June 2014 BOB Nonfiction

ellis

Aloian, Molly. Ellis Island. Crabtree Chrome (Series). New York: Crabtree, 2104. 978-0-7787-1168-1.  47 p. $25.87. Gr. 3-6.
This well organized and visually pleasing series contains Table of Contents, time period photos, text boxes, and applicable quotes. Vocabulary and definitions are located on the relevant page as well as in the glossary. An index, additional resources (paper and electronic) are included at the end. Other titles (28 total) in series include: Navy Seals, King Tut, Alcatraz, Extinction, Gettysburg, Plague, Pompeii, Titanic and more.
304.87; Immigration, Ellis Island     Robin Bartley, Davis Elementary

clara

Polacco, Patricia. Clara and Davie: The True Story of Young Clara Barton, Founder of the Red Cross. New York: Scholastic Press, 2014. 978-545-35477-6. 32 p. $17.99. Gr. 2+.
Patricia Polacco often writes stories based on her childhood and the happy memories or struggles that she faced as a child. In this book, Polacco writes about the childhood of her distant relative Clara Barton. Clara was mostly raised by her older siblings and was particularly close to her older brother, Davie. He recognized Clara’s amazing talents in healing and helped home school her as she was extremely shy and often teased for her lisp. After a terrible accident, Clara nursed Davie back to health over a period of several years, and the two remained close to the end of their lives. Endnotes provide more information on Clara’s life and accomplishments as “The Angel of the Battlefield” during the Civil War and how she founded the Red Cross. Polacco has created another beautiful book about the ups and downs of childhood, complete with her signature illustrations. Clara was deeply gifted at healing from an early age when she nursed a runt puppy to health. Not only was she called upon by neighbors to help birth and heal animals, she was also a talented gardener who knew the names of all the local flowers and plants and raised a garden that was the envy of the town. Seeing Clara as a child makes it easy to envision her rising to greatness and making such a profound impact upon the medical community during her time. While the book provides brief biographical information, don’t expect it to be used as a research tool. It could, however, be an excellent starting point for students who are looking for an interesting biography research topic.
Biography/Picture Book                          Lindsey Long, Nye & Conewago Elementary Schools

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