Friday, November 30, 2007

Mississippi

Not about the state, but the river, this books' author (Diane Siebert) uses poetry to describe the natural history and geography of the Mississippi River. For a taste, here's the opening poem:
I am the river,
Deep and strong.
I sing an old, enduring song
With rhythms wild and rhythms tame,
And Mississippi is my name.
The illustrations by first-time picture book artist Greg Harlin do as much as the poetry to describe the river. A perfect addition to a study of the mighty river that begins its journey in Minnesota.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

John Blair and the Great Hinckley Fire

The Great Hinckley Fire is one of the biggest disasters in Minnesota history. This intermediate-level picture book tells the story of John Blair, a porter for the St. Paul and Duluth Railway, onboard the Limited Train #4 when it left Duluth on September 1, 1894 for a five hour run to St. Paul. Before reaching Hinckley, the train was engulfed in a firestorm. Blair helped to save approximately 300 people by getting them into a swamp along the tracks. Written by Josephine Nobisso, illustrated by Ted Rose, this is a gripping story, and can be used to support Minnesota history or notable African American units.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Antler, Bear, Canoe; a Northwoods Alphabet Book

The companion volume to Gathering..., this book uses an alphabet format to describe seasonal events and animals found in the northwoods. It was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 1992.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Gathering: A Northwoods Counting Book

Winter is the longest season up north, and it comes early. Residents need to do a number of things to prepare for winter each year. In this book, author and illustrator Betty Bowen uses a counting theme to show how family activities throughout the year are actually preparation for winter. Events such as planting the garden in spring, harvesting rhubarb, blueberries, and wild rice, fishing, gathering firewood, and waxing skiis are all included. The woodcut illustrations are bold and very appropriate for the subject. This might be a nice supplement for a unit on seasons. It was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 1996.

Monday, November 26, 2007

M is for Minnesota

Minnesotans Dori Hillestad Butler and Janice Lee Porter team up for another alphabet book about Minnesota. The concepts identified in this book are a little more advanced than those in "V is for Viking". Here we find agriculture (A), to Charles Lindbergh (C), to Kensington Runestone (K), to Red River Valley (R) to Yellow Lady Slipper (Y). It was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 1999.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Earthshake; Poems From the Ground Up

This book includes 22 short poems with a geologic theme, including items on techtonic plates, lava, fossils, granite, and geodes, among others. Sometimes silly, sometimes serious, the poems will engage reader's imaginations. Nice supplement for a rocks unit in science. Written by St. Paulite Lisa Westberg Peters, illustrated by Cathie Felstead, it was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 2004.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Memory Boy

Need a little ecological wake-up call? Written in 2001, this book describes events that occur in 2008, but the story starts with a volcanic eruption of Mt. Ranier in 2006. As a result the entire United States is suffering food and fuel shortages from the stifling gray ash. Miles Newell, a sixteen year old in Minneapolis constructs a vehicle from bicycle and sailboat parts that will allow his family to escape the city for their summer cottage near Lake Itaska. Anyone who has travelled Highway 10 or 371 on a trip north will feel like they are part of the adventure. A gripping adventure by Will Weaver, it was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 2002, and a nominee for the Maud Hart Lovelace Award in 2003.

Friday, November 23, 2007

The Race of the Birkebeiners

It is the year 1206, and deep in the snow-covered mountains of Norway, a group of fierce warriors struggle through a snowstorm to ski a baby to safety. The baby is Prince Hakon, who would later become king. The warriors were called Birkebeiners because they wrapped birchbark around their legs before going into battle. Birkebeiner racers are held annually in Norway and in the United States to remember this brave event in history. Written by Lise Lunge-Larson, illustrated by Mary Azarian, this won the Minnesota Book Award in 2002.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

V is for Viking

This is an alphabet book about Minnesota. Each letter represents an item with a Minnesota connection, from agates (A), to Duluth (D), to the loon (L), to walleye (W) to below zero (Z). The items are identifed in short rhymes and a side bar provides additional background information for older readers. Written by Kathy-Jo Wargin, illustrated by Karen and Rebecca Latham, this was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 2004.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Countdown to Kindergarten

Everyone who enters kindergarten is supposed to be able to tie their shoes. At least that's what the little girl in this story has heard. Now there are just ten days left before school starts, and she still doesn't know how. She tries and tries every day, but nothing works! The first picture book by Minnesota author Alison McGhee, and illustrated by Harry Bliss, this is a charming story for every pre-kindergarten child facing scary thoughts about school. It won the Minnesota Book Award in 2003.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Hey, Pancakes!

