D.C.F.
www.dcfaward.org
About This Guide
This guide was compiled by current members of the DCF Committee and one past
member. Our intent was to provide a
booklet that would support the use of the DCF program in schools and libraries.
For
the guide to be most effective, we strongly suggest that the adult(s)
supervising the program read all the books on the 2007-2008 list. Many public
libraries will have the new list in and ready to go, often in a designated
section, by the summer. These
excellent books make a pleasant summer diversion for adults who may be
overwhelmed during the school year. No synopsis can possibly take the place of
reading a book.
However, we
recognize that reading and remembering the details of 30 books can be a
challenge. It's hoped that the
reviews will jog your memory!
TonyAbbott
FIREGIRL
Little, Brown, 2006. ISBN 0-316-01171-1. $15.99.
145 pages.
"A burned girl was in my class for a while. Once I brought her some homework. In
class she said my name. Then she
was gone."
Tom's in seventh grade at St. Catherine's school with most of the same kids he's
been with for a while. So, though
he's overweight and sweaty in his uniform, he isn't quite as awkward and out of
it as he might be. He has a friend,
Jeff, who tells stupid jokes, hates his absent father and promises Tom a ride in
his uncle's red Cobra – the ultimate vintage sports car.
Tom, whose stable family life gives him a sense of himself and allows him
to think for himself, isn't quite a loner.
He does fantasize a lot about Courtney, the girl with perfect hair,
perfect skin, perfect test scores who's even nice.
He assumes that some day he'll be able to rescue her from a threatening
situation and be her hero. More realistically, he plans to nominate her for
class president, a bold move that leaves him terrified but determined.
Into his fantasy world walks a new student, Jessica Feeney, who has moved
to be near a hospital where she will receive treatment for the burns all over
her body. Her ruined face and
gnarled hands horrify the seventh-graders who don't know how to cope with her
presence. Jeff's reaction is even
stronger. His revulsion is so great that he refuses to hold her hand during
prayers. Tom, who lives near her,
takes homework to her one day and ends up spending time in her room having a
real conversation. When he sees a
“before” picture of her, it helps to put her loss in perspective.
He realizes that she is not a freak but a very brave person.
Sometimes, Jessica replaces Courtney in his fantasies and on nomination
day, he tries to nominate her, but she is the only one who hears. She had
nominated him. Hers was the only
vote he got since he didn't vote for himself.
This short novel is about acceptance in general and the added difficulty of
acceptance at the junior high level. Jessica's courage in coming to school at
all and Tom's courage in befriending her are barely noticed by anyone but each
other. But each has a dignity that
sets them apart from the herd. The
book has its funny moments, too. In
one of the conversations which Tom has with Jessica, he tells her about his
superhero theory, that they should have small powers, dumb powers…."something
really dorky and useless like, I don't know, having one indestructible finger or
something." After three weeks,
Jessica must leave for more treatment and the class relaxes into its former
patterns. But Tom's life has been
permanently changed and his priorities and relationships, especially with Jeff,
are forever altered.
Read-aloud hook:
pp.21&22. Tom is certainly not the
only boy in seventh grade who dreams about Courtney, the pretty, popular, nice
girl in his class. But he certainly
would never let any one else know of his fantasies.
"Of course, Courtney…….many powers that helped me in my Courtney
stories."
Discussion questions:
time when a situation seemed cruel to you and yet everyone was doing it?
This is a private question.
Were you able to object or did you go along with the crowd?
If so, does it bother you?
M. T.
Anderson
THE
CLUE OF THE LINOLEUM LEDERHOSEN
Harcourt, 2006. IBSN 0-15-205352-2. $15.00.
243 pages.
“I choose not to use my powers, because
it would upset the balance of—good and evil.
And left and right.” (p. 73).
“I am the next step in man’s evolution”
(p. 56).
“Sooner or later, people [will] come to
their senses and work together for the perfection of absolutely everything.”
(p. 77).
“I’m totally tired of being chased and
being hunted and picking up sticks to fight things off.” (p. 92).
If so, have no fear. M. T. Anderson
is here to help. If not, how have
you not died of boredom?
In this second of M. T. Anderson’s “Thrilling Tales,” we reunite with our heroes
Lily Gefelty, Katie Mulligan, and Jasper Dash, who are taking a much-deserved
weekend getaway at Moose Tongue Lodge and Resort.
For those not already in the know, the real, the literary, and the
otherworldly are close companions in this series.
