Everything Is a Poem By J. Patrick Lewis

Everything Is a Poem: the Best of J. Patrick Lewis, Illus. by Maria Cristina Pritelli, 2014.

The guest author for this year's MELSA Camp Read-a-Lot is former United States Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis. So, one of our reading choices is any of his works and I picked Everything Is a Poem.
This includes more than 59 illustrated poems on a variety of topics written between 1982-2010. The mood ranges from serious to silly.

Poetry subjects include:

•  animals ( for example, "Elephant Bill & Jackrabbit Jack")
•  people  ("The Greatest"),
• reading ("The Gentleman Bookworm")
•  sports ("My Baseball Glove")
•  riddles and epitaphs ("A Dairy Farmer")
• Mother Nature ("Her-i-Cane")
• Places ("Okefenokee Swamp Song")
• a mix ("Say, Hay Won't You Be Mine?")

Here is my favorite silly poem in the collection:

"Snake Song"

Toad gots measles
Frog gots mumps
Both got such
Disgusting bumps.

They so ugly
It's a sin.
They be jumpin'
Out that skin.

Pay no mind
These creepy items
Close my eyes
I bite 'ems, bite 'ems.

J. Patrick Lewis

Stubby the War Dog by Ann Bausum

Stubby the War Dog: the True Story of World War I's Bravest Dog by Ann Bausum, 2014.

Animal lovers will welcome this heartfelt non-fiction title about a loyal dog . Stubby was an amazing canine hero during World War I.  A mixed breed stray, he adopted soldier James Robert Conroy when enlisted men were training on Yale University's athletic grounds. He watched the men as they drilled and he learned how to march in formation and salute, and soon he became the mascot for Conroy's Unit. Smuggled aboard a ship to France, Stubby then participated in 17 battles, keeping close to his buddy Conroy.  He killed vermin in the trenches, warned the doughboys when a gas attack was coming, helped to find wounded on the battlefield, and more. One of his greatest acts was  capturing a German soldier and holding him by the pants until help arrived. The gallant dog survived severe wounding by schrapnel and poison gas and returned to duty each time. Through all of his service he remained Conroy's best friend.

After the war until the end of his days, the wonderful Stubby was honored and led an exciting life. His special uniform was decorated with many medals and he earned three bones a day and a place to sleep at the YMCA. He and his pal Conroy marched in parades, performed vaudeville and promoted the American Humane Society. Stubby & Conroy also met presidents Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. The outstanding dog was always loved and cared for by his friend. Conroy made sure that Stubby would be remembered by donating his memorabila to the Smithsonian Museum.

Bausum's book is a fine read for history lovers, as she skillfully tells the dog's story and gives a view of  the Great War and the life of the American fighting men. The Foreword is written by Conroy's grandson, who shares his memories of his grandfather and his bond with Stubby. The book is full of photos of Stubby, Conroy and military life in the teens. A timeline and bibliography is included.

When the Beat Was Born by Laban Carrick Hill

When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop by Laban Carrick Hill, Illus. by Theodore Taylor III, 2013.

In a few sentences per page, Hill tells the story of music-loving Little Clive, a Jamaican transplanted to New York City. As a teen, he had ambitions to become a house party DJ  like his childhood hero DJ King George. So, he and his sister threw hot parties in the Bronx. He became DJ Kool Herc.  This led to him developing a style in which he would use more than one turntable to make seconds-long breaks in songs last at least twenty minutes. He chanted over the music and called out his friends' names.  His music became super popular, and people, including members of street gangs, began to do athletic break-dancing. He started Hip Hop music, which spawned rap and launched performers such as Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash and Kurtis Blow.

Hill has included a time line from 1973, when DJ Kool Herc deejayed at his sister's birthday party, to 1986, when the Beastie Boys Licensed to Ill came out, marking the release of mainstream hip hop. There is also a bibliography of books, film and websites for further exploration.

The information is delivered in a picture book format, with lively illustrations by Theodore Taylor III.

