Did you know today is Chocolate Day?  If you love chocolate as much as I do, you will want to share these books about chocolate with your children.  Plus, a book Sandra Boynton (a children’s author) wrote just for you!!!

 

Who Was Milton Hershey?

By James Buckley and Illustrated by Ted Hammond

Published by Grosset & Dunlap

Milton Hershey was the man who invented the chocolate bar! He was not afraid to dream big and work hard. In time, he discovered the secret to mass-producing milk chocolate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Biography of Chocolate (How Did That Get Here?) 

By Adrianna Morganelli

Published by Crabtree Publishing Company

Learn how the ancient Aztecs created a special drink from the beans of the cacao tree and later how those beans became the delicious treat known as chocolate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Candy Bomber: The Story of the Berlin Airlift’s “Chocolate Pilot”

By Michael O. Tunnell

Published by Charlesbridge

In 1948, the Soviet United blockaded West Berlin in an attempted to starve the people into accepting Communism.  The United States and Britain airlifted food and supplies to the people.  US Air Force Lieutenant Gail S. Halverson wanted to lift the spirits of the isolated children and started dropping chocolate and gum from his plane.

 

 

 

Chocolate:  The Consuming Passion

By Sandra Boynton

Workman Publishing Company

Can you believe it!  Sandra Boynton actually wrote a book about CHOCOLATE for grown-ups? A great read! Sumptuously illustrated and filled with both useful facts and funny misinformation.

 

 

 

 

 

HAPPY READING!

Summer time is a great time for young people to relax and read a book. Below are nine of my favorite biographies and autobiographies for teens. These books can be found in bookstores or in your local library.

How I Came to Be a Writer 

By Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Published by Aladdin

How I Came to be a Writer is Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s story about her writing journey, from her first work in kindergarten to her most recent books. The book includes samples of her writing and shows the inner workings of her writing process, from the spark of an idea to a book’s actual publication. Naylor has written numerous children’s books including Shiloh which received the Newberry Medal.

 

 

 

 

The Boy Who Became Buffalo Bill: Growing Up Billy Cody in Bleeding Kansas

By Andrea Warren

Published by: Two Lions

This is the story of Buffalo Bill Cody the showman, scout, hunter and one of the greatest entertainers of his era.  His shows featured cowboys, Indians, trick riding, and sharpshooting.

 

 

 

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind 

By William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer

Illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon

Published by Puffin Books

This bestselling memoir from William Kamkwamba, a young inventor who bought electricity to his Malawian village, has been adapted for young readers.

 

 

 

 

I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives

By Martin Ganda and Caitlin Alifirenka

Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

This is an enthralling dual memoir of an American girl and her pen pal from an impoverished city in Zimbabwe.  They exchanged letters for six years and their correspondence changed both their lives.

 

 

 

Parallel Journeys

By Eleanor H. Ayer

Published by Aladdin

This is story of Helen Waterford and Alfons Heck. They were born just a few miles from each other in the German Rhineland. Helen was a young German Jew. Alfons was an ardent member of the Hitler Youth. Their lives took radically different courses: Helen’s to the Auschwitz extermination camp; Alfons to a high rank in the Hitler Youth.

 

 

 

The Courage to Compete: Living with Cerebral Palsy and Following My Dreams 

By Abbey Curran and Elizabeth Kaye

Published by HarperCollins

Abbey Curran’s has cerebral palsy.  She made history when she was the first contestant with a disability to win a major beauty pageant.

 

 

 

 

 

The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery

By Steve Sheinkin

Published by Flash Point

Most people know that Benedict Arnold was America’s most notorious traitor. Few know that he was also one of its greatest war heroes. Arnold was reckless, heroic, and driven. The Notorious Benedict Arnold is the winner of the 2011 Boston Globe – Horn Book Award for Nonfiction.  [Sheinkin is a fabulous author who always tells a good tale. I recommend all his books.]

 

 

 

 

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia

By Candace Fleming

Published by Schwartz & Wade

This award winning biography alternates between a frank recounting of the Romanov’s’ fairy tale lives and the stories of the improvised Russian peasants, workers, revolutionaries and soldiers they ruled.  The contrast between their living conditions is stunning.

 

 

 

 

Hope Solo: My Story 

By Hope Solo

Published by Harper Collins

Hope Solo, the 2015 World Cup champion and double Olympic gold medalist soccer player, shares her story in her own words. (This is the young readers’ edition of Hope Solo’s exciting life story, Solo: A Memoir of Hope.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Reading!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer time is a great time for young people to relax and read a book. Below are twelve of my favorite biographies and autobiographies for ages 8-12. These books can be found in bookstores or in your local library.

