Professional Reading

The authors have packed a lot of information about the cultures, religions, politics, and geography of the Middle East into this well-organized volume. It’s a solid guide for educators who want to teach their students about the region or who would like a good bibliography. The last section includes selected activities to be used with students. The book is well footnoted, and the authors’ expertise is clear, although facts randomly culled from other sources sometimes provide a slightly haphazard overview. The authors are occasionally a bit heavy-handed in their desire to be sensitive to the area’s cultures, occasionally leaning toward stereotypical portrayals or reaching a degree of insensitivity to readers’ other cultures. Overall, though, this is a book that teachers and librarians would find useful, and for the extensive bibliography alone, it is a worthwhile purchase.–Sharon Senser McKellar, Oakland Public Library, CA

In this the fourth installment of the excellent “Gotcha” guides, Baxter and Kochel do not disappoint. In addition to annotations for over 1000 nonfiction titles, they profile eight prolific authors and provide fun top-10 features for the various subjects covered. The guide is divided into seven chapters: “American Journeys,” “People to Know,” “Around the World and Through the Ages,” “Animals,” “Science,” “Playing with Words,” and “Monsters, Mysteries, Mummies, and Other Quirky Books.” The titles chosen are truly high quality, relevant, and up-to-date, with suggested ages provided, most ranging from grades three through eight. Many lesser-known and newer titles have been selected, and their attractive covers are sprinkled throughout, which adds to the overall fresh look and feel of this resource. This inclusive title is as user-friendly as its predecessors and a must-have for all librarians who want to get kids excited about nonfiction.–Jessica Kerlin, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Parma, OH

With 25 theme-based chapters, this is a handy resource. Each theme includes book recommendations, often 10 or more, with a nice mixture of classic and newer titles, and a suggestion to choose two or three per session. Words and instructions for fingerplays, rhymes, and songs are provided, while a discography provides melody sources for all songs. Each theme includes a flannel-board activity, complete with reproducible patterns and brief directions on how to present the story or song on the board. Safe and simple crafts ideas are presented as optional activities. Activities are listed by type, rather than in an ordered list, so tellers can pick, choose, and order according to individual style and preference. An introduction provides tips and rationale for all of the types of activities. A couple of sentences note the potential impact on brain development and early-literacy skills, but the focus is on the activities themselves; strategies for sharing early-literacy information with parents and caregivers are not addressed. Judy Nichols’s Storytimes for Two-Year-Olds (ALA, 2007) and Linda L. Ernst’s Baby Rhyming Time (Neal-Schuman, 2008) provide more comprehensive looks at all aspects of storytime planning and presentation. This update of Briggs’s Toddler Storytime Programs (Scarecrow, 1993) will be most useful as a resource for programming ideas and fleshing out themes.–Steven Engelfried, Multnomah County Library, OR

This update to Herald’s Fluent in Fantasy: A Guide to Reading Interests (Libraries Unlimited, 1999) features many titles published in the interim. The organization is quite similar, with many identically titled chapters and others that are expanded from sections in the previous volume. The bulk of this volume is comprised of lists of books by author in categories such as “General Epic Fantasy” and “Alternate Worlds.” Brief introductions to each list help distinguish one category from the next. As with any list of recommended titles, users will find lacuna–Lois Bujold’s “Chalion” series is here but not her newer “Sharing Knife” series (both HarperCollins)–but the authors include many great selections. Cross-references are made from one list to another, so Rowling appears in “Alternative and Parallel Worlds” with a reference back to the full listing in the chapter on witches and wizards. While Rowling and a few other YA authors appear, this volume is intended to highlight fantasy for or that appeals to adults. Back matter includes helpful indexes by author, title, and subject as well as lists of award winners and humorous fantasy. This resource should prove helpful for anyone looking for fantasy beyond the YA shelves.–Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI

A user-friendly, accessible, and well-organized resource. The authors stress that prevention is the responsibility of all adults who work with children. This book provides 101 short, informative articles covering the research on bullying; defining the practice; victims; bullies; bystanders; cyberbullying; media and video violence; the consequences and legal ramifications of bullying, and prevention. The format will lend itself well to group discussions and give teachers and others who work with young people a solid basis upon which to explore the issues surrounding this prevalent problem. Each chapter also has a list of resources and citations that provide opportunities for additional exploration. This volume would make a great addition to professional collections, along with Barbara Coloroso’s The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander (HarperCollins, 2003), Carol McMullen’s Creating a Bully-Free Classroom (Scholastic, 2005), or Elizabeth A. Barton’s Bully Prevention: Tips and Strategies for School Leaders and Classroom Teachers (Corwin, 2006).–Jennifer Ralston, Harford County Public Library, Belcamp, MD

Prompted by a New York Times Book Review article with the title “A Good Book Should Make You Cry,” whose premise is that language arts teachers love depressing books and YA award winners are full of bad habits and behavior, McDaniel disproves that notion with 500 recommended titles. Here readers will find books with divorce, drug use, attempted suicides, and more but they all meet the criteria the author has set by being either inspiring, heartwarming, or in some way uplifting. Hand this to adults who want to feel comfortable choosing a read-aloud or gift. It’s also useful for book club recommendations and homeschoolers. Arranged by genres, the entries include full bibliographic information, an annotation, and a description of why the book fits the “gentle criteria.”–Renee McGrath, Nassau Library System, Uniondale, NY