A Book Review of: WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALICE? by Barbara Kerley

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kerley, Barbara. 2008. What To Do About Alice?: How Alive Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy! Ill. by Edwin Fotheringham. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 9780439922319

SUMMARY

Alice Roosevelt Longworth was the oldest child of former United States president Theodore Roosevelt. She was named after her mother, who died shortly after Alice was born. Alice was an energetic child and tomboy with a habit for making mischief, much to her father’s dismay. She grew to be an equally energetic woman who liked to have fun in private and in public, and this did not change when her father was elected as president. Alice was a celebrity before the traditional Hollywood celebrity was ever coined. The public adored Alice and would look for articles about her in the newspapers. Alice served as an advisor to both her father and her husband, Nicholas Longworth, a congress man; both men valued her opinions.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Alice Roosevelt Longworth was only two days old when her mother passed. Her father named her after her departed mother, his beloved Alice Lee. Alice’s father, former president Theodore Roosevelt wished for Alice to grow to be a proper lady. He always instructed her to be on her best behavior well into adulthood. However, Alice Roosevelt Longworth did as she pleased, enjoying life, devouring its experiences and gaining the love of many people in the United States as a result.

The cartoonish artwork done in soft oil paints and brilliant colors give this brief biography of Alice Roosevelt Longworth a whimsical appearance and feel that match the nature of the storytelling. The caricature images of Theodore Roosevelt mimic historical political cartoons featuring Theodore Roosevelt, making his character easily recognizable. Kerley wisely begins the story by introducing readers, who may not know much at all about Theodore Roosevelt, to the former president’s accomplishments, establishing his historical importance. Theodore’s daunting feats build from herding cattle to leading soldiers and fighting grizzly bears. One is ready for the next amazing thing he will have to face, because what else would make this brave man sweat as he is doing in an illustration on the second page. It is then that we are introduced to his daughter Alice; an illustration of Alice wearing a long red dress and dancing around the globe while holding a large spoon is given. Now, the reader not only knows that Theodore may find his daughter’s behavior inappropriate, but that Alice seems to be a fun, free-spirited character.

Kerley peppers the text with amusing and interesting tidbits of Alice’s life, while inserting facts. Readers learn that Alice’s mother died after her birth and that her father remarried and had other children, but he did not forget about Alice. The next pages catalog the multiple moves and traveling done by the family. Images of railways and steam engine trains indicative of the time period cross over great plains with cities in the backdrop, accompanied by white bubbles filled with images of Alice in various places like the beach, the Empire State building and having tea. Whenever Alice is in motion, dotted lines depict her movements. The story opens with lines crisscrossing Theodore’s office; the lines symbolize Alice’s inability to remain still and the places she has been.

Kerley uses capital letters written in bold font to emphasize statements that might ingrain themselves in the mind of child, such as “Tomboy”, “Unruly”, Shriveled”, “Enough was enough”. Also, more near the beginning of the biography, Kerley repeats variations of the phrase about Alice “eating up the world.” In pages to follow, after these phrases are presented, Kerley uses such adverbs as “voraciously” and verbs like “drank” to describe activities Alice involved herself in, such as reading, to further expose herself to the joys and intrigues of the world, likening these learning experiences to things that can be ingested or devoured.

A clever thing that Kerley does to tell the readers of some of Alice’s deeds and misdeeds is display illustrations of various news headlines detailing some of Alice’s activities that made her father sigh, “Oh, Alice.” Kerley chooses to focus the biography on Alice’s adventures and the more humorous things she engaged in or even innovated to capture the attention and interests of younger readers. At the end of the novel, an adult Alice is once again trotting across the globe, holding a spoon, only her spoon is much larger in comparison to the one she held at the beginning of the novel when she was a girl. The larger spoon can symbolize larger things to come for Alice in her future of politics, world traveling and being a public figure.

At the conclusion of the story, Kerley provides a section for author’s notes, so that readers may review her sources. Insight to the story that could not be gleaned from the text is given in the notes, such as the fact that Alice’s father, Theodore, often did not call Alice by name because it reminded him too much of his departed wife. It is also speculated that perhaps Alice traveled so much because she was uncomfortable at home. A bibliography of Kerley’s sources details from where certain quotes and portrayals originated, most sources are biographies written about Alice Roosevelt Longworth, some are newspaper articles and one is a resource about Theodore Roosevelt.

