Guy Friday-- Rockin' Guys

In honor of Guy Friday, check out this post on Michael Morpurgo's Blog. I love the photo caption: "It's not about testing and reading schemes, but about loving stories and passing on that passion to our children."

Now, put on Rubber Soul or your Beatles' LP of choice, crank the volume, and get into these rock and roll related books just in time for Ringo's birthday tomorrow. (Sorry, Paul-- don't have any connection with you in any of these items, but from what I hear, you're doing pretty well!)

Behnke, Alison. Death of a Dreamer: The Assassination of John Lennon.
1 January 2012
The fascination with the Beatles still continues among middle school students even though it has been over 30 years since the death of John Lennon. On the morning of 9 December 1980, there was a noticeable pall over my high school, and all my friends could talk about was Lennon's death. I had no real idea who he was, and couldn't have named any Beatles' tune if asked. In college, I became familiar with all of their works, but this book shed a lot of light not only on Lennon's life but the changes in society during his floruit. Concise and nicely illustrated, this book covers Lennon's early life and his involvement with the Beatles, but continues on with his marriage to Yoko Ono and his activities involving pacifism and social justice. A brief chapter explains Chapman's supposed motivations and mental illness, and the book concludes with the aftermath of Lennon's death and his social and musical legacy. At 96 pages, this is a perfect length for students who have even a faint interest in the Beatles and Lennon, and is an attractive enough book that casual readers might pick it up and be interested in learning more about this artist.

Briant, Ed. I am (Not) The Walrus.
8 July 2012
Growing up in Port Jackson without a dad and with a mum who is struggling to make ends meet, Toby's life is difficult, but he makes do. He and his friend have a Beatle's cover band that they are trying to name (and there are so many fun choices-- The Day Trippers, The Nowhere Men, etc.) and get gigs for. Toby is lucky to be able to use his brother Shawn's equipment, since Shawn is off in the military, but when he finds a note in hi precision bass that it may be stolen, he starts to wonder whether or not he should keep the instrument. Trying to return it proves interesting but perilous, since a shady guy named Rupert is very eager to get his hands on the guitar, which was used at one time by George Harrison. With the help of a girl he meets, aptly named Michelle, Toby tries to make his gigs, figure out what is going on with the guitar, and come to terms with his difficult family situation.
Strengths: This was a great realistic fiction book for boys, with a nice romance and great music connections. I'm sure that there are a lot of boys in high school who are in bands who would like to read this. It's clearly British in tone (set near London), but not distractingly so, and over the twenty years that I have been teaching, the Beatles have never waned in popularity among a small number of students. Picky Reader, who loved Jan Page's Rewind, might even read this one.
Weaknesses: Sometimes scenes dragged on with too much descriptive detail, but not often.


Miller, Barbara. Rock God: The Legend of B.J. Levine.
17 January 2012, Sourcebooks

BJ moves with his lawyer mother and ex-rocker father from Cleveland to New York City. He's excited that things might be different-- he'll be cool, not called "Dockers" by classmates, and he'll have the same close relationship with his father that his best friend Kevin has. When the weird Merv shows up and drops a book about how the Good Supreme, a legendary rocker, BJ decides to follow the vague instructions and try to become a rocker himself. He recruits Jann, a guitar player who earns money playing sappy songs at birthday parties and for the Cotton Candy Twins, as well as drummer Layla. They manage to break into a Daughters of Glenda concert and sing for her on stage, and end up traveling to Cleveland to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the company of Terry and the Pirates. BJ meets Sammy, whose father was in a bad with BJ's father. Sammy is tired of the rock life style and wants to run off to California to find her mother, but the two are railroaded by B.L.A.S.T. (Bayonne League of Angels for the Sacred Two) who believe that Sammy and BJ are the answer to a prophecy that states they will be the next Sacred Two, i.e., the two lead singers in a rock band. Complications and running around ensue, and BJ has to figure out some family secrets before he can decide if his destiny is to be a Rocker or a "Docker".
Strengths: This book had a lot of goofy, frenetic activity, and I can see it being very interesting to reluctant readers who are interested in rock music. The fast pacing makes this move quickly, and the mixture of goofy and details about being in a rock band is very fun.
Weaknesses: Sometimes the quick, goofy tone made it hard for me to follow the plot.

Nonfiction Monday-- Technology

Nonfiction Monday was started by Anastasia Suen and is hosted this week at The Nonfiction Detectives.

Nonfiction Monday will be hosted here on 14 May.

The Technology Pioneers series by Abdo and Daughters are bright, graphically pleasing books on topics which are appealing to students. At just over 100 pages, they are a perfect size for reports. The four that I read all do a good job at going back and forth between the biographies of the people involved and the growth of their products or services. The one exception to this might be the Nintendo one-- because the company goes back to 1889 and run by family members with somewhat complicated relationships, that one was slightly confusing. While there are sidebars, bold faced headings and lots of illustrations, there is enough connected text here to make me hope that students will do more than just look at the pictures. While my rule of thumb is usually to avoid buying biographies of people who are still living, all of these give enough history of the companies that these will remain useful even as the companies continue to grow and change. The Social Networking title has been very popular; I will add the book on Google and perhaps Wikipedia as funds exist.

