Nonfiction Monday Review

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Off to Class: Incredible and Unusual Schools Around the World

December 4, 2011 in Cybils 2011 Nonfiction, Nonfiction, Nonfiction Monday Review by Roberta | 4 comments

Off to Class: Incredible and Unusual Schools Around the World by Susan Hughes takes a peek into unusual classrooms in this testament to the amazing resiliency of both education and children around the globe. This book has been nominated for a Cybils award in the MG/YA nonfiction category.

“When you think about going to school, what do you imagine?” A traditional brick schoolhouse? The schools in this book are far from traditional, including floating schools on boats, schools in caves, and even schools on platforms of train stations. Susan Hughes did a fabulous job finding a good sampling of truly unique and diverse schools, and explaining the circumstances that led to their unusual conditions. She even mentions the “unschooling” form of homeschooling in the United States.

Laid out as a series of two-page spreads, each turn of the page reveals another school. Often you wish the author had included more information, because each story is so fascinating. Fortunately, there are links in the back to many of the organizations that run the schools if you want to find out more. The book is loaded with color photographs and plenty of maps to help with orientation, as well.

This is definitely a kid-friendly and inspiring book, and it stands on its own.  However, although I don’t usually do this, today I’m going to suggest pairing this book with the visually dazzling Children of the World: How We Live, Learn, and Play in Poems, Drawings, and Photographs by Anthony Asael and Stephanie Rabemiafara, with a forward by Ann M. Veneman, and with The Mysteries of Angkor Wat by Richard Sobol. What an opportunity to learn about culture and geography through the lives of children from around the globe!

See a recent review of Off to Class at Jean Little Library

Reading level: Ages 9 and up
Hardcover: 64 pages
Publisher: Owlkids Books (August 30, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1926818857
ISBN-13: 978-1926818856

The book was provided electronically by the publisher for review purposes.

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by Booktalking to see who is hosting each week.

This week’s post is at Gathering Books.

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Dan Eldon: Safari as a Way of Life

November 28, 2011 in Biography, Cybils 2011 Nonfiction, Nonfiction, Nonfiction Monday Review by Roberta | 2 comments

Dan Eldon: Safari as a Way of Life by Jennifer New is a biography of a fascinating young man that reads like an autobiography because it includes so many of his photographs, pieces of art and and excerpts of his journals. 

Dan Eldon was an artist/photojournalist who grew up in Kenya and was killed in Somalia at the age of 22. Although he did not live long, he did manage to fill his life with many interesting experiences and wild adventures that have inspired others who learn of his story.

Overall, the book has the feel of a journal, with pop-ups, fold-outs and consumables such as an iron-on transfer, a poster, a sticker and fold-out postcards. (The consumable items are not included in the Library Edition.) It is an unusual book, which is suited for an unusual young man.

Dan Eldon: Safari as a Way of Life is sure to be popular with teens/young adults, for even though he had an unusual life, he had many of the same problems as other young people. Readers will relate to the fact his parents divorced, he had troubles with his girlfriends, and he wasn’t always sure what to do with his life. On the other hand, his art, photographs and words are eerily mature. This is a book you will want to come back to again and again, and you will discover something new each time.

This book has been nominated for a Cybils award in the MG/YA nonfiction category.


Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Chronicle Books (October 12, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 081187091X
ISBN-13: 978-0811870917


The book was provided by the publisher for review purposes.

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by the new Nonfiction Monday blog to see who is hosting each week.

This week’s post is at A Curious Thing.

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Digging for Troy: From Homer to Hisarlik

November 20, 2011 in Cybils 2011 Nonfiction, Middle Grade Nonfiction, Nonfiction, Nonfiction Monday Review by Roberta | 2 comments

Digging for Troy: From Homer to Hisarlik by Jill Rubalcaba, Eric H. Cline, and illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen is an overview of the search for the city of Troy that is the centerpiece of Homer’s The Iliad. Was there really a city named Troy that was kept under siege by the Greeks? Was there really a Trojan Horse with Greek soldiers inside? The answers may surprise you. 

Rubalcaba and Cline start their “Introduction” with a quick summary of the search for Troy at a place called Hisarlik, an ancient ruin in what today is Turkey. Started by egotistical amateur Heinrich Schliemann in 1870, the excavation was taken over by trained archaeologists and has continued sporadically until the present.

The first chapter, titled “The Legend”, is a retelling of the story of Troy based on a compilation of ancient texts. It is arguably the best chapter in the book. Students of history looking for a clear, succinct and sometimes humorous summary will find this chapter helpful.

