Bibliogrpahy
Kerley, Barbara. 2010. The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy).Ill by. Edwin Fotheringham. Scholastic Press. ISBN 978-0-545-12508-6
Summary
Thirteen year old Susy writes a biography about her famous father Mark Twain. This is the story of Susy during the year she wrote her biography about her dad. Actual quotes from her dad and Susy herself tell the story from when Susy decides to write about her dad to when she stopped having filled over 130 pages. Inserted within each double page layout is a mini journal two page spread with Susy's actual writing.
Critical Analysis
A biography within a biography. The design of this picture book biography is a unique way to tell the story about someone's life who happened to write about the life of someone famous as seen through their own eyes, as a family member and not the public persona. Quotes from Susy and Mark Twain himself add to the authenticity of the book. The illustrations were done in digital media and are large and take up the whole double page layout. The illustrations set the time period and reflect the personality and character quirks of Mark Twain. A selected time line of Mark Twain's life and author's note about the man himself and Susy give a brief history of their lives. It also explains what sparked Kerley's idea to write about Susy Clemens. Kerely also provides tips on "Writing an Extraordinary Biography...with a lot of help from Susy." Essentially the tips are woven within the text telling how and why Susy wrote about her father. Young readers may not be familiar with Mark Twain yet but they will learn a few facts about him and his daughter. This book will inspire children to write about their own family members and maybe even read books by Mark Twain.
Awards
2010 CYBILS Nonfiction Picture Book Award Best Children’s Books 2010
-- Publishers Weekly Best Books 2010
-- School Library Journal Best Books for Children and Teens 2010
-- Kirkus Reviews Best of 2010: Books for Young Readers
-- Washington Post A Junior Library Guild selection 100 Titles for Reading
and Sharing
-- New York Public Library Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Books Gold Award,California Reading Association
--Oregon Book Award Finalist
--NCTE Orbis Pictus Recommended Book Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People
--Notable Children’s Book in the English Language Arts
--CCBC Choices 2011
--Nominated for the Texas Bluebonnet Award 2011-2012
Review Excerpts
The New York Times Book Review v. 115 no. 20 (May 16 2010) p. 15
"[Mark Twain's] 13-year-old daughter, Susy, in secret, chronicled his life. From her notes, the source of a great new book—‘The Extraordinary Mark Twain’—you can conclude either that he was the best father who ever lived, or that he was simply favored by his era, that time before muckraking memoirs and celebrity-daughter tell-alls. Or perhaps a bit of both. . . . Ages seven to eleven."
The Horn Book v. 86 no. 1 (January/February 2010) p. 101-2
At age thirteen, Susy Clemens wrote a biography of her father, Mark Twain, an undertaking that informs this unusual account covering both Susy as biographer and Twain as biographee. . . Separate fonts represent Kerley's narrative, Susy's direct quotes, and Twain's own words. Fotheringham's muted palette and large, sturdy illustrations provide discreet counterpoint to this complicated design. The target audience may not be familiar with Twain's work for a few more years, and Kerley's author's note references . . . may be lost on middle-grade readers. The art of writing is not, however, and an appended guide to writing biographies sums up Susy's approach."
Connections
Barbara Kerley provides tips for young readers to write a biography of member of their family.
Read other books by Barbara Kerley
Kerley, Barbara. Walt Whitman: Words for America. Ill. Brian Selznick. New York. Scholastic Press. ISBN 9780439357913
Kerley, Barbara. 2008. What to do about Alice: How Alice Roosevelt broke the rules, charmed the world, and drove her father Teddy crazy!. Ill. by Edwin Fotheringham. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 0439922313
Read books by Mark Twain
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The Prince and the Pauper A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
Bibliogrpahy
Simon, Seymour. 2000. Gorillas. New York. Harper Collins. ISBN 0060230355
Summary
The physical characteristics, behavior, communication, diet and family life of gorillas is described. Each double page spread layout has a full page color photograph of a gorilla and the oppostie page contains informational text about the lives of gorillas. Simon writes at a level that is appropiate for elementary school students to read and easily understand.
Critical Analysis
This photo essay book has captivating full page photos of gorillas next to a full page of text. The narrative style of Simon is easy for children to read and understand. The narrative flows as it begins with a descpriton of three different species of gorillas and continues with a description of their physical characteristics, family life, diet, communication, vulnerabilities and efforts to save gorillas from extinction. Simons makes connections young readers can easily relate to such as "Like human children young gorillas spend a lot of time playing."
A map of the locations where gorillas live would be helpful for children to view but was lacking in the book. Children who mistake gorillas for fearsome creatures will learn about their gentle, peaceful lives and human like qualities after reading this book.
Review Excerpts
The Horn Book v. 76 no. 6 (November/December 2000) p. 773
"While the stunning, highly expressive photographs dominate in space and impact, Simon's concise and child-friendly writing means that a fairly full picture of gorilla behavior, physiology, habitat, and daily life is amply conveyed in just sixteen pages of text. . . . The constant comparisons to humans—while helping children understand concepts, and emphasizing that indeed 'gorillas and humans share ninety-eight percent of their DNA'—do present the danger of misinterpretation. Statements such as 'If you gaze into the eyes of a gorilla and think how human it looks, you won't be far wrong!' can lead to a false conflation of human and gorilla behavior patterns. . . . The book ends on a strong conservationist note, which should resonate with readers who empathize with the peaceable animals portrayed in this book."
