A perfect book for women's history month

March is Women's History Month and I have just reviewed a wonderful title about an exceptional woman who did something special with her life.

Look Up! Henrietta Leavitt,Pioneering Woman Astronomer

Robert Burleigh

Illustrated by Raul Colon

Nonfiction Picture Book

For ages 6 to 8

Simon and Schuster, 2013, 978-1-4169-5819-2

When Henrietta was a young girl, she spent many hours staring up into the night sky, looking at the stars and getting familiar with their patterns. She was fascinated by “the wonderful bigness of all she saw,” and longed to find out more about space.

   When she was a young woman, she attended astronomy class and was one of the few women who did so. After graduation, Henrietta was able to get a job working in an observatory. Though the observatory had a wonderful big telescope, Henrietta rarely got to use it. Instead, she worked with a group of women measuring and calculating, doing the job that calculators and computers do today. Henrietta and the other women were told to “work, not think,” but Henrietta wasn’t going to accept such an existence. She had an enquiring mind and intended to use it, which she did, studying astronomy in her space time.

   Day after day Henrietta looked at photographs of stars, measuring and counting, and then she began to notice that there was a pattern. Some of the stars seemed to get dimmer and then brighter. Some blinked slower than others. Henrietta studied the pattern and she mapped it out. The chart that she created helped astronomers to figure out how far away the stars were. Thanks to her work, they also came to realize that our Milky Way was a lot bigger than they thought and that it was only one of many galaxies. Her discovery would have a profound effect on our understanding of our universe.

   This wonderfully written book tells the story of a woman who lived at a time when women had very few opportunities to work as scientists. Indeed, most of the time they were prevented from doing research. Henrietta never gave up, and in the end her determination and hard work paid off.

   Throughout the book Robert Burleigh’s lyrical prose is paired with Paul Colon’s wonderful artwork to give readers a memorable picture book biography.  

   Further information about Henrietta, other women astrologers, and more can be found at the back of the book.

Picture Book Monday - A review of Brave Bitsy and the Bear

Helping others, even when it is inconvenient, is something we all should do on a regular basis. I seriously believe that doing things for others and not expecting anything in return makes us better people. It also makes the world a better place. Today's picture explores how a bear and a toy bunny both choose to help someone else, even though doing so causes them problems.

BraveBitsy and the Bear

Angela McAllister

Illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Clarion, 2004, 978-0-618-63994-6

One autumn afternoon Bitsy the toy bunny fell out of her little girl’s pocket and though Bitsy cried for help, her little girl did not hear her. Bitsy was all alone and lost in the woods and she felt frightened, but she boldly set off “singing a brave song.”

   Bitsy did not go far before she came face to face with a big bear. Though the bear had a frightening growl, he was a gentle fellow and though he was on his way to his cave to begin his winter sleep, he offered to take Bitsy home.

   The bear started to get sleepy and he warned Bitsy not let him fall asleep or he wouldn’t “wake up until spring.” Bitsy did her best to keep her companion awake and finally Bear, carrying Bitsy on his back, arrived at the house where the bunny lived with her little girl.

   That night Bitsy began to worry about her friend Bear. What if he did not make it back to his cave? If he fell asleep in the woods he would soon be covered with snow and he would freeze. In the morning Bitsy decided that she had to do something. She had to make sure that the kind bear was not in danger.

   Every so often someone comes along who is willing to go out of his or her way to do something kind for us. In this book readers will meet a bear who is just such a person, who is willing to do something that inconveniences him because he wants to help someone in need.

   With a heartwarming story and delightful illustrations, this is a picture book that will charm readers of all ages. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Poetry Friday - A review of A Meal of Stars

I am constantly being surprised by the creativity of artists and writers. So many of them find interesting, beautiful, and novel ways to present their art and their words. In today's poetry title the words in the poems go up and down the page instead of across it. I can hear you asking: Why would anyone do this? Trust me, the author of this book has a very good reason for presenting her work in this way.

A meal of the stars: Poems up and Down

Dana Jensen

Illustrated by Tricia Tusa

Poetry Picture Book

For ages 6 to 9

Houghton Mifflin, 2012, 978-0-547-39007-9

Reading from left to right is the norm in most English language books, but sometimes poets like to do something different. In The Mouse’s Tale, Lewis Carroll presents his poem in such a way that the text looks like a mouse’s tail that wiggles its way down the page. Other poets have also found creative ways to present their poems to their readers by creating pictures with their words. In this book, poet Dana Jensen gives her readers poems that have something to do with looking or going up or down, and the poems are presented to readers so that they have to read up or down the page.

