Module 8 - From Russia with Lunch

FROM RUSSIA WITH LUNCH

Bibliographic Information

•           Hale, B. (2009). From Russia with lunch. Orlando: Harcourt.

Summary
Legendary elementary detective Chet Gecko has solved a dozen mysteries by now, but this case may be the most difficulty for the lizard.  His favorite teacher has been fired, and replaced by a mysterious Russian inventor.  Strange things happen at the school following the arrival of the new teacher.  People are replaced by robots, students are switched around and Chet's partner even leaves him.  What is a Gecko to do?

My Impressions
I love the Chet Gecko series.  I am an old movie fan, and love the references to old classic movie titles in the books, and the snappy detective personality of Chet.  He cracks bad jokes, he has one-liners, and even probably does a great Bogart impersonation.  I think this book, and series, are great for late elementary readers who like mysteries but don't want books that are too suspenseful or scary.

Reviews
Phelan, C. (2009). From Russia with Lunch. [Review of From Russia with lunch, by B. Hale]. Booklist, 105(11), 44.

When a mystery arises, possibly involving members of the school staff replaced by contraptions such as the Bibliomalgamator, which slings inappropriate books at students, and the Munchmeister 2000, which dispenses bowls of pizza-flavored glop, Chet Gecko, “Emerson Hicky Elementary’s top lizard detective,” and his partner in crime solution, mockingbird Natalie Attired, spring into action. The story unfolds in Chet’s entertaining first-person narrative, laced with puns, wisecracks, and mentions of edible treats involving
insect ingredients. Illustrated with occasional pencil drawings, this amusing book concludes with the famous grade-school gumshoe introducing each of the 13 previous volumes in the popular Chet Gecko Mystery series. --Carolyn Phelan

Library Usage
Great book for introductions to series titles, recurring characters, discussing the difference between static and developing characters and detective/mystery genre studies.

Module 8 - Fake ID

FAKE ID

Bibliographic Information

•           Sorrells, W. (2005). Fake ID: A novel. New York: Sleuth Dutton.

Summary
Chastity is a sixteen year old who is on the run with her mother, though she does not know why.  Her identity changes in every new town they move to, as does her mother's, and she has no knowledge of any other family.  After arriving in a small town in Alabama her mother disappears one night.  Police find some evidence, including blood, and try to take Chastity into custody for foster care.  She runs again, and believes her mother is on the run also but must find out where her mother is and why they are running before she is captured or placed in foster care or worse.

My Impressions
I thought this book was OK.  I enjoyed it in spots, and found that it is a pretty easy read and pretty easy mystery.  It is not a very suspenseful mystery, but one that middle schoolers would most likely enjoy.

Reviews
Slayden, B. (2006). Fake ID. [Review of Fake ID, by W. Sorrells]. Library Media Connection, 24(7), 71.

Sixteen-year-old Chastity and her mother have been on the run as long as she can remember. Chass doesn’t even know why. She simply knows that they move from town to town at a moment’s notice, getting new identities with each move, and that her mother doesn’t like music of any kind. It is the discovery that Chass has a real talent for music that sends her mother out for a “cooling off” drive. But her mother fails to return home. Her abandoned car, a purse containing several IDs, and blood matching her DNA are found. Chass realizes it’s up to her to figure out who she really is within six days or be put in foster care. Or even worse, she could be murdered by the people they’ve been running from. Chass digs up information on an unsolved mystery of years past. With the pieces finally all laid out, Chass discovers she is the daughter of Jenna
Farmer, a once popular singer/songwriter who happened to have a tape describing a murder in detail. Although Chass’ many close calls with death are a bit redundant and her tough girl demeanor seems a bit
too contrived, the story does flow well. The conversational tone makes it an especially easy-to-read mystery sure to be well liked. Recommended. --Bridget Slayden, Educational Reviewer, Fordland, Missouri

Library Usage
This is a circulation book, but could be used as a genre study on easy mysteries for middle school students.

Shoeless Joe book trailer

A book trailer for "Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy" by Phil Bildner and C.F. Payne.

Pendleton book trailer 3

Edward Tulane book trailer

A book trailer for "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" Kate DiCamillo.

