The Incredible Life of Balto

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 

hosted today by Capstone Connect

Alfred A. Knopf (Random House)

(pub. 8.9.2011)  40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor and illustrator: Meghan McCarthy

C haracter: Balto, a famous Alaskan dog

 

O verview from the jacket flap: 

         "Most people know the story of Balto, the world-famous dog who led his sled team through a blizzard to deliver a liefesaving serum to the stricken people of Nome, Alaska, in 1925.  Balto shot to instant stardom - a company named dog food after him, a famous sculptor erected a statue of him that stands in New York's Central Park to this day and the dog even starred in his own Hollywood movie.
         But what happened to Balto after the hoopla died down?  With a lively, informative text and humorous, vibrant illustrations, Meghan McCarthy captures the extraordinary life of Balto beyond his days as a celebrity." 

 

T antalizing taste: 

       "Sadly, Balto and the team were sold again, this time to a man who ran a sideshow.  There Balto and the others were all but forgotten.  For a dime, people could go into a room and see the once-celebrated dogsled team."

and something more:   As a author of narrative nonfiction picture books, I was fascinated by Megan McCarthy's discussion of her research experiences and how she dealt with contradictory accounts regarding Balto, including what color fur he had.  As she explains in her "Detective Work" section at the back of The Incredible Life of Balto, "No matter where information comes from, it gets filtered through many perspectives over time.  As a nonfiction writer, I make it my job to take all of the information and piece it together like a giant jigsaw puzzle.  But there's more to it than that.  I like to choose subject matter that hasn't been covered before or shine a new light on a known topic."  Yes!  A true tale with a cherry on top, as a I see it.
         Meghan explains her focus for this book: "Many children's books about Balto tout him as a hero, but none mentions the fact that he was essentially abandoned, sold off, and shown as a live attraction in a dime show.  What inspired me about Balto's story was the happy ending after all his struggles.  I knew that the whole story needed to be told." 
         Meghan's student activities included in the book remind me of my high school journalism class.  Unbeknownst to us, one day our wonderful teacher, Mrs. Hallenbeck, asked two students to argue and push and shove right before class began.  And after we learned that it was a staged argument, we had to write everything we had seen and heard --- we ended up with a roomful of different reports.  It certainly made an impression on us regarding the reliability of "eyewitness" reports.

Read More

The Bravest Woman in America

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 

hosted today by Ana's Nonfiction Blog

Tricycle Press (Random House)

(pub. 7.12.2011)  32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top 

A uthor: Marissa Moss
and illustrator:  Andrea U'Ren

C haracter: Ida Lewis, lighthouse keeper

 

O verview from the publisher: 

        "Ida Lewis loved everything about the sea, so when her father became the official keeper of Lime Rock Lighthouse in Newport, Rhode Island, she couldn’t imagine anything better. Throughout the years, Ida shadowed her father as he tended the lighthouse, listening raptly to his stories about treacherous storms, drowning sailors, and daring rescues. Under her father’s watchful eye, she learned to polish the lighthouse lens so the light would shine bright.  
        She learned to watch the sea for any sign of trouble. And, most importantly, she learned to row.
        Ida felt ready for anything—and she was."

 

T antalizing taste: 

       "The boys' faces were white with cold, their lips blue. One passed out, lying limp on the bottom of the boat.
        Ida didn't think. She rowed - harder and faster than she ever had. The waves crashed over her head, tilting the boat along a wall of green and gray. Ida kept on rowing, frantic to get them all to safety.
        'I can do it,' she told herself.  ' I have to do it.'"

and something more:  Marissa Moss' Author's Note in this picture book biography, The Bravest Woman in America, states that Ida Lewis "went on to rescue many more people after that first time when she was sixteen.  She was sixty-three when she made her last rescue.  Officially, she saved eighteen lives, but the real number may be as high as twenty-five."  And, I chuckled at Ida's quote: "Anyone who thinks it is un-feminine to save lives has the brains of a donkey."  Gotta love her spunk!

Read More

The Firehouse Light

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 
hosted today by Amy O'Quinn

Tricyle Press (Random House)

(pub. 5.25.2010)  32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top 

A uthor: Janet Nolan
         Illustrator:  Marie Lafrance

C haracter: a lightbulb

 

O verview from jacket flap: 

      "Here is the true story of a little lightbulb, located in a firehouse, that has stayed lit for more than one hundred years.  As horse-drawn carriages make room for automobiles, dirt roads give way to paved streets, and new buildings transform small clusters of homes into bustling neighborhoods, a small town grows and changes.  And fighting fires changes, too: fires once fought by bucket brigades and hand-pulled hose carts are now attended by full-time firefighters and modern firetrucks.  Yet now, just like then, the lightbulb grows, strong and steady, above the brave firefighters and their trucks."