A host of children’s book characters has descended upon the Moose Tongue,
such as the Cutesy Dell Twins, the Hooper Quints, the Manley Boys, and Eddie Wax
(not to mention Katie and Jasper).
But when the Hooper Quints disappear, the search is on!
And when stuffed animal heads are “liberated” from the Lodge, the plot
thickens. Finally, when a priceless
necklace is lifted from Mrs. Mandrake’s room, our trio must unravel the clues to
get to the bottom of the mystery.
In short order, we meet many original characters, as well as entire crates of
red herrings (p. 193). Is it a
comedy? By all means.
Is it a mystery? Without a
doubt. Is it original?
Yes, Yes, Yes! Cases in
point: Katie finds herself hiking up a mountain in the dark with a screaming
scientist obsessed with echolocation; Jasper faces death by mucus; and Lily has
spectral visions of a ghost horse.
But at its heart, and it has a big heart, this is a book about the mystery of
friendship and its many powers. “We
are all lost and confused in this way, so full of longing for things: This is
why we need people who solve mysteries, whether they are the mysteries of
bloodstains on the carpet, or the mysteries of space, or the mystery of who we
are.” (p. 240)
Read-aloud hook:
After the Hooper Quints go missing, search parties are formed.
One of these is made up of Jasper Dash and the Manley Boys, Jank and Fud.
Start at the beginning of p. 74 for a peek into their contrasting
personalities and some hilarious dialogue.
Discussion questions:
Mary Jane Auch
ONE-HANDED CATCH
Holt, 2006. ISBN 987-0805079005. $16.95.
248 pages.
“This was the first Independence Day since the war [World War II] ended, so
people were celebrating in a big way,” says narrator Norm Schmidt, 12, who is
planning to set off fireworks once his day of work in his family’s meat market
ends. But then Norm’s life changes
in a heartbeat when he is rushed to the hospital, his left hand accidentally
crushed in a meat grinder. M.J Auch
was inspired by the experiences of her husband, Herm, who lost a hand in his
youth, in portraying the challenges of Norm’s recovery and adjustment during the
first year after his accident.
Simple tasks like tying shoes or using a knife and fork to cut meat are now
difficult and frustrating for Norm, and his goal of playing baseball seems
unattainable. Norm is mistaken when
he thinks he’ll no longer have to take out the trash.
His Mom, who understands that everything is going to be harder for him,
still expects a lot from Norm.
Gradually he finds ways to adapt to his disability, and with hard work and a
sense of humor, his skills and confidence grow. Even Leon, his teasing friend,
shows support and encouragement under a brash exterior.
Over the course of the year, which incorporates many details of small town life
in the 1940s, Norm attends a Boy Scout Jamboree, dresses up on Halloween, gets a
new bike for Christmas, and practices his batting and pitching in the spring. He
learns that he still excels in art and can even be a decent baseball player.
With creativity and hard work, he has overcome his handicap and can now
do most anything.
Read-aloud hook:
p. 84 near the top - p. 87
Before reading, set the scene:
It’s the opening day of school, and Norm, who has lost his left hand, and
his friend Leon are starting the day in their sixth grade classroom.
Miss Bean is their teacher.
Begin with these words: “Miss Bean started out...”
Discussion questions:
www.mjauch.com/
PHINEAS L. MACGUIRE…ERUPTS!
Atheneum, 2006. ISBN 1-4169-0195-7. $15.95. 176 pages.
Avocados, yogurt, anything purple, and girls – these are just a few of the 15
things budding scientist Phineas L. MacGuire, aka Mac, is allergic to.
He’s also the self-proclaimed world’s expert on mold – how it looks
(yucky) and smells (putrid). He’s
acquired this knowledge the hard way, cleaning out the family refrigerator, a
veritable “museum of mold,” where all the healthy stuff rots in the back while
the family eats junk food.
Disaster strikes just a few weeks into 4th grade, when Phineas’s best
friend, Marcus, moves away. His
teacher partners him with the pugnacious new kid, Mac R., for the science fair,
and Phineas sees his plans to take first prize fizzle.
He’s an expert on volcanoes while Mac R. just wants to draw dinosaurs,
and that’s
so 3rd grade!
How the boys resolve their differences, combine their talents and win
over their classmates makes for a clever, funny and chatty narrative.
Phineas’s story sparkles with lists and guides for science experiments
from erupting volcanoes to imploding marshmallows.
This fast-paced book is a great start to a new series, “From the Highly
Scientific Notebooks of Phineas L. MacGuire.”
Its eponymous narrator is a hoot, and the short chapters and witty
black-and-white illustrations make this an ideal read-aloud.
