Biblio File

OVERHEARD

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:54:00 +0000

One of my favorite parts of Friday afternoon is when DCist publishes it's "Overheard in DC" post.

This week's installment includes this wonderful gem:

The new Oprah seal of approval

Coming out of the Clarendon metro, 10:30 Saturday night:

Guy 1, shouting through crowd: "I read The Hunger Games!"
Buddy, shouting back: "I read the, um, Very HUNGRY Caterpillar.

CRAP

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:49:00 +0000

I was halfway through a post about Breaking Stalin's Nose when I accidentally hit publish.

I reverted it to draft RIGHT AWAY but I know my reader picked it up in that 5 seconds it was live.

If your reader did, PLEASE IGNORE IT. It is NOT DONE and the full post will be up next week.

GIMME GIMME! Conferences, bloggers, and Bitterblue

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:08:00 +0000

Ok, first things first-- I am a book blogger. Many of my friends are book bloggers. Most book bloggers are lovely, nice people who don't throw punches over ARCS. I'm talking about a few bad apples giving the rest of us a bad name.

Second things second, I have no problem with non-librarian bloggers at ALA. We're all spreading the book and literacy love, right? We're working together in creating a bookish world, yes?

Basically, I feel compelled to write a post about some really appalling blogger behavior I've seen at recent ALA conferences. I was first going to write this post after the 2010 Annual conference in DC but never got around to it. Last weekend sparked these feelings again.

At Annual in 2010 (I didn't go this summer because of the arrival of the Kung Fu Princess) I was talking to a marketing rep in a booth when someone SHOVED me (into a table!) in order to get at an ARC. I had bruises. Plus, I knocked down a display. Now booths are crowded and we're all carrying big bags and there are a lot of people. You will be bumped and jostled and probably get a few bruises, BUT. Don't push and shove. Seriously. I can't believe I actually have to say that. DON'T CAUSE SOMEONE BODILY HARM JUST TO GET A FREE ARC.

At MidWinter, I did NOT witness the following, but people I spoke with did:

1. Taking 5 copies of an ARC and saying "now I can do a giveaway!" NO NO NO NO NO. You need to share. If you want extra copies of an ARC for a giveaway, ask the rep. They'll probably send you some AND they may even hook you up with extra stuff too. Reps are nice like that. If you want an extra copy for a friend or your teen group or something, ask the rep. Sometimes taking an extra copy isn't a big deal, sometimes it is. ASK.

2. Taking ARCS that are the only copy on display or labeled "Display Copy Only. DO NOT REMOVE." When the person who witnessed this called them out on it, THEY YELLED AT HER. Yeesh. Another thing I can't believe I have to say: Seriously, if it says "don't take" DON'T TAKE IT. If you want a book thusly labeled, ASK THE REP. They probably have extra copies that they ARE giving away. Or they'll send you a copy. Or they're giving copies away later. The only exception is on the last day when booths are packing up. Publishers often give away their display copies then, but still YOU HAVE TO ASK.

Because of the large influx of bloggers and non-librarians, because of behavior like I've mentioned above, and because the down economy means this is all coupled with fewer ARCS all around, publishers are trying to order the chaos.

One of the ways they're doing this is by only giving out certain titles at certain times. Often these are titles where the author is there (so they're saving them to be around for the signing) or where it's a book they're heavily promoting (the "you can't have it YET" can create excitement and buzz) OR it's the ARC that EVERYONE wants and they want to be fair about handing them out. I've also seen it where you can only get an ARC if you also buy a backlist title by the same author. (This happens when the author is there AND it's the hottest ARC of the conference.)

But here's where the problems come in. ALA is a professional conference for librarians. There's SO MUCH MORE going on than the exhibit hall. We're working. We have professional development and commitments. Basically, I'm just finishing up working 12 days in a row. And my missed weekend? Not only was I working those days, but I was working 12+ hour days. It's fun and I love it. I am NOT complaining about it, but... it's still work. (And not to say that blogging isn't also work, but it's not my day job. It's not what keeps a roof over my head and food in my baby's belly.)

So, all those hard-working librarians who are there for the librarian conference? They get screwed on timed book releases. (Now, yes, if you talk to the rep they can probably help you out, but if it's that super popular ARC? The one you want to read to see how many copies to order for your library? The one you want to start building customer buzz for now? The one your Teen Advisory Board or book club or whatever will be fighting over and sharing to build Word-Of-Mouth buzz among their friends? The reps might not be able or willing to help you out.)

