Who Wins? 100 Historical Figures Go Head-to-Head and You Decide the Winner!
Created by Clay Swartz and Illustrated by Tom Booth
Workman Publishing (2016)
104 pages
Ages 8-12
Who Wins? is one of my favorite nonfiction books for both children and adults. It not only introduces young readers to 100 historical figures, it presents information in a fun way and encourages debate and social reading. Instead of trying to explain to you how the book works in an overly complicated and confusing manner, watch the video below:
As you can see, the format is well thought out, the illustrations are fun and vibrant, and provides a lot of different scenarios to go through. What you cannot see is that the book is sturdily constructed, a big benefit for a book which is constantly handled and flipped. Some of the decisions can be difficult, for example deciding who would sell the most girl scout cookies, Copernicus or Galileo. The book helpfully provides a couple of questions to guide you to an answer. For this example, the book asks “Who has the most business sense?” and “Who has what it takes to close a deal?” Providing these questions will help guide a confused reader and shows a level of thought given to how the game is played.
The age range is a bit narrow, I know plenty of teens and adults who would love this book. Perhaps 8 and up would be a better option. I would use this book as a leisure read, party game, or as a fun lesson in debating. Sometimes you need a break from debating weighty topics such as climate change and discussing whether Booker T. Washington or Ernest Hemingway would fare better in the Wild, Wild West is a lot more fun.
World Without Fish
Written by Mark Kurlansky and Illustrated by Frank Stockton
Workman Publishing (2011)
208 pages
Ages 9 and up (publisher 10-18)
World Without Fish asserts that if we don’t change the way humans overfish and pollute the ocean, fish could become extinct within fifty years. Kurlansky covers a lot of ground in this book, including a short introduction to evolutionary science, the history of fishing industry, and the politics of fishing. Kurlansky does an excellent job explaining complex issues to the layman and as a former commercial fisherman, a lot of his ideas come from firsthand experience and observations. But I thought that the lack of citations and supporting voices undermined his endeavor.
Visually, the book is stunning. Though the book is quite long for middle grade nonfiction, the book will hold an interested child’s attention with accompanying photographs, scientific illustrations, bold typographic choices, and a side story presented in comic form. When the author feels the need to highlight certain statements, the text is written in a very large, handwritten font in different colors. This may be distracting for some readers and a bit heavy handed, but I thought it brings a level of visual interest to the rather wordy nonfiction book.
The comic story of Kram and Ailat fictionalizes his theories and is semi-autobiographical. Ailat is a strange name and thanks to the dedication, I noticed that Kram and Ailat are just Mark and Talia spelled backwards. The comic shows the father daughter pair exploring the ocean and trying to warn the public of the grim future that awaits them. The situation gets more and more dire and the last panel features Ailat’s daughter needing an explanation of what fish are now that they are all gone.
But the book is not all doom and gloom. One of my favorite section in this book is the final one, titled “What can we do about this?” In it, Kurlansky explains the many ways readers can get involved as part of the solution including fish to avoid eating, writing letters to officials, and getting involved with environmental groups. I am always a fan of encouraging environmental advocacy in adolescents, it is their future after all.
Kurlansky’s book has a lot of valuable information and insights into the world of commercial fishing, but I think his theories could have used support in the form of citations and a scientific voice. In the book, he laments the fact that scientists and fisherman often do not listen to each other because fisherman are not as well educated and scientists don’t spend as much time in the field. I imagine this is true and if that is the case, the book would surely benefit from a second voice from the scientific point of view. I do not think Kurlansky is entirely wrong in his assumptions, we are devastating our oceans and the situation is not being handled in an expedient manner, but I need supporting information in order to take the book more seriously.
I hesitate to suggest using this book in the classroom due to my concerns about citations, but it would be a good place to start the discussion. The book would also be a good read for science lovers and budding environmental activists. The conflicting age groups is a bit confusing, the back cover stating a different age than the publisher’s website. I tend to agree with the 9 and up statement as there are both fourth graders and adults I know who would like this book.
