Module 4: Nonfiction
Module 4: Nonfiction
Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream
Written by: Tanya Lee Stone
Bibliography:
Stone, T. L., & Weitekamp, M. A. (2009). Almost astronauts: 13 women who dared to dream. Candlewick Press.
ISBN: 978-0763636111
Plot Summary:
Almost Astronauts tells the inspiring true story of the brave women who showed strength, determination, and incredible resilience in their journey to become astronauts in a time period when women were not permitted to chase their dreams in the STEM field. Primarily told through the journey of Jerrie Cobb, a talented young pilot, Stone expertly sets the stage for the reader to understand the time period of the 1960s, a time when the United States was eager to explore the final frontier, women were returning to the home after stepping up to the workforce in World War II, and Randolph Lovelace, a NASA chairman of Life Sciences, understood that women were needed in the space program. The book follows the timeline of Lovelace setting up astronaut testing for female pilots, and shows the perspective of these female pilots as they go through grueling testing to show their aptitude for space exploration. The reader becomes invested in the stories of these brave women, who believe in themselves and their abilities, defying the expectations of those who believed women were incapable of amazing feats of strength, will-power, and fortitude. Stone takes the reader through the timeline of the testing the pilots went through, leading the reader to the devastating and abrupt ending of the space testing programs the women were working through. Filled with quotes, pictures, and reactions from the women who banded together to change history, the reader is left with bittersweet emotions as the story ends with the harsh reality that the women were denied their time as astronauts, yet the doors that they opened for women across the world changed the lives of many.
Critical Analysis:
Both inspiring and heartbreaking, Almost Astronauts expertly brings the reader back in time across the 1960s through the 21st century, with twelve chapters chronologically telling the story of the women pilots who exceeded the standards for the astronaut tests that would send them to space, yet were denied the opportunity due to others' beliefs about their roles as women. Almost every page includes large black and white photographs with captions that show what the pilots went through during this testing, including tilt-table tests and time in an isolation tank. While many lab tests and scientific roles are discussed, the language is easy to understand and the timelines are clear, making it easy for the reader to follow.
The book ends with the further accomplishments of each of the women who were almost astronauts, as well as the accomplishments of future female astronauts, showing the impact that these women had on women across the world who wanted to chase their dreams.
Awards and Recognition:
Robert F. Siebert Medal
Review Excerpts:
From Booklist: "This dramatic, large-size photo-essay covers their stories, along with the exciting politics of the women’s liberation struggle in the 1950s and ’60s and the breakthrough science and technology surrounding space exploration, including details of the would-be astronauts’ tests and training. The chatty, immediate style and full-page photos make for a fast read, and the crucial civil-rights history will stay with readers."
From School Library Journal: "llustrated with sheaves of photos, and based on published sources, recently discovered documents, and original interviews with surviving members of the "Mercury 13," this passionately written account of a classic but little-known challenge to established gender prejudices also introduces readers to a select group of courageous, independent women."
Connections:
- Books about women who overcame obstacles:
- Women Who Dared to Dream by Linda Skeers
- Rebel Girls Champions: 25 Tales of Unstoppable Athletes by Rebel Girls
- Extraordinary Women Who Changed the World by Riddleland
- Books about space:
- Birthday on Mars! by Sara Schonfeld
- My Journey to the Stars by Scott Kelly
- The Girl Who Named Pluto by Alice B. McGinty
Stone, T. L., & Weitekamp, M. A. (2009). Almost astronauts: 13 women who dared to dream. Candlewick Press.
Creature Features: 25 Animals Explain Why They Look the Way They Do
Written by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
Jenkins, S., & Page, R. (2014). Creature features: 25 animals explain why they look the way they do.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
ISBN: 978-0544233515
Plot Summary:
Creature Features by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page is a nonfiction picture book that explains the strange, unique, and unusual appearances of twenty-five animals. Jenkins crafts an engaging and informative text that celebrates the unique features of a variety of animals and how their interesting appearance helps them survive. The text is formatted in a question and answer style, as if the reader is asking a question directly to the animal, and the animal responds, explaining why they have their unique feature. In one example, the reader asks the harpy eagle why its feathers stick out around its face. The harpy eagle responds by explaining how the feathers help it hear, bringing sound to its ears. The questions and answers are short and concise, filled with interesting facts that will keep the reader interested in learning more about unusual creature features.