Read-aloud hooks:
Page 1: My name is Phineas
Listerman MacGuire…I am allergic to fifteen things.
Page 3: We have made and erupted
over eighty-seven volcanoes in our lifetime…to end of paragraph.
Page 45: When you drink milk and
start laughing why does the milk automatically squirt out of your nose?
Why do rotten eggs stink?
Discussion questions:
ODD
MAN OUT
Groundwood, 2006. ISBN 978-0888997029. $16.95. 162 pages.
The rules seem to be clear -- after all, they are written right on the walls of
Gran’s house. It’s being demolished
at the end of the summer, so twelve-year-old Kip and his five girl cousins are
allowed to write on, paint over, and whack holes in any wall they like.
But Kip, who usually lives an orderly life with his widowed mom, has to
work out the unwritten rules of his father’s unpredictable family for himself.
“Heaven on a stick” is how Gran sincerely describes the pleasure of having all
of her grandchildren visiting for a month.
But she realizes that Kip may need some private space, so she cheats a
little during the bedroom lottery and ensures that he wins the attic where his
father slept as a boy. So Kip has a
place of retreat when the conversations of the “girlatorium” become too
overwhelming, or when thoughts of his new stepfather become hard to sort out. He
is taking out a wall in the attic when he discovers a binder that contains the
very detailed records of something called “Operation Mitochondria.”
Kip first interprets the notebook as a work of fiction created by his father.
But when he reads a bit of it out loud, it literally gives Gran a heart attack.
Her trip to the hospital is the first in a chain of events that reveal
that, prior to meeting his mom, Kip’s dad had suffered from schizophrenia.
But learning to deal with the interactions of Gran and the girls has
helped to give Kip the mental and emotional flexibility he needs to incorporate
this news into his sense of self and even manage to figure out how to embrace
the possibilities of life with a new dad.
Even more engaging than the plot of this book are the dialogue and the interplay
of the characters. Kip’s cousins are reminiscent of Hilary McKay’s Casson family
-- they do not consider being ordinary, or bored, an option.
Gran encourages them to question authority, common wisdom, and nearly all
the rules. Like Gran, this book
encourages the reader to consider how easy it can be to transform the mundane
into the intriguing.
Discussion questions:
Do you think Kip’s mother should have told him about his father’s illness
earlier? How might that have
changed Kip?
What would you draw, write, or paint on the walls of your house if you could put
anything you wanted to on them?
Gran and the girls have many family rituals -- hobo dinners, dishwashing rules,
beach picnics. What new rituals might they develop when Gran moves to the city?
Which parts of Operation Mitochondria were based on Tristan’s real life? Which
parts were inspired by his mental illness?
Gran, Kip, and the girl cousins spend a lot of time discussing Rarely Asked
Questions -- What is the opposite of a pillow? Who doesn’t know how to use a
seatbelt? How do you get gelled hair to stand straight up? Why do you think they
enjoy this kind of conversation? Do
you?
ESCAPE! THE STORY OF THE GREAT HOUDINI
Greenwillow, 2006. ISBN 0-06-08094-4 (Tr.); 0-06-085095-I (PLB). $18.99.
210 pages.
A Hungarian rabbi’s son on a steamship bound for
Sorting out the facts of Houdini’s life is a complex task. Houdini (born Ehrich
Weiss) spent enormous amounts of time and energy creating his public image, but
he was far more interested in a compelling story than in accuracy.
Fleischman presents the legends and myths of the Houdini story, but
carefully compares them to the documented evidence, which often contradicts
Houdini’s own assertions on stage and in print. As a magician himself,
Fleischman’s tone throughout is one of complete respect, and he explains
plausible, if not admirable, motives for many of Houdini’s alterations of the
truth.
Readers who aspire to be magicians will benefit from reading about the sheer
hard work that went into training for, and performing, some of Houdini’s
headline acts. They will also enjoy
the numerous illustrations (some from private collections) and the bibliography,
which notes which titles are the best sources for actually creating magic
tricks. Read-aloud hook: p.57
Sarah Ellis
Read-aloud hook: in this passage Gran introduces Kip, who has arrived at his grandmother’s house in the middle of the previous night, to his five cousins, who are all girls: p.14 “Listen up . . .”
Sid Fleischman
Discussion questions:
Even though Houdini is clearly a hero to Sid Fleischman, he understands, and
writes about, his hero’s flaws.
What are Houdini’s most admirable characteristics?
Most regrettable ones?