This short biography is a cheerful, positive work about an accomplished woman who made a name for herself by staying true to her own personal character despite public and familial criticism. Children will enjoy reading about the spunky Alice and learning historical tidbits about an interesting time period. Hopefully, this story will whet their appetite for more information about the Roosevelt family and their contributions to the country or other non-fiction novels about other spirited characters in history.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

"Irrepressible Alice Roosevelt gets a treatment every bit as attractive and exuberant as she was....The large format gives Fotheringham, in his debut, plenty of room for spectacular art." --Starred Review, Booklist, December 15, 2007

"Theodore Roosevelt s irrepressible oldest child receives an appropriately vivacious appreciation in this superb picture book.... Kerley s precise text presents readers with a devilishly smart, strong-willed girl who was determined to live life on her own terms and largely succeeded." --Starred Review, Kirkus, February 1, 2008

"Kerley s text gallops along with a vitality to match her subject s antics, as the girl greets White House visitors accompanied by her pet snake, refuses to let leg braces cramp her style, dives fully clothed into a ship s swimming pool, and also earns her place in history as one of her father s trusted advisers. Fotheringham s digitally rendered, retro-style illustrations are a superb match for the text." --Starred Review, School Library Journal, March 2008

CONNECTIONS

If children enjoyed reading about Alice Roosevelt Longworth, they will enjoy reading the following non-fiction works which also feature other historical figures that began as rascally young children with a penchant for mischief. Children can relate to and are entertained by these bold and often humorous characters that grew up to make great names for themselves.

Stone, Tanya Lee. 2010. Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote. Ill. by Rebecca Gibbon. New York: Square Fish. ISBN 978-0312602369

If children enjoyed learning about little known historical facts and historic female figures that made great and/or interesting contributions to our nation, they will enjoy reading these titles.

Rockwell, Anne. 2002. They Called Her Molly Pitcher. Ill. by Cynthia von Buhler. New York: Knopf Book for Young Readers. ISBN 978-0679991878

Anderson, Laurie Halse. 2005. Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving. Ill. by Matt Faulkner. New York: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.

A Book Review of: ALMOST ASTRONAUTS: 13 WOMEN WHO DARED TO DREAM by Tanya Lee Stone

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Stone, Tanya Lee. 2009. Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763636111

SUMMARY

Jerrie Cobb and twelve other women, sometimes referred to as the “Mercury 13”, dared to dream to be astronauts. After passing the physical examinations and passing with flying colors, in some cases displaying results superior to males who had taken the same tests, these women were denied the right to be astronauts due to gender discrimination. This informational book allows readers to enter the world of Jerrie Cobb as she undergoes the necessary tests and procedures to qualify to be an astronaut, endures criticism, prejudice and gender stereotyping, and helps spear-head the fight for future women astronauts. Other important figures within the movement, including some of the women that are part of the “Mercury 13” are featured, as well as successful women astronauts who were able to achieve their dream thanks to the efforts of the “Mercury 13” and their supporters.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Dr. Randolph Lovelace is the name of the man who dared to think women could be astronauts and supervised the examinations of the women known as the “Mercury 13”. He wanted to convince NASA that not only were women equal to men when it came to the ability to be astronauts, but it would be more cost efficient to send women into space than men, because they were usually smaller and lighter. He claimed the nation would save a thousand dollars per pound. This argument may not have swayed committees that had to make the final decision to allow women to be considered eligible applicants for astronaut training, but what he started would eventually go on to shape history because the women he selected would not take “No, women can’t!” for an answer.

Stone centers the story around Jerrie Cobb, a record-breaking pilot, who became the first woman to “have the blood tests…x-rays…blow into a tube to test her lungs… to have freezing water injected into her ears…” and much more. (Stone 16-17) The story begins with Jerrie at Cape Canaveral, with the surviving members of the “Mercury 13”, watching Lieutenant Colonel Eileen Collins pilot and command a space shuttle readying for launch. Eileen Collins is the first woman to pilot a space shuttle, and also the first woman to be the captain and commander of the personnel inside of it. From this historic scene, Stone is able to smoothly transition into the past, delving into the story of Jerrie Cobb and the women who were almost in Eileen Collin’s position nearly 40 years before.

Stone writes the story as a narrative told from the vantage point of an omniscient outside narrator, herself. Readers receive facts in chronological order, starting from the formulation of the idea of the WISE project (Women In Space Earliest) to the achievements of more recent female figures in space aeronautics. Facts are told in the form of prose so smooth that a reader will not feel as if they are reading an informational text, but fiction; it is that entertaining. The information presented is intriguing, and Stone always is sure to define procedures, such as what it meant for Jerrie Cobb to have freeing water injected into her ears. The water freezes the inner ear bone which, in turn, causes vertigo. Readers will learn about various tests and procedures and instruments, and also about the politics behind the women in space movement. Readers unfamiliar with social injustice will be educated about a time period only 40 years in the past where certain groups of people were denied freedoms that people today may take for granted, such as the freedom to break societal molds.

Stone divides the book into chapters and within the chapters, experiences are classified by precise dates, so that readers will be able to create and keep a timeline in mind as they navigate the work. One particular section of the book is written in italics; this section covers the span of time Jerrie Cobb underwent a test known as: The Tank. She was placed in an isolation tank, a pool of water, with headsets that played white nose, in a darkened room, alone, for hours. The section is a catalog of her private thoughts as she floats in the tank. Irrational thoughts are tempered with rational suggestions, informing the reader of Jerrie’s strong mental constitution. Jerrie remained in the tank for nine hours and forty minutes, breaking all records set by anyone, including men. Jerrie’s record is later beaten by two other people--also women, within the program.

