Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream

Bibliography

Stone, Tanya Lee. 2009. Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763636111

Plot Summary

Almost Astronauts tells the story of 13 women fighting to be admitted into the NASA space program. While they all had a background in flying, some clocking more flight hours than John Glenn, these women were not able to pursue the path they wanted to because of the fact they were women. This book tells us of the fight these women fought for gender equality in the space program as well as introducing the reader to the fight for gender equality and women’s rights across the country in the 1960’s. While these women didn’t find their way into the NASA space program, they paved the way for those women to follow.

Critical Analysis

Almost Astronauts is the epitome of a traditional nonfiction text. This well researched text introduces the reader to a group of women that worked to get gender equality into the NASA space program. The book, backed by the curator of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum is well researched and presented in a manner that keeps a reader’s attention while delivering facts.

As with many traditional nonfiction texts, Almost Astronauts is one that does not need to be read from cover to cover, while it is enjoyable enough to be done this way. The reader is presented with a table of contents and an index to help the reader locate the specific information they may be looking for. Sources are broken down chapter by chapter in the back of the book to assist in locating more information if this text is being used for research purposes.

While this text can be used easily for research, with the passion shared by Stone and the rich photographs included keep the reader wanting to read not only about the 13 women themselves, but the ideology of the United States in the 1960s and the women that were ultimately able to partake in the NASA space program due to the path the “Mercury 13” paved.

Review Excerpts

Awards:
2010 Sibert Medal Award Winner
YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Honor
Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor
NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor
Bank Street Flora Stieglitz Straus Award

Reviews:
“Space gals. Astronettes. Astrodolls . . . Who do these women think they are?” The media mocked them. Male astronauts did not want them, and neither did then vice-president Lyndon Johnson. If they were to let women into the space program, blacks and other minorities would be next. Nearly 20 years before the U.S. officially admitted women into the astronaut program, 13 women, known as the Mercury 13, fought for the right to soar into space. This dramatic, large-size photo-essay covers their stories, along with the exciting politics of the women’s liberation struggle in the 1950s and ’60s (“What is a woman’s place?”) and the breakthrough science and technology surrounding space exploration, including details of the would-be astronauts’ tests and training. The chatty, immediate style (“Picture this”) and full-page photos make for a fast read, and the crucial civil-rights history will stay with readers. The long, spacious back matter is part of the story, with detailed chapter notes and a bibliography.” –Booklist

“Stone adopts a tone of righteous indignation in chronicling the quixotic efforts of 13 women to win admission into NASA's initial astronaut training program in the early 1960s. The women were all pilots (one, Jerrie Cobb, had more hours in the air than John Glenn or Scott Carpenter), earned high scores in preliminary tests, and even counted a senator's wife among their number. But resistance came from all directions—including NASA regulations, which were weighted toward men; media coverage that reflected contemporary gender expectations; political maneuvering by then vice president LBJ and other officials; and the crushing opposition expressed by renowned aviatrix Jackie Cochran in a 1962 Congressional hearing. Properly noting, however, that losing "depends on where you draw the finish line," the author closes with chapters on how women did ultimately win their way into space—not only as mission specialists, but also as pilots and commanders. Illustrated with sheaves of photos, and based on published sources, recently discovered documents, and original interviews with surviving members of the "Mercury 13," this passionately written account of a classic but little-known challenge to established gender prejudices also introduces readers to a select group of courageous, independent women.” –School Library Journal

Poetry Bonus Material by the author

Reading/Discussion Guide

-Have students research women astronauths such as Mae Jemison that were inspired by the "Mercury 13"

Down, Down, Down

Bibliography

Jenkins, Steve. 2009. Down, Down, Down. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780618966363

Plot Summary

In Down, Down, Down, readers are taken on a journey to the bottom of the sea where they learn facts and get a creative, eye catching glimpse of the creatures found on more than half of the earth. With the ocean covering more than two-thirds of the earth, and being up to seven miles deep in places there are tons of interesting creatures to learn about. Steve Jenkins teaches us all about a place that even less people have visited than the moon.

