Geo Librarian

EXTREME OCEAN Amazing Animals, High-Tech Gear, Record-Breaking Depths, and Much More! by Sylvia A. Earle with Glen Phelan National Geographic Kids, 2020 ISBN: 9781426336850 Source: Media Masters Publicity Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Discover the most outrageous aspects of the deep blue---from record-breaking depths to towering tsunamis, underwater giants to tiny sea creatures--along with ocean conservation challenges and what you can do to help. Dive into a world of aquatic mystery in this action-packed combination of science and adventure. Famed National Geographic Explorer Sylvia Earle leads readers on an in-depth tour of life beneath the waves. Come face-to-face with whales and sharks, learn about the newest and most hi-tech ocean gear and gadgets, experiment with hands-on activities, and join Earle as she recounts her most daring dives. Packed with fascinating tidbits, animal profiles, and up-to-date science, each chapter combines stunning pho...

THE WRIGHT BROTHERS: Nose-Diving into History Epic Fails #1 by Erik Slader and Ben Thompson Roaring Brook Press, 2018 Source: purchased Ages 9-12 Middle grade nonfiction (history) All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Although Orville and Wilbur Wright are celebrated today as heroes for their revolutionary contributions to science and engineering—they are acknowledged as the first men to successfully achieve powered, piloted flight—their success was hard-earned. (Spoiler alert: there were a lot of nosedives involved.) In fact, it took the self-taught engineers years of work and dozens of crashes before they managed a single twelve-second flight! In this first installment of the brand new Epic Fails series, Ben Thompson and Erik Slader take readers through the Wright brothers' many mishaps and misadventures as they paved the way for modern aviation. The Epic Fails series takes a humorous and unexpected view of history, exploring the surpr...

ROSES AND RADICALS The Epic Story of How American Women Won the Right to Vote by Susan Zimet Viking, 2018 ISBN: 978-0-451-47754-5 Source: purchased Ages 12 and up YA nonfiction All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK The United States of America is almost 250 years old, but American women won the right to vote less than a hundred years ago. And when the controversial nineteenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution - the one granting suffrage to women - was finally ratified in 1920, it passed by a mere one-vote margin. The amendment only succeeded because a group of women had been relentlessly demanding the right to vote for more than seventy years. The leaders of the suffrage movement were fearless in the face of ridicule, arrest, imprisonment, and even torture. Many of them devoted themselves to a cause knowing they wouldn't live to cast a ballot. This is their story. REVIEW In a relatively short number of pages, Zimet manages to t...

HISTORY'S MYSTERIES: Curious Clues, Cold Cases, and Puzzles from the Past by Kitson Jazynka National Geographic Kids, 2017 ISBN: 978-1-4263-2871-8 Source: Media Masters Publicity Ages 9-12 MG Nonfiction All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Why were the Easter Island heads erected? What really happened to the Maya? Who stole the Irish Crown Jewels? The first book in this exciting new series will cover history's heavy-hitting, head-scratching mysteries, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke, the Bermuda Triangle, the Oak Island Money Pit, Stonehenge, the Sphinx, the disappearance of entire civilizations, the dancing plague, the Voynich manuscript, and so many more. Chock-full of cool photos, fun facts, and spine-tingling mysteries. REVIEW I thoroughly enjoyed reading this well-researched, and engagingly told account of a variety of mysteries.  There are 7 chapters and each chapter discusses several different mysteries related to...

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: HISTORIES AND MYSTERIES By Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson Walden Pond Press, 2018 ISBN:  978-0062418869 Publication Date: June 26, 2018 Source: publisher for review Ages 9-12 Middle grade nonfiction All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Unbelievable TRUTHS about outrageous people, places and events—with a few outright LIES hiding among them. Can you tell the fakes from the facts? Did you know that a young girl once saved an entire beach community from a devastating tsunami thanks to something she learned in her fourth-grade geography lesson? Or that there is a person alive today who generates her own magnetic field? Or how about the fact that Benjamin Franklin once challenged the Royal Academy of Brussels to devise a way to make farts smell good? Welcome to Two Truths and a Lie: Histories and Mysteries ! You know the game: Every story in this book is strange and astounding, but one out of every ...

