Genre 4 Book Reviews - LS 5603

1. What to Do About Alice?

A. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kerley, Barbara. 2009. What to Do about Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy!. by Fotheringham, Edwin. New York : Scholastic Press. ISBN 0439922313

B. PLOT SUMMARY

What to Do About Alice? is a picture book biography of Alice Roosevelt, the daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt. It opens describing some of her father's more famous adventures, such as his time spent herding cattle in the Badlands, to familiarize the reader with one of the most important figures in the book. This becomes the introduction to Alice as it shows that she is a much bigger sink of time and attention for Teddie Roosevelt than any of his famous exploits. Her story picks up as a young girl right after her mother's death and details her energetic activities through out her childhood, including the time that she and her siblings rode trays down the stairs of the White House. The book shows how Alice Roosevelt was a very unusual woman by anyone's standards (even the standards of today) and what an impact she made on her father.

C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The most prominent detail of the picture book is the wonderful artwork. The artwork itself takes advantage of Alice and Theodore Roosevelt's sharp features to caricature them while still keeping them recognizable. The art is also an enjoyable feature all on its own apart from the narrative: the powerful poses and deep, dark colors help Alice stay in motion and communicate just how much energy she brought to her life and activities. The illustrator did an excellent job rendering the setting of the time.

The information presented in What to Do About Alice? is accurate, which I know because I myself have read a few biographies about her. The book does an excellent job of presenting her story without relying on too many words. The double page spread of Alice's headlines and her impish smile are a perfect display of her impact without cluttering the page down with too many words.

The back of the book holds a brief two page summary of Alice's life, especially pertaining to the events shown in the picture book itself. The author also made sure to cite their sources in small type on the second page.

The book is a wonderful introduction to Alice Roosevelt. Children can and should adore it and it even appeals to adults with its beautiful artwork and excellent presentation.

D. REVIEW EXCERPTS

• Booklist, Ilene Cooper:

  • Irrepressible Alice Roosevelt gets a treatment every bit as attractive and exuberant as she was. The daughter of Theodore Roosevelt (and a mother who died soon after childbirth), Alice had a joie de vivre that she called “eating up the world.” This energy exhibited itself in her joining an all-boys club, tramping around Washington, D.C., and, later, taking off on around-the-world adventures. Kerley’s text has the same rambunctious spirit as its subject, grabbing readers from the first line: “Theodore Roosevelt had a small problem.” Children will be impressed with the way Alice took control of her life: eschewing formal schooling, she convinced T. R. to “let her loose in his library.” The large format gives Fotheringham, in his debut, plenty of room for spectacular art, which includes use of digital media. In almost every picture, Alice is running, motoring, racing. One clever spread shows what it was like to be a media princess: newspaper pages fly across the spread, obscuring Alice. There are a few flaws. Kids, who have a shaky sense of history, would have benefited from a time line, and quotes are barely sourced. These are small points, though, in an otherwise invigorating look at larger-than-life Alice. An afterword is appended

E. CONNECTIONS

• Other books by Barbara Kerley

Walt Whitman: Words for America by Barbara Kerley. ISBN 978-0-439-35791-3

Those Rebels, John and Tom by Barbara Kerley. ISBN 978-0-545-22268-6

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) by Barbara Kerley. ISBN 978-0-545-12508-6

The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins: An Illuminating History of Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins, Artist and Lecturer by Barbara Kerley. ISBN 978-0-439-11494-3

• This book is a good introduction to the topic of history as a general field of study to children as well as a good introduction to the Theodore Roosevelt era.

2. Actual Size

A. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jenkins, Steve. 2009. Actual Size. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9781847801852

B. PLOT SUMMARY

Actual Size does not have a story. It presents a series of animals, all drawn at scale in the author-illustrator's style. It includes pages on the back that depict each illustration (not at scale) along with basic facts about each animal.

C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Actual Size depicts animals at their scale (more or less) with a stylized art work. Jenkins makes several clever decisions especially depicting larger animals that could not fit onto a page when depicted at scale, such as a giant squid, which he illustrates as a single eye staring at the reader. This and other illustration decisions like this demonstrate just how large the animal is and instills wonder and awe in the reader.

The scale presented in book is what I would judge as accurate: one of the depicted animals is an ostrich and its egg, and thanks to a trip I took many years ago, I have had the occasion to hold an ostrich egg in my hands. The egg painted on the page is accurately sized. The tiger is also accurately scaled based off of an encounter I had at the window of a tiger enclosure at my local zoo.

The illustrations are very beautiful and remind me very much of the gauche painting style. Each animal is rendered stylistically without sacrificing accuracy, which means anyone reading it will still see an accurate depiction of each animal rendered beautifully. The story book style narration neatly captions each painting with accuracy and in a well organized format.

D. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

• Arizona Young Reader's Award Nominations 1998 (And Ongoing)

• Automatically Yours - CATS Awards 2004 (And Ongoing)

• A To Zoo 7th Ed (2006) And Supplement To The 7th Ed (2008)

• A To Zoo 9th Ed (2014)

• Arizona Young Readers Book Award Winners 2004 (And Ongoing)

• Bulletin Of The Center For Children's Books - May 2004

• Bulletin Of The Center For Children's Books - 2003 Blue Ribbon Awards (And Ongoing)

• Bulletin Of The Center For Children's Books-Recommended Titles 1996 (And Ongoing)

• Books And More For Growing Minds-April 2004 (Formerly Books For Growing Minds)

• School Selection Guide: Nonfiction Titles To Order K-8 (2004-05)

• School Selection Guide: All Titles K-8 (2004-05)

• School Selection Guide Core Issue: Nonfiction Titles To Order K-6 (2005-06)

• School Selection Guide Core Issue: All Titles K-6 (2005-06)

• School Selection Guide Core Issue: Nonfiction Titles To Order K-6 (2006-07)

• School Selection Guide Core Issue: All Titles K-6 (2006-07)

• Best Books For Children: Preschool-Grade 6 - Tenth Edition (2015)

• Best Books For Children: Preschool-Grade 6 - Eighth Edition (2006)

• Best Books For Children: Preschool-Grade 6 - Ninth Edition (2010)

• Booklist Reviews 2004 May #2

• Booklist Reviews 2004 December #1

• Booklist Editors Choice 2004

• Booklist Starred Reviews - Ongoing

• Booklist Reviews 2005 January #1

• Book Links 2013

• Horn Book Guide Reviews 2004 Fall

• Horn Book Magazine Reviews 2004 #3

• Illinois Monarch Award Childrens Choice Book Award Nominees K-3 2005 (And Ongoing)

• Indiana Young Hoosier Book Award Nominees 2005-06 (And Ongoing)

• In The Know - Quality Books For Grades K-8 1998 (And Ongoing)

• Kirkus Reviews 2004 May #1

• Kentucky Bluegrass Book Award Nominees (All Grades) 2004 (And Ongoing)

• Maryland Black Eyed Susan Picture Book Award Nominees 2003-04 (And Ongoing)

• Michigan Great Lakes Children's Book Award Nominees 2004 (And Ongoing)

• NY Times Book Review - June 2004 #4-Reviews

• North Carolina Childrens Book Award Nominees 2004-05 (And Ongoing)

• North Dakota Flicker Tale Childrens Book Award Winners 2004 (And Ongoing)

• North Dakota Flicker Tale Juvenile Book Award Nominees 2003-04 (And Ongoing)

• New Jersey Garden State Nonfiction Book Award Nominees 2004 (And Ongoing)

• New Jersey Garden State Nonfiction Book Award Winners 2004 (And Ongoing)

• PW Reviews 2004 April #3

• South Carolina Picture Book Award Nominees 2005-06 (And Ongoing)

• South Dakota Prairie Bud Award Nominees 2002-2003 (And Ongoing)

• School Core - Elementary - Level 1 Nonfiction

• School Core - Elementary - Level 2 Nonfiction

• School Core - Elementary - Level 3 Nonfiction

• School Core - Elementary - Level 4 Nonfiction

• SLJ Reviews 2004 June

• Texas Children's Round Table Two By Two Reading List 2002 (And Ongoing)

• Utah Beehive Childrens Book Award Nominees 2003-04 (And Ongoing)

• Virginia State Reading Association for Young Readers Program Nominees Elementary 2003-04 (And Ongoing)

• Vermont Red Clover Book Award Nominees 2003-04 (And Ongoing)

• Washington Childrens Choice Picture Book Award Nominees 2004 (And Ongoing)

• CLS Basic Juvenile - Non-Fiction (1999)
  
  

• Kirkus Reviews

  • A new exploration of the biological world, from one of the current masters of collage, features life-size—not scaled—representations of the extremes of the animal kingdom. Wonderfully textured collages are set against a white background, accompanied by a minimal text gloss about the animals, and their sizes. Some are so huge that only parts can be seen (the one-foot-diameter eye of a giant squid) and others require some squinting (the 1/3-inch dwarf goby). It's a fascinating subject, and one that will resonate with an audience for whom relative size is a matter of daily interest. Jenkins exploits it for all its worth, including a fold-out of a crocodile's jaw and a snarling tiger whose face spills off the page. Four concluding pages provide more information about the featured animals, along with reasonably sized, full-body reiterations of the illustrations. Sadly enough, however, in a book that is so intimately concerned with measurement, only English units are used, seemingly ignoring the fact that the metric system is the universal language of science worldwide. A regrettable flaw in an otherwise outstanding offering.
    