Pendleton book trailer 2

Leonardo's Horse book trailer

Trailer for Elementary picture book "Leonardo's Horse" by Jean Fritz and Hudson Talbott.

Pendleton book trailer 1

Module 7 - Let Me Play

LET ME PLAY: THE STORY OF TITLE IX

Bibliographic Information

•           Blumenthal, K. (2005). Let me play: the story of title ix. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Summary
Prior to the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment and the Title IX equity in athletics law in the 1970s, women were not paid the same as men, not allowed to hold certain jobs, considered unequal in athletics and were not allowed to play certain sports.  This book chronicles the role of political activism in changing the expectation for schools and organizations to recognize women as equals and to provide girls with the opportunity to participate in athletics at an equal level with men.  Several key politicians, activists and athletes are interviewed and profiled in this historical account of the meetings, deals and outcomes of this important ruling on gender equality.

My Impressions
As a child of the 70's, I remember hearing these discussions on the news and wondering what the big deal was about.  In my neighborhood girls and boys played the same games, sports and activities so I saw no issue.  This book is an excellent example of the impact the law has had over time, but an incredible example of research and pulling together resources from many different places to create a new title.  This is a really good book to show students conducting research for papers, projects and themes about historical events.  This book is also the focus of my Non-Fiction Analysis for this course.

Reviews
Bush, M. A. (2005). Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX, the Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America. [Review of Let me play: the story of title ix, by K. Blumenthal]. Horn Book Magazine, 81(5), 597-599.

Blumenthal’s complex discussion of equal opportunity in athletics and education focuses on a pivotal piece of legislation enacted more than thirty years ago and contested year after year right into the new century.
Title IX forbids discrimination by gender in schools and colleges receiving federal funds, and Blumenthal follows its political support and opposition decade by decade, interweaving the parallel increases in
sports participation and accomplishment. Civil rights and women’s history are part of the larger context here, and the busy but richly layered presentation includes inset essays on key events and individuals as well
as statistical tables demonstrating changes in athletic participation and enrollments in colleges and professional schools. A generous selection of captioned photographs and political cartoons is also included. The political history becomes heavy at times but is also intriguing, and many of the legislators and sports figures are well worth meeting. Adults who care about developing the full potential of all young people should
count themselves among the audience for the book, with its sobering conclusion on continuing and new inequities for boys and girls. Appended materials include a timeline, source notes, photo credits, bibliographies for young readers and adults, and an index. --Margaret A. Bush

Library Usage
As I previously mentioned, this is a very good example title for students working on research papers and historical projects to utilize their research in a thorough manner.  I would also use this to discuss issues like gender equity and civics dealing with changing laws through grass roots campaigns and activism.

Module 7 - Leonardo's Horse

LEONARDO'S HORSE

Bibliographic Information

•           Fritz, J., & Talbott, H. (2001). Leonardo's horse. New York: Putnam.

Summary
Leonardo's Horse is a biographical picture book about the life and talent of Leonardo da Vinci, and of one of his projects that was not completed during his lifetime.  The book begins by recounting many of Leonardo's inventions and accomplishments, and how they all began as studies and sketches on paper.  Leonardo also loved horses, and studied them in their stables to sketch them.  He desired to build a statue of a horse that would be huge and powerful-looking, and completed a clay model that was later destroyed by the French army in an invasion.  Centuries passed, and a new patron found the plans, and built the statue in bronze to sit in the city of Milan.  The unveiling happened five hundred years after Leonardo's clay model was destroyed.

My Impressions
What a stunning group of illustrations!  This is a beautiful book that captures the romance and spirit of the Renaissance, the design process of the horse, and the unveiling ceremony.  I found it to be very romantic as a picture book, and a great historical lesson at the same time.

Reviews
Long, J. (2001). Leonardo's Horse. [Review of Leonardo's horse, by J. Fritz, & H. Talbott]. Horn Book Magazine, 77(5), 609-610.

