Children's Books The Aurora County All-Stars by Deborah Wiles Published 2007 by Harcourt Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780152060688 Find this book in our catalog. Jacket Notes: Twelve-year-old House Jackson, star pitcher and team captain of the Aurora County All-Stars, has been sidelined for a year with a broken elbow. Now that hes healed, the biggest game of the season is set for the same day as the pageant for the countys 200th anniversary. Whats House to do? REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 07/09/2007 Batter up! National Book Award finalist Wiles (Each Little Bird That Sings ) delivers the third book set in her fictional Aurora County-a more boy-friendly read than its predecessors, with plenty of talk about baseball and what constitutes a stalwart team. Twelve-year-old House Jackson, the Aurora County All-Stars captain and star pitcher, has slogged through the preceding year with an out-of-commission elbow. Instead of playing baseball, he's spent most of his time indoors, reading the classics to an old recluse, Mr. Norwood Rhinehart Beauregard Boyd. But when Mr. Boyd dies, House is reminded of his itch to play. Unfortunately, the All-Stars' only game of the year is scheduled for the same day as Aurora County's 200th anniversary pageant, an event directed by pesky 14-year-old Frances Shotz, the girl who broke House's elbow. After a series of minor mishaps, betrayals and bouts of miscommunication, House and Frances work out a hilarious compromise that all readers can root for. In the spirit of Ernest Thayer's poem, "Casey at the Bat," the energy during the game mounts, and sports fans will be on the edge of their seats to see which team triumphs. Quotations from Walt Whitman's poetry, baseball players and Aurora County news dispatches pepper the story and add color;Love, Ruby Lavender fans will enjoy Ruby's fortuitous cameo. A home run for Wiles. Ages 10-up.(Aug.) 10/01/2007 REVIEW: School Library Journal Gr 5-9-Wiles revisits the rural Mississippi setting of Love, Ruby Lavender (2001) and Each Little Bird That Sings (2005, both Harcourt). House Jackson, 12, lives to pitch and still mourns the death of his mother six years earlier. "Swallow your toads early in the day," she would say. Now, House's "toads" include the death of a mysterious 88-year-old neighbor, the town's bicentennial pageant, and, worst of all, Frances Shotz. The previous summer, a collision with the 14-year-old left House with a broken elbow and canceled his baseball season. Frances, who styles herself Finesse and flavors her speech with French, is the artistic director of the pageant, which threatens to cancel his team's annual July Fourth game. House sorts his way through a thicket of problems while surrounded by colorful characters, many from the earlier books (Ruby has a key role). There's a graceful air of nostalgia as children scuff along dusty roads, trailed by an old dog named Eudora Welty. Wiles's prose is keenly observant and not to be read hurriedly. This is a slow-simmering stew of friendship and betrayal, family love and loyalty, and finding oneself. At times, it threatens to get out of hand, but the author keeps things in check with down-home humor. In this moving homage to the power of words, House eventually finds a way to resolve his problems in the stirring example of his baseball hero, Sandy Koufax; Whitman's Leaves of Grass; and his mother's voice reminding him to "listen for the symphony true."-Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park Published 2005 by Clarion Books Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780618477869 Find this book in our catalog. Jacket Notes: In her first novel with a contemporary setting, the Newbery Medal-winning author of "A Single Shard" delivers a funny, lively story that illuminates both the process of writing a novel and the meaning of growing up American. REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 03/14/2005 In this contemporary novel, Park (A Single Shard ) creates a Korean-American seventh-grader so lifelike she jumps off the page. Literally. Between chapters, protagonist Julia Song makes suggestions to the author about plot details and voices her complaints about the way her life is being directed ("Do you want my opinion? I am not happy with the way things are going here," Julia tells "Ms. Park," after chapter 3). Within the narrative, Julia is involved in a project for the Wiggle Club, an organization similar to 4-H. She partners up with her long-time friend Patrick, and they raise silkworms, hoping to produce enough thread for Julia to embroider a picture. The children's hunt for mulberry leaves (silkworms' sole source of food) leads them to Mr. Dixon, an elderly African-American who generously offers the leaves from his mulberry tree for their project. Besides celebrating intergenerational and interracial friendships, and presenting interesting details about the silkworm life cycle, the book introduces many issues relevant to budding adolescents. Self-conscious about her heritage, Julia feels that her project is "too Korean" ("I wanted a nice, normal, All-American, red-white-and-blue kind of project," she bemoans). She also suspects that her mother might be acting racist, by forbidding Julia to spend time with Mr. Dixon. Then there's the problem of extracting silk from the cocoons (in order to do so, the worms--which have become like pets--will have to be killed). Rather than manufacturing convenient solutions, the author--with Julia's periodic input--invents a realistic, bittersweet ending. Ages 9-13. (Apr.) 05/01/2005 REVIEW: School Library Journal Gr 4-7 -When Julia Song moves with her family to Plainfield, IL, where they are the only Korean family in town, she becomes good friends with her neighbor Patrick. They have joined the Wiggle (Work-Grow-Give-Live) Club, and they need a project for the state fair. Animal husbandry is their category of choice, but what can they raise in their suburban neighborhood? When Julia's mother suggests silkworms, Patrick is enthusiastic, but Julia is not. Raising silkworms is so Korean, and she wants a real American project. Still, she agrees to the idea. When she realizes that to get the silk, the worms must die, her anguish clearly indicates how much her attitude has changed. At the end of almost every chapter, Park and her young protagonist discuss the story inside the story: where the author's ideas came from, how the characters take on a life of their own, how questions raised in the book continue to percolate inside some readers' minds when it is finished. This lively interaction provides an interesting parallel to the silkworm project as it moves from idea to reality. Julia, a feisty seventh grader, concludes that it is important to know what you don't know, an insight that she has as she grapples with her mother's attitude toward blacks. Park appropriately leaves Julia wondering what's behind her mother's prejudices in certain situations. As the novel progresses, Patrick and Julia negotiate the ups and downs of their friendship, and Julia begins to show a gradual change in attitude toward her younger brother. This skillfully written tale will have wide appeal.-Barbara Scotto, Michael Driscoll School, Brookline, MA Cesar Chavez: Champion and Voice of Farmworkers by Suzanne Slade Published 2007 by Picture Window Books Library Binding, English. ISBN: 9781404837249 Find this book in our catalog. Jacket Notes: Features: Glossary - Index - Timelines - Fun Facts Content Consultants - Safe Web sites at www.FactHound.com Standards: Standards in History for Grades K-4 Topic 3 The History of the United States' Democratic Principles and Values, and the Peoples from Many Cultures Who Contributed to Its Cultural, Economic, and Political Heritage Organic Crafts: 75 Earth-Friendly Art Activities by Kimberly Monaghan Published 2007 by Chicago Review Press Paperback, English. ISBN: 9781556526404 Find this book in our catalog. Jacket Notes: Parents, teachers, and caregivers looking for ideas on how to get children outdoors and instill in them a love of nature can find more than 75 creative crafts, games, and activities using objects that kids can collect from nature in this idea book. As children make race cars out of rocks, create paint from plants, and assemble funny grass masks, they learn to be environmentally friendly--absorbing information on recycling, reducing waste, and inspiring others to protect nature. Organized by the various natural materials needed, the crafts offer a new twist on perennial homemade gifts and school projects. 09/01/2007 REVIEW: School Library Journal Gr 2-5- These activities, crafts, and games are arranged by type of material used, such as rocks, pebbles, and shells; soil, clay, and sand, etc. There's a wide range of interesting projects, including clay beads, a glittering sand castle, potpourri, a sea sparkler, a wind sock, a gourd birdhouse, broken-china mosaics, homemade paper, rock sculpture, and garden chimes. Children will also learn how to make natural glue, cornstarch paint, and salt clay. Materials needed and numbered directions are given for each activity. Most supplies are easily obtainable through scraps from nature, recyclables, and general items; others must be purchased from craft or hardware stores. Safety tips and warnings are listed where appropriate; adult supervision is required for about 16 of the projects. Boxed text provides additional information, such as why you can't pick flowers in national parks. Black-and-white illustrations appear throughout. Useful advice and educational tips are included throughout, such as the importance of trees, the art of recycling, John James Audubon, Arbor Day, Stonehenge, and animal rescue. A "Nature's Paint" chart explains which berries and flowers produce certain colors for painting. The list for further exploration includes 39 books and l4 Web sites. The teacher's guide is handy as it lists activities by age level. This book will be a popular addition to library collections and useful in classroom settings to supplement science and art assignments.-Augusta R. Malvagno, Queens Borough Public Library, NY Updated 4/15/08