Stone provides black and white photographs of the women of “Mercury 13”, photographs of the astronauts in Mercury 7, political figures, women astronauts who set precedents, newspaper clippings, political cartoons, and scanned political documents, such as a “hidden” document signed by Lyndon B. Johnson in favor of prohibiting women from being astronauts. Photographs are peppered through the work, breaking up long sections of text. The story is not a picture book, so images appear every few pages.

The text is not watered down, nor is the language simplified for younger audiences. The writing is very straight forward and overall effective for catching the attention of readers and holding it with presentations of facts that flow as easily as a fictional story. Readers might find themselves forgetting they are reading educational material they have become so engrossed in the story. Stone shows readers injustices and prejudices by giving statements and accounts delivered by people against women taking on jobs that were deemed worthy only of men. She succeeds in making it seem as if the sabotage of the “almost astronauts” is an unraveling mystery, revealing factors, one by one, of the reasons why the initial program failed. First, readers learn about the major “roadblock”: astronaut applicants must be jet-pilots. Women were not allowed to be jet-pilots at the time. Then readers learn about Lyndon B. Johnson’s hidden agenda: to keep women and other minorities out of the astronaut program. Then, Stone delivers a surprise. Readers are taken to the court hearing where Cobb and her comrade Jane Hart are stating their case for women astronauts and a person who should be one of their strongest advocates, Jacqueline Cochran, the leader of the Women Air force Service Pilots program during World War II, states that women should not be astronauts. After readers are delivered this shock, Stone skillfully delves into the back story of why Cochran did such a thing: jealousy.

At the end of the work, Stone provides readers with a color photograph of the surviving members of the “Mercury 13” forty years later, standing in front of a mural of an astronaut. She also provides readers with a detailed author’s note which explains why she chose to write the work and how she wrote it, along with suggestions for further reading, web bibliographies, and an extensive list of her numerous, as well as accurate, sources.

Tanya Lee Stone gives readers a wonderfully in-depth and accurate work of informational literature that tells a little-known story of the women who started the movement that led to women being allowed to become astronauts, or whatever else a young girl might dream of becoming. Young readers, especially female readers, will be inspired by this text, as the first woman in space (a woman from Russia) was by Jerrie Cobb, to aspire and dare to pursue a vocation others might declare impossible for them to attain.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

--Jane Adams Honor Book Awards

Starred Review. Grade 5–7—Stone adopts a tone of righteous indignation in chronicling the quixotic efforts of 13 women to win admission into NASA's initial astronaut training program in the early 1960s. The women were all pilots (one, Jerrie Cobb, had more hours in the air than John Glenn or Scott Carpenter), earned high scores in preliminary tests, and even counted a senator's wife among their number. But resistance came from all directions—including NASA regulations, which were weighted toward men; media coverage that reflected contemporary gender expectations; political maneuvering by then vice president LBJ and other officials; and the crushing opposition expressed by renowned aviatrix Jackie Cochran in a 1962 Congressional hearing. Properly noting, however, that losing "depends on where you draw the finish line," the author closes with chapters on how women did ultimately win their way into space—not only as mission specialists, but also as pilots and commanders. Illustrated with sheaves of photos, and based on published sources, recently discovered documents, and original interviews with surviving members of the "Mercury 13," this passionately written account of a classic but little-known challenge to established gender prejudices also introduces readers to a select group of courageous, independent women.—John Peters, New York Public Library, School Library Journal.

“Space gals. Astronettes. Astrodolls . . . Who do these women think they are?” The media mocked them. Male astronauts did not want them, and neither did then vice-president Lyndon Johnson. If they were to let women into the space program, blacks and other minorities would be next. Nearly 20 years before the U.S. officially admitted women into the astronaut program, 13 women, known as the Mercury 13, fought for the right to soar into space. This dramatic, large-size photo-essay covers their stories, along with the exciting politics of the women’s liberation struggle in the 1950s and ’60s (“What is a woman’s place?”) and the breakthrough science and technology surrounding space exploration, including details of the would-be astronauts’ tests and training. The chatty, immediate style (“Picture this”) and full-page photos make for a fast read, and the crucial civil-rights history will stay with readers. The long, spacious back matter is part of the story, with detailed chapter notes and a bibliography. Grades 5-8. --Hazel Rochman, Booklist

Fascinating, dramatic story...The author offers great insight into how deeply ingrained sexism was in American society and its institutions. Handsomely illustrated with photographs, this empowering, impassioned story will leave readers inspired." --Kirkus Reviews

CONNECTIONS

Though the reading levels of these titles are a bit higher than that of Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream, the following titles are also stories of strong women who filled untraditional roles and shaped portions of America’s history with their efforts. Younger female readers will enjoy reading these stories about women who overcame criticism, prejudice and injustice and dared to achieve more than the roles society wished them to play.