Play, Louis, Play!: The True Story of a Boy and His Horn 

By Muriel Harris Weinstein and Illustrated by Frank Morrison

Published by Bloomsbury

This chapter book biography of jazz musician Louis Armstrong is written from and unusual point of view of – his first trumpet.  Armstrong bought it at a pawn shop in New Orleans for five dollars.  If you love Jazz, this is a great book to share with your children.

 

 

 

 The White House Kids:  The Perks, Pleasures, Problems, and Pitfall of the Presidents’ Children

By Joe Rhatigan and Illustrated by Jay Shin

Published by Imagine

Life in the White House has a lot of perks but there is a down side.  Check out what the President’s children had to say.

 

 

 

 

 

Girls Who Rocked the World: Heroines from Joan of Arc to Mother Teresa 

By Michelle Roehm McCann and Amelie Welden

Illustrated by David Hahn

Published by Aladdin/Beyond Words

This  inspirational book profiles forty-six “movers and shakers” who  made their mark on the world before they were 20 years old. Go Girl Power!

 

 

 

 

Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas 

By Jim Ottaviani and by Illustrated by Maris Wicks

Published by Square Fish

This is the story of three women who loved primates and lived among them to study their behavior and learn from them.  If you are interested in Zoology this is a must read.

 

 

 

 

 

What Color Is My World?: The Lost History of African-American

By Kareen Abdul-Jabbar

Candlewick

In this lively book, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (basketball’s all-time leading scorer) profiles African- American inventors who through their persistence against great odds made our world a better place.

 

 

 

 

Real Kids, Real Stories, Real Change: Courageous Actions Around the World 

By Garth Sundem

Published by Free Spirit Publishing

This book contains thirty true stories about kids who did extraordinary things. Tilly saved lives in Thailand by warning people a tsunami was coming.  Malika fought against segregation in her home town.  Ryan raised money to drill for water wells in Africa.  An inspiring book about how kids can make a difference.

 

 

 

 

Legends: The Best Players, Games, and Teams in Baseball Paperback 

By Howard Bryant

Published by Puffin Books

The title “Legends” tells it all.  The author Howard Bryant has compiled the best the sport has to offer by telling the story of the players, teams, and important moments in baseball history.

 

 

 

 

 

My Life in Dog Years

By Gary Paulsen and Illustrated by Ruth Wright Paulsen

Publisher by Yearling

My Life in Dog Years is a book for every dog lover and every Paulsen fan!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Escape!: The Story of The Great Houdini 

By Sid Fleischman

Published by Greenwillow Books

This books is written by a magician, Sid Fleischman, about the great magician, Henry Houdini.  Fleischman shows you how Houdini walked through walls, escaped drowning, and was able to shatter iron chains tightly wrapped around him.  A fascinating book!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Inventors of LEGO® Toys

By Erin Hagar and Illustrated by Paige Garrison

Published by Duo Press

In this engaging book Erin Hagar tells the story of the Danish carpenter and his family who overcame a desperate situation and created one of the most popular toys in history, LEGO® toys.  Knowing the story behind these amazing toys with make you appreciate them even more.

 

 

 

 

Marooned: The Strange but True Adventures of Alexander Selkirk, the Real Robinson Crusoe 

By Robert Kraske and Illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker

Published Clarion Books

After arguing with the ship’s captain, Alexander Selkirk, was thrown off the ship and put ashore on an uninhabited island.  He spent four years alone.  After he was rescued, his adventures became of basis of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe.

 

 

 

 

Girls Think of Everything:  Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women

By Catherine Thimmesh and Illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Published by HMH Books for Young Readers

Did you know that a woman invented Liquid Paper commonly known as “white-out” and a woman invented the “space bumper” that was used to protect spacecraft and the astronauts? These are only a few of the woman profiled in this collective biography. Colorful and inventive collage artwork by Melissa Sweet illustrates this unique book.

 

 

 

Happy Reading!

In honor of mother’s day the George Eastman House, in Rochester, New York, was decorated with flowers and themed table top displays. My favorite display was in the conservatory.

 

In his retirement, Eastman often invited a group of four young married women to join him for lunch on Saturdays.  The group consisted of Mrs. George Whipple, wife of the Dean of the medical school; Mrs. Harold Gleason, wife of Eastman’s organist; Mrs. Stanhope Bayne-Jones, wife of a professor of bacteriology at the University of Rochester; and Mrs. Marion Folsom, wife of an Eastman Kodak executive. They were like nieces to Eastman.