Critical Analysis

Steve Jenkins has once again presented readers with facts while feeding us eye candy with his elaborate paper cut collages in the Bluebonnet Award Nominee, Down, Down, Down. If the reputation Jenkins has made for himself with the over one million copies of nonfiction picture books wasn’t enough to trust the accuracy of his facts, a bibliography is found in the back of the book along with more detailed explanations of the previous pages. This bibliography is an excellent resource for those students that are sucked in to the world under the sea and longing for more information.

While many nonfiction books can be read out of sequence, Down, Down, Down is best read from cover to cover. The picture book begins by introducing us to the creatures found at the surface of the water. Our greatest ocean fear is immediately introduced to use as we are presented with a great white shark jumping out of the ocean. With each turn on the page, readers are taken further and further beneath the surface. Their attention is kept with the introduction of stranger and weirder creatures the further and further we go. It is obvious that Mr. Jenkins has done his research and has a strong passion for the information presented. He has shared his knowledge in a manner that is easily read independently by an emerging reader and easily understood with little assistance to beginning readers and loved by adults. It is no wonder that this selection was picked as a Texas Bluebonnet Nominee book.

Review Excerpts:

Awards:
Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee
ALA Notable Book 2010
2009 Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book
New York Times –one of the eight most Notable Children’s Books of 2009
2011 Beehive Book Award Nominee

Reviews:
“For capturing the scale and biological richness of the ocean in a picture book, it seems hard to do better than “Down, Down, Down.” Through the almost magical use of cut paper, Jenkins takes the reaser on a voyage from the surface to the sunlit shallows to the very bottom of the sea.” –New York Times Book Review

“In this plunge into the deep, Jenkins displays his usual keen awareness of what is fascinating about biology and imparts it without sensationalism –the facts speak for themselves.” – Booklist

“Depicted in Jenkins’s signature handsome collages, the denizens of each level swim again ever-darkening backgrounds ranging from sunny blue to deepest black.” –School Library Journal

Connections:

Other books by Steve Jenkins:
-Bones
-Actual Size
-Biggest, Fastest, Strongest
-What Do You Do With a Tail Like This

-Have students create a collage in the style of Steve Jenkins

-Pick one animal introduced in Down, Down, Down to research further

What to do About Alice?

Bibliography

Kerley, Barbara. 2008. What to do About Alice. Ill. by Edwin Fotheringham. New York, NY: Scholastic Press. ISBN 9780439922319

Plot Summary

Alice Roosevelt was a small, large problem for her father Theodore Roosevelt. She didn’t like to live by the rules and the world loved her for it. She stole the heart of the nation as she showed us all that women can step outside of the expectations of women in the 1900’s and still be a smart, educated productive member of society. This biography, with its whimsical illustrations and tidbits of information is a spunky as Alice Roosevelt herself.

Critical Analysis

Barbara Kerley has created a story about Alice Lee Roosevelt that is both accurate and catching to the intended audience of young readers. As we follow Alice while she “eats up the world” the reader is introduced to easy to understand tidbits of information about a woman who caught the attention and hearts of Americans in the early 1900s. If the reputation of Barbara Kerley isn’t enough to give the book accreditation for the accuracy of information, the author has included author’s notes and works cited at the end of the story, including the name of her fact checker, Carol Felsenthal.

Being a biography, the book is one that follows a logical sequence of events taking us through the life of Alice and the struggles of Teddy as she grows and discovers what she likes and how she wants to live. The design of the book is just as lively as Alice herself. The illustrations grab the attention of the reader and the font and layout of the text keeps the reader flowing from one page to another.

The combination of large, colorful illustrations, vintage style fonts and the authors choice of words creates a story as lively as Alice’s personality. The interest the author has in Alice is transferred to the reader as I found myself wanting to learn even more about her. While the book was written for young readers using a language and vocabulary they can easily comprehend, older students and adults are left satisfied as well.

