Bugs and Bugsicles:
Amy S. Hansen
Illustrated by Robert C. KrayArctic wooly bear caterpillars freeze like a “bugsicle” in order to survive the winter. A field cricket lays as many as 400 eggs underground; but she will not live to see them hatch. The eggs are coated with an antifreeze called “glycerol” to keep them soft all winter. Ladybugs join in a “slow-moving dance, their bodies merging into one big red and black bundle…(holding) on to just enough warmth to keep them from freezing.” Amazing moments in the life of a refuge’s tiniest creatures abound on every page. Filled with intriguing and vital facts about bugs in winter, this carefully illustrated book also includes the praying mantis, dragonflies, honeybees, pavement ants, and monarch butterflies. Simple experiments help youngsters learn what happens when water freezes and how some insects are able to slow down the freezing process. 2009, Boyds Mills Press, $17.95. Ages 7 up. Reviewer: Karen Leggett (Children's Literature).
Best Books:
Best Children's Books of the Year, 2011; Bank Street College of Education
John Burroughs List of Nature Books for Young Readers, 2010; John Burroughs Association
ISBN: 9781590782699
Harriet McGregor
Globalization is an educational hard cover book in a series on "Global Issues" for students at 6th grade levels and up. Illustrated with color photographs and complete with a glossary at the end, Globalization presents chapters on the history, definition, causes, impact, and responses to globalization in addition to information on the role of the media and the future of globalization. Further information and web sites are also suggested at the book's end. Highlighted paragraphs present pertinent facts and bits of information and history in brief, easy to assimilate sections. Globalization is an excellent educational resource for students age 12 and up. Other titles also recommended in this series include Human Trafficking Around the World (by Kaye Stearman, 97814481879), Refugees (by Cath Senker, 9781448818808), Terrorism (by Alex Woolf, 9781448818815), AIDS and HIV (by Katie Dicker, 9781448818761), and Fundamentalism (by Sean Connolly, 9781448818778). Rosen Publishing Group, $26.50. ages 12+. Reviewer: Midwest Book Review (Children's Bookwatch, March 2011).
ISBN: 9781448818785
Jan L. Coates
When troops from the North attack the people of his village in southern Sudan, seven year-old Jacob Deng must flee, leaving his mother, sisters, and uncle behind. Guided by his older nephew Mongoor, Jacob walks through barren deserts in the midst of bloody political strife to refugee camps in Ethiopia and Sudan. Along the way, he grows up fast with his wisecracking best friend Oscar, their younger pal Willy, the mean-spirited Majok, and hundreds of other boys (not all of whom survive the journey). Though Jacob considers joining the Liberation Army, soldiers from south Sudan who engage in constant battle with their enemies from the North, he soon discovers that peace and liberation can be obtained through education rather than violence. Inspired by a number of teachers who are willing to stand up to the militant force for the sake of education, as well as the memory of his mother, Jacob uses his own intelligence to raise enough money to attend a Kenyan boarding school. But will his ambition and drive be enough, since Jacob has lost almost all of his family in the midst of the brutal Civil War? Author Jan L. Coates tells the true story of Deng, a former refugee who went on to establish the Wadeng foundation for displaced citizens of Sudan, in a realistic and emotional way that will appeal to young adult readers with its sympathetic young hero and his quest for a better life. Jacob’s story, as well as the plight of Sudanese refugees in general, needs to be told to inform Western audiences of the relatively recent turmoil in the nation. Coates’ book, a stirring piece of historical fiction, does this well. 2010, Red Deer Press, $11.26. Ages 9 to 12. Reviewer: Zachary Snow (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 9780889954519
Mali Under The Night Sky:
Youme LandowneThis beautifully illustrated and sensitively told story of Mali, a young Laotian girl, begins with her enjoying life in her native country. Her daily existence, including traditions are revealed. One of these traditions is the tying of strings around each other’s wrists for special occasions or when someone is traveling far away. The string tying symbolizes that even if separated, family and friends will always be together in their hearts. Civil War erupts in Laos and one day Mali finds a string tied to her wrist as her family flees. After a journey through the night, and across the Mekong River, Mali and her family land in jail in another country. The strings tied around Mali’s wrists remind her of her home in the heart and she shares her powerful memories with the other refugees, who, in turn, are