    

• Booklist, Jennifer Mattson

  • As in many of his previous bestiaries, including the Caldecott Honor Book What Can You Do with a Tail Like This? (2003), Jenkins' newest presents a parade of cut-paper animals, each accompanied by a pithy line of text. The difference here is the scale: everything appears at actual size. Jenkins' masterstroke, though, is his inclusion of creatures both great and small, so while petite critters fit comfortably within 12-by-20-inch spreads, larger ones appear as evocatively cropped bits and pieces: a gorilla's massive hand; a Siberian tiger's snarling mug; the unnerving, basketball-size eye of a giant squid. The resulting juxtapositions will leave children marveling at one species' daintiness, then shuddering as they mentally sketch in the unseen portions of more formidable beasts. Jenkins' artwork is gorgeous (a gatefold of a frog in midleap is particularly memorable), and, at the end of the book, thumbnail images of the featured animals paired with information about habitat and behavior put the piquant visuals into a broader context. An unusual, unusually effective tool for connecting children to nature's astonishing variety.

E. CONNECTIONS

• Other books by Steve Jenkins:

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins. ISBN 978-0-618-25628-0

Prehistoric Actual Size by Steve Jenkins. ISBN 978-0-618-53578-1

Biggest, Strongest, Fastest by Steve Jenkins. ISBN 978-0-395-86136-3

• This and other books by Steve Jenkins would make an excellent pair with a field trip to a natural history museum and introductions into elementary science classes.

3. Bomb: The Race to Build - And Steal - The World's Most Dangerous Weapon

A. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sheinkin, Steve. 2018. Bomb: The Race to Build - And Steal - The World's Most Dangerous Weapon. New York : Roaring Brook Press. ISBN 9781250050649

B. PLOT SUMMARY

Bomb: The Race to Build - And Steal - The World's Most Dangerous Weapon is the story of espionage involved in the Manhattan Project. There is a great number of people involved in trying to steal and protect the knowledge being discovered and made during the creation of the atomic bomb. Robert Oppenheimer and Harry Gold are the most prominent in the cast but they are not the only ones involved by any means. The book weaves together prose scenes as well as simple explanations of events in order to teach what happened. Everything is tied together by uncaptioned black and white photos of critical characters and objects such as the Enola Gay.

C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The book is intended for readers who have a higher reading level than the average elementary schooler. The text is presented in a sober typeface with historical photographs as the only illustrations. This is a book aimed at junior high and up though an advanced reader from elementary could make a great deal of the material and find it an engaging learning experience. Compared to the other two books in this list Bomb is underwhelming visually but it is presenting one of the most sober topics in history, so the presentation is warranted.

The book does an exceptional job of presenting everything in an easily understood manner. The only potential trip-fall is that it is a very dense book with a great deal of information to convey, and while it is not an actual drawback it could put off anyone who is not looking for that exact reading experience.

The book has two indexes in the back: one straight index and another that divvies up its points per chapter. The book is well sourced but none of its pictures include captions which is a strike against it. I have studied World War 2 but not the Manhattan Project. Judging from its extensive sourcing, including many primary source documents, this book is very accurate to what happened.

D. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

• Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award Nominees 2015 (And Ongoing)

• ALA Notable Books 1944-97 (And Ongoing)

• Automatically Yours - CATS Awards 2004 (And Ongoing)

• AY CATS - Authors & Illustrators 1997-98 (And Ongoing)

• Bulletin Of The Center For Children's Books - 2003 Blue Ribbon Awards (And Ongoing)

• Bulletin Of The Center For Children's Books-Recommended Titles 1996 (And Ongoing)

• Best Books For Children: Preschool-Grade 6 - Tenth Edition (2015)

• Booklist Reviews 2012 September #1

• Bulletin Of The Center For Children's Books - October 2012

• Book Links 2013

• Baker & Taylor's Common Core Spring 2015

• NextReads Book Display Ideas 2013 November

• NextReads Book Display Ideas 2015 June

• YALSA Award For Excellence In Nonfiction For Young Adults 2011 (Award And Finalists) (And Ongoing)

• Fanfare 1998 - Horn Book Honor List (And Ongoing)

• Horn Book Guide Reviews 2013 Spring

• Horn Book Magazine Reviews 2012 #6

• Horn Book Magazine Starred Review Titles (Ongoing)

• Iowa Teen Award Nominees 2005-06 (And Ongoing)

• Illinois Read-For-A-Lifetime High School Reading List 2004-05 (And Ongoing)

• Illinois Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award Nominees 2004 (And Ongoing)

• Indiana Rosewater High School Book Award Nominees 2003-04 (And Ongoing)

