The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary - Book Review

This post was written as a Master's course assignment for Texas Woman's University.

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Fleming, Candace. 2008. THE LINCOLNS: A SCRAPBOOK LOOK AT ABRAHAM AND MARY. New York, NY: Schwartz & Wade Books. ISBN 9780375936180

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Candice Fleming's enchanting world, the biography of Abraham and Mary Lincoln, is an elegantly told, superbly arranged account of the lives and deaths of those two historical figures. Realizing the importance of relaying the accounts of Mary and Abraham, Fleming begins with a birth-to-death timeline of both, with their life events side by side in chronological order. We learn of the illiterate, impoverished childhood of Abraham, and the contrasting privileged, slave-owning mansion living of Mary's family and childhood. 

Beyond the initial timeline, the author has arranged the book into manageable chunks, with each chapter a capsule of time that focuses in on one era. This approach adds to the ease of hopping forwards or backwards, while also giving the option to read straight through. We learn about the beginnings of Abraham and Mary, emotionally, politically, socially, and personally. All of the life changes, tragedies, honorable displays of character, and questionable life choices are present, taking the reader on a fantastic journey that corresponds with some of the greatest changes to ever occur in our nation's history.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Accuracy

The author spent five years researching in libraries and archives to build this masterpiece book. She has received "rave reviews" for all of her books and several awards, including the ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book and a PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Best Book of the Year.  Ample sources and references are cited in the back of this book, nearly 20 pages of bibliographic sources and credits, plus an index.

The author blasts stereotypes right away, noting early on that he's Abraham (that he hates being called Abe), and she's Mary (she actually dropped the maiden name Todd at marriage).

Organization

Fleming's scrapbook design lends to easy eye-appeal and reading into blocks of text that look, at times, like a newspaper column. This allows the reader easy-digestion, stop-and-go reading, and the ability to jump around instead of reading straight chapters. The story is not a straight timeline, as it moves back and forth in history, among Abraham and Mary, until their stories and lives combine and they move forward together.

Design

The illustrations and text are correct and historically appropriate; if there is not an exact image from the family's archive, occasionally a piece will appear that is "of the time" and helps to provide a look or feel, enhancing the mood. The fonts differ greatly, adding visual appeal and interest. Some of the fonts appear "old-timey" or "aged," some are bold, some are all caps, others are typewriter-style. 

Style

We learn in chunks about the bits and pieces of Mary's and Abraham's personal lives. The story is told artfully and with good contrast. For instance, on the matter of their education, Mary had "an education unmatched by her peers... almost always the most highly educated woman (or person) in the room." Abraham attended a "blab school" wherein all of the students recite their lessons out loud, at the same time, while the teacher listens for errors. Though he is widely known to be a well educated man, Abraham was almost entirely self educated, since his "schooling did not amount to one year."

We also learn about both Abraham and Mary struggling with emotional and mental forces that left each of them untouchable at times, and of the compassion and ultimately burning relationship that they shared with each other, that lasted for a lifetime. The author, during her research, noted that she could not tell the story of one without the other.

Candace Fleming weaves the stories together into a beautifully constructed book that would be as welcome as a coffee table centerpiece as it would in a child's personal library.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Review from SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "What did this backwoods boy and this bluegrass girl have in common? Using her signature scrapbook approach, Fleming lays out the answer in a biography that gives equal emphasis to Abraham and Mary Lincoln for an insightful portrait of their lives."

Starred Review from BOOKLIST: "On spreads that combine well-chosen visuals with blocks of headlined text, Fleming gives a full, birth-to-death view of the "inextricably bound" Lincolns."

5. CONNECTIONS

*Readers may delight in making a recipe from the book (with assistance, if necessary), such as Mary's "A Recipe for White Cake," which, according to Abraham, was "the best I've ever eaten."

*See also other scrapbook biographies by Candace Fleming: BEN FRANKLIN'S ALMANAC: BEING A TRUE ACCOUNT OF THE GOOD GENTLEMAN'S LIFE, ISBN 9780689835490, 

and OUR ELEANOR: A SCRAPBOOK LOOK AT ELEANOR ROOSEVELT'S REMARKABLE LIFE, ISBN 9780689865442.

Balloons Over Broadway - Book Review

This post was written as a Master's course assignment for Texas Woman's University.

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sweet, Melissa. 2011. BALLOONS OVER BROADWAY: THE TRUE STORY OF THE PUPPETEER OF MACY'S PARADE. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN 9780547199450 

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Melissa Sweet carries the reader down Broadway and through the story of the Macy's Parade, giving us an insider look into the world of Tony Sarg, the marionette man who brought it all to life. We see the gradual formation of the parade, from the initial puppeteering, to frightening zoo animals, to the final winning result- what would become the parade's magical trademark- balloons towering from a bird's eye view.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The books begins with an introduction to Tony Sarg, a boy who "became a marionette man when he was only six years old." He went on to create the Macy's Parade, held every year on Thanksgiving day, and "It was a parade New Yorkers would never forget!"

Accuracy

The author, Melissa Sweet, is a Caldecott Honor Award Winner for A RIVER OF WORDS by Jen Bryant. This book is also an award winner, as an ALA Notable Book and A Junior Library Guild Selection. The author provides a "Bibliography and Sources" page, and while the quotation sources are slightly scant, possibly to avoid overwhelming the reader, the bibliography itself contains 18 credible references.

Organization

This book is organized in a chronological fashion, beginning with Tony's childhood and making a natural progression through his major career moves into adulthood, including his participation in the creation of the Macy's Parade. Sweet makes good use of storytelling, hooking the reader right away by telling a story about young Tony Sarg's ingenuity in mechanics.

