Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: What Do You Do With a Voice Like That?

What Do You Do With A Voice Like That?
The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan
by Chris Barton; Illustrated by Ekua Holmes
Beach Lane Books (September 25, 2018)
Nonfiction * Biography * Politics * Women's History
Audience: Grades 2 to 5
Indiebound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads:
“When Barbara Jordan talked, we listened.” —Former President of the United States, Bill Clinton

Congresswoman Barbara Jordan had a big, bold, confident voice—and she knew how to use it! Learn all about her amazing career in this illuminating and inspiring picture book biography of the lawyer, educator, politician, and civil rights leader.

Even as a child growing up in the Fifth Ward of Houston, Texas, Barbara Jordan stood out for her big, bold, booming, crisp, clear, confident voice. It was a voice that made people sit up, stand up, and take notice.

So what do you do with a voice like that?

Barbara took her voice to places few African American women had been in the 1960s: first law school, then the Texas state senate, then up to the United States congress. Throughout her career, she persevered through adversity to give voice to the voiceless and to fight for civil rights, equality, and justice.

New York Times bestselling author Chris Barton and Caldecott Honoree Ekua Holmes deliver a remarkable picture book biography about a woman whose struggles and mission continue to inspire today.

Quick thoughts on the book:
As I read, WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A VOICE LIKE THAT? THE STORY OF EXTRAORDINARY CONGRESSWOMAN BARBARA JORDAN, I realized I had never heard her speak. I was too young when she was in Congress and in my small New England hometown, the activities of a Texas Congresswoman never made it to me. Of course, I went to youtube to see if I could find Jordan's July 25, 1974 Watergate Articles of Impeachment speech that Chris Barton references at the end of the book. 

Wow! We need more politicians like Jordan. Her speech is about 13 minutes long but it is worth listening to. 

Barbara Jordan grew up in Texas in a time when simply seeking to get an education was a challenge for a black woman, and becoming a lawyer could be near to impossible. And yet, she not only became a lawyer but with perseverance and hard work, she went on to become a Senator. Sadly, her challenges with her health forced her to leave the Senate and return home where she channeled her energy into teaching college students to use their voices. 

Jordan was a powerful force for good throughout her life and left an amazing legacy in how she changed people's lives. 

At the end, Barton includes an author's note, timeline, and suggestions for further reading. 

Ekua Holmes' artwork is absolutely stunning. The more I see of her work the more I am blown away. Holmes captures the spirit and emotions of Barbara Jordan's life and work on each page. 

Look for WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A VOICE LIKE THAT? THE STORY OF EXTRAORDINARY CONGRESSWOMAN BARBARA JORDAN by Chris Barton and illustrated by Ekua Holmes in her local indie bookstore or community library when it comes out in September 2018. 

Artwork by Sarah S Brannan ©2017

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews...

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: Cover Reveal: Power Up by Seth Fishman

Back in December 2017, I did a guest post with Seth Fishman about his book A HUNDRED BILLION TRILLION STARS. You know I really like a book when I keep including it on lists or through recommendations, blog posts, and in special posts about math and science books. 

So, when I was invited to do a cover reveal for Seth's upcoming book POWER UP: YOUR INCREDIBLE, SPECTACULAR, SUPERCHARGED BODY, I definitely said "yes". 

Here is what Seth has to say about his upcoming book:
"Power Up is a follow up to Isabel and my first picture book, A HUNDRED BILLION TRILLION STARS, but instead of looking at big numbers in the world all around us, the book turns inwards, to the amazing things our bodies can do, both literally and theoretically. For me, the book is just as much about empowerment as it is about fun facts, and I hope readers enjoy and gather as much inspiration as information when reading the pages." 

Are you ready to see the new book cover? Well here goes...

Power Up: Your Incredible, Spectacular, Supercharged Body
by Seth Fishman; Illustrated by Isabel Greenberg
Greenwillow Books
Nonfiction * Science & Nature * Biology
Pub date: March 19th, 2019
Preorder: IndieBound | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Description of Power Up: "An exploration of the relationship between the human body and all the energy that it takes to make it go"--

Don't you love the new cover? I know that I am excited to see the final version of this book. Mark your calendar for March 19th or pre-order it on IndieBound or Amazon or Barnes & Noble. 

