We Are the Ship by Kadir Nelson

1. Bibliography:

Nelson, Kadir. 2008. We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 0786808322

2. Plot Summary: Kadir Nelson uses a 96 page book to illustrate in both words and pictures, the history of Negro League Baseball. From the reasons behind starting their own league to the hardships and injustices players faced while traveling and playing in an all black league, We Are the Ship takes the reader along with the players, managers and owners who helped shaped the future of baseball.

3. Critical Analysis:

The progression of We Are the Ship is very thorough and detailed. The use of innings to break up chapters lends itself well to the theme of the story. The beautifully illustrated pictures elevate the informational text above others of its kind, thanks to the artistic skills of author and illustrator Kadir Nelson.

Notes within the text authenticate the stories being told as the history of Negro baseball unfolds. Illustrations of players and managers are realistically depicted, lending a special quality to this book.

Using a first person point of view, readers are drawn in immediately, as if the book were autobiographical. The style Nelson uses in writing and illustrating are unique and graceful, even when detailing subjects and events that are harsh, ugly and cruel.

4. Awards and/or Review Excerpts:

· 2009-2010 Bluebonnet Nominee

· 2009 Coretta Scott King Award winner

· From Library School Journal: “A lost piece of American history comes to life in Kadir Nelson's elegant and eloquent history of the Negro Leagues and its gifted baseball players.”

5. Connections:

· Read other books by Kadir Nelson such as He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands and Change Has Come: An Artist Celebrates Our American Spirit. Comparison of the illustrations between We Are the Ship and Change Has Come should provide an interesting discussion as the techniques are so different.

· Students can follow up with biographies of individual people mentioned in the We Are the Ship.

· Books illustrated by Nelson, like Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine and Ellington Was Not a Street by Ntozake Shange would make great additions to any Black History month unit.

6. Personal Response: Wow the illustrations are breathtaking! I have read biographies on Jackie Robinson and from those stories had a small glimpse inside the world of negro league baseball but never knew that most of baseball’s safety equipment, like shin guards and helmets, were the result of Negro players and their attempts to stay safe while playing against white ball players. Over everything else, the illustrations make this book worthwhile.

1. Bibliography:

Nelson, Kadir. 2008. We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 0786808322

2. Plot Summary: Kadir Nelson uses a 96 page book to illustrate in both words and pictures, the history of Negro League Baseball. From the reasons behind starting their own league to the hardships and injustices players faced while traveling and playing in an all black league, We Are the Ship takes the reader along with the players, managers and owners who helped shaped the future of baseball.

3. Critical Analysis:

The progression of We Are the Ship is very thorough and detailed. The use of innings to break up chapters lends itself well to the theme of the story. The beautifully illustrated pictures elevate the informational text above others of its kind, thanks to the artistic skills of author and illustrator Kadir Nelson.

Notes within the text authenticate the stories being told as the history of Negro baseball unfolds. Illustrations of players and managers are realistically depicted, lending a special quality to this book.

Using a first person point of view, readers are drawn in immediately, as if the book were autobiographical. The style Nelson uses in writing and illustrating are unique and graceful, even when detailing subjects and events that are harsh, ugly and cruel.

4. Awards and/or Review Excerpts:

· 2009-2010 Bluebonnet Nominee

· 2009 Coretta Scott King Award winner

· From Library School Journal: “A lost piece of American history comes to life in Kadir Nelson's elegant and eloquent history of the Negro Leagues and its gifted baseball players.”

5. Connections:

· Read other books by Kadir Nelson such as He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands and Change Has Come: An Artist Celebrates Our American Spirit. Comparison of the illustrations between We Are the Ship and Change Has Come should provide an interesting discussion as the techniques are so different.

· Students can follow up with biographies of individual people mentioned in the We Are the Ship.

· Books illustrated by Nelson, like Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine and Ellington Was Not a Street by Ntozake Shange would make great additions to any Black History month unit.

6. Personal Response: Wow the illustrations are breathtaking! I have read biographies on Jackie Robinson and from those stories had a small glimpse inside the world of negro league baseball but never knew that most of baseball’s safety equipment, like shin guards and helmets, were the result of Negro players and their attempts to stay safe while playing against white ball players. Over everything else, the illustrations make this book worthwhile.

