Rachel Carson

And Her Book That Changed The World

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday  hosted today by
Hope Is the Word

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Holiday House

(pub. 2.1.2012) 32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Laurie Lawlor

     and Illustrator:  Laura Beingessner

C haracter: Rachel Carson

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "'Once you are aware of the wonder and beauty of earth, you will want to learn about it,' wrote Rachel Carson, the pioneering environmentalist. Rachel found many adventurous ways to study nature. She went diving to investigate coral reefs and tracked alligators on a rumbling 'glades buggy' through the Florida Everglades.
        However, one of the bravest things she did was to write and publish Silent Spring, a book pointing out the dangerous effects of chemicals on the living world... Silent Spring went on to become the book that woke up people to the harmful impact humans were having on our planet."

        

T antalizing taste: 

"As a biologist for fifteen years,
she went places where few women ventured...
counting deep-sea fish in foggy,
dangerous currents south of Nova Scotia;
observing reef animals in a special suit
with an eighty-four-pound diving helmet
off the coast of Florida...
Meanwhile she worked on her own writing in the evening or on weekends.
She began to notice disturbing trends.
What happened to the web of life
when more and more garbage was dumped into the ocean?
How did rising ocean temperatures affect living creatures?"

                       

and something more: I thought the quote from Vice President Al Gore included in the Epilogue perfectly sums up the importance of Rachel Carson's work and book: "Silent Spring came as a cry in the wilderness, a deeply felt, thoroughly researched, and brilliantly written argument that changed the course of history. Without this book, the environmental movement might have been long delayed or never have developed at all."

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Betsy Ross

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 

hosted today by Wendie's Wanderings

Holiday House

(pub. 9.12.2011)  32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Becky White
     and Illustrator:  Megan Lloyd

C haracter:   Betsy Ross

O verview from the jacket flap: 

"Betsy ripped.
Rip, rip,
Seven rich,
Crimson strips.

Inch by inch, bit by bit, Betsy Ross clips, dips, and stitches.
What is she making?"

T antalizing taste: 

"Betsy snipped.

Snip, snip.

Thirteen stars.

Zip, zip.

Betsy dipped.

Dip, dip.

Indigo dye.

Drip, drip."

and something more:   In Betsy Ross, Becky White's sparse text (64 words) and Megan Lloyd's "dyed, clipped, and stiched" illustrations perfectly convey the essence of Betsy Ross' creation of the American flag.
And the Author's Note includes a discussion of the stars that I hadn't heard before: "According to legend ... George Washington made a pencil sketch for the flag in 1776 ... each star having six points. However, Betsy Ross thought that five-pointed stars would look nicer.  When George Washington said that this type was too difficult to cut, Betsy Ross showed him how to cut a five-pointed star with a single clip of her scissors." The back matter then gives step-by-step instructions of how to fold paper or fabric, and then with one snip of the scissors "Make Your Own Betsy Ross Star." I think I'll see if the second graders in the class in which I volunteer want to try it!

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A Picture Book of Cesar Chavez

* This post is part of Nonfiction Monday
hosted today by Three Turtles and Their Pet Librarian *


Holiday House (pub. 7.31.2010)
32 pages  Grades 2-4

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top 

A uthor: DAVID A. ADLER and MICHAEL S. ADLER

              and Illustrator:  MARIE OLOFSDOTTER

C haracter: Cesar Chavez, leader of American farmworkers

O verview from the jacket flap:  "For Cesar Chavez, dignity always meant more than money. As a child growing up in California during the Great Depression, Cesar picked produce with his family to make ends meet. The work was backbreaking, the pay was very low, and many families, including his, were homeless. 

     Cesar Chavez later dedicated his life to helping American farmworkers. He argued for better pay and fair working conditions, and was even jailed for his efforts. But he never stopped urging people to stand up for their rights. Young readers will be inspired by the fascinating life story of this champion of social justice."

T antalizing taste:  "Cesar's father was often too busy to spend time with his family. It was Cesar's mom who kept them together. She told her children stories. She taught them values and many proverbs, such as 'What you do to others, others do to you.'"

and something more: In honor of Presidents' Day today, I want to highlight Cesar Chavez' 1964 award of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, accepted by his wife. The Picture Book of Cesar Chavez includes President Clinton's tribute to him upon the presentation of the award: "'This remarkable man... with faith and discipline, with soft-spoken humility and amazing inner strength led a very courageous life. And in so doing, he brought dignity to the lives of so many others and provided for us inspiration for the rest of our nation's history.'"  
     The Presidential Medal of Freedom was originally established in 1945 by President Truman to honor civilian service during World War II.  In 1963, President Kennedy expanded the scope of the award to encompass "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." (Executive Order 11085)
      I like that this award includes "cultural endeavors".  As the artist and architect, Maya Lin (a Presidential Design Award recipient), has expressed, "[A]rt, at times, can look at a subject differently, and in doing so can get people to pay closer attention."
     In 1964, the year Cesar Chavez was honored, the recipients in the creative world included the soprano Leontyne Price, the artist Willem de Kooning, the composer Aaron Copland, and the authors T.S. Eliot, Carl Sandburg and John Steinbeck.
     Last week, President Obama honored the fifteen recipients of the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom. The group included three of my favorites in the creative world: the cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the artist Jasper Johns, and the author and poet Maya Angelou.
     As a thought for today, Presidents' Day, here are the powerful concluding words of Maya Angelou's poem, "On the Pulse of Morning", which she recited at President Clinton's 1993 inauguration:

"Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister's eyes, and into
Your brother's face, your country
And say simply
Very simply 
With hope
Good morning."

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