My Weird Writing Tips by Dan Gutman

My Weird Writing Tips by Dan Gutman, Illustrated by Jim Paillot, 2013.

Author of the My Weird School series, Dan Gutman, has put together a kid-friendly guide to writing and sounding less like a "dumbhead."

His honest and humorous voice keeps his writing lively. Section headers like: "You're going to hate this part," "How not to bore people to death," and "Kill the adjectives!" grab readers' attention. Kids will be happy to see familiar characters from the My Weird School books, A.J. and Andrea (drawn by Jim Paillot), comment on Gutman's suggestions and snark back and forth.

From harpercollinschildrens.tumblr.com

Gutman's guide gives suggestions for writing stories and non-fiction, from finding ideas to writing in proper form. He encourages kids that anyone can write a story, even if they are themselves very boring. Using the setting of "your mouth" and the character of a germ, he walks readers through building a story from scratch. He then reveals his "secrets" of revising and perfecting it. In a fun and gentle way, he shows kids how to improve their writing, talking about grammar, punctuation and spelling errors, but never comes off like a grammar textbook. Along the way he inserts short quotations by literary greats such as Kurt Vonnegut, James Michner, Toni Morrison and William Safire.

Young writers will enjoy learning from Gutman's accessible writing guide.

Scaly Spotted Feathered Frilled: How Do We Know What the Dinosaurs Really Looked Like?

Scaly Spotted Feathered Frilled: How Do We Know What the Dinosaurs Really Looked Like? by Catherine Thimmesh, 2013.

After reading this outstanding book by Sibert medalist Thimmesh, I learned that  nearly everything that I was taught in elementary school about dinosaurs was incomplete or just wrong. In pre 1975 class, I was told that dinos were cold blooded, related to reptiles, slow moving and stood upright with dragging tails. I learned about a creature called a Brontosaurus. And I was terrified of the Pterodactyl and had nightmares where one giant eye looked into my window before it carried away my house.

With the exception of my fear of winged dinosaurs, views on all of the above dinosaur "facts" have changed greatly and this book is full of them. Did you know that more than 700 species of dinosaurs have been identified? Or that the Brontosaurus' correct name is now the Apatasaurus? Or that dinos have both bird and reptile relatives and like them, they have no facial muscles? Thimmesh explains how scientists and amateur fossil hunters have made discoveries of bones, fossils and mummified animals that help them make very strong educated guesses about how the creatures moved, what they ate, what their skin was like (T-Rex may have been feathered!) and even what colors they may have been.

The book is dramatically illustrated by current paleoartists Sylvia & Stephen Czerkas, Mark Hallett, Tyler Keillor, Greg Paul and John Sibbick. Fascinating contrast with their work is provided by the inclusion of 19th century dinosaur art by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins and Charles R. Knight. These pictures underscore the evolution of our knowledge of dinosaurs and their lives. The endpapers show a timeline of the Mesozoic era and a breakdown of the three major dinosaur groups: Theropods, Sauropodomorphs and Ornithischians. Additional reading suggestions and a glossary are included.

Anyone with curiosity and an imagination for dinosaurs will love this book.

Wild Boy: the Real Life of the Savage of Aveyron by Mary Losure

Wild Boy: the Real Life of the Savage of Aveyron by Mary Losure, Illus. by Timothy Basil Ering.  2013.

Losure's story of the wild boy begins in southern France in 1797. A lone 9 year old child lives in the forest, summer and winter, taking care of himself. He goes naked, has no tools and avoids the nearby village. A few times he is caught by people and brought into town, but he always escapes until 1800, when he is admitted to an orphanage by a village official. He is unable to speak, but is not "deaf and dumb" as is at first thought. The boy draws the attention of priest, professor and scientist Pierre-Joseph Bonnaterre, who has a mind to study him. So begins years of attention from people who want to examine and educate him, but not necessarily love him.

In her touching narrative non-fiction, Losure shows Victor the Savage of Aveyron as a person of strong emotions, who in spite of his unusual life, is primarily a joyful soul who wants to please the people that take care of him. Readers will feel compassion for the child who was left alone in the woods for unknown reasons and who only knew the outdoor life, but who suddenly lost his familiar world and couldn't understand why. Although Victor's story seems a melancholy one, Losure notes that the methods used to teach him were later helpful for schooling thousands of children who had previously been considered unreachable, as well as influencing Maria Montessori in her famous education methods.

A Splash of Red: the Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant

A Splash of Red: the Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant, Illus. by Melissa Sweet, 2013.

I had never heard of Horace Pippin, and perhaps I am not alone. This title took care of that oversight. Admired and promoted by N.C. Wyeth, Pippin was an important self-taught African American artist. He was born in the late 1800s and loved to draw with charcoal and paint pictures from childhood until his creativity was temporarily arrested by World War I. He was wounded in the trenches and his right arm was badly damaged. Still, he returned home to the United States, married, and taught himself to draw again by supporting his right hand with his left wrist and using a hot poker to burn drawings into wood. Using this method, and strengthening his arm, he began to paint again. He hoped to sell his works for $5.00 per painting. His art hung in a shoe store window, and soon he was discovered, had his own art show and his public career as an artist was made.

Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet closely collaborated on this book, researching Horace Pippin together and visiting his home in West Chester, Pennsylvania. They clearly have love for their subject. Further reading, websites and sources of Horace Pippin's quotes are included. Sweet's watercolor, gouache and collage illustrations are inspired by Pippin's work, and she includes some of his quotations in her pictures. The back endpaper is a map of the places that you can see Pippin's art.

You can also view many of Horace Pippin's paintings here: http://www.museumsyndicate.com/artist.php?artist=213

Nelson Mandela by Kadir Nelson

Nelson Mandela by Kadir Nelson, 2013.

Although this magnificently illustrated biography is aimed at 4 to 9 year olds, anyone can enjoy it. In the spare 18 pages of text, Nelson tells Mandela's story from childhood until he became the first black president of South Africa. Readers learn that he was the smartest child in his large family and the only one chosen for school. He became a lawyer, and a leader who helped defend those without  voices. The injustice of apartheid is explained very simply. A denser note from the author follows, filling in more details of Mandela's life. Nelson's photo-realistic paintings are outstanding. He received a Coretta Scott King illustrator honor in 2014.

The Case of the Vanishing Honeybees by Sandra Markle

The Case of the Vanishing Honeybees: a Scientific Mystery by Sandra Markle, 2014.

In its 48 pages, this interesting title gives a lot of detailed information about bees and what could be causing Colony Collapse Disorder. Markle talks about honeybee life and function, how we humans depend on them for much of our food and gives an example of how in 2006 a beekeeper went to check his hives and saw thousands of bees missing, with no dead bees to be found.

 This phenomena has puzzled scientists, and many theories of why the bees have vanished have been explored. Possible bee killers such as changing habitat, overwork, mites, fungus and pesticides are described. On a more hopeful note, ways that people are trying to help our bees are considered, like giving commercial bees a healthier diet, giving them a break from year round pollination, raising special hygienic bees to control the spread of disease and even a general increase of beekeeping by homeowners, and in places such as schools and public buildings.

The book includes a glossary, suggestions for further reading and websites to visit and is illustrated with high quality color photographs.

Electric Ben by Robert Byrd

Electric Ben: The Amazing Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by Robert Byrd, 2012.

This Sibert Honor winning over sized biography may be only 30+ pages, but it packs in information about the hardworking Ben Franklin. He was quite an amazing man: a philanthropist, scientist, inventor, politician and diplomat. He began America's first lending library and started what would become the University of Pennsylvania. He invented streetlights, the lightning rod and bifocals, among other things. Franklin founded America's first hospital and created our original fire-fighting force. Yet, he considered himself first a printer. He published a popular newspaper and became a bestselling author with Poor Richard's Almanac.  The list of his achievements goes on and on. Because of his extreme importance in government events before, during and following the Revolutionary war, readers also get a snapshot of the struggle for independence. Byrd sums up Franklin thusly: "Of all his accomplishments and gifts,Franklin's greatest may have been his untiring effort as a mediator and guiding spirit in the development of the law-making process that governs the United States."

