrated each story with one black and white picture. The people in the pictures are cartoon-like caricatures. Their exaggerated features help emphasize the exaggerated nature of the stories. Porch Lies is the first children’s book that he has illustrated.

4. Review Excerpts

Booklist: “Without using dialect, her intimate folk idiom celebrates the storytelling among friends, neighbors, and family as much as the stories themselves….In black and white, Carrilho’s full-page illustrations—part cartoon, part portrait in silhouette—combine realistic characters with scary monsters.…In surprising twists and turns that are true to trickster tradition, the weak and exploited beat powerful oppressors with the best lies ever told. Great for sharing, on the porch and in the classroom.” — Hazel Rochman

The Washington Post: “Grand fun for reading aloud.”

School Library Journal: “…stories make for great leisure listening and knowing chuckles.…Great fun to read aloud and the tricksters, sharpies, slicksters, and outlaws wink knowingly at the child narrators, and at us foolish humans.”--Susan Heple

5. Connections
This is a book that should be read aloud. After hearing the stories, children would enjoy presenting a reader’s theater with one or more of them.
Ask students about any family stories or legends that they may have.

Also by Patricia McKissack:
The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural.
ISBN: 0-679-81863-4
Goin’ Someplace Special. ISBN: 0689818858
Mirandy and Brother Wind. ISBN: 0394887654
Color Me Dark. ISBN: 0-590-51159-9

By Patricia and Frederick McKissack:
African-American Inventors. ISBN: 1-56294-468-1
Black Diamond. ISBN: 0-590-45809-4
Black Hands, White Sails: the Story of African-American Whalers.
ISBN: 0-590-48313-7
Carter G. Woodson: the Father of Black History. ISBN: 0-7660-1698-6
Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters.
ISBN: 0-590-43027-0

The Rough-Face Girl--review

The following review is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for LS5603.20, Genre 2—traditional literature.

1. Bibliography

Martin, Rafe. 1992. The Rough-Face Girl. Ill. by David Shannon. New York: Scholastic, Inc. ISBN 0-590-46932-0

2. Plot Summary

Author Rafe Martin calls The Rough-Face Girl an Algonquin Indian Cinderella. In his retelling, there is an Invisible Being who lives in the village, and who is said to be great and rich, powerful and handsome. All of the women of the village want to marry him, but his sister says that only the girl who has seen him will be acceptable as a wife. The Rough-Face Girl’s two proud sisters talk their father into giving them new clothes so that they can go and marry the Invisible Being. When his sister questions them, she realizes that they have not seen him and rejects them. When the Rough-Face Girl (so named because she tended the fire all day and was scorched and burned by it) asks for new clothes as well, her father has nothing left to give except some broken shells and his old moccasins. The Rough-Face Girl accepts them gratefully and goes to the Invisible Being’s wigwam, noticing the beauty of nature as she walks. When she is able to answer questions asked by the sister of the Invisible Being, he himself comes into the wigwam. He tells her to bathe in the river and she does, which causes all of her scars to disappear. She dresses in beautiful clothing and marries the Invisible Being and “they lived together in great gladness and were never parted.”

3. Critical Review

The Rough-Face Girl meets the criteria of traditional literature in that it is an old story with no known author. In the author’s note, Martin says that it was originally part of a longer traditional story of the Algonquin. As is usual in traditional literature, character development is limited. The Rough-Face Girl represents selflessness and honesty, while the sisters demonstrate pride and deceit. In the end, selflessness and honesty are rewarded. The story has a typical folklore beginning (Once, long ago….) and ending (“They lived together in great gladness and were never parted.)

The Rough-Face Girl is a well-written story. Martin makes use of figurative language (“…many stars came glittering out like a fiery veil….”, “…her voice was swift as lightening and strong as thunder.), believable dialogue, and unexpected insight (when the two beautiful sisters say that anyone could tell that they have seen the Invisible Being because they are beautiful, the reader realizes that it is true that beauty is often equated with virtue.)

