Book Review: Dewey Fairchild, Parent Problem Solver

DEWEY FAIRCHILD, PARENT PROBLEM SOLVER by Lorri Horn tells the story of a boy who gives parenting advice to his friends.

In this humorous intermediate novel, Dewey spends his time solving the parent problems of his peers. However, he soon finds that it’s not as easy to solve his own parent problems.

Librarians will find this book popular with fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Spy School, and child detective stories.

Published by Amberjack Publishing on August 8, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Website Review: Native Voices

NATIVE VOICES is an online exhibition from the National Library of Medicine exploring health and illness from the perspective of Native peoples.

This online exhibition is divided into four sections: exhibition, interviews, timelines, and resources. The exhibition explores ways that wellness, illness, and cultural life of Native peoples are interconnected exploring the perspectives of Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians as well as providing an art gallery. The project contains interviews with health professionals, community leaders, traditional healers, and others working on health-related issues. Users can access these by theme, name, or region. The timelines highlights key events from antiquity to today. Finally, the resources section contains career planning and educational materials.

Librarians will find lesson plans, online activities, and other resources that can easily be woven across the K-12 curriculum.

To visit the website, go to https://www.nlm.nih.gov/nativevoices/.

Book Review: The Hawk of the Castle

THE HAWK OF THE CASTLE by Danna Smith is an informational picture book story revolving around medieval falconry.

Set in medieval times, the story follows a day in the life of a girl and her falconer father as who live in a castle. Along with the engaging narrative, the author provides boxes of information about birds of prey and the activity of falconry. The book concludes with author’s notes, an index, and resources.

Librarians will find this book to be useful for children learning about medieval times or those interested in falconry. Teachers will enjoy the connects to the social studies curriculum.

To learn more about the author, go to http://www.dannasmithbooks.com/.

Published by Candlewick on April 11, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Website Review: Digital History

DIGITAL HISTORY is a website focusing on tools and technologies to enhance teaching.

This resource-rich website provides resources for use by students and teachers in history learning activities. The website is divided into sections including eras, topics, resources, and references. Uses can also use the interactive timelines to identify teaching materials, textbooks, documents, and media by date.

Librarians will find endless resources to weave into the social studies and history curriculum. This website also provides useful primary sources to teach information literacy concepts. Partner with teachers to share the educational resources.

To visit the website, go to http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/.

Book Review: Royal Bastards

ROYAL BASTARDS by Andrew Shvarts is the first book in an adventure fantasy for teens.

The castle is filled with illegitimate children of the nobles including Tillandra. Along with half-brother and stable-hand Jax, Tilla becomes part of an unexpected adventure when a visiting princess named Lyriana decides to befriend her. The teens must run for their lives when a brutal coup threatens to cause civil war. The group must work together to survive and stop the war.

Librarians will find this young adult fantasy adventure a hit with teens. Readers will immediately connect with this raucous group of outcasts with a mission.

Published by Disney-Hyperion on May 20, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publishers.

Book Review: Wildman

WILDMAN by J. C. Geiger tells the story of a life-changing road trip in the Pacific Northwest.

Lance’s life is under control until his car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. A series of weird choices set him on a five day adventure that blends reality with magical realism. From train hopping and late night parties to a quirky romance, Lance’s quiet life will never be the same.

Librarians will find this coming of age story appeals to fans of John Green. The author’s blend of hilarious situations with authentic emotional connections will appeal to fans of contemporary fiction.

Published on Disney-Hyperion, an imprint of Hachette Book Group on June 6, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Book Review: The Dragon Hunters Trilogy

THE DRAGON BROTHERS by James Russell is the first book in a new adventure trilogy for dragon fans.

Flynn and Paddy live on a remote island, so they’re surprised when a dragon swoops down and kidnaps their dog, Coco. This action adventure picture book traces their journey to rescue their beloved dog.

Librarians will find that this trilogy has broad appeal. Students will also want to download the map app to explore the Dragon Brothers’ world.

Look for THE DRAGON TAMERS (June 2017) and THE DRAGON RIDERS (August 2017) to complete the trilogy.

To learn more about this trilogy, go to http://www.dragonbrothersbooks.com/.

Published by Sourcebook Jabberwocky on April 4, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Digital Spotlight: City Readers

CITY READERS from the New York Society Library is a project sharing the borrowing records of library users from 1789 to 1805.

Contents: Users can browse or search more than 100,000 records of books, readers, and borrowing history from the New York Society Library’s Special Collections. Users can also explore featured content including visualization tools, circulation records, female records, founding fathers, and library catalogs.

Classroom Connections: Use this amazing collection to teach students about the use of library records in history. These records provide unique insights into library users and their reading habits along with information about books and their readers.

