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Book Info:
Castles: Old Stone Poems by J. Patrick Lewis, illustrated by Dan Burr. Boyds Mills Press, 2006.
Summary:
A poetry collection relating information and history about sixteen different castles spanning time, the planet, mythology, and fact. There are poems about legendary figures like Count Dracula, Anne Boleyn, and Leonardo Da Vinci, and lesser known figures like King Ludwig, who locked himself away in his castle to escape the harshness of reality, and the brave Danish prince, Eric, who was purportedly eaten by a dragon. The illustrations complement each poem by examining the difference between the castles depicted and the poems describing them and the events that took place there. Also included are bibliographic references, a timeline, and facts about castles.
My Take:
I've always enjoyed castle lore and anything to do with the medieval period, so I immediately gravitated towards this book. I loved how the poems did more than just relate facts or stories about the castles depicted; they evoked emotions relating to the castles and the places and people and events that happened there. The pictures are especially lush and intriguing; I know I definitely want to do some more research into these edifices and the history surrounding them.
Reviews:
Booklist (October 01, 2006 ; 1-59078-380-8 )
"Castles have a perennial allure for young people, and this illustrated poetry collection celebrates some of the most legendary, from England's Bodiam Castle and the Tower of London to Japan's Himeji Castle and California's Hearst Castle. Each spread focuses on a different location, and the words often reflect a contemporary viewer imagining long-ago life: "What splendor did the maid see / from that window long ago?" Lewis and Dotlich are frank about the bloodshed and terror that are part of the history, when "beheadings were as easy as breathing." Children may need help with some of the allusions ("Windows pierce the sky like hushed haiku," for example) and the historical context. Burr's paintings add immediacy and sense to the words in dramatic scenes of medieval courts and castles, and the extensive appended material includes a bibliography, time line, and background about each site. Suggest this for classroom exercises that show how poetry can help bring history into the present. Gillian Engberg Copyright 2006 Booklist"
Suggestions:
A fun and interesting way to look at poetry that will no doubt interest kids as not only are they learning about history, but also about poetry. This book would be great for storytimes, though the audience might need to be tempered given the mentions of violence and terror. This could also be beneficial in encouraging children to learn more about castles and the history surrounding them, especially with the timeline and "Medieval Minutes" sections.
Book Info:
The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1996.
Summary:
A comic presentation of a true story of survival and family issues, Art Spiegelman determined to record his father's story of survival during World War II in a cartoon form. But it is not only Vladek Spiegelman's story; it is also his son's story of trying to come to terms with his father's survival and how it has affected how he handles life and his family. But instead of portraying everyone as people, something readers might expect, he portrays the Jews as mice and the Nazis as cats. Part history, part biography, part suspense story, and part cartoon, this book is all the more interesting for appearing to be nothing more than a comic about mice and cats.
My Take:
I really loved this book. I've long been a fan of graphic novels and comics (read Archie and Jughead all the time as a kid, not to mention the X-Men and other comics as I progress), but to read one that is a true story and yet told in such a remarkable and strange, allegorical way was a real treat. I had no idea graphic novels could be so affecting, so interesting, and so real, all while still maintaining a cartoon experience. A brilliant tale within a tale, Art's story of working through his problems with his dad all while telling his father's tory was one of the most interesting bits.
Reviews:
School Library Journal (May 01, 1987 ; 0-394-74723-2 )
YA Told with chilling realism in an unusual comic-book format, this is more than a tale of surviving the Holocaust. Spiegelman relates the effect of those events on the survivors' later years and upon the lives of the following generation. Each scene opens at the elder Spiegelman's home in Rego Park, N.Y. Art, who was born after the war, is visiting his father, Vladek, to record his experiences in Nazi-occupied Poland. The Nazis, portrayed as cats, gradually introduce increasingly repressive measures, until the Jews, drawn as mice, are systematically hunted and herded toward the Final Solution. Vladek saves himself and his wife by a combination of luck and wits, all the time enduring the torment of hunted outcast. The other theme of this book is Art's troubled adjustment to life as he, too, bears the burden of his parents' experiences. This is a complex book. It relates events which young adults, as the future architects of society, must confront, and their interest is sure to be caught by the skillful graphics and suspenseful unfolding of the story. Rita G. Keeler, St. John's School , Houston
Library Journal (December 01, 1991 ; 0-394-55655-0 )
Spiegelman's Maus, A Survivor's Tale (Pantheon, 1987) was a breakthrough, a comic book that gained widespread mainstream attention. The primary story of that book and of this sequel is the experience of Spiegelman's father, Vladek, a Polish Jew who survived the concentration camps of Nazi Germany during World War II. This story is framed by Spiegelman's getting the story from Vladek, which is in turn framed by Spiegelman's working on the book after his father's death and suffering the attendant anxiety and guilt, the ambivalence over the success of the first volume, and the difficulties of his ``funny-animal'' metaphor. (In both books, he draws the char acters as anthropomorphic animals-- Jews are mice, Poles pigs, Germans cats, Americans dogs, and French frogs.) The interconnections and complex characterizations are engrossing, as are the vivid personal accounts of living in the camps. Maus and Maus . . . II are two of the most important works of comic art ever published. Highly recommended, espe cially for libraries with Holocaust collec tions. See also Harry Gordon's The Shadow of Death: The Holocaust in Lithuania , reviewed in this issue, p. 164; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/91.-- Keith R.A. DeCandido, ``Library Journal''
Suggestions:
This is a great book for a book talk (I certainly used it for mine), but would also be good for teachers if they wanted to do a section on graphic novels and were afraid parents might accuse them of assigning frivolous reading material.
