Write On, Mercy!

The Secret Life of
Mercy Otis Warren

This post joins other
Nonfiction Monday blogs
hosted today by Shelf-Employed

and joins It's Monday!

What are you reading?

at Teacher Mentor Texts

Calkins Creek (Boyds Mills Press)
(pub. 3.1.2012) 40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Gretchen Woelfle

     and Illustrator:  Alexandra Wallner

C haracters: Mercy Otis Warren

O verview from the publisher's website: 

      "Growing up on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Mercy Otis Warren was fortunate to go to school with her brother. When she married Patriot James Warren, Mercy wrote in secret—poetry, plays, and about the events of her time. She wrote of the people she knew, including George Washington and John and Abigail Adams. It wasn’t until Mercy was older that her literary life became known, with the publication of her three-volume history of the American Revolution. This is the first picture-book biography of an intrepid woman chronicler."

T antalizing taste: 

    "Mercy kept house in Plymouth and raised five sons. But she had a secret life, too. When her children were asleep, she wrote poems. She didn't let her schooling fade away...Life was quiet in Plymouth, but in nearby Boston, Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty were raising a ruckus...Soon Plymouth joined the clamor. Mercy named her house 'One Liberty Square.'...Most women would have stayed out of sight, but not Mercy."

and something more: As I've just attended the inspiring SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) Annual Summer conference, I thought it fitting to feature a picture book biography of a female writer. I'm impressed that the author, Gretchen Woelfle, "read thirty years of letters in Mercy's own hand" on microfilm provided to her by The Massachusetts Historical Society. And bravo to editor Carolyn P. Yoder to whom Write On, Mercy! was dedicated because she "encouraged this project from start to finish. For this, her flawless editing, and ongoing friendship she receives this book's dedication." As an author, I'm always pleased to see editors receive the well deserved credit they deserve -- I'm in awe of the guidance, support and just the right touch great editors truly provide to writers.

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For the Birds

The Life of Roger Tory Peterson

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday hosted today by Shelf-employed and joins It's Monday! What are you reading? at Teacher Mentor Texts

Calkins Creek (Boyds Mills Press)

(pub. 10.1.2011) 40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Peggy Thomas

         and Illustrator: Laura Jacques

C haracter:  Roger Tory Peterson 

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "To some, he was 'Professor Nuts Peterson,' but to the world he was Roger Tory Peterson. For the Birds - The Life of Roger Tory Peterson tracks this American artist, activist, and passionate bird lover from his days as a child, to art student, to creator of the Peterson Field Guides, to global environmentalist.  Peterson's guides were revolutionary -- simply written and drawn for everyone to enjoy the birds, animals, and plants of the outdoors."

       

T antalizing taste: 

       

     "No osprey eggs hatched that year. Throughout the Northeast, peregrine falcons were also disappearing, and down South, bald eagle nests were empty. Roger and other scientists believed that the cause might be the widespread spraying of DDT, the pesticide he had studied years ago. Someone had to stand up for the birds before they vanished completely."

and something more: For several generations, our family has been visiting a wonderful lake in Northern Idaho, and we did notice a decline in ospreys nesting at the tops of the trees lining the lake.  But gradually over the years, we've seen a return of these amazing birds and also a few bald eagles.  Thank goodness for people such as Roger Tory Peterson who said: "The other creatures with which we share this world have their rights too, but not speaking our language, they have no voice, no vote; it is our moral duty to take care of them." 

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You Can't Do That, Amelia!

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday

hosted today by Jean Little Library

 

Calkins Creek Books (Boyds Mills Press imprint)

(pub. 9.1.2008)  

32 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Kimberly Wagner Klier
     Illustrator:  Kathleen Kemly
     
C haracter:  the young Amelia Earhart 

 
O verview from book flap: 

      "Young Amelia is a dreamer.  She dreams of building her own roller coaster, learning to fly her own airplane, and even exploring the skies as one of the world's first female pilots. But girls in the early twentieth century do not do such things. When Amelia tells her friends and family of her adventurous plans, they only shake their heads and say, 'You can't do that, Amelia!'
       Amelia is not discouraged.  With every dream, she takes a chance and dares ...
       Whimsically illsutrated by Kathleen Kemly, You Can't Do That, Amelia! captures the spirit of a young Amelia Earhart... and will leave young readers inspired to follow their dreams and reach for the skies."

T antalizing taste:
      "Amelia was a dreamer.  She dreamed from the first light of the morning sun to the last lights of the night's stars." 

and something more:  Kimberly Wagner Klier, the author of this inspiring picture book biography, You Can't Do That, Amelia, and the Editor of Calkins Creek Books, Carolyn P. Yoder, include a wealth of information and research sources in the back matter.  The About Amelia section includes this "can do" quote by Amelia (from one of her final notes in her book Last Flight, published after her disappearance): "'Women must try to do things as men have tried.  When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others."

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