Review of The Crossover

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alexander, Kwame. The Crossover. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014. ISBN 9780544107717

2.  PLOT SUMMARY
Josh "Filthy McNasty" and Jordan "JB" Bell are the most skilled players on their middle school basketball team. The twins love the game, but are super competitive on their court and with each other. When JB begins a relationship with Alexis, and develops priorities other than basketball and his family, Josh does not know how to deal with the change in their relationship and acts out violently, causing Josh to lose his spot on the team and risk everything he has worked so hard for. 

3.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Chuck "Da Man" Bell is raising twin 12-year-old boys, Josh and Jordan, in his basketball image of greatness. They love the game and are highly competitive players on their middle school basketball team, but the boys are growing apart, as Jordan begins to focus on girls in a way that Josh can't contemplate —yet. 

In this moving free verse novel, author Kwame Alexander introduces readers to what it's like when the main focus of play in childhood shifts and changes our peer and family relationships in the most uncomfortable ways. The novel is told from Josh's perspective. In his poetry, he and his alter ego,"Filthy McNasty," are unstoppable on the basketball court. He is the only member of his team that can dunk the ball. He has the fastest, most dominant moves. Off the court, the twins' mother has reinforced that education comes first because basketball can't last forever. The family understands this fact firsthand, as Chuck's promising career was ended early due to knee injury and now, in his late 30's, Chuck is trying to live his life with his boys while balancing a scary heart condition. 

The poetry in Alexander's story is sharp, moving, and rhythmically aggressive, like Josh's moves on the court. In the poem "Conversation" Josh is direct with his father about his health issues. "In the car/ I ask Dad/ if going to the doctor/ will kill him./ He tells me/ he doesn't trust doctors,/ that my grandfather did/ and look where it got him:/ six feet under/ at forty five/" (p. 123). 

Alexander balances many coming-of-age themes including: competition, romance, team work, practice, and independence throughout the book. He also addresses common issues with being black in America, like when Chuck is pulled over for a broken taillight while taking Josh to a basketball game. His fame makes the uncomfortable stop more tolerable, but for the reader it resonates with the fear African Americans feel when they are often pulled over for driving while black. 

My favorite portrayal of the book though comes from the way Alexander has Josh describe both his mother, who happens to be his assistant principal, and her no nonsense way of putting school, health and family before basketball, and his descriptions of Alexis, his brother's girlfriend, otherwise known as "Sweet Tea," whom he likes because she's a basketball junkie, but also hates because her relationship with Jordan has created an emotional distance between the brothers. In the poem "Things I Learn at Dinner" you can feel the apprehension Josh feels about disliking Alexis. "She knows how to do a crossover./ Her AAU team won a championship./ She's got game./ ... She smells like sugarplum. She has a sister in college. HER SISTER GOES TO DUKE" (p. 172). 

Most of the book is set either at the twins' home or at their school or on the court at local schools and the gym. Alexander focuses on what brings people to their "Tipping Point" when, as adolescents, they have difficulty regulating their emotions, and how the action they take after emotional faltering is an important part of learning how to grow up. 

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S) and AWARDS
Newbery Medal Honor Book
Coretta Scott King Honor Award, 2015
School Library Journal Best Book, Middle Grade, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Best Book
An ALA Notable Children's Book, Older Readers, 2015

From Booklist
"An accomplished author and poet, Alexander eloquently mashes up concrete poetry, hip hop, a love of jazz, and a thriving family bond." 

From Kirkus Reviews
"This novel in verse is rich in character and relationships. Most interesting is the family dynamic that informs so much of the narrative, which always reveals, never tells."

5. CONNECTIONS
Other novels by Kwame Alexander: 

• Booked. ISBN 9780544570986
• He Said, She Said. ISBN 9780062118981

Additional books by Kwame Alexander:

• Crush: Love Poems for Teenagers. ISBN 9781499364781
• Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets. ISBN 9780763680947
• The Playbook: 52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life. ISBN 9780544570979

Kwame Alexander has been a lot of things in his career: a former high school English teacher, a former radio show host, a music producer, but foremost, he is a poet and a writer. According to his website, Alexander has written 24 books and his characters are often wonderfully smart, strong and represent the complexity of social issues surrounding being black in America.