What are some of the methods Ehrich Weiss used to control how he appeared in the
media of the time?
Early in his career, Houdini worked as a
Spiritualist, performing séances and even opening a school to teach others how
to fool clients into believing that they had spoken with lost loved ones. How
did his attitude towards Spiritualism change later on?
Which of Houdini’s tricks would you most like to learn?
Where and when would you like to perform it?
In Chapter 3, Fleischman discusses how empowering it can be to learn magic.
Why do you think magic tends to attract unpopular, non-mainstream
individuals?
The site www.sidfleischman.com
includes instructions for
performing a card trick.
Sid
Fleischman
THE
WHITE ELEPHANT
Greenwillow, 2006. ISBN 0-06-113136-3. $15.99.
95 pages.
“There, in old
The poor young elephant trainer Run-Run finds himself at the mercy of his prince
one day when Run-Run’s venerable elephant,
How Run-Run saves his own skin while honoring the sacred needs of the pale
pachyderm will have the downtrodden everywhere cheering. The secondary story of
Run-Run’s search for the one-eared tiger who killed his mother is incorporated
seamlessly and adds just the right thrill of danger.
With soft illustrations, a straightforward, well-spaced text and a hero
whose heart is as big as the elephants he loves, this one will appeal to all.
Read-aloud hook:
Page 5: For the general flavor,
start with “Elephant boy!” and end near the top of page 7 with “To the river,
magnificent one!” (Or, to leave listeners in suspense, continue one more short
page to the end of the chapter: “How was Run-Run to know?”)
Discussion questions:
-
When Run-Run first meets the white elephant, Sahib, he looks down on him as
a useless, pampered creature. By the
time the prince decides to take Sahib back, Run-Run has come to love him.
What happened to change Run-Run’s mind?
-
Run-Run is a very poor boy at a time when one’s wealth was believed to be a
measure of one’s worth. What are
some of the ways Run-Run keeps his dignity in spite of his poverty and the
prince’s cruelty toward him?
-
The elephants, of course, never speak a word in this story.
Both
- The phrase “white elephant” comes from the incident that inspired this book, in which a real king gave a member of his court a sacred white elephant, knowing its upkeep would ruin the man financially. The term is still used today to describe a burdensome object. Think of other expressions we use, and talk about how those phrases might have come to be (like “Let sleeping dogs lie.”). Consider writing your own folktale to explain it!
www.sidfleischman.com
Susan Fletcher
ALPHABET OF DREAMS
Atheneum, 2006. ISBN 0-689-85042-4. $16.95.
294 pages.
Ancient lands - Desert caravans - Spies - Treachery - Dreams - An infant king.
These elements are all part of this richly descriptive tale of adventure,
danger and hope set in
One of Babak’s dreams, which describes a wandering star and the birth of a king,
attracts the interest of three Magi - Balthazar, Gaspar, and Melchior - three
distinct and somewhat competing personalities, who take the children on a
journey by caravan toward
An author’s note at the end provides excellent background information in
question and answer format.
Read-aloud hook:
From the middle of p. 73 to the break on p. 76.
Before reading, set the scene and explain the following:
Babak has been stolen away while Mitra slept. He’s been sold to a Magus heading
west by caravan across the desert.
Mitra, desperate to find her brother, sets off in pursuit, holding the kitten
named Shirak and riding the old donkey Gorizpa.
Discussion questions:
-
There are a lot of issues around trust in this book.
Whom can Mitra and Babak trust? Have you ever trusted someone who let
you down?
-
If you were Mitra, would you have used Babak’s dreams for financial gains?
-
How are animals treated in the book?
-
Compare and contrast
the three magi. If you had to choose one to spend time with, who would it
be?
-
Did you know this was
going to be about the birth of the baby Jesus? When did you figure it out?
-
How did the author
make you feel like you, too, were in the desert?
-
Would you have liked
to live in this time period and place?
Russell Freedman
THE
ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO
Scholastic, 2006. ISBN0-439-52394-X. $17.99.
60 pages.
According to Coleridge, "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome
decree.” Stately it certainly was,
and more, and Marco Polo was there to see.
Or was he? Whether Marco
Polo actually traveled to China and spent several years as an honored guest and
possibly a government official in the courts of Kublai Khan, or whether his
insatiable curiosity and vigorous storytelling allowed him to internalize and
synthesize all that he learned during his travels, his stories of the mysterious
East were one of the primary influences which inspired explorations along the
route of the Silk Road and brought knowledge of the area to Europe.