• Indiana Young Hoosier Book Award Nominees 2005-06 (And Ongoing)

• Kirkus Reviews 2012 August #1

• Kansas William Allen White Childrens Book Award Nominees 2004-05 (And Ongoing)

• LEDA

• LEDZ

• LJ Reviews Newsletter

• Maryland Black Eyed Susan Book Award Nominees High School 2003-04 (And Ongoing)

• Maine Student Book Award Nominees 1997 (And Ongoing)

• Michigan Great Lakes Children's Book Award Nominees 2004 (And Ongoing)

• Newbery Medal/Honor Books (Ongoing)

• North Carolina Battle Of The Books Nominees 2003-04 (And Ongoing)

• New Jersey Garden State Teen Book Awards 1998 (And Ongoing)

• NY Times Book Review - November 2012 #2-Reviews

• New Mexico Battle Of The Books Childrens Book Award Nominees 2003-04 (And Ongoing)

• Nevada Young Reader Award Nominees Grade 6-8 2004-05 (And Ongoing)

• Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award Nominees 2005 (And Ongoing)

• Outstanding Science Trade Books For Students K-12 2005 (And Ongoing)

• Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Book Award Nominees 2005 (And Ongoing)

• Publishers Weekly Starred Reviews - Ongoing

• Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominees 2005 (And Ongoing)

• South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominees 1997-98 (And Ongoing)

• SLJ Reviews 2012 October

• Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Winners and Honors 2001 (And Ongoing)

• School Library Journal Best Books Of The Year (Ongoing)

• School Library Journal Starred Reviews - Ongoing

• Texas Tayshas High School Reading List 1997-98 (And Ongoing)

• Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award Nominees Young Adult 2004-05 (And Ongoing)

• Utah Beehive Children's Informational Book Award Nominees 2013-14 (And Ongoing)

• Virginia State Reading Association for Young Readers Program Nominees Middle 2003-04 (And Ongoing)

• VOYA Reviews 2012 October

• Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Childrens Book Award Nominees 2003-04 (And Ongoing)

• PW Reviews 2012 August #2

• Washington Evergreen Young Adult Award Nominees 1995 (And Ongoing)

• Wisconsin Battle Of The Books Award Nominees 2005-06 (And Ongoing)

• Wall Street Journal Book Review - December 2012 #4-Reviews

• CLS Opening Day Collections Audit-June 2002 (And Ongoing)

• Fast Facts - February 2013 #2

• Growing Minds-August 2012

• Publisher's Weekly

  • In his highly readable storytelling style, Sheinkin (The Notorious Benedict Arnold) weaves together tales of scientific and technological discovery, back-alley espionage, and wartime sabotage in a riveting account of the race to build the first atomic weapon. The famous (Robert Oppenheimer) and infamous (spy Harry Gold) headline an enormous cast of characters, which also includes Norwegian resistance fighter Knut Haukelid, whose secret wartime missions prevented Hitler from acquiring an atom bomb. B&w portraits of key players appear in photo- montages that begin each of the book’s four sections. Sheinkin pulls from numerous sources to supply every chapter with quotations that swiftly move the narrative forward. Suspenseful play-by-play moments will captivate, from the nuclear chain reaction test at the University of Chicago to the preparations for and dropping of the first bomb over Hiroshima. In a “genie out of the bottle” epilogue, details of the Cold War’s escalating arms race and present-day weapons counts will give readers pause, especially Sheinkin’s final thoughts: “It’s a story with no end in sight. And, like it or not, you’re in it.” A must-read for students of history and science. Ages 10–up. (Sept.)

• School Library Journal

  • "Harry Gold was right: This is a big story." So begins this depiction of the "creation-and theft-of the deadliest weapon ever invented." As he did in The Notorious Benedict Arnold (Roaring Brook, 2010), Sheinkin has again brought his superior talent for storytelling to bear in what is truly a gripping account of discovery, espionage, and revolutionary changes in both physics and the modern world. This fascinating tale, packed with a wide cast of characters, focuses mainly on three individuals: spy for the Soviets Harry Gold, leader of the Manhattan Project J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Knut Haukelid, who sabotaged German bomb efforts while working for the Norwegian resistance. Sheinkin skillfully combines lucid, conversational snapshots of the science behind the atomic bomb with a fast-paced narrative of the remarkable people who made it possible and attempted to steal it. Handsomely designed and loaded with archival photos and primary-source documents, the accessible volume lays out how the bomb was envisioned and brought to fruition.

E. CONNECTIONS

• Other books by Steve Sheinkin:
  

  Lincoln's Grave Robbers by Steve Sheinkin. ISBN 978-0-545-40572-0

  The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin. ISBN 978-1-59643-796-8

  The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism, & Treachery by Steve Sheinkin. ISBN 978-1-59643-486-8