I Wish I Knew That: U.S. Presidents: Cool Stuff I Need to Know, edited by Patricia A. Halbert

EDITED BY: Patricia A. Halbert
PUBLISHER: Reader's Digest

Do you know who the youngest President was?  How about the oldest, at age 69?

Do you know which President never married?

Any idea who loved books so much that their 6,000 volume collection became the first Library of Congress?

Do you know who was the first and only president to command the military on the field while he was president?

What about which President the Teddy Bear is named for?

Do you know which president had a pet alligator?

You can learn all these facts and more in this thorough volume all about the U.S. Presidents and their lives.


Each President is mentioned in order, starting with their full name, when and where they were born, their political party, their vice president, and their family members (including their pets!).  There is also a picture of the president and a quote underneath it.

The rest of the chapter includes information on their time in office, fun facts, and sometimes information on the First Ladies.

There are also information boxes that include notes such as how the White House was built, which presidents feature on U.S. currency, and monuments to the presidents.

My only problem with this book, and it is a big problem, is that it assumes the reader already knows a lot, like, for example, what electoral votes are or what it means to be impeached.  If the three branches of the government need to be explained right away than I am pretty sure electoral votes and impeachment do, too.  Electoral votes are first mentioned in George Washington's chapter, but are not explained until George W. Bush.  It makes no sense.  You've read the entire book before any explanation is given for something that they talk about at the beginning of the book.  Have a dictionary handy if you read this one.


BOOK BRIEFS:
AGES: 9 and up
HIS = Historical/History
I = Insightful
INFO= Informative
L = Long Book (139 pages)
LC = Language Concepts
R = Reference
V = Vocabulary Enhancement

Book Review: The Arab World Thought of It by Salma S. Hussain

Do you know who invented tents?  Or carpets?  Or bars of soap?  How about public libraries, where anyone could borrow a book?  Do you know who invented stained glass windows?  What about the first ever observatory so we could study the skies more accurately?  What about the scalpel, used in modern surgery?  

The Arab world actually invented all of these things and so much more.  Who are the Arab people, you ask?  A simple definition would be those people who can trace their ancestry back to the Middle East and North Africa (called Arabia then), and whose original language was Arabic.  This is not a definition everyone agrees on, as this book explains, but this is a good starting place.  This book even gives you a map so you can locate the countries.  It also shows you how the Arabs grew from small nomadic tribes into over 10 countries.  There are, of course, many Arabs who live all over the world now, too. 

I was very impressed with the amount of information included in this book that is also written for a middle grade audience to understand.  I was doubly impressed the author included a section specifically for contributions by Arabic women.  There are also several places in which pronunciations are included, for example, a caliph named al-Mamun (pronounced al-mamoon).  Al-Mamun is very important in the Arab world.  Find out why some historians call him the "master of Arab civilization."

Did you know that the stars in the Big Dipper constellation all have Arabic names because they were all discovered by the Arabs?

Arabs invented crystal drinking glasses like this one.

Did you know the Arabs were the first to drink coffee?  

Did you know the first attempt at constructing and flying a machine was by an Arab in 852 CE?

Did you know the idea of three-course meals was invented in the 9th century CE by an Arabic man named Ziryab, when he was asked by the court of Spain to teach them how to live a more elegant lifestyle?

So many interesting facts in this book!

I really loved seeing this building in the country of Saudi Arabia that was designed to look just like a book!  

This book is full of bright, vivid photographs of Arab people, mosques, landscapes, and the inventions described in the book.  


VOCABULARY TIDBITS: caliph and caliphate, planetarium, astrolabe, surgical needle, oud, catgut stitches, antiseptic, cataract, glaze, calligraphy, arabesque decorations, torpedo, midfa, tabboulah, sfiha, hajj, machicolations, minarets, sultan, skybridges

BOOK BRIEFS:
10 and up, 48 pages
ACM (Arts, Crafts, Music)
CD (Cultural Diversity)
HIS (Historical/History)
I (Insightful)
INFO (Informative)
T (Travel)
V (Vocabulary Enhancement)

I give this book 5 BOOKWORMS.  