Creature Features by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page is a nonfiction picture book that explains the strange, unique, and unusual appearances of twenty-five animals. Jenkins crafts an engaging and informative text that celebrates the unique features of a variety of animals and how their interesting appearance helps them survive. The text is formatted in a question and answer style, as if the reader is asking a question directly to the animal, and the animal responds, explaining why they have their unique feature. In one example, the reader asks the harpy eagle why its feathers stick out around its face. The harpy eagle responds by explaining how the feathers help it hear, bringing sound to its ears. The questions and answers are short and concise, filled with interesting facts that will keep the reader interested in learning more about unusual creature features.
Critical Analysis:
Steve Jenkins and Robin Page blend a combination of a question and answer format and bright, colorful illustrations throughout the book. With a short introduction explaining the layout of the book, Jenkins introduces each creature with a short question about their appearance, speaking directly to the animal and asking why they have their distinctive feature. The answers from the animals are filled with voice and humor, as the animals clever explain their unique appearance and how it helps them in some way. The answers are simple and to the point--for example, the leaf-nosed bat is asked, "Seriously, is that your nose?" and the bat explains how it actually helps them navigate while flying. The answer is direct and simple, yet answers the reader's question and perhaps inspires a spark of curiosity to learn more.
Steve Jenkins and Robin Page blend a combination of a question and answer format and bright, colorful illustrations throughout the book. With a short introduction explaining the layout of the book, Jenkins introduces each creature with a short question about their appearance, speaking directly to the animal and asking why they have their distinctive feature. The answers from the animals are filled with voice and humor, as the animals clever explain their unique appearance and how it helps them in some way. The answers are simple and to the point--for example, the leaf-nosed bat is asked, "Seriously, is that your nose?" and the bat explains how it actually helps them navigate while flying. The answer is direct and simple, yet answers the reader's question and perhaps inspires a spark of curiosity to learn more.
The illustrations are large and take up the majority of the two-page spread for each animal, with the question on one side of the page and the answer on the other side, outlining the close-up of the animal. The colors are bold and bright; both cartoon-like and detailed. Readers can learn more about each animal at the end of the book with a visual glossary, keeping readers interested all the way through.
Review Excerpts:
From Publishers Weekly, October 2014: "As always, artistry and zoology are intrinsic parts of Jenkins’s and Page’s latest animal-themed collaboration...Jenkins’s torn-paper creations emphasize the idea of interspecies dialogue—readers stare face to face with the animals, who happily divulge what makes them special."
From School Library Journal: "Loaded with nuggets of information and layered in humor, this is a winning picture book that is sure to inform as well as entertain. The illustrations are designed in torn- and cut-paper collage and depict each animal with texture and style."
Connections:
- Author study of Steve Jenkins books, including:
- What Do You Do If You Work at the Zoo?
- Down, Down, Down
- Actual Size
- What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
- Never Smile at a Monkey
- Animal research project
- Create your own collage
Jenkins, S., & Page, R. (2014). Creature features: 25 animals explain why they look the way they do. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia
Written by: Candace Fleming
Bibliography:
Fleming, C. (2014). The family romanov: Murder, rebellion & the fall of imperial russia. Schwartz & Wade Books.
ISBN: 978-0375867828
Plot Summary:
The Family Romanov tells the story of the last imperial family of Russia; describing their daily life, personalities, and the events that led to the end of the Romanov dynasty. Fleming tells the background information of Russian society at the time, giving the reader an understanding of the sharp contrast between the extravagant luxuries enjoyed by the royal family and the bleak, harsh realities of the majority of Russians living in poverty at the same time. Interspersed with the narrative of the Romanovs, Fleming includes snippets of journal entries and perspectives from the factory workers, adults and children, living in despairing conditions. The text takes the reader from the beginning of Nicholas II's rule, the growing Romanov family with four girls, Olga, Tatiana, Marie, and Anastasia, and one boy, Alexei, the empress Alexandra, the controversial Rasputin, and the eventual imprisonment and murder of the Romanov family as their 300 year dynasty came to an end. The text includes two sections filled with black and white photographs and captions of the family and of life in Russia at this time period.
Critical Analysis:
Fleming includes a wealth of information between the pages of this relatively short chapter book, with each chapter describing an important event in the timeline and including dates for the reader to understand when this is taking place. Quotes and descriptive accounts are included throughout the text, immersing the reader in the time period and helping the reader understand the different family members. Specific accounts from factory workers, young children, and others are interspersed throughout the text, showing the reader how differently the Romanovs' lives were from the masses at that time. The tension is palpable as the circumstances become more dire, with the royal family not realizing until it is too late that changes are imminent.
