It's Monday - A Variety of Books

     

        Visit Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts to see what they and others have been reading! Your TBR lists will grow! 

Thanks to Scribner Books for my Advanced Copy

           It's a challenge to share this brief (less than 100 pages), yet oh, so filled with gifts of abundance from Robin Wall Kimmerer, the author of another thought-filled book titled Braiding Sweetgrass. This time, taking the serviceberry as her model, Robin makes her case for "a culture of gratitude", to move to what she terms a gift economy, "wealth is understood as having enough to share, and the practice for dealing with abundance is to give it away." Producers and consumers would not undertake to create scarcity to drive up prices, but realize that a gift given can mean a community that shares, one that values the relationships over profit." It is people caring for others and for their world. 

          The serviceberry offers its wealth to birds, who flourish and, in turn, spread its seeds. Robin is a member of the Potawatomi Nation, one of the Anishinaabe peoples of the Great Lakes region. This berry's name in their language is Bozakmin, and the root "min" means "gift."  She weaves her argument for change to a gift economy from the book's beginnings when she shares that a nearby farmer, a neighbor, has invited a number of people to come to share their bounty and pick their serviceberries at no charge. They are part of a community that cares about each other and while also needing to earn money for their expenses, this sharing also nurtures relationships and a hope that neighbors will reciprocate during the year in other ways. 

         Robin's argument pulls away from our ways of consumer capitalism to a gentler and more sustainable approach where all needs are met, including the environment's. It is filled with good reminders that looking again at our lives can mean we find another way of life that can work better for us all!

Thanks to Second Story Press for my e-copy.
I won it via the ALA Grab-a-Galley

          Sheila Baslaw tells this sweetest story with Karen Levine, a beautiful tale from before World War II when her father was a young boy. He, with his parents and five sisters, lived in Russia in a small Jewish village called a shtetl. Shmuel (not his real name) was one of the youngest in the family. His job was to get water from the town square each morning. One day, when he went, a wagon rolled in with two men and a wagon full of supplies! It was time to bring electric street lights to the town! 

          Though Shmuel kept being shooed away by the older and gruff worker, the other younger worker was patient and answered all his questions, helping him learn how it all worked! There was a big celebration when those lights were finally turned on, and the square became a place for evening fun now that it was lit. The mayor came to this young, ten-year-old and told him that the worker had said Shmuel would be able to do repairs if the lights ever needed them or a bulb went out. If it happened, he would be paid! 

         Shmuel's family was very poor and often had little to eat. Each one got some small jobs, yet still, it seemed never enough. One night, in a storm, wires were loosened, and a bulb was broken. This young, brave boy went to the mill to turn off the generator, then climbed that pole and fixed it! The rest of the story is about saving the family, for the townspeople were so grateful and shared what goods they could with the family, adding a note that said, "for our brave new light keeper". 

         Sheila writes that her family had not known this story for a long time from her father's childhood and wanted to capture it for him and to honor his bravery. The illustrations by Alice Priestley feel just right for the historical feel of the story, in brown, muted tones with touches of color, a picturesque village showing the people's dress, and a community having fun despite hardships. 

          

Many thanks to Candlewick Press for the following books!

            In her third cumulative picture book, Randi Sonenshine manages again, in brief verse, to introduce us to another creature, the amazing octopus. She does say in her author's note that in this book, she has focused on the common octopus, among the 300 other species. When I read the book, I didn't consider the usual definition of "common", for Randi's verses show its incredible resourcefulness. When needs arise, octopuses improvise as shown in this opening verse by Randi: "This is the ledge of sandstone and lime,/layered with shells cemented by time,/that shelters the den that Octopus built." Readers will see how the octopus eats, shelters, escapes its enemies and ends with a most important work, laying anywhere from 100,000 to 500,000 eggs, then attaching them to her den roof and endlessly cleaning them with water until she swooshes them off to the sea. I enjoyed the book and the amount of information given so much, I want to tell you all, but you need to find this book, beautifully illustrated by Anne Hunter in softly colored pages, and read to discover more. There is much that is called "Octo-Knowledge" in the back matter, with an author's note and a glossary! (The other cumulative books by Randi and Anne are The Nest That Wren Built and The Lodge That Beaver Built.)

         I reviewed the first book in this Amazing Animals series, Detector Dogs, Dynamite Dolphins, and more animals with super-sensory powers, by Cara Giaimo and Christina Couch a couple of years ago, and now this one is out. Like the first, this is an extraordinary book, like the extraordinary animals and science explained when author Stephanie Gibeault describes the studies of five animals, like guppies and spotted hyenas, and their number intelligence. Fascinating also is the introduction of the animals that were tested and the testing itself as it became more complex.

The experiments are explained, the what, the how, and the double-checking of results. Jaclyn Sinquett adds to the enticing explanations with colorful illustrations, color-highlighted pages, like one titled "Guppy Gossip" and another, "Frog Love Song". Each section includes a summing-up page and an inviting activity for readers.        Enticing pages with those illustrations and photos invited the reader in so well. I often felt like I wanted to read what was next because of the topic. 

       Finally, there is an extensive list of text notes by chapter, a bibliography, and an index. This book, and the previous one, can make a terrific study for an individual or a group, and also become deeper research into one particular or more. 

          

           It seems that this may be a book for an adult and a young child, an interesting introduction to animals who use tools, too! In double-page spreads with large, colorful, and realistic illustrations by Jane McGuinness, Martin Jenkins writes a brief sentence on the left about the animal in large print. On the right is a more complicated explanation in smaller print with the illustration. There are a few with both on one page. Animals included are bowerbirds, sea otters, and chimpanzees, the one identified as the animal that used tools more than any other. A delightful surprise ends the book, and there is an index. It will be a great beginning learning for young readers. If slightly older, they may want to discover more through added research. 

Next: I am reading the very long and just out All The Colors of The Dark, by Chris Whitaker. Thus far, it's mesmerizing. Now that I've finally started, it's very hard to put down!