Lightning by Seymour Simon

1. Bibliography:
Simon, Seymour. 1997. Lightning. New York, NY: Harper Collins. ISBN 0060884355
2. Plot Summary:
Seymour Simon explores the creation, dangers and different types of lightning and introduces the reader to several new discoveries scientists in the field have made. The photos provide visual stimulation as well as an in-depth look at the natural phenomenon of lightning.
3. Critical Analysis:
This 32 page informational text on lightning is presented through collection of brilliant photographs. Simon leads the reader on a natural progression of information, from the general exploration to well known and lesser known types of lightning. The stunning photos aid in Simon’s simple, yet information packed explanations. Comparisons, such as a single “flash of lightning is brighter than ten million one-hundred-watt lightbulbs”, help even the youngest readers understand the power of lightning.

4. Awards and/or Review Excerpts:
• From Booklist: “Simon's simple yet dramatic description of lightning as a "river of electricity rushing through an ocean of air" sets the tone for this excellent photo-essay. The subject is exciting, the information is amazing, and the full-color photographs are riveting, each spectacular picture more exciting than the last.”
• From Library School Journal: “Short, simple sentences make this topic accessible to younger readers but do not talk down to older report writers.”
5. Connections:
• Create an author display or complete an author study using many of Simon’s books.
• Create a display about weather. Many of Simon’s books such as Tornadoes , Storms and Hurricanes can be used as well as books by other authors. Gail Gibbons’ Weather Forecasting and Allan Fowler’s What’s The Weather Today are also good choices to include.
6. Personal Response:
I have always loved Seymour Simon and his photo essay non fiction books. When teaching at the elementary level, I always looked to see if he had a book on my current science topic and would often pull random books by Simon from the library to keep at student’s desks. Lightning is such a beautiful and dangerous phenomenon and this book provides lots of information and interesting facts that I kept shouting out to my husband. Now we both know a lot more about lightning!

What To Do About Alice? by Barbara Kerley

1. Bibliography:

Kerley, Barbara. 2008. What to Do About Alice? New York, NY: Scholastic Inc. ISBN 0439922313.

2. Plot Summary: Theodore Roosevelt’s oldest daughter causes him a lot of grief as she grows up with a wild side and a mind of her own. Whether sliding down the stairs of the White House or greeting company with a snake draped over her shoulders, Alice could not resist living life to the fullest. Eventually serving as a Goodwill Ambassador for her President father, Alice made headlines dancing the night away or skipping church. Even marriage couldn’t tame the “other Washington Monument” as she continued to eat up the world.

3. Critical Analysis:

What to Do About Alice? is a fresh and entertaining look at the daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt. This beautifully illustrated biography details the wild life of Alice Roosevelt and her antics before, during and after her father’s presidency. The variety in text font and size keeps the reader engaged and helps convey a sense of the fast paced world that Alice created for herself.

The author’s notes in the back of the book attribute to the careful details placed throughout the story. This artistic and accurate literary work breathes new life into the genre of biographical texts.

4. Awards and/or Review Excerpts:

· Starred Review, Kirkus: "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."

· 2009-2010 Bluebonnet Nominee

· Starred Review, Booklist: "Irrepressible Alice Roosevelt gets a treatment every bit as attractive and exuberant as she was.”

5. Connections:

· Read other biographies by Kerley, such as The Extraordinary Mark Twain (2010) or Walt Whitman: Words for America (2004).

· Compare with other works about Alice Roosevelt. Examples include Mind Your Manners, Alice Roosevelt! by Leslie Kimmelman and Adam Gustavson or Princess Alice: The Life and Times of Alice Roosevelt Longworth by Carol Felsenthal.

6. Personal Response:

I really enjoyed this book. Honestly, I had never heard of Alice Roosevelt before reading this story. She was so ahead of her time and seems to relate well to young girls everywhere. I love that she didn’t lose her zest for life or sense of humor as she aged. I wish that What to Do About Alice? had been around when I was in school and needing a biography to read. Very fun and entertaining. My students in grades 3-5 are studying biographies right now so I will be recommending this one to anyone who asks!