Three children have a rollicking good time making pancakes in the morning. Written by Tamson Weston, and supported with wonderful artwork by St. Paul artist Stephen Gammell--"Holy Cow! It's Pancake Art!" This tummy filling and rib-tickling story won the Minnesota Book Award in 2004.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Klara's New World

This biographical picture book tells the story of Klara and her family as they emigrate from Sweden to Minnesota in the 1860's. The story is based on letters and diaries of Swedish immigrants, and is written and illustrated by Jeanette Winter. The words and pictures work together to tell the story of the challenges and difficulties encountered by early settlers.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Full Service

It is 1965, and high school sophomore Paul gets his first summer job away from the farm and his family's tight knit religious community. Pumping gas in nearby Hawk Bend, Minnesota, Paul learns lessons about fast cars (and fast women) and himself. Full of colorful characters who share some important truths with Paul, it is an interesting small town coming-of-age story by writer Will Weaver. It was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 2006.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Red River Girl

The year is 1846 and Josette Dupre, daughter of a voyageur and an ojibwe woman has just turned 13. Despite the fact that she lives in a small settlement in Manitoba, she is able to attend school and dreams of moving to Montreal someday for more education. Then her mother dies shortly after giving birth, and her father decides to become an ox team driver on the Red River trail to St. Paul. Josette has no choice but to go along. Once they arrive in St. Paul, Josette plays a vital role in helping Harriet Bishop set up the first school in that city. Written by Norma Sommerdorf, and told in diary form, this is the story of a young woman, learning to survive in the wilderness, and in a frontier town. The book could be used as supplemental material for Minnesota history units.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Daddy Played Music for the Cows

As a former farm girl, this book is a trip down memory lane. I can't begin to tell you how many hours I spent in the barn or on the tractor "helping" my dad.
This story follows a young girl on a dairy farm from infancy through grade school, as she plays and works on the farm, all to the tune of country music played on the barn radio. Written by Maryann Weidt, illustrated by Henri Sorenson, this won the Minnesota Book Award in 1996.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Clouds of Terror

No, it's not a headline from today's newspaper, but a story from Minnesota's past. Helga and Erik lived on a farm in southwest Minnesota in the 1870's. While fishing one day, they saw a black cloud forming on the horizon. It was a cloud of locusts and suddenly they were overrun by them. As a person who gets creeped out a little just walking through tall grass that is full of grasshoppers, it is hard to imagine what it was like to have the ground and every surface covered by several inches of the creatures. This story vividly describes what happened to one family and how the children helped save their home and livelihood. It was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 1995.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

The Voyageur's Paddle

French voyageurs and fur traders were among the earliest European visitors to the Great Lakes and the land that eventually became part of Minnesota. Traveling by canoe, voyageurs helped to establish North woods trading posts and settlements, in the process opening up the West to future exploration.
In this beautifully illustrated story, Jacque's father Edouard is a voyageur, and the story follows a yearly cycle of Edouard's life as he travels to Grand Portage, trading furs for goods that he can use to trade for more furs. Sometimes winter came early and travel was very risky. In this story Jacque helps to guide his father home in a snowstorm. Written by Kathy-jo Wargin, illustrated by David Geister, this is a realistic portrayal of voyageur life. It would be a nice resource for a unit on early Minnesota history.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

The Darkest Evening

The days are getting shorter and the nights longer. Somehow that triggered a memory of this book title. William Durbin writes wonderful historical fiction, and this is another really good book by this author.
In 1934, Jake Maki is content with his life in a Finnish community on the Mesabi Iron Range. Then a group of Russian recruiters visited one day and pursuaded Jake's dad to move the family to the province of Karelia in Russia. At first, everything went well for the new arrivals, but when Joseph Stalin seized power, the democratic programs and ideas were no longer welcome, and Jake's father was put in jail. Suddenly Jake was the family leader and had to make a crucial decision: "Can they/should they try to escape to Finland on the darkest and coldest evening of the winter?" This story is based on historical events that have only been uncovered since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The book won the Minnesota Book Award in 2005.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Tomorrow the River