The Crossover is a wonderful access point for middle grade and middle school readers to discover the power of poetry in contemporary fiction, as well as gaining insight into the American experience of diversity outside of what is typical in canonized literature. 

Alexander's books do something not a lot of other authors have done. They connect the past with the present. They link non-fiction with fiction, and they use both to inspire and tell stories without being preachy or righteous. They cradle humanity while confronting bigotry in a real and honest way. An author study on Kwame Alexander is a win-win situation for any classroom. And if you're really lucky, you may even be able to get him to visit... 

Review of Roller Girl

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jamieson, Victoria. Roller Girl. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2015. ISBN 9780803740167

2.  PLOT SUMMARY
Astrid's mother takes her and her best friend Nicole to see a roller derby bout. Astrid is excited about the athleticism, the attitude, and the creativity of the sport, but her friend Nicole, does not share her enthusiasm, and they have a falling out. Astrid spends the summer in roller derby camp learning the basics of the sport while also learning more important lessons about friendship and how to be a team player. 

3.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Like most tweens, when 12-year-old Astrid's mother takes her and her best friend Nicole out for "an evening of cultural enlightenment" full of "strong, positive female role models," Astrid is afraid she's in for another long night of poetry reading or opera, but instead, her mother takes the girls to roller derby, and a passion in Astrid's heart awakens. She just knows she has to play roller derby, so she signs up for a summer camp. Much to her dismay, Nicole does not share her interest and it drives a large wedge in their relationship. Nicole befriends a girl named Rachel, whose very existence makes Astrid green with jealousy. Her feelings toward Nicole turn even uglier when Rachel begins to bully Astrid.

On the rink, Astrid realizes she has a lot to learn. She's a terrible skater. She doesn't have a lot of balance, coordination, or endurance. But she is compelled to continue, particularly when she seeks out the guidance of a professional player named Rainbow Bite. Rainbow Bite becomes her mentor and the two communicate through notes left in Rainbow Bite's locker. In addition, Astrid feels not quite so alone when she befriends another novice player, Zoey. The two of them train together and even color Astrid's hair blue (much to her mother's dismay).

By the end of the summer, Astrid realizes she's made progress as a player, but that it may or may not be enough to start as the "jammer" in the last bout of the summer. Children, particularly tweens, will identify with Astrid's difficulty managing relationships with her peers while she struggles with a sport that requires her dedication and patience as well as learning to be a supportive member of a team.

Jamieson does a wonderful job developing Astrid's psyche. Readers can identify with the anxious feelings that go along with trying to make your own way in the world. Specifically, Astrid struggles with lying to her mother, creative expression, hard work, physical and athletic development, emotional regulation, friendship building, feeling sorry for herself, a desire to be independent, dealing with bullies, and coping with the asynchronous development in regard to sexual maturity when Nicole and Rachel are clearly becoming more interested in spending time with boys, when Astrid is not. Any of those issues are difficult for a child, but Jamieson does a great job laying out all of the struggles over the duration of Astrid's summer camp experience, without the drama feeling like it is unnecessarily weighing the book down.

Astrid's humanity makes her an approachable character for everyone, even boys, or so says my 11-year-old son, who chose this as his favorite book of the year, and wrote a five paragraph essay about the themes of friendship and self-reliance for his language arts class.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S) and AWARDS
Newbery Medal Honor Book
Publishers Weekly Best Book
School Library Journal Best Book
Kirkus Reviews Best Book
Chicago Public Library Best Book
New York Public Library Best Book for Reading and Sharing
Texas Bluebonnet Book Winner 
An ALA Notable Children's Book, 2016

From School Library Journal
"While this graphic novel provides interesting information about the sport, at its heart is a story of friendship, exploring the tensions which test the girls' relationships as they move from childhood to adolescence. Astrid learns to be honest with herself, her mother, and her friends through a series of stressful events. The graphic novelist employs several excellent visual devices: angles to denote action and effective placement and space within panels. Jamieson's clever use of imagery is noteworthy." 

From Kirkus Reviews

"Jamieson captures this snapshot of preteen angst with a keenly decisive eye, brilliantly juxtaposing the nuances of roller derby with the twists and turns of adolescent girls' friendships. Clean, bright illustrations evince the familiar emotions and bring the pathos to life in a way that text alone could not." 