In 1482, Leonardo da Vinci began work on a mammoth bronze horse. But though he completed a twenty-four-foot clay model, it was never cast, and the invading French destroyed it in 1499. Meanwhile, the artist's patron, the Duke of Milan, commandeered the bronze for armaments. Half a millennium later, retired pilot Charles Dent dedicated himself to re-creating Leonardo's dream, a venture eventually realized with the help of sculptor Nina Akamu. Fritz relates all this in her signature forthright style; unfortunately, her narrative, while engaging, begs several questions-notably, how much of Leonardo's original conception survived and how this twentieth-century homage was extrapolated from it. (The book does list a website that states that the completed sculpture is "faithful to Leonardo da Vinci's drawings," but there are otherwise no notes.) Nor does Fritz ever mention the original statue's role as a symbol of political power, or Leonardo's fascination with an engineering problem-casting such a massive figure-that may have been insoluble with technology available to him. Talbott's handsome illustrations are beautifully set off by the book's die-cut shape, which echoes both the dome that dominated fifteenth-century Florence and the one Dent constructed to house his project. But the art is no more forthcoming than the text. Talbott segues between Leonardo's sketches and his own impressionistic watercolors without a word of explanation. What is the reader to make of Talbott's Last Supper, in grisaille save for Leonardo himself, sitting in for Jesus as he tosses about his rejected sketches of Judas? Why is there no photograph of the finished horse? "At last Leonardo's horse was home," Fritz concludes. But what exactly makes it Leonardo's? That question is never addressed here. --Joanna Rudge Long

Library Usage
This is a great biographical study, at least for very young children, of Leonardo da Vinci so the book could be used for that purpose.  Also, inventions and art creations as a theme could include this book as well as a history of events in modern Italy.

Module 6 - Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy

SHOELESS JOE AND BLACK BETSY

Bibliographic Information

•           Bildner, P., & Payne, C. F. (2002). Shoeless joe & black betsy. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Summary
Joe Jackson was a baseball player who was being brought in to the minor league, but couldn't hit.  He went to see a friend to build a custom bat for Joe, and this story is about all the steps Joe and Ol' Charlie went through to make Black Betsy.  The bat weighed forty-eight ounces, made of hickory and stained black with tobacco juice.  Joe slept with the bat in his bed, oiled it after every use and carried it everywhere he went.  In each step of the story, Joe is given chances with major league teams but only finds success when he learns what Black Betsy has to have to make hits for him.

My Impressions
This book has beautiful illustrations that look like either chalk or watercolors, but really capture the history and nostalgia of baseball in the Teens and Twenties.  There is a lot of steps the batmaker and Joe have to go through, and the book bogs down a bit at each step.  If you have seen the movie "Sergeant York" you will recognize some similar themes of greatness being shaped by an elder mentor, tradition, and eccentricity.  There is a lot of history included in the story as well.  I will be making a book trailer of this book to post on another entry in the blog.

Reviews
Jones, T. E., Toth, L., Charnizon, M., Grabarek, D., Larkins, J., & Lukehart, W. (2002). Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy (Book). [Review of Shoeless joe and black betsy, by P. Bildner, and C.F. Payne]. School Library Journal, 48(4), 100.

From the intriguing title to the informative afterword, this picture book will capture the attention of young baseball fans. Told in a folksy, Southern voice, with many of the stylistic elements of a tall tale, it follows Joseph Jefferson Jackson's early-20th-century path between the minor and major leagues. A series of slumps takes him to the door of bat smith Ol' Charlie, who dispenses homespun advice along with his products. The repetition and wry humor of the exchanges between the two superstitious characters pull the legend out of the story. Payne's frequent use of foreshortening highlights the role of Black Betsy (the bat); it also heightens the visual eccentricities of the two friends. The mixed-media illustrations are layered and rich in texture, qualities that add depth and drama. Bildner's bias in favor of his subject is evident in the afterword describing the allegations against Joe and his teammates (a scandal that ended their careers). A page of the hitter's major league and World Series statistics concludes the book. This title is in the same league as David A. Adler's fine Lou Gehrig (1997) and Peter Golenbock's important Teammates (1990,both Harcourt). --Trevelyn E. Jones, Editor; Luann Toth, Senior Editor; Marlene Charnizon, Asst. Book Review Ed.; Daryl Grabarek, Contributing Editor; Jeanne Larkins, Assistant Editor and Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library

Library Usage
I could see this book being used in a study of the Black Sox scandal, or of sports biographies.  It is a beautifully illustrated book, and could be part of a illustrator study.

