48) Grzimek's Animal Life

Grzimek’s Animal Life provided by Gale Cengage

Summary:  Grzimek’s Animal Life is a large encyclopedia of animal life provided to libraries as a subscription database.  Grzimek’s was originally published as a thirteen volume set in German.  It was translated to English in 1975.  As of 2009, the encyclopedia has been available online offered by Gale Cengage.  The encyclopedia covers over 4,000 species with information on evolution, habitat, behavior, and range.  The database is updated regularly by worldwide experts.  Users are able to view photos and videos.  The database provides audio tracks to help users learn pronunciations.  The database can be translated into eleven languages and has the ability to read the articles to users.   This is a great database to learn more about the animals in our world.

Review:  This is a great research database.  The encyclopedia provides tons of information on different animal species.  Students assigned research projects or just wanting to learn more about the animal world will love this database.  The homepage contains a large search box that is easy to find.  Users will also find the top articles featured on the homepage.  There are boxes on the left hand side that will lead users to different animal species, such as mammals, reptiles, fish, ect.  If the user is merely browsing, these boxes will be helpful in learning more about each animal species. 

Once a user types in an animal in the search box, they are directed to a list of articles associated with that animal.  The first item listed is usually the encyclopedia entry.  The entry describes the animal and provides information about the animal’s behavior, diet, and conservation status.  There is also a globe that shows users where the animal lives.  The page also provides photos, illustration, and videos on the animal.  This is a great resource for teachers and students. 

Genre:  Subscription Database

Interest Level:  ages 9 and up

47) Culturegrams Countries

Culturegrams provided by ProQuest

Summary:  Culturegrams is an online database aimed at children looking to learn more about the world around them.  Culturegrams offers information on countries and states.  Users are able to gain a true understanding of different cultures.  The database goes into details of everyday life, holidays, and demographics.  The country version covers over 200 countries with focus on language, personal appearance, greetings, family, and life cycle.  The states version covers the US and 13 Canadian provinces with focus on history, diversity, economy, and recipes. The database is user friendly and a great resource for students looking to find out more about the states and many countries.

Review:  This database is a great resource for any student assigned a research project on a country.  The database is very user friendly and gives great information about each country.  From the homepage, users are able to select a country from the dropdown box or chose a continent on the map.  There is also a search box, however, the box is very small and hard to find.  Once you are taken to the countries page, the page lists a few facts and then provides links to all of the additional information.  The main country page offers a picture of the country and the country flag.  A user is able to select to view these items in different formats such as outline or physical.  The countries page offers definitions, interviews from citizens, and a photo gallery.  Users will appreciate the amount of information that they receive  on each country in this database.

Genre:  Subscription Database

Interest Level:  ages 9 and up

46) Lives of the Writers: Comedies, Tragedies (and What the Neighbors Thought)

Bibliography: Krull, Kathleen (Ill by Hewitt, Kathryn); Lives of the Writers: Comedies, Tragedies (and What the Neighbors Thought); Harcourt Brace & Company; San Diego, CA; 1994; 95 pages; ISBN 978-0-15-248009-9.

Plot:  Shakespeare wrote with a feather quill and ink; Emily Dickinson wrote with a fountain pen; Isaac Bashevis Singer wrote on a Yiddish typewriter. But what did such writers do when they weren't writing? What did Jane Austen eat for breakfast? What could make Mark Twain throw his shirts out the window? Why would Zora Neale Hurston punch a fellow elevator passenger? Lives of the Writers: Comedies, Tragedies (and What the Neighbors Thought) tells all that and more, including plenty about writing, how these writers viewed the world of literature—and how their neighbors viewed them.

In this companion to the highly praised Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought), Kathleen Krull and Kathryn Hewitt offer the inside scoop on twenty literary luminaries. Even famous writers are real people with odd habits, secret hopes, dismal failure, and wild successes; Lives of the Writers reveals it all with wit and style. (http://www.kathleenkrull.com/books.html)

Review:  This book is so interesting.  It contains information about some of the greatest authors in an easy to understand format.  It provides information that will help students working on school reports, or who are just interested in biography.  The facts will keep readers interested in each writer.  The drawings of each author are very detailed and visually pleasing.  Hewitt includes little pieces in each drawing that are discussed in the biography of each author.  The text covers authors that many students will be introduced to in junior high and high school.  The authors include Murasaki Shikibu, Miguel de Cervantes, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Hans Christian Anderson, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, Charlotte and Emily Bronte, Emily Dickinson, Louisa May Alcott, Mark Twain, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jack London, Carl Sandburg, E.B. White, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and Isaac Bashevis Singer.  I absolutely loved reading the life stories of these writers and can’t wait to share this book with students in the future.

