Geo Librarian

CROW SMARTS Inside the Brain of the World's Brightest Bird by Pamela S. Turner, photographs by Andy Comins,  with art by Guido De Filippo Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016 ISBN: 978-0-544-41619-2 MG Nonfiction Ages 9-14 Source: Purchased All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK One of the biggest differences between humans and animals is the ability to understand the idea of “If I do X, Y might happen.” New Caledonian crows seem to possess the intelligence to understand this “causal” concept. Why do crows have this ability? What does the crow know and what does it tell us about brain size, the evolution of intelligence, and just who is the smartest creature on the planet? In the latest addition to the Scientists in the Field series, the creators of  The Frog Scientist  take us to a beautiful Pacific island, where a lively cast of both crows and scientists is waiting to amuse and enlighten us. REVIEW This entry in the Scienti...

PRINCESS CORA AND THE CROCODILE by Laura Amy Schlitz, illustrated by Brian Floca Candlewick Press, 2017 ISBN: 978-0-7636-4822-0 Ages 6-9 Source: publisher for review All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK A Newbery Medalist and a Caldecott Medalist join forces to give an overscheduled princess a day off and a wicked crocodile a day "on."  Princess Cora is sick of boring lessons. She's sick of running in circles around the dungeon gym. She's sick, sick, sick of taking three baths a day. And her parents won't let her have a dog. But when she writes to her fairy godmother for help, she doesn't expect help to come in the form of a crocodile, a crocodile who does not behave properly. REVIEW What do you get when you combine a Newbery Medalist and a Caldecott Medalist?  You get a book that is an absolute delight from beginning to end.  That cover alone is bound to make the book fly off the shelf.  And the story and ill...

WAITING FOR PUMPSIE by Barry Wittenstein, illustrated by London Ladd Charlesbridge, 2017 ISBN: 978-1-58089-545-3 Ages 4-8 Source: publisher for review All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK In 1959 the Boston Red Sox was the last team in the Major Leagues to integrate. But when they call Elijah "Pumpsie" Green up from the minors, Bernard is overjoyed to see a black player on his beloved home team. And, when Pumpsie's first home game is scheduled, Bernard and his family head to Fenway Park. Bernard is proud of Pumpsie and hopeful that this historic event is the start of great change in America.  This fictionalized account captures the true story of baseball player Pumpsie Green's rise to the major leagues. The story is a snapshot of the Civil Rights Movement and a great discussion starter about the state of race relations in the United States today. REVIEW I've been reading a lot about the Civil Rights Movement thes...

SHACKLES FROM THE DEEP Tracing the Path of a Sunken Slave Ship, a Bitter Past, and a Rich Legacy by Michael H. Cottman National Geographic, 2017 ISBN: 978-1-4263-2663-9 YA Nonfiction Ages 12-18 Source: M edia Masters Publicity All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK A pile of lime-encrusted shackles discovered on the seafloor in the remains of a ship called the Henrietta Marie, lands Michael Cottman, a Washington, D.C.-based journalist and avid scuba diver, in the middle of an amazing journey that stretches across three continents, from foundries and tombs in England, to slave ports on the shores of West Africa, to present-day Caribbean plantations. This is more than just the story of one ship it's the untold story of millions of people taken as captives to the New World. Told from the author's perspective, this book introduces young readers to the wonders of diving, detective work, and discovery, while shedding light on the history of sla...

DRAGONWATCH a Fablehaven Adventure Dragonwatch #1 by Brandon Mull Shadow Mountain, 2017 ISBN: 978-1-62972-296-2 Middle grade speculative/fantasy Ages 9-12 Source: ARC from publisher for review All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK In the long-awaited sequel to Fablehaven, the dragons who have been kept at the dragon sanctuaries no longer consider them safe havens but prisons, and they want their freedom. The dragons are no longer our allies...   In the hidden dragon sanctuary of Wyrmroost, Celebrant the Just, king of the dragons, plots his revenge. He has long seen the sanctuaries as prisons, and he wants nothing more than to overthrow his captors and return the world to the Age of Dragons, when he and his kind ruled and reigned without borders. The time has come to break free and reclaim his power. No one person is capable of stopping Celebrant and his dragon horde. It will take the gathering of the ancient order of Dragonwat...

MARCH, BOOK 1 by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, & Nate Powell Top Shelf Productions, 2013 ISBN: 978-160309-300-2 Graphic Nonfiction  Ages 12 and up Source: Myrick Marketing All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Congressman John Lewis (GA-5) is an American icon, one of the key figures of the civil rights movement. His commitment to justice and nonviolence has taken him from an Alabama sharecropper’s farm to the halls of Congress, from a segregated schoolroom to the 1963 March on Washington, and from receiving beatings from state troopers to receiving the Medal of Freedom from the first African-American president. Now, to share his remarkable story with new generations, Lewis presents March, a graphic novel trilogy, in collaboration with co-writer Andrew Aydin and New York Times best-selling artist Nate Powell (winner of the Eisner Award and LA Times Book Prize finalist for Swallow Me Whole). March is a vivid first-hand account of John L...

MAPPING MY DAY by Julie Dillemuth, illustrated by Laura Wood Magination Press, 2017 ISBN: 9781433823336 Ages 4-8 Picture Book Source: Blue Slip Media All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Flora loves drawing maps and uses them to tell us about her life! Mapping My Day introduces spatial relationships and representation: where things and places are in relation to other things. This book intends to show readers how maps can convey information, inspire children to draw their own maps, and introduce basic map concepts and vocabulary. Spatial thinking is how we use concepts of space for problem solving and is shown to be a key skill in science, technology, engineering, and math. Includes a "Note to Parents and Caregivers" with extra mapping activities. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Julie Dillemuth was mystified by maps until she figured out how to read them and make them, and it was a particularly difficult map that inspired her to become ...