 

T antalizing taste: 

       "Finding firefighting equipment in the dark was not easy. Then one day a businessman gave the firefighters a gift.  No longer would they have to waste time lighting lanterns.  A wire burning inside a ball of glass would light the way. Day after day, year after year, the ligthbulb did not burn out...
       Strong and steady, it still glows above the heads of firefighters - it burns when they leave to fight a fire and stays lit after they return."

and something more:   Of course, I had to check out the lightbulb's website which includes a link to a professor of physics and her grad student's interesting research paper regarding this amazing lightbulb that just celebrated its 110th anniversary this past June.
      And, as a writer, I'm always curious about the inspiration for books. Janet Nolan, the author of this nonfiction picture book, The Firehouse Light, explained her reaction to the lightbulb story in a Publisher's Weekly interview: "'I walked around in an excited daze for a while... I kept thinking of all the things that have happened—all the things that have been invented and all the wars fought —while this tiny lightbulb kept burning. In our disposable society, it struck me as awe-inspiring.'"  
      What a great way for children to think about history and culture -- the transformations in American society and firefighting, and the concept of quality.  The grad student's research paper states that the "intention of the [Shelby Electric] company [that developed this particular lightbulb] is not to make lamps to see how cheaply they can be made, but to see how well they can be made."  I only live a hour or so from the lightbulb's firehouse -- I'm planning a visit!

Read More

Queen of the Falls

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 
hosted today by Apple With Many Seeds

Houghton Mifflin

(pub. 4.4.2010)  40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top 

A uthor and illustrator: Chris Van Allsburg

C haracter: Annie Edson Taylor

 

O verview from jacket flap: 

      "Come and meet the Queen of the Falls and witness with your won eyes her daring ride!
       At the turn of the nineteenth century, a retired charm school instructor named Annie Edson Taylor, seeking fame and fortune, decided to do something that no one in the world had ever done before - she would go over Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel..."

 

T antalizing taste: 

       "'When I was nine years old,' she said, 'I stood here with my father, in this very spot. I'd never seen anything like that waterfall. It looked like the end of the world, beautiful and dreadful, all at once.'"

and something more:  I thought this book was perfect for today's Nonfiction Monday roundup at Apples With Many Seeds because it has the Canada - United States connection of Niagara Falls.  The photograph of Annie Edson Taylor, born in 1838, in Chris Van Allsburg's Author's Note captures the fascination of the picture book biography, Queen of the Falls. In her prim and proper dress, she does not look the part of a daredevil who would squeeze herself into a barrel she designed for her ride over Niagara Falls.  I can't imagine just riding down a river in that barrel, much less over the Niagara Falls!   

Read More

I Dreamed Of Flying Like A Bird

My Adventures Photographing Wild Animals From A Helicopter

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 
hosted today by Lori Calabrese Writes

National Geographic Children's Books

(pub. 9.4.2010) 64 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top 

A uthor and illustrator: Robert B. Haas

C haracter: Robert B. Haas

 

O verview from publisher: 

      "Climb aboard a helicopter with National Geographic photographer Robert Haas... I Dreamed of Flying Like a Bird takes readers across the globe, from the marshlands of Botswana to the frigid waters of Greenland to the jungles of Brazil. Haas’s stunning color photographs bring to life the awesome beauty and pulsating action of nature’s wildest creatures and the thrill of capturing the perfect image from the air. The author’s dream of flying like a bird provides the perfect vantage point for witnessing unusual drama and adventures from a bird’s eye view. This book is a gorgeous, thrilling experience for adventurers of all ages."

