Book Review #1: “Truce” by Jim Murphy
1. Bibliography:
Murphy, Jim. “Truce.” Scholastic Press, Scholastic Inc. 2009. ISBN-13: 978-0-545-13049-3
2. Plot Summary:
The book opens with the beginning of what we now know as World War 1, and explains how it all started. Although it might have seemed like a misconception or miscommunication between countries, the events seem to have unfolded very quickly and escalated even quicker. Many countries joined the war, turning it into the World War 1 that we know today. The book takes readers throughout the journey of the war, with detailed experiences of the suffering and challenges the soldiers faced as well as the places and people they encountered. Ultimately, as they reach Christmas time, we learn of the unofficial Christrmast truce that happened in 1914 of World War 1.
3. Critical Analysis:
This book definitely gives a “nonfiction vibe” right upon first glance. The style has gray, black, and white themed colors, and has pictures or maps almost on every page, also in black and white. This book definitely gives a feel of “history,” which makes students want to believe and trust what it says. DEspite the formal feel this book gave, I appreciated the honesty of the titles of the chapters because it helps realistically relate to yahoo humans really feel and talk.
Since I am not a history expert, history enthusiast, or history teacher, I found myself researching some of the topics mentioned in the book such as the dates, names, and places, just to make sure the accuracy of the book was there or if anything new had been discovered or changed since its publication in 2009. As far as the other parts of the evaluation of a nonfiction book, it has big letters, making it easier to read and get through the pages, and every picture has a description at the bottom. Each picture or map has great quality; you can see a lot of the detailed information well displayed. I might criticize the length of the book and argue that it’s a bit too long for nonfiction for children, but it might be good for them because it teaches them to build their reading stamina and learn to read in sections when they have free time. They have a lot of time to check out books, and this might teach them that they don’t have to read every book in one single sitting.
4. Review Excerpt:
Kirkus Reviews: “And the truce of the book’s title is that magical, spontaneous Christmas truce of 1914, when peace broke out all along the Western Front. Opening with a cogent recap of the state of Europe prior to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand that focuses on those moments when war might have been averted (if Kaiser Wilhelm had read his mail on time, for instance), the author gracefully moves to the horrific conditions of battle that established the static madness of trench warfare—a madness that, oddly enough, led to enough fraternization across No Man’s Land that both British and German High Commands feared what eventually happened…Murphy takes readers through to the exhausting endgame that spawned the next war, but also he leaves kids with the provocative thought that war need not be inevitable, that the truce “offered reassurance that a kinder, humane spirit could prevail…”
5. Connections:
Students are able to read and make connections between their social studies or history class, as well as any tv shows or movies that are recently popular or they’ve recently watched. In elementary, it seems like students always know cool, random facts. It might help them the most in building vocabulary words and background knowledge they might find useful in history class. This book might help them add onto their cool facts treasure box and share with their friends during lunch. Although these connections made may not seem as “fun,” they are connections that help in their overall knowledge of history and help in the long-term run of their learning journey.
Book Review #2: The Right Word: Roget and his Thesaurus by Jen Bryant
1. Bibliography:
Bryant, Jen, and Melissa Sweet. The Right Word - Roget and His Thesaurus. William B Eerdmans Publishing, 2014.
2. Plot Summary:
The book starts with the death of Peter’s father, which is one of the many inconsistencies in his life: friends, moving homes, etc. Books, however, are the one thing that Peter finds to be a constant in his life. He compiles lists he makes throughout his life in a book he begins writing. He models after Linnaeus, who also “put the names of animals and plants in categories, and that made nature much easier to study.” As Peter goes through life, he’s always trying to think of better words to use and describe in his responses. So, throughout his life in his spare time being a medic, giving lectures, and starting a family, he kept working on his book to perfect it in a way that will help people the most! He eventually came to publish his book “Thesaurus,” which means treasure house and became a renowned author for his amazing work!
3. Critical Analysis:
The creativity of this book was amazing in the sense of how the information was displayed. While this is a nonfiction book, it didn’t make it hard to be entertained and want to actually continue reading. The beginning of the book had the life and death of Peter Mark Roget with many synonymous words as displayed in a thesaurus. Such as this page, every page had its unique touch like a very colorful picture, a hand-drawn calendar, a timeline, a map, a scrapbook page, etc. The artistic style took us through his life, while giving the readers plenty of knowledge and information!
4. Review Excerpt:
Kirkus Reviews: Bryant’s prose is bright and well-tuned for young readers. She goes gently, omitting Roget’s darkest traumas, such as witnessing his uncle’s suicide. Sweet tops herself—again!—visually reflecting Roget’s wide range as a thinker and product of the Enlightenment. Injecting her watercolor palette with shots of teal, scarlet and fuchsia, Sweet embeds vintage bits (ledger paper, type drawers, botanical illustrations and more), creating a teeming, contemplative, playfully celebratory opus. Exemplary backmatter includes a chronology, author’s and illustrator’s notes, selected bibliography, suggested reading, quotation sources, and a photograph of one of Roget's manuscript pages.
In a word: marvelous!
5. Connections:
Some of the connections students can make with this book are that they may not have friends, they may be very interested and reliant on books because they learn at a young age that books can always be there for you…they can also maybe relate to brief topics mentioned in the book such as the death of his father, wanting to travel around the world, being a doctor, being shy, or speaking a different language. There are also a lot of pictures in the book that can represent something for students, opening up room for discussions about the topics and pictures.
