Module 13: Nancy Drew #19: Cliffhanger

Petrucha, S. (2009). Nancy drew #19: Cliffhanger. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.

Summary

Girl detective Nancy Drew is in the woods with a group of scientists searching for an area where a certain plant can grow that might help cure Alzheimer's. When a crime is committed, she chases the thief and in true Nancy fashion, she ends up in danger, hanging from a cliff, but luckily, her good friends and sidekicks George and Bess come to her rescue and help her catch the thief.

Worth Another Cup of Tea?

Being an old-school Nancy Drew fan, I was intrigued by this graphic series. I had never read comics or graphic novels before, and honestly, I don't think I'll start now. I didn't like the way Nancy, George, and Bess were drawn. It was just too different from the original series, and I guess I wasn't ready for change. The story itself was very similar to the old books in its formula.

Reviews

I could not find any reviews of this book.

In The Library

I might suggest this to reluctant readers to get them interested in mysteries and books in general.

Module 12: Harvesting Hope

Krull, K. (2003). Harvesting hope. New York, NY: Harcourt, Inc.

Summary

This is the story of Cesar Chavez's life from early boyhood through his famous march across California to gain contracts and better working conditions for farmworkers. The book starts out when Cesar is a young boy, living on his family's ranch in Arizona. Life is good, and his family is doing well. In 1937, a drought hit the ranch, and Cesar's family is forced to go to California to look for work. Cesar's life changes dramatically. The living conditions are terrible, and they must work long hours under hard conditions on farms for very little money. The landowners in the book are very cruel and treat the farmworkers like animals. As Cesar grows up, he becomes a natural leader of the farmworkers and begins organizing them to try to fight for more pay and better working conditions. He preaches a message of nonviolence and organized strikes. The end of the book tells of Chavez's role in the creation of the National Farm Workers Association and of his famous march across California which ultimately led to contracts for farmworkers with better pay and better working conditions.

Worth Another Cup of Tea?

In my opinion, this was a very sensational portrayal of Chavez's life and of the plight of American farmworkers. Some of the descriptions are a little extremist, for example, during the march, "he and many others had blood seeping out of their shoes". I completely agree that the farmworkers had terrible conditions, but since this is written for small children, I can only imagine the visual images they might get when reading this book. I also wondered if all landowners were as cruel as those portrayed in the book. Having said that, it's a good introduction for young children to what type of person Cesar Chavez was and what he stood for.

Reviews

Gr. 2-4. When Cesar Chavez was 10 years old, drought forced his family to leave its Arizona ranch and move to California. The family became migrant workers, poorly paid and badly treated. As an adult, Chavez organized a nonviolent revolt, culminating in a 300-mile protest march that produced the first farmworkers' contract. Krull's language demonstrates a poetic sensibility (The eighty acres of their ranch were an island in the shimmering Arizona desert, and the stars were all their own. ), but the vocabulary will challenge young children, and a few socio-cultural details aren't made clear: some kids will wonder about the White Trade Only signs and why Chavez couldn't speak Spanish in school. But Morales' gorgeous paintings, with their rounded, organic forms and lush, gemstone hues, more than make up for glitches as they draw children deeply into an inspiring picture-book account of a young boy who grew up to change the world. --Booklist, June, 2003.

r 3-6-The dramatic story of Chavez's 340-mile march to protest the working conditions of migrant farmworkers in California is the centerpiece of this well-told biography. Readers meet Chavez at his grandparents' home in Arizona where he lived happily amid a large extended family. His childhood was cut short when, due to financial difficulties, the family was forced to move to California to seek employment. After years of laboring in the fields, Chavez became increasingly disturbed by the inhuman living conditions imposed by the growers. The historic 1965 strike against grape growers and the subsequent march for "La Causa" are vividly recounted, and Chavez's victory-the agreement by the growers granting the workers better conditions and higher pay-is palpable. While sufficient background information is provided to support the story and encourage further research, focusing on one event makes the story appealing to younger readers. The text is largely limited to one side of a spread; beautifully rendered earth-toned illustrations flow out from behind the words and onto the facing page. A fine addition to any collection.--School Library Journal, June, 2003.

In The Library

This would be a great addition to a display for Hispanic Heritage Month.

Module 11: An Egg is Quiet

Aston, D. (2006). An egg is quiet. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Summary

This is an absolutely beautifully written and illustrated book about eggs. The descriptions are simple to understand and match the pictures perfectly. Eggs are described in color, size, shape, and how they are developed. A very simple explanation of how the embryo is formed is offered with pictures showing the development of a chicken, a fish, and a grasshopper. Towards the end of the book, we see birds hatch and the final double page illustration is a variety of birds.

Worth Another Cup of Tea?

Yes, this is a beautiful book that would be wonderful to show to children to teach about eggs and the start of life.

