Flying Solo: How Ruth Elder Soared into America's Heart

We all know Amelia Earhart as the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean and later went famously missing.  One of our true mysteries. 

But, she wasn’t the first woman to attempt to fly across the Atlantic.  Ruth Elder didn’t let the fact that she was a beauty queen define her entirely.  Though, it didn’t hurt.  Flying Solo: How Ruth Elder Soared into America’s Heart by Julie Cummins and illustrated by Malene R. Laugesen is the story of Ruth’s first flight highlighting that fact that she didn’t make it across the Atlantic.  It also highlighted her ingenuity in staying alive and seeking rescue with the help of a ship, its captain and crew.  Ruth was still lauded upon her arrival in Europe. 

Even more fascinating to me was the cross-country all female plane race which took place in 1929.  Navigation meant following road maps, literally looking down at the roads below to know in which direction to fly.  In the favorite story from the derby, Ruth’s maps flew out of her plane and she landed to get her bearings.  In an instance like this, I wondered: Would a man have stopped to ask for directions? 

I love a good author’s note.  This one starts out: “It’s hard to imagine a time when American women didn’t have the choices or freedoms that we do today.”  On this point, I disagree.  It’s not hard to imagine at all.  I’m glad that women have come such a long way in gaining equal rights, but it was one hurdle after another.  “Flying Solo” tells an important story, putting faces on the fight for women’s rights in America.  The illustrations are well paired to the story.  I especially enjoyed the interspersed newspaper front pages with information about Charles Lindbergh’s solo flight across the Atlantic and Ruth Elder’s crash and rescue in the Atlantic.  The marquee on the title page and framing of the text were reminiscent of the timeframe of the story in the late 1920’s. 

The author’s dedication: To the young women who see the horizon of their dreams and soar toward it – fly, girls, fly!  - J.C.

Flying Solo: How Ruth Elder Soared into America’s Heart

ISBN: 978-1-59643-509-4

Published 2013 by Roaring Brook Press

I borrowed this copy from my public library to read and review.

Miss Moore Thought Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore Created Librariesfor Children

 

I LOVE that Anne Carroll Moore advocated for children of the day and their rights to access the library.  Through her groundbreaking work, libraries more often than not have children's sections with age appropriate materials.  These areas lay the groundwork for young children to become lifelong library patrons with fond memories of what a library has to offer.  I may be partial (being a school librarian) but I really do LOVE this story and the way it is presented from Annie's own childhood up through her ability to travel the country teaching others how to create welcoming spaces for children. 

 

Perhaps my favorite illustration is the removal of the "SILENCE" sign from above the circulation desk.  It is astonishing to me how many people think libraries still should be silent at all times.  Granted, having quiet space is important, but having space to explore, collaborate, and read aloud is equally important.  The color palette of illustrations is bright and cheerful, as is the idea of children's areas in libraries.  Debby Atwell does a lovely job of incorporating variety in her color scheme.  The backdrop of the marble face of the New York Public Library helps to enhance the bright colors used for clothing and the multicultural facet that including bringing children together from all of New York's diverse neighborhoods and giving those children amazing opportunities to interact with famous authors, illustrators, and dignitaries of the day.

 

Jan Pinborough is a debut author - amazing!  In this, her first children's book, she incorporates the phrase "Miss Moore thought otherwise (Annie when she was younger)" as a refrain to show how she did things differently than other people of the time.  The title/refrain really ties the ideas of the story together well. 

 

Miss Moore Thought Otherwise

ISBN: 978-0-547-47105-1

Published 2013 by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

I borrowed this copy from the public library to read and review.

On a Beam of Light

As the author, Jennifer Berne, states in her author's note, there are hundreds of books written about Albert Einstein and she read more than 50 of them.  In "On a Beam of Light" she presented information about Einstein in such a way that my 4 year old daughter asked to read it twice at bedtime tonight.  That is an achievement in and of itself.  And telling that such a young child was engrossed by his story.  I've seen images of his messy workplace before stating it was the workplace of a genius to justify colleague's desks and those of students, but I hadn't known before that Einstein was a late talker.  Makes sense that he was, perhaps, absorbing the natural world around him.  My daughter asked what the word behaved meant and I tried to explain that the teachers didn't think he was being "good" because he was asking so many questions but that we know questions are good.  And that it's not always good to act the same as everyone else.  Reading the story to her helped me to see and hear it from her perspective.  Hopefully, she will recognize the genius of wondering, thinking, and imagining.

Vladimir Radunsky's illustrations felt playful to me and as I read more of Berne's author's note, that seemed very fitting as Einstein was playful as well.

On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein

ISBN: 978-0-8118-7235-5

Published 2013 by Chronicle Books

I borrowed this copy from my public library to read and review.

