Nonfiction

A Salute to Veterans!

By on November 11, 2013   /   Book Lists, For Kids, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, Nonfiction  

Happy Veterans Day!!  To all those individuals who serve or have served our country proudly as members of the U.S. armed forces, and the families who sacrifice a lot to support their service, we thank you!

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Did you know that Veterans Day was created to celebrate the end of World War I?

While WWI wasn’t officially over until the Peace Treaty was signed in Versailles on June 28, 1919, fighting ceased on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, or November 11, 1918. In November 1919, President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11th to be Armistice Day.  In 1936 Congress declared November 11th an official national holiday. At the time it was meant to honor the veterans of WWI.

Unfortunately, as we all know, another  world war was yet to come.  But thankfully, WWII ended on VJ day, August 14, 1945.  People across the United States celebrated the newfound peace.

 

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And in 1954, President Eisenhower officially declared November 11th to be a national holiday recognizing the veterans of all wars, as well as those currently serving in the U. S. Armed forces.  Being a veteran, I find this day special and am proud to have served as an officer in the U.S. Navy.

So why the history lesson?  I think it’s important to remember the significance of this day and it’s not just because everyone gets time off work or school.  As a way to  celebrate a veteran, why not check out some of these great books that celebrate those who serve our country faithfully:

 

 

  Veterans Day by Elaine Landau

This nonfiction title explains why and how Americans celebrate Veterans Day. Part of the “Celebrating Holidays” series, the book traces the history of Veterans Day back to the conception of Armistice Day. It explains how and why the holiday expanded from a time to honor World War I vets to a day to honor all American veterans. The book includes information about the symbols associated with the holiday, including flags, poppies, and monuments. It shows how Americans celebrate the day on a national, local, and individual level. The book is divided into five short chapters, which can be read independently of each other. Sidebars, photographs, and captions provide additional information.

 

 

 

 

 

America’s White Table by Margot Theis Raven

The White Table is set in many mess halls as a symbol for and remembrance to service members fallen, missing, or held captive in the line of duty. Solitary and solemn, it is the table where no one will ever sit.

As a special gift to her Uncle John, Katie and her sisters are asked to help set the white table for dinner. As their mother explains the significance of each item placed on the table Katie comes to understand and appreciate the depth of sacrifice that her uncle, and each member of the Armed Forces and their families, may be called to give

 

 

Cherry Ames, Veteran Nurse by Helen Wells

With a heart of pure gold and a true yearning to make a difference in the world, eighteen-year-old Cherry Ames leaves her hometown and enters nursing school, embarking on a lifetime of adventures. Follow Cherry through the entire 20-volume series as she grows from a student nurse to a fully qualified RN, all the while making friends, pushing the limits of authority, leading her nursing colleagues, and sleuthing and solving mysteries. Smart, courageous, mischievous, quick-witted, and above all, devoted to nursing, Cherry Ames meets adventure head-on wherever she goes.

 

 

 

D-Day Day by Day by Anthony Hall

The hardcover reference titles in the Day by Day series examine the evolution of conflicts and wars in a chronological timeline, from the first skirmish to the last battle—and everything in between. These books are a historical companion to each major war in the nineteenth and twentieth century. The fate of soldiers, battalions, armies, can change in the blink of an eye—with this comprehensive book readers can follow the conflicting sides in their strategy, weaponry, and policies.

 

Don’t Know Much About American History by Kenneth C. Davis

As best-selling author Kenneth C. Davis knows, history can be fun, fascinating, and memorable. When his don’t know much about® history was published in 1990, it was a sensation. The book delivered a fresh take on history with its wit and unusual detail. Davis now does for young people what his earlier book did for adults. In his trademark question-and-answer style — peppered with surprising facts, historic reproductions, and Matt Faulkner’s lively illustrations — Davis introduces our ancestors who settled the East and expanded the West, as well as those who had been living here all along. His sure touch brings the drama and excitement of the American story vividly to life.

 

 

 


Arlington: The Story of Our Nation’s Cemetery by Chris Demarest

AMERICA’S RESTING PLACE. The story of the national cemetery–from the Revolutionary War to the present. Arlington recounts the complicated history of one of the nation’s most famous and most-visited national monuments and its fascinating daily life. Carefully researched and documented, Chris Demarest’s watercolor paintings capture the spirit and pathos of the last resting place of more than 300,000 Americans who have served their country.

