From Sea to Shining Sea
Staff -- School Library Journal, 7/1/1996
This month's "Curriculum Connectors" column flags books that look at our vast nation from a variety of viewpoints, time periods, and social backgrounds. The one trait that all of the titles listed below seem to share -- regardless of the format or Dewey classification -- is a uniquely American spirit, vision, and vitality.
AVI. "Who Was That Masked Man, Anyway?" (Richard Jackson Bks.) Orchard. Tr $15.95; ISBN 0-531-05457-8; PLB $15.99. ISBN 0-531-08607-0.
Gr 4-6 -- It's 1945, and when Frankie isn't re-enacting his favorite radio dramas, he's spying on a "mad scientist" who has rented a room in his parents' house. Touching, funny, and totally original, the story is told completely through dialogue and excerpts from old programs. (Oct. 1992)
CARLSON, Lori M., ed. Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing Up Latino in the United States. Holt. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-8050-3135-9.
Gr 8 Up -- This collection sizzles with a wide variety of personal experiences, from issues of identity to intimate slices of life. Spicy, rhythmic, and passionate, these poems have universal appeal. (Aug. 1994)
COHN, Amy L., comp. From Sea to Shining Sea: A Treasury of American Folklore and Folk Songs. Scholastic. RTE $29.95. ISBN 0-590-42868-3.
K Up -- Beginning with an Iroquois Creation legend and following the course of human events through the 1990s, this impressive volume, stunningly illustrated by a roll call of Caldecott honorees, really is a treasure. (Nov. 1993)
CROSS, Gillian. The Great American Elephant Chase. Holiday. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-8234-1016-1.
Gr 4-6 -- A rip-roaring romp from Pittsburgh to Nebraska in 1881, as an orphan boy and a con man's daughter try to keep her elephant hidden from a thieving scoundrel. Comic adventure at its best. (May 1993)
DEMAREST, Chris L. Lindbergh. illus. by author. Crown. Tr $15. ISBN 0-517-58718-1; PLB $15.99. ISBN 0-517-58719-X.
K-Gr 3 -- Engaging, clear text and airy watercolors take youngsters on a high-flying journey through Lindbergh's life. A skillfully delivered portrait of a daring pilot. (Oct. 1993)
FLEISCHMAN, Paul. Bull Run. (Laura Geringer Bks.). HarperCollins. Tr $14. ISBN 0-06-021446-5; PLB $13.89. ISBN 0-06-021447-3.
Gr 5 Up -- Through the alternating viewpoints of 16 characters from various walks of life, readers gain insight into the first battle of the Civil War and into the nature of war in general. Poignant, dramatic cameos seamlessly woven together make for compelling historical fiction. (Mar. 1993)
FLEISCHMAN, Paul. Time Train. illus. by Claire Ewart. (Charlotte Zolotow Bks.). HarperCollins. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-06-021709-X; PLB $14.89. ISBN 0-06-021710-3.
K-Gr 3 -- It's all aboard the Rocky Mountain Unlimited for an amazing trek across the nation and through the millennia to Dinosaur National Monument. Deadpan humor and gloriously animated watercolors provide unlimited entertainment. (Aug. 1991)
FREEDMAN, Russell. Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery. Clarion. Tr $17.95. ISBN 0-89919-862-7.
Gr 6 Up -- Readers are made privy to the telling details of a full life through numerous quotes from Roosevelt and her wide inner circle in this frank, well-documented portrait of the "First Lady of the World." (Aug. 1993)
FREEDMAN, Russell. The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane. Holiday. Tr $18.95. ISBN 0-8234-0875-2.
Gr 4-8 -- An engrossing discussion of these eccentric siblings and their accomplishments, spiced with eyewitness accounts and the brothers' own photographs. The book has you-are-there immediacy and history-in-the-making drama. (June 1991)
FRITZ, Jean. Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt. illus. by Mike Wimmer. Putnam. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-399-21769-X.
Gr 5-8 -- A frank, evenhanded profile of our larger-than-life 26th president, portrayed as a man whose grand ideas, flamboyant style, and electric energy were responsible for both his greatest achievements and failings. The "old lion" lives. (July 1991)
GRIFFIN, Peni R. Switching Well. McElderry. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-689-50581-7.
Gr 5-8 -- A vivid story of two girls living in San Antonio, one in 1891 and one in 1991, who make a wish on the same day at the same hour and switch places, thus becoming outsiders in societies unprepared to receive them. A fine blend of time travel and friendship, laced with insight into social history and attitudes. (June 1993)
ISAACS, Anne. Swamp Angel. illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky. Dutton. Tr $14.99. ISBN 0-525-45271-0.
K-Gr 3 -- Thundering Tarnation! With its good-natured, larger-than-life heroine and broad, fanciful paintings, this original Tennessee tall tale is exhilarating and side-splittingly funny. (Dec. 1994)
KRULL, Kathleen, sel. Gonna Sing My Head Off! illus. by Allen Garns. Knopf. Tr $20. ISBN 0-394-81991-8.