He was the first great travel writer, aided by a man he met in prison
after he returned from his travels. Russell Freedman draws a lively picture of
the Polo family's life in
Read-aloud hook:
pp. 29-33. The riches of Kublai
Khan were astounding. Here is a
description of life in his palace followed by some of his socially enlightened
practices. "As the Khan's
guest…they may do whatever they please with their souls."
Discussion questions:
-
Would you want to live as Kublai Khan did?
What part of his life appeals to you and what do you think you would
hate?
-
Do you think Marco Polo really ever got to
-
Kublai Khan may have been a rich ruler but he also started reforms in
-
What if Marco Polo never saw
-
Are there more worlds to explore? If
you were Marco Polo, where would you go today?
Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, & Dr. Paula Kahumbu
OWEN & MZEE: THE TRUE STORY OF A REMARKABLE FRIENDSHIP
Scholastic, 2006. ISBN 0-439-82973-9. $16.99.
40 pages.
Imagine a friendship between a 130-year-old tortoise and a baby hippo.
It sounds like a fable or a fairy tale.
But the story of Owen the hippo and Mzee the tortoise is absolutely true.
In December 2004 a violent storm called a tsunami flooded the
Isabella Hatkoff was 6 years old when she learned the story of Owen and Mzee.
She was so curious that she began e-mailing her questions about this odd
couple to Dr. Paula Kahumbu at
Read-aloud hook:
“Our most important friends are sometimes those we least expect.”
Last sentence on the page facing the picture captioned, “Mzee and Owen
play ‘follow the leader.’”
Just about any picture in the book is sure to hook young readers!
Discussion questions:
-
If you were going to write a sequel to this book, what would happen next to
Owen and Mzee?
-
Draw a picture for the story.
-
One of the reasons that the friendship of Owen and Mzee is so surprising is
the fact that they are so different.
How are Owen and Mzee different? In
what ways are they alike?
-
How do Owen and Mzee help each other?
-
What are some of the themes of the story (e.g. friendship, helping others,
community) and where do these themes appear in the story?
Do you believe that these themes are important in your own life?
Why? Why not?
-
What do you value most in a friend?
What makes you a good friend?
-
What feelings does this story give you?
-
Isabella’s curiosity about Owen and Mzee led her to learn more about them.
What is something you are curious about?
How could you learn more about it?
OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
http://owenandmzee.com/omweb/
Other websites of interest:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/kids/2005/03/owen.html
Will
CROSSING THE WIRE
HarperCollins, 2006. ISBN 0-06-074138-4 (Tr.); 0-06-074139-2 (PLB). $15.99.
216 pages.
On a bus pulling out of
Will
In his final attempts to help his family, Victor encounters great kindness and
inhuman cruelty. He finds himself
in hospitals, police stations, and toolboxes.
He lounges in a Chevrolet Suburban, he sleeps in a bullfighting arena
converted for the homeless, and he tries and tries again to cross the border.
As he discovers, crossing is easy, but staying is difficult.
Through the trials of Victor, his friend Julio, the old lobo Miguel, and
Victor’s best friend Rico, Will Hobbs personalizes the issue of illegal
immigration, taking it off the headlines and putting it in our hearts.
Read-aloud hook:
Victor and his friend Julio arrive in the border city of
Discussion questions:
-
There is no easy way for Victor to get over the border.
Why not?
-
Have you ever wanted something so badly that you kept trying over and over
to get it? Did how much you wanted
that thing change over time?
-
Will
-
Choose a couple of the sayings from Victor’s father to try to describe the
kind of man he might have been. Now
choose a couple sayings (any) to describe the kind of person you are, your
teacher is, or your best friend is.
-
Will
http://www.WillHobbsAuthor.com
Cynthia Kadohata
WEEDFLOWER
Atheneum, 2006. ISBN 0-689-86574-9. $16.95.
216pages.
Sumiko is a 12-year-old girl living in
Life in camp takes a bit of adjusting for everyone, her brother, aunt and
cousins. But Sumiko makes the best out of a bad situation. She helps a neighbor
start a garden and makes friends with Frank, a Native American boy from a nearby
reservation. Throughout it all Sumiko is a girl with wishes and dreams, a girl
who is able to make friends despite bleak situations. This hope filled novel is
a chance to look at a time period of different cultures living side by side, the
ups and downs of contained living. This is a novel that will inspire you to ask,
“What if this happened today, who would I be?”