5. CONNECTIONS
Other books by Victoria Jamieson: 

• Olympig. ISBN 9780803735361
• Pest in Show. ISBN 9780803737013

Additional graphic novels with female, pre-teen protagonists:

• Chmakova, Svetlana. Awkward. ISBN 9780316381307
• Holm, Jennifer L. and Matthew Holm. Sunny Side Up. ISBN 9780545741668
• Telgemeier, Raina. Drama. ISBN 9780545436995

The last 10 years has seen an extraordinary growth in graphic novels for children ages 8-14. These books are both wonderful as a way to entice reluctant readers from picture books into longer books that require more endurance and as a phenomenal way to appeal to readers of all levels to engage with the art of illustration through more emotionally complex stories.

Graphic novels also offer children an excellent advantage to become more emotionally savvy. When a child reads words that describe emotion, they may not fully understand the impact of the description, but when the words correspond to a drawing, readers can zero in on the facial expressions of the characters. The art can also be critical for readers who process things visually, like children on the autism spectrum.

A great way to engage children is to have them try to create their own graphic story. Introduce children to india ink and brushes, art materials they might not usually use. They can draw panels and pictures and then use regular markers to color in, just like a real graphic artist. Also, plan a field trip to the roller rink. If it's possible, make a connection with your local roller derby team and see if they can come out and skate with the students. If a field trip isn't possible, be fun, wear skates to school, sport a blue wig and rainbow socks in solidarity with Astrid.

Astrid spent a summer completely outside of her comfort zone. That's a lot of what adolescence is -- not feeling comfortable while a great transformation takes place both physically and emotionally. Help children make that transition by recognizing how difficult the process can be and letting them know you are there for them.

Breaking Stalin's Nose Review

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY
Yelchin, Eugene. Breaking Stalin's Nose. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2011. ISBN 9781250034106

2.  PLOT SUMMARY
His mother is dead, and they came to arrest his father in the night. So, 10-year-old Sasha Zaichik suddenly finds himself alone and homeless the night before he his supposed to be inducted into the Young Soviet Pioneers and be the proudest boy in Stalin's Soviet Union. Instead of panicking, he goes where he thinks he should be — school, and finds that no one and nowhere is safe in the only country he has ever known.

3.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Author Eugene Yelchin grew up in Communist Soviet Union in the 1960s before he immigrated to the United States, but his father lived in the Soviet Union during Stalin's rule and Yelchin dedicated this book to his survival. Yelchin's experiences and the experiences of his father shaped the setting, storyline and highly emotional reality of his main character, 10-year-old Sasha Zaichik, in Breaking Stalin's Nose.

Sasha and his father live in a communal apartment in Moscow. His father works for the government and Sasha attends school. When his father is arrested for being a traitor, Sasha believes there must be a mistake. As far as he knew, his father held a position of power and respect with Stalin's government, and Sasha is convinced if he approached Stalin, he would free his father. After his father is taken, another family kicks Sasha out of his room in the apartment. He runs to find comfort in his family, but Sasha's aunt and uncle are afraid that the government will arrest them if they take him in, and so Sasha is forced to sleep in the basement of his aunt's apartment building.

In the morning, he heads to school hoping that his father will have been released and will preside, as planned, over his induction into the Young Soviet Pioneers. A series of unfortunate events teach Sasha how naive he is about the state of his country, how no line exists between right and wrong, and that teachers, principals, government representatives and even children are all operating in a state of fear and paranoia that will imprison or kill a number of Soviet people during Stalin's rule. Sasha learns early that survival is paramount.

Yelchin takes readers on a two-day tour of hopelessness as Sasha's situation goes from bad to worse. His black drawings illustrate the cold unfairness of his situation. The sadness and progression into utter despair by Sasha and two of his peers may be hard for young readers to absorb, but does open the door for readers to consider what freedom really is and form a more considerate view of the perils children face all over the world due to corrupt governments and unstable political climates.

Yelchin offers the reader a number of access points including an author's note, photos and explanatory captions, as well as a question and answer section with the author.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S) and AWARDS
Newbery Medal Honor Book
Junior Library Guild Selection
Best Children's Book of 2011 by Horn Book Magazine
Best Children's Book of 2011 by The Washington Post
Top Ten Historical Fiction for Youth by Booklist, 2012
Finalist for California Book Awards, 2012
Editor's Choice by Historical Novel Society, 2011

From Publishers Weekly
"Through Sasha's fresh and optimistic voice, Yelchin powerfully renders an atmosphere of fear that forces false confessions, even among schoolchildren, and encourages neighbors and family members to betray one another without evidence. Readers will quickly pick up on the dichotomy between Sasha's ardent beliefs and the reality of life under Stalinism, and be glad for his ultimate disillusion, even as they worry for his future." 

