The Most Amazing Creature in the Sea (review)

TITLE:   The Most Amazing Creature in the Sea 

AUTHOR:  Brenda Z. Guiberson

PUBLISHER:  Henry Holt and Company

COPYRIGHT DATE:  2015

AGE RANGE:  ages 4-8 (Kirkus, 2015)

LEXILE LEVEL:  none found

ACCELERATED READER:  IL:  LG-BL: 4.2 AR Pts.: 0.5

SUMMARY:

          What makes a creature the “most amazing creature in the sea”?  Is it its ability as a predator, or its camouflage as potential prey?  Or, is it something different, something strange?  Take the box jellyfish, for instance.  It has no brain, no blood, no backbone and no lungs; yet its 24 eyes and toxic cells make it a deadly hunter.  Or, the vampire squid which can turns its body inside out to hide?  Or the barreleye fish whose transparent head allows it to see straight up from the ocean floor.  Or, the blue whale who weighs 6,000 pounds at birth and whose adult heart is the size of a car!

COMMENTS:   

          This book is sure to amaze young readers with its strange facts about ocean creatures.  It reiterates the fact that there are still so many creatures of the deep of which we have no knowledge…yet.  Sure to tantalize the curiosity of young inquisitive minds.

REVIEW:

          Kirkus Review states, “Inviting their readers to choose the answer themselves, this skillful author-illustrator pair (Brenda Z. Guiberson and Gennady Spirin) again encourages their senses of wonder at the natural world.” (Kirkus, 2015)

AWARDS:

·        Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) Notable Children's Books

·        Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) Choice-University of Wisconsin

·        Junior Library Guild selection (Guiberson, 2004-present)

RELATED MATERIAL:

Beck, W. H. (2016). Glow: Animals with their Own Nightlights. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin.

           “Bioluminescence” is another word for “glow”.  When a living thing is bioluminescent, it makes its own light.  We all know that fireflies can do this, but there are also many other animals that live in the ocean that do it too.  Why?  Because the ocean is a deep, dark place.  Animals light up to attract prey or to draw attention to themselves.

            The ocean covers most of the world; therefore, bioluminescence is the “most widely used form of communication on the planet.”  (p 13)

Comment:  The photos in this book are incredible and the author does a good job of describing the way in which each type of animal highlighted in the book uses its bioluminescence.  Very educational!

Keating, J. (2016). Pink is for Blobfish: Discovering the World’s Perfectly Pink Animals. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.                                                       

          This book examines land animals as well as ocean creatures.  It offers great photographs and weird facts about many different types of animals.  A young reader interested in quirky animal facts will surely love this book.

Roy, K. (2014). Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting with the Great Whites of California's Farallon Islands.  New York: David Macaulay Studio, Roaring Brook Press.                                                                                            Wonderful descriptions of the workings of the body of the Great White Shark complete with descriptive watercolor illustrations. 

REFERENCES:

Guiberson, B. (2004-present). The Books of Brenda Guiberson:  The Most Amazing Creature in the Sea . Retrieved from http://www.brendazguiberson.com/books/amazingsea.php

Kirkus Review. (2015, March 17). The Most Amazing Creature in the Sea. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/brenda-z-guiberson/the-most-amazing-creature-in-the-sea/

Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March (Review)

TITLE:   Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March                                        

AUTHOR:  Lynda Blackmon Lowry

PUBLISHER:  Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin Group

COPYRIGHT DATE:  2015

AGE RANGE:  11-16 years (Kirkus, 2014)

LEXILE LEVEL:  780L

ACCELERATED READER:  Level: 5.1, Points: 1 (Junior Library Guild, 2017)

SUMMARY:

The Civil Rights Movement, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others, took place in America in the 1960's.  It was a time that African-Americans protested for certain rights, namely the right to vote in certain southern states that had withheld that right from them.  Led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the idea was to march--a non-violent form of protest, to make their determination for these rights known.  Although the marchers were told to remain non-violent, oftentimes they had to endure racial slurs and the violence brought upon them by onlookers of the march.  Often, the marchers were arrested.

If an adult, who was a parent, was arrested, that could become a real problem for a family.  If a mom or dad was arrested, he or she could lose his or her job.  If that happened, how would he or she support his or her family?  The Civil Rights leaders devised a plan for this:  fill the jails with children so that there would be no more room to fill them with adults.  Children and teens were willing to do this.  These children and teens were an effective part of the Civil Rights Movement.  One such child was Lynda Blackmon.  This is her true story.  It begins with the sentence, "By the time I was fifteen years old, I had been in jail nine times." (p 13)

COMMENTS:   

         

          This is the story of a young teen as remembered by a woman in her late 60's.  It was a quick and interesting read with descriptive illustrations.  Lynda recalls the tear gas and violence done to her as a child while she marched on the Edmund Pettus Bridge on a day that became known as "Bloody Sunday".  She was injured on the front and back of her head.  Her injuries fueled her desire to be seen by the Governor George Wallace, a staunch segregationist.  She was the youngest marcher of the original 300 people who marched the whole way from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, for voters' rights

REVIEW: 

         Kirkus gives this memoir a starred review stating, “Vivid details and the immediacy of Lowery’s voice make this a valuable primary document as well as a pleasure to read.”  (Kirkus, 2014)

AWARDS:

·        A Sibert Informational Book Medal Honor Book

·        Kirkus Best Books of 2015

·        Booklist Editors’ Choice 2015

·        BCCB Blue Ribbon 2015 (Penguin Random House, n.d.)

