He was an old man who fished alone on a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.
"You're feeling it now, fish," he said, "And so, God knows, am I."
RULES:
He was an old man who fished alone on a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.
"You're feeling it now, fish," he said, "And so, God knows, am I."
RULES:
You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
Click here to enterDrawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings―asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass―offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.
Adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith, this new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth’s oldest the plants around us. With informative sidebars, reflection questions, and art from illustrator Nicole Neidhardt, Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults brings Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the lessons of plant life to a new generation.(Publisher).
Beginning quote:
PrologueAutumn 1945Altausse, AustriaShe was not used to being hunted.
Friday56:
Tony shook his head. "I don't know what else your wife is lying about, but if she's from Poland, I'm a Red Sox fan. I know a Russian when I hear one."
Summary: The Huntress is a WWII-era story about three very strong women: Nina, a Russian woman who was a pilot with the Russian Air Force known as the Night Witches; Jordan, a strong-willed Bostonian who is more interested in photography than she is about getting married and living the usual life of an American woman in the 1940s; Anneliese, a soft spoken Austrian who is trying to make a new life for herself after the war. In addition two men, Ian and Tony, enter the story as Nazi Hunters. They follow leads on Nazi's who escaped during the final, frantic days of the war and they try to capture them so they will finally meet with justice. When they get a lead on a woman who is identified as The Huntress, they travel to Boston to see if they can find her. The Huntress is a person of special interest since her crimes against humanity were so egregious-- She shot and killed children after she fed them.
Title: The Huntress was this month's book club selection. There was a bit of anxiety among members because the the book is over 540 pages long. But once women started reading it, the page length anxiety evaporated. To a person everyone spoke about how much they liked the plot and the pages just flew by. Mid-month I talked to one club member who was upset because she didn't have any time that day to read. This has NEVER happened before and our club has been around for almost thirty years. (Yes, you read that right. 30 years.) Our discussion reflected the enthusiasm for the book. In fact, one person, my daughter, attended the meeting for the first time because she was so enthusiastic about it.
Fortunately the book is well organized otherwise it would be very confusing. Each chapter is clearly marked whose story is being told. For example: Nina, Russia, 1942, or Jordan, Boston, 1950. The biggest mystery: Who is the Huntress and where is she hiding?
Kate Quinn writes phenomenal historical fiction. She does a ton of research and it shows in her plots. I highly recommend this book and this author.
RULES:
You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
Click here to enter-Anne
Using this narrative as a primary source text, authors Monica Edinger and Lesley Younge share Equiano's life story in "found verse," supplemented with annotations to give readers historical context. This poetic approach provides interesting analysis and synthesis, helping readers to better understand the original text. Follow Equiano from his life in Africa as a child to his enslavement at a young age, his travels across the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, his liberation, and his life as a free man. (Publisher)
A riveting true story about dreams, dedication, and an amazing robot named Stinky, based on Joshua Davis' New York Times bestseller and now adapted for young readers by bestselling Mexican American author Reyna Grande.
In 2004, four undocumented Mexican teenagers arrived at the national underwater robotics championship at the University of California, Santa Barbara. No one had ever told Oscar, Cristian, Luis, or Lorenzo that they would amount to much―until two inspiring high school science teachers convinced the boys to enter the competition. Up against some of the best collegiate engineers in the country, this team of underdogs from Phoenix, Arizona, scraped together spare parts and a few small donations to astound not only the competition's judges but themselves, too. (Publisher.)
Spare Parts is both timely and empowering. It is an accessible introduction to STEM, immigration, and the reality of the American Dream. Four boys end up in the US because their parents left Mexico, believing a better life awaited them in America. But life didn't seem better to these boys as they found it difficult to fit in or even make plans for the future. They all stumbled into the robotics program as a place to make connection with others. What they found was camaraderie, hard work, high expectations, ingenuity, and creativity. When they decided to enter the NASA competition their goal was to not get last place. How could four high school boys with next-to-no resources, go up against older, more sophisticated college teams?
Well, apparently when one is given very little except determination and ingenuity it is amazing what can be produced.
My only quibble with this book is the time lag. The boys won the competition in 2004. The adult book by Joshua Davis was published in 2014. A movie about the boys and their accomplishments was made in 2015. Why did it take twenty years to write a young readers version of the book, to tell the story to its proper audience?
-Anne
Find out how sneakers took over the world in this fact-filled nonfiction book, part of a series about the stories behind cool objects! From going to school to shopping at the mall, sneakers are one of the most comfortable ways to get around. But how did these rubbery soles become everyone’s favorite shoe to stomp in? Readers will love learning about the story behind sneakers, from the world’s oldest shoe to the latest designer sneaker drop . . . and everything in between! (Publisher)
I loved this colorful, easy-to-read book all about sneakers. The book is divided into three sections: 1. How it all started; 2. How sneakers got off the ground; 3. How they took over the world. From the history of easy footwear to the creation of different brands, this book tells the whole tale of sneaker from start to current day. I felt like I was reading a history close to my own, since I've been around during the time frame many sneaker brands have come into existence.