Book Info:
Starry Messenger by Peter Sis. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000.
Summary:
Using Galileo's own words, simple language, and rich illustrations, Peter Sis relates the story of Galileo, one of the greatest minds in the history of the world. He includes history, such as that Galileo and Shakespeare were both born in the same year, and that Michaelangelo died then, too, as well as details about Galileo's persecution from the Inquisition.. Though Galileo was eventually found guilty of heresy by the Inquisition, nearly 300 years later the Church pardoned him, and shortly before his pardon, in 1989, the Galileo spacecraft was launched.
My Take:
While this book is both interesting and beautiful, at times the playfulness of the illustrations, especially how Sis plays with the placement of text, the book can be a bit hard to read and understand. Despite those readability issues, this is still a very interesting book, especially for anyone who wants to learn more about Galileo. The illustrations are interesting and brilliant; if only the text were a bit more readable.
Reviews:
Booklist (October 15, 1996 ; 0-374-37191-1 )
Gr. 4^-6. Sis celebrates the life, ideas, and genius of Galileo in a picture book that achieves a brilliance of its own. Relating events in Galileo's life, the book offers a sense of the world in which he lived and makes readers understand why his work was dangerous to the church and ultimately to himself. Large, beautiful drawings reflect the ideas, events, books, maps, world view, and symbolism of the times. These intricate ink drawings, idiosyncratic in concept and beautifully tinted with delicate watercolor washes, are complemented by smaller drawings and prints that illustrate a side-text of significant dates, time lines, quotations, comments, and explanations. These are printed in cursive and sometimes in serpentine or circular shapes that force the reader to turn the book around to make out the words. Without a doubt, this unusual picture book will attract an audience of adults who appreciate the art of Sis as well as the legacy of Galileo. The questions of whether children will be drawn to the book and what they will take away are more problematic, since the text and illustrations will be more rewarding for a reader who already has some knowledge of Galileo and the period. Still, those drawn to the book will find that it works on many levels, offering not just facts but intuitive visions of another world. An original. --Carolyn Phelan
Suggestions:
This book would be very interesting (and a bit hard to use) at a storytime event, given the hard to read text. But the illustrations are wonderful and would most likely be enjoyed. Perhaps if the storyteller memorized all of the facts and figures and then just used the pictures as they related the information it could work.
Book Info:
Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. Scholastic, Inc., 2005.
Summary:
Using archival photographs and personal recollections from people who were part of the Hitler Youth group, Bartoletti presents a riveting perspective on World War II and the Nazi movement by examining the children and teens who were caught up in the movement, either members of the Hitler Youth or those who fought against them or were targeted by the Nazis. She unflinchingly presents the truth of these children and their experiences whether good or bad and without any sugar-coating of what happened to them or what they did at the behest of their leaders. This is a powerful book for anyone who might be curious as to how anyone could follow Hitler and just how easy it was for him to mislead and use the young's loyalty and hopefulness.
My Take:
I've been interested in WWII for many years, going back to the stories related by my grandfather about his experiences during the war and her service in the Navy immediately after the war's end. Having long been one of those people who wondered how anyone could fall under the sway of such a monster, this book puts a very relatable face on the people who followed Hitler as well as the ones who fought against him from within his own country. It was also an affecting read in that Bartoletti's intent was not just to inform people of what the Hitler Youth did and how they basically brainwashed; she also wanted to point out that this was not some random circumstance. Given the right leader and the right atmosphere in a country, any leader could follow Hitler's example and turn their youth to their own purposes no matter how dark. A scary lesson, but one that is worthwhile learning.