DIVING WITH SHARKS! And More True Stories of Extreme Adventures! by Margaret Gurevich National Geographic Kids, 2016 ISBN: 978-1-4263-2461-1 Ages 6-10 Source: purchased All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Fans of Shark Week, Sharknado, and all things shark-related will want to sink their teeth into this exciting shark-infested chapter book. Join real-life cave divers, extreme photographers, and researchers as they brave thrilling undersea adventures! Kids who are familiar with the popular National Geographic Kids Chapters line are sure to be on the edge of their seats over these new totally true tales of adventure and survival. REVIEW National Geographic has created this chapters series that I have found absolutely fabulous.  Not only are they beautifully designed but wonderfully written.  And the stories in this particular volume are fascinating and compelling.  There are three stories included in this volume: several exp...

HOOPS TO HIPPOS! True Stories of a Basketball Star on Safari! NBA Player Boris Diaw with Kitson Jazynka National Geographic, 2015 ISBN: 978-1-4263-2052-1 Early Chapter Book Ages 6-10 Source: purchased All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK NBA star Boris Diaw of the San Antonio spurs takes young readers on safari as he explores his off-court passion: wildlife photography! Join Diaw as he escapes from stampeding wildebeests, comes face-to-face with lions, and discovers why you should never come between a hippo and its watery home. Through engaging stories and photos by Diaw, readers will discover a whole new side to this basketball champ. National Geographic Kids Chapter books pick up where the best-selling National Geographic Readers series leaves off, offering young animal lovers who are ready for short chapters lively, exciting, full-color true stories -- just right to carry in backpacks, share with friends, and read under the covers at night. R...

COURAGE & DEFIANCE Stories of Spies, Saboteurs, and Survivors in World War II Denmark by Deborah Hopkinson Scholastic, 2015 ISBN: 9780545592208 MG/YA Nonfiction Source: publisher for review (ARC) All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Critically acclaimed Sibert Honor author Deborah Hopkinson brings to bold life the remarkable story of the Danish resistance and rescue of over 7,000 Jews during WWII. When the Nazis invaded Denmark on Tuesday, April 9, 1940, the people of this tiny country to the north of Germany awoke to a devastating surprise. The government of Denmark surrendered quietly, and the Danes were ordered to go about their daily lives as if nothing had changed. But everything had changed. Award-winning author Deborah Hopkinson traces the stories of the heroic young men and women who would not stand by as their country was occupied by a dangerous enemy. Rather, they fought back. Some were spies, passing tactical information to the ...

WHY'D THEY WEAR THAT by Sarah Albee National Geographic, 2015 ISBN: 978-1-4263-1919-8 MG/YA Nonfiction Ages 12 and up Source: publisher for review All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK From the invention of needles made from woolly mammoth tusks in 10,000 B.C., to the evolution of armor from chain mail to modern-day bulletproof vests, to the controversy surrounding contemporary outsourcing, Albee looks at history through the lens of fashion as a way to engage young readers. Each chapter focuses on a major period of world history, from the Neolithic era to the present day, and explores the evolution of fashion as a reflection of the politics, class hierarchies, religion and economics of the time.  This highly visual collection is full of colorful sidebars that answer questions that are not usually addressed in the classroom: How did people keep their clothes on before zippers or buttons were invented? How did soldiers go to the bathroom when w...

MESMERIZED How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France written by Mara Rockliff, illustrated by Iacopo Bruno Candlewick Press, 2015 ISBN: 978-0-7636-6351-3 Ages 9-12 Source: purchased All opinions expressed are solely my own. ABOUT THE BOOK Discover how Benjamin Franklin’s scientific method challenged a certain Dr. Mesmer’s mysterious powers in a whimsical look at a true moment in history. The day Ben Franklin first set foot in Paris, France, he found the city all abuzz. Everyone was talking about something new. Remarkable. Thrilling. Strange. Something called Science! But soon the straightforward American inventor Benjamin Franklin is upstaged by a compelling and enigmatic figure: Dr. Mesmer. In elaborately staged shows, Mesmer, wearing a fancy coat of purple silk and carrying an iron wand, convinces the people of Paris that he controls a magic force that can make water taste like a hundred different things, cure illness, and control thoughts! But B...