It's 1896 and 14-year-old Megan Barnett leaves her family in Nebraska to be a mother's helper for her sister Hannah, who lives with her husband and young son on a Mississippi River steamboat traveling toward St. Paul. Her adventure begins as soon as she boards the train, where a charming college student sits next to her. Later she encounters assorted scoundrels and river rats, and when her brother-in-law is injured in an accident, Megan has to pitch in in ways she didn't anticipate. She learns to swim, navigate the river, fish, take photographs, and nurse her brother-in-law back to health. The story has a fast moving plot with bits of history and river lore woven in, and could be a good read-aloud. This book won the 2007 Minnesota Book Award.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Marven of the Great North Woods

When the flu epidemic struck Duluth, Minnesota in 1918, Marven's parents knew they needed to send their sun far away to keep him safe. He was put on a train to a logging camp in the North Woods. There he found a world of towering trees, endless snow, and lumberjacks as big as grizzly bears. But then he met Jean Louis, the biggest burliest lumberjack of all, and this is the story of their friendship. Written by Kathryn Lasky, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, this is the true story of the author's father.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Two Old Potatoes and Me

This could be a Spring-time story about planting potatoes, but it also works in the Fall, as readers can reflect on the growing process and the fun of harvesting and eating fresh potatoes. Written by John Coy, illustrated by Carolyn Fisher, this is a nice supplement for a science unit on plants. It was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 2004.

Friday, November 9, 2007

Soldier's Heart

This book, by one of my favorite authors, Gary Paulsen, vividly portrays the life of a young Civil War soldier. In June 1861, at the age of 15, Charlie Goddard left his farm and enlisted in the First Minnesota Volunteers. He went to war for the adventure, but returned a different person, someone said to have a "soldier's heart". Widely recognized (Minnesota Book Award 1999, Best Books for Young Adults and National Social Studies Trade Books lists in 1999, and selected for ALA's 100 Best Books for Teens), this is a must-read for young teen boys.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

One-Dog Canoe (or "Can I come too?")

Another hilarious story for young readers is One-Dog Canoe written by Mary Casanova, illustrated by Ard Hoyt. In this story, a girl and her dog set off for a canoe ride, when other animals ask to join. The menagerie includes a beaver, a loon, a wolf, a bear, a moose, and finally a frog, who upends and sinks the whole crew. It's a cumulative story told in rhyme and anchored on the question "Can I come too?" It's a fun/funny North Woods adventure, and it was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 2004.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

The Best Pet of All

Told in the first person, this book relates how a little boy longs to have a dog for a pet. After his mother firmly says "No" for three days in a row, he asks if he can have a dragon for a pet. His mother replies, "If you can find a dragon, you can keep it for a pet." Naturally, the boy finds a dragon and brings it home, but it is the naughtiest pet ever! How will the boy ever get a dog now? You'll laugh out loud as you enjoy the story by David LaRochelle and whimsical drawings by Hanako Wakiyama that make this a winner. In fact, it won the Minnesota Book Award for picture books in 2005. It will be a hit with primary readers.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

New Hope

I ran across this book at the library a few days ago, and discovered a little treasure in the process. The book is called New Hope, written and illustrated by Henri Sorensen, published in 1995. It's the story of Jimmy, who asks his grandfather about a statue in the local park. His grandfather relates the story of Lars Jensen, a Danish immigrant who arrived by boat in New York, took a train to Minnesota, and then started a trip by covered wagon. However, an axle on the wagon broke down and the family settled at that spot (how many other homesteads were selected in the same manner?). Soon a village grew nearby, and the city of New Hope had its start. By the way, Lars is Jimmy's great-great-great grandfather. It could be used in a primary unit on pioneers or Minnesota history.

Monday, November 5, 2007

Winter is the Warmest Season

Now that the cold north wind is blowing, it's time to get ready for winter and think about how we will stay warm. A perfect reading choice is Winter is the Warmest Season, written and illustrated by Lauren Stringer. This picture book provides a child's perspective on all the ways to stay warm during the winter including bundling up in warm clothes, eating grilled cheese sandwiches and sipping hot chocolate, and snuggling under a pile of warm blankets. The book was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 2007. It would be an excellent resource for early childhood or primary teachers who are teaching a unit on seasons.