Genre: Nonfiction; Biography

Interest Level: age 9-12

Related Books:  Lives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels (and What the Neighbors Thought) by Kathleen Krull; Who Was Jackie Robinson? by Gail Herman; Who Was Pablo Picasso? by True Kelley.

Awards:

The 2011 Children’s Book Guild of Washington, DC – Nonfiction Award Winner for Body of Work

Author Information: http://www.kathleenkrull.com/author.html

45) Mercy Lily

Bibliography: Albert, Lisa; Mercy Lily; Flux; Woodbury, MN; 2011; 232 pages; ISBN 978-0-7387-2699-1.

Plot: Sixteen year old, Lily has been taking care of her mother for the last four years.  Her father passed away when she was 12 and Lily, has been helping her mother deal with multiple sclerosis ever since.  Lily’s mother was not responsive to normal MS treatment, so Lily has been giving her bee venom therapy.  Her mother is currently up to twelve stings and it seems to not be helping at all.  On a beautiful spring morning, Lily’s mother asks her to sting her sixteen times and if she has a reaction to not resuscitate her.  Lily is scared, but knows that her mother is suffering.  Mercy Lily is the story of Lily’s quest to help her mother get through the horrible disease of multiple sclerosis.

Review:   I picked up this book to focus on older readers and readers that like to read about issues that could happen in their own life.  I was floored by the story line.  Lily is only sixteen and she is giving her mother bee sting therapy!  Then to make matters worse, her mother is giving up on life and asks Lily to help her!  This book handles a very heavy topic and should be read by older readers. 

When the story opens, the reader learns of Lily’s mothers request to end her life.  Immediately, Albert takes the reader deep into Lily’s world.  We also learn that Lily has no friends.  Ever since her father passed away, Lily has been the sole caregiver to her mother, which has made it hard for Lily to connect with teens her own age.  Lily is dealing with this huge request on her own.  Slowly, Lily starts to reconnect with her past friends and develops great friendships in Trent and Shauna.  Both of them are there for Lily and help her with the pressure she is feeling taking care of her mother and their farm. 

Even though I loved this book, I had an issue with the number of editing errors in the book.  At one point they were so often that I found myself focusing on the errors rather than the storyline.  This book would benefit from a good editor.  Otherwise, teens will fall in love with Lily and feel her pain as she goes through this difficult time.

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction; Coming of Age; Problem Novel

Interest Level: age 12 and up

Related Books:  Bluefish by Pat Schmatz; The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth.

Characters: 

Lily – the protagonist, narrator

Sylvia – Lily’s mother

Jed – the bus driver and only adult that Lily trusts

Shauna – Lily’s old best friend that comes back around in the novel

Trent – Lily’s known him since they were 5 and he becomes a great support for Lily

Author Information: http://www.lisaalbert.com/

44) Holes

Bibliography: Sachar, Louis; Holes; Frances Foster Books; New York; 1998; 233 pages; ISBN 0-374-33265-7.

Plot: Stanley Yelnats has been accused of stealing the shoes of Clyde Livingston that have been donated to help raise money for the homeless shelter.  As punishment, Stanley is sentenced to serve time at Camp Green Lake in Texas digging holes to gain character.  While digging holes, Stanley discovers the lipstick cap with the initials “KB.”  He assumes the case belongs to thief Kissin Kate Barlow.  Upon discovering that Stanley has uncovered something, X-Ray takes the item and turns it into The Warden.  As reward for the discovery, the boys are forced to dig more and deeper holes.  Being fed up with the treatment, Zero decides to run away from camp.  As everyone gives up on Zero, Stanley believes he can find him and save his life. 