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Review: When I Was Eight by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton

When I Was Eight is the story of a little Inuit girl named Olemaun who wants to learn to read English so badly that her father relunctantly enrolls her into an Indian Residential School, where they change her name to Margaret.  She is treated horribly by the nun and the other girls because she cannot read.  She is stuck in a corner facing the wall, she is forced to scrub floors and pray for her soul and to wash laundry in scalding water.  She is forced to wear red stockings, meant to provoke the other students to make fun of her, which they do.  She is even locked in a cellar.

However nothing will deter Olemaun from her goal.  She uses every opportunity to learn the English alphabet and to sound out the words around her.  She carries a book she wants to learn how to read, Alice in Wonderland, that her sister used to read her, and determinedly figures out the words.  She finds within herself a courage she once lacked and her true Inuit spirit shines through.

Based on the true story of Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, When I Was Eight is an adaptation of the bestselling memoir Fatty Legs.  This children's version is a wonderful tale of strength, courage, determination, and perseverance in the face of strong adversity.  Recommended for children 6 and up.

RATING:

Vocabulary Building Words: Inuit, hesitation, victorious, slumbering, ulu knife, pinafore, and more.

BOOK BRIEFS:
CD = Cultural Diversity
E/S = Emotional & Social Development
HIS = Historical/History
I = Insightful
INFO= Informative
T = Travel & Geography
V = Vocabulary Enhancement

Review: Cat or Dog for President by Julia Dweck

 

The narrator dreams up what it would be like if his cat and his dog ran in an election in this interesting rhyming tale.  It goes through what kind of platform each would run, how they would recruit voters, where they would have their office, even how they would work against each other.  Except, at the end they realize it would be much more fun and better for everyone if they ran together and everyone would be happy. It could be very useful to help explain the voting process to children, via pets, something they know and understand.   Recommended!

BOOK BRIEFS:
A = Animals  
HIS = History (Politics)
I = Insightful 

Cozy Classics Books

Cozy Classics is a series of books published by Simply Read Books that break down the stories of wonderful classics into word books for small children.  

I had the opportunity to look through the books for Pride & Prejudice and Moby-Dick.

The pictures include dolls acting out the scenes next to the vocabulary word.  See below.

Moby-Dick

Pride and Prejudice

I think this is a really cute idea and a great way to introduce our beloved classics to our children!  To see the books coming out this spring check out mycozyclassics.com.




A = Animals
C = Classics 
HIS = Historical/History
V = Vocabulary Enhancement 

Ah, Music! Written and Illustrated by Aliki

Ahhhh, music! 

We all have our favorite types of music and our favorite songs. And who doesn't love a little I'm a Little Teapot now and then? 

But what is music when you really break it down for children?  

Well, it's rhythm and it's melody and, sometimes it's also harmony.  It's pitch and tone, tempo and volume. 

  It is cellos and harps, electric guitars and keyboards, trumpets and bassoons, kettledrums and bongos, bagpipes and sitars and bells and voices.  

It is jazz and opera, salsa and rock 'n' roll, calypso and spirituals.

  It is creativity and passion, and this book explains all of this and more to children in wonderful pictures and words and cartoons. 

The book is also filled with a wonderful diversity of people, instruments, and cultures inspiring a healthy dose of trying out new Spotify and Songza stations. (Hopefully even for us adults who read along.)

Not only do these instruments (especially ones never seen or heard of by the child yet) suffice as vocabulary enhancers, but the prose includes a variety of words to challenge young readers, such as composer, placement, notations, shadowy, vibration, generations, polyphonic, and primitive. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

ACQUIRED AT: Local library
AGES:  4 and up for interest; 7 and up for reading solo
BOOK BRIEFS:
ACM
CD
HIS
INFO
L (Long Book for younger age range at 48 pgs.)
LC
R
V

Olympic Review Series: Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Runner by Kathleen Krull

World Records may have been smashed to millions of little pieces in these Olympics, and Track & Field is no exception, but back in 1960 Wilma Rudolph became the first American woman to win 3 gold medals in track and field during a single Olympics.  She was so fast that she was nicknamed "The Tornado."   This book tells the story, however, of Wilma before she became a history-maker.  