From Wall Street Journal
"Mr. Yelchin has compressed into two days of events an entire epoch, giving young readers a glimpse of the precariousness of life in a capricious yet ever-watchful totalitarian state." 

5. CONNECTIONS
Other books by Eugene Yelchin: 

• Arcady's Goal. ISBN 9780805098440
• The Haunting of Falcon House. ISBN 9780805098457

Additional background material on Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union:

• Archer, Jules. Man of Steel: Joseph Stalin: Russia's Ruthless Ruler. ISBN 9781634501774
• Hagen, Brenda. Joseph Stalin: Dictator of the Soviet Union. ISBN 9780756515973
• Morrell, Kathleen Berton. Russia. ISBN 9780679891185

Winston Churchill said, "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Children may recognize the tactics Stalin's Soviet Union uses to give the illusion of choice for its people. This illusion is to choose to be with us or choose to be against us, which isn't much of a choice at all, but if you've grown up in the land of the free and the home of the brave, you may not have a firm understanding of what a dictatorship is.

By further studying the history of the Soviet Union and Russia and biographies about Stalin, children can build an understanding of warning signs and concerns related to authoritarian rule. Having students debate between democracy and dictatorship, so they can understand why both exist in the world will require further research and engagement from the whole class. It will also introduce concepts like checks and balances, the First Amendment, and the power of Nationalism.

Review of One Crazy Summer

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY
Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy Summer. New York: Amistad, 2010. ISBN 9780060760885

2.  PLOT SUMMARY
Three sisters travel from New York City to Oakland, California, to visit their estranged mother in 1968. The girls must learn how to navigate a new city without the help of their seemingly distant and unreliable parent, whose connections to the Black Panther party and life as a revolutionary poet during the Civil Rights Movement end up being the lifeline that tethers them to their mother. 

3.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS
In 1968, three sisters, Delphine, in fifth grade, Fern, in fourth grade, and Vonetta, in second grade, are sent from the only home they've ever known with their father and grandmother in New York City to spend the summer with their mother, Cecile, in Oakland, California.

Cecile is not a warm person. She doesn't cook. She doesn't hug. And she makes it clear that she doesn't want the girls there: "I didn't send for you. Didn't want you in the first place. Should have gone to Mexico to get rid of you when I had the chance" (26-27).

Not only was it an unwelcoming greeting to the girls, who don't really remember their mother, but it was a vital introduction that Williams-Garcia gives the reader into the realities of American life in the late 1960s with harsh reality that to end a pregnancy women had to travel to Mexico pre-Roe v. Wade to get a medical procedure.

Cecile lives in a house down the street from a Black Panther center, where the girls are able to get a free breakfast every morning and learn about social justice in a Black Panther program that was run like a day camp. The girls were taught by Sister Mukumbu about how the goal of living was to improve the situation for all subjugated people. "Revolving. Revolution. Revolutionary. Constant Turning. Making things change," she tells the class (72). Historical figures like Huey Newton and Che Guevara are taught. Williams-Garcia also makes references to other important civil rights leaders including, Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Bobby Hutton, Cassius Clay, and the Kennedys.

Oakland is a strange new world for the girls. Cecile gives them money for Chinese food every night, and Delphine grows up fast realizing that without a stable parent in place, she will need to take on the role of mother. The kids fend for themselves in the neighborhood against bullies, who don't like that little Vonetta carries a white-colored doll in their predominantly black neighborhood. Delphine's innate ability as a caretaker shines through as an affront to her mother's revolutionary lifestyle. "She probably hated my father's plain face on me. That the plain way about him was the plain way about me. I didn't know about blowing dust and clearing paths. I knew about hot-combing thick heads of hair and ironing pleated wool skirts for school" (76).

Delphine rises for the sake of her sisters, and in doing so learns from the Black Panther camp the benefits of activism, the strength of her blackness, and how to reach her mother's heart through recognizing her sacrifice and struggles with being "woke" in a time when white people in San Francisco took pictures of the three little black girls like they were animals in a zoo.