Atkins, Jeannine. 2003. Wings and Rockets: The Story of Women in Air and Space. New York: Farrar, Starus and Giroux. ISBN 9780374384500

Cummins, Julie. 2001. Tomboy of the Air: Daredevil Pilot Blanche Stuart Scott. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 9780060292430

Stone, Tanya Lee. 2007. Amelia Earhart. New York: DK Publishing. ISBN 978-0756625528

A Book Review of: EARTHQUAKES by Seymour Simon

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Simon, Seymour. 1991. Earthquakes. New York: Morrow Junior Books. ISBN 0688096336

SUMMARY

Seymour Simon gives factual information about the causes of earthquakes, how they are measured, what occurs during earthquakes, and where most earthquakes are more likely to occur and why. Simon also provides photographs of areas that have received noticeable earthquake damage, fault lines, and earthquake measuring and predicting technology. He also includes artistic models of plates and fault lines with colorful arrows to demonstrate how earthquakes occur and what happens during them, maps of the world which feature lines to illustrate concepts of platetectonics, and a colored-coded map of earthquake zones in the United States.

CRITICAL ANAYLSIS

Where do most earthquakes occur? They occur along the rim of the Pacific Ocean, in an earthquake zone known as the Pacific Ring of Fire. What is the name of the device used to measure the size of earthquakes? It is called a seismograph. Simon answers fundamental and relevant questions that children may ask about earthquakes in a manner that can easily be understood by younger audiences.

Simon takes the tone of an elementary science teacher as he carefully explains facts, pairing his words with relevant photos, illustrations of models, and maps. He uses boldly colored arrows to demonstrate the movements of plates rubbing against each other as they shift in various directions. He provides captions within the text to instruct the reader on where to look for a visual example of the fact he has given. There are also captions on the maps included to explain to the reader how to best interpret them. The author does not leave much room for confusion. However, a very young reader would need an adult to help them make more complex connections, such as what the different lines and dots on maps indicate. Simon does a wonderful job at providing teaching material to adult readers who may choose to base scientific lessons upon this text.

Simon does not par down the information he presents nor water down the language. He chooses to use proper scientific terms, like “tsunami”, “dip-slip fault” and “strike-slip fault” instead of coming up with funny, child-like terms or leaving out proper terms all together because they may be confusing. To reinforce the scientific terms he introduces, Simon reuses the terms, making sure to redefine the words in parentheses to remind the readers of their meanings. Children can be quizzed on the terms during oral reading sessions. An oral reader could ask the students to repeat the definition every time the term is read. For example, the oral reader will read a sentence that contains “strike-slip” and the students will be prompted to reply, “Side-to-side.” The book provides excellent opportunities for reader/audience interaction.

The text is loaded with facts and provides specific examples for most of the information given, such as: the 1989 earthquake in San Francisco happened during the World Series. The end of the book provides tips on what to do during an earthquake and provides a reassuring note to younger, more sensitive readers that it is unlikely that they will be hurt in an earthquake.

While Simon does not provide a list of sources at the end of his work, the informational material he presents is accurate. The book’s only noticeable flaws are reflections of its dated time of publication. Today, most children may have heard about the earthquakes in Chile and Haiti, which of course, would not be mentioned in a book printed in 1991. However, this book could be used as a tool for introducing and whetting young appetites for more educational information about earthquakes, and perhaps they will want to study and learn more about the most recent devastating earthquakes that have occurred. Projects can be created for them to update the material learned in this text. What would they choose to include? What new photographs have they seen that could enhance the text?

I was also a trifle disappointed that Simon made no mention of why the Pacific Ring of Fire was given such a name. I think children would be interested in learning about underwater volcanic eruptions that can trigger earthquakes and tsunamis. However, I do understand that the text presents a lot of facts that could be overwhelming to young readers, so Simon selected the most relevant information to date to best inform his audience about this topic.

Overall, Earthquakes is a wonderful, educational informational book that children will enjoy, from its presentation of facts paired with relevant examples, models and photography of earthquake aftermaths to its slick pages, and large, bold, easy-to-read print.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

With the increasing coverage of earthquakes worldwide, readers' interest should be piqued for this lucid introduction. Veteran photo-essayist Simon has produced another characteristically concise and involving precis. Facts abound, concerning such topics as the Pacific Ring of Fire; faults, especially the San Andreas; strike- and dip-slips; seismographs; the Richter and Mercali Intensity Scales; sand boils; and more. As in all of Simon's work, the high-quality photos and the book's spacious, accessible design enhance and extend the clarity of his exposition. Simon's compelling glimpses of these mighty geological phenomena will give readers a new understanding of and appreciation for the awesome forces of nature. Ages 5-up--Publishers Weekly.

Grade 4-6-- A visually outstanding book with large, high-quality, full-color photographs depicting earthquake damage on every page. The diagrams are simple and exceptionally clear. Adding variety are deep blue pages with the text in white print. Simplified, yet accurate, nontechnical language is used to describe the geologic processes that cause earthquakes, their impact on people, and some devastating historic events. Recommendations for avoiding injury are mentioned, but the statement that "The chances of your being hurt in a quake are very, very slight" may not be very reassuring considering the nature of the photographs and statistics. For beginners, all the basic facts are here in easily understood terms and pictures. Radlauer's Earthquakes (Childrens, 1987) uses many scientific terms and is for older readers. Earthquakes (Childrens, 1982) by Challand is not as current or of equal quality. Branley's Earthquakes (Crowell, 1990) is comparable, but its smaller format and color drawings do not have the same aesthetic appeal. --Meryl Silverstein, American Museum of Natural History, New York City--School Library Journal.