Module 6 - Al Capone Does My Shirts

THE DREAMER

Bibliographic Information

•           Choldenko, G. (2004). Al Capone does my shirts. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Summary
It's 1935, and Moose Flanagan moves with his family to live on Alcatraz Island just off the coast of San Francisco.  Moose's father has taken a job at the prison to help pay for special education for Moose's sister Natalie, who is almost totally taken care of by Moose.  In the middle of adjusting to his new school and missing his old friends and baseball buddies, Moose meets Piper, the beautiful daughter of the warden, who wants to start a moneymaking business by convincing the other kids that Al Capone is on laundry duty in the prison and will be washing their laundry for a small fee.  Moose goes along with the plan, and finds success in the business and with new friends, but Natalie's autism gets worse.  Moose and Piper slip Capone a note asking for his help to get Natalie into a prestigious school, which mysteriously comes true.

My Impressions
I chose this book because I like the time period, and thought the idea behind the plot was excellent.  It reminded me of an "Little Rascals" plan to make money, especially in imagining life during that period and the work kids had to do for their families and for a small amount of money.  The book is assembled like a journal, with the dates of events recorded at the beginning of each chapter.  I liked that aspect of writing because it may encourage some kids to begin to keep a journal.

Reviews
Gray, B. (2004). Al Capone Does My Shirts. [Review of Al Capone does my shirts, by G. Choldenko]. School Library Journal, 50(9), 76.

In this skillfully told novel by Gennifer Choldenko (Putnam, 2004), 12 -year-old Moose Flanagan and his family move to Alcatraz Island in 1935, where his father gets a job in the prison which housed such noted criminals as Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly. Moose's older sister, Natalie, is severely autistic and his mother has been obsessed with getting her "cured." She has been sent to a variety of schools and bizarre hospitals, none of which have helped, and their last hope is getting her into a school in San Francisco. Moose is given almost complete responsibility for his sister. Meanwhile, Moose is coping with his new school, living in an isolated and strange place, and the warden's daughter, Piper, who always has a new money-making scheme. Juggling Natalie's daily moods, school work, yearning for Piper, and worry over his folks, Moose tries to please everyone. His greatest fear is that somehow he has caused Natalie's problem. Listeners learn a lot about Alcatraz and what it was like for children to grow up on the Island. There is a lengthy author's note with extensive information that adds to the fictional tale. Johnny Heller does a masterful job conveying both Moose's anger towards and concern for Natalie. His timing is perfect, he voices all the characters with great versatility, and he makes Moose come to life. This is a fascinating book superbly narrated. --B. Allison Gray, John Jermain Memorial Library, Sag Harbor, NY

Library Usage
The book can be used as a study of the Great Depression as a historical period, or even for a discussion/model of the Alcatraz prison and its construction.  I don't know if I would make a big deal out of Al Capone or some of the other inmates at the prison, or bring up organized crime, but this book does very well as a circulating item for moderate chapter book readers.

Module 5 - Thomas and the Dragon Queen

THOMAS AND THE DRAGON QUEEN

Bibliographic Information

• Crum, S., & Wildish, L. (2010). Thomas and the dragon queen. New York: Knopf.

Summary
The brave twelve-year-old Thomas is asked to escort a knight back to the castle and begins training to become a knight.  Thomas is the smallest knight in the kingdom but works very hard at his training.  When a princess is captured by the Dragon Queen, and the small group of regular knights are away, the king asks Thomas to rescue her.  Thomas questions himself and his abilities on his mission, and wonders if he can succeed where others have failed.  He discovers that dragons can talk, and that things at the dragon castle are not what he expected.

My Impressions
Thomas and the Dragon Queen was a very nice spin on the traditional knight versus dragon ethos that I documented in one of my first blog entries in discussing Saint George and the Dragon.  Readers will identify with Thomas, who is given far too much adult responsibility but responds positively to the challenges of being a knight.  He has to make accommodations as students would do in his situation, like ride a donkey instead of a horse because he is too short.  He also learns some valuable lessons in dealing with the king, the princess, the Dragon Queen and others who all expect a great deal from him.  I found great life lessons mixed with humor in this story.