Reviews

K-Gr 2-An exceptionally handsome book on eggs, from the delicate ova of the green lacewing to the rosy roe of the Atlantic salmon to the mammoth bulk of an ostrich egg. Aston's simple, readable text celebrates their marvelous diversity, commenting on size, shape, coloration, and where they might be found. The author occasionally attributes sensibilities to eggs ("An egg is clever," for example). Still, her quiet descriptions of egg engineering and embryo development (no mention of mating) are on the mark, and are beautifully supported by Long's splendid watercolor depictions of a wide variety of eggs. (One teeny carp-Steller's jays are not spelled with an "ar," though they are stellar performers when wheedling for your lunch at a campsite!) A beautiful guide to the unexpected panoply of "the egg."--School Library Journal, June, 2006.

PreS-Gr. 2. This beautifully illustrated introduction to eggs resembles pages drawn from a naturalist's diary. The text, scrolled out in elegant brown ink, works on two levels. Larger print makes simple observations that, read together, sound almost like poetry: An egg is quiet. . . . An egg is colorful. An egg is shapely. On each spread, words in smaller print match up with illustrations to offer more facts about bird and fish eggs across the animal spectrum. The illustrations are too detailed for read-alouds, but there's a great deal here to engage children up close. The succinct text will draw young fact hounds, particularly fans of Steve Jenkins' Biggest, Strongest, Fastest (1995) and his similar titles. Long's illustrations are elegant and simple, and the gallery of eggs, as brilliantly colored and polished as gems, will inspire kids to marvel at animals' variety and beauty. A spread showing X-ray views of young embryos growing into animal young makes this a good choice for reinforcing concepts about life cycles.--Booklist, April, 2006.

In The Library

This is an excellent book for young children that could be used as a storytime to supplement learning about eggs, embryos, etc.

Module 10: Esperanza Rising

Munoz, P. (2000). Esperanza rising. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Summary

This is an excellent book about a young girl named Esperanza (which appropriately means hope) who is growing up very rich in Mexico. Tragedy strikes her family, and they are forced to move to America to look for new opportunities. Instead of a life of privilege, she now has to work long, hard hours on a farm. She also has to face ridicule and prejudice in her new life in California. She is determined to rise above all of it.

Worth Another Cup of Tea?

Yes, this is a very good book that I found to be very interesting and uplifting in the end. It is hard reading about the struggles Esperanza has in California, but it's important to know about this type of life. Working in a school with immigrants, I found her story to be similar to some of my students: not the details, but the overall theme of leaving everything you know and experiencing something completely different.

Reviews

The author of Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride (1999) and Riding Freedom (1997) again approaches historical fiction, this time using her own grandmother as source material. In 1930, Esperanza lives a privileged life on a ranch in Aguascalientes, Mexico. But when her father dies, the post-Revolutionary culture and politics force her to leave with her mother for California. Now they are indebted to the family who previously worked for them, for securing them work on a farm in the San Joaquin valley. Esperanza balks at her new situation, but eventually becomes as accustomed to it as she was in her previous home, and comes to realize that she is still relatively privileged to be on a year-round farm with a strong community. She sees migrant workers forced from their jobs by families arriving from the Dust Bowl, and camps of strikers—many of them US citizens—deported in the "voluntary repatriation" that sent at least 450,000 Mexicans and Mexican-Americans back to Mexico in the early 1930s. Ryan's narrative has an epic tone, characters that develop little and predictably, and a romantic patina that often undercuts the harshness of her story. But her style is engaging, her characters appealing, and her story is one that—though a deep-rooted part of the history of California, the Depression, and thus the nation—is little heard in children's fiction. It bears telling to a wider audience. (author's note) (Fiction. 9-15)--Kirkus Reviews, October, 2000.

This exciting, well-written historical novel is based on the true-life experiences of the author's grandmother, Esperanza Ortega. Thirteen-year-old Esperanza and her newly widowed mother are forced to leave their fairytale existence at beautiful Rancho de las Rosas in Mexico, to live and work in a migrant worker camp in the San Joaquin Valley during the Great Depression. Adjustments to her new life are difficult for Esperanza and the harsh living conditions and hard labor are so different from her earlier life of privilege and wealth, especially after Mama becomes seriously ill with valley fever. But like the phoenix in her beloved grandma's story, Esperanza endures, "Rising again, with a new life ahead..." The author does a very good job of portraying the caring and solidarity, as well as the hardships, of Mexican-American labor camps of the era. An author's note is included. This book would be a great choice for a multicultural collection.--Children's Literature.

In The Library

I would recommend it to middle school and early high school students. This is a great book for immigrant students to read because they could identify with the overall theme. This would also be a good book to include in a Hispanic Heritage Month display.