 After Franklin's story, Byrd tells about the challenge of writing about him and Byrd's own aim to give kids a feel for life in the 18th century as they meet this amazing citizen. Byrd also discusses his illustrations and the efforts that he made to be historically accurate. A timeline and bibliography are included.

This is a wonderfully well designed book, from the exciting cover to its endpapers covered with Ben Franklin's quotes. Every page is decorated with colorful watercolor art, nearly always creatively portraying a moment of action in Franklin's fascinating life. Panels of brief, interesting information are accompanied by pictures, some arranged similar to a comic strip.

Unnecessary aside:

My favorite quote of Franklin's many quotes is: "Everything puts me in mind of a story."

A Rock Is Lively

A Rock is Lively by Dianna Hutts Aston & Sylvia Long, 2012.

This is an addition to a series by Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long, who have collaborated on An Egg is Quiet, A Seed is Sleepy and A Butterfly is Patient. It describes the many things that a rock can be: galactic, helpful, recycled, etc and shows the reader why. For example, a galactic rock can be a meteoroid, a comet or an asteroid. Long's magnificent watercolor illustrations grab the attention. The endpapers are the beautiful blue of a mineral painted rock. A turn of the page brings us to naturally decorative rocks of all sorts.These same rocks are shown again on the final endpapers, this time with each type labeled. Inside, dozens more rocks are drawn and identified, such as Azurite Geode, Lapis Lazuli, and Greenstone. Each is shown off to advantage, like the large Snowflake Obsidian, its bulk and solidity contrasted against vivid and delicate flowers growing against it. This title will develop or enhance the reader's appreciation of the beauty and variety of rocks and minerals.

Island: a Story of the Galapagos

Island: a Story of the Galapagos by Jason Chin, 2012.

This beautiful book shows the origin, evolution and demise of an imagined island in the Galapagos. It starts from a volcanic eruption and life arrives in the forms of a mangrove tree, seabirds and marine iguanas. As time passes, more wildlife journey to the island and gradually evolve until they are best suited to survive there. Finches develop larger beaks so that they can crack open big seeds and survive droughts. Tortoise's shells change shape to help them keep cool.  Eventually, after the island has existed for six million years, it begins to sink, loses its life and disappears under the ocean, but new islands continue to emerge. Additional material mentions Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution, further information about the Galapagos and the endemic (that exist nowhere else) species there. An example is the marine iguana:

From Flickr commons

Every time I read one of these outstanding natural history and science books for young people, I wonder why when I was a kid we had dry textbooks in class instead of fun books like these. They just amaze me now, because they get me so interested in their topics. Island  does this in part through its wonderful illustrations. Beginning with the endpapers, which show the species and a map of the Galapagos, Chin captures the reader's attention.The pages are jammed full of blue ocean, exploding volcanoes and unusual wildlife. In the epilogue, Chin has snuck in scenes of Charles Darwin and his Beagle coming to explore another island in 1835. Everyone will enjoy this educational and exciting title.

Chuck Close Face Book

Chuck Close Face Book by Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2012.


This book provides an excellent introduction to the artist Chuck Close and his work. If you are unfamiliar with him, as I pretty much was, you should first know that the subject of his art is always the face, usually his own, his friends' or other artist's that he admires. He uses many different processes to create his portraits, and they are typically extremely large, sometimes more than ten feet tall. Close has used methods such as silkscreen, woodcut printing, etching, and more, even using stamp pad ink and his fingerprints to produce his art!  Although many of his portraits appear "pixelated," he does all of his work by hand, and was using a grid method well before digital photography familiarized most of us with the concept of pixels.