About the author: Seth Fishman is a native of Midland, Texas (think Friday Night Lights), and a graduate of Princeton University and the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. He spends his days as a literary agent at The Gernert Company and his nights (and mornings) writing. He is the author of two young adult books, THE WELL'S END and THE DARK WATER, and the picture book A HUNDRED BILLION TRILLION STARS, which won the Mathical Book Prize and was named a Boston Globe/Horn Book Award Honor.  He lives in LA with his wife and son. 

About the illustrator: Isabel Greenberg is a London-based illustrator and writer. She studied illustration at the University of Brighton and has done work for The Guardian, The National Trust, and The New York Times. Greenberg is the author and illustrator of two graphic novels for adults, The Encyclopedia of Early Earth, which won the Best Book category at the British Comic Awards, and The One Hundred Nights of Hero.

Artwork by Sarah S. Brannen ©2017

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews...

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: Nothing Stopped Sophie

Nothing Stopped Sophie: The Story of Unshakable Mathematician Sophie Germain
by Cheryl Bardoe; Illustrated by Barbara McClintock
Little Brown and Company (June 12, 2018)
Audience: Grades 2 to 5
Nonfiction * Biography * Women * STEM
IndieBound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads: The true story of eighteenth-century mathematician Sophie Germain, who solved the unsolvable to achieve her dream.

When her parents took away her candles to keep their young daughter from studying math...nothing stopped Sophie. When a professor discovered that the homework sent to him under a male pen name came from a woman...nothing stopped Sophie. And when she tackled a math problem that male scholars said would be impossible to solve...still, nothing stopped Sophie.

For six years Sophie Germain used her love of math and her undeniable determination to test equations that would predict patterns of vibrations. She eventually became the first woman to win a grand prize from France's prestigious Academy of Sciences for her formula, which laid the groundwork for much of modern architecture (and can be seen in the book's illustrations).

Award-winning author Cheryl Bardoe's inspiring and poetic text is brought to life by acclaimed artist Barbara McClintock's intricate pen-and-ink, watercolor, and collage illustrations in this true story about a woman who let nothing stop her.

Quick thoughts about this book:
When I look back on my childhood, I sometimes feel completely deprived. Well deprived in terms of books. I wonder at times what my life would be like if I had been able to read more biographies about women both as a child and then a teen. I remember in high school stumbling across a dusty old biography on Elizabeth Cady Stanton and felt like I had discovered gold. In my tiny community library, I found what biographies I could about women. Mostly there were biographies about actresses or women athletes or women writers, but never about women scientists or mathematicians. I sometimes wonder if choices I made would have been different if I was exposed more to women in the science or math fields. 

These days, as I discover picture book biographies, on little known women scientist and mathematicians, I take a moment to appreciate that an author chose to shine a light on this extraordinary woman and all that she had to endure in order to pursue her passion and to do the work she was created to do. 

When I picked up Nothing Stopped Sophie, I was especially touched by her dedication, perseverance, and constant pursuit of her love of numbers and math. Bardoe works to bring Sophie alive on the pages of the book and to impress upon the reader what it was like for a woman in the 18th Century to pursue mathematics as a field of study. 

I was also moved by McClintock's illustrator note at the end and how she worked to incorporate numbers and other features to highlight the theory on vibrations. Through both text and illustrations, readers will grow to appreciate the brilliant thinking of Sophie Germain and how even years later, her work applies to things around us. 

Look for Nothing Stopped Sophie at your local indie bookstore or community library. 

Artwork by Sarah S. Brannen ©2017

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews...