Enter the case of Bitterblue. As you're probably know, Bitterblue is the companion novel/sequel to the immensely popular Graceling. It's publication has been delayed for YEARS. This is a HIGHLY anticipated book and frankly, I'm surprised they're even doing ARCs for it. It was hands down the MOST coveted ARC of the conference. It was only going to be given away at 3 on Sunday. Reps told us to come by around 2:30 to get a number or get in line (depended who you talked to.)

Now, Sunday afternoon is a really popular time for committees to meet. I was in a meeting. Many of the people I was chilling with were in a meeting. So... the librarians were getting screwed.

But then, 9:30 on Sunday morning (30 minutes after the exhibit hall opened) there was already quickly growing line for the Bitterblue giveaway. Most of the librarians there can't spend ALL DAY in line for 1 book. (Not to mention how crazy a line like that would have gotten and blocked traffic and everything!)

Now, in the publisher's defense, when the line was pointed out, it was disbanded. I didn't hear any complaints about how the actual hand-out of books went. Also, I know at least 1 librarian who explained that she was in a meeting and was able to still get a copy.

AND in defense of timed book releases in general, most publishers would be cleaned out during the opening night reception, before many people have even arrived. A book like Bitterblue would have been wiped out in 10 minutes on Friday night. And it would only take that long because it would take a few minutes to find the booth.

So... what are the answers? What are the solutions? ARE there answers or solutions?

How can we make this better and easier for everyone? Will it stop being an issue as we move to more and more egalleys?

Can we at least stop beating people up?

(And for the record, this isn't me being bitter about not getting Bitterblue. I was one of the few people who wasn't interested. I had to read Graceling for a training a few years ago and enjoyed it, but never read Fire and don't plan on reading it.)

The pictures decorating this post are books that I wanted an ARC for but isn't being ARCed or the publisher didn't have any at the conference. I just want to give them some love.

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

ALA

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:26:00 +0000

I am back from Dallas.

It was awesome.

I met awesome people. I got to hang out with my awesome conference friends. I ran into several librarians who were librarians at Grinnell and instrumental in making me feel like I should be a librarian, too.

I saw lots of gossipy historical fiction with pretty dresses. (GO GO HENRY VIII!)

I saw book bloggers behaving badly and giving us the bad name that most of my book blogger peeps rail against time and time again.

I ate really good Mexican food and had some awesome margaritas.

I screamed with joy and muttered things under my breath at the Youth Media Award announcements.

I had flight delays getting there and cancelled flights getting home.

Even though I was sans baby, I still woke up at 4 every morning for a few minutes.

My committee work started and I'm excited.

We could see the Book Depository from our committee meeting room window.

Because of the awards announced and the conversations I had this weekend I just put a million books on hold. But I also have 2 boxes of books and 2 more on their way.

There will be more coming, especially about proper exhibit hall behavior and books to expect, but I'm in a good mood and don't want to complain and I want all my books here to remind me of everything I want to talk about.

Gaia Warriors

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:05:00 +0000

Gaia Warriors

Starting with a discussion of climate change-- why it's happening, the proof that it's happening, and the effects it will have, this book then introduces the reader to several people who are working to make a difference in saving the earth.

The first part makes a clear, concise, and terrifying argument about climate change. I liked how the book focused not on things kids can do, but rather on people who are already doing things in order to inspire the readers. I also like the wide-range of people we meet. Jim Logan designs green housing. Nin Castle is a fashion designer using recycled fabrics. Holly Bruford helps make biking to school easier for London students. After meeting each person, the readers learns things that they can do along those lines to help the earth.

Where the book really stands out is design. Pages are brightly colored and patterned, fonts and font size change regularly, but it still manages to look clean and not overly busy.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Nonfiction Monday: Heart and Soul

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:54:00 +0000

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans Kadir Nelson

Much like his We Are the Ship Nelson again goes for the everyman (this time, everywoman) narrator and focuses on the very long, broad story of the African American experience.