 

T antalizing taste: 

       "Ever since I was a young boy, I have dreamed of flying like a bird.  Aerial photography has allowed my dream to come true.  With a helicopter, I can join a winged creature or an entire flock in flight and photograph it from above or by its side... In the jungles of Brazil, we cruised beside two beautiful hyacinth macaws.  And over the mudflats of Venezuela, a flock of brilliant scarlet ibises passed just beneath ... I hope to capture from the air exactly what I am looking for - a group of special images to bring back and share with my readers."

and something more:  I was drawn to not only the spectacular photographs of wild animals and the photographer Robert Haas' descriptions of his adventure, but also his dedication: "This work is dedicated to dreamers... To children and adults who chase their dreams in life.  When we pursue our dreams, whether to become a schoolteacher or an artist or an athlete, we are living our lives to the fullest.  We are setting a lofty goal and pursuing that goal with persistence and strength, knowing that there will be setbacks along the way.  The world has been changed the most by dreamers ..."
      And I also admire that Robert Haas donates his proceeds to The Humane Society of the United States.  Bravo! 

Read More

Fabulous!

A Portrait of Andy Warhol

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 
hosted today by Check It Out


Christy Ottaviano Books (Henry Holt)

(pub. 5.24. 2011 )  40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top 

A uthor and Illustrator: Bonnie Christensen

C haracter: Andy Warhol, the artist

 

O verview from jacket flap: 

      "You might recognize Andy Warhol's famous paintings of Campbell's Soup cans and Coke bottles. But do you know about the artist who created these images?
     Andy Warhol was often sick as a child, yet found comfort in reading comic books and most especially in drawing.  Starting with his early days in Pittsburg in the 1930s and progressing to the height of his glory in the 1960s when he blurred the line between commercial art and fine art, this book chronicles an artist's remarkable path to becoming a renowned Pop Art icon."

 

T antalizing taste: 

       "Just out of art school, Andy Warhol boarded a night train in Pittsburgh.  He carried his portfolio of drawings and two hundred dollars.  'You will do something Great! Crazy! Terrific!' his mother predicted...
     'Spot' - the poor, sick, and shy kid from Pittsburgh - ... transformed himself into the Prince of Pop Art.  Art that anyone could recognize and understand."

and something more:  In this picture book biography, Fabulous! A Portrait of Andy Warhol, Bonnie Christensen's artwork and text capture the artist's essence.  Just this week I was studying a self-portrait of Andy Warhol at SFMOMA where I give tours to school groups as a docent.  In this self portrait, half of his face is shaded. I often ask children and teens to tell me why they think he chose to paint himself that way, and one response is that it might represent his public vs private side.  I plan to share this book and the following thoughts from the Author's Note with students: "Very few people know that Andy Warhol attended church regularly, helped serve Thanksgiving dinners to the homeless, lived most of his adult life with his mother, and possibly suffered from dyslexia or Asperger's syndrome... Full of contradictions, both stated and implied."  

Read More

Lost Boy

The Story of the Man Who Created Peter Pan

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 
hosted today by Chapter Book of the Day

Dutton Children's Books (Penguin)

(pub. 8.5.2010)  40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top 

A uthor: Jane Yolen

     and Illustrator: Steve Adams

    
C haracter: J. M. Barrie

 

O verview from jacket flap: 

      "People around the world know the story of Peter Pan, the boy who would not grow up, but not many know the story of his creator; J.M. Barrie.  Barrie's young childhood was marked by sorrow, but also held great adventure. His adult life and relationship with the Davies family brought about a second childhood that helped him to create his lasting triumph. Masterfully illustrated by Steve Adams and using Barrie's own words, Jane Yolen tells the story of the author and the boys who changed his life."

 

T antalizing taste: 

       "In his own estimation he was pencil-thin, inarticulate in company, and with 'manners, full of nails like his boots.'  Nobody but he thought he would make his way in the world.
        'Peter, Peter, you are wasting the faerie dust.' -- from the playlet, Wendy, An Afterthought."

and something more:  Of course, I love reading picture book biographies about children's writers, and Lost Boys is compelling with Jane Yolen's wonderful writing and her selection of Barrie's quotes that connect to the story.  What a wonderful quote -- "Peter, Peter, you are wasting the faerie dust."  So I had to find out more about "Wendy, An Afterthought," the playlet (a term I've never heard before but is just right).  As Jane Yolen wrote, "In 1908, a final scene was added to the play, in which a grown-up Wendy lets her child Jane fly off to Neverland with the still-young Peter to help him with his spring cleaning. It was only used for one performance." 
     I savored these words about picture book writing from Jane Yolen's website:  "There is a subtle dance between art and text which cannot be entirely planned for when the writer begins. A picture book writer needs to remain as supple as a dancer in order to accommodate a partner (the illustrator). It is the book–not just text or art–that has to be whole."  And, Jane Yolen's books epitomize the whole.

Read More