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: Books to Celebrate NASA's 60 Years and Counting

"From 2018 through 2022, NASA is marking a series of important milestones – the 60th anniversary of the agency’s founding by Congress in 1958, and the 50th anniversary of the Apollo missions that put a dozen Americans on the Moon between July 1969 and December 1972. Celebrations already are under way. Some are complete, some are scheduled in the coming months, and some are still being planned." - www.nasa.gov

As I was pulling together titles for a new release post, I realized that there were several that celebrated space exploration. So, this month's new release post is in honor of NASA's 60 years and counting. Here are some upcoming releases that may inspire you to dream of space travel. 

Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon by Suzanne Slade; Illustrations by Thomas Gonzalez (Peachtree Books, September 1, 2018) - Check out my review of Countdown, here.

Path to the Stars: My Journey From Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist by Sylvia Acevedo (Clarion Books, September 4, 2018)

Above and Beyond: NASA's Journey to Tomorrow by Discovery, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich (Feiwel & Friends, September 11, 2018)

The Penguin Book of Outer Space Exploration: NASA and the Incredible Story of Human Spaceflight by John Logsdon (Editor), Bill Nye (Foreword) - (Penguin Classics, September 11, 2018)

Science Comics: Solar System: Our Place in Space by Rosemary Mosco; Illustrated by Jon Chad (First Second, September 18, 2018)

Apollo 8: The Mission That Changed Everything by Martin W. Sandler (Candlewick Press, October 9, 2018)

Though most of these books include lots of photographs and illustrations, the above titles are geared for readers 10 and up. Now I need to go in search of titles for a younger audience. 

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews...

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: What am I reading? - Nonfiction Version

This past weekend, I did a lot of weeding and reading, and reading and weeding. I started to go through a stack of nonfiction that I had and here is what jumped out of the stack.

What's the Difference? 40+ Pairs of the Seemingly Similar by Emma Strack, Illustrated by Guillaume Plantevin (Chronicle Books, July 10, 2018) - I loved both the retro looking art and the two page compare and contrast text. Kids are going to love this one and great for a mentor text. 

Undocumented: A Worker's Fight by Duncan Tonatiuh (Abrams Comic Arts, August 7, 2018) - I mentioned this in my last Monday What are you Reading? post but I loved this so much, I wanted to mention it again. What a beautiful book. 

Nature's Friend: The Gwen Frostic Story by Lindsey McDivitt; Illustrated by Eileen Ryan Ewen (Sleeping Bear Press, July 15, 2018) - A fascinating introduction to the life of Gwen Frostic. 

Up & Down: The Adventures of John Jeffries, First American to Fly by Don Brown (Charlesbridge Publishers, June 12, 2018) - A good introduction to the exploration of air travel through the life of John Jeffries.

Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 by Helaine Becker; Illustrated by Dow Phumiruk (Henry Holt & Co, June 12, 2018) - This book adds to the other biographies about Katherine Johnson and her role in saving Apollo 13. 

Flying Deep: Climb Inside Deep-Sea Submersible ALVIN by Michelle Cusolito; Illustrated by Nicole Wong (Charlesbridge Publishing, May 22, 2018) - A fascinating look at the inside of an ALVIN and what they do.

Tigers & Tea With Toppy by Barbara Kerley with Rhoda Knight Kalt; Illustrated by Matte Stephens (Scholastic Press, September 25, 2018) - This one in some ways pairs nicely with the Gwen Frostic title. Both are artists and used nature as their subject. Both had to overcome some personal challenges to be successful. 

Write to Me: Letters from Japanese American Children to the Librarian They Left Behind by Cynthia Grady; Illustrated by Amiko Hirao (Charlesbridge Publishing, January 9, 2018) - An interesting look at the role one librarian played in connecting with children sent to internment camps. 

Oceans: A Visual Miscellany by Ricardo Henriques, Illustrated by André Letria (Chronicle Books, July 3, 2018) - Another fabulous nonfiction book with engaging expository text and illustrations.

Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams by Lesa Cline-Ransome; Illustrated by James E. Ransome (Paula Wiseman Book/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, July 3, 2018) - A wonderful introductory biography to Venus and Serena Williams. 

So, what are you reading? Look for these titles at your local indie bookstore or public library.

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews...