Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday was started by Anastasia Suen and, well, quite honestly I've never been quite sure what I'm supposed to do other than post about nonfiction books. It's Monday, after all!

Freedman, Russell. The War to End All Wars: World War I
This nicely illustrated volume is a great companion to Jim Murphy's Truce. There's not as much on WWI as there is on WWII, and it's a subject about which my students need to read. Freedman, as always, does an excellent job at laying out the causes and occurrences of the war. The maps are clear and very useful. The devastation to the military and civilian population is made very clear. This is a must for any middle school collection used by boys who want books about war.

In a side note, I have Mr. Freedman's very first book in the library; Teenagers Who Made History, from 1961. It pongs a bit, but I can't get rid of it!

Jurmain, Suzanne. The Forbidden Schoolhouse: The True and Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students.

The Secret of the Yellow Death was so interesting that I had to read this book as well. Prudence Crandall had a school for young women in 1830s Connecticut. Inspired by the works of abolitionists and her own conscience, she decided to open up a school for African American girls, much to the dismay of the community, who threatened the school's existence legally and physically, eventually causing her to close. A lot of research has gone into this story, and it is told in a compelling and interesting way.

Just have to say "Shame on the Columbus Dispatch" for buying into the whole "stodgy looking librarians= quiet and unhelpful people" prejudice. Nothing like embracing one stereotype while trying to discredit another. (Shushing the Stereotype) Some of us would rather wear the same clothes we have for the last 20 years and spend our time off work reading books so we can recommend them to patrons. Wearing heels and hose does not make us unhelpful. It makes us look like grown ups.

Being a librarian these days apparently has very little to do with books. Luckily, Westerville's own Becky O'Neil does in fact blog about books as well as all of the Librarian 2.0 topics that the Dispatch prizes so highly.

This is an old rant. I'm off to recommend books to children, after I straighten the seams in my support hose, retie my sensible oxfords, and shove a couple of more tissues up my cardigan sleeve. Sigh.