Summer Reading 2020 The Efficient, Inventive (Often Annoying) Melvil Dewey

This picture book biography shows Dewey's early fascination with books and organization. Scenes of organizing his mother's kitchen shelves, saving books from a school fire, and plowing ahead with the determination of a locomotive fill the pages. The various methods of library organization before his time - size, color, shelf number, etc. are mentioned, as are the limitations of libraries mainly to wealthy individuals or prosperous schools. His push for the decimal organization system, library training schools (with women as students), and free libraries for all are covered. The author also mentions that others sometimes found Dewey odd, annoying, and pushy.

Back matter includes a timeline, sources, a couple of archival photos, and a discussion of the Dewey Decimal System and Dewey's other favorite reform ideas - spelling and a conversion to the metric system. The author's note includes information about Dewey's later difficulties stemming from his harassment of women and his racism and antisemitism. 

Units on library organization or lessons on the DDC could be introduced with this book as a read-aloud. 

Summer Reading 2020 Pirate Nell's Tale to Tell

Nell has always dreamed of being a pirate and has faithfully studied the Pirate's Almanac. Life on board the pirate ship isn't what she had imagined. Instead of adventures, her days are filled with scrubbing the deck and scrubbing pots and pans. While the rest of the crew enjoys the stories she tells, the captain isn't impressed by a pirate who can read. "No time for reading on this ship!" he barks.

Can one small pirate make her dreams come true and perhaps help the rest of the crew while she is at it?  The Docherty crew certainly knows how to tell a story. They will have readers rooting for Nell and hoping that the grumpy Captain Gnash learns a lesson. The illustrations make it clear that Nell's imagination is full of sea serpents, buried treasure, dodging cannonballs, and other pirate feats. If only she could bring those dreams to life instead of being stuck on the galley.

Like many underdogs, Nell just needs the chance to prove her worth and to show that reading is a useful skill in any occupation. Stick with her through the rough seas, and find a happy ending where X marks the spot.

A Whale of the Wild Awareness Tour

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GIVEAWAY

Enter for a chance to win a copy of Rosanne Parry’s A Whale of the Wild!

Five (5) winners receive:

• A copy of A Whale of the Wild, by Rosanne Parry

Giveaway begins September 1, 2020, at 12:01 A.M. MT and ends September 15, 2020, at 11:59 P.M. MT.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Whale of the Wild

Written by Rosanne Parry

Publisher’s Synopsis: In the stand-alone companion to the New York Times–bestselling A Wolf Called Wander, a young orca whale must lead her brother on a tumultuous journey to be reunited with their pod. This gorgeously illustrated animal adventure novel explores family bonds, survival, global warming, and a changing seascape. Includes information about orcas and their habitats.

For Vega and her family, salmon is life. And Vega is learning to be a salmon finder, preparing for the day when she will be her family’s matriarch. But then she and her brother Deneb are separated from their pod when a devastating earthquake and tsunami render the seascape unrecognizable. Vega must use every skill she has to lead her brother back to their family. The young orcas face a shark attack, hunger, the deep ocean, and polluted waters on their journey. Will Vega become the leader she’s destined to be?

A Whale of the Wild weaves a heart-stopping tale of survival with impeccable research on a delicate ecosystem and threats to marine life. New York Times-bestselling author Rosanne Parry’s fluid writing and Lindsay Moore’s stunning artwork bring the Salish Sea and its inhabitants to vivid life. An excellent read-aloud and read-alone, this companion to A Wolf Called Wander will captivate fans of The One and Only Ivan and Pax.

Includes black-and-white illustrations throughout, a map, and extensive backmatter about orcas and their habitats.