Another good Simon book about our natural and unnatural landscape. The Simon style--impressive photos, lucid text--works well here, clearly showing how shifting tectonic plates can play havoc with manmade structures. Maps show where, drawings show how, and vivid color photos lend dramatic reality. Simon concludes with advice on what to do in a quake, plus a comforting note: the chances of being hurt are slight. (Nonfiction. 7-12) --Kirkus Reviews

This informational treasure will draw science enthusiasts and browsers alike. -- Booklist

CONNECTIONS

Children who love reading factual information about natural disasters will love the following titles.

Simon, Seymour. 2001. Tornadoes. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 9780064437912

Simon, Seymour. 2007. Hurricanes. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 9780061170713

Though, the reading level for this title is for an audience a bit older than the ones given for the previous book, this title is still an excellent factual source for a natural disaster children will find interesting.

Lauber, Patricia. 1993. Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount St. Helen’s. New York: Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing. ISBN 9780689716799

A Poetry Review of: THE LLAMA WHO HAD NO PAJAMA by Mary Ann Hoberman

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hoberman, Mary Ann. 1998. The Llama Who Had No Pajama: 100 Favorite Poems. Ill. by Betty Fraser. San Diego, CA: Browndeer Press Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN 0152001115

PLOT SUMMARY

This collection of poems written by Mary Ann Hoberman and illustrated by Betty Fraser represents small snapshots of childhood: moments of idle silliness, thoughtfulness with no regard to costs, and simple childhood lessons. This collection also contains wonderful, educational poems about animals that children may not be as familiar with, such as ocelots. The light-hearted silliness of the collection will please multiple children at story hour, bed time or whenever there is time to read.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Hoberman’s collection features 100 individual poems paired with delightful, cartoonish illustrations painted in pastel colors. Most of the poems follow a simple rhyming pattern where every other phrase may rhyme, creating a catchy rhythm and making poems easier for children to commit to memory. Hoberman makes brilliant use of alliteration and consonance in poems, using phrases such as “Better bitter beet”, “itty-bitty”, “A litter of little…”, and “flee the fly who flew by”, which makes for fun tongue twisters and turns of phrase for children to practice.

Some poems feature phrase repetition, which is always entertaining and makes poems more interactive as children can begin reciting the repetition along with the oral reader. In some poems, a repetition of structure, such as stanzas with mostly two word phrases concluding with eight word phrases. Particularly in the poem “Mouse”, where the first phrases of the stanza introduce characters and information, while the longer phrases ask questions and give answers. The longer phrases are made to stand out. Another poem “Time”, features a repetition of structure when the main phrase is repeated “One/Two/Three.” Hoberman also uses repetition of onomatopoeia, such as “pitter patter” and “flitter flutter”.

The poems often feature children wanting to grow taller and be older, and children dressing as adults and mimicking adult activities, such as mothering babies, or in the case of these poems, puppies. There are childhood lessons that seem so simple to an adult, but to a child it is a marvelous revelation, such as the poem “Tommycats” and how they can never become “mommycats.” Here, the child in the poem has learned that only females have babies.

The accompanying artwork for the poems is whimsical and mostly done in light colors. When children are pictured, they vary in ethnicity, creating characters that resemble many of the different children reading these poems. Children love to see characters that look like themselves.

Silly poems about growing up and having fun, and short poems that speculate animals and their appearances or their daily functions written in a light-hearted, almost child-like tone makes an enjoyable work for young children.

BOOK REVIEW(S)

Kindergarten-Grade 4. Hoberman's poems, accompanied by Fraser's illustrations, have been delighting children for 40 years. Now, many poems from their out-of-print books are available in this satisfying collection. The selections are mostly humorous, sometimes contemplative, and deal with animals, family, play, and plain silliness. Hoberman's rhythms are lively and agile, and her imagination and sense of humor are still in tune with young readers. Fraser's simple but detailed gouache and watercolor illustrations exhibit the same qualities. The layout is masterfully varied and never overwhelms the poems. There is a table of contents as well as an index of first lines. Good for beginning or experienced readers of poetry, this should indeed become a favorite. Nina Lindsay, Vista School, Albany, CA—SLJ.

"Hoberman's rhythms are lively and agile, and her imagination and sense of humor are still in tune with young readers. Fraser's simple but detailed gouache and watercolor illustrations exhibit the same qualities . . . Good for beginning or experienced readers of poetry, this should indeed become a favorite."--School Library Journal

"This collection of some forty years of Hoberman verse is a charmer."--The Horn Book

CONNECTIONS

If children are looking for more light-hearted books in rhyme that feature a colorful cast of youngsters of various nationalities in various social situations or rhyming books about animals and nature, they may enjoy the following titles:

Hoberman, Mary Ann. 2003. And to Think That We Thought We’d Never Be Friends. Ill. by Kevin Hawkes. New York: Dragonfly Books. ISBN 978-0440417767

Hoberman, Mary Ann. 2007. A House Is a House For Me. Ill. by Betty Fraser. London: Puffin Books. ISBN 978-0142407738

This anthology of poetry is for readers a bit older, but the poems featured are about nature and scientific ponderings of how things came to be.