Reviews
Phelan, C. (2010). Thomas and the Dragon Queen. [Review of Thomas and the dragon queen, by S. Crum, & L. Wildish]. Booklist, 106(21), 61-64.

The son of a leathersmith, 12-year-old Thomas dreams of knighthood, a remote prospect for a small boy who spends his days minding his eight younger siblings. A chance encounter leads him to the castle, where he
trains as a squire and becomes a knight when a champion is needed to rescue Princess Eleanor from a dragon. He shows courage and resourcefulness during his difficult journey and defeats a legendary monster, though he loses nearly all of his possessions. In the dragon's lair, he discovers that neither his quest nor his peril nor his strength is what he expected. Although the many likable characters are not fully developed, they serve the story well, dramatizing that the qualities, objects, and positions that seem most valuable are not always the most important ones. Black-and-white illustrations capture the tone of the storytelling. A refreshing antidote to the tired fractured-fairy-tale genre, this good-hearted chapter book delivers an adventure that many young readers will enjoy. A fine choice for those early elementary-school students seeking longer chapter books. --Carolyn Phelan

Library Usage
This is a fun and easy-to-read chapter book that is fantasy-based for those who are entering third grade chapter book reading level or above.  It would be so much fun to have a study of knights and knighthood, or of family crests or folklore that could include this book.  Better yet, students could build a dragon and dragon lair of their own.

Module 5 - Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE
Bibliographic Information

•           DiCamillo, K., & Ibatoulline, B. (2006). The miraculous journey of Edward Tulane. Cambridge, Mass: Candlewick Press.

Summary
Edward Tulane is the first of many names given to a rabbit made of china and fur who is treated well and almost spoiled by his first owner, a little girl named Abilene.  The rabbit is a gift from her grandmother, but the rabbit is lost on a vacation, caught by a fisherman and his identity changed.  So begins a series of passages in the existence of the once uppity toy from one owner to another, each time with a new name, a new role to play and new adventures.  He eventually is broken, sold, and purchased by a very familiar woman and daughter.

My Impressions
I loved it.  I kept it and rechecked it just to re-read some portions of it.  I have seen similar stories like this about a coin passed from one owner to another, or had always wondered where belongings sometimes end up when they are lost.  The book is heartwarming from beginning to happy ending.  It is a very sweet story to those of us who have ever lost a beloved toy or hat or other valuable.  I plan to do a book trailer for this title embedded in another entry in this blog.

Reviews
Lempke, S. (2006). The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. [Review of The miraculous journey of Edward Tulane, by K. DiCamillo and B. Ibatoulline]. Horn Book Magazine, 82(2), 184-185.

Edward Tulane is a china rabbit with real rabbit-fur ears and tail, a sumptuous wardrobe, and a pampered life with Abilene Tulane, the little girl who loves him. Her devotion isn’t returned. Edward’s heart is as
chilly as his china body until his fortune changes and he spends some time in the muck at the bottom of the ocean. He passes through several hands over the years, found first by an elderly fisherman and his wife.
With them, he learns to listen and to remember the stories they whisper to him, and his heart for the first time begins to wake up. Edward’s journey continues—he spends time in a garbage dump, travels around with
a hobo and his dog, and lives with several others, learning to love those who love him. DiCamillo writes tenderly and lyrically but with restraint, keeping a tight focus on Edward’s experience and gradual
awakening. The book is physically beautiful as well, with cream-colored pages and a generous number of illustrations. Ibatoulline’s appropriately old-fashioned sepia-toned drawings and full-color plates, which
possess the same poignant quality as DiCamillo’s prose, ground the fanciful story in a realistic setting. Although Edward (like the Velveteen Rabbit his story can’t help but bring to mind) is the worse for wear, a
happy ending awaits him.  --Susan Dove Lempke

Library Usage
This would be a great book for older elementary or even middle school students to create a map of Edward's travels, or to take a particular episode from his travels and expand on the story, create more illustrations, or even artwork to represent the journey.  There is a movie of this book being developed, so the release of the movie might be a good time to create a comparison study of book to film.