Williams-Garcia poured a lot of historical framework into One Crazy Summer, but it's the highly tenuous and authentic relationship between the girls and their mother that ties the book together. Williams-Garcia acknowledges many of her influences and role models when she wrote the book, including, Nikki Giovanni, Gwendolyn Brooks, and the Black Panther Intercommunal News Service, etc.

Children today may also realize how much less responsibility and freedom they have to wander than children growing up in earlier generations had at a much younger age. Cecile's history of homelessness and poverty shine a light on the social inequity and racism upon which America was founded and that bigotry and racial oppression that continues to thrive in our country generation after generation.

Williams-Garcia made me loves these girls. Their ability to endure discomfort and uncertainty and stand up for family and community makes One Crazy Summer a noble and thoughtful read about a critical time in American history that still resonates today with the efforts of the Black Lives Matter movement and the social justice action of the Southern Poverty Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union. I am excited that she wrote two sequels to the book and that the girls' stories live on.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S) and AWARDS
Newbery Medal Honor Book
National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature
Coretta Scott King Award Winner, 2011
Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

From School Library Journal
"Emotionally challenging and beautifully written, this book immerses readers in a time and place and raises difficult questions of cultural and ethnic identity and personal responsibility." 

From Kirkus Reviews
"The depiction of the time is well done, and while the girls are caught up in the difficulties of adults, their resilience is celebrated and energetically told with writing that snaps off the page." 

5. CONNECTIONS
Other books featuring Delphine and her family by Rita Williams-Garcia

• P.S. Be Eleven. ISBN 9780061938641
• Gone Crazy in Alabama. ISBN 9780062215895

Other historical fiction chapter books about African American life in the United States:

• Curtis, Christopher Paul. The Watsons Go to Birmingham — 1963. ISBN 9780385382946
• Draper, Sharon M. Stella by Starlight. ISBN 9781442494985
• Taylor, Mildred D. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. ISBN 9780142401125

In the book, Cecile is a powerful poet. Her emotional connection to her art teaches her children that words have meaning, particularly through poetry. Reread Cecile's poem at the end of the book, and have children try their hand writing a poem about their lives. What important words do your students have to say about their own histories and things they see going on in the world that effect them?

For additional resources and historical information on black history in the United States, be sure to explore museums in your area. Museums are a great place to see about forming connections related to historical exhibits. For example, in Austin, where I live, we are home to the Lyndon B. Johnson presidential library, which has many exhibits and additional information on the Civil Rights movement. In addition, the Smithsonian and the U.S. Library of Congress have a number of materials and exhibits online, if field trips are not an affordable option for your school or library program budgets.

Review of Lily's Crossing

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY
Giff, Patricia Reilly. Lily's Crossing. New York: Delacorte Press, 1997. ISBN 0385321422

2.  PLOT SUMMARY
Lily and her grandmother travel to their summer cottage while Lily's father, an engineer, is headed overseas to help the Allies in World War II. Lily spends her holiday in what feels like the same quiet summer town she has always known while the rest of the world is in utter turmoil. 

3.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The year is 1944 and Lily is in fifth grade. She feels stifled by her traditional Catholic school upbringing and cannot wait until summer arrives. Every summer her family heads to Rockaway Beach on the Atlantic to her grandmother's summer home to enjoy ocean breezes, fishing and swimming. But this year is decidedly different for Lily. World War II has made her best friend's family relocate from Rockaway Beach to a war town. Her father, an engineer, is headed overseas to help the war effort, and Albert, a young refugee boy from Europe, moves in with her neighbors.

Giff says in her "Dear Reader" letter at the end of the book that Lily's summer town of Rockaway Beach was inspired by her own summers on the Atlantic. She captures the emotional effect of the war on the small town community, as people pull down blackout shades at night in case German pilots cross the Atlantic and attack America, the bakery hangs "Loose Lips Sink Ships" signs to discourage talking about possible tactical maneuvers, and even Lily feels the need to scold her mailman when he engages her in conversation about what her father might be working on overseas with the military.