The narrator's story-telling voice draws readers in as she tells of her great-grandfather Pap, a slave taken from Africa who fights for the North during the war, becomes a Buffalo soldier out West, and moves to Chicago during the Great Migration. She tells of her uncles and cousins who were Southern share-croppers, of her brothers who fought in WWII, and of how she (somehow back South) marched with Dr. King for Civil Rights and eventually case her ballot for Obama. The way her family touches on so many keystone events is a bit Forrest Gump, but is based on Nelson's own family stories.

Nelson beautiful, full-page paintings appear frequently and there are several 2-page spreads.

Readers will enjoy the narrative and artwork.

My only question is-- why is this nonfiction? It's full of made-up dialogue and made-up characters. In order to keep an authentic voice, historical fact is obscured, like when the narrator says that when Roosevelt declared war on Japan "every person in America was behind him." No, they weren't. The war had vast popular support, but not every person in America was for it. The brevity of the book and that it's all family stories, doesn't give a good sense of the timeline involved and how long some of these events were. Also, the way some social trends are covered in the narrative messes up the timeline. She talks about jazz when discussing the summer before the end of WWI. In her discussion, she mentions many of the big names including Ella Fitzgerald, making it sound like Fitzgerald was a popular jazz singer during WWI. But she wasn't born until 1917.

Many of my frustrations with We Are the Ship are double for Heart and Soul. It's a beautiful book that kids will really enjoy reading and they'll learn a lot from it but... it's a horrible example of nonfiction. Some minor edits and this would be a WONDERFUL work of historical fiction. Frustrating all around.

Today's Nonfiction Monday round up is over at The Swimmer Writer.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

God Bless Harry Potter

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:42:00 +0000

Here's your heartwarming story of the day about 8 years, 3 states, multiple moves, and a lost precious item and The Order of the Phoenix.

Popularity Papers: Words of Questionable Wisdom

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:05:00 +0000

The Popularity Papers: Words of (Questionable) Wisdom from Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang Amy Ignatow

Lydia’s back from London! But she’s having some re-entry problems. In their never-ending quest to be popular (even though they DON’T CARE what other people think of them) they ruin everything and then try, unsuccessfully, to DO GOOD WORKS. Hilarity ensues.

Everything I love about this series is in full force in this latest installment. This one also has a knitting pattern for chemo caps. The full-color art and infectious enthusiasm never fails to make me smile and laugh out loud at their craziness. Although I could have used more Melody. Always need more Melody.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Popularity Papers: The Long-Distance Dispatch

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:05:00 +0000

The Popularity Papers: The Long-Distance Dispatch Between Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang Amy Ignatow

Lydia and Julie are ready to start Middle School, only, they won’t be doing it together! Lydia’s mom’s job is transferring her to London for 6 months!

Teens need to be much more appreciative about international moving. I’m just saying.

Anyway, in middle school, Julie becomes a member of the super-popular group, but they’re actually really mean to her. Lydia, trying and failing to fit in, forms a group of outcasts but bosses them around something terrible. (So, one is bullied, one’s a bully.) Lydia’s mom dates a British bloke and their friendship experiences some strains.

I love Lydia’s enthusiasm and Julie’s comments. I love the drawings and their friendship. I love that it’s a non-issue that Julie has 2 dads. I love that Henry wanted to name their crew the Scoobies, after Buffy.

Lydia and Julie just make me happy. I bet they’ll make you happy, too.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Color of Magic

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:05:00 +0000

The Color of Magic: A Discworld Novel Terry Prachett

This is the first-ever Discworld novel. I’ve read most of the Tiffany Aching books and Nation and fell in love with Prachett, so I thought I’d read more Discworld.

Rincewind is a failed wizard who gets stuck playing tourguide to a naive, but eager, tourist named Twoflower. Hijinks and chaos follow them wherever they go to Rincewind's dismay and Twoflower’s sheer delight.

Overall, I was a bit “eh.” It was enjoyable but wouldn’t tempt me to pick up any more in the series. I will pick up more, but that’s just because I love the Tiffany Aching books and everyone’s told me that Color of Magic is one of the weaker books and you really shouldn’t start with that one anyway.

My main problem with it was that while it retains the silly absurdity of Prachett’s other work, it lacks the GREAT TRUTH that underpins it. My favorite thing about Prachett is his dark humor, the way he takes some GREAT TRUTH and cracks wise about it, but still really gives you food for though on the deeper meanings of life, religion, and everything. This one just cracks wise and didn’t make me think much.