inspired to remember. The exquisitely rendered watercolor spreads throughout the book convey the particular emotion of each scene. There are scenes bursting with color and celebration as when Mali climbs flowering trees or feasts with her family. Other, more monochromatic scenes depict somber situations such as Mali’s family escaping Laos in the dark of the night or caught behind bars in prison. The book maintains its child’s perspective and emotion throughout, never entering into a political debate. Patterned borders surround each spread and Laotian words are sprinkled throughout the text in a thoughtful manner. Laotian script is incorporated into many spreads. At the end of the book, readers meet and learn about the real-life Mali, who escaped Laos when she was five and is today an artist formed by her experiences of civil war and as a refugee. Landowne’s sympathetic and authentic telling of Mali’s escape offers hope that the strength of family and culture endure through hardship. 2010, Cinco Puntos Press, $17.95. Ages 4 up. Reviewer: Margaret Orto (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 9781933693682
Not Your Typical Book about the Environment
Elin KelseyIllustrated by Clayton Hanmer
Not Your Typical Book About the Environment is aptly named. Elin Kelsey has put together an amazing collection of chapters that each deals with ways in which children’s lives affect the environment. As a science teacher for over 30 years, I was educated by reading this book. In her first chapter, “ Fast Fashion,” Kelsey clearly explains the benefits and drawbacks of four types of T-shirts: bamboo, hemp, organic cotton, and vintage. Similar treatments are employed when dealing with food choices, technology, and energy consumption. Each topic is illustrated in comic-book style, and the characters depicted are very diverse. These illustrations drive home the connections made between seemingly unrelated subjects throughout the book—polar fleece and plastic bottles, sea otters and fish sticks, honeybees and hamburgers, and electronics and gorillas, to name a few. Kelsey has selected real people who are making a difference in the “Meet an Expert” segments. These people include the co-creator of the Ecological Footprint, an ecological economist, a sustainable-happiness teacher, and a local chef. Although this book is geared for children ages 9 to 12, I highly recommend it to Earth citizens of all ages. It would not only be a fine addition to a school library, but also an informative volume in any home. Index; C.I.P. Highly Recommended, Grades 5-8. 2010, Owl Books, 64pp., $22.95. Ages 10 to 14. Reviewer: Mary Jane Davis (Science Books and Films (Vol. 46, No. 5)).
ISBN: 9781897349793
Red Umbrella
Lucia Alvarez is a normal fourteen-year-old girl until the revolution begins to take hold. It is 1961, and her homeland of Cuba is falling under Fidel Castro’s control. Her friends are joining the brigades and losing interest in the fashions and makeup that used to be so important to them. She could never have imagined the danger that faces her family when they try to remain uninvolved. When it becomes clear that Castro’s people will arrest and possibly execute anyone who appears to be anti-revolutionary, Lucia’s parents find a way to send her and her seven-year-old brother Frankie to America. The siblings end up in Grand Island, Nebraska, and must become accustomed to a very different way of life while also worrying about their parents, left behind in danger. Based on experiences of the author’s parents and in-laws, Lucia’s story conveys a fullness of setting. Both Cuba and Nebraska are richly described and add to the characters and the history. Lucia is a girl that many will identify with, making her story compelling. While the historical context is specific, it is easy to believe that this could happen to anyone, and it is easy to follow Lucia’s understanding of the revolution from a naïve belief that it would not affect her to a mature appreciation for true freedom. Her American foster parents, the Baxters, are given unexpected depth of character as they grow to love the Alvarez family. Operation Pedro Pan, the largest exodus of unaccompanied minors ever in the Western Hemisphere, is given a face, a personality, and a voice. Gonzalez has not only memorialized her own family history, she has put it in a form that will connect with many and let this important story be told. 2010, Alfred A. Knopf/Random House Children’s Books, $16.99. Ages 14 up. Reviewer: Jennifer Lehmann (Children's Literature).
Best Books:
Best Children's Books of the Year, 2011; Bank Street College of EducationChoices, 2011; Cooperative Children's Book Center
YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2011; American Library Association
ISBN: 9780375861901 Christina Diaz GonzalezA Lao Story of HomeInsects in the Winter
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