Review:   For a fun, humorous, adventure story turn to Holes.  Stanley Yelnats and his family have been blaming his “no good for nothing great great grandfather” for years of bad luck and it looks like Stanley just got the worst luck of all.  After being sentenced for stealing baseball great Clyde Livingston’s shoes, Stanley is sent to Camp Green Lake.  Camp Green Lake is in the middle of nowhere in Texas, where delinquent boys are forced to dig holes to build character.  Camp Green Lake is the hottest, driest, worst place to send a boy for being a delinquent.  At camp, Stanley is assigned to Tent D, where he is introduced to X-Ray, Armpit, Zigzag, Zero, Magnet, and Squid.  Tent D has already established a hierarchy and Stanley is at the bottom.  Stanley soon learns that digging holes in the middle of a dried up lake is probably the worst punishment for a chubby boy, but it doesn’t take too long before he gets the hang of everything.  After finding a lipstick cap the boys from Tent D are given extra special attention.  The Warden comes out every day to oversee their digging.  The Warden believes this is the first clue to finding the treasure of renowned thief Kissin Kate Barlow.  Unfortunately, the boys don’t find any additional treasures and the boys start getting restless.  Soon Zero decides he has had enough of digging and runs away from camp.

This book is great for reluctant readers.  The chapters are short and the story is intermixed with a bit of history about the area.  Readers will enjoy the different characters and the way they are each treated by the heads of the camp.   The book has since been turned into a movie.  This is a great idea for a book club selection.  After the kids have read the book, they can be invited into the library to see the movie and compare the two stories.

Genre: Humor/Adventure

Interest Level: age 9-12

Related Books:  The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin; The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by W.R. Philbrick; Everything on a Waffle Polly Horvath.

Characters: 

Stanley Yelnats – the protagonist; is sentenced to a year and a half at Camp Green Lake

Zero (Hector Zeroni) – Stanley’s only friend at Camp Green Lake; Stanley teaches him to read.

Elya Yelnats – Stanley’s great-great-grandfather; it is believed that because of his carelessness he has cursed the entire Yelnats family.

Madame Zeroni – a gypsy that gives Elya a pig to offer in return for his loves hand in marriage, in return he is to carry the gypsy to the top of the mountain so she can drink from the river.

The Warden – she is in charge of Camp Green Lake.  It is rumored that a thief buried her treasure at the Camp’s location and requires the boys to dig holes to help her find the treasure.

Awards: 

Newberry Medal Winner of 1999

National Book Award for Young People's Literature of 1998

A Christopher Award for Juvenile Fiction

An ALA Notable Book

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults

An ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults

A New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year

A Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon Book

A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

A Publishers Weekly Notable Children's Book of the Year

A Publishers Weekly Bestseller

A Horn Book Fanfare Title

A Riverbank Review 1999 Children's Book of Distinction

A New York Public Library Children's Book of 1998-100 Titles for Reading and Sharing

A Texas Lone Star Award Nominee

A NECBA Fall List Title

Series Information: There are two companion novels to Holes – Stanley Yelnat’s Survival Guide to Camp Green Lake and Small Steps.

Author Information: http://www.louissachar.com/Bio.htm

43) Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Almost True Stories of Growing up Scieszka

Bibliography: Scieszka, Jon; Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Almost True Stories of Growing up Scieszka; Viking; New York; 2008; 106 pages; ISBN 978-0-670-01138-4.

Plot: Jon Scieszka was born the second of six boys to Shirley and Louis Scieszka in Flint, Michigan.  Knucklehead is the mostly true story of his upbringing in a family of six boys.  Scieszka tells humorous tales of how he stayed out of trouble, “I didn’t do it. Tom did it,” avoided doing the dog related chores, and watched his younger brothers.  He explains to boys how growing up in Flint, Michigan really was in a very funny way.  He includes many pictures so readers can imagine they are in his shoes.

Review:  This is probably the funniest book I have ever read.  I found myself laughing out loud at the different situations Scieszka writes about in this book.  Growing up as the second of six boys can’t be easy and Scieszka explains how he stayed alive during this crazy time in his life.  Any boy will love this book and even relate to some of Scieszka’s crazy stories.  Girls will also love this book as a chance to see the inside workings of boy life.  This is a great read for reluctant readers, and parents will be impressed by tweens willingness to dive right into this book. 

Genre: Nonfiction/Autobiography/Humor

Interest Level: age 9-12
Related Books:  Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney; Guys Read: Funny Business by Jon Scieska.