Review Excerpts:

Awards:
Sibert Honor Book
Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book
Irma Black Award Honor Book
Parents Choice Award
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
An ALA Notable Book
New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing

Reviews:

"Irrepressible Alice Roosevelt gets a treatment every bit as attractive and exuberant as she was....The large format gives Fotheringham, in his debut, plenty of room for spectacular art." --Starred Review, Booklist

"Theodore Roosevelt s irrepressible oldest child receives an appropriately vivacious appreciation in this superb picture book.... Kerley s precise text presents readers with a devilishly smart, strong-willed girl who was determined to live life on her own terms and largely succeeded." --Starred Review, Kirkus

"Kerley s text gallops along with a vitality to match her subject s antics, as the girl greets White House visitors accompanied by her pet snake, refuses to let leg braces cramp her style, dives fully clothed into a ship s swimming pool, and also earns her place in history as one of her father s trusted advisers. Fotheringham s digitally rendered, retro-style illustrations are a superb match for the text." --Starred Review, School Library Journal

Connections

Other books by Barbara Kerley:Greetings from Planet Earth
A Little Peace
The Extraordinary Mark Twain…


A list of research links
Think-Pair-Share with What to do About Alice?
Use as an introduction for student written biographies

Tippintown

Bibliography

Brown, Calef. 2003. Tippintown. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0618149724

Plot Summary

Calef Brown introduces the reader to the fantasy town of Tippintown. In Tippintown things are a little unique. Instead of hide and seek, one my play in a game of hide and shriek. Enormous heads have something to say and porpoises have a proper education. While the journey through Tippintown has to end sometime, our tour guide promises that tomorrow’s tour is sure to be your greatest journey yet.

Critical Analysis

The rhythm of this poem picture book was created with a longer, rhyming stanza on the left page, followed by a one-line, droll coda on the right side of the page. This rhythm can be difficult to read at first. Before reading it out loud to a group of students I had to read through it in my head several times. Students enjoying the book were never able to get the timing quite right. The use of rhyming words was helpful to the reader for developing the intended rhythm.

Brown’s language found in the poem helps to create a mystical word, but the words are able to be understood by the young reader the book is intended for. While the illustrations Calef included in the book help to create an understanding of a magical world, the poem stands alone encouraging the imagination to run wild while picturing assortment trees with flower and fruits of various sizes and shapes or gargoyles enjoying a day on the town.

Review Excerpts

“Brown is… similarly quirky and irreverent, a satirist without insult… A gleeful book for solo or shared reading.” –School Library Journal

“What an imagination Brown has! His often metrically challenged rhyming text doesn't tell much of a story, but it does provide a whimsical launching pad for his double-page pictures, which, though occasionally a wee bit too evocative of Maira Kalman, are, nevertheless, diverting in their offer of a pleasant excursion for the imagination.” –Booklist

Connections

Have students visualize their own illustrations before seeing Calef Brown's.
Official Calef Brown website

Other books by Calef Brown:
-Soup for Breakfast
-Dutch Sneakers and Fleakeepers
-Flamingo on the Roof: Poems and Paintings
-Polkabats and Octopus Pants

What My Mother Doesn't Know

Bibliography

Sones, Sonya. 2003. What My Mother Doesn’t Know. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780689841149

Plot Summary

In this novel in verse we are introduced to a 15 year old girl named Sophie. We follow Sophie as she falls in and out of love with a boy not one, two, but three times. Not only is Sophie dealing with her changing feelings, she is also dealing with the ups and downs of friendships at that age and struggling to understand the arguing between her mother and her father.

Critical Analysis

The rhythm of the poems that makes up the novel “What My Mother Doesn’t Know” is a roller coaster just as the life of the 15 year old writing them. Some poems are short, sweet and to the point, while others go on and on as a girl’s confused mind often does. The changing of the rhythm makes the novel and enjoyable, quick read.

Sonya Sones’ language mimics that of a typical teen. We experience Sophie’s first love in the poem “I Wish” where she longs to be small enough to fit into Dylan’s pocket to be able to hear the beating of his heart every minute of every day. You can feel the urgency of this wish to come true with the Sophie’s wanting to “drink the magic potion.” The shape of the poem, wider at the top, narrow at the bottom, creates the feeling of shrinking to fit in a pocket. When being introduced to Chaz, Sophie’s internet love, the use of fonts creates the choppy, boyish demeanor while Sophie’s Victorian font creates the illusion of the hopeless romantic we’ve been living vicariously through. The off center, tilted position of the poems mimics the often all over the place thoughts of a 15 year old girl.