Hoberman, Mary Ann and Linda Winston. 2009. The Tree That Time Built: A Celebration of Nature, Science and Imagination. Ill. by Barbara Fortin. Napervile, IL: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky. ISBN 978-1402225178

A Poetry Review of: FLAMINGOS ON THE ROOF by Calef Brown

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brown, Calef. 2006. Flamingos on the Roof: Poems and Painting. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 9780618562985

PLOT SUMMARY

Calef Browns offers 29, brief, amusing poems with no particular linking theme other than the sheer absurdity of each respective topic. The characters featured are humans, animals and plant life, perfect for stimulating young imaginations.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Calef Brown’s collection of poetry is a colorful work of imagination. The poems follow no specific rhyme pattern: some rhyme, some do not, and the poems that do rhyme have mostly unpredictable rhythms. Every other phrase may rhyme in the first stanza while phrases in a following stanza do not rhyme at all. The unbalanced rhythms of the poems give strength to the witty nonsense of the phrases, and it makes for entertaining oral interpretations when reading aloud.

Brown plays with consonance and alliteration to create catchy phrases, such as “The B’s are beautiful blue,” and “Listen to the lingo/Boogie to the banjo/Bop to the bongo.” He uses action verbs paired with pictures of characters moving with the words. Children can become interactive with such poems, and be encouraged to move along with the words.

Some of the poems are as humorous as they are random. Brown peppers his prose with punctuation such as exclamation points, question marks and dashes to help readers with phrasing and emphasis. The accompanying, whimsical and cartoonish artwork for each poem also helps to set the tone. Each poem can be associated with a color. The poem about sherbet is blue, cold like ice cream. The poem about dancing is yellow, sunny and energetic. The title poem “Flamingos on the Roof” features no evidence of flamingos, but the setting of the dark, windy night is clearly portrayed. The color scheme provides an almost mysterious emotion to the poem about immaterial flamingos. The poem about a haiku has an accompanying painting that is mostly done in greens and warm browns with palm trees, and haiku poems are usually associated with nature and natural elements. A poem about a man singing the blues is paired with a painting done in somber blues and greens. Brown captures the emotion and mood of his poems with his artwork which further adds to the comedic or absurd elements in his work.

Brown’s works, in their entirety, are beautiful, fun-loving pieces of silly rhymes and phrasing that children will love to read and have read to them. They may even be inspired to create their own poetry that knows no rules or boundaries.

BOOK REVIEW(S)

Grade 3–6–These 29 nonsense poems, written in a variety of rhymed meters, are deliciously loaded with alliterative and assonant sounds and filled with delightful doggerel. Brown's playful verses are foolish (Life is a dream/with a nautical theme/in a barnacle built for two.); preposterous (Light bulbs on a birthday cake./What a difference that would make!); exhilarating (Boogie to the banjo./Bop to the bongo./Freeze like an igloo./Stomp like a buffalo in the Combo Tango); and filled with wordplay (Allicatter Gatorpillar/by and by/my oh my!/Allibutter Gatorfly!). The author's strong command of poetic form and his way with words make creating nonsense rhyme look effortless. Full-page, flat acrylic illustrations, most painted in harmonious jewel tones, face single-toned pages of text in a variety of colors. The style is abstract with a folk-art quality, often cartoonish, and always whimsical. The characters have humorous, stylized features and varied skin tones, ranging from pale blue to light green to burnt umber. Packed with amusing details, the paintings consistently expand upon the text. Read aloud, these poems are sure to delight listeners. They also provide a great impetus for inspiring youngsters to write nonsense poetry of their own.–Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH—SLJ.

Gr. 3-5. Meet Medusa's sister, Sally, bespectacled and toothy. Instead of hair, she has a lazy snake under her proper pink hat. Brown's lively nonsense rhymes blend the mythic and the contemporary, as do his acrylic illustrations, part folk art, part postmodern. The wry mockery of the haikus will appeal to older readers, but even preschoolers will enjoy acting out poems such as "Combo Tango" ("Stomp like a buffalo. / Drop like a yo-yo. / Swing like a golf pro. / Flip like a hairdo . . . "). One of the best poems is "TV Taxi," in which the words say there's nothing much to see, but the pictures show a taxi driver on his cell phone as a volcano, a dinosaur, a flying saucer, and a unicorn vie for attention. Words and pictures manage to be both clear and weird, an enjoyable mix. Hazel Rochman—Booklist.

"Brown's imaginative wordplay is matched by his acrylic paintings depicting people and places in unusual hues. . . . Silly it may be, but all the best kind, prompting the reader to see the world (slightly) askew and to delight in it." --Horn Book.