So, if you’ve been meaning to pick up some Prachett, don’t start with this one!

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Clementine and the Family Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:05:00 +0000

Clementine and the Family Meeting Sara Pennypacker

YAY! Clementine’s back! Hooray!

And if you are a fan, that’s all you need to know.

But, I’d feel silly having that for a review, so here’s some more info:

The family meeting sign has been posted, so Clementine has to go all day wondering what she did wrong this time. Only, she hasn’t done anything wrong-- they’re going to have another baby. She’s not sure about this-- her family is perfect the way it is, why go mess it up? Add in a missing lab rat and favorite hat and the fact that Margaret’s discovered make-up (oiy vey) and things aren’t going well for her at all.

My favorite part about this one is that little Daikon Radish (do we ever actually learn his name?) is starting to be less of a baby and more of a person that Clementine’s relating to differently-- he’s his own character and starting to play a bigger role. I also really liked Clementine’s interactions with her dad-- very heartwarming and hilarious.

And, as always, her solutions to the big and small problems are off-the-wall and perfect all at once.

As I said though, all you really need to know is Clementine’s back! Hooray!

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Into the Unknown

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:05:00 +0000

Into the Unknown: How Great Explorers Found Their Way by Land, Sea, and Air Stewart Ross, illustrated by Stephen Biesty

This is the only short-listed Cybils book that I haven't reviewed yet.

So, exploration really isn't my thing. Like survival stories, it's just something that I have a really hard time getting into. But... I really liked this book.

Basic format is a few pages on an explorer and their journey, and then a really cool fold-out with a map of their travels, a picture of their exploration craft and then (the super-cool part) a large cross-section of their exploration craft with excellent detail and labels.

The design is just really well done. In addition to the minute level of detail in the cross-sections (which people who aren't me can and will spend hours looking at) the background for each page is appropriate for the journey. So for Columbus it looks all parchment-y and for for Umberto Nobile's failed arctic explorations, it looks like a notebook.

I also like that the book covers the well-known and those who should be better known. Columbus, Magellan, Marco Polo, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are here (but let's say "YAY!" to including space exploration, too) but also Mary Kingsely (who I originally learned about in another Cybils nominee, Scribbling Women) Auguste and Jacques Picard and Zheng He.

An excellent choice for exploration-minded readers to get lost in.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Blog Break

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:15:00 +0000

Hey Guys!

Just a quick note to say that I'm taking a blog vacation this week.

In the meantime, be sure to check out the Cybils short lists! I'm really excited with them!

Trapped

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:05:00 +0000

Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert Marc Aronson

On August 5, 2010, an explosion in Chile's San Jose mine trapped 33 miners underground. It took people from around the world working together and a little more than two months to bring them up to the surface. Meanwhile, the world watched.

Aronson starts with the explosion and then backtracks to (very briefly) explain the role mining plays in history and our modern lives, the role in plays in the Chilean economy and the geology at work. We then alternate between the rescue efforts above ground and the survival efforts below.

A lot the above ground sections weren't new to me-- I remember following the story fairly closely as it unfolded. I loved the sections about life for the trapped miners. I knew parts of it, but learning how they stayed active (and why) and the area they built for themselves in order to stay alive and sane was amazing.

I don't know how many young readers tuned into this story as it unfolded. I think this book serves as an excellent accounting of events-- Aronson's writing is clear and the technical explanations are easy-to-understand, but it shines when discussing the emotions and people involved. As you probably remember, it's an amazing story and Aronson does it complete justice and brings it to life, and to a new audience, very nicely.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Can I See Your ID?

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:05:00 +0000

Can I See Your I.D.?: True Stories of False Identities Chris Barton

For some reason I thought this was about identity theft (why? I don't know.) It's not. It's about people living false lives.

Keron Thomas was a 16-year-old obsessed with trains when he talked his way into being a substitute subway driver--getting the drive the A-train, New York subway's longest train route.

Sarah Rosetta Wakeman pretended to be a man and joined the Union Army. Although she's not the only woman who did this, Wakeman wrote home on a regular basis and only her letters are known to have survived.

Solomon Perel had to Jewish heritage, even ending up as a soldier in the German army and a member of the Nazi youth, allowing him to survive WWII.