 

 

Courage Has No Color  by Tanya Lee Stone

World War II is raging, and thousands of American soldiers are fighting overseas against the injustices brought on by Hitler. Back on the home front, discrimination against African Americans plays out as much on Main Street as in the military. Tanya Lee Stone examines the little-known history of the Triple Nickles, America’s first black paratroopers, who fought in an attack on the American West by the Japanese. The 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, in the words of First Sergeant Walter Morris, “proved that the color of a man had nothing to do with his ability.”


 

Enjoy your day off and if you happen to see a veteran, give them a handshake, a hearty “thank you” or even a hug for their service.

 

 

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Jennifer Swanson is a middle school science instructor and an author of over 14 nonfiction books for kids. She is a  graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and is proud to have served her country for over nine years.

 

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Win a Skype visit with Carole Weatherford, acclaimed author of Birmingham, 1963

By on October 8, 2013   /   Giveaways, Nonfiction  

It was fifty years ago. Birmingham, Alabama was one of the most segregated cities in the United States. Civil rights demonstrators were met with police dogs and water cannons. The eyes of the world were on Birmingham, a flash point for the civil rights movement. On Sunday, September 15, 1963, members of the Ku Klux Klan planted nineteen sticks of dynamite under the back steps of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, which served as a meeting place for civil rights organizers. The explosion claimed the lives of four little girls. Their murders shocked the nation and turned the tide in the struggle for equality.

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Carole Weatherford’s acclaimed poetry collection, published in 2008, has been reissued to mark this important anniversary. Recipient of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, the Jefferson Cup Award, and a Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Honor winner, the book is a timely, moving memorial written in exquisite, understated free verse.

Carole joins us today for an interview.

Could you discuss your research/creative process?

After writing “Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-ins”, I wanted to tackle another watershed event in the Civil Rights Movement. I chose the church bombing because, at the time, there was not children’s book devoted to the subject. The death of the four girls turned the tide of public opinion against white supremacists and the systemic racism that they avowed.

I began research using primary sources in the Birmingham Public Library collection. I read newspaper accounts of the event, viewed news photos, and read responses by President John F. Kennedy and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. I also referred to secondary sources. An article that interviewed the girls’ families helped me to humanize and personalize the victims.

Why did you use poetry to tell the story?

Most of my books are poetry or are a hybrid genre blending poetry, biography, fiction or nonfiction. For example, I, Matthew Henson, Jesse Owens: Fastest Man Alive, and Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane are poetic biographies. Becoming Billie Holiday is a fictional verse memoir. The Sound that Jazz Makes and a Negro League Scrapbook are poetic informational books. Birmingham, 1963 is an elegy. But it is also a narrative poem, a historical fiction. Poetry allows me to conjure images and distill emotions that make the story powerful.

Why did you choose historical fiction and create an anonymous narrator?

The historical events are true, but the first-person narrator is fictional. I use historical fiction to give young readers a character with whom to identify. In so doing, young readers grapple with social justice issues. I did not want names of fictional characters to stick in readers’ minds or to take the focus off the real victims. Also, the narrator’s anonymity draws readers even closer to the action. In this scene, she struggles to get out of the church after the blast.

Smoke clogged my throat, stung my eyes.

As I crawled past crumbled plaster, broken glass,

Shredded Bibles and wrecked chairs—

Yelling Mama! Daddy!—scared church folk

Ran every which way to get out.  

Why  set the tragedy on the narrator’s birthday?

In the eyes of children, turning ten is a big deal, a childhood milestone bordering on a rite of passage. The bombing actually occurred on the church’s Youth Day. To compound the irony and up the emotional ante, I made the bombing coincide with the narrator’s tenth birthday. The main character is looking forward to singing a solo during worship service and to celebrating her birthday. Instead, she survives a church bombing and mourns four older girls. That setting dramatically juxtaposes birthday candles and the bundle of dynamite which sparked the explosion.  The milestone resonates like a mantra, beginning as The year I turned ten and building to The day I turned ten.

Is the bombing still relevant today?