David Shannon’s illustrations for The Rough-Face Girl are beautiful. They are almost surrealistic in style, very detailed, but dream-like, which emphasizes the long-ago-and-far-away aspect of the story. It is interesting to see how Shannon manages to paint something invisible by using elements of nature. There is a funny aspect to one of the pictures where the Rough-Face Girl is walking through the village on her way to the tipi of the Invisible Being. The villagers are making fun of her because of her ragged appearance, and even the dog appears to be laughing. Shannon’s illustrations definitely add to the appeal of this book.


4. Review Excerpts

Booklist: “Shannon’s dramatic, full-color paintings are striking and often rich in atmosphere….Given the beauty of the story, the strength of many of the illustrations, and the current interest in comparing variants of folktales from different cultures, libraries will find this a well-used picture book.” (Reviewed Apr. 15, 1992)--Carolyn Phelan

Kirkus Reviews: “a strong, distinctive tale with art to match.”


Publisher’s Weekly: “Shannon paints powerful, stylized figures and stirring landscapes, heightening their impact with varied use of mist, shadows and darkness. His meticulous research is evident in intricate details of native dress and lodging. …the drama of these haunting illustrations--and of Martin's respectful retelling--produce an affecting work.”

School Library Journal: “…a splendid read-aloud.” -- Susan Scheps



5. Connections

The Rough-Face Girl would be easily adapted to a reader’s theater script, with minimal props required.

Read other Cinderella variants from around the world. There is a partial list with brief descriptions of each book at http://childrensbooks.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=childrensbooks&cdn=parenting&tm=62&gps=172_901_1021_429&f=00&su=p284.8.150.ip_&tt=2&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.ala.org/ala/booklinksbucket/multicultural.htm
The website also has suggestion for activities, including using a map and marking the countries or areas from which the stories come.

The Legend of the Bluebonnet: an Old Tale of Texas--review

The following review is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for LS5603.20, Genre 2—traditional literature.

1. Bibliography

DePaola, Tomie. 1983. The Legend of the Bluebonnet: an Old Tale of Texas. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. ISBN 0-399-20938-7


2. Plot Summary

The Legend of the Bluebonnet is the story of a young Comanche orphan, named She-Who-Is-Alone. Her parents and grandparents have died because of a drought and famine. The one thing she has that reminds her of her family is a doll that her mother made for her from buckskin, beads, bone, and the feathers of a blue jay. In order to find out what has angered the Great Spirits and caused the drought and famine, the shaman goes to the top of the hill. When he comes back, he tells the people that the Spirits demand the sacrifice of the most valued possession in the tribe. No one else is willing to sacrifice, but She-Who-Is-Alone takes her doll, burns it and scatters the ashes as a gift to the Spirits. When the Comanche wake up in the morning, the hillsides are covered with flowers as blue as the feathers worn by the doll, and soon the rains begin to fall. Because of her sacrifice, the girl’s name is changed to One-Who-Dearly-Loved-Her People.


3. Critical Analysis

The Legend of the Bluebonnet is an example of traditional literature. It is specific to the Comanche culture and to Texas and it emphasizes values that are important to that culture—sacrifice and unselfishness. In spite of the title, it is really more of a pourquoi tale or a myth than a legend. It attempts to explain why an event in nature (the bluebonnets covering the land in the spring) happens. Legends typically deal with actual historical persons, and One-Who-Dearly-Loved-Her-People has no historical basis in fact. In this story, she is used as a symbol of sacrifice and unselfishness. Her character is not fully developed. The reader knows very little about her except that she has no family and she is willing to sacrifice for her people. It is interesting to note that in the story, she speaks only to her doll and to the Great Spirits, not to other members of the tribe.

There is very little said about the setting of The Legend of the Bluebonnet. The reader knows that the story happens in Texas, but the story gives no other details. No specific time is mentioned, but since bluebonnets have been blooming for many hundreds of years, the reader knows that the story happened a long time ago. Time in the story passes very quickly. The story itself takes place in just a few days, and then the story jumps from ancient times to the present day in two sentences (“And every spring, the Great Spirits remember the sacrifice of a little girl and fill the hills and valleys of the land, now called Texas, with the beautiful blue flowers. Even to this very day.”)

