Anastasia Suen

A Bowl Full of Peace: A True Story
by Caren Stelson (Author) and Akira Kusaka (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Sachiko’s family home was about half a mile from where the atomic bomb fell on August 9, 1945. Her family experienced devastating loss. When they returned to the rubble where their home once stood, her father miraculously found their serving bowl fully intact. This delicate, green, leaf-shaped bowl–which once held their daily meals–now holds memories of the past and serves as a vessel of hope, peace, and new traditions for Sachiko and the surviving members of her family.

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Nonfiction Monday

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August 10, 2020August 7, 2020

W is for Welcome: A Celebration of America’s Diversity

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W is for Welcome: A Celebration of America’s Diversity
by Brad Herzog (Author)

Booktalk: Following the alphabet this book uses poetry and expository text to celebrate America’s diverse population and showcase the remarkable achievements and contributions that have come from the many people who have chosen to make our country their home. Topics include well-known landmarks and institutions (the Statue of Liberty and the White House, our national parks system) and famous citizens whose talents helped make the United States a world leader (Albert Einstein and Madeleine Albright). In addition to celebrating America’s history and development, key concepts such as naturalization and steps to citizenship are explained in easy-to-understand terms for the young reader.

Snippet: Each year millions of people leave their homelands to start new lives in another country. They emigrate from their birth nation and immigrate to a new one. America, in particular, is made up of immigrants and their descendants. Everyone is here because their ancestors “migrated” (moved from one place to another). Some of them, such as the ancestors of Native Americans, migrated to North America very long ago. Many other arrived against their will. For instance, hundreds of thousands of Africans were forced to come here and were enslaved. But over the centuries, the United States has welcomed millions of strangers to its shores.

A is for America
a dreamer’s destination
made up of people who are here
due to immigration.

Nonfiction Monday

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August 3, 2020August 2, 2020

Truth and Honor: The President Ford Story

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Truth and Honor: The President Ford Story
by Lindsey McDivitt (Author) and Matt Faulkner (Illustrator)

Booktalk: When Gerald Ford became president after the turmoil of the early 70s, Americans were ready for an honest, hardworking politician. And that is just what they got with President Ford. He was a man of integrity and honesty, who cared deeply about all Americans. His life, tougher than some and filled with character-building lessons, had prepared him for the job–from his childhood in Grand Rapids, Michigan to his days on the University of Michigan football team and in the Navy to his many years representing the Great Lakes State in Congress.

Snippet: As a baby in 1913, Junior, as he was called back then, survived stormy times. His mother, Dorothy, escaped her violent husband by clutching her baby close and slipping out the door without even a suitcase. Dorothy fled to Omaha, Nebraska, to her parents, with Junior, then just 16 days old. They all moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to start a new life.

Nonfiction Monday

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July 27, 2020July 25, 2020

North America: A Fold-out Graphic History

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North America: A Fold-out Graphic History
by Sarah Albee (Author) and William Exley (Illustrator)

Booktalk: North American history unfolds in this graphic timeline that places the United States, Canadian and Mexican/Caribbean histories in the context of their continent. From healers in the Aleutian islands in 10,000 BCE to the first to cultivate corn in 3,000 BCE in Mexico to Canadian scientists studying butterfly migration in 1975. From the Aztecs of the city of Tenochtitlan to the Mississippians who built Cahokia to the Inuit of the arctic and the Taino of the Caribbean. Then there are Spanish, French, English, and other Europeans who invaded in the 1500s, the enslaved Africans forcibly brought to our shores, and millions more, from all around the world.

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Nonfiction Monday

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July 20, 2020July 19, 2020

Beastly Bionics: Rad Robots, Brilliant Biomimicry, and Incredible Inventions Inspired by Nature

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Beastly Bionics: Rad Robots, Brilliant Biomimicry, and Incredible Inventions Inspired by Nature
by Jennifer Swanson (Author)

Booktalk: Did you know that scientists have developed a bionic tool shaped like an elephant’s trunk that helps lift heavy objects? Or that the needle-like pointed beak of the kingfisher bird encouraged engineers in Japan to change the design of the Shinkansen “bullet trains” to reduce noise? Across multiple fields of study and methods of problem-solving, scientists are turning to biomimicry, or engineering inspired by biology or nature, to make all kinds of cool technological advancements. Discover more than 40 examples of technology influenced by animals, learn about some of the incredible creatures who have inspired multiple creations, and meet some of the scientists and the stories behind their inventions.