   In the first poem we read single words up the page to find out that a little child thinks that perhaps a giraffe has such a long neck that it might be able to “make / a / meal / of / stars.” Further along in the book there is another poem that begins at the bottom of the page. We meet a child who has a string in its hand that goes “up / to / a / big / bright / blue” balloon. And then, at the top of the page, up there in the sky at the end of the string, something happens. 

   Then there are the poems that go down the page, one word at a time. In one of the poems we are sitting at the top of a Ferris wheel “at / its / highest / point.” From that vantage point we look down at the “carnival / world” below that is scene full of “moving / sounds / and / colors.” In another poem we experience the sound of church bells “that / float / down” to children and touch them “with / their / songs.”

   Throughout this book, beautifully lyrical and minimal poems that go up or down the pages are paired with Tricia Tusa’s whimsical illustrations to give readers a poetry experience that is altogether fresh and exciting. 

Something Extra - A review of Destiny, Rewritten

Every so often a book comes along that is so splendid/marvelous/fabulous that I want to go to the top of the highest building and shout out how splendid/marvelous/fabulous it is. Since the tallest building around here is not tall at all and I would not reach many people shouting from the top, I am going to tell you about my latest Great Find. 

The book is called Destiny Revealed and it was written by Kathryn Fitzmaurice. The story explores how one eleven-old girl tries to understand what destiny is. She has been told that she will be a poet when she grows up, but what if she doesn't want to be a poet? What then? Can she write her own destiny?

Destiny, Rewritten

Kathryn Fitzmaurice

Fiction

For ages 9 and up

HarperCollins, 2013, 978-0-06-162501-5

The day before her baby daughter is to born, Isabella goes to a second hand bookshop where she hopes she will be able find a name for her child. She is looking for a name that will set her daughter’s “life direction.” After discarding Juliet as too tragic a name, Isabella finds a copy of The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, and she knows in her heart that she has found what she is looking for. Her baby will be called Emily, and she will grow up to be a poet.

Emily is now eleven years old and she really does not care for poetry, though she does try to. She has the copy of The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson that her mother bought and it is Emily’s most treasured possession because her mother has made notes in the book to commemorate important days in Emily’s life. The book tells Emily’s story. Or at least most of it. Emily still has no idea who her father is. Isabella firmly believes that when the time is right Emily will know who her father is. The problem is that Emily does not feel like waiting for that moment, and what if it doesn’t even exist? Emily wants to know who her father is now and she is stunned when her mother finally tells her that her father’s name is written in Emily’s precious copy of The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson.

Emily runs to get her book only to find out that it got mixed up in a donation for Goodwill. The book is gone. Emily can hardly believe that her book, with all those wonderful notes from her mother, is gone forever. Emily’s mother believes that the book got lost because Emily wasn’t ready to find her father’s name. Isabella insists that things cannot be forced; they should be allowed to happen when they are supposed to happen, when they are destined to happen. Emily finds it hard to accept her mother’s take on destiny, and she wants to find that book no matter what it takes.

It ends up taking a lot. Emily and her mother go to the Goodwill store, but the book isn’t there. The person working at Goodwill tells them that the books are often picked over early by people buying books for bookstores. Now Emily is going to have search who knows how many book stores to find her book.

Desperate to find the book with her father’s name in it, Emily even goes so far as to set aside her rigidly organized and predictable way of doing things. She forces herself to be unpredictable, even when doing so pains her. She will do whatever it takes if there is a chance that she will find the book with its precious notes. She never expects that her journey will be full of surprises. As she tries to understand what is happening around her she will question who controls her destiny, and she will end up opening doors that she didn’t even know were there.

In this extraordinary book Kathryn Fitzmaurice explores the inner world of a young girl whose mother made a decision about her child’s future when that child was just an infant. It is quite remarkable to be able to see how Emily struggles to come to terms with the path her mother chose for her; a path that Emily does not feel is right for her. Emily’s voice, and the voices of the other characters in the book, are delightfully honest, genuine, and often sweetly funny, and readers will grow to love the quirky people who live in Emily’s world.

Though this book was written for younger readers, adults will get a lot out of reading it. They may even question the path they are on. It is a path that they are supposed to be following?

Picture Book Monday - A review of Cheer up, Mouse!

Cheering up someone who is down in the dumps can be very difficult sometimes. After all, we don't always know why the person is sad, and we often don't have any idea what will make them feel happy again. Would they like some flowers? Perhaps a dinner out will help. Maybe chocolate is the answer. In today's book you will see how some charming animals who try to cheer up their friend Mouse.

Cheer up, Mouse!

