Orange Curly Hair

Today a boy came to the library asking about a book. He didn't remember much about it at first, but we eventually tracked it down!

Here was the initial reference question:

"I'm looking for a book. I don't remember what it was called, but it's a biography about a girl with orange curly hair."

Hmm, not much to work with. So I prodded a little further to see if I could get some more information that would help us.

Do you remember what this person did that made them famous? "I think it was something about science."

Have you gotten this book from the library before? "No, my mom showed it to me when we were looking for a book about Davy Crockett."

Ah ha! This was actually a good clue. I knew exactly where to find books about Davy Crockett, and from this clue we could guess that the book came from a nearby shelf. I had a guess as to who our mystery person was at this point, but wanted to dig a little deeper just to be sure. We wandered over to the biography section to see what jumped out at us from this area. When we got there I asked one last question:

Is the person you're thinking of from today's time, or from a long time ago? "Definitely a long time ago."

Bingo! I was pretty sure that this boy was looking for a book about Marie Curie, the female scientist who did lots of work on the subject of radioactivity in the late 1800s/early 1900s. Curie and Crockett would be very near each other on the shelf, and we have lots of books to choose from about Curie so the odds seemed to be with us.

The one hiccup in this equation was that I didn't know what color Marie Curie's hair was. After all, every photograph I'd ever seen of the famous scientist was black and white. Fortunately, a Marie Curie biography jumped out at us with a colorfully-illustrated cover. The lighting in the cover picture made Curie's hair seem to glow a golden, vaguely orange, color. Part of the Giants of Science series, this biography was written by Kathleen Krull and illustrated by Boris Kulikov, and it was exactly the book that this boy had remembered! Thank goodness it was on the shelf, because it might have been tough to sell him a non-orange, black and white Marie Curie biography.

Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems

Jessica's little sister, Emma, is quite a handful. Sometimes she is sweet and caring, and sometimes she can be a royal pain the neck. Sometimes Jessica has lots of patience with Emma, and sometimes she looses her temper. In 34 powerful poems author Kristine O'Connell George presents sisterhood is all of its glory. Rivalry, compromise, privacy, love, and more are all presented as readers explore Jessica's complicated relationship with her little sister. The poems culminate at the end in an incident that, while difficult for both Jessica and Emma, will bring the two sisters together in a very touching way.

This is a very sweet book that really explores sisterhood from all angles - the good, the bad, and everything in the between. But no matter how bad things get, it is clear that these sisters will care about each other through thick and thin. The poems are simple yet surprisingly resonant and the story that connects the individual poems helps to make this poetry approachable and accessible to readers who didn't necessarily know that they were looking for poetry. Illustrator Nancy Carpenter's illustrations really brings the Jessica and Emma's story together, capturing the girls' expressions expertly with colors that perfectly suit the mood of this sweet book.

Overall Grade: A

Zombies! Evacuate the School!

School can be rough. Classes can be hard, the bus ride is bumpy, and somehow teachers always have the magical ability to hear every little sound in their classrooms. But there are also a lot of good things that come with school, like trying out for a sports team. In a new collection of poems, author Sara Holbrook captures all aspects of a normal school year: the good, the bad, and everything inbetween. Along the way Holbrook offers readers a few sidebars in which she talks about her writing process, giving you a good look and where she gets her ideas and how she goes about turning these ideas into poetry.

I have to say that about three pages into this book, I was a bit disappointed. Where were the zombies? The title is a bit decieving, as the undead do not appear at all until the final poem in the book. But I quickly got over this disappointment and saw this book the gem it is: One of the best books I've seen in recent memory (dare I say ever?) teaching poetry writing and appreciation. The sidebars offer great notations that encourage readers to really think about how a poem is constructed. Why did Holbrook choose the words that she did? Where did she get her ideas? How does she narrow down her words to keep the poem brief? Without even seeming to try, Holbrook gets her readers to think critically about her poetry while also encouraging readers to write their own poems through tips and writing prompts. For kids interested in learning more about poetry or who perhaps are looking to write their own, this book can be a fun tool to get them started. There is almost no discussion here about rhyme scheme or literary terms, but in this case I think that's a good thing. Keeps the poetry fun instead of oppressive.

Oh yeah, and the poems themselves are quite a lot of fun too. The sidebars can be a bit distracting if you're just looking for fun school poems, but if you can get past this then you're in for a real treat.

Overall Grade: B+/A-

Bulletin Board - Non-Fiction

In my library, the children's non-fiction is set up in a pretty interesting way. Instead of rows and aisles of books, our non-fiction collection wraps around the room, covering two whole walls. Above these shelves I have a good amount of bulletin board space to play with. But what should I do with this space?

Remember, I personally believe that library bulletin boards should be both useful and decorative. And what better use of this unique space than to highlight the non-fiction collection below! I decided to think about the questions that we get fairly regularly from kids seeking materials. Where are the dinosaur books? The sports books? What about joke books? I selected 24 different subjects and made simple signs with the appropriate Dewey call number and the subject name.



Next came the fun part. I went through the non-fiction section and selected 2-3 books from each of these subject areas. I made color copies of the covers of each book, shrunk down in many cases to the appropriate size. A ladder and several dozen pins later and voila! A lovely bulletin board that is both attractive and useful to patrons. Now when they ask us where they can find books about animals (or pirates, or fairy tales, or the weather...) we can use these signs to guide them to the materials they need.

Sir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for El Dorado

Have I ever mentioned how much great non-fiction is out there for children and teens? Here's an example of a really engaging piece of work that I read recently:

Written by award-winning author Marc Aronson, Sir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for El Dorado documents the life of - you guessed it - Sir Walter Ralegh. Those of you who paid attention during your English classes might remember that Sir Walter Ralegh was a great poet. Those who prefered History might recall that he sponsored England's first attempt at a colony in America, which ultimately ended in disaster. In this book, Aronson goes beyond thes traditional looks at Ralegh's life and discusses how this incredible man fits into England's history. Begining with Ralegh's lowly birth and concluding with his execution, this book describes how Ralegh constantly strove to find favor with his beloved Queen Elizabeth and would take on various roles of a soldier, poet, sponsor, and explorer to please her.

When I look back at what I knew about Sir Walter Ralegh and the time period in which he lived before reading this book and what I understand afterward, I cannot believe how much of a difference a change in perspective can make. It was fascinating to really see events such as Elizabeth I's reign and English colonization actually taking place at the same time - the connection between the two events is sometimes lost as the first is discussed in European history, which the latter is a major part of American history curricula. To help the reader make these connections, an excellent timeline can be found at the end of the book which lays out events from Ralegh's life alongside major events in English history, literature and the sciences, and The New World. Plenty of maps and paintings also enhance the text.

Definitely recommended for middle and high-school readers.

Overall Grade: A