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Nonfiction Monday

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July 13, 2020July 10, 2020

Woman in the House (and Senate): How Women Came to Washington and Changed the Nation (Revised and Updated)

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Woman in the House (and Senate): How Women Came to Washington and Changed the Nation (Revised and Updated)
by Ilene Cooper (Author) and Elizabeth Baddely (Illustrator)

Booktalk: For the first 128 years of America’s history, only men served in the Senate and House of Representatives. All that changed in January 1917 when Jeannette Rankin was sworn in as the first woman elected to Congress. From the women’s suffrage movement to the 2018 election, this update highlights influential and diverse female leaders who opened doors for women in politics. Women featured include Nancy Pelosi (the first woman Speaker of the House), Margaret Chase Smith (the first woman elected to the Senate), Patsy Mink (the first woman of color to serve in the House), and newcomers like Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar.

Snippet: Did your parents or relatives leave you an inheritance? Sorry–that automatically becomes your husband’s property.

Not married? Well, you might be able to keep your own money . . . but you’ll have a hard time earning any. There are only a few jobs open to women. You can be a teacher, perhaps, or a seamstress. And with no husband and no children to take care of, many people wil look down on you. You’ll be called an “old maid.”

Oh, and one more thing. You will not be able to vote.

That’s right. Until 1920, there was no national law that guaranteed all women in the United States the right to vote.

Nonfiction Monday

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July 6, 2020July 3, 2020

Spaceman: The True Story of a Young Boy’s Journey to Becoming an Astronaut

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Spaceman: The True Story of a Young Boy’s Journey to Becoming an Astronaut
by Mike Massimino (Author)

Booktalk: From the time he was seven-years-old and saw Apollo 11 land on the moon, Mike Massimino dreamed of becoming an astronaut. Long Island is a long way from space. Kids like him, growing up in working-class families, seldom left the neighborhood. But with the encouragement of teachers and mentors, Mike ventured down on a path that took him to Columbia University and to MIT. It wasn’t easy. There were academic setbacks and disappointments aplenty–and NASA turned him down three times. Still, Mike never gave up. He rose to each challenge and forged ahead, inching closer to realizing his boyhood dream. His love of science and space, along with his indomitable spirit and sense of teamwork eventually got him assigned to two missions to fix the Hubble Space Telescope–as a spacewalker.

Snippet: On March 1, 2020, I left Earth for the first ime. I got on board the space shuttle Columbia and blasted 350 miles into orbit. It was a big day, a day I’d been dreaming about since I was seven years old, a day I’d been training for nonstop since NASA had accepted me into the astronaut training program six years earlier. But even with all of that waiting and planning, I still wasn’t ready. Nothing you do on this planet can ever truly prepare you for what it means to leave it.

Nonfiction Monday

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June 29, 2020June 26, 2020

June 2020 Carnival of Children’s Literature Call for Posts

Hello, #kidlit friends!

You are invited to add your blog post about children’s literature to our end-of-the-month #kidlit carnival round-up ALL DAY on June 29, 2020.

For the June 2020 Carnival of Children’s Literature, we’re looking for blog posts about children’s literature written by/for parents, educators, librarians, and children’s book authors, illustrators, and reviewers. We look forward to seeing you!

June 22, 2020June 19, 2020

Lift as You Climb: The Story of Ella Baker

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Lift as You Climb: The Story of Ella Baker
by Patricia Hruby Powell (Author) and R. Gregory Christie (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Long before the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s, Ella Baker worked to lift others up by fighting racial injustice and empowering poor African Americans to stand up for their rights. Her dedication and grassroots work in many communities made her a valuable ally for leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and she has been ranked as one of the most influential women in the civil rights movement. In the 1960s she worked to register voters and organize sit-ins, and she became a teacher and mentor to many young activists.

Snippet:

Join the virtual book launch of one of my 2010 writing students.

Nonfiction Monday

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June 15, 2020June 12, 2020

Rise Up! The Art of Protest

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Rise Up! The Art of Protest
by Jo Rippon (Author)

Booktalk: Human rights belong to every single one of us, but they are often under threat. Developed in collaboration with Amnesty International, this middle grade book encourages young people to engage in peaceful protest and stand up for freedom. Photographs of protest posters celebrate the ongoing fight for gender equality, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, refugee and immigrant rights, peace, and the environment.

Snippet: Protest is not a new idea. It might seem that way because of recent high-profile marches, rallies, and demonstrations. But throughout history there are many examples of people coming together to make the world a better and fairer place.

Nonfiction Monday

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