Ages 8-12 | Publisher: Greenwillow Books | September 1, 2020 | ISBN-13: 9780062995926

PURCHASE LINK

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2EGm159

Audible: https://amzn.to/3hH2EHu

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/2078/9780062995926

MY REVIEW

The author mentions that she loved writing about a matriarchy, about a young female who was destined to lead one day and what that would feel like to grow up knowing that power was your future. That was a different mindset for characters, but then so was seeing the world from a killer whale's point of view. Vega, that young female, cares deeply for her family and learns from her mother and greatmother. She and all her kin appreciate the natural rhythm of life. The way they describe and think of what they encounter shows that bond. Vega thinks about the salmon run: "Rain falls. Mountains call their salmon home. One big circle, like the long dance we make with our whole family every salmon season." Her cousin Aquila explains the earth shifting along the tectonic plates: "The earth itches, just as we do. It rubs against rocks as we do and sometimes bits of it break free, just like we shed old skin." One of the things I liked about the book was the tie between the whales and the stars. All of them are named for stars - Vega, Deneb, Altair, etc. And they know their locations just as well as they know the sea stacks, islands, and coves along the coast. I also liked the loyalty of the family. Hearing about Uncle Rigel saving family members from capture by humans, or Vega's own determination to get her brother back home makes the kinship seem as if it is also a safety net. Everyone is connected to each other, to life, to the world. A perfect middle-grade read for those who enjoy stories about the sea and its inhabitants, or sibling adventures, or survival stories

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rosanne Parry is the author of the novels Heart of a Shepherd and Last of the Name, among other acclaimed titles. She lives with her family in an old farmhouse in Portland, Oregon, and writes in a treehouse in her backyard. www.rosanneparry.com

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

Lindsay Moore is an artist and writer with roots in Northern Michigan. She studied marine biology and fine art at Southampton College on Long Island and figure drawing at the Art Students League of New York, and earned her master of science in medical and scientific illustration from Medical College of Georgia, now Augusta University. Lindsay Moore lives with her family in Bowling Green, Ohio.

OFFICIAL LINKS

Facebook: @HarperCollinsChildrens

Instagram: @HarperKids

Twitter: @HarperKids

TOUR SCHEDULE

September 1	The Children's Book Review	https://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/	Book Review
September 2	Tales of A Wanna-Be SuperHero Mom	http://wannabesuperheromom.blogspot.com/	Book Review
September 3	Over Coffee Conversations	https://gmarciano.blogspot.com	Book List
September 4	Jrsbookreviews	https://jrsbookreviews.wordpress.com/	Book Review
September 5	Fairview Elementary School (Library)	https://fveslibrary.blogspot.com/	Book Review
September 6	Glass of Wine, Glass of Milk	http://glassofwineglassofmilk.blogspot.com/	Book Review
September 7	The Children's Book Review	https://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/	Book List
September 8	Prologue	http://dccmealy.com/	Book Review
September 9	Barbara Ann Mojica's Blog	https://bamauthor.me	Book List
September 10	Heart to Heart	https://tynea-lewis.com/	Book Giveaway
September 11	Word Spelunking	http://wordspelunking.blogspot.com/	Book List
September 12	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	https://insatiablereaders.blogspot.com	Book Review
September 12	Library Lady's Kid Lit	https://janemouttet.wordpress.com/	Book Review
September 13	Confessions of a Book Addict	http://www.confessionsofabookaddict.com/	Book Review
September 14	icefairy's Treasure Chest	http://icefairystreasurechest.blogspot.com/	Book Review

The Fairview Review is participating in the awareness tour in partnership with The Children’s Book Review and HarperCollins Children’s Books.

Summer Reading 2020 The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy's Vanishing Explorers

Levesque weaves together her personal experiences, anecdotes shared by colleagues, and details from the history of astronomy to capture a view of the field as a whole and where it is headed. From her own early excitement at viewing Halley's Comet with her family in the backyard to riding on the Stratospheric Observatory at 45,000 feet, she makes the life of a modern astronomer come to life.

I especially enjoyed how she toggles back and forth between her observation runs at various telescopes around the world, descriptions of her educational path to her current position, and a look at the development of astronomy throughout history. Just the advances from bare eyeball observations of the stars to the ability of interferometers to measure gravitational waves is astounding. And traveling thousands of miles to use telescopes on remote mountaintops in Chile or Hawaii certainly seems to explode the image of figures hunched over telescopes in the dark, never wandering far from home.

