PICTURE BOOK - My Journey to the Stars by Astronaut Scott Kelly

Illustrated by Andre Ceolin

2017 Crown Books for Young Readers, NY

HC $17.99
Bosler Library

48 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 3.95 - 115 ratings

My rating: 4.5

Endpapers: Red

1^st line/s:  "It's been 340 days since I set foot on Earth.  I've spent almost a full year living and working on the international Space Station.  It's the hardest thing I've ever done.

My comments: 4.5  I've followed Mark Kelly because of his marriage to Gabby Giffords, so I knew a bit about his twin brother, Scott.  This picture book for kids tells a little about Scott's background, including the fact that he had a tough time in school, particularly sitting still and not daydreaming.  It shows his perseverance and ambition, then tells a little about his training and year in space.  The illustrations, by Andre Ceolin, are wonderful, and they're interspersed throughout with lots and lots of actual photographs.   Here's another great 1st or second grade biographical read aloud  (Why a 4.5 and not a five?  That's because I didn't like the way the book started.  It worked okay for my second reading, but put me off a bit for the first.)

Goodreads:  NASA astronaut Scott Kelly was the first to spend an entire year in space! Discover his awe-inspiring journey in this fascinating picture book memoir that takes readers from Scott's childhood as an average student to his record-breaking year among the stars.
     Scott Kelly wasn't sure what he wanted to be when he grew up. He struggled in school and often got in trouble with his twin brother, Mark.
     Then one day Scott discovered a book about test pilots and astronauts that set him on a new path.
     His new focus led him to fly higher and higher, becoming first a pilot and then an astronaut, along with his brother--the first twin astronauts in history. But his greatest accomplishment of all was commanding the International Space Station and spending nearly a year in space, which set the record for the longest spaceflight by an American.
     This story of an ordinary boy who grew up to do extraordinary things is perfect for children, fans of Scott's adult book Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery, aspiring astronauts, and anyone who has ever tried to defy the odds. It will amaze and inspire you.

PICTURE BOOK - Desmond and the Very Mean Word by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams

Illustrated by A. G Ford

2013, Candlewick Press

HC $15.99

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 4.13

My rating: 4.5

Endpapers:  Musty peach

Illustrations: Gorgeous, full-paged; big and real.  Love 'em.

1^st line/s:  "Desmond was very proud of his new bicycle.  He was the only child in the whole township who had one, and he couldn't wait to show it to Father Trevor."

My comments: This is a visually inspriring story of an incident in Desmond Tutu's youth.  It is a story of forgiveness - how very difficult it is to do, but how rewqrding it can also be.

Goodreads:  Based on a true story from Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s childhood in South Africa, Desmond and the Very Mean Word reveals the power of words and the secret of forgiveness.    
     When Desmond takes his new bicycle out for a ride through his neighborhood, his pride and joy turn to hurt and anger when a group of boys shout a very mean word at him. He first responds by shouting an insult, but soon discovers that fighting back with mean words doesn’t make him feel any better. With the help of kindly Father Trevor, Desmond comes to understand his conflicted feelings and see that all people deserve compassion, whether or not they say they are sorry. Brought to vivid life in A. G. Ford’s energetic illustrations, this heartfelt, relatable story conveys timeless wisdom about how to handle bullying and angry feelings, while seeing the good in everyone.

Beatrice's Dream - Karen Lynn Williams

A Story of Kibera Slum
photos by Wendy Stone
HC $17.95
Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2011
24 pages
Rating:  4
Endpapers:  Purple with vertical streaks

Kiberia is a huge slum in Nairobi, Kenya.  There are no roads and almost no electricity, plumbing, or drinking water.

13-year old Beatrice lives here with her brother and his wife.  Both her parents are dead.  But she's lucky to go to school every day and dreams, even in her extreme poverty, of becoming a nurse.

This simple photo journal tells of her daily life.  Well, the words are simple.  It's the photos that show her life.  A good one to share with my fourth graders when studying Africa and discussing poverty.

Somewhere Today - Shelley Moore Thomas

A Book of Peace
Photos by Eric Futran
Copyright: 1998
Rating: 4
Endpapers: White

Somewhere today...
...someone is being a friend instead of fighting
...someone is visiting a friend who is old
...someone is planting a tree where one was cut down

In all, ten simple ways to make the world a better place. This is a gentle book - with wonderful photos of kids. This will be a great model for classes of every level. Make your own book!

At Ellis Island - Louise Peacock

A History in Many Voices
Illustrator: Walter Lyon Krudop
For: Grades 3-4
Published: 2007
Ratng: 3

Mixed feelings about this one. It has lots of information. There's a first person account in letter form. There's primary source material, illustrations and photographs - all good. But it's very confusing to read, even though different fonts are used to differentiate between the first person "story" account (in blue cursive) and a story line in a different font - red - that I finally figured out is a contemporary person's reflections as they look at the musem at Ellis Island, maintained by the Nationaal Park Service. Also on almost each two-page spread is some sort of primary source in the original handwriting, and photos along with the illustrations. But what do your read, in what order?

10-year old Sera Assidian has come by herself from Armenia. We discover that her mother has been killed and her father has sent for her. The story includes her experiences on the boat AND on her experiences on Ellis Island.

Day of the Dead - El dia de los muertos

Today is the "official" (at least for me) day to celebrate The Day of the Dead. I created my first Day of the Dead altar in November of 2003, adding another item or two every year. I've come to love the motif, I have tiles in the bathroom and even splurged on a plate by Chris Bubany (gorgeous!) Candles and marigolds and celebration of lost love ones. This year I've added a couple of memories of my friend Linda Shipley, who died last January.

What is the Day of the Dead? Briefly, it is a three-day Mexixcan tradition that celebrates, honors, and "welcomes home" the spirits of loved ones who have died (or, as so many of my Jewish friends say, "passed"). Altars are created - and decorated gorgeously - in homes and in public places. Favorite foods, mementoes, marigolds, candles. In Mexico, families prepare picnics and, carrying candles, join their neighbors to walk to the graveyards which have been cleaned and decorated. Here, they welcome the spirits of their departed loved ones.

In an hour or two I will pack a picnic of deviled eggs, meatloaf sandwiches, green olives and eclairs. I'll drive the loop at Saguaro National Park East, where Steve loved to run. I'll stop and take photos. I'll pull into the picnic area to eat and read a newish Robert B. Parker "Spenser" novel. I've got a mix with Joan Baez, George Thorougood, Davide Mallett, Greg Brown, Eric Clapton, and Bob Dylan to listen to. I will not be sad, I will celebrate Steve's life and the time we were lucky enough to have together.

I remember seeing an altar about ten years ago at the College of Atlantic In Bar Harbor. It was intriguing, and the first time I'd ever heard of the celebration. But now, living in Tucson, altars are everywhere. At the library, at the UN Center, the Botanical Gardens and in many shops. In my home. Elaborate, simple, a remembrance of loved ones gone.

There are lots of books (I always gravitate to the books for KIDS) on El dia de los muertos that I like:

Day of the Dead - Tony Johnson/Jeanette Winter
Day of the Dead - Linda Lowery/BArbara Knutson (an early, easy reader)
Days of the Dead - Kathryn Lasky/Christopher G. Knight
Calavera Abecedario - Jeanette Winter

Memories and love today. Lots of it.

Steve Graves
Brandon Baughman
Linda Shipley
David Kettunen
Myrtle and Edgar Eklund