With her father absent, and her mother deceased, Lily lives with her grandmother, who she has a love/hate relationship with. Lily has a hard time seeing her Gram as anything other than a disciplinarian. "Lily couldn't picture it, couldn't picture Gram skinny, and swimming all the way across Jamaica Bay... she had a braid to her waist, and she was a seal in the water" (47).

In the true tradition of the time, Lily focuses on simpler things in life. She plays outside all day, visits the library, sneaks into picture shows, and listens to the radio with her Grandmother. Giff portrays Lily accurately as a pre-teen girl, with her purse and lipstick, who hates to practice the piano, returns library books late, and buys day-old cookies at the bakery out of politeness to appease the owner's desperation over the lack of supplies, like butter and sugar, during war time to run her business.

But Lily also has a problem with lying. She recognizes it as a personality flaw, and also part of her affection for creative writing, but she cannot seem to keep her stories contained. Her lies to Albert about someday sneaking onto a boat headed to Europe to find her father inspire him to attempt to return to Europe to find the family he was forced to leave behind. After all, if Lily could do it, couldn't he? Her lies compel the story's climax and risks the life of her only friend, who has already lost so much.

Lily is a highly relatable little girl. Giff portrays her as being very self-aware of her flaws and, therefore, she is very easy for readers to identify with. Stuck between childhood and impending adolescence, Lily is looking for her place in a world that is ripping itself apart. Giff handles the hometown concerns of war with care and tenderness and without being too scary for middle grade readers.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S) and AWARDS
Newbery Honor Award, 1998
ALA Notable Children's Book, 1998
Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book

From School Library Journal
"History is brought to life through Giff's well-chosen details and descriptions...Giff's well-drawn believable characters and vivid prose style make this an excellent choice." 

From Publishers Weekly
"Exceptional characterizations and a robust story line turn this WWII homefront novel into far more than a period piece." 

5. CONNECTIONS
Other historical fiction books by Patricia Reilly Giff:

• Maggie's Door. ISBN 9780440415817
• Nora Ryan's Song. ISBN 9780440418290
• Water Street. ISBN 9780440419211

Other historical fiction books about World War II for children ages 10+:

• Farrell, Mary Cronk. Irena's Children: A Young Reader's Edition. ISBN 9781481449915
• Park, Linda Sue. When My Name Was Keoko. ISBN 9780547722399
• Wolk, Lauren. Wolf Hollow. ISBN 9781101994825

Oftentimes American children focus on their own country's influence on World War II, forgetting that it is a world war and that it affected children globally. Reading historical fiction can create a bridge based on empathy for children of other cultures who were also impacted by the war. In addition, helping children to see a scope of emotions outside of their own time can inspire thoughtfulness about where the world is headed and what kind of caring adult they may want to grow up to become. Though adults might not want to admit it, between age 10 and 12, children often get a real sense of how unsafe their world actually is. Fiction books about anxiety, fear, loss and personal growth can help children cope with those emotions as they are undoubtably what makes us human. How does one continue with life after they survive a Concentration Camp? How does one deal with being an orphan? How did all of this pain and separation of families start with hate for those who are different from ourselves, and what can be done to prevent such atrocity in the future? How can these stories be related to current world events?

Review of Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring by Dana G. Williams

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY
Greenberg, Jan and Sandra Jordan. Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring. New York: Roaring Book Press, 2010. ISBN 9781596433380

2.  PLOT SUMMARY
Authors Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan use their informational picture book prowess to capture the creative processes of Martha Graham as she created and produced her ballet Appalachian Spring with collaborators composer Aaron Copland and set designer Isamu Noguchi. 

3.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan specialize in writing informational children's books about art and artists. They are multiple award winners, as is the illustrator for Ballet for Martha, Brian Floca. Before reading Ballet for Martha, I had never read one of Greenberg or Jordan's collaborative efforts. With their expert backgrounds as non-fiction writers for children, it's not a surprise that Ballet for Martha is exceptionally thorough in its research and story telling. What impressed me the most was how much I loved their breakdown of Martha Graham's creative process. Their commitment to detail was impressive, especially when I decided to view a performance of Appalachian Spring on YouTube.

Floca's illustrations captured so much of the dancers' movements in still watercolors. And the writers defined every part of the process down to each of the instruments used in the orchestra to create the music. Greenberg and Jordan use very simple, descriptive imagery throughout the book and are honest about the frustrating parts of Graham's process. On page 17, they write, "She has a tantrum. She screams. She yells. She throws a shoe. The dancers wait. Martha always figures it out." The illustration on that page is of two dancers wearing frustrated looks on their faces with a solitary shoe in the middle of the dance floor. Graham's fit reads like a dancer's poetic memory.