Featured Digital Objects:
Visualizations http://cityreaders.nysoclib.org/About/visualizations
Female Readers http://cityreaders.nysoclib.org/Gallery/60
Founding Fathers http://cityreaders.nysoclib.org/Gallery/46

To visit the collection, go to http://cityreaders.nysoclib.org/.

Book Review: The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart

THE DRAGON WITH A CHOCOLATE HEART by Stephanie Burgis pairs dragons with chocolate for a fun children’s fantasy adventure.

When a young dragon named Aventurine leaves home to explore the world, she discovers chocolate and is turned into a human girl. With the help of a diverse cast of characters, Aventurine becomes an apprentice chocolatier.

Librarians will find an audience for this book among elementary youth who enjoy humorous fantasies and chocolate. The strong female heroine will be popular with young girls.

Published by Bloomsbury on May 30, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Website Review: Enchanting the Desert

ENCHANTING THE DESERT is a unique digital monograph exploring Arizona’s Grand Canyon.

Based on a historical document, this collaborative project includes the work of geographers, artists, enthusiasts, and digital humanists. The project is divided into sections focusing on toponymy, exploration, settlement, tourism, and infrastructure.

Librarians will find this fascinating project serves as a good example of interdisciplinary collaboration. Work with the art and social studies teachers to encourage creative projects that connect geography, art, and humanities.

To visit the website, go to http://enchantingthedesert.com.

Book Review: Karl, Get Out of the Garden!

KARL, GET OUT OF THE GARDEN! by Anita Sanchez tells the story of naturalist Carolus Linnaeus.

Young Karl was a curious boy who loved examining plants and animals. He decided it would be useful to organize species into categories so they could be more easily identified. This young naturalist ultimately gained fame and success for this scientific work. The book concludes with additional information and sources.

With more depth than most picture books, librarians will find this biography provides a useful balance of nonfiction narrative and informational reading resource. Use this title in the science curriculum to bring alive the often boring topic of classification and naming.

To learn more about the author, go to http://anitasanchez.com/.

Published by Charlesbridge, an imprint of Random House on March 21, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Digital Spotlight: Women Working

WOMEN WORKING, 1800-1930 is digital collection including Harvard Library associated with women’s history.

Contents: This collection includes books, diaries, records, magazines, catalogs, manuscripts, photographs, and other items associated with life in the 19th and 20th century.

Classroom Connections: This collection includes resources associated with women’s workplace regulations and conditions, home life, commerce, recreation, health, and social issues. Users can explore materials with a keyword search or by format. The collection also features notable people.

Featured Digital Objects: A teacher resources section highlights resources that can easily be connected to the social studies and history curriculum.

To visit the collection, go to http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/ww/.

Book Review: A Face Like Glass

A FACE LIKE GLASS by Frances Hardinge tells the story of an underground people where facial expressions are learned.

When Neverfell arrives in Caverna, her face stuns the people around her because they aren’t accustomed to natural facial expressions. She must wear a mask and figure out how to survive in this strange world where society is connected to social status and every expression has meaning.

Librarians will find fans of Hardinge happy with this imaginative new middle grade fantasy. Share this novel with middle grade students ready for a book with strong characters, witty exaggeration, and creative world building.

Published on May 9, 2017 by Harry N. Abrams. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Book Review: Fresh-Picked Poetry

FRESH-PICKED POETRY: A DAY A THE FARMERS’ MARKET by Michelle Schaub features over a dozen short poems exploring local foods and markets.

A series of short poems trace locally grown foods from the farm to market and finally to home. Each catchy poem explores a different aspect of the experience.

Colorful illustrations by Amy Huntington will connect children with the experience of a farmer’s market. The book concludes with reasons for visiting a local market.

Librarians will find this appealing picture book to be a useful tool for read-aloud activities. Consider building a learning station focusing on locally grown foods. Involve children in writing their own poetry about foods grown locally.

LocalHarvest.Org helps people locate farmer’s markets across the United States. Use it to locate a market near your school. Go to http://www.localharvest.org/seattle-wa

Published by Charlesbridge, an imprint of Random House. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Website Review: American Panorama

AMERICAN PANORAMA: AN ATLAS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY is an interactive historical atlas.

This online atlas project currently contains five maps. The Mapping Inequality (1935-1940) project explores New Deal America, the Forced Migration (1810-1860) map examines enslaved people, the Overland Trails (1840-1860) project focuses on trails west, the Foreign-Born Population (1850-2010) map features immigrants from around the world, and the Canals (1820-1860) project focuses on canals of the Northeast US.

Librarians will find this atlas is helpful for students who learn best though the use of visual communication. Involve students in discussing other topics that would benefit from an interactive atlas approach. Because the topics cover a variety of topics, the project can be integrated into both history and social studies classes.

To visit the website, go to http://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/.

For another historical atlas, go to http://dsl.richmond.edu/historicalatlas/.