The illustrations in The Legend of the Bluebonnet add to the beauty of the story. The colors are brilliant and there is a lot of attention paid to detail, especially in the clothing and the decorations on the tipis. The detail helps give the reader a feel for the culture of the Comanche. The pictures of the landscape reinforce the story in two interesting ways. The ground and hills are completely brown at the beginning, and then gradually change to a beautiful green covered with bluebonnets after She-Who-Is-Alone makes her sacrifice. The other way that the pictures reinforce the story is that She-Who-Is-Alone is not shown as part of the group until the end of the book. She is alone, even is she is in the same picture, until the scene where the bluebonnets are blooming. Then, reflecting her name change, she is no longer alone, but with the people she loves.


4. Review Excerpts

Children’s Literature: “Tomie dePaola provides a charming retelling of the Native American legend about the origin of Texas' state flower, the bluebonnet.”

School Library Journal: “…a solemn, simply-told tale, and the concept of an unselfish parting with a prized possession is one to which children will readily relate….the full-color paintings are nicely staged with well-executed design and color.”

Booklist: “….simple prose that plaintively tugs at the heart. The simplicity and beauty of the story echoes in dePaola’s effectively composesd illustrations. An ideal complement to native American and Texas studies, this also opens avenues too discussion with its provocative sacrifice theme.”

Horn Book: “Terse, uncomplicated prose [and] clean, uncluttered pictures filled with warm, rich colors.”


5. Connections

Companion book (also by Tomie dePaola): The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush. ISBN 978-0399215346

After reading the two books, have students choose a name for themselves based on a characteristic that they possess or on something that they have done.

Make a popcorn bluebonnet. Instructions at http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/kids/fun_stuff/arts_and_crafts/hill_country_2popcornbluebonnet.phtml

Use the book as part of a study of Texas history.

Ask students about their most valued possession. Let them draw a picture of it and write underneath it “This______ is very valuable to me because______.” Bind their pages together to make a class book. Adapt writing assignment for older students. (http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/crossroads/sec3/k2/unit1/u1g1l1.html)

My Friend Rabbit--review

The following review is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for LS5603.20, Genre 1.


1. Bibliography


Rohmann, Eric. 2002. My Friend Rabbit. New York, NY: Scholastic.
ISBN 0-439-57930-9

2. Plot Summary

Rabbit causes trouble for his animal friends when his friend Mouse's toy airplane gets stuck in a tree and they have to have help getting it down.

3. Critical Analysis


Eric Rohmann is the author and illustrator of this very engaging book about friendship. The tone of the book is set in the very first pages, where Mouse says that his friend Rabbit means well, but that trouble follows wherever Rabbit goes. The rest of the story proves Mouse's point. Rohmann does not make use of controlled vocabulary, but the illustrations provide such excellent clues to meaning that most children would probably be able to read most of the book themselves, especially if they had heard it read aloud. I imagine that children would take great delight in joining in Rabbit's repeated attempts to reassure Mouse by saying, "Not to worry, Mouse. I've got an idea." Several times in the book, Rohmann continues a sentence from one page to the next, pulling the reader along further into the story. He also begins and ends the book with almost the identical sentences, suggesting that Rabbit will probably get into trouble again, and that even if he does he will still be Mouse's friend.


My Friend Rabbit is not a wordless picture book, but the pictures predominate and could almost stand alone in telling the story. The colors are bold and bright, and the animals are outlined with thick black lines. The animals' expressions show emotions appropriate for the text--annoyance, confusion, fright, anger, and happiness. The first time that we hear Rabbit say, "Not to worry, Mouse" it is obvious from the look on Mouse's face that it is not the first time that he has heard it--and Rohmann accomplishes that with two vertical lines drawn over Mouse's head. On one page the illustration extends the text by including lines of dialogue with the pictures. In the scene where Rabbit has stacked the animals one on top of the other, the reader turns the book sideways so that the tower seems really tall. The illustrations definitely add humor to the book. Rabbit and Mouse trying to get a rhinoceros to stand up while the rhinoceros digs in his front feet so hard that he is plowing up the ground is priceless, as is the scene where Mouse has fallen into line with the ducklings. This a book that children would love to hear, to read and read again.