RELATED MATERIAL:

Weatherford, C. B. (2015). Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.

     Through the use of free verse poetry, the reader gets a glimpse into the world of Fannie Lou Hamer, an African-American female from humble roots whose voice rose up in the fight for Civil Rights, specifically voting rights, for herself and others.

Levenson, C. (2012). We’ve got a job: the 1963 Birmingham Children's March. Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers.

     This book describes the role of youth during the Civil Rights Movement.  As marchers, youth were as likely to be taken into custody as their adult counterparts.  

Lewis, J. (2013). March:  Book One.  Marietta, GA: Top Shelf Productions.

     This graphic novel tells the story of the Civil Rights marches from the point of view of John Lewis, who, as a student, worked with other Civil Rights leaders towards a non-violent approach to equal treatment for African-Americans.

REFERENCES

Junior Library Guild. (2017). Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the Selma Voting Rights March. Retrieved from https://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/books/view/9780803741232

Kirkus Review. (2014, October 22). Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/lynda-blackmon-lowery/turning-15-on-the-road-to-freedom/

Penguin Random House. (n.d.). Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom. Retrieved from https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/315827/turning-15-on-the-road-to-freedom-by-lynda-blackmon-lowery-illustrated-by-pj-loughran/9780803741232/

Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation (review)

TITLE:   Separate is Never Equal:  Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation

AUTHOR:  Duncan Tonatiuh

PUBLISHER:  Abrams Books for Young Readers

COPYRIGHT DATE:  2014

AGE RANGE:  6-9 years

LEXILE LEVEL:  AD 870L

ACCELERATED READER:  

SUMMARY:

In 1944, Sylvia Mendez (1936- ) lived in California with her mother and father and two younger brothers.  Her father had come from Mexico and had become an American citizen.  Her mother was born in Puerto Rico, which was a U.S. territory.  Sylvia and her brothers were born in America.  Their family had recently moved to Westminster, California, and the children needed to be enrolled in school.  When they tried to enroll in the local public school, they were told that the children could not attend that school.  They had to go to the “Mexican school”.  When her father asked “Why?”, he was never given a real answer.  People would simply say, “Rules are rules.”

            Sylvia’s parents, Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez, did not want their children to go to an inferior school.  They wanted their children to have all of the same opportunities that other children had.  They decided to fight for that right. They hired a lawyer and the case went to court.  The ruling of the Mendez v. Westminster School District case said that, “All children in California were allowed to go to school together, regardless of race, ethnicity, or language”.

REVIEW:

     Kirkus gave it a starred review and named it “One of the Best Books of 2014,” stating, “Tonatiuh masterfully combines text and folk-inspired art to add an important piece to the mosaic of U.S. civil rights history. The universality of parents’ desires for better opportunities for their children is made plain. The extensive author’s note provides context, and readers can connect with the real people in the story through photographs of Sylvia, her parents and the schools in question. Helpful backmatter includes a glossary, bibliography and index. Even the sourcing of dialogue is explained.” (Kirkus, 2014)

AWARDS:

2015 Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Book

2015 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book

RELATED MATERIAL:

     The Mendez v. Westminster School District (1947) trial ended segregation in California schools seven years before Brown v. Board of Education (1954) ended segregation in schools across America.  Earl Warren played a key role in both cases.  He was the governor of California who signed the law of desegregation of California schools after the Mendez v. Westminster trial.  He was also the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court during the Brown v. Board of Education trial.  Thurgood Marshall was a friend-of-the-court stating a case for desegregation in the Mendez case.  He was the lawyer fighting for desegregation in the Brown case.

For more information on Thurgood Marshall:

Thurgood Marshall: Civil Rights attorney and Supreme Court Justice

by Mark Rowh (2002).

Thurgood Marshall by Lisa Aldred (1990).

For more information on Brown v. Board of Education,

Brown v. Board of Education: the Battle for Equal Education by Barbara A. Somervill (2004).

Linda Brown, You are Not Alone: the Brown v. Board of Education Decision: a collection (2003)

REFERENCES:

Kirkus Review. (2014, June 1). Separate is Never Equal:  Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation. Retrieved from       https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/duncan-tonatiuh/separate-is-never-equal/