The rest of the book gives an inside look into the field of archaeology and how it has evolved since the 1800′s. Schliemann, the rich amateur archaeologist, started digging destructively with a pickaxe because he was in search of fame and fortune. In contrast, the modern archaeologist Manfred Korfmann used magnetic imaging techniques to discover walls that were still buried underground. Did you know that archaeologists “dig” cultures that were messy because it gives them a lot of trash to explore for clues to ancient civilizations? Middle school is a time to start exploring potential career interests, and the text reveals not only the process, but also the pitfalls archaeologists may encounter when trying to reconstruct the past, including disagreements with colleagues.

Digging for Troy is a good source of background information for students studying Ancient Greece as well as a revealing look into the field of archaeology. It was nominated for Cybils awards in the MG/YA nonfiction category.

Reading level: Ages 8 and up
School & Library Binding: 74 pages
Publisher: Charlesbridge Pub Inc (February 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1580893260
ISBN-13: 978-1580893268

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by the new Nonfiction Monday blog to see who is hosting each week.

This week’s post is at Books Together.

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Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners

November 14, 2011 in Cybils 2011 Nonfiction, Middle Grade Nonfiction, Nonfiction, Nonfiction Monday Review by Roberta | 2 comments

Author and historian Marc Aronson has been having a stellar year, with two books nominated for Cybils awards in the MG/YA nonfiction category. He wrote Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert, an account of the copper miners who were trapped underground for over two months after a mine collapse in August of 2010.  He also co-authored Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science with his wife.

In Trapped, Aronson captures the reader’s attention with a brief eye-witness account of the mine collapse. He then delves into the geological history of the site, as well as a bit of the social conditions that led to the miners working the mine at the time of the collapse. What follows is a play-by-play of the events both below and above the surface as people from all over the world rush to try to rescue the trapped men in time. The book is sprinkled with photographs of the actual rescue, as well as detailed illustrations of the mine and the drilling operations.

Reading this account you realize how very many things had to come together and go right for the rescue to succeed. If the miners had not organized as a group and planned the food distribution, they may have all starved before help arrived. If one of the drills had missed finding the shelter, if this, if that, if… Even though you know the outcome, so much is riding on every step succeeding that you are still on the edge of your seat.

If you read nothing else, look at “How I Wrote This Book”, starting on page 108. Aronson points out that when researching a recent event there aren’t any books to encapsulate the story. You need to be able to use the Internet effectively and he has some highly useful tips for doing so.

Trapped is an inspiring story of how much can be accomplished when people all work together towards one goal. It is also a study in how to research and write about a current event. Both journeys make it a worthwhile read.

Cybils Notes: Although the background information was meant to be enriching, sometimes it seemed to get in the way of the story. Once the author gets to the main story, it moves along quickly and succinctly, only wobbling occasionally.

Hardcover: 144 pages
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (August 30, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1416913971
ISBN-13: 978-1416913979

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by the new Nonfiction Monday blog to see who is hosting each week.

This week’s post is at Playing By The Book.

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The Notorious Benedict Arnold

November 6, 2011 in Biography, Cybils 2011 Nonfiction, Nonfiction, Nonfiction Monday Review by Roberta | 2 comments

Steve Sheinkin’s obvious passion for his topic is evident in The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery. His enthusiasm has paid off because the book won the 2011 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature in the nonfiction category and it has been nominated for a Cybils award in the MG/YA nonfiction category.

Starting off with a grim scene of a man about to be hanged (which those unfamiliar with Benedict Arnold’s life may assume to be his hanging since his name is synonymous with “traitor”), Sheinkin jumps back in time and tells Benedict Arnold’s life story in chronological order. And what a swashbuckling story it is, with high-stakes adventure, dark deeds, and power struggles galore. Putting a brilliant but flawed man in the context of the turbulent times that swirled around him, this book is a fast and powerful read. In tone and pace it gallops ahead like a thriller.

The book includes several maps that help visualize the action, particularly of some of the critical battles. As to be expected because Sheinkin has added many new tidbits to the story, the source notes are extensive. Although the reading level is appropriate to middle grades, some of the battle scenes may be too intense for sensitive advanced readers.

Once again showing how biographies written for children and young adults can add significantly to literature, The Notorious Benedict Arnold is a thrilling addition to any library shelf.

Reading level: Ages 11 and up
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Flash Point; 1 edition (November 9, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1596434864
ISBN-13: 978-1596434868

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Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by the new Nonfiction Monday blog to see who is hosting each week.

This week’s post is at Charlotte’s Library.

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