For those with an interest in the field of astronomy, this book offers details about how research into black holes, supernovae, and other stellar objects is carried out. There are technical details about the advance from small handheld telescopes to the construction of large radio astronomy facilities or the Hubble Space Telescope. And the hilarious stories of scientists startled by a raccoon landing on their lap looking for a snack or skunks wandering into observatories through an open door put a more human face on the daily lives of these researchers.

Highly recommended for anyone curious about STEM careers or outer space.

Summer Reading 2020 You Call This Democracy?

Elizabeth Rusch has created a wonderful guide to our political system and where it can use an update. Each chapter addresses a different aspect in need of reform such as the way voting districts are drawn, how voter registration is handled, or the influence of large campaign donations by special-interest groups and corporations. Real-life examples of problems are given for each topic. Readers can learn the details of how a woman was stricken from the voter registration list after her home was incorrectly listed as a vacant lot, or how women who run for office are asked questions about their hair or clothes rather than their political views.

Each chapter ends with suggestions on how readers may get involved and work to solve the problems. There are also plenty of infographics to illustrate the disparity between the number of women in our country versus the number of women in office and other statistics. A list for further reading in the back matter includes both books and websites, and there are extensive source notes.

Anyone wishing to learn more about election reform and the groups trying to move us from a democratic republic to a true democracy could learn quite a bit from this book. The companion website offers even more information and ways to get involved. Readers can even check to see how their own state scores on the various issues.

This book was published in March and would work well for social studies or government classes in middle or high school.

Summer Reading 2020 Cubs in the Tub

        

Candace Fleming tells the story of Helen Martini and her work with young animals, work which led Helen to become the first woman zookeeper at the Bronx Zoo. Julie Downing's illustrations bring Fleming's words to life in scenes of Helen bottle feeding cubs, weighing them, burping them, bathing them. The text describes all the work that went into creating a formula, feedings every three hours, the mischief the cubs got into in the Martini's home, and how much she missed the cubs when they had to return to the zoo. 

It will seem incredible to readers that 76 years ago Mr. Martini was allowed to bring cubs home from the zoo. The back matter explains more about Helen and her zoo babies. It also explains that many women in her day found their way into careers through unusual routes, much like Helen and her secret nursery. There are also source notes, a selected bibliography, and the URL for a YouTube video of Helen in her zoo nursery.

Perfect for collections looking for books with women in STEM careers, strong female protagonists, or stories about nurturing animals. I read a review copy provided by the publisher through edelweiss. Pub. date was August 4, 2020. 

Summer Reading 2020 The Music Box Enigma

I'm new to the Silas Quinn mysteries, but that was not an impediment to enjoying this title. Historical fiction plus mystery equals an intriguing story. Set in the London of World War I, this story does an excellent job of capturing the wartime atmosphere and the social mores of the era. 

Fans of procedural police shows and vintage detective stories alike will find plenty to hold their interest as Quinn and his team from the Special Crimes Department at New Scotland Yard try to find the murderer of a renowned choir director. Someone obviously doesn't have the holiday spirit, since they stabbed him in the ear with a tuning fork during a rehearsal break for the Christmas concert.

The more the team investigates, the more enemies they uncover. Between his gambling debts, affairs, rudeness to others in the musical field...the list just keeps growing. And the odd music box that plays something that grates on the ears doesn't make sense. Why was it delivered shortly before his death - and does it hold any clues to a motive?

Existing relationships between the original members of Quinn's team and the reasons behind the newest members being assigned to his command seem to cause some of the men to distrust each other. Additional oversight by the Military Operations Directorate leads to even more tension in an already difficult situation. With all the political and personal currents beneath the surface, Quinn may be in dangerous waters as he works to solve the case. 

I read a review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.