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
Written by Jacqueline Kelly
Henry Holt and Company, LLC (2009)
352 pages
Ages 9-12
Awards - Bank Street/Josette Frank Award, TN YA Volunteer State Book Award ML, IRA Teachers' Choices, Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award Master List, TN Intermed Volunt State Book Award ML, Iowa Children's Choice Award Master List, IRA Children's Book Award, Texas Lone Star Reading List, North Carolina Young Adult Book Award, Tennessee Intermediate Volunteer State Book Award Master List, Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award ML, Illinois Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Choice Award Master List, Illinois Rebecca Caudill YR Choice Award ML, IRA Children's and Young Adults Book Award, CPL: Chicago Public Library Best of the Best, Newbery Honor Book
As evidenced by the many awards listed above, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate is a much loved book and you can add one more because I absolutely adored this book. The story follows a twelve-year-old girl named Calpurnia, or Callie, who does not fit into the traditional role of a young woman in Texas at the turn of the 20th century. She loves exploring and documenting nature and has no interest in playing the piano, cooking, sewing and other duties typically relegated to women. Callie’s mother doesn’t understand her daughter and tirelessly tries to turn her daughter into a paragon of domesticity. After a disappointing trip to the library where she fails to obtain a copy Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species because it is deemed inappropriate, Callie finds an unlikely ally in her secretive grandfather, a Confederate Civil War veteran and amateur naturalist.
The book succeeds in an endeavor which I don’t see very often in historical fiction, a progressive female main character who does not seem anachronistic. I found Callie’s world and relationships appropriate for the time while still being relatable for modern audiences. There is so much detail in both the characters and setting that I felt emerged in the story. The characters are well fleshed out and their family dynamic is completely believable and relatable. There are no characters that are too good to be true, each has their own flaws from Callie’s stubbornness, Granddaddy’s tunnel vision, Harry’s initial poor choice in girls, and Mrs. Tate’s inability to see beyond her expectations. But each is also kind and loving in their own way; Callie’s protective nature, Granddaddy treats Callie as an equal, Harry is a doting older brother, and Mrs. Tate only wants the best for her children.
There are points that may be confusing for some readers, mostly having to do with either the history or daily life of the American South in the late 19th century. What we now call the Union army is referred to as the Federals at various points in the book and Callie describes their cook Viola as a quadroon, someone who is one-quarter of African descent. There are many references to slave life, though it is mentioned that Viola is paid a weekly wage and is treated as a family friend. References to slavery are made almost in passing and not much is made of it in the book, which may be upsetting to some but fits with the setting. The Tate family have lived in the south for a long time, Granddaddy mentions his grandfather was a trapper in the Oklahoma territories. Slavery was a fact of life rather than a horrible injustice to many in the American South at that time.
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate is an engaging, heart-filled book that would be of interest to a wide range of readers. It would be fantastic complement to lessons about post-reconstruction America, Texas history, budding naturalists, and anyone interested in historical fiction. I think the age range defined by the publisher is a bit too limited, I would change it to 9 and up or 9-14 if a range is necessary.
This article is about how college students are starting to use social networking sites, such as Facebook to get information. It says that students aren't really using librarians or writing center staff. The article has some good statistics and percentages from the study that they did. Here are some of them:
On the research process: "Students relied on librarians infrequently, if ever, whether they were conducting research for coursework or for personal use. Moreover, students…[used] librarians less often than…in the 2009 survey…."
On evaluating resources: "Few students in the sample asked librarians (11%) or writing center staff (7%) for help…and even fewer turned to librarians for help evaluating information for personal use (5%)."
On information-seeking for personal needs: "70% of this year's….students frequently turned to social networks, such as Facebook…in their daily lives."
The article then goes on to give some suggestions for what we could do to try and get people to start using librarians again.
It suggests many ways to change this way of doing things. One of the things it suggests is to "
End the disconnect between some LIS schools and the libraries in their institutions. Instead, LIS schools should partner with their institutions' libraries to form learning laboratories. Professors, librarians, and students must work together to create new models of service and outreach. These models are evaluated and tweaked, and effective practice is reported to the greater community."
This to me is actually kind of a big deal. To me it means that librarians aren't able to give out the information that they know. Instead people are going to Facebook and crowdsourcing on Facebook for information when they can get it from someone trained. I'm a bit guilty of this because when I was writing my proposal last week I needed some information on how to do some stuff on my paper. I guess I will start utilizing all my sources, other than Facebook, when I start my immersion project!