Book Review #3: A Perfect Fit: How Lena “Lane” Bryant Changed the Shape of Fashion by Mara Rockliff and illustrated by Juana Martinez–Neal
1. Bibliography:
Rockliff, Mara, and Juana Martinez-Neal. A Perfect Fit: How Lena “Lane” Bryant Changed the Shape of Fashion. Clarion Books, an Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2022.
2. Plot Summary:
Lena is from a very small village with her grandparents, who live a poor and humble life. Lina wants more out of life with big dreams, so she sets off to America. Once in America, she began sewing materials and making money, earning more and more each week. This extra money allowed her to pay her relatives back and take some classes such as English and fashion, where she meets her husband. They live happily for a few years and have a baby until suddenly, her husband dies of an illness. Heartbroken, Lena uses her mourning to focus all her attention on sewing. No one compared to her talents in making dresses as beautiful and comfortable and perfectly fit as the ones Lena made. Her success continued to skyrocket so she went to a bank to open a new store, in which she nervously mistakes her name as Lane instead of Lena. Throughout her time in her new store, she perfected her craft in sewing, “she draped…she snipped…and the big, fast machines stitched elegant, comfortable clothes that didn't squeeze or pinch.”
3. Critical Analysis:
This book did a great job in using a story to the biography and facts of Lena “Lane” Bryant. I will say that the accuracy and the organization of the book were great! However, to me, as an adult, the book felt choppy and not as informational as I would have thought a nonfiction book to be. I think maybe that was the point of the book, though, so that young children aren’t bored or find it too difficult or long to read. This definitely didn’t have the “history” or the “nonfiction” feel to it. It was colorful, short, easy to read, and it even rhymed in some parts of the book to keep it fun and entertaining for children.
4. Review Excerpt:
Goodreads Review: Lena believed she was helping women look and feel better through her clothing. The back matter does provide more details, but I still was left wanting more. I do appreciate there is a list of Selected Sources. However, I do recommend the book for showing a resourceful female immigrant who helped change the face of fashion with women's comfort and well-being in mind.
5. Connections:
Students are able to connect by reading about an immigrant, someone who experiences poverty, and maybe relate to Lena. Living in the lower Rio Grande Valley, a lot of our family and ancestors were immigrants at some point or experienced a life of poverty. Additionally, students are able to connect to the fashion part of it, which is trendy and modern right now on social media. The current trend is people go to thrift stores and they upcycle old material into brand new and modern looking outfits. Ultimately, this is a newly published book that has a modern feel to it, all the while being informative about the protagonist's life and biography.
Book Review #4: Benjamin Franklin American Genius: His Life and Ideas with 21 Activities by Brandon Marie Miller
1. Bibliography:
Miller, Brandon M. “Benjamin Franklin American Genius: His Life and Ideas with 21 Activities.” Chicago Review Press. Chicago, Illinois. 2010.
2. Plot Summary:
The book starts with the Franklins arriving in New England for a better life, and they are trying to make it by and have a better life. It mostly involves learning tradesmanship… learning a trade will help them get food on their table and pay their living. At first, the culture shock is eye opening to them. While Franklin is looking for jobs, he stands out from others who are part of governmental positions and high status in the town. He eventually was able to get jobs helping the community such as print shops, writing, editing, and teaching. He took full advantage of opportunities to serve the towns and the public. All throughout this time, he watched the divide of Great Britain with the colonies grow wider. Ultimately, Franklin helped get Americans to follow him into the war, he was a bit troubled in picking sides at times and dealing with war related things such as money and loyalty eventually moved to france then came back to philadelphia and continued servicing the public.
3. Critical Analysis:
Some information was choppy in the sense that it would talk about a specific topic such as Franklin trying to find a job, then cut off into a new subject or different part of his life without going back and connecting it. However, the book did have a timeline to make it easier on the readers to follow along and it had the information cut off into chapters. It also had activities that matched what the page was discussing such as how to make a kite, how to make your own candle, a recipe for french bread, creating your own paper, etc. The book also had a lot of little boxes that shared fun facts of the topics discussed in the pages. The pictures shown in the book are really big, some take up half the page, and they are detailed! Something I will also mention is that the pages are full of information, some of them are very very full, making me think this book is for older elementary students or middle schoolers. The vocabulary words used are also bigger and more complex.
4. Review Excerpt:
Chicago Review Press: This smart and delightful book captures the magic of Benjamin Franklin and shows why his life is so inspiring. Above all, it celebrates his creativity, which was the source of his genius." —Walter Isaacson, author, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
5. Connections:
One sentence that stood out to me in the book that students can relate to is where it says “In Massachusetts, a man could live more cheaply and earn more for his hard work. In Boston, the Franklins would build a new life” (1). This resonated to me a lot because my parents did the same thing: they lived and worked in Mexico, but they wanted a better lifestyle for me and my siblings. Living in the Rio Grande Valley, the southernmost tip of Texas, I am sure that students will relate and understand that Franklin’s family migrating for a better life to America makes it no different than their family doing that now. Additionally, students are able to connect to the nonfiction with the facts that are provided in the book. They can relate to the settings and locations mentioned in the book, maybe they have visited there with family or plan to someday.