 Readers will be interested to learn of the challenges Close has faced in his artistic journey. As a young person in the 1940s and 50s, he was "severely disabled." He had unrecognized dyslexia and was unable to learn math. He had "face blindness" and was literally unable to recognize others. And he had neuromuscular problems that made him nonathletic. However, he discovered he was better at art than other kids in his class, enough so that he put all his energy into it. Later, as an established and lauded artist, he had a vein in his spine collapse, paralyzing him from the chest down at age 48. Still, he was determined to keep on painting, even if he had to spit it on the canvas. This attitude, along with the effort of physical therapy, has allowed him to continue to paint.

 After a intriguing introduction, the book's text is questions from children and Mr. Close's answers. Some are: "Why do you only paint faces?", "Where did you get the idea to use a grid?", and "Why doesn't anyone in your art smile?". Fourteen self portraits provide a sampling of his art, in full color where appropriate. These are cut into thirds so that the reader can flip the pieces and mix and match the sections of Close's face. His portraits of other models are displayed throughout the book, including one of Bill Clinton, his first instantly recognizable face. A timeline of Close's life, a resource list and a glossary round out this well produced offering.

A Boy Called Dickens by Deborah Hopkinson

A Boy Called Dickens by Deborah Hopkinson. Illus. by John Hendrix, 2012.

In this brief fictionalized biography of Dickens' childhood, Hopkinson takes us to Old London to follow Charles through his typical day. Readers learn that at age twelve, Dickens had a love for books and a fertile mind that was not nurtured by his family or society. His father was in debtor's prison and most of the family lived there with him. Charles was not able to go to school and instead worked ten hour days in a blacking factory. When his father is released, Dickens continues to work six days a week until his father visits the factory and as a result of hurt pride, returns Charles to school.

Hopkinson uses descriptive, poetic language to tell the boy's bleak story, and follows it up with an author's note that gives greater detail about her subject. In her tale, she shows Dickens as a natural storyteller who entertains his fellow factory workers with exciting stories and is already cooking up what will become David Copperfield. This quiet book will be great to introduce kids to Dickens and give them insight into the origin of many of his characters.

Hendrix's graphite, pen-and-ink and acrylic illustrations show us the grimy poverty, but also bring Dickens' dreams to life, letting readers see the happiness on the boy's face as he tells his stories, makes up his plots and finally returns to school.

The Good, The Bad, and The Barbie

The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us by Tanya Lee Stone.


Tanya Lee Stone is known for her Siebert Medal winner Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream. Here she treats Barbie’s fans and foes to a fun and interesting portrait of America’s Dream Doll. She outlines the doll’s history and gives a short biography of her creator, Ruth Handler. Ruth and her husband, Elliot Handler originated the company Mattel, which was a diverse workplace from its beginning. Although Barbie’s image drives some people crazy, Handler intended her to be a doll that girls could relate to, filling the gap between baby dolls that needed mothering and stylish fashion paper dolls. She wanted girls to be able to use Barbie to act out their dreams, and felt that the first Barbie dolls were intentionally not too pretty. Mattel introduced her as a real girl, a “Teen Age Fashion Model.”

As styles changed throughout the decades, Barbie’s looks altered too. Her makeup and hair was modified; her body moved in different, more lifelike ways, such as “Twist ‘N Turn Barbie” and “Living Barbie.” Her clothes varied from chic suits and pearls to go-go boots and miniskirts, to world costumes and designer wear. She changed careers just as frequently, from 1960s approved “female” jobs like stewardess and student teacher to a wider variety such as NASCAR driver, Boot Camp inductee and United States Presidential Candidate.

Stone explains that reactions to the Barbie doll are passionate, and lead to diehard fans and Barbie haters. She provides quotes and anecdotes from kids and adults with various opinions about the 50+ year old doll. Much of the book tackles topics about Barbie’s effect on and reflection of our culture. Barbie and body image is one such volatile subject. Apparently Barbie was the first American doll with a figure, and people have tons to say about that. Is Barbie pushing unattainable standards on our children, or is she just an innocent piece of plastic? Does she promote sexism, in spite of Ruth Handler’s original dreams for her?