Ellen Craft was a light-skinned slave who pretended to be her husband's owner, allowing both of them escape to the North.

Kimberlee Elizabeth Seaman changed her name and her birthday to continue playing teenagers on TV and the movies. When Riley Weston shopped her screen play, she let people believe she was younger than she was, becoming a "teenage" writer on Felicity, a new hit show about teenagers.

These people and more are introduced-- why they did it, how they did it, how they got caught, and what happened next. Fascinating snippets of history and current events. I like that there is a good mix of people and reasons and time periods. Some are recent, some are historical. Some did theirs for very good reasons and some for selfish ones and some just because. Barton spins a tight narrative that draws you in to each deception, letting readers get a good sense of why these people did what they did, good and bad. I also enjoyed that each chapter starts with wordless comic panels (drawn by Paul Hoppe) illustrating something from the story.

Teens will eat it up.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Migrant Mother

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:05:00 +0000

Migrant Mother: How a Photograph Defined the Great Depression Don Nardo

You know the photograph. Even if you didn't know the name of it, you've seen that photo before. It's everywhere. If you've ever read or looked at anything about the Depression, about the Dust Bowl, about migrant workers, her face is there.

She has a name. For years it was lost to time-- photographer Dorothea Lange never thought to ask. Florence Owen Thompson.

She hated that photo. She hated the story that went with it-- "Destitute in a pea-pickers came, because of the failure of the early pea crop. The people had just sold their tent in order to buy food." Thompson and her family were poor and they were migrant workers. They didn't live in the pea-pickers camp where Lange took the picture, nor had they just sold their tent. Their car broke down on the highway. The boys went into town to get it fixed and Thompson set up a quick lean-to right before Lange arrived on the scene. But beyond the factual errors, Thompson felt that it reduced her and her family to a stereotype and she was upset that she never saw any money from the photo. (Lange was working for the government, so everything created was automatically public domain. Lange never saw direct money from the photo, either, although it certainly helped her career.)

But more than telling the stories of Lange and Thompson, this slim volume discusses the Depression itself, the artistry of the composition of the photograph, and explores why it resonated so well at the time and today. It also explores the impact the photo made. If nothing else, when it ran in the newspaper a few days later, food relief was sent to the starting pea-pickers. Thompson and her family were long gone by that point, but other starting workers were still there. While I love learning the real story behind the photo, I also really appreciated the analysis of why it works and why it works so well.

Several of Lange's other Depression-era photographs are included as well.

Book Provided by... the publisher, for Cybils consideration

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Happy Holidays!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 04:15:00 +0000

It's the last night of Hanukkah. The Kung Fu Princess and I both got some great books this year.

Here's my awesome gift from my awesome Holiday Book Blogger Secret Santa:

Thanks A Cozy Reader's Corner Reviews! Also, by some really wacky twist of fate, I was YOUR Secret Santa! What?!

If you want to keep the spirit of the holidays alive and have some more giving spirit in you, check out Books for Teens. This is a new YALSA initiative to give books to at-risk teens. (We can all get behind that, right?) Plus, if you give in December, they're getting some sweet matching funds.

We're busy busy busy busy working on the Cybils shortlists. I can't wait to read some fiction over the long New Year's weekend. :) There's still a huge slew of nonfiction reviews coming your way, though. I have a huge stack of books that still need reviewing.

America is Under Attack

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 01:35:00 +0000

America Is Under Attack: September 11, 2001: The Day the Towers Fell Don Brown

A few years ago, one of my regulars (he would have been 8 or 9 at the time) came in, breathless. "MISS JENNIE! Did you know that a long time ago some bad guys flew planes into these really tall buildings in New York?!" It was a sobering moment. This event that has defined my entire adult life (I was a senior in college in 2001) was (a) news to him and (b) ancient history. And this was a boy who has lived his entire life less than 15 miles away from the Pentagon.

Sometimes, we question why we need books on certain subjects. Sometimes we forget that events that are so clear in our minds, things we will never, ever, ever forget, don't mean anything to our kids.