The photographs included at the mid-point and the end of the book are plentiful and cover all of the events detailed in the story. Captions and dates are included, and the research conducted by the author is evident in every detail of the text.
Awards and Recognition:
Boston Globe Horn Book Award
Robert F. Siebert Honor
YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Finalist
Review Excerpts:
From Kirkus Reviews, June 2014: "It’s an astounding and complex story, and Fleming lays it neatly out for readers unfamiliar with the context...It is full of rich details about the Romanovs, insights into figures such as Vladimir Lenin and firsthand accounts from ordinary Russians affected by the tumultuous events. A variety of photographs adds a solid visual dimension, while the meticulous research supports but never upstages the tale."
From School Library Journal: "This well-researched and well-annotated book provides information not only on the history of these famous figures but also on the Russian people living at the time and on the social conditions that contributed to the family's demise...A solid resource and good recreational reading for high school students."
Connections:
- Books about the Romanovs:
- The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra by Helen Rappaport
- Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess, Russia, 1914 by Carolyn Meyer
- Books written by Candace Fleming:
- Honeybees
- Gabriella's Song
- Women of the Lights
- The Amazing Collection of Joey Cornell
- Ben Franklin's Almanac
Fleming, C. (2014). The family romanov: Murder, rebellion & the fall of imperial russia. Schwartz & Wade Books.
Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras
Written by: Duncan Tonatiuh
Tonatiuh, D., Posada, J. G., & Manilla, M. (2015). Funny bones: Posada and his day of the dead calaveras. Abrams Books for Young Readers.
ISBN: 978-1419716478
Plot Summary:
Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras tells the story of Mexican artist Jose Guadalupe Posada and how he created calavera drawings that were often printed alongside poems and other literary observations that reflected upon the current events of the time. Posada, also called Lupe, learned different drawing and artist techniques, including lithography, a process which is described step-by-step in the book. The events of the Mexican Revolution are also told throughout the story, as well as the changes in Mexico City throughout Posada's life. Posada's legacy is described at the end of the book, explaining how his calaveras (skeleton drawings) and art was discovered after his death and how he is celebrated around the world today for his work. The book ends with a author's note that details the history of El Dia de Muertos, the history of Posada's calaveras and how Posada is celebrated today. There is also a glossary at the end of the book, as well as a list of places around the world where Posada's work is displayed.
Critical Analysis:
Fleming Posada's life story is told with detail and descriptive language, while also taking big steps through his life and moving quickly through the timeline. Tonatiuh uses a variety of formats throughout the book, including multiple pages of step-by-step descriptions of how Posada's art was created. There are several full pages of Posada's calaveras and flyers placed throughout the book.
The illustrations are colorful and similar to Tonatiuh's typical style, while also melding with Posada's calaveras drawings. The result is a clear distinction between the two drawings styles that work together to celebrate Posada's work. The book ends with a humorous picture illustrating what Posada's calaveras might look like in today's modern world, with calaveras riding scooters, break dancing, and playing the drums.
Awards and Recognition:
New York Times Book Review: Best Illustrated Children's Book Award
Robert F. Siebert Honor
Pura Belpre Honor Book
Review Excerpts:
From Kirkus Reviews, June 2015: "...Tonatiuh further marks himself as a major nonfiction talent with this artistically beautiful and factually accessible offering that effectively blends artistic and political content for young readers."
From School Library Journal: "Simple yet effective sentences accompany step-by-step images detailing the artistic processes that Posada learned as a printer's apprentice: lithography, engraving, and etching... stunning work, with great possibilities for lesson plans or tie-ins with Day of the Dead."
Connections:
- Books about Day of the Dead:
- Mi Familia: Celebrating the Day of the Dead by Camila Hernandez
- The Ofrenda That We Built by Jolene Gutierrez
- Remembering by Xelena Gonzalez
- Books about celebrations around the world:
- Every Month is a New Year by Marilyn Singer
- We Celebrate the Light by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple
- Together for Kwanza by Juwanda G. Ford
- We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell
Tonatiuh, D., Posada, J. G., & Manilla, M. (2015). Funny bones: Posada and his day of the dead calaveras. Abrams Books for Young Readers.
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