Similarly, outside of the extensive research needed to tell how Graham worked with composer Aaron Copland and set designer Isamu Noguchi, the authors have to write and describe Graham's exotic dance movement. "Slowly the Bride glides in, then runs to the Groom. The preacher's four Followers file in. The music turns lively and playful as the young girls dance in pairs, then form circles, fluttering, skittering, reaching up to the sky" (28-29). As a reader, you can close your eyes and picture the dance accurately from their writing.

Greenberg and Jordan cite 17 sources in the back of their book. They source every piece of dialogue or action they use in the picture book. They also give short bios on all three artists who were born at the turn of the twentieth century. Graham, a woman who went to New York and started her own dance company; Copland, a Jewish immigrant from Russia, who studied music in France and won the Presidential Medal for Freedom and a Pulitzer Prize for "Appalachian Spring" in 1944; and Noguchi, who was born in the United States, but lived in Japan as a child, and later lived in a Japanese internment camp in the United States during World War II (44-45). Capturing the historical work of one artist is hard enough, but Ballet for Martha does a wonderful job of telling the story of all three artists and their individual influences on this particular dance performance.

Greenberg and Jordan also thank every interviewee, archivist, and librarian who helped them on their journey to author this book. I almost wish they could write an autobiographical picture book with Floca about their own creative processes as three artists collaborating on children's informational literature.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S) and AWARDS
Robert F. Sibert Award — Honor
ALA Notable Children's Book
Winner of the NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding NYPL Book for Reading and Sharing
CCBC Choice (University of Wisconsin)
Ibby Honor Books
School Library Journal Best Books 2010
Washington Post Best Books 2010
Kirkus Best Books 2010
Booklist Editor's Choice 2010

From School Library Journal
"If Martha Graham's choreography for 'Appalachian Spring' was a 'valentine' to the world, as critics wrote in 1944, then this book is a love letter in return." 

From Booklist
"Matching the mood of Graham's moves, the writing is pared down but full of possibilities. Floca's ink-and-watercolor artwork nimbly shifts from the prosaic to the visionary to the several-spread finale of the ballet itself. The book as a whole beautifully captures the process of artistic creation." 

5. CONNECTIONS
Other informational books by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan:

• Action Jackson. ISBN 9780312367510
• Chuck Close: Up Close. ISBN 9780789424860
• The Mad Potter: George E. Ohr, Eccentric Genius. ISBN 9781596438101

Other informational stories about dance for elementary school-aged readers:

• Copeland, Misty. Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina. ISBN 9781481479790
• Reich, Susanna. José: Born to Dance. ISBN 9780689865763
• Stringer, Lauren. When Stravinsky Met Ninjinsky: Two Artists, Their Ballet, and One Extraordinary Riot. ISBN 9780547907253

By elementary school, children have often been taught or have picked up on gender bias in American social constructs. A child may categorize activities as being "for a girl" or "for a boy." Often times, art like dance, falls squarely in the "for a girl" category. By creating an informational library that represents dancers of different genders and from different cultures, teachers and librarians can help show children how art constantly challenges what people might consider the cultural norm when it comes to dance.

In addition to learning about the histories of dance, dancers and choreographers, books like Ballet for Martha, can teach children three valuable c's (communication, collaboration, and creativity) without feeling like they've been shoved down their throats. A study in music, dance and theater is more than just an in-class assignment, it is an introduction to self-expression and the power of art, as well as a way to allow movement and music into an elementary classroom outside of the typical scheduled P.E. or music time.

Brown Girl Dreaming Review by Dana G. Williams

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY
Woodson, Jacqueline. Brown Girl Dreaming. Nancy Paulsen Books: New York, 2014. ISBN 9780399252518

2.  PLOT SUMMARY
Author Jacqueline Woodson traces her childhood history moving from Ohio to South Carolina to New York City through a plethora of free verse poems that illustrate a beautiful narrative of personal experiences that molded her into a writer at a very young age. Young Woodson introduces us to the the south she celebrates, the influence of family on her growth and how she survived frequent separation from parents, siblings, extended family and friends. 