Starting in 1916 when the US Rubber Company launched Keds and sneakers came into existence. The origin of the word "sneakers" is not known for sure but Keds claimed that their rubber-soled shoes were so quiet one could sneak up on someone without making any noise.
In 1936 Jesse Owens, the fast man on earth at the time, wore a pair of shoes during the Hitler Olympics made for him by the Dassler Brothers. After the Olympics, the shoes became very popular and the brothers formed a company. In 1948 a fight between the brothers caused them each formed their own company -- Adidas and Puma. Soon the companies were specializing their shoes for different sports.
In 1971, 30 miles from where I lived in Oregon, Bill Bowerman, the track coach at the University of Oregon realized the pattern of the waffle he was eating would make a perfect grippy sole for a running shoe. He ruined a few waffle-makers along the way but in 1974 the first-ever waffle trainer hit the shelves. And a small-town company Bowerman had formed with Phil Knight, Nike, was born. In 1976, as a freshman at the University of Oregon, I took a running class and purchased my very first Nike trainers for the class. I remember them well. They were red nylon with a white swish. They are also were very simple by today's standards but I did pass the class, so that is what counts.
In 1982 when Aerobic classes were all the rage, all the other shoe companies passed on making a shoe specific for this very "female" activity. All the companies except, Reebok, which was a British company trying to compete with the US and German companies. Jane Fonda wore the Reebok Freestyle shoes on her exercise videos and a new superstar (shoe) was born. Another company, Vans, started marketing their shoes to skateboarders. Converse, which had been around since 1917, renamed their basketball shoes, Chuck Taylor All-Stars, and "Chucks" have never really gone out of style. The sneaker industry was booming.
In 1984 Nike used all of its advertising money on a young basketball player named Michael Jordan. He was to be the new face of the company and they designed a shoe just for him. Jordan ever got a percentage of the sales for every pair sold. These padded high-tops were called Air Jordans. The Air Jordan III sneakers were the first to use the Jumpman logo in bright read on the sneaker's tongue.
In 1986 Run-DMC was bringing a fresh sound to the music scene. The members always wore Adidas tracksuits and sneakers. They even sang a song called "My Adidas." This earned the group a sneakers endorsement, the first non-athletic group to get one.
Fast forward to today. There are people who call themselves sneakerheads who collect and trade sneakers. Often you will find them standing in line at stores to be the first to get the new designs. Sneakerheads can be found around the world. In some places like south Africa sneakers have even been used to make political statements.
"Shoes are boring. Wear Sneakers." -2021 Converse Ad Campaign
This is a fun book. I enjoyed it very much. I'm even smiling as I type this review. Check it out!
Smallpox! Rabies! Black Death! Throughout history humankind has been plagued by . . . well, by plagues. The symptoms of these diseases were gruesome-but the remedies were even worse.
Get to know the ickiest illnesses that have infected humans and affected civilizations through the ages. Each chapter explores the story of a disease, including the scary symptoms, kooky cures, and brilliant breakthroughs that it spawned. Medical historian and bestselling author Lindsey Fitzharris lays out the facts with her trademark wit, and Adrian Teal adds humor with cartoons and caricatures drawn in pitch black and blood red. Diseases covered in this book include bubonic plague, smallpox, rabies, tuberculosis, cholera, and scurvy.
Thanks to centuries of sickness and a host of history's most determined plague-busters, this riveting book features everything you've ever wanted to know about the world's deadliest diseases. (Publisher)
The aspect that I appreciate more today than I would have had it been published before the COVID pandemic, is how doctors and other people believed the kookiest treatments. We've all heard of blood-letting, and freezing TB patients nearly to death. But what about the urine treatment promoted for scurvy, or wearing red clothes to cure smallpox. Even when some doctor would discover the organism that caused the disease other doctors would mock him. "'Invisible creatures, killing our patients? Hogwash! Poppycock! BALDERDASH!' they cried (or something like -- we're guessing to be honest" (80). This reminded me of what happened during the COVID pandemic. Doctors and patients promoting unproven treatments like hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin while eschewing vaccinations which had a proven history. Just yesterday I saw in the news that 17,000 people died needlessly from COVID because they tried hydroxychloroquine and when it didn't work, it was too late for them to get the vaccine.
I was grateful for the humor and the funny illustrations in the book and would definitely recommend this for all secondary school libraries and all public libraries which service teenagers.
The framing story, told mainly in the ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations, centers on a visit to a community garden by a child with braids and tan skin. What makes this particularly appealing is that the child’s pictured actions—climbing, jumping, listening, looking, and finding food—mirror the spider’s. Most spectacular is the magnified close-up of the spider catching her prey, a fly (Kirkus Reviews)
Four pages of back matter provide more factual information about spider's anatomy and their life cycle. the book also provides a glossary, helpful hints for identifying spiders, author's notes, and further reading suggestions.
This book is perfect for the very young children in our lives who are interested in their world and how everything works. And it was the 2023 winner of children's nonfiction for the Cybils Award.
-Anne