Nowadays, racism is usually more subtle and less definitive. Even hate crimes are more difficult to pinpoint and to prove. Many argue that racism motivated neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who murdered teenager Trayvon Martin. In a more clear-cut case of hate violence, in 1998, James Byrd, an African-American man, was dragged three miles to his death by three white men (two white supremacists) in a pickup truck. . And in 2006, nooses were hung in a tree on a high school campus in Jena, Mississippi, after a black student tried to sit with white students at lunch. As long as racism persists and this nation exists, stories from the African-American freedom struggle will remain relevant.

Carole as a child

Carole as a child

Do you recall the bombing?

My earliest recollections of televised news—besides the space race—were in 1963. I can remember watching the March on Washington and hearing the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.  I also recall President Kennedy’s assassination and funeral.

But I do not recall the church bombing. I was just seven years old at the time. If I had known about the tragedy, it would have frightened me. I suspect now that my parents kept the news from me. That was how black parents shielded their children from the sting of segregation. So, I tried now to imagine how I would have mourned then. The child in me connected with anonymous narrator.

Did you see yourself in the four girls? How much of you is in the anonymous narrator?

In 1963 I was seven years old and had already written my first poem. I grew up in Baltimore and did not experience the degree of discrimination that they did in Birmingham. But In many ways, I was those girls.

Like Addie Mae Collins, I drew portraits, played hopscotch and wore my hair press and curled.

Like Cynthia Wesley, I was a mere wisp of a girl who sometimes wore dresses that my mother sewed. I sang soul music and sipped sodas with friends.

Like Denise McNair, I liked dolls, made mud pies and had a childhood crush. I was a Brownie, had tea parties and hosted a neighborhood carnival for muscular dystrophy. People probably thought I’d be a real go-getter.

Like Carole Robertson, I loved books, earned straight A’s and took music and dance lessons. I joined the Girl Scouts and was a member of Jack and Jill of America. I too hoped to make my mark. We are both Caroles  with an “e.”

In researching the book, did you discover anything that surprised you?

Yes. The stained glass window of Jesus almost survived the blast intact.

10:22 a.m. The clock stopped, and Jesus’ face

Was blown out of the only stained glass window

Left standing—the one where He stands at the door.

It is ironic that Jesus was left faceless—as if He couldn’t bear to witness the violence. Here’s a photo.

Did you learn anything about that tragic day that gets forgotten?

Yes. Two African-American boys died in the violent aftermath of the church bombing. Sixteen-year-old James Robinson  was short in the back by police after a rock-throwing incident with a gang of white teens. Thirteen-year-old Virgil Ware was shot by a white boy riding a moped draped with a Confederate flag.

How are you marking the 50th anniversary of the church bombing?

This fall, I am offering free Skype visits to schools that read Birmingham, 1963.

Carole provided the following links to classroom resources:

Free Film Kits (from Teaching Tolerance Magazine)– Mighty Times: The Children’s Marchand America’s Civil Rights Movement: A Time for Justice

Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections — Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Collection

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute — http://bcri.org/index.html

The King Center — http://www.thekingcenter.org/

The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow (PBS) – For Teachers

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/education.html

Eyes on the Prize (PBS) – For Teachers  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/tguide/index.html

Teachers Guide Primary Source Set – Jim Crow in America

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/civil-rights/pdf/teacher_guide.pdf

Songs of the Civil Rights Movement (NPR) — http://www.npr.org/2010/01/18/99315652/songs-of-the-civil-rights-movement

Photographs of Signs Enforcing Discrimination (Library of Congress) —http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/085_disc.html

Thank you, Carole.

To be eligible to win a Skype visit with Carole Weatherford for your classroom, please leave a comment below. The winner and Carole will coordinate dates and times.

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Interview with Claire Eamer

By on August 21, 2013   /   Author Interviews, Nonfiction  

clairee1Why didn’t I think of that?  This was my first thought when I finally got my hands on Claire Eamer’s amazing new book, Before the World Was Ready.

My second thought?  I wish I could write like that!  Because even if I had come up with the idea first, it never would have turned out as good as it has in Claire’s capable hands.