"Brown’s lively nonsense rhymes blend the mythic and the contemporary, as do his acrylic illustrations, part folk art, part postmodern. . . . Words and pictures manage to be both clear and weird, an enjoyable mix." ––Booklist, ALA

"Twenty-eight more flights of fancy from a rapidly improving nabob of nonsense. . . . Composed with a fine ear for consistent rhythms and silly wordplay, these verses will tempt readers into repeat visits." --Kirkus Reviews

"A hearty salute to eccentricity." --Publishers Weekly

"The author's strong command of poetic form and his way with words make creating nonsense rhyme look effortless...Read aloud, these poems are sure to delight listeners."-- 15MinutesMagazine.com

CONNECTIONS

If children are looking for more fun and silly rhymes with colorful, eye-catching illustrations, they may enjoy the following titles:

Brown, Calef. 2008. Soup for Breakfast. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 978-0618916412

Brown, Calef. 2010. Hallowilloween. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 978-0547215402

Brown, Calef. 2009. Dutch Sneakers and Flea Keepers. Boston, MA: Sandpiper. ISBN 978-0547237510

A Poetry Review of: WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN'T KNOW by Sonya Sones

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sones, Sonya. 2001. What My Mother Doesn’t Know. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689841140

PLOT SUMMARY

In this verse novel, which reads much like a diary, Jewish American teenager, Sophie, graduates from the eighth grade and enters high school, a world full of new romantic relationships, while cherishing old friendships and evaluating her relationship with her parents. Sofia catalogues the short period of her life the novel spans with events that are monumental to her personal and emotional development.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This work is written in the verse form and does not rely on rhyme but its rhythms are in the familiar cadence of the speech of a modern adolescent girl. Each individual poem details a moment or event in Sophie’s life, so they vary in length. Natural dialogue is interposed between the prose. The phrasing of and breaks in sentences signify breaks in thought or stream of consciousness. The readers are truly allowed to feel that we are inside Sophie’s head. After all, we do not always think in complete sentences, and sometimes our thoughts do not always make sense or are non sequitur.

Sones provides imagery by using words such as “smoldery”, “zapped”, and “buzzing” in poems about Sophie’s boyfriend Dylan when the relationship is going well to portray and amplify the electricity in Sophie and Dylan’s attraction to each other. Everything seems shocking and fresh. Sones describes different parts of the anatomy such as eyes, lips, and arms, bringing sexual imagery into play. Readers can feel the distracted heat and friction through the words and choppy phrasing in poems where Sophie and Dylan are touching. Readers also feel Sophie’s distant attraction to the boy in art class, Murphy, as she fantasizes about what it would be like to kiss him when his lips are described. Sophie studies Murphy in an attempt to evoke sympathy, but begins to focus on the sexual aspects of how she would cheer up this sad social pariah. She dissembles his face, focusing on individual features such as his arms that are “aching to hold on to someone.” Instead of waning to give him a friendly hug, she wishes to kiss him. These clever lapses of attention from Dylan to Murphy foreshadow a future relationship.

Sones masterfully brings out the emotion in the developing story by the arrangement of the poems. Sophie focuses so much on her outside relationships, making having friends and boyfriends so important that a reader might begin to wonder what is missing inside of her. Sophie’s continued need for acceptance and to be found attractive by Dylan in the prose creates a soft tone of desperation. Then, Sones presents us with poems about Sophie’s parents and the relationship between them that Sophie feels is nonexistent. The phrases are short, but complete. Her mother prefers soap operas to real life, and Sophie feels ignored. Her father is emotionally distant and does not know how to show affection. Sophie is not sure if either of them loves her and she longs for the normalcy she feels her friends have within their families. She needs her relationship with Dylan to make her feel normal. Sophie views her mother and father’s relationship as something that has faded. They were in love once, but now they argue and fight as if they hate each other, and Sophie feels torn and embarrassed. She wants to run away, but she is afraid she will have to come to terms with what is happening in her household when confronted by outsiders. She does not want to be different. Right after a series of poems about her parents, a short almost fragment of a poem with Sophie spending time with Dylan begins, featuring nothing but stolen touches, as if she needs his touch to be reassured that she is worthy of attention.

Some of the poetry is structured into geometric shapes. In one poem, Sophie wishes she is small enough to fit in Dylan’s pocket, so that she can always be with him and feel his warmth. The poem is shaped like a cone which of course diminishes in size, and may give the reader the feeling that sometimes, Sophie wishes she could disappear. There are also poems where Sophie expresses insecurity about her height and wishes she is smaller. A teenage girl’s insecurity about size, especially during that awkward time period where girls are often a bit taller than the boys in their classes is clearly expressed.

Over the course of the novel, the readers feel Sophie’s attractions, pain and light-hearted moments of camaraderie with her girlfriends; we also feel her need for acceptance from her peers, her parents and her community. There are short scenes where certain members of the community do not accept her Jewish culture, and she wonders if she appears outwardly Jewish. She does not like when Dylan insists that she not tell his mom that she is Jewish, and does not like when Dylan’s mother made an offensive comment and Dylan did not rise to her defense. She is looking for a security and stability in relationships, and romance that resembles what her best friends’ seem to have in their relationships.

