Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2021 i Book Links

IN THIS ISSUE Accepting Gladness Somehow, the start of another school year has come around again. Many educators are feeling an acute sense of exhaustion as they head into this year. Maybe we didn’t expect, but we hoped that this year would be closer to normal, more stable, with less of the chaos and fear that defined last year. But it looks as if what we have been given instead is another year where everything has been cast into doubt, where we don’t know if the structures we’ve spent a year and a half building and tending will stand up to this new onslaught, where people who were running on empty before are trying to find reserves beyond that, for themselves and for the staff and students they support. That’s…

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established in 2008 with the goal of promoting healing, educating, listening, and preparing recommendations for the Government of Canada regarding the residential-school system, experience, and legacy. Its final report, issued in 2015, details 94 calls to action, including the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. While the recommendations were generally well received, their implementation has been frustratingly slow. An electronic version of the commission’s full report can be found at publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.807830/publication.html; the Calls to Action are available at trc.ca/assets/pdf/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf…

BOOKS AND AUTHORS Grades 5 to 8 Talking with Laura Amy Schlitz Newbery medalist Schlitz takes readers back to ancient Greece in her latest historical novel and discusses its many structural elements and how she lets fate guide her writing. By Maggie Reagan The Greek gods have long been a staple in middle-grade literature, their recent popularity due in no small part to Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and its spin-offs. In Amber and Clay, her newest Herculean endeavor, Newbery medalist Laura Amy Schlitz (Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! 2007) transports readers to ancient Greece, crafting an epic tale that encompasses not just the gods but historical figures, Greek art and literary tradition, and illustrations of artifacts, layered into the text like museum exhibits. At the heart of…

BOOKS AND AUTHORS Grades 4 to 7 Talking with Kate Messner The writer and educator discusses her ongoing nonfiction History Smashers series, which focuses on correcting common misconceptions in American historical education, and talks about the importance of multiple viewpoints and an accessible voice. By Terrell A. Young, Deanna Day, and Barbara A. Ward A middle-school English teacher for 15 years, Kate Messner burst onto the children’s literature scene first with several middle-grade novels, then, in 2011, with her picture books Sea Monster’s First Day and Over and Under the Snow, and she’s been steadily amassing praise and honors for her subsequent titles. Not only does she write biographies (Dr. Fauci: How a Boy from Brooklyn Became America’s Doctor, 2021) and explore environmental science topics (The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the…

Para-Athlete Activists Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah. By Laurie Ann Thompson. Illus. by Sean Qualls. 2015. 40p. Random (9780449817445). K–Gr. 2. 362.4092. Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah was born in Ghana with a severely deformed leg, and when his single mother became sick, he was told to go out and beg like other disabled people. In this picture-book biography, expressive illustrations with warm colors depict how, instead, Emmanuel obtained a bicycle, became an activist (cycling 400 miles in 10 days), and influenced the passage of Ghana’s Persons with Disabilities Act. In the Running with Ntando Mahlangu. By Kristy Stark. 2020. 32p. Full Tilt (9781629208428). Gr. 1–4. 796. Using straightforward yet upbeat text, this biography in the Teen Strong series explains how Mahlangu was born in South Africa, in…

BOOK LINKS BOOK HOOKS National Parks By Angela Leeper How did the Grand Canyon form? The Colorado River has been cutting into the land and washing sediment away for around 5 million years. The basement rocks, the bottommost layer of rock, are the oldest in the canyon. Some are 1.84 billion years old! Grand Canyon. By Jason Chin. Illus. by the author. Roaring Brook. Gr. 2–5. 979. Which animal saved Yellowstone National Park? In 1926 hunters had killed so many wolves that there were no packs left in Yellowstone. Wolves are apex predators, and their loss made the park unhealthy for other animals and plants. When wolves were brought back to Yellowstone in 1995, they improved life in the park’s ecosystem. Bringing Back the Wolves: How a Predator Restored an…

Free Digital Download Spirit Bear: Fishing for Knowledge, Catching Dreams: A True Story. By Cindy Blackstock. Illus. by Amanda Strong. K–Gr. 3. Spirit Bear learns about traditional Indigenous education and residential schools from Uncle Huckleberry and Lak’insxw, then travels to Algonquin territory to learn about Shannen Koostachin’s dream of safe schools for all Indigenous students. Blackstock (Gitxsan) and Strong’s (Michif) story is gently presented, but the disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous schools are readily apparent. This title is available as a free download at https://fncaringsociety.com/sites/default/files/spirit_bear_fishing_for_knowledge_catching_dreams_ebook.pdf…

Sportswriting Activist Miss Mary Reporting: The True Story of Sportswriter Mary Garber. By Sue Macy. Illus. by C. F. Payne. 2016. 40p. Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman (9781481401203). Gr. 2–4. 070.4. Reverent caricature illustrations convey the story of Mary Garber, a young sports fan and budding journalist who became a sportswriter during WWII while many men were away. This picture-book biography also documents her reporting of Jackie Robinson’s breakthrough, her commitment to covering sporting events featuring Black athletes, and her pioneering role as a female sportswriter.…