Reviews:
School Library Journal (June 01, 2005 ; 0-439-35379-3 )
Gr 5-8-Hitler's plans for the future of Germany relied significantly on its young people, and this excellent history shows how he attempted to carry out his mission with the establishment of the Hitler Youth, or Hitlerjugend, in 1926. With a focus on the years between 1933 and the end of the war in 1945, Bartoletti explains the roles that millions of boys and girls unwittingly played in the horrors of the Third Reich. The book is structured around 12 young individuals and their experiences, which clearly demonstrate how they were victims of leaders who took advantage of their innocence and enthusiasm for evil means. Their stories evolve from patriotic devotion to Hitler and zeal to join, to doubt, confusion, and disillusion. (An epilogue adds a powerful what-became-of-them relevance.) The large period photographs are a primary component and they include Nazi propaganda showing happy and healthy teens as well as the reality of concentration camps and young people with large guns. The final chapter superbly summarizes the weighty significance of this part of the 20th century and challenges young readers to prevent history from repeating itself. Bartoletti lets many of the subjects' words, emotions, and deeds speak for themselves, bringing them together clearly to tell this story unlike anyone else has.-Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, IL Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Suggestions:
This book could be used especially when studying this period of history in school, either in junior high or high school. This could also be good if used in a book talk to try and encourage kids to learn more about history, though not through a boring old history textbook. Instead they could use this interesting and unflinching portrait of the Hitler Youth and how Hitler was able to accomplish much of what he did through appealing to the young people of his country.
Book Info:
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Random House Children's Books, 2007.
Summary:
Liesel Meminger is sent to live with the Hubermanns after her mother is branded a "Kommunist" by the Nazis. On the trip to the Munich suburb where the Hubermanns live, Liesel little brother dies, which is how the narrator, Death, first meets Liesel. This is also when she steals her first book, a gravedigger's handbook, even though she cannot read. This act leads to many more acts of theft and vandalism as Liesel struggles to learn to read with the help of her foster father Hans and as she struggles to understand what exactly is happening in her country. When a Jewish man shows up on her foster parents' doorstep, Hans and Rosa take him in, despite the very dire trouble they would get into were they found out. They hide Max, and Liesel and he steadily become friends, but their situation becomes quite dire when the Allies begin bombing Munich and other areas of Germany. While Liesel works through these problems with reading and writing and small acts of rebellion, the war that goes on around her constantly threatens to destroy her and her family's lives.
My Take:
I had been looking forward to reading this book ever since I looked through the reading list for historical fiction (one of my favorite genres); this didn't disappoint. A fantastical tale narrated by Death but told in such a realistic way that the horrors and atrocities aren't lost despite the sometimes fantastic way the story's told. Though this book was hard to read given the source material, Liesel's determination to fight against the Nazi oppression, no matter how small her fight might be makes for a compelling read, one that was hard to put down once I'd picked it up. The most affecting moments were when Max went away to keep the Hubermanns from being found out, when Liesel witnesses him being marched to a concentration camp, and when Rudy finally gets his kiss from Liesel only after he has died. I also really enjoyed how, using Death as the narrator, events jumped around every once in a while, with Death almost preparing the reader for something sad and tragic that was going to happen several chapters away.
Reviews:
School Library Journal (March 01, 2007 ; 0-7393-3800-5 )
Gr 9 Up-With Death as narrator, Markus Zusak's haunting novel (Knopf, 2003) follows Liesel Meminger, The Book Thief, through the fear-filled years of Nazi Germany. The story opens as the ten-year-old girl takes her first book shortly after her younger brother's death. Both children were en route to the foster home of Hans and Rosa Hubermann in a Munich suburb. Despite Rosa's sharp tongue and Hans's lack of work, their home is a loving refuge for the nightmare-ridden girl. It also becomes a hideout for Max, a young Jewish man whose father saved Hans's life. Liesel finds solace with her neighbor Rudy and her creative partnership with Max. Accompanied by Rudy, the girl copes by stealing food from farmers and books from the mayor's wife. There are also good moments as she learns to read and plays soccer, but Hans's ill-advised act of kindness to a Jewish prisoner forces Max to leave their safe house. The failing war effort and bombing by the Allies lead to more sacrifices, a local suicide and, eventually, to great losses. Reading books and writing down her experiences save Liesel, but this novel clearly depicts the devastating effects of war. Narrator Allan Corduner defines each character with perfect timing. He's deliberate as the voice of Death, softly strong as Liesel, and impatient, but not unkind, as Rosa. With richly evocative imagery and compelling characters, Zusak explores behind-the-lines life in World War II Germany, showing the day-to-day heroism of ordinary people. Relevant for class discussions on wars both past and present.-Barbara Wysocki, Cora J. Belden Library, Rocky Hill, CT Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.
Suggestions:
This book would be great in a classroom discussion after looking at the events of World War II from a historical perspective. In that case this book can be used to give a more personal experience of the War and how it affected not only the world but also random and seemingly unimportant people.