Claire Eamer is the author of many non-fiction books for middle graders, including the award winning The World in Your Lunch Box: The Wacky History and Weird Science of Everyday Foods and Lizards in the Sky: Animals Where You Least Expect Them. She is an expert at presenting science to kids in a way that is creative and irresistible. I am grateful to her for taking time out of her busy schedule at the When Words Collide conference (three panels and a book launch!) to answer a few questions.

BeforeWidgetMost of your books are a collection of topics, bound by a common theme like Before the World Was Ready: Stories of Daring Genius in Science which covers lots of ground from the shape of the solar system to insecticides. Where do you get your ideas?

That particular idea came from the publisher. They’d done some research on candidates for the theme, then turned it over to me when I said the topic interested me. I did more research (with the help of my son, Patrick, who prowled the University of Victoria library on my behalf) and came up with the final list of candidates and the approach.

That’s a fairly common approach with publishers these days, but it accounts for only two of my books –Before the World Was Ready and Traitors’ Gate and Other Doorways to the Past. The others were my ideas. I never seem to have much trouble with non-fiction ideas, mainly because I really like to understand how things work and why. Super Crocs and Monster Wings grew out of my curiosity about the relationship between giant ground sloths and tree sloths, which – in turn – grew out of my fascination with a giant ground sloth skeleton in a local Whitehorse natural history museum, the Beringia Interpretive Centre. Lizards in the Sky – I read about flying snakes (really!!!) and got fascinated about extreme kinds of adaptation to habitat. The World in Your Lunch Box came about because I wanted to know exactly how yeast works and because I was amazed when I started reading about all the foods that were developed in the Americas and have spread around the world. I have a lot of questions. Writing books gives me an excuse to dig up the answers.

Before the World Was Ready includes a page of “further reading” and a three page “selected biography” That’s a lot of sources! How do you approach research?

I could happily lose myself in research. I love learning things and get bored with a job easily if I’m not constantly learning. Which is why I’ve been a freelance writer, of some sort or other, for most of my working life. For my kids’ books, I start with books and, often, televison documentaries to give me an overview, but I do a lot of online research using scientific and academic journals. Concordia University College in Edmonton has very kindly appointed me Adjunct Professor of Education. That allows me to use their online library resources, which is a huge benefit. I also can go up to Yukon College (it’s on top of a hill in the midst of Whitehorse, hence “up”) and use the library there, both physical and online. The journals can be a bit of a slog, but that’s where the up-to-date information is. When I write a book, I want it to reflect the latest research, not just regurgitate dated material from older existing books.

Once I’ve done all that research, I look at the questions or puzzles that remain and go in search of experts who can help me answer them. Usually it’s someone whose journal article I have read. I do most of that research by web search and email, although I always give the person I’m asking questions of the option of talking on the phone. Since I live in Whitehorse, an in-person interview only works for a few topics (including giant ground sloths and some other neat beasties that used to live here). Scientists and academics are amazingly helpful when you explain that you want to tell children about their favourite topic, the research they spend their lives on. I once had a three-day email exchange with a couple of scientists in England who were helping me explain — in kid terms and less than a page — the latest research into the relationships between extinct giant sea scorpions, living scorpions, and spiders. It’s complicated and only partly understood, but new techniques are changing the field so fast that I figured we’d better stop and get the book out before it was obsolete! (That’s in Spiked Scorpions and Walking Whales, if you’re interested.)

The Further Reading sections in the book are something Annick Press insists on (and I agree). If kids get interested in a topic, they usually want to know more, so some pointers toward more information are good. Usually the books cover different or related angles that haven’t really been featured in my book. 

The bibliography (always “selected bibliography” because I do a LOT of research) serves several purposes. It gives the book credibility. We can’t footnote a kids’ book as one might an adult book, but we can show that the information is solid and provide enough information that it can be checked. Also, it implicitly shows kids how an author works by showing the scale of research behind a topic. Finally, the bibliography reassures teachers and librarians that they are putting good, well-researched information in kids’ hands. The books also always have a decent and useful index so kids can find the information they need (and learn how to use an index in the process). I think all of that is an important part of showing respect for your reader. My readers might be short, but they deserve solid, up-to-date information and a guarantee that they can check my facts and sources if they choose.

MedalBookYou have two degrees in English (which helps explain your excellent writing skills!) but no formal training in science.  Is that an advantage or disadvantage?  Do you get “experts” to review your work prior to publication?