4. Review Excerpts

Booklist: "...smart, sassy object lesson.... Tremendous physical humor delivers a gentle lesson about accepting friends as they are. " (Reviewed by Connie Fletcher)


Publishers Weekly: "This gentle lesson in patience and loyalty, balanced on the back of a hilarious set of illustrations, will leave young readers clamoring for repeat readings. (Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.)


School Library Journal: "The double-page, hand-colored relief prints with heavy black outlines are magnificent, and children will enjoy the comically expressive pictures of the animals before and after their attempt to extract the plane. The text is minimal; it's the illustrations that are the draw here." (Kristin de Lacoste, South Regional Public Library, Pembroke Pines, FL. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.)

5. Connections

Use this book to invite children to talk or write about what it means to be a friend, or about a time when they had to help a friend solve a problem.

Other books about friendship:


Pfister, Marcus. The Rainbow Fish. ISBN 1-558-58536-2
Silverstein, Shel. The Giving Tree. ISBN 0-060-25665-6
Chodos-Irvine, Margaret. Best Best Friends. ISBN 0-15-205694-7
Lobel, Arnold. Frog and Toad Collection. ISBN 0-060-58086-0
Milne, A. A. Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh. ISBN 0-525-46726-2

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type--review

The following review is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for LS5603.20, Genre 1.

1. Bibliography

Cronin, Doreen. 2000. Click, clack, moo: Cows that type. Ill. by Betsy Lewin. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-689-83213-3

2. Plot Summary

Farmer Brown's cows discover an old typewriter in the barn and type a note to him demanding electric blankets. When Farmer Brown refuses, the cows refuse to give milk. The hens join the strike and refuse to give eggs. Farmer Brown again refuses and types his own note demanding that the cows and hens give milk and eggs. The note is delivered by Duck, who also takes the cows' response back to Farmer Brown. The cows and Farmer Brown agree to trade the typewriter for electric blankets. Duck is supposed to return the typewriter to Farmer Brown, but instead sends him a typewritten note demanding a diving board for the pond.

3. Critical Analysis

This book contains several elements that identify it as a quality book. The sentences are of varying lengths, with the narrative sentences longer and the notes from the animals made up of short declarative sentences (although towards the end of the book, the cows are getting better at their writing and manage a compound sentence or two.) Cronin's word choices are interesting. She does not use controlled vocabulary. In fact she includes the words "neutral," "furious," and "ultimatum," hardly typical elementary school vocabulary. The book has an element of predictability. The "Click, clack, moo" lines are repeated several times, encouraging children to read along. The lines also have a pleasing rhythm. While it is not realistic that animals could type, it is fairly easy to understand that they are representing ideas and thoughts that people often have when they feel they are being treated unfairly.

The illustrations in Click,Clack, Moo are so much fun to look at. In an artist's note on the verso page, Betsy Lewin explains the techniques she used to produce them. It is an amazingly complicated process that produced illustrations that look like they were just done with a child's watercolor set. That is an example of the work being so compelling that the reader is unaware of the talent and time it took to produce it (Tunnell and Jacobs, 27.)
The illustrations fulfill many functions in this book. They establish the setting (on a farm), portray the moods of the characters (who seem to get angrier as the story goes along), reinforce the text of the book, and extend the plot by providing a surprise ending not mentioned in the text. While it is not really part of the illustrations, the type font enhances the visual appeal of the book by reproducing the look of work done on an antique typewriter for the notes typed by the cows, the farmer, and the ducks.

4. Review Excerpts

Bookbag Magazine: This hilarious story with a surprise ending is a great tribute to fair play and introduces the power of communication in a way that even the youngest listener will enjoy. (Reviewed by Esme Raji Cogdell)

Booklist: The thickly outlined pictures extend the fun, with closeups of the frenzied boss, the stalwart cows, and the hens cozy under their plugged-in blankets. (Reviewed April 1, 2000 by Hazel Rochman)

Children's Literature: This broadly humorous nonsense finds an appropriately bold, almost slapdash visual counterpart in Lewin's illustrations.