Author Awards:

·         1989: The New York Times Book Review Best Books of the Year citation "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs"

·         1989: American Library Association Notable Children's Book citation The True Story of the Three Little Pigs"

·         1989: Maryland Black-eyed Susan Picture Book Award "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs"

·         1989: Parenting Reading Magic Award "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs"

·         1992: The New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Books of the Year citation The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

·         1992: School Library Journal Best Books of the Year citation The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

·         1992: Booklist Children's Editors' Top-of-the-List citation The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

·         1992: American Library Association Notable Children's Book citation The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

·         1994: Rhode Island Children’s Book Award The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

·         1995: Best Children's Book citation "Math Curse"

·         1995: Bulletin Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon citation "Math Curse"

·         1995: Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books citation "Math Curse"

·         1995: Booklist Top-of-the-List and Editors' Choice citations "Math Curse"

·         1995: Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book "Math Curse"

·         1996: American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults citation "Math Curse"

·         1997: Golden Archer Award for The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

·         1997: Maine's Student Book Award for "Math Curse"

·         1997: Texas Bluebonnet Award for "Math Curse"

·         1997: New Hampshire The Great Stone Face Book Award for "Math Curse"

·         1999: National Education Association Kids' Top 100 Books "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs"

·         2001: Los Angeles Times Book Review Best Books of the Year citation Baloney, (Henry P.)

·         2001: Reading Magic Award, Parenting magazine Baloney, (Henry P.)

·         2001: The New York Times Book Review Notable Books Baloney, (Henry P.)

·         2001: Reading Magic Awards; Parenting Baloney, (Henry P.)

·         2002: Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts, 2002 Baloney, (Henry P.)

·         2002: Golden Duck Awards for Excellence in Children's Science Fiction Literature Baloney, (Henry P.)

·         2004: Parent's Choice Award Gold Non-Fiction Science Verse

·         2005: American Library Association Notable Children's Book Award Science Verse

·         2005: Golden Duck Awards for Excellence in Children's Science Fiction Literature Science Verse

·         2008: National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, Library of Congress (inaugural award)

·         2009: Bank Street Best Books of the Year "Robot Zot"

·         2009: Irma S. Black Award Honor Book "Robot Zot"

·         2009: The New York Times Book Review Bestseller "Robot Zot"

Author Information: http://www.jsworldwide.com/

42) The Sigh

Bibliography: Satrapi, Marjane; The Sigh; Archaia Entertainment; Los Angeles, CA; 2011; 56 pages; ISBN 978-1-936393-46-6.

Plot: A merchant with three daughters returns with special gifts that they each had asked for.  For the oldest, the merchant has brought a dress made of peacock feathers.  For the middle daughter, the merchant has brought back a merino shawl.  The youngest daughter asked her father to bring her the seed of a blue bean.  Unfortunately, the merchant was unable to find a seed for his daughter.  Upon hearing that she does not have the seed of a blue bean, Rose lets out a sigh, “Ah.”  Upon hearing his name called, Ah the Sigh comes to the house to offer Rose a blue bean seed.  He asks in return that someday the merchant will return the favor.  A year later, Ah the Sigh returns and asks the merchant to let him take his youngest daughter to live in a magnificent palace. 

Review:  This is such a different type of story.  Satrapi creates characters that at first glance seem readers have already met.  However, upon further exploration readers are transported to a world that is beautiful and amazing.  Satrapi is a genius storyteller.  Satrapi also did the graphics for this book.  She did a great job of keeping the illustrations just as sparse as the story.  There is so much to learn in this book.  This book takes readers on a journey that will leave them craving more.  A beautiful story about the importance of life, tells readers know that life is only a sigh. 

Genre: Graphic Novel/Fairy Tales /Fantasy

Interest Level: age 12 and up
Related Books:  Chicken with Plums by Marjane Satrapi; Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi

Characters:

Orchid – Oldest sister

Violet – middle sister, quite shy

Rose – youngest sister, the protagonist

Ah the Sigh

Prince of the Kingdom of Sighs

Author Awards:

2001: Angoulême Coup de Coeur Award for Persepolis; 2002: Angoulême Prize for Scenario for Persepolis: Tome 2; 2005: Angoulême Best Comic Book Award for Poulet aux prunes; 2007: Jury Prize for Persepolis (tied with Silent Light), Cannes Film Festival; 2007: Best Animation: Los Angeles Film Critics Association; 2008: Cinema for Peace Award for "Most Valuable Movie of the Year"; 2008: Gat Perich Award; 2009: Doctor honoris causa both at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the Université catholique de Louvain from Belgium

Author Information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjane_Satrapi