Review Excerpts

Awards:
-American Library Association as one of the Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2004 and of 2005
-American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults (2002)
- American Library Association Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (2002)
- International Reading Association Young Adults' Choice (2003)

Reviews:
"...Sones (Stop Pretending) poignantly captures the tingle and heartache of being young and boy-crazy...With its separate free verse poems woven into a fluid and coherent narrative with a satisfying ending, Sophie's honest and earthy story feels destined to captivate a young female audience, avid and reluctant readers alike." –Publisher’s Weekly

"...hilarious and irreverent in the style of Naylor's Alice books. The poetry is never pretentious or difficult; on the contrary, the very short, sometimes rhythmic lines make each page fly. Sophie's voice is colloquial and intimate, and the discoveries she makes are beyond formula, even while they are as sweetly romantic as popular song. A natural for reluctant readers, this will also attract young people who love to read." -Booklist

Connections

Encourage Students to share experiences of a week in verse form
Sonya Sones official website

Other Book by Sonya Sones:
-What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know
-One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
-Stop Pretending What Happened When my Big Sister Went Crazy

This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness

Bibliography

Sidman, Joyce. 2007. This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness. Ill. by Pamela Zagarenski. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 9780618616800

Plot Summary

This is Just to Say is a collection of poems about saying sorry written by a class of sixth graders. The class to the project one step farther and asked the recipient of each apology poem to write a poem back in response. The poems are both touching and funny as we are taken into the minds of new, young poets.

Critical Analysis

This collection of poems is written by many different people, giving the readers a variety of rhythms to enjoy. It is obvious that the students had studied several different types of poems, and were able to pick a rhythm to match the tone of the poem they were going for. In Kyle’s poem “Dodge Ball Crazy” the short, zig zagged lines reminds the reader of the balls being thrown back and forth across the gym. In the poem “What Girls Want” written by Maria, The repetition of lines gives a steady rhythm that is broken up in the end with a few short, staccato lines that adds a coyness every young girl wants to get across when writing a poem to the one they like. An impressive aspect of this collection written by such young students is that the traditional format of rhyming lines, most often written by young authors, was not included in the collection. The students stepped out of this comfort zone and explored poetry without the use of rhyme.
It is apparent that the sound and language of the collection was taken into consideration for the age that wrote the poems. This being said, finding an example of onomatopoeia or alliteration is not represented in the collection. The poems’ language has shown careful consideration in the placement of lines, some starting halfway across the line, the phrases chosen to represent the tone of their parents’ voices and the use of punctuation to show both excitement and disappointment.

The imagery and emotion found in these short, simple poems was touching. A young girl named Jewel wrote a poem to her father apologizing for making him want to leave her, touching on the fact that she doesn’t forget the number of times he’d left because of crying, messing up at school and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The response was written by the same little girl after reading a letter from her father. We learn through such a simple choice of words that her father considered suicide, “leaving this world” as she put it until her poem “called him back.” In other poems older brother and sisters wrote back, making it clear that they were keeping the upper hand with such simple, to the point poems as “Roses are red, violets are blue, I’m still really, pissed off at you” and “Little brother, You are one weird kid.”

My one complaint about the book would be the organization of the poems. The book is set up with the apology poems in the first part of the book, and the response poems in the second. The way I read the book, and friends that read it as well, was to read the apology and the response immediately following. I would have preferred to have those poems next to each other in the collection. Regardless, the illustrations, theme, topic and age of the authors all worked together to create an enjoyable read I would recommend to others.

Review Excerpts

“…the poems successfully navigate the complicated terrain for those who seek forgiveness.” –Publishers Weekly

“Mrs. Merz assigns her sixth-grade students to write poems of apology, and what emerges is a surprising array of emotions, poetic forms, and subjects from dead pets and biting hamsters to angry siblings and betrayal of trust. The children decide to create their own book of these poems, complete with an introduction and occasional notes by editor Anthony K…. This is an important book both for its creativity and for its wisdom.” –School Library Journal

Connections

A poetry-inspired writing lesson
Create your own class book of poems and responses
Joyce Sidman official website

Other Books by Joyce Sidman:
-Dark Emporer: And Other Poems of the Night
-Just Us Two
-Meow Ruff
-Song of the Water Boatman