5. Connections

Use this book as part of a unit on farm animals. Today's children may not have any idea where milk and eggs come from, other than a grocery store (as in Jack Prelutsky's poem "Milk!')

This book could serve as a basis for a discussion on animal rights.

Other books by this author/illustrator team:
Click, Clack, Quackity Quack: An Alphabetical Adventure. ISBN 0-689-87715-3
Dooby Dooby Moo. ISBN 0-689-84507-3
Giggle, Giggle, Quack. ISBN 0-689-84506-5
Duck for President. ISBN 0-689-86377-2
Click, Clack, Splish, Splash: A Counting Adventure. ISBN 1-599-61090-6

A Caldecott Celebration--review

The following review is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for LS5603.20, Genre 1.

1. Bibliography

Marcus, Leonard S. 1998. A Caldecott celebration: Six artists and their paths to the
Caldecott Medal. New York: Walker and Company. ISBN 0-8027-8658-8.

2. Plot Summary

A Caldecott Celebration is a book about six winners of the prestigious Caldecott Medal. The author chose one winner from each of the six decades in which the medal had been awarded at the time the book was written. The featured illustrators are Robert McCloskey (Make Way for Ducklings, 1942), Marcia Brown (Cinderella; or the Little Glass Slipper, 1955), Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are, 1964), William Steig (Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, 1970), Chris Van Allsburg (Jumanji, 1982), and David Wiesner (Tuesday, 1992). Each section has a story about the illustrator's techniques and the inspiration for the prize-winning book, and is illustrated with pictures from the books themselves. Most sections also include examples of first drafts, sketches, or models used by the artists.

At the end of A Caldecott Celebration, Leonard S. Marcus includes a list of every Caldecott Medal winner from 1938 through 1998, a glossary of terms used in the book, and an index of proper names.

3. Critical Analysis

A Caldecott Celebration has many of the characteristics of a quality book. Leonard S. Marcus introduces the reader to six real people and uses enough anecdotes and stories about each that they become interesting as people and not just as illustrators. In each section, Marcus includes quotes from the illustrator that tell how and why that illustrator did his or her work. For example, he quotes Robert McCloskey as saying, "You rather have to think like a duck when you put together a book like [Make Way for Ducklings]." This eventually prompted McCloskey to share his apartment with 16 ducks. Each section offers some surprising, interesting bit of information.

The layout of the book is visually appealing. The illustrations are, naturally, of excellent quality since they are from Caldecott books. They represent many different styles and types of illustrating. Marcus also has a photograph of each author and the cover of the award-winning book at the beginning of each section. The illustrations serve to extend what Marcus has written. Rather than just saying that David Wiesner used thumbnail drawings to see his entire book at once, Marcus reproduces the thumbnails for the reader. He also uses illustrations to show the wide-ranging effect of the books and illustrators he has profiled. There are photographs of a bronze sculpture of McCloskey's ducklings and a fort-six foot long mural of Maurice Sendak's Wild Things.

4. Review Excerpts

Booklist (starred review): "A beautifully made book, this will serve as a fine resource for children interested in illustration and for teachers researching author/illustrator studies. " (Reviewed November 15, 1998-- Carolyn Phelan

Children's Book Page: "My only gripe about this lovely little book is that it isn't longer!"--
Alice Cary

5. Connections

This book could serve as an introduction to the books and authors presented. It could also be an inspiration for students to create their own artwork as they see that even professional artists start with simple ideas and develop them.

Other books about how artwork for books is created:

Cummings, Pat. Talking with Artists, vol. 1. ISBN 0027242455
Bang, Molly. Picture This: How Pictures Work. ISBN 1587170302
Marcus, Leonard S. Side by Side: Five Favorite Picture Book Teams Go to Work.
ISBN 0802796168
Marcus, Leonard S. Ways of Telling: Conversations on the Art of the Picture Book.
ISBN 0756797047

My Children/YA Literature Blog

This blog has been created to fulfill a requirement for a graduate course at Texas Woman's University. I will be posting reviews of literature for children and young adults. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy them.