The parade progresses through the book in scale and excitement, and the reader may develop an internal dialogue that moves with the story, from "fun," to "a little scary" (with lions and tigers scaring the children), to "wow, these are neat marionette creatures," to the "enormous, amazing, towering, amazing flying balloons!" Once reaching this stage in the story, the reader is forced to turn the book sideways to take in the massive illustration. The balloons are as large as the imagination allows, even floating at eye-level with the people in the tall buildings on Broadway.

Design

An inviting design and cheery watercolor illustrations draw in the reader and might be especially appealing to young boys, who could identify with the young Tony. The illustrative technique, Sweet's own mixed-media collage, results in great texture and depth. Quite inspired, the author made her own toys to use in the illustrations. Sweet notes that she used watercolor, papier-mâché, puppets, found objects and fabrics, all to great effect.

The design-in-process boards shown in the illustrations look like something Tony himself might have used in his creative process. The materials drawers in one illustration have labels to correlate with what's inside, like "fabric," "buttons," and "doo-DAHs," giving the reader a creative itch to find things around the house to make something, too.

Style

An interesting true story, masterfully told, Melissa Sweet's build up to the "climax" balloons conveys the passion and wonder to each reader. All of the excitement of the annual parade comes through the text and the illustrations, and the reader appreciates the how-it-came-about, all because of Tony.  The book's vocabulary is appropriately simple but not condescending, and the writing style leaves the reader desirous to seek out the sources and bibliography, in order to learn more.

Everyone feels like a child watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the author captures that emotion and awe through the eyes of Tony Sarg, and through her own magical art and storytelling.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Starred Review from SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "Sweet tells this slice of American history well, conveying both Sarg's enthusiasm and joy in his work as well as the drama and excitement of the parade... This one should float off the shelves."

Starred Review from BOOKLIST: "A joyous piece of nonfiction that informs and delights in equal parts."

Starred Review from KIRKUS: "This clever marriage of information and illustration soars high."

5. CONNECTIONS

*Readers may also seek the Caldecott Honor book A RIVER OF WORDS: THE STORY OF WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS by Jen Bryant, Illustrated by Melissa Sweet, ISBN 9780802853028.

*Crafting balloons out of tissue paper and setting them aloft would be a wonderful and creative corresponding project.

Lightning - Book Review

This post was written as a Master's course assignment for Texas Woman's University.

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Simon, Seymour. 1997. LIGHTNING. New York, NY:  Morrow Junior Books. ISBN 0688146384

2. PLOT SUMMARY

At some point in each lifetime, every person has been mystified, awed, and possibly even terrified by lightning. Seymour Simon takes the reader on an exciting, informative journey of  what we know about lightning from a scientific perspective, at least for the time being. 

Simon references ancient cultures, offering the explanations for the existence of lightning, as seen from those perspectives: "Zeus" from Greece, "Thor" from the Vikings, "Thunderbird" from the Native Americans. The author dispels the commonly mistaken myth of lightning "striking down" and guides the reader through all the different types of lightning, even those that we are only barely beginning to know about. 

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Accuracy

The author Seymour Simon is a well renowned author in the world of science books for children. Simon is an accurate, go-to author in the realm of science, having published over 150 books and receiving numerous awards, including the Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Award, the Eva L. Gordon Award (American Nature Society), and The Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature (New York Library Association). His work is as up to date as possible, even considering the vast and quick changes that can occur in the scientific world. Simon's work is eye-opening and engaging, encouraging quick reading and learning.

Organization

LIGHTNING is organized with an easy flowing, clear sequence. As is familiar for anyone who has experienced the world of Seymour Simon, the fantastic, large photographs consume one page, opposite the text, which is straightforward and written in a large font. Some of the photos displayed are shocking and breathtaking, conveying the ultimate power of nature. Simon offers photography credits on the copyright page.

Design

The author even gives the reader hints as to how to replicate some of the photographs of lightning: "swinging a camera with its shutter open during a lightning flash shows the many repeat strokes..." The photos consume at least half of the book and are the perfect complement to the author's accompanying text. 

Simon leads the reader through historical examples of lightning around the country. We learn, for example, that "ten percent of the people struck by lightning in the United States live in Florida," and because of Tucson, Arizona's high clouds: "lightning here is the most dramatic to be found anywhere in North America."

Style

Simon's lively style draws in the reader immediately. It seems that young boys would be especially fascinated by his writing style paired with the photographs, although anyone interested in science would be delighted by this book. The author makes comparisons to everyday occurrences and objects so that the reader can connect to the enormity of the forces at work in nature: "lightning bolts travel at... up to sixty thousand miles per second. That's six thousand times faster than our fastest spaceships."

Offering safe, at-home solutions is a priority as well, for example, scuffing your feet on the carpet and touching a doorknob, instead of trying the Benjamin Franklin kite experiment. There is also the classic instruction on how to count down, from the lightning to the thunder clap, in order to measure the distance from where you are standing.

Simon leaves us with a reminder of the newest discoveries in lightning and the mysteries of what is still to come from the science world about lightning.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Review from BOOKLIST: "One of those 'must have' books for children's nonfiction collections, this will be useful as well as beautiful for years to come."

Starred Review from THE BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS: "Spacious format, striking photographs, and clear diagrams."

Review from THE HORN BOOK: "Truly compelling."

5. CONNECTIONS

*Readers should experiment with more full color, fascinating text science books by Seymour Simon.

*After reading a book or a series of Simon's books, readers may be interested to travel to a science center or museum to see first hand some of the phenomena present in his books. One example to see from this book is a Van de Graaff static electricity generator, an unforgettable and truly hair-raising experience.

The Elephant Scientist - Book Trailer

Here is a book trailer I created for THE ELEPHANT SCIENTIST. Enjoy!

This was created as a Master's course assignment for Texas Woman's University.