Gr 2 Up -- A compendium of folk music, packed with child appeal. The selections complement and build upon one another, and the energetic artwork adds verve and vitality. " 'From California to the New York Island,' this book was made for you and me." (Oct. 1992)
LEVINE, Ellen, ed. Freedom's Children: Young Civil Rights Activists Tell Their Own Stories. Putnam. Tr $16.95. ISBN 0-399-21893-9.
Gr 7 Up -- This story takes on a very human dimension in this collection of first-person narratives written by those who, as youngsters, participated in the landmark civil rights events of the 1950s and '60s. Plenty of background information and documentation is provided to give today's youth a rare and affecting glimpse of the past. (Mar. 1993)
MACY, Sue. A Whole New Ball Game: The Story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Holt. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-8050-1942-1.
Gr 5 Up -- As much a social history of the postwar era as a chronicle of women in baseball, this lively, informative title -- supported by interesting photos and appendixes -- is in a league all its own. (May 1993)
MURPHY, Jim. Across America on an Emigrant Train. Clarion. Tr $16.95. ISBN 0-395-63390-7.
Gr 5-8 -- Murphy presents a forthright and thoroughly engrossing history of the transcontinental railway, with entries from Robert Louis Stevenson's 1879 journal as he rode cross country. It's also an inviting introduction to Stevenson, with a romance in the bargain. (Dec. 1993)
OSBORNE, Mary Pope. American Tall Tales. illus. by Michael McCurdy. Knopf. Tr $18. ISBN 0-679-80089-1; PLB $18.99. ISBN 0-679-90089-6.
Gr 3-6 -- In the grand storytelling tradition of exaggerating for the sake of a good yarn, Osborne pays homage to the geographic and occupational diversity of our nation's folk personages. Jaunty descriptions, informative notes, and handsome wood engravings give them new leases on life. (Dec. 1991)
PANZER, Nora, ed. Celebrate America: In Poetry and Art. Hyperion. Tr $18.95. ISBN 1-56282-664-6; PLB $18.89. ISBN 1-56282-665-4.
Gr 6 Up -- Striking poems -- classic and contemporary -- are skillfully matched to full-color, fine-art reproductions of the work of stellar American artists. A celebration of our country's diversity of voices and visions. (Nov. 1994)
PECK, Richard. Bel-Air Bambi and the Mall Rats. Delacorte. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-385-30823-X.
Gr 5-8 -- It's Hollywood v. small-town America in this zany battle of the barbs. Bambi, Buffie, and Brick Babcock get together with their show-biz parents to bring the town of Hickory Fork back from the brink of disaster and rescue it from a band of teenaged marauders who have taken over the mall. (Sept. 1993)
POLACCO, Patricia. Pink and Say. illus. by author. Philomel. RTE $15.95. ISBN 0-399-22671-0.
Gr 4 Up -- Say, 15, had never seen a black person up close until Pink, also a young Union soldier, saves his life. During his brief stay in Pink's home, the wounded boy comes to understand his friend's unconquerable vision of freedom. A memorable family reminiscence with evocative paintings. (Oct. 1994)
RINGGOLD, Faith. Tar Beach. illus. by author. Crown. Tr $16. ISBN 0-517-58030-6; PLB $16.99. ISBN 0-517-58031-4.
Gr 1 Up -- A story quilt made by the author/illustrator, lovingly wrought into a picture book. Her warm recollections, fanciful descriptions, and lofty wishes embrace the world of an ebullient eight-year-old, enveloping readers in an inviting patchwork of Harlem skyscapes and family gatherings. (Feb. 1991)
SANDBURG, Carl. More Rootabagas. illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky. Knopf. Tr $18. ISBN 0-679-80070-0; PLB $18.99. ISBN 0-679-90070-5.
Gr 4-8 -- These 10 previously unpublished stories are chock-full of the wisdom and whimsy of Sandburg's classic Rootabaga Stories, and have the added attraction of Zelinsky's fine colored-pencil interpretations of the fanciful characters and scenes. (Dec. 1993)
SCOTT, Ann Herbert. Cowboy Country. illus. by Ted Lewin. Clarion. RTE $14.95. ISBN 0-395-57561-3.
K-Gr 3 -- An elderly buckaroo talks to his young partner about life as a cowboy, then and now. The sweeping landscapes capture Nevada light and space, as well as the action. (Sept. 1993)
SHANNON, George. Climbing Kansas Mountains. illus. by Thomas B. Allen. Bradbury. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-02-782181-1.
PreS-Gr 3 -- On a summer day, a boy's father takes him to the top of the grain elevator where he works. The lyrical text and lovely soft-edged pastel drawings imbue this simple outing with special significance, highlighting the pair's closeness and their shared awe at the panorama before them. (Dec. 1993)