Read-aloud hook:
Leaving everything behind reads like this: ‘On the day they left their house
forever, Sumiko put on her mint green school dress. She went outside to see
everything for the last time. She wanted to sit among the kusabana, but didn’t
want to dirty her dress. ………. The
kusabana already seemed a little unruly, and the bathhouse seemed foreign. The
shed just made her sad.’ pp 78-83
Discussion questions:
-
Sumiko is invited to a birthday party, and then asked to leave because she
is a Japanese American. If you were in Sumiko’s situation, what would you
say? Would you ask for the present back?
-
Have you ever had to leave everything behind? If you had to go for some
reason, what would you take?
-
One night at camp, Sumiko takes off with some other children. Would you have
gone with them? Would you have been able to pluck the stolen chicken? How
did you feel when the children buried the bird?
-
Sumiko focuses on the garden while she is at the camp; she and Mr. Motot
even win a ribbon. If you were in her situation what do you think would make
you happy? Friends? Writing letters?
-
Though the Japanese Americans have been forced to reside in the camp, they
have electricity while the Native Americans do not. Have you ever had
something while someone else has had to do without? How did it make you
feel?
www.kira-kira.us/
Watt
Key
FSG, 2006. ISBN 0-374-30184-0. $16.00.
294 pages.
As ten-year-old Moon’s father lies in the woods dying of complications from a
compound fracture, he urges his son to flee from
After a decade of solitude, Moon quickly encounters virtually ever slice of
humanity possible. There’s the
sadistic bully who wants to lock him up, Constable Sanders. (Sanders is so
terrible even his own bloodhounds defect to join Moon, and the outcome of
Sanders’ moment in court will be very satisfying to readers.)
There are Moon’s fellow escapees from the Pinson juvenile home, the
rough-edged Hal and the delicate but loyal Kit, as well as Hal’s perpetually
drunk but endearing father. The
outdoor survival details are numerous and vivid, and Moon’s introduction to
civilization is not to be missed (he is quite possibly the only boy ever to find
institutional food a culinary delight).
By the end, Moon comes to the realization his beloved father was wrong:
he does need people, and some of them can even be trusted.
As painful as Moon’s journey is, he would not have missed meeting his
fellow travelers for the world – and the reader will feel the same.
Read-aloud hook:
Page 22 and 30-31: Moon’s father
had told him to avoid people and to write “smoke letters” if he got lonely,
letters that he would write and then burn in the fire.
These are Moon’s first two letters to his father after his death.
Discussion questions:
·
At the beginning of the book, Moon tells people, “ Sure I know how to read. I
can whip somebody three times my size, too.
And I know everything I need to know to live on my own.”
After escaping from Pinson with Hal and Kit, Moon learns a few more
things. What else does Moon learn,
and how does that change how he lives?
·
Moon’s life is vastly different from our world of electronic devices and
convenience food. Assuming you
learned how to feed and clothe yourself, could you survive in Moon’s world?
Would you miss people?
·
Think about other books in which the protagonist must live on his own; Gary
Paulsen’s
Hatchet and Jean Craighead
George’s
My Side of the Mountain come
to mind. What are some similarities
and differences between those characters and Moon?
In
Hatchet, Brian is
forced into a wilderness existence after a plane crash; in
My Side of the Mountain, Sam runs away from civilization to seek
nature. How does that make their
outlook different from Moon’s, who had known no other way of life?
Mark
Kurlansky
THE
STORY OF SALT
Putnam, 2006. ISBN 0-399-23998-7. $16.99.
48 pages.
“Please pass the salt.” “She’s the salt of the earth.” “He’s a salty dog.” “Take
it with a grain of salt.” We take
this common and inexpensive compound very much for granted.
But in The Story of Salt
author Mark Kurlansky carries us on a fascinating journey into the history of
salt and, in fact, uses salt as the lens through which readers get a very
different view of history. Based on
his adult nonfiction book, Salt:
A World History, this handsome, well-illustrated adaptation contains
fascinating facts about history, science and technology for middle graders.
Beginning with a personal anecdote, Kurlansky’s informal narrative is
filled with information, from the chemical makeup of salt to its use in
preserving everything from meat to mummies, to the fact that salt is the only
rock human beings eat and that we need to eat it to live.
Sidebars are scattered throughout the text.
They include ancient recipes for soy sauce and ketchup; words based on
the Roman word for salt; and the link between salt and the discovery of purple
dye. Schindler’s ink and watercolor
illustrations create historical settings while also adding humor to aptly
amplify the text. One dramatic
illustration shows Mahatma Gandhi leading thousands on his famous Salt March to
the