I took English because I love reading and learning, and that seemed to be a good way to keep reading and learning. Also, I am very much a generalist by nature, so I didn’t want to restrict the subjects I was reading and learning about. I think I actually learned to write first by reading and later by working as a reporter in a variety of media. When you’re shifting between newspaper style, various magazine styles, spoken word (for radio), informational DVDs and websites, and the occasional bit of fiction, you become very aware of tailoring style to audience and medium – and you learn a lot about how to play with words in the process.

The science stuff has always been a fascination of mine. I actually have taken several university courses in biology and ecology, although not enough for a degree. But I’ve learned a lot from interviewing scientists, editing their work, hanging out with them, reading, going to scientific talks, watching documentaries by people like David Attenborough (my science-communications hero!), and asking lots of questions. The advantage of not being a scientist is that I have no investment in the jargon of any subject. My specialty is translating the jargon into language the rest of us can understand so that we can all enjoy the excitement of science.

And yes, I always get experts to fact-check my work. It’s a responsibility in my book contracts, but I would do it anyway. I really want my writing to be accurate. Really!

You also write about history and science fiction.  How does the market for science non-fiction compare to the market for middle grade sci-fi?

I don’t actually know since I’ve written very little science fiction and not for that age group. However, I know that several publishers are currently looking for middle-grade science fiction – although I’m not sure exactly what they expect. Middle grade science non-fiction is in a bit of a transition stage, I think. Publishers want to publish it, but they are struggling with how to get it out to readers. If you look in the kids’ non-fiction department of any big bookstore, you’ll see why. It’s usualy jammed into a few shelves in a back corner, with nothing on display and very little sensible organization. My personal experience, from visiting schools and libraries, is that kids love knowing stuff – all kinds of stuff, not just science – but that’s often not the books that their grown-ups are buying for them.

The new education standards in the United States, which influence the supply and type of books available in Canada too, might make a difference, since they emphasize non-fiction reading very heavily. However, I don’t know if that impact is being felt here yet. Best ask a publisher, I think.

wildflowers_roseopenYou live in a relatively remote area of northern Canada.  Does this have any impact on your writing?  In what way?

I’m not sure that it has much impact. When I started writing for kids, it was mainly a nuisance because I was trying to do the research from a place that had no easy access to a lot of the journals I need, but that has changed in the past few years. Now I can get at most of the information I need from here, via the Internet – which makes working from Whitehorse possible. We also have an excellent interlibrary loan system, by the way, and it has proved very helpful.

Where the location does affect me is in school and library presentations, which are a significant part of many kids’ writers’ incomes. Although Whitehorse isn’t terribly expensive to fly into and out of by northern standards, it still adds a significant extra cost to any book presentation tour that makes it hard to justify.

On the other hand, there are a lot of very knowledgeable, well-educated, and well-travelled people in the Yukon, including some excellent scientists, and many of them have been significant resources in researching my books. Because it’s a small community, it’s pretty easy to corner my local palaeontologist or biologist and get some answers to questions – often over a nice locally-roasted latte. The North is alarmingly civilized these days! This is a very good place to start building a network of contacts.

I would love to visit Whitehorse one day – what a beautiful part of the world. Thank you for your thoughtful responses to my questions.  Is there anything else you like to add?  

I guess the one thing to add is that my isolation can be overstated. Apart from the fact that there is a thriving arts and literary community in the Yukon, the Internet has changed what a community is or can be. My on-line communities include a Canada-wide network of kids’ writers and publishers, a BC-based kids’-writer network, a nation-wide network of science writers, another of science fiction and fantasy writers, and a few other bits and bobs of colleagues – all of them located anywhere from a few hundred to thousands of kilometres away, but right there in my in-box when I need them. It’s amazing, and I appreciate it enormously.

To find out more about Claire please visit her website. My review of Before the World was Ready  is available here. And in case that is not enough, you can also join Claire and other Canadian kids’ science writers at their blog, Sci/Why.

Yolanda Ridge is the author of Trouble in the Trees (Orca Book Publishers, 2011) and Road Block (Orca Book Publishers, 2012).  She also lives in a remote part of Canada with ski hills and bike trails right at her door step!

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