3.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS
In Brown Girl Dreaming Jacqueline Woodson's autobiography, written in free verse, illustrates common themes in the writer's life: transition, loss, and exploration. Woodson's writing flows from page to page like a perfectly profound diary of a young girl's experience growing up while her basic needs were often in flux and death and worry were frequently knocking at her door. Her poem, "One Place" expresses Jacqueline's worry that her young brother might never come home to live with them after suffering from lead poisoning. Woodson's verse elevates the reader's anxiety and fear for the young boy:

"For a long time, our little brother/ goes back and forth to the hospital, his body/ weak from the lead, his brain/ not doing what a brain is supposed to do./ We don't understand why he's so small, has tubes/ coming from his arms, sleeps and sleeps.../ when we visit him." The imagery paints a sad and upsetting picture of the very real frailties of her baby brother. As a reader, I feared for him, for her and what the loss of that child would do to her world.

In essence, Woodson spends her biography being pulled away from people she loves: her father in Ohio, her mother when she leaves the children with grandparents in South Carolina to look for work in New York, her grandparents, her Uncle Robert, her Aunt Kay, etc.

The only reassurance Woodson is able to give herself in these situations is that she is loved by each and every one of those people, but somehow life isn't easy for them. Her family's religion as Jehovah's Witnesses focuses on having faith through hard work and prayer. In the end, Woodson's experience lead her write the poem "What I Believe," which expresses how her experiences have allowed her to have faith in more than just religion and in the many people who have influenced her life. "I believe in God and evolution./ I believe in the Bible and the Qur'an./ I believe in Christmas and the New World./ I believe that there is good in each of us/ no matter who we are or what we believe in." The poem and the sound of the words brought me to a place of self-acceptance and inspiration to seek out a life that fits me rather than seeing myself as someone who needs a place to fit into.

The most affectionate portrayals Woodson saves for her life in South Carolina. Her descriptions of weather, smells, the neighbors and her life there, bring the reader back to an earlier time. It was for me, nostalgic for my own childhood spent in a slower-paced city, when children were allowed to roam free and explore the world unattended.

Jacqueline's portrayal of her interest and determination to be a writer and her complete success at the profession as an adult are inspiring. The author's note in the back of Brown Girl Dreaming focuses on the research and family who helped her to write the book, as well as her appreciation for the long history of storytelling within her family that helped her make connections between the past and the present as a woman and as a writer.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Newbery Honor 
National Book Award for Young People's Literature
Coretta Scott King Award
NAACP Image Award

From Booklist
"What is this book about? In an appended author's note, Woodson says it best: "my past, my people, my memories, my story." The resulting memoir in verse is a marvel, as it turns deeply felt remembrances of Woodson's preadolescent life into art, through memories of her homes in Ohio, South Carolina, and, finally, New York City, and of her friends and family." 

From Horn Book
"A memoir-in-verse so immediate that readers will feel they are experiencing the author's childhood right along with her... Most notably of all, perhaps, we trace her development as a nascent writer, from her early, overarching love of stories through her struggles to learn to read through the thrill of her first blank composition book to her realization that 'words are [her] brilliance.' The poetry here sings: specific, lyrical, and full of imagery. An extraordinary -- indeed brilliant -- portrait of a writer as a young girl."  

5. CONNECTIONS
Other books by Jacqueline Woodson for children:

• Feathers. ISBN 9780142415504
• The Other Side. ISBN 9780399231162
• This is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration. ISBN 9780399239861

Other biographies told with poetry:

• Alexander, Kwame. Out of Wonder: Poems about Celebrating Poets. ISBN 9780763680947
• Katz, Susan. The President's Stuck in the Bathtub: Poems About Presidents. ISBN 9780547182216
• Shane, Ntozake. Ellington Was Not a Street. ISBN 9780689828843

It's true that many poems tell emotional stories, but some of them also share history in a vibrant method of storytelling. Introducing children to biographies through poetry is a novel way to bridge the gap between fiction and non-fiction and to illustrate writing style and methods.

Creating a poetry-based free writing activity where children can focus on the lives of their heroes (living or dead) lets them be in the driver's seat to showcase what they know about poetry. Reading these biography books allows them to see and hear different ways writers tell historical stories about their lives or the lives of others and the people who influenced them.