Jed Henry

Picture Book

For ages 4 to 6

Houghton Mifflin, 2012, 978-0-547-68107-8

Mouse and his animal friends are outdoors having a grand time. Frog and Mole are dancing around, Squirrel is playing his nut fiddle, and Badger is juggling some fruit. The only animal who is not enjoying himself is Mouse, who is looking awfully sad and dejected. When they see their little friend’s glum face, the animals try to come up with a plan. Surely there must be something that they can do to make Mouse smile.

   One of the birds tries to cheer up mouse by swinging him through the air, and then Frog tries to cheer up the little fellow by taking him to the pond for a “Splash and paddle, wash and wade.” Perhaps Mouse needs to “Leap and lope, hop and jump,” or “Dig and shovel, root and tunnel.” Maybe Mouse just need a meal!

   The animals try so hard to cheer up their friend, but nothing works. Nothing they do brings forth even a glimmer or a twitch of a smile.

   Most of us have days when we feel glum and when nothing we do seems to cheer us up. On days like these a little support from friends can make all the difference, as it does for the mouse in this story.

   With a minimal story and gorgeous and expressive art, Jed Henry explores a problem that will be familiar to many readers, and he gives us a perfect ending that will make readers feel happy through and through.   

Poetry Friday - A review of Please Bury me in the Library

I love books. Big surprise! I also love books that celebrate books. When I saw the cover of today's book, I just knew that I had to review it. I didn't even know what kind of book it was. The title grabbed me and it refused to let me go. It turns out that Please Bury Me in the Library is a fantastic collection of poems that celebrate books, reading, and the written word. Enjoy!

Please Bury me in the Library

J. Patrick Lewis

Illustrated by Kyle M. Stone

Poetry Picture Book

For ages 7 and up

Harcourt, 2005, 0-15-216387-5

Some poor people think that books serve only one purpose. You read them to be entertained or educated. They do not know that a good book “is a homing device / For navigating paradise” and that such a book has “a spine, / A heart, a soul,” and its goal is “To light a fire / (You’re the fuse).” A good book will be there whenever you need it and it will even be a kind of friend.

   For this collection of poems J. Patrick Lewis finds a variety of ways to explore (and celebrate) books. There are so many different kinds of writing to enjoy. There are picture books, the best of which appeal to readers of all ages. Then there are poetry books, pop-up books, mysteries, myths, adventures, and legends. All of these kinds of writing give readers an experience that cannot be found by looking at a TV screen or a computer monitor.

   Some of the poems in the collection are about characters, such as Otto the Flea who wrote his “Ottobiography” and Elaine who loves words so much that even an exciting movie does not capture her interest. She would much rather read Webster’s Dictionary than follow the antics of Godzilla on the big screen.

  If you think this is rather over the top then you need to read about the person who wants to be buried in the library “With a dozen long-stemmed proses.” This person thinks that the “clean, well-lighted stacks” are the best place to spend eternity.

   Though this book is for young readers, the poems will appeal to readers of all ages. Some of the poems will make readers laugh, while others are thought-provoking and more cerebral. Though the poems are all very different in form and flavor, they do have one thing in common: the all celebrate the written word. 

Picture Book Monday - A review of Friends

True friends are a very rare and precious gift. They are people who will sacrifice a great deal for their friend's happiness, and who are always there in happy times and in times of trouble.
   In today's picture book you will meet a cat who is a superlative friend and who gives his best friend something more valuable than gold or diamonds.

Friends

Michael Foreman

Picture Book

For ages

Andersen Press USA, 2012, 978-1-4677-0317-8

Cat considers himself lucky because he is able to “wander wild and free, far and wide.” Cat’s friend Bubble is not so lucky. Bubble is a goldfish and he lives in a tank. Poor Bubble spends his days swimming around and around his aquarium. He never goes anywhere or sees anything, and Cat feels very sorry for him.

   One day, Cat is in the park when he sees a bucket in the sand box and he gets an idea. Cat fills the bucket with water and he carries it home. Then he encourages Bubble to jump into the bucket, which the little fish happily does.

   Cat takes Bubble to see the pond in the park, and to the river, and finally Bubble gets his first glimpse of the “wide, wide sea.” Bubble had no idea that there was so much to see out in the world. Then Cat invites Bubble to dive into the sea so that he too can be “wild and free.”

   True friends are a rare commodity. All too often a friend thinks of him or herself first, but this is not the case with Cat, who is willing to do whatever it takes to give his goldfish friend the opportunity to be free and at liberty.

   With wonderfully expressive watercolor illustrations and a powerful story with memorable characters, this is a picture book that readers of all ages will enjoy.

Poetry Friday - Poetry for young People: The Seasons

Over the centuries the seasons have inspired countless musicians, artists, and writers to create moving pieces of music, beautiful art, and wonderful stories and poems. Today's poetry title explores a few of the season-inspired poems that men and women have written over the years.