Yes, these are $24 each. Why do I not mention the cost of fiction? Fiction is invariably below $20, which is apparently the price point at which I start to cringe. Also, with nonfiction, because there are so few trade sales, the prices are never discounted, and these never turn up at Half Price Books or the thrift store! When I have about 50 books a year lost by students, this is a concern! It's hard enough to get a $6 paperback paid for. I always tell the students NEVER to lose a nonfiction book!

DiPiazza, Francesca Davis. Friend Me! 600 Years of Social Networking in America.
Social networking, up until about ten years ago, was all done in person. There's a shocker for most students today! This interesting book covers all manner of ways that people in different parts of the US connected, from Native Americans to Puritans to slaves to today's technology. I especially liked the inclusion of the Sears catalog. This is a little bit of a bait-and-switch for students who want to read about Facebook, but I hope that they will continue to read the rest of the book, because it has some great history. My only complaint is that the font is rather small, which is often something that will dissuade students from picking up a book. Publishers should do studies on this!

Guy Friday-- Let's Put on a Show

Sullivan, George. Tom Thumb: The Remarkable True Story of a Man in Miniature.
Born in 1838, Charles Stratton was a healthy and intelligent baby, but one who was very, very small. His parents worried about him and his future, and when P.T. Barnum offered to put him in shows, under the name of Tom Thumb, they thought that this would be a way for Charley to be a productive member of society. Even though he started performing when young, and never received any formal schooling, he managed to be a well adjusted and happy person. Barnum provided him with opportunities such as traveling Europe and performing for royalty there, and these opportunities also allowed Charley to amass a great fortune. When he became lonely for female companionship, he was introduced to another Little Person, Lavinia Warren, whom he married and with whom he performed until his death from a stroke at a fairly young age.
Strengths: This is a beautifully illustrated book that tells not only about the life of an extremely popular performer in the 1800s, but also sheds light on the treatment of individuals who do not fall within the commonly accepted norms of society. I learned a lot from this book, and it was very interesting to read.
Weaknesses: I have a copy of The Great and Only Barnum, which is a great companion book to this, and it's hard to get students to read it, perhaps because of the length.

Maybe a display of "performers" might encourage some circulation. Do I have a little striped tent somewhere I can use to house the following titles?














I've been promising a Disney parody all week, but this was the best I could do. Apparently, The Lion King is the movie the students know best, but it came out in 1994, when my daughter was tiny and I was still keeping her away from screens of any kind.


Hi Ho, Hi Ho
Renew, renew.
‘Cause books are overdue
If you are done, get another one
Renew, renew.

Renew, renew.
If you’re well or have the flu
If it is lost please pay the cost
Renew, renew.

Renew, renew.
Don’t hide books with your shoes
With your conscious clear, read without fear
Renew, renew.

Renew, renew.
Ms. Yingling’s feeling blue
When we come back get another stack
Renew, renew.

Guy Friday-- Guyographies

Santiago, Wilfred. 21:The Story of Roberto Clemente.
Fantagraphics Books, 2011
This graphic novel follows Clemente’s life from poverty and tragedy as a young boy in Puerto Rico (his sister dies in a fire) to his many years playing baseball and being well-regarded for his skill as well as his philanthropy. His struggles with being a player of color in the 1950s and 60s is well covered, as well as his private life. There are some sidebars that discuss Puerto Rican history. The orange and brown color scheme fits with the time period.
Strengths: Students who liked the Satchel Paige graphic novel, or baseball in general, have been picking this up. It is much better than the mass produced graphic biographies widely available.
Weaknesses: The story was hard to follow at times, and the print was really, really tiny I’m getting older, but my vision isn’t that bad yet, and this was very hard to read.



Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem and Raymond Obstfeld.
Illustrated by A.G. Ford
What Color Is My World?: The Lost History Of African American Inventors
Ella and Herbie move in to a run down house and aren't happy about it, but when they have to help the handyman, Mr. Mital, he teaches them that many of the items in the house were invented by African-Americans. The story of the home renovation is broken up by short biographies of various inventors, comic panels describing the inventions, and many other sidebars detailing a wide range of little known African-American inventors.
Strengths: This has a lot of good information, and is presented in a lively and colorful way. Students will learn a lot about inventors.
Weaknesses: While good for casual reading, this could have been formatted in a more effective way for research. The story distracted me, the inventors were not presented chronologically, and the fold out pages may come to grief in a school library.

Guy Friday-- Wild West Guys

McKissack, Patricia C. and Frederick L. McKissack, Jr. Illustrated by Randay Duburke. Best Shot in the West: The Story of Nat Love.
ARC from Baker and Taylor: Pictures in black and white.