When she begins to see Murphy, the school pariah, in secret, we the readers can feel a genuine growing attraction in Sophie. Their relationship is a slow burn, which consists of multiple outings and conversations about art and other subjects that interest them both, which is a bold contrast to the mostly physical relationship had between Sophie and Dylan. Readers are made to recall when Sophie noticed Murphy’s arms at the beginning of the novel, when she and Murphy dance together at a Halloween dance. She does not know it is him at the time, because he is masked. The scene is spicy and sensual, with the dancers pressed against each other as their bodies move together as “though they know something [Sophie does not] know”. After the dance, Sophie becomes “obsessed with arms…his forearms.” Later in the story, Murphy hugs her and she remembers the feel of “his forearms”, arms that at the beginning of the story were “aching to hold on to someone”. To fall in love with Murphy would be to step away from the normalcy she holds dear. Her friends would not accept Murphy; her mother took one look at Murphy and assumed Sophie would never date him. However, over the course of the prose, Murphy demonstrates an understanding and open acceptance of Sophie that she has received from no one else. Sophie is faced with a social dilemma and her decision to move forward with Murphy symbolizes Sophie’s new acceptance of herself and what is normal.

REVIEW EXCERPTS(S)

*Starred Review* Drawing on the recognizable cadences of teenage speech, Sones (Stop Pretending) poignantly captures the tingle and heartache of being young and boy-crazy. The author keenly portrays ninth-grader Sophie's trajectory of lusty crushes and disillusionment whether she is gazing at Dylan's "smoldery dark eyes" or dancing with a mystery man to music that "is slow/ and/ saxophony." Best friends Rachel and Grace provide anchoring friendships for Sophie as she navigates her home life as an only child with a distant father and a soap opera-devotee mother whose "shrieking whips around inside me/ like a tornado." Some images of adolescent changes carry a more contemporary cachet, "I got my period I prefer/ to think of it as/ rebooting my ovarian operating system," others are consciously clich‚d, "my molehills/ have turned into mountains/ overnight" this just makes Sophie seem that much more familiar. With its separate free verse poems woven into a fluid and coherent narrative with a satisfying ending, Sophie's honest and earthy story feels destined to captivate a young female audience, avid and reluctant readers alike. Ages 12-up.—Publishers Weekly.

Gr 6-8-A story written in poetry form. Sophie is happily dating Dylan, "until he's practically glued himself to my side." Then she falls for cyberboy ("if I could marry a font/I'd marry his"). Imagine her surprise when he becomes downright scary. In the satisfying ending, Sophie finds the perfect boyfriend-someone she's known all along. Sones is a bright, perceptive writer who digs deeply into her protagonist's soul. There she reveals the telltale signs of being "boy crazy"; the exciting edginess of cyber romances; the familiar, timeless struggle between teens and parents; and the anguish young people feel when their parents fight. But life goes on, and relationships subtly change. Sones's poems are glimpses through a peephole many teens may be peering through for the first time, unaware that others are seeing virtually the same new, scary, unfamiliar things (parents having nuclear meltdowns, meeting a boyfriend's parents, crying for no apparent reason). In What My Mother Doesn't Know, a lot is revealed about the teenage experience-("could I really be falling for that geek I dissed a month ago?"), clashes with close friends, and self-doubts. It could, after all, be readers' lives, their English classes, their hands in a first love's. Of course, mothers probably do know these goings-on in their daughters' lives. It's just much easier to believe they don't. Sones's book makes these often-difficult years a little more livable by making them real, normal, and OK.—SLJ.

*Starred Review* Gr. 6-10. In a fast, funny, touching book, Sones uses the same simple, first-person poetic narrative she used in Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy (1999), but this story isn't about family anguish; it's about the joy and surprise of falling in love. Sophie, 14, thinks she has a crush on handsome Dylan, but she discovers that her most passionate feelings are for someone totally unexpected, a boy who makes her laugh and shows her how to look at the world. And when they kiss, every cell in her body is on fire. Meanwhile, she fights with her mom--who fights with Sophie's dad--and she refuses to wear a pink flowered dress to the school dance, secretly changing into a slinky black outfit with the help of her girlfriends. Their girl talk is hilarious and irreverent in the style of Naylor's Alice books. The poetry is never pretentious or difficult; on the contrary, the very short, sometimes rhythmic lines make each page fly. Sophie's voice is colloquial and intimate, and the discoveries she makes are beyond formula, even while they are as sweetly romantic as popular song. A natural for reluctant readers, this will also attract young people who love to read. Hazel Rochman—Booklist.

Brilliant. –KLIATT.

CONNECTIONS

For youths looking for a continuation of the lives of Sophie and Murphy and how their relationship progresses, Sones has written a sequel in verse from the vantage point of Murphy. Other novels in verse that portray adolescent girls and their personal and emotional growth and maturation as they face high school ordeals are also listed. These novels will help expose adolescents to poetry that is relevant to them and can better their enjoyment of the form.

Sones, Sonya. 2008. What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689876035

Hemphill, Stephanie. 2005. Things Left Unsaid: A Novel in Poems. New York: Hyperion Books CH. ISBN 0786818501

Smith, Kirsten. 2007. The Geography of Girlhood. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0316017350