School Library Journal v. 46 no. 10 (October 2000) p. 153 Gr 3-6
A clear, concise picture of these endangered creatures and their lifestyle. Simon includes information on the three gorilla species and their physical differences, their habitats, diet, daily habits, various behaviors, and decreasing populations. The extremely handsome, oversized color photos enhance the readable text and complement it perfectly. Sadly missing is a map so that children can see how restricted the gorilla's range has become. However, this attractive, informative book certainly deserves a place in all collections, even those already holding Paul Burgel's well-written Gorillas (Carolrhoda, 1993).-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Connections
Children can draw pictures of gorillas.
Find documentaries about gorillas and view them.
Smithsonian Collins Series: Harper Collins Publishers
Other animal books in the series
Cats, Dolphins, Dogs, Snakes, Spiders, Sharks, Penguins, Wolves, Whales, Snakes
Fiction books about gorillas
Rathman, Peggy. 1994.Goodnight, Gorilla. New York. Putnam. ISBN 9780698116498
Osborne, Mary Pope. 2002. Good Morning Gorilla (Magic Tree House series #26. New York. Random House Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780375806148
Durango, Julie. 2010. Go-Go Gorillas. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781416937791
Other nonfiction books about gorillas
Thompson, Sarah L. 2006. Amazing gorillas (I can read. New York. Harper Collins. ISBN 0060544619
Redmond, Ian. 2000. Eyewitness books: Gorilla, Monkey and Ape. DK Children. ISBN 9780789460363
Turner, Pamela. 2005. Gorilla Doctors: Saving Endangered Great Apes. New York. Houghton Mifflin Books. ISBN 0618445552
Bibliography
Deem, James M. 2008. Bodies From the Ice: Melting Glaciers and the Recovery of the Past. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 9780618800452
Summary
The book covers frozen mummies that have been discovered all over the world, from the Alps in Europe, to the Andes in South America, to Mount Everest in Asia to a glacier in British Columbia. The book starts with an account about the discovery of a 5,300 year old frozen mummified full body of a man on the Niederjoch Glacier in the Otztal Alps. The second chapter describes and explains how glaciers move and how bodies have possibly become trapped in the ice and moved along with the glaciers. A brief history of how human viewed glaciers centuries ago and how some people who became interested in exploring and studying glaciers is described in the next chapter. Not all frozen mummified bodies were the results of accidents. Some discoveries of frozen mummies were the result on an intentional sacrifice. Frozen mummies of children were discovered in the Andes in chambers built by the Incas to please their gods. Another chapter describes the mystery behind an expedition by George Mallory and Andrew Irvine to be the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The last chapter is dedicated to the slow disappearance and preservation of glaciers.
Critical Analysis
This children’s book is an historical and informative book about glaciers and how bodies have been mummified and discovered many years later. It begins with the most famous discovery, Otzi, and ends with an informative chapter about the uncertainty of the loss of glaciers and the effect it would have on the world. Each chapter describes the frozen mummies found on different continents of the world. It is a well researched book that describes the histories and discoveries of frozen mummies and the scientific explanation of glaciers and investigations of the bodies. The text features it includes are contents, photographs, maps, illustrations from the past,captions, textboxes,lists,index, acknowledgments and bibliography.
The photographs of glaciers are breathtaking and the photos of the mummies are intriguing. The photos of glaciers next to past photos and drawings give readers an eye-opening view to the significant changes that have occured on glaciers. "But such remarkable discoveries have a high price." writes Deem. The melting and retreating glaciers have allowed the frozen mummies to be discovered in recent years but we may soon lose that history and the wonder of those giant glaciers if it continues at the same rate it has within the past century. Bodies from the ice is a well written book that clearly explains this to readers.
The audience is for children in grades 5-8, but the book can be enjoyed by adults as well.
Awards
--2009 Robert F. Sibert Informational Award Honor Book awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association
--Finalist for the 2010 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books --Kirkus Reviews' Best Children's Books of 2008
--Notable Book for Children 2009 chosen by the American Library Association
--2009 Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students K-12 chosen by the National Science Teachers Association and the Children's Book Council
--2008 New York Public Library, 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
--Capitol Choices Noteworthy Book 2009 (10-14)
Nominated for:
--The Young Hoosier Book Award, Middle Grades, 2010-2011
--The South Dakota Library Association Prairie Pasque Awards for Grades 3-5, 2010-2011
--The Garden State Teen Book Award for Nonfiction Grades 6-12, 2011
Review excerpts
Science Books & Films v. 45 no. 2 (March/April 2009) p. 70-1
"Deem has compiled a highly useful and readable volume on a unique aspect of human history and prehistory. . . . The book is small, but accurately portrays the process of science from discovery to investigation. A general audience would benefit from reading it, and it is appropriate as well for junior high and high school audiences. The book could also be used for classroom discussions."
The Horn Book v. 85 no. 1 (January/February 2009) p. 111 "
[This book] comfortably sits at the intersection of several disciplines: anthropology, archaeology, geography, glaciology, and history. . . . Deem gives his readers a brief primer on glaciers before treating them to a tour of mummified bodies found in ice. . . . Glaciers—and the preserved past they offer up—give us an intriguing peek into various cultures, yielding information on everything from human sacrifice to occult superstition to sporting endeavors. . . . The book design, with its variety of photographs, captions, and sidebars, seals the appeal."
Connections
Other books by James M. Deem and frozen mummies
Deem, James M. 2005. Bodies from the Ash: A life and death in Ancient Pompeii. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 9780618473083
Deem, James M. 1998. Bodies from the Bog. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0618354026
Dubowski, Mark and Dubowski, Eathy East. 1998. Ice Mummy: The Discovery of a 5,000-Year-Old Man. New York. Random House. ISBN 0679856471
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