This graphic novel follows the rise of Nat Love, who was born into a life of slavery and poverty in 1954 but managed to become a well-regarded cowboy and sharpshooter better known as Deadwood Dick. After the Civil War, Nat’s family tried to farm until sickness took several family members and made it necessary for Nat to seek employment to support his nieces. He became a cowboy, breaking horses that others couldn’t and delivering horses and cattle across the plains. He braved stampedes, outlaws, and capture by an Native Americans, who were so impressed with his abilities that they wanted him to stay and marry one of their own. Eventually, Nat ended up as a train porter, but wrote his memoir in the early 1900s.
Strengths: The story and print were very clear and easy to follow. I didn’t know anything about Love but was able to follow the story. This is a very enjoyable book to use to introduce students to the Wild West.
Weaknesses: This is a dramatization of what Nat Love claimed his life was like; the McKissack’s point this out, but students may not understand that this is not necessarily what really happened. Doesn’t get in the way of a good story, though!


Lawrence, Caroline. The Case of the Deadly Desperado.
P.K. Pinkerton, who is half Native American, sees his foster parents killed in a small western town in 1862. The criminals are masquerading as Indians, but are in fact the deadly outlaw Whittlin’ Walt and his partners who are looking for a deed that P.K. got from his birth parents. P.K. manages to escape to the next town, where he encounters Belle, an “actress”, who helps him escape Walt but steals the deed. Assisted by a Chinese laundry boy, Ping, and two newspaper reporters, P.K. manages to elude Walt even though he keeps running into him. When he finds out that the deed may be to a huge holding that will get him a lot of money, P.K. tries to get the deed back from Belle and take it to the proper authorities… without getting himself killed by Walt or anyone else in the lawless country. Virginia City is a place where it’s every man… and boy… for himself, but P.K. manages to use his smarts to survive and prosper.
Strengths: Lots of action and adventure with a strong dash of humor makes this a book about the wild west that will be easy for students to pick up. I have a lot of older titles on this period of history but haven’t seen anything for a long time. Fans of Paulsen’s Mr. Tucket series will adore this one. Fans of Lawrence’s Thieves of Ostia should pick this up for a window into a completely different world.
Weaknesses: This felt politically incorrect from time to time, but the world was not politically correct in 1862! I also didn’t understand why P.K. was portrayed as being unable to read people’s moods and emotions, which came up multiple times.

Perhaps if these books introduce students to the Wild West, someone will pick up Jack Schaefer's Shane. I did weed the Louis L'Amour novel I had because it smelled bad and no one had read that, but I hold on to Shane for reasons I can't even explain.

Nonfiction Monday

Harrison, Olivia. George Harrison: Living in the Material World.
Published by Abrams Books.

It's hard to believe that George Harrison passed away almost ten years ago. I've been looking for a nice Enslow or ABDO biography of him, since there is perennial interest in anyone related to The Beatles. No such luck. This book, put together by Harrison's wife, includes postcards, notes, original drafts of lyrics, photographs taken by Harrison himself, and plentiful quotes from Harrison as well as friends, family members, and associates. I loved how the book started with pictures of bombed out buildings in Liverpool-- it's easy to forget that the Beatles were products of the aftermath of World War II. This is a huge, gorgeous book that shows little known facets of Harrison's life in a sympathetic light. This is not necessarily a book that would be useful to my students, and since it has a $40 price tag I will pass, but it is a great read if your favorite Beatle is George.

Nonfiction Monday- Biographies

Krull, Kathleen. Sigmund Freud (2006)

Discovered an odd thing while reading this: I didn't want to critique the book as much as I wanted to critique Freud's life! Krull always does an excellent job with biographies, like the one on Marie Curie, but I wasn't nearly as interested in Freud. The style was the same, with nice discussions in a sort of conversational, lecture format, but Curie's life was so much more exciting. The more interesting parts of Freud's life, such as how his dog Jofi was "trained" to get up after an hour, I just didn't believe. Isn't it more likely that he gave his dog a signal? I love biographies, having read all of the Childhood of Famous Americans books I could find in elementary school, but I think I'll pass on this one for my library. The inclusion of actual pictures of Freud would have made it more valuable to my collection.

Bertozzi, Nick. Lewis and Clark.

The note at the beginning of this book helped a lot: what the author want to do was to communicate "the experience of that remarkable expedition". This the book does very well. The graphic novel format made it hard for me to follow some of the history, leaving me to want to read a standard biography or nonfiction book on the topic, but this was a good way to impart the highlights (or lowlights as they were!) of the expedition. The book starts when the president gives the commission and ends with Lewis' problems afterwards, and his suicide.

Strengths: I can see this being used by social studies teachers to recount some of the more interesting portions of the journey or to entice students to read further. It is well-researched and the drawings are comparable to other graphic novels.

Weaknesses: As previously stated, understanding the details is sometimes difficult without the support of a lot of text. The one formatting issue I would have changed is that sometimes the drawings are contained on one page, and sometimes it is necessary to read across the entire two page spread to read things in order. Perhaps this is not a struggle for those used to graphic novels, but I had to reread several pages because of the confusion this caused.