Category: Nonfiction

Posted on

Remarkable Women Writers Book Resonates

Do you know a child who wants to be a writer and/or has a writing talent that should be nurtured? Remarkable Women Writers by Heather Ball is a wonderful examination of the lives of ten women writers that may be just the powerful encouragement he or she needs. For readers, this book is an insightful look into how some of our favorite books came about. Finally, adult writers will find passages that resonate strongly with their own experiences.

remarkable-women-writers

Starting with a perennial favorite, Jane Austin, and ending with superstar J.K. Rowling, these biographies tell of personal struggles, doubts, and rejection letters. Mary Ann Evans, writing in the 1800’s, took the pen name of a man, George Eliot, in order to be taken seriously as a writer. (Have times changed so much? Read interviews by modern mystery writer J.A. Jance.) Funny, talented Judy Blume faced criticism and censorship. Yet these women did not give up and eventually found success.

You can’t help, but to learn from these stories. Heather Ball writes:

Sometimes, a writer’s ideas come from her own experiences. She writes about her family, friends, her home and how she feels about things that go on around her… Sometimes, a writer wants to protest an injustice or express a strong opinion… And then sometimes, a writer is compelled to write suddenly, as if she has received a gift.

Remarkable Women Writers is part of the Women’s Hall of Fame Series. I love the format of relatively short, easy-to-read biographies that are still filled with rich detail. Each chapter has appropriate black and white illustrations and photographs (depending on the era), and interesting sidebars to pull the reader in. There is a very useful list of sources in the back, organized by author, so that you can quickly delve more deeply into the lives of the writers who interest you.

The biographies would be appropriate for approximately age nine and up. If you are a reader and/or a writer, this book definitely has something for you.

Paperback: 100 pages
Publisher: SECOND STORY PRESS (2006)
ISBN-10: 1897187084
ISBN-13: 978-1897187081
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.4 inches

I wish to thank the publisher for being willing to provide a copy of this older book.

Posted on

Dynamic Women Dancers

For a little change a pace, we’re going to be celebrating the arts this week at Wrapped in Foil.

Let’s start by taking a look at an important, enjoyable and uplifting book, Dynamic Women Dancers by Anne Dublin, part of The Women’s Hall of Fame Series. Women-dancers

The cover of this book really catches your eye, the bright pink toe shoes set the stage for what is to come. Inside you find the biographies of ten world-class dancers who have made a real difference in other people’s lives. Author Anne Dublin has chosen a nice diversity of women, from many different parts of the world and with many different styles of dance.

Each chapter covers one dancer, starting with ballerina Anna Pavlova, who was born in 1881. The chapters are arranged chronologically based on the dancer’s year of birth. Next we learn about Anna Sokolow (born in 1910), Carmen Amaya (born in 1913), and others, through Geeta Chandran, born in 1962. Many of the women faced severe challenges, often due to the times and circumstances they grew up in, making these stories of history as well as dance.

Because of Dublin’s own background in dance – she has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance from the University of Wisconsin – she can eloquently express the struggles and triumphs of each dancer in a way that makes us relate. She also knows the vocabulary of dance, and includes definitions of the “Forms of Dance,” as well as a glossary, in the back. Her lists of “Sources & Resources” for each dancer are quite impressive.

The text is illustrated with black and white photographs. Using black and white photographs helps ties together images from various eras and sources into a coherent whole. The text is also sprinkled with tantalizing sidebars that draw the reader in and reinforce learning.

This book is listed as young adult at Amazon, but for ages 9-13 in the promotional materials. I would say that any child interested in dance from age nine up couldn’t help but be inspired by this book.

Reading level: Young Adult (Amazon)
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Second Story Press (May 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1897187564
ISBN-13: 978-1897187562

Dynamic Women Dancers really made me to want to see these women dancing, moving. Through the wonder of YouTube, I was able to find videos of three of the dancers. I hope you enjoy them.

Anna Pavlova is still amazing to watch, even after all the years.

Carmen Amaya came to be synonymous with flamenco, a traditional dance from the south of Spain.

Geeta Chandran’s expressive gestures and facial expressions are mesmerizing.

nonfictionmonday

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. For more information, stop by Anastasia Suen’s Nonfiction Monday page. This week’s post is at Simply Science.

Review copy provided by publisher.