Wilma Unlimited shares how Wilma was diagnosed with polio at a young age.  It paralyzed her leg and everyone said she would never walk again.  However, Wilma was strong and determined and she worked hard every day.  Eventually not only did she learn to walk again, she ran and she ran so well and so quickly that she became the fastest woman in the world.  The moment in the book when Wilma walks without her leg brace for the first time, the reader will want to cheer and clap!

A conversation you can have with your child about this book could be: 

When you think you cannot overcome an obstacle, take a page out of Wilma's life.  If she can overcome a paralyzed leg, think about all of the things you can overcome in your own life.  What troubles you at school?  Is there anything that makes you feel bad about yourself?  Let's brainstorm and figure out a way you can turn the negative into a positive.  It is amazing what can be accomplished with a positive attitude and hard work.  Parents, you can give an example from your own life, too.  

This book contains plenty of language concepts and new vocabulary, such as "polio", "paralyzed", "brace", and "shimmering".

I was so inspired by the book that I looked up Wilma Rudolph and found some very inspirational quotes, which you will find underneath this book's  Book Briefs info.


AGES: 6-10

BOOK BRIEFS:
CD
E/S
HIS
I
LC
PWD
S
V

I ran and ran and ran every day, and I acquired this sense of determination, this sense of spirit that I would never, never give up, no matter what else happened.

Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.

I believe in me more than anything in this world.

Olympic Review Series: Hour of the Olympics (The Magic Tree House #16) by Mary Pope Osborne

The Magic Tree House transports Jack and his younger sister Annie on another adventure into the past, this time back to the Olympics of Ancient Greece.  But in Ancient Greece, females are not allowed in the arena.  Annie tells Jack to go to the games without her, but Jack knows that Annie would not tell him to do that unless she had some kind of plan up her sleeve.  However, this is ancient Greece.  How is Annie going to pull this off?  And what does a flying horse have to do with anything?

I really liked this jaunt into the earliest days of the Olympics.  The similarities and differences from those early days in Greece to the 2012 Olympics in London are fun to discover.  I am a big fan of this series as a whole, anyway.  It is a "Magic School Bus" for middle grade fiction.  Sometimes by this reading level the imaginative stories are fewer.  In my opinion, imaginations need to be nourished as much as any other part of the mind.  Osborne manages to deftly combine the elements of imagination, curiosity, history, and mystery without it ever feeling trite or dumbed-down.


AGES: 8-12

BOOK BRIEFS:

HIS
INFO
MYS
S
SF
T
V

Olympic Review Series: Pop-Up London by Jennie Maizels

Jennie Maizels' writing and Richard Ferguson's paper engineering make Pop-up London a really beautifully executed pop-up book.

As the cover says, there are flaps, there are dramatic pop-ups, and it is chock-full of profiles on famous Brits and wonderful facts all about London, the site of the 2012 Olympics where historic wins are continuing to take place.  The book takes you down the Thames and features well-known sites including the Tower Bridge and Buckingham Palace.

(This photo really doesn't do the book justice.  It was hard to get a good angle that did not include every customer at the bookstore also.  As you can sort of tell it was multi-layered.)

The book is only five spreads, but the spreads are so fun.  I found myself remembering my trip to London in 2009 with each turn of the page more so than in any of the other London books I have looked at as part of my review series.  Don't be at all surprised if this book jump starts a curiosity for all things London for you and/or your child!


AGES: 5 and up

BOOK BRIEFS:


HIS
INFO
T

Dream Big: Michael Jordan and the Pursuit of Olympic Gold

This book about Michael Jordan's childhood was written by his mother, Deloris Jordan, and is told in a very simple, straightforward manner, yet it is also very smoothly written with lovely prose that persuades you to read on.

In this story, Michael goes from a nine-year-old boy who dreams of Olympic gold to a pre-teen on his way to making that dream a reality.  The last page even has a note from Mrs. Jordan on how Michael soared, realizing his dream, and makes sure to mention it was through hard work.

I did not know until I read this story that Mrs. Jordan has also written other books, including Salt in His Shoes, Michael's Golden Rules, and Did I Tell You I Loved You Today?

