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Simon. Seymour. 1979. Animal Fact/Animal Fable. Ill. by Diane de Groat. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc. ISBN: 0-517-53474-6.
In his colorfully illustrated informational picture book, Animal Fact/Animal Fable, Seymour Simon takes a novel approach to debunking and verifying myths about animals. Simon begins his book by giving definitions of myths and fables in easily understood terminology. Henceforth, Simon dismisses or confirms many familiar beliefs about animals through a series of statements accompanied by illustrations featuring the animal acting out said habit. The revelation of the answer appears on the page following the statement with another illustration.
The book is a brief overview on commonly held beliefs. While the facts are accurate, the text is concise, providing just a few sentences on each animal. Although the material is factual, children who are stimulated by a topic will have to look elsewhere to dig for further information. The book's value is two-fold: it can teach children about animals and it can teach children the difference in a fact and a fable and thus encourage critical thinking.
Children will enjoy learning if cats really have nine lives, if bees can only sting once, if wolves live alone, and if elephants are afraid of mice. They will be dually pleased by Diane de Groat's detailed watercolor illustrations in subdued tones. The book's appearance is welcoming. The illustrations accompanying the presentation of the fable are cartoon drawings, while those presenting the fact are representational and realistic. The fable drawings are humorous, including a raccoon wearing an apron scrubbing a piece of fruit with a scrub brush and a bee with a bandage where his stinger once was.
Simon's experience as a science teacher and science editor gives him the credibility to take on scientific subject matter. The print is large and the layout is clear. With the fable on the front of the page and the fact on the following page consistently, the information is well presented in a pattern which young children will find easy to follow. However, the pages are not numbered and there is no table of contents, glossary, index, or other reference tool to assist readers. Nonetheless, the book is truly charming and would be a good springboard to promote further interest in learning about various animals. As Publisher's Weekly stated, "Every entry is a surprise in the best kind of book-the one that entertains while it educates" (1979, 127).
1979. A review of Animal Fact/Animal Fable. Publisher's Weekly 215 (12 Feb. no 7): 127.
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Armstrong, Jennifer. 1998. Shipwreck at the bottom of the world: The extraordinary true story of Shackleton and the Endurance. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc. ISBN: 0-517-80013-6.
Jennifer Armstrong's Orbis Pictus award winning book Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World is the riveting story of Ernest Shackleton's attempted Trans-Antarctic expedition. In hopes of being the first to cross Antarctica by land, Shackleton gathered a group of scientists, sailors, doctors, and a photographer in 1914 and set out on what would become a disastrous journey. The crew becomes stuck in the ice for a year and a half, is forced to abandon their ship when it is swallowed by the icy ocean, and eventually must abandon their mission of crossing the continent in order to stay alive. The story is one of hardship, courage, strength, and heroism, which Armstrong captures vividly in her book.
What is most fascinating about Armstrong's book is not the story itself, however, but that she is able to turn an informational book into a captivating page-turner that reads like a novel. Armstrong pays attention to details, using quotes from the explorers' diaries to describe everything from the emotions they felt at each point in their journeys, to what they left behind when they abandoned the ship and what they ate for dinner many a night.
Armstrong's book moves in clear sequence. She begins her story by explaining previous expeditions to the Antarctic and goes on to explain Shackleton's selections for his crewmembers. Although much of the book describes times when all the crewmembers have to do is wait, the book moves swiftly, never becoming stagnant with the setting. For example, soon after citing crewmember Greenstreet's diary entry describing the tedium, "Day passes day with very little or nothing to relieve the monotony," Armstrong follows up with excitement: "On March 9, for the first time since entering the pack, the men felt the swell of the ocean slowly lift the ice under their feet The open ocean was thirty miles away."
More than forty black and white photographs taken by the photographer aboard the ship accompany the text, providing a true to life perspective of the ordeal make the book particularly visually appealing. In addition, maps and sketches are included in the layout of the book so that the reader can determine where certain events took place. A table of contents, bibliography, and index are included to assist the reader in referencing specifics.
Armstrong frequently, but subtly provides didactic factual information: "The Antartic contains ninety percent of the world's snow and ice, and there are more than eighty kinds of it." Here she goes on to list some types of snow and ice. However, she follows the lesson up with drama, which makes the reader feel as though they are not being spoon-fed information.
Armstrong's book paints a clear image of the Shackleton expedition and although the book lists no clear credentials or qualifications of the author aside from her previous publications, an extensive bibliography accompanies the book. However, specific facts and quotes remain without citation, leaving questions as to their origin.
Armstrong's engaging storytelling is certain to encourage more reading. As reviewer Edward Sullivan said, "Armstrong crafts them into an unforgettable story of true heroism and the triumph of the human spirit. A book that will capture the attention and imagination of any reader" (School Library Journal 1999, 144).
Sullivan, Edward. 1999. A review of Shipwreck at the bottom of the world: The extraordinary true story of Shackleton and the Endurance Expedition. School Library Journal 45 (April no. 4): 144.
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Freedman, Russell. 1994. Kids at work: Lewis Hine and the crusade against child labor. Photographs by Lewis Hine. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN # 0-395-58703-4.
Russell Freedman's photo essay of Lewis Hine's struggle to expose the atrocious working conditions for children in the labor force at the turn of the twentieth century is an excellent blend of biographical information about Hines and social history of the injustice he was struggling to overcome. The book is well written with excellent photographs documenting and supporting the text. While it is a heart-wrenching story, Freedman does a fine job of keeping Hine's work in the forefront and making the story more one of triumph over adversity than one of pity.
The photographs tell a great deal of the story. The book incorporates some 60 black and white photographs taken by Hine, who after witnessing first-hand the hardships faced by children working in inadequate conditions decided to take on the cause. Freedman's story shows the great many lengths to which Hine would go to get the photographs he needed for his story, including using disguises or posing as a salesman or a photographer seeking photos of a building. Hine's photographs uncover a world of children, some as young as three and four years old, working in canneries shucking oysters or covered in grease from working in coal mines. The startling reality of the suffering they faced is undeniable in the somber expressions Hine captured.
Freedman's text is easy to read and compliments the photographs well. Beginning with Hine's early career, Freedman describes Hine's discovery of the injustice, the height of his career, and finishes by describing the end of his life, all the while describing specific examples of child labor. As the photos provide visual support, Freedman seamlessly interweaves bits of Hine's life and achievements with information on the adversity he was seeking to expose. Although he provides biographical information, his primary focus is on Hine's work against child labor.
Freedman uses anecdotes and quotes from Hine to support his text as well as an extensive bibliography citing works used in research. His attention to small details provides for interesting asides, which children will enjoy. For instance Freedman notes that because Hine often had to work on the sly, he employed discreet tactics to take note of children's size and other facts, such as estimating children's heights by measuring them against his buttonholes. Because the book attempts to cover two separate topics in less than 100 pages, some areas are barely touched upon or seem almost rushed, such as Hine's later years. However, because Freedman's book intermingles Hine's life and the social issue of child labor, children will be encouraged to read further on either topic individually if both do not interest them.
The layout is clean and photos are well placed throughout the book serving as constant visual reinforcements of what is taking place in the text. It invites browsing as well as encourages thorough reading. In addition to the bibliography, a table of contents, photo credits, and index provide reference for specific information.
An author of a variety of non-fiction works, including the related Immigrant Kids, Freedman has put together a work that will captivate, shock, and educate the reader.
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