Stone also devotes a chapter to Barbie and the different cultures and races that she has represented, both successfully and dismally, including Mattel’s creation of Barbie’s friends and cousins of color ( one given the cringe worthy name of “Colored Francie”) to making the first African American Barbie in 1980. That same year, Mattel began to release International Dolls of the World Barbies, with varying degrees of successful representation.

A particularly fascinating chapter is about Barbie and the way that she figures in kid’s play related to their curiosity about nudity and sex and how kids commonly torture and mistreat Barbie and her friends. The stories shared here are hilarious, from playing nudist colony, and getting a black eye from an enraged neighbor defending Barbie’s honor, to acting out Marie Antoinette’s tragic end with a Barbie, a scaffold made of encyclopedias and some ketchup.

Finally, Stone talks about Barbie as art and the talented people who are inspired by her. Whether it is to present her in all her glory, such as Andy Warhol did in a portrait, or turn the typical Barbie stereotype on its head as Deborah Colotti does in her series “The Barbs,” (where our doll meets the real world and gets fat, gets acne and gets old) plenty of people like to use Barbie as a creative jumping off place. Artists have written stories about her, painted and sculpted her, and even fashioned her body parts into jewelry.

Boldly moving into older adulthood, Barbie continues to attract the attention due any American icon.

Eight color plates are included.

They Called Themselves the KKK by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

They Called Themselves the KKK: the Birth of an American Terrorist Group by Susan Campbell Bartoletti.


Bartoletti has created an extremely well written book about a terrible subject. She is the author of many excellent nonfiction titles for young adults such as Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow and Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850 . Most of the information presented here about the KKK is historical, from its creation by six confederate officers in Tennessee in 1866 to the Ku Klux Klan trials in 1871 and up to Rutherford B. Hayes’ election and the Reconstruction’s end in 1877. The final chapter discusses more recent KKK activity and gives the terrifying statistic that in 2008 the Southern Poverty Law center counted 926 active hate groups in the U.S.

This is a difficult and infuriating book to read, but Bartoletti professionally addresses the Klan’s violence toward and abuse and murder of African American freed people after the Civil War. She begins by explaining the environment and attitudes in the South at the time and talks about the struggle that ensued after Lincoln was killed. Southerner Andrew Johnson became president and began Reconstruction when Congress was not in session, which caused hard feelings and further stress in the wounded country. The Klan began as an alleged social club for one group of men, and it developed into an organization with estimated tens of thousands of men who used any means to prevent freed people from voting, receiving schooling, worshipping in their own churches, farming or just living peacefully. The Klan also threatened, punished and murdered any white person who stood against the KKK or even aided freed people in any way.

Bartoletti’s text is accompanied by documents, photographs and archival drawings, such as photos of four of the KKK's creators, political cartoons by Thomas Nast and a ticket to Andrew Johnson’s impeachment trial. Chapters frequently conclude with quotes and photos from the Slave Narratives of men and women recalling the terror of the Klan. Readers can reflect on 99 year old Gabe Hines’ first impression of the Klansmen in their costumes, 87 year old Susan Merritt’s memories of praying in secret so white people didn’t know, and more. A timeline from 1863 to Obama’s election in 2008 is included.

Never Smile At a Monkey by Steve Jenkins

Just what I need, more things to be afraid of. But the animals in Steve Jenkin's Never Smile at a Monkey: And 17 Other Important Things to Remember are presented with such style that it's worth the sacrifice. ;)
Grandly illustrated with collages of cut and torn paper, each animal and their dangerous ways are described on one and two page spreads. You will learn why you need to be cautious of beasts like a hippo, a spitting cobra and an African buffalo, as well as more unassuming creatures such as a platypus, a Tang fish and ... a caterpillar? More detail about the animals, as well as further reading suggestions, are found at the end of the book.

On a personal note, the picture of the cassowary's head completely freaked me out. This ostrich-like bird has an armored head. It looks positively prehistoric, and as someone who had childhood nightmares of pterodactyls, this guy is frightening enough even without without its kicking talent.

Jenkins has created many other fantastic books that teach kids about animals; you may remember the amazing title Actual Size (Bccb Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award (Awards)). For more, take a look below.