Posted on

Children’s Science Magazines

I had a question from a parent the other day about children’s magazines. She wanted to find something appropriate for her tween son. I thought a list of magazine links would be useful for not only parents looking for magazines, but also writers looking for places to submit articles.ask

Today let’s start with science-related magazines.

1. The big name in children’s magazines is Carus Publishing/Cricket.

Is it even possible to get through childhood without getting at least one of their magazines? For science, try Ask (arts and sciences for 6-9 yo), Muse (a mix of topics, including science for 9-14 yo), and Odyssey, (science for ages 9-12).

muse

Links to submission guidelines for writers:
Ask with themes for upcoming issues and updates
Muse
Odyssey although the link is apparently dated (the themes are from 2009)

2.  Kids Discover (7-12 yo) The entire issue is on a single theme, such as “Atoms” or “Ancient Greece.” This magazine is very visual in its design, with many color photos and illustrations.

Didn’t find information for writers at the website.

3. National Geographic Kids

This magazine does have a lot of ads, which turned off our family. No information for writers.

4. Scholastic Offers ScienceWorld Magazine for grades 6-10 and Super Science grades 3-6

General submissions information for writers.

5. Science Weekly (grades K-6) is geared for schools, but does offer individual subscriptions

Couldn’t find a link to submissions guidelines, but I believe they use freelance writers to develop entire issues. Try a recent Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market for details.  Samples are available online.

6. YES Magazine (10-15 yo)
The Science Magazine for Adventurous Minds
(from Canada) Sample Pages
and for younger children – Know (6-9 yo)
YES writer’s guidelines

If you are interested in science, Science News for Kids has a strong magazine format although it is online.

Because magazines can come and go quickly, please let me know if you have and additions to (or subtractions from) this list.

Posted on

The Buzz About The Hive Detectives

The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe is a new book in the fabulous Scientists in the Field series, by Lorre Griffin Burns, with photographs by Ellen Harasimowicz. hive-detectives

Time for a disclosure: I have been interested in honey bees for a long time and co-authored some lesson plans about honey bees during the 1990’s. I think all bees are really cool, and especially honey bees. So, when I found this book at our local library, I grabbed it.

I was not disappointed. Burns starts into the topic with a visit to Mary Duane’s backyard. Mary calmly works the bees as she explains many aspects of honey bee biology and the culture techniques she uses. I love the photographs of the brightly-colored hives.

The author moves next to colony collapse disorder or CCD – the problem with honey bees disappearing that has been in the news – by going right to the beekeeper who first noticed missing bees. Dave Hackenberg runs a large company, Hackenberg Apiaries. He moves thousands of hives around the country. When he found 400 empty hives in Florida, he knew something big had gone wrong and he sounded the alarm.

Burns then introduces us to four bee scientists who are at the front lines of CCD research, and explains their roles in the investigation. The honey bees have been hit with Varroa mites, tracheal mites and a parasite called Nosema in recent years, but none of those seemed to be correlated with CCD. Diana Cox-Foster has identified a virus that is correlated with CCD called “Israeli acute paralysis virus.” She is now running experiments to establish causation.

Finally, Burns wraps up by taking us back to Mary Duane’s beeyard for a lesson about gathering and processing honey. Nice!

The author has also included substantial additional information at the end of the book, with an appendix, a glossary, a list of books, magazines, videos and websites, as well as some select references and an index. This book is a researcher’s dream.

I did question one sentence on page 13: “Wind, rain, spiders, and others animals pollinate plants, but nothing does the job as efficiently as the honey bee.” Okay, many plants are definitely wind pollinated. The “rain and spiders” part gives me pause, though. The author may have found some rare examples of rain or spider pollination, but on the most part rain and spiders are hazards that inhibit pollination.

The effect of spiders on pollination is demonstrated graphically in this video:

So, why didn’t the author mention the other beneficial pollinators such as a diverse collection of bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, moths, bats, and birds, instead of “other animals?” I’m not altogether sure. I think everyone agrees that honey bees do an important job.

The rest of this book is exemplary. You should take a look at it for the stunning photographs alone.

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 80 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (May 3, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0547152310
ISBN-13: 978-0547152318

For some hands-on activities, try:

Honey Bees:  Science Activities for Kids

nonfictionmonday

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. For more information, stop by Picture Book of the Day. This week’s post is at Lori Calabrese’s Blog.