AGES: 4 + for parent readings and 7 + for independent reading


BOOK BRIEFS:


CD
E/S
HIS
I
INFO
S

Olympic Book Review Series: All About Gymnastics

Gymnast Aly Raisman

The Gymnastics competitions are under way and I don't know about you, but it is one of my favorite Olympic events to watch. For 7 years when I was younger I did these events and I'm here to tell you that anyone who says it is not a sport obviously never tried it. Gymnastics uses more muscle groups than basketball and the gymnasts move their bodies more than football players. So a sport it is. The end of the debate. :)

There are several interesting books I found about gymnastics that young readers can enjoy. Gymnastics by Bobbie Kalmon and Tommy Everts features photographs of kids performing the gymnastics moves. The book covers everything from warming up to uneven bars to proper form while flying through the air. It also includes a picture glossary.

Gymnastics by Bernie Blackall discusses the differences between Artistic and Rhythmic gymnastics, as well as the history of the sport, U.S. Highlights, and skills and events. It features events for both guys and girls, so the Pommel Horse is included along with the Vault. This was the only book I found where males were included.  I tried to snap a picture of a page with the boys featured, but my camera on my phone stopped working.  Of course. 

Author Jen Jones has a series of books about gymnastics, as you can see below. The books include photos, history, and lots of good vocabulary (spotter, endurance, incline mat, apparatus, dismount, grips, etc.)

 

 

Here are some more gymnasts competing in this year's games. Who is your favorite to win the gold medals in gymnastics?  Who do you look up to if you enjoy gymnastics?

 Olympic Gymnast Gabrielle Douglas

Olympic Gymnast Jordan Wieber

AGES: ALL

BOOK BRIEFS:

HIS

I

INFO

S

V

Olympic Review Series: A Walk in London by Salvatore Rubbino

If you and your children will be watching the Olympics this year, then I have just the review collection for you.  Each day during the Olympics (so through Aug. 12th), I will be reviewing one children's book that has to do with the 2012 Summer Olympics in London!  These are books that you can read together or that they can read by themselves to enhance their knowledge and also their excitement about the Games!

A Walk in London is a book with not only a cute story.  It is also a book full of fun facts which dot the illustrations. There are a great many vocabulary enhancements throughout the book, for example, scepters, emeralds, guided, occasionally, monument, and cathedral. There is also a foldout panoramic illustrated view of the Thames included.  The one downside I see is that the fonts change in the story, as the photo below shows.  This may be a challenge to young readers.

AGES: 8 to 11

BOOK BRIEFS: (Find explanation for Book Briefs in left sidebar!)

HIS

CD

T

V

Olympics Review Series: G is for Gold Medal: An Olympics Alphabet by Brad Herzog, Illustrated by Doug Bowles

The 2012 Olympics in London are upon us!  It is an exciting time for the world as we gather together in healthy competition while supporting our various countries.  Children, especially, look forward to the Olympics, as they get to watch a diverse group of athletes from far away places strive to do their best and take home that medal.

If you and your children will be watching the Olympics this year, then I have just the review collection for you.  Each day during the Olympics (so for 17 days, now through August 12th) I will be reviewing one children's book that has to do with the 2012 Summer Olympics!  These are books that you can read together or that they can read by themselves to enhance their knowledge and also their excitement about the Games!

Today I am reviewing G is for Gold Medal: An Olympics Alphabet by Brad Herzog and illustrated by Doug Bowles.  I always like to recognize the illustrator because without his/her drawings, children's books would be a lot less fun. :)

Even though this book is an ABC book, it is not exactly a book for early readers.  Each letter has it's own short stanza poem (see inside the circle in first photo) but also a lengthy explanation about the history of the Olympics.

Letter A.  See the short poem in the circle and the longer passage to the left of the page.

Close up of the longer passage from above photo.

Older elementary students would be able to read the longer passages.  If you decide to read the longer passages to your younger child, interest could wane.  He/she will probably want to turn the page and get going already.  However, if your child is very interested in the Olympics, give it a try.  I recommend, depending on your individual child's attention to the topic, looking up the letter/Olympic sport associated with what you are currently watching on TV.  This will allow your child to more easily connect reading the book with the act of watching the Olympics on TV, and also hold their interest longer.

AGES 5 to 7 for short stanzas; 8 to 11 for longer passages

BOOK BRIEFS: (Find explanation for Book Briefs in left sidebar!)
S
L
V
HIS