A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin

I first picked up this book when it was published and I immediately placed it within our art curriculum.  As our school is outside of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, I connected with the fact that Horace Pippin was a native Pennsylvania artist.  Fourth graders in my school district study Pennsylvania artists, like Andy Warhol of Pittsburgh fame.  So, Pippin's hometown of West Chester (even closer) made me think he would be a perfect fit.  

Horace Pippin's story is remarkable in that his art was his passion and one that he returned to, even after a disabling injury.  His characteristic splash of red created a vibrance in works of art that might have had a seemingly dull colorscape.  As a result, the red pops.  

Working together to research and put the story together, Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet do a beautiful job of creating a patchwork quilt feel.  The story is pieced together and the pictures are too.  

A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin

ISBN: 978-0-375-96712-2

Published 2013 by Alfred A. Knopf 

I borrowed this copy from my public library to read and review.

Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Maker's Strike of 1909

Melissa Sweet sure has been busy!  She illustrated last year's nonfiction picture book CYBILS winner: Mrs. Harkness and the Panda which was one of two nominees last year along with "Balloons Over Broadway" and there are two nominees in the Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction category as well: A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin and Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909.

Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909 is written by Michelle Markel whose book, "The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau" was also nominated in the nonfiction picture book category for a CYBILS award last year.  Michelle and Melissa bring to life the famous garment worker's strike of 1909.  This book reminds me of why I absolutely love reading all of the amazing nonfiction on the shelves for our young readers today.  Brave Girl takes a moment in our country's history when workers as young as 12 stood up for their rights and changed the way business was done in America - for the better!  Photographs from 1909 are powerful, of course, but Melissa Sweet's illustration of young women hunched over sewing machines crowded into a room with overseers yelling to work faster is remarkable.  

The story is also timely when unions and workers are under attack in the media.  As a teacher, I often hear the sentiment, "I support teachers, but not teacher's unions."  Who, exactly, do they think are in teacher's unions?  Likewise, Brave Girl highlights exactly what was being fought for - safe and healthy working conditions.  Like Esperanza Rising and Kira Kira, Brave Girl helps young readers to understand unions in the context of the history.

The text also tells the story but left me with questions.  The kind of questions that would lead me to further reading.  The BEST kinds of questions.  For example, Clara's father could not find work.  Was it because of his immigrant status?  I can make assumptions, but even better would be to turn to one of the resources from the Selected Bibliography.  The section titled "More about the Garment Industry" tells that the Triangle Waist Factory was one that would not negotiate and I can infer from the illustrations that Clara did work there.  I want to know more.  Books that leave the reader wanting more kindle a passion for learning.  Brave Girl does just that.

Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909

ISBN: 978-0-06-180442-7

Published 2013 by Balzer + Bray

I borrowed this copy from my library to read and review.

Helen's Big World

This very different look into Helen Keller's world, her truly big world, is breathtaking.  

Reading the illustrator's note explains what Matt Tavares was thinking as he pictured Helen Keller and what she COULD do instead of focusing on what she could not do.  

Like the author, Doreen Rappaport, I am most familiar with Helen Keller through the story of her relationship with Annie Sullivan via The Miracle Worker.  Though there is an epilogue, for me her story ended when she understood that w-a-t-e-r meant water, the substance being poured over her hand from the pump. Rappaport and Tavares open up a whole new world for me of what Helen Keller went on to do in and for the world.  It's also remarkable what she went on to do at such a young age still.  Writing by the time she was eight, reading braille, and even more impressive - reading lips.  More that I did not know about Helen - that she spoke out against war, child labor, in favor of worker's unions, women's right to vote, and equality for black Americans.

Doreen Rappaport weaves together the story of Helen's life and her ability to explore the world along with quotes from her very own writing about her life.  My favorite quote is: 

"I do not like the world as it is; so I am trying to make it a little more as I would like it."

I couldn't agree more!  I was able to see a social activist speak today who focused on the importance of free speech and reading Helen's Big World made me happy that even though Helen may not have had the audible words, she did not let that keep her from speaking her mind, learning more, and standing up for those who could not stand up for themselves.  She is a remarkable figure and this book is a remarkable telling of her story.  

Helen's Big World

ISBN: 978-0-7868-0890-8

Published 2012 by Disney Hyperion Books

I borrowed this copy from my public library to read and review.

That's a Possibility! A Book About What Might Happen

Sadly, I was not a math whiz as a kid.  I also wasn't exposed to much math based nonfiction as a kid either.  I like to think that if I were I might have had a better understanding of some tricky concepts.  Bruce Goldstone does an excellent job of explaining possibility, probability, certainty, impossibility, improbability, and permutations in his book "That's a Possibility!".  The accompanying photographs help to illustrate each concept.  

That's a Possibility: A Book About What Might Happen

ISBN: 978-0-8050-8998-1

Published 2013 by Henry Holy and Company

I borrowed this copy from my public library to read and review.