As Simple As It Seems is a wonderful book written for tweens. It is about a young girl who struggles with the knowledge of her very origins in life. She has been dealing with the knowledge that she is the daughter of a man who is legally her uncle…a man who is not a good person. The young girl named Verbena Colter is adopted.
As she processes the knowledge, she begins to be confused about who she really is and whether she is a good person or a good person who is infected with bad genes who will turn into a bad person because of the blood that runs through her veins. This is the old story about the importance of what creates who we are to become as an individual; is environment or genetics more important. She risks alienating her parents affects because of her behavior and her self esteem.
Verbena doesn’t know who she is but she thinks she knows who she will turn out to be. She forges a new friendship with a summer resident and that helps her to figure out what is really important in life; but will she figure it out in time?
Sarah Weeks is the author of As Simple As It Seems and she does a great job of writing believable characters. Before you know it you are swept up in the story that is Verbena’s life. This book was published in 2010 and was published by Harper Collins. You can view their site here: http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com
While most people learn about Clara Barton and her nursing work on the battlefield during the civil war; we don’t really learn about the extent of Clara’s influence on America. I found the book to be very interesting as it discussed Clara’s early childhood and the foundation she gained through her family and their work ethic.
Ms. Barton was a highly effective individual when it came to influencing people in positions of power…the very rich as well as those higher up in the government. Equally influential with the poor and those who were injured or displaced because of war or natural disasters, Ms. Barton knew how to prepare and dispense supplies that helped people to survive and overcome whatever hardships that they were facing. It was the very establishment of America’s first endeavor of organized humanitarian aid.
In a time when women were regulated to very defined roles in society either in the home or in very limited careers such as teachers; Clara Barton opened doors to women fulfilling their purpose in societies in ways that were previously closed to them.
Clara was either revered and respected or resented and resisted by most everyone she came into contact with. Those who supported her efforts stood by her side and tried to aid the areas of impact that she felt called to contribute to. Those who resented or resisted her goals often times were successful temporarily at standing in her way. Clara suffered physically because of her dedication to her calling. She had to restore her health for lengthy periods of time so that she could again, gain the strength to put her heart and soul into establishing guidelines for providing ethical and medical standards regarding those who fought in wars.
Compassion combined with a diligent effort to organizing and streamlining aid to those in need was what was needed. She also helped to find and organize information regarding the loss of lives due to war; which was a great comfort to those family members who lost loved ones in war and had no idea of their burial places.
Clara Barton is a woman who has earned her place in history and is one whom both men and women can admire and pattern their own behavior after. She was called the “Angel of the Battlefied” because of those who had gratitude in their hearts for her nursing skills.
This book was written by Susan E. Hamen and was published by ABDO Publishing Company in 2010. It was printed on recycled paper and was nicely put together with wonderful pictures that go a long way towards keeping the interest of the reader. If you are interested in the book or in more information about Clara Barton you can visit their website here: http://www.abdopublishing.com
Can I just say that as a parent of special needs children, I adore Patricia Polacco’s book, The Junkyard Wonders? This book captures the emotional temperature of children who are thrust together in the public school system…”special ed” and “regular ed”. It illustrates the need to fit in and be accepted for who you are. I love that Patricia dedicates this book to one of her former teachers. This says it all to me, because a “real” teacher…teaches because it is what they are created to do. Their teaching is natural, never forced.
This story is about a young girl named Tricia who decides to stay with her Father and Gramma after her summer vacation to attend school in Michigan instead of going back to live with her Mother in California. She wants this change because she is tired of being treated differently as a “special” student. Only, to her discomfort…she finds out on her first day that she is indeed still in a special class and the regular kids call them the Junkyard Wonders.
The term is meant to humiliate and segregate the regular kids from the specials and make them feel inadequate. However, like many special needs classrooms around the world…the kids in the Junkyard come for forge strong bonds with one another because they have a dedicated and caring teacher who takes the time to help them see and understand their own unique value and gifts.
This book is emotional and touching and I would gladly recommend it to anyone who just wants to be connected to the world of the special needs child who is capable of great and amazing things just by being who they are and living life to the fullest. I think that this story illustrates the strong relationships that children in special education classrooms form with one another…they celebrate with one another victories and they sorrow at each other’s challenges.
If you would like to see the authors website you can go here: http://www.patriciapolacco.com. Patricia dedicated this book to her own special teacher, Mrs. Peterson and her Tribe. This book was published in 2010, by Philomel Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group. http://www.penguin.com/youngreaders .
Michigan- The Great Lakes State is a book written for children; however, I think many adults will find this short book about the state of Michigan to be fascinating. The short book, a mere 24 pages, is part of the Our Amazing States Series from PowerKids Press. It was written by Tika Downey; published in 2010, and covers a variety of subjects.
The book starts off talking about the fact that Michigan has two different peninsulas; often people only think of the upper portion of the state as a peninsula. The state of Michigan is surrounded by water, thus it is a state that is divided into two portions and both halfs are considered to be peninsulas. There is information on how Detroit got it’s nickname of Motown.
Michigan is rich in history and this book doesn’t cheat you from discovering some of that richness. There is information on explorers, Native American tribes, the Underground Railroad, sand dunes, rivers, lakes, mountains and wildlife.
An important thing to know about Michigan is what it contributes to the rest of the country by way of manufactering, farming, forestry and tourism. The book discusses those things and also gives you ideas of things to do for fun and learning in Michigan. For instance, did you know that Michigan has the most lighthouses of any state in America? There are over 120 of them according to this book. I find that information to be fascinating.
