Pick 6: History

I'm a fan of historical fiction for all ages, but especially for middle grade readers. I've always found historical fiction to be a good way to make a personal connection with a history lesson. It personalizes dry facts. Here are six historical fiction books, mostly for middle grade readers, published in the last six months.

6 New Historical novels

1. Lemons by Melissa Savage

2. Elsie Mae Has Something to Say by Nancy J Cavanaugh

3. Glow by Megan E. Bryant

4. Gircott by Florenz Webbe Maxwell

5. Suspect Red by L M Elliot

6. Artie Connan Doyle and the Gravedigger's Club by Robert J Harris

Non-fiction book review - 3D Printing

3D Printing by Melissa Koch

With 3D printing becoming more cost-effective and thus more prevalent, it was only a matter of time before we got a book like this one. I was thrilled to learn more about this technology. 3 things that I, an adult reader, learned from this book: 1) There are three distinct methods of 3d printing. I was particularly impressed by the "shooting lasers into a vat of powder" method. 2) Its been around for decades. Where it's only been a part of the public awareness in the new millennium, I was shocked to learn it was invented in the 80s. 3) It has surgical applications. I knew about printing prosthetics and skin, as well as the hopes for printing organs. I didn't know that they printed models to prepare for complicated surgeries. Koch explores these and a variety of other practical and legal issues involved in the 3d printing process. A great introduction for middle graders interested in the technology.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Book review - Beatrice Zinker Upside Down Thinker

Title: Beatrice Zinker Upside Down Thinker
Author: Shelley Johannes
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Clementine by Sara Pennypacker
                      Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park
Rating:

quirky fun

Summary (provided by publisher): Beatrice does her best thinking upside down.
Hanging from trees by her knees, doing handstands . . . for Beatrice Zinker, upside down works every time. She was definitely upside down when she and her best friend, Lenny, agreed to wear matching ninja suits on the first day of third grade. But when Beatrice shows up at school dressed in black, Lenny arrives with a cool new outfit and a cool new friend. Even worse, she seems to have forgotten all about the top-secret operation they planned!
Can Beatrice use her topsy-turvy way of thinking to save the mission, mend their friendship, and flip things sunny-side up?

My opinion: Beatrice Zinker is more than just the humorous aspects of the nontraditional thinker. She's an absolute celebration of the unusual. Does her way of thinking get her in trouble? Of course it does, but it also gets her out of it. The element that Johannes really explores, unlike others of this genre, is how a non-traditional thinker can struggle to relate to family members and peers, especially as they get older and the pressure to fit in increases. A sweet and funny story with little nuggets of social truth.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Sock beasts

Sometimes you have craft supplies that seem too useful to throw out but that you have no clear plans to use. (That happens to other people, right?) I've had the feet of some knee socks sitting in my craft bins for months. With a craft fair coming up I racked my brains to come up with a plan for these socks. And these little critters are what I came up with.
 

Book review - Landscape With Invisible Hand

Title: Landscape With Invisible Hand
Author: M.T. Anderson
Genre: dystopia
Similar books: Shattered Warrior by Sharon Shinn
                      And All the Stars by Andrea K Host
Rating:

a thinking person's book

Summary (provided by publisher): When the vuvv first landed, it came as a surprise to aspiring artist Adam and the rest of planet Earth—but not necessarily an unwelcome one. Can it really be called an invasion when the vuvv generously offered free advanced technology and cures for every illness imaginable? As it turns out, yes. With his parents' jobs replaced by alien tech and no money for food, clean water, or the vuvv's miraculous medicine, Adam and his girlfriend, Chloe, have to get creative to survive. And since the vuvv crave anything they deem classic Earth culture (doo-wop music, still life paintings of fruit, true love), recording 1950s-style dates for the vuvv to watch in a pay-per-minute format seems like a brilliant idea. But it's hard for Adam and Chloe to sell true love when they ate each other more with every passing episode. Soon enough, Adam must decide how far he's willing to go—and what he's willing to sacrifice—to give the vuvv what they want.

My opinion: If a more bleak view of the future is you bag, Anderson is the author for you. There is no need to wrap up the book neatly with the promise of a better future. The humans in this book live in a generally desperate situation. Yet their desperation doesn't cause them to band together and start a rebellion. If anything they become more isolated and self-serving. And all of the issues that plague societies - uneven distribution of wealth, the collapse of the nuclear family, etc - are magnified. The plot is not entirely linear, framed instead around paintings, so it's a little strange and isn't likely to have a broad mainstream following. But if you're cool with something a little different this may be the book for you.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Picture books for everyone

ABCs of Physics by Chris Ferrie

Normally I wouldn't consider an alphabet book to be multi-age. Older kids, who read on their own, find "a is for apple, b is for bear" tiresome. And if this book were simply "a is for atom, b is for black hole" it would remain the domain of the very young. But it's so much more, my friends. It can be understood on three levels: identifying a word that starts with the letter in question, a brief description of the concept, and a more complex exploration. Everyone (apart from physics students and teachers, I suppose) will learn from this book. If you and your kids have even a passing interest in science, give this book a try.

Non-fiction book review - The Life and Times of Martin Luther

The Life and Times of Martin Luther by Meike Roth-Beck

How many of us can say we really know anything about the Reformation, beyond its simple existence, much less about the life of Martin Luther? Visually, this is an intriguing book. The illustrations and text blocks are styled on medieval manuscripts, using an old English typeface and woodblock style illustrations. The exploration of Luther's life isn't particularly deep. The focus is on the ways his life events influenced his eventual decision to challenge the Catholic church. Most importantly, the final pages summarized some of the major theses. It's a niche biography but a good introduction to a less known figure.