Poetry for young People: The Seasons

Edited by John N. Serio

Illustrated by Robert Crockett

Poetry

For ages 9 and up

Sterling, 2005, 978-1-4027-1254-8

For hundreds of years poets have been inspired by the ambiences and scenes that we experience as the seasons shift from spring to summer, summer into fall, fall into winter, and thence back to spring again. Thinking of the seasons summons up memories in us that are touched by colors, sounds, tastes, and smells. When we think of fall we think of yellow and red leaves, we smell cold smoky air, and hear feet crunching through fallen leaves. Our mouths water as we remember the taste of a crunchy apple or the sweet spiciness of pumpkin pie.

   For this wonderful collection John N. Serio has selected poems that beautifully capture the flavor of each of the four seasons. For each season there are three haiku, a poetry form that is “traditionally built around the seasons.” The haiku are followed by a variety of poems that were written by contemporary poets and poets that lived long ago.

   We begin with summer, reading about an old dog that is “Much too lazy to rise and run” and who prefers to spends the hot summer days lying in the sun. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow gives us a picture of what it is like when there is a summer rain which gives us much needed relief from “the dust and heat.” His descriptions remind us that rain can indeed be a beautiful thing. Later in the book we meet Maggie, Milly, Molly, and May, four little girls who go to the beach to play. e. e. cummings describes how the girls find all kinds of little treasures on the beach, some which are wonderful and one which is not.

   In the section dedicated to autumn, we find a poem by Thomas Hood which is, in a manner of speaking, an ode to November. It is clear straight away that the poet has no great fondness for this month when there is “No sun – no moon!” and when there is “No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees” and nothing else that is cheerful and cheering. Emily Dickinson gives us are far more positive picture of autumn, telling us about a maple tree with its “gayer scarf” and the field with its “scarlet gown.”

   Like e. e. cummings, who does not care for November, T.S. Eliot does not seem to like winter much. He describes a grim, cold, grimy winter in a city where the rain beats down “On broken blinds and chimney-pots,” and where “grimy scraps” of “withered leaves” blow about. William Carlos Williams paints a much more attractive picture of trees, now bare of their leaves, that “stand sleeping in the cold” as “A liquid moon / moves gently among / the long branches.”

   The poems for spring are all positive, celebrating the beauty of flowers and tree blossoms, and capturing the lifting feelings of hope and joy that people get in their hearts when the sun starts to shine and the sky is blue. Emily Dickinson in particular shows us how happy she is to see March in her poem ‘Dear March, come in!” It is delightful to see how to talks to March as if the month was a person who needs to be invited in and to whom she has “so much to tell.”

   This is wonderful collection that readers of all ages will enjoy. The editor has written introductions for each of the poems, which tell us about the poet and his or her work. Sometimes the form of the poem is explained or discussed as well. 

Picture Book Monday - A review of Miss Annie: Freedom!

Young children and animals often believe that they are ready to do many, if not all, of the things that the "big kids" or grownups do. Children try to cook something and set food on fire They take clocks and other machines apart thinking that they will be able to put them back together. Kittens climb trees that they cannot figure out how to come down, and puppies pick fights with animals much bigger and tougher than they are.
   In today's graphic novel title you will meet a kitten who is determined to go out into the big world because she is convinced that she knows how to manage out there as well as she manages in her house.

Miss Annie: Freedom!

Frank Le Gall

Illustrated by Flore Balthazar and Robin Doo

Graphic Novel

For ages 7 to 10

Lerner, 2012, 978-0-7613-7884-6

Miss Annie is a five month old kitten and she is convinced that she is old enough to do just about anything, and yet her people will not let her go outside. While her master walks in the park looking for inspiration, and her mistress works in an office, and her young mistress goes to school, Annie walks around the house looking for something to do. She plays with a pen, shreds a leaf from a flower arrangement, and finds a mouse. A live mouse.

   For some reason, though the mouse knows that mice are eaten by cats, and though Miss Annie knows that cats are supposed to eat mice, the mouse and Miss Annie become friends. When everyone is asleep that night Miss Annie gives the mouse a name and she tells the mouse all about her ambitions to go outside. Keisha the mouse cannot understand why Miss Annie would want to do such a thing. After all, “Outside is BIG and DANGEROUS.” Miss Annie is positive that she will be fine outside, but when she actually goes outside, she learns that she still has a lot to learn.

   All too often young creatures, including cats and humans, think they know everything there is to know. If they are lucky someone kind comes along who helps them realize that we never stop having to learn about the world we live in.

   With wonderful comic illustrations and a sensitive, sweet, and gently funny story, this graphic novel will appeal to readers of all ages.