America is Under Attack is a wonderful and sensitive introduction to 9/11. The stories of heroism and loss, of survival against the odds, of strangers helping stranger are all here. Some of the people we meet are dead by the end, some are not. I like that it focuses on the people and not the politics. Osama bin Laden is mentioned at the beginning. Bush and Guiliani are not. The reaction as we watched unfold on our TV screens is not. Instead we meet office workers and rescue workers. We're back in the moment, where we don't know what's going on, don't realize it's a planned attack instead of a horrible accident.

Also, usually I'm one for using photographs to illustrate nonfiction. Photos are a primary source and illustrations filter the source through the artist's lens. But...

This book is told like a story and the illustrations add to that tone. I also think that actual pictures might be a bit much for the younger audience this book is targeting.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Learn to Speak Dance

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 14:05:00 +0000

Learn to Speak Dance: A Guide to Creating, Performing, and Promoting Your Moves Ann-Marie Williams

The main thrust of this book is that anyone can dance. Lessons help if you want to learn a certain style, but anyone can dance and anyone can make up their own moves and dances. It covers styles of dance, different approaches to choreography, how to put a crew or troupe or company together, and how to perform and public and let people know you exist. Sprinkled throughout are quotations and inspiration from famous choreographers and dancers, and videos of different dances to check out.

The bold colors and illustrative style help explain the text and just make it a fun read. I found it really inspiring and it was hard to keep still and read-- I just wanted to get up and MOVE while reading it. I like how accessible it made dance and how it made it appeal to all types of people--whether you're into the classical rigidity of ballet, the passion of tango, or the thumping modernity of break dancing.

My only complaint is there doesn't seem to be a website or anything to make it easy to find video of the dances that are highlighted-- it would have been really useful.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Africans Thought of It

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:05:00 +0000

Africans Thought of It: Amazing Innovations Bathseba Opini and Richard B. Lee

They should really call this book "Cool Things they did in Ancient Africa." Topics covered include medicine, hunting, architecture, food, and music.

I very much appreciate that the authors don’t treat Africa as a monolithic place or culture. For instance, the section on metal working talks about different types of metals worked by different peoples—different metals, different objects, different uses. The communication section includes Egyptian hieroglyphics, Beninese gongs and Sudanese woodblocks. It also compares a traditional Maasai animal horn with a modern vuvuzela.

The design is bright and bold, with lots and lots of pictures. Because so many cultures are discussed within each topic, most of it’s presented in a series of pull-out boxes. (If it’s mostly boxes, are they still pull-out boxes?) Because of the way the information is presented, the book is very browseable and readers can dip in and out of it, although it’s interesting enough that once they dip in, they probably won’t dip out until they’ve read the whole thing.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Elephant Talk

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:05:00 +0000

Elephant Talk: The Surprising Science of Elephant Communication Ann Downer

Elephants trumpet, we know. But they also roar. They rumble at tones too low for humans to hear, but we can feel it-- any they can feel it, allowing them to communicate over long distances. They flap their ears to get the attention of the group. The cuddle.

And your adorable fact of the day? Baby elephants sometimes suck their trunks, just like baby people suck their thumbs or fingers.

Scientists have spent years observing elephants and studying how they communicate and are putting together a pretty fascinating puzzle. The main focus of the book is on communication, but it also discusses elephants in general, both African and Asian, and the issues they face and some of the solutions we're coming up with.

This was a fascinating read that made me fall in love with elephants. I learned so much and annoyed everyone around me with the cool elephant facts I was learning. I think the size of the book does it a disservice, because it looks like a report book and won't get picked up and read for fun and because it's about elephant communication, it won't get picked up by people doing reports on elephants in general. I'm afraid kids won't find it, which is sad because I think they'd love it, too.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Off to Class

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:05:00 +0000

Off to Class: Incredible and Unusual Schools Around the World Susan Hughes

In this brightly-colored, photographic-heavy book, Hughes introduces readers to a variety of schools around the world. These schools were all built or created to fulfill a need that traditional schools didn’t, or couldn’t, fill. We see UNICEF tent schools in earthquake-ravaged Haiti, a classroom on a bus that travels around Mumbai to teach kids who can’t register for school because they lack an address, tour a building designed for students with disabilities (no corners!), and meet a student who lives in New Caledonia but still goes to school in Canada online.

I loved the glimpse into different schools around the world and found many of the solutions to heartbreaking problems to be very uplifting. I liked meeting the students. My only complaint is that it was too short! Each school gets a page spread and I really wanted to learn MORE about many of the schools covered. Which, in the end, is a good complaint to have.