Many famous people were born or raised in Michigan including presidents of the United States Of America, athletes, writers, and inventors. There is much to learn between the covers of this book and you will enjoy the pictures as well. I highly recommend this book for children from ages 5-13 and adults as well.
This mid-sized children’s book, Help Your Parents Save The Planet, is just the right size for young readers to wrap their hands and their hearts around. The subject is all about its 50 simple ways to go green now. The book was written by Gregory Rutty and all of the photographs are by Shutterstock. It was copyrighted in 2009 by Play Bac Publishing USA, Inc. What I absolutely love about this book is that it is very hands on in it’s ideas for kids to make a difference in the world just by the choices that they make in their everyday life.
For instance, I like the fact that they cover what kinds of things can be done in the kitchen. Children are smart and they get to thinking about those ideas (they are contagious you know); once the ball gets rolling…they come up with some pretty smart ideas of their own. Here the book talks about making better choices when shopping for groceries or even the items that we use to serve our meals and snack. Household chores are discussed and really teach about making the most of conserving water while doing dishes. Opening up a dialog with children about using real dishes instead of toss away, like paper or styrofoam, products shows children that even simple choices can impact the world and save money. Read the rest of this entry…
The Talent Show was written by Dan Gutman who just happens to also be the author of the children’s book, The Homework Machine. He writes children’s books with a wonderful gift of knowing what makes a kid tick. The Talent Show is all about kids coming together to save their town, Cape Bluff, Kansas after it is destroyed by a tornado.
I like how he lays out the story of what each child is doing when the tornado hits. Then he delves into the chaotic world of the adults who are stumped on how to overcome the despair that comes with the responsibility of rebuilding a town which has seen disaster more than once. As the adults are brainstorming ideas on how to go about financing the rebirth of their town and their personal lives…one adult has a crazy idea.
That idea just happens to be putting together a talent show. When that crazy idea is compared to the other crazy idea…well, let’s just say that the crazy idea of a tallent show…suddenly becomes very popular. Not only that, but kids become empowered and energized and so do the adults. Everyone pitches in to make it a success. Each child discovers things about themselves and their friends that they never knew.
Of course, as the town gets behind the talent show and it’s efforts to raise money for the school library, that’s lost all of it’s books in the tornado, trouble brews behind the scenes. Characters and personal integrity are revealed and friendships are strengthened and lost in the process. What I like about Dan’s book is that if one pays attention; lessons on positive personal development can be put to good use. Discovering our own strengths and weaknesses and learning how to encourage positive self- growth and diminish the negative qualities we possess, can be very enlightening.
If you want to learn more about the writer Dan Gutman or his books check out his website here: http://www.dangutman.com . This book, The Talent Show was published in 2010 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. I would say that this book is ideal for kids 7-12 years old.
This wonderful children’s picture book, ICE CREAM- How Did That Get To My Table, explains the process of manufacturing to curious readers who are beginning to understand the world around them. The pictures in this book are excellent. They are colorful and pleasing to the eye.
The text of the book explains in real language that doesn’t talk down to a child. The book was written by Pam Rosenberg and she does a wonderful job of answering the question of how the end product, ice cream, goes from raw product, to the wonderful delight on the desert wish list of most children.
Through both mouth watering pictures and words designed to lead from one thought concept to another about what has to happen to turn milk into ice cream…the reader is left with an understanding of how that happens.
I like that Pam Rosenberg inspires the reader to ask questions of those people in the everyday life of the reader who may play a part in a manufacturing process. Those people may include a farmers who produce raw products, to a trucker who delivers raw or finished products, to a factory worker who works on an assembly line or, maybe even a grocery worker who stocks the product, or a cashier who sells the ice cream.
I like the fact that this book also has a list of glossary terms to help young readers understand words that may not be in their vocabulary as well as a page of websites and other resources on the subject. There are 24 pages and the reading level is for children grades 2-4.
Those examples in manufacturing open the eyes of a child to the world around them…not only for ice cream products; but , also to open their eyes to other manufactured products, and jobs or potential careers that may be in their future.
This children’s picture book was published by: http://www.cherrylakepublishing.com in Ann Arbor, Michigan; copyrighted in 2010.
Here is an interview that I did with Louise Sattler who is the creative owner/operator of http://www.signingfamilies.com. Louise is an expert trainer at workshops and classes that teach American Sign Language to help people communicate with one another. She is also a certified school psychologist who has an awareness of the importance of the need for families and community leaders to learn sign language. Sign Language opens doors and bridges gaps for people who are hearing impaired, or who may have developmental delays or special needs. Communication is something that many people take for granted.
Put yourself in the position of a person who is hearing impaired, or a person who lives with special needs; and, consider some environments they they may experience differently than you; such as a trip to the hospital or emergency room. How different would the experience be for you if you were the one who had difficulty making your needs known to the health care professionals. Or say you are an elderly person who is experiencing hearing loss…how are you going to communicate with other residents or say the staff? How about shopping or getting educational services at college or in elementary school? How about ordering a meal in a restaurant? Do you see how the quality of life can be improved for people impacted in this way? Can you see how sign language could open doors for people if others in the community took the opportunity to learn it from someone like Louise or through her DVD’s?
If you are interested in learning more about Louise and her educational services please listen to the interview here: http://www.rapidcashmarketing.com/lorrainesinterview/signingfamilies.htm