 

Since the group often dined on lobster, they became known as the Lobster Quartet. Eastman always gave his female guests orchid corsages and presented them in boxes lined with lilac tissue paper.

 

Eastman subscribed to Vogue magazine and kept up with the latest fashions so he would have something to talk about with his female guests. He was rather opinionated about the colors women wore. He disliked black and liked to see women in bright colors.

 

When visiting Rochester, New York, be sure to stop by the George Eastman House.

Photographs taken by Lynda Pflueger

Summer time is a great time to relax and sit down and read with your children.  Below are twelve of my favorite picture book biographies – one for each week of summer.

 

Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear

By Lindsay Matick and illustrated by Sophie Blackall

Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

This is an endearing true story of the bear Winnie, who inspired the character Winnie-the- Pooh.

 

The Poppy Lady: Moina Belle Michael and Her Tribute to Veterans

By Barbara Walsh and Illustrated by Layne Johnson

Published by Calkins Creek

Miona Belle Michael, a school teacher in Georgia, wanted the soldiers who had lost their lives in WWI to be remembered.  She diligently worked to establish the red poppy as a symbol of honor to be used to remember the fallen heros.

 

Aaron and Alexander: The Most Famous Duel in American

By Don Brown

Published by Roaring Brook Press

The story behind the most famous duel in American history between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton.

 

The House That Jane Built: A Story About Jane Addams

By Tanya Lee Stone and Illustrated by Kathryn Brown

Published by Henry Holt and Co.

Jane Addams was the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.  She turned her house into a community center which helped transform a poor neighborhood in Chicago.

 

The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art

By Barb Rosenstock and illustrated by Mary Grandpre

Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Vasya Kandinsky was a proper little boy who studied math and history. He practiced the piano, sat up straight, and was perfectly polite. When his family sent him to art classes, they expected him to paint pretty houses and flowers. But Kandinsky had other ideas.

 

Manfish:  A Story of Jacques Cousteau

By Jennifer Berne and illustrated by Eric Puybaret

Published by Chronicle Books

Jacques Cousteau was a curious little boy who grew up to be an international oceanographer and champion of the seas. This lovely book, with poetic text and gorgeous illustrations, portrays an inspiring and magical portrait of Cousteau.

 

Trombone Shorty

By Troy Andrews and illustrated by Bryan Collier

Published by:  Abrams Books for Young Readers

Troy Andrews was a musical prodigy and earned the nickname “Trombone Shorty” because he wielded a trombone twice as long as he was high.

 

In Mary’s Garden 

By Tina Kugler and illustrated by Carson Kugler

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books

Wisconsin artist Mary Nohl made art out of anything she liked and turned common things into unusual art.  Her garden became her art gallery.

 

Barnum’s Bones: How Barnum Brown Discovered the Most Famous Dinosaur in the World

By Tracey Fern and illustrated by Boris Kulikov

Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Barnum Brown’s parents named him after the circus tycoon P.T. Barnum. They hoped he would do something extraordinary. And he did! He became a paleontologist for the American Museum of Natural History and discovered the first documented skeleton of the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Barnum’s Bones is one The Washington Post‘s Best Kids Books of 2012.

 

Elvis: The Story of the Rock and Roll King

Written and Illustrated by Bonnie Christensen

Published by Henry Holt and Company

Release date: April 21, 2015

Elvis Presley was a shy kid who found solace in singing at church and learning to play the guitar.  One day on a lark, he recorded a song for his mother’s birthday at Sun Record Studios and the rest is history.

 

The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch

By Chris Barton and illustrated by Don Tate

Published by:  Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

John Roy Lynch was born a slave in Mississippi. But, with the passage of the Emancipation Proclamation, he was able to begin a new life.  Eventually he was elected to the United States Congress.

 

Tricky Vic: The Impossibly True Story of the Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower 

By Greg Pizzoli

Viking Books for Young Readers

Robert Miller was a con artist.  In 1900, he moved Paris, France, to practice his trade.  Using the alias “Count Victor Lustig” he sold the Eiffel Tower twice.

 

 

Happy Reading!!!

Today is National Dare Day and I have a challenge for you.  I DARE YOU to stop what you are doing and “write about your writing.”

First condense your story down to a story in a sentence. Then, write a one paragraph sound bite.

A sound bite is a few sentences that capture the essence of your story and entice the reader to want to know more.  It should take about 15 seconds to recite. Basically, it adds more information to your story in a sentence.

Here is some Advice

When writing your story in a sentence think about answering these questions: who, what, when, where and how.  (If you get stumped, try starting with who and what.)

If you are not sure how to write your sound bite, go to your favorite book store and read the back copy of books that are similar to yours.  Write down the back copy of three books that interested you.  Now, condense what you copied for each book into one paragraph.  Using these as a guide, write your book’s sound bite.

Join in the Fun

Please share your “writing about your writing'” (stories in a sentence and sound bites) by posting them in the comments section of my blog.  I can’t wait to read them!

Happy Writing!

 

 

 

Today is Sally Ride Day!

Ride was an American physicist and astronaut.  She joined NASA in 1978 and was the first American women in space in 1983.  On the flight, she was a mission specialist.  Her job was to operate the robotic arm, go on space walks, and conduct science experiments.  Using the robotic arm, she released satellites into space.

Prior to her mission Ride was accosted by the press with silly questions like, “Will the flight affect your reproductive organs?” and “Do you weep when things go wrong on the job?” In response, Ride insisted she saw herself in only one role – that of an astronaut.

Ride left NASA in 1987 and went to work at the Stanford University Center of International Security and Arms Control.  Two years later, she became a professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego and director of the California Space Institute.

With her partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy, Ride wrote five books for children about science and space.   She particularly wanted to help girls understand science and mathematics.  Until her death in 2012, she was involved in science programs and festivals in the United States.  Sally Ride Day was created in honor of her birth date May 26, 1951.

Sally Ride’s Books

The Inventors of LEGO® Toys

By Erin Hagar and Illustrated by Paige Garrison

Published by Duo Press

In this engaging book Erin Hagar tells the story of the Danish carpenter and his family who overcame a desperate situation and created one of the most popular toys in history, LEGO® toys.  Knowing the story behind these amazing toys with make you appreciate them even more.

 

 

 

 Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions

By Chris Barton and illustrated by Don Tate

Published by Charlesbridge

Did you know the Super Soaker (one of the top twenty toys of all time) was invented by accident?  While attempting to create a new cooling system for refrigerators and air conditioners inventor Lonnie Johnson created the mechanics behind this popular toy.

 

 

The Hole Story of the Doughnut

By Pat Miller and Illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch

Published by HMH Books for Young Readers

In 1847, Hanson Crockett Gregory from Rockport, Maine, signed on a schooner as the ship’s cook.  He prepared balls of fried sweet dough called “sinkers” for breakfast.  The center of the dough was heavy with grease and when the sailors ate them, they felt like cannonballs had fallen into their stomachs.  Gregory cleverly solved the problem by cutting a hole in the center of the dough and then frying it in lard – hence the doughnut was born.

In honor of National Photography Month, I want to share the story of the man who made the camera as easy to use as a pencil.  Who was he?  George Eastman, the founder of Kodak.

Eastman lived in upstate New York in the small rural town of Rochester. In 1870, while working as a bank teller, he became fascinated with the new invention of photography.  Back then a photographic kit consisted of a huge camera, a tripod, fragile glass plates and jars, a funnel, brushes, chemicals, and a tent to use as a darkroom.

From the beginning, the bulk of the paraphernalia worried Eastman. It seemed to him you ought to be able to carry less than a pack-horse load to take a photograph. Despite the disadvantages, Eastman became “wholy absorbed in photography.”

He took lessons and read photographic journals. When he had the chance, he took trips to practice his hobby. During the summer of 1878, Eastman traveled to Mackinac Island on Lake Huron in Michigan. He wanted to photograph a natural bridge that had formed on the island. When he went into his portable dark room to begin preparing his photographic plates, a group of tourists spotted him. They assumed he was a professional photographer and lingered near the bridge so he would take their picture.

Eastman ignored them. When one of the men from the group approached him and inquired about the cost of his photographs, Eastman replied he was an amateur and his photographs were not for sale.

This angered the tourist and he complained, “Then why did you let us stand in the hot sun for a full half-hour while you fooled around with your contraptions? You ought to wear a sign saying that you are an amateur!”

The tourist had no idea that one day this young amateur would revolutionize the field of photography and make it easy for him to take his own photographs.  Plus, the Kodak trademark would be known around the world.

 

[Excerpts from  George Eastman: Bringing Photography by Lynda Pflueger]