Book Provided by... the publisher, for Cybils consideration

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Fake Foods

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:05:00 +0000

Fake Foods: Fried, Fast, and Processed The Incredibly Disgusting Story Paula Johanson

Processed food is disgusting*. It’s bad for you and it’s bad for the earth. I’m not going to argue the premise.
But… I still had problems with this book.

At one point Johanson seems to be ok with moderation but then she tells me that “Digesting a single fatty fried meal can cause lasting problems.” She often paints restaurants as bad, but then when you unpack it a bit, all chain restaurants are inherently bad and local, small restaurants are good. Because life is that clear cut. And small restaurants don't have a deep fryer? I mean, Duck Fat fries will probably kill me, even if they're organic and locally sourced and from a small restaurant, but they're super ~~tasty~~ fatty. And, fried.

Really, I feel the main problem is that she doesn’t get into the nuances of the issue enough. There are food issues in this country, but I have a problem with how we discuss food, how we demonize it, and how we fetishize it. And I think that how we approach it is not helping the problem. (I love this blog post about the issue) This book hit every single one of my food-related buttons. I think another Cybil-nominated book, Food for a Greener Planet is a MUCH better look at the issues at play. However, it’s also for teens and this book is for middle grade. Food for A Greener Planet can go more in-depth because it’s over twice the length

And, while we’re on the topic and because I'm feeling snarky, I wanted to embed a clip from Parks and Rec where Ron and Matt have a burger cook-off. But all the clips I found never delivered the clincher line of "cow beats turkey." *Sigh*. It's Season 3, Episode 10, Soulmates. You should watch it.

*Like, on an intellectual level. A lot of it is actually super-tasty.

Book Provided by... library ILL

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Nonfiction Monday: Amelia Lost

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 23:41:00 +0000

Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart Candace Fleming

Much of what we know about Earhart is myth and legend. Much of the myth and legend developed after her mysterious disappearance over the Pacific, but much of the myth and legend was invented by Earhart herself. In this stunning biography, Fleming strips backs the layers of the myth and legend to show us a woman who soared to unimaginable heights, even if she did so in a different way than we thought.

Some cool things I learned--

Earhart had straight hair. To get that tousled, trademark look, she took a curling iron to it every morning.

She was the captain, but not the pilot on her first trans-Atlantic flight.

She and her husband were excellent at marketing Earhart as a brand, the money that resulted allowed her to keep flying. Part of this marketing was deliberately playing with and highlighting the physical similarity between Earhart and Charles Lindbergh.

What I really liked about this book was the structure. It starts with the crew of the Itasca, a Coast Guard cutter off the coast of Howland Island, waiting for Earhart. When she doesn't arrive, it then jumps back to her early childhood. In between the chapters of her life, sections chronicle the search for Earhart and some of the eeriness of her disappearance-- including the stories of several people who claimed they heard her distress calls over their short-wave radios. Even though we know how the story ends, these interspersions keep the tension high as everyone's on edge, listening to the radio static, hoping to hear a voice.

Overall, it's an excellent biography that sheds new light on a person and events we thought we knew.

Today's Nonfiction Monday Roundup is over at Practically Paradise.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Explorers Who Made It... or died trying

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:05:00 +0000

Explorers Who Made It... or died trying Frieda Wishinsky

Wishinsky gives us a brief introduction to many explorers such as Marco Polo, Samuel de Champlain, Lewis and Clark. It’s all done in a very fun, conversational style. Each chapter starts with a pop quiz question (multiple choice) such as

How do you provoke a mutiny?

1. Head your ship into nowhere. (Icy, barren nowheres are particularly good at making your crew miserable.)

2. Boss your crew around.

3. Take a long a man who hates you already.

If you’re Henry Hudson, the answer is “all of the above.” There’s also a section of True and False for each person. At the end, each explorer is graded on Daring, Persistence, and Getting Along with Others (it’s that last one they tend fail.)

Cartoon illustrations and the light-hearted nature make for a good read that younger middle grade readers will enjoy. Sadly, this title is only currently available in Canada.

Book Provided by... the publisher, for Cybils consideration

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

But this review links to Canadian Amazon. I'm not an affiliate there, but the book is only out in Canada.