Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: The Baseball Edition

Each year, I try to do on baseball post.  This year I have been waiting semi-patiently for Audrey Vernick's new book, The Kid from Diamond Street: The Extraordinary Story of Baseball Legend Edith Houghton. My idea was to combine a baseball post with a Women's History post. The challenge: Would I be able to find a copy of the book on release day in order to be able to read and post it for the last Wednesday of Women's History month? Thank you to Vroman's Bookstore for having a copy of the book in-store on release day. 

Here are the links to my previous baseball posts: 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2013 | 2013 | 2012 

The Kid from Diamond Street: The Extraordinary Story of Baseball Legend Edith Houghton
by Audrey Vernick; Illustrated by Steve Salerno
Clarion Books (March 29, 2016)
Nonfiction * Biography * Baseball * Women in Sports
Audience: Ages 7 to 10 years old
Indiebound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads: 
Audrey Vernick and Steven Salerno have again collaborated to bring us a captivating picture book about a compelling but little-known piece of baseball history. Beginning in 1922, when Edith Houghton was only ten years old, she tried out for a women’s professional baseball team, the Philadelphia Bobbies. Though she was the smallest on the field, soon reporters were talking about “The Kid” and her incredible skill, and crowds were packing the stands to see her play. Her story reminds us that baseball has never been about just men and boys. Baseball is also about talented girls willing to work hard to play any way they can.

My thoughts on the book:
The creative team of Vernick and Salerno are back with another wonderful biography featuring a less commonly known player, Edith Houghton. 

Edith was all of ten years old when she decided to try out for a local women's baseball team. Though small in stature, and in spite of her age, Edith made the team and played against local men's teams in the Pennsylvania vicinity.  Three years after joining the team, and only age 13, Edith went on a trip with the Philadelphia Bobbies to Japan to play baseball. 

Maybe because I have a fondness for baseball or maybe because I really enjoy Vernick's biographies, or maybe a little of both, I was excited to learn of this book. It immediately went on my highly anticipating book list. I love learning about women athletes and how they excelled at a sport that was dominated by men. I wonder what it would have been like to play on the same team and to travel with them?  Can you imagine being 13 in the 1920's and barnstorming across the country playing baseball and then sailing across the ocean to Japan to play ball in a foreign country? This isn't like present day. No cell phones or internet or easy communication with families. Travel to another country took weeks and months. The average person stayed close to home. Yet, a young girl with a dream to play ball did much more than play a man's sport. 

May every girl grow up to dream big dreams and dare to do the unexpected and live to be nearly 101 years old. 

Check out this video of Edith Houghton on her 100th Birthday: 

More books about Women and Baseball:

Queen of the Diamond: The Lizzie Murphy Story by Emily Arnold McCully (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2015)

She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story by Audrey Vernick; Illustrated by Don Tate (Balzer & Bray, 2010)

Mighty Jackie: The Strikeout Queen by Marissa Moss; Illustrated by C.F. Payne (Simon & Schuster, 2004)

Players in Pigtails by Shana Corey; Illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon (Scholastic, 2003)

Check out these and other titles at your local library or independent bookstore.

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews: 

YA Friday Book Review: Assassin's Heart

Assassin's Heart
by Sarah Ahiers
Audience: Young Adult
HarperTeen (February 2, 2016)
IndieBound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads:

"In the kingdom of Lovero, nine rival Families of assassins lawfully kill people for a price. As a highly skilled member of one of these powerful clans, seventeen-year-old Lea Saldana has always trusted in the strength of her Family. Until she awakens to find them murdered and her home in flames. The Da Vias, the Saldanas’ biggest enemy, must be responsible—and Lea should have seen it coming. But her secret relationship with the Da Vias’ son, Val, has clouded her otherwise killer instinct—and given the Da Vias more reason than ever to take her Family down.

Racked with guilt and shattered over Val’s probable betrayal, Lea sets out to even the score, with her heart set on retaliation and only one thought clear in her mind: make the Da Vias pay."

Carolyn's thoughts on the book:

Assassin's Heart reimagines the kingdoms of renaissance Italy as feuding families of assassins, adding a darker form of intrigue to the familiar tale of star-crossed lovers from opposing families. But what if Romeo betrayed Juliet? Assassin's Heart is the tale of Lea's journey towards revenge after she flees in the wake of the slaughter of her family. Alone and unprotected by the code of Assassins, Lea finds herself in a strange town - the same town her disgraced uncle was banished to. To exact her revenge, Lea must discover the root of their feud, which only her uncle can explain. But when she meets her uncle's apprentice, she finds an unlikely (and untrained) ally loyal to her and her cause. Together, they plot to take down the Da Vias and rebuild the Saldana family.

The book's success stems from the lush world within the novel, allowing the reader to accept that assassination is a legal, everyday occurrence. Assassination is not only accepted but honored, because in the kingdom of Lovero, everyone worships Safraella - the goddess of death. The polytheistic faith in the novel, while certainly different than the Catholicism of renaissance Italy, mimics the patron saint system of Catholicism mixed with the deities of the Roman Empire and adds a depth to the world-building. The assassin families' worship of the goddess isn't the only supernatural part of the book - ghosts run wild outside of the gates of Lovero (and the protection of Safraella). But religion isn't the only interesting facet of the setting. Everything, from the monarchy's relationship to the Families, to the code of honor of the assassins, to the elaborate customs and costumes of each Family, serves to add another intricate piece of the puzzle. The reader is immersed in this fantastical world to enhance and add depth to the plot.

Assassin's Heart is a great read for fans of intrigue and suspense. I can't wait to read Sarah Ahiers' next book, whatever it may be!

Carolyn is a teen blogger who shares her favorite YA reads and favorite book related finds with readers on Fridays.  

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Women's History Month Continues

My celebration of Women's History Month continues with a collection of books about amazing women who took risks, worked hard, and were outstanding in their field. I also threw in one historical fiction title that seemed relevant in an election year. I can't believe that I only have one more week of Women's History Month. I have only begun to scratch the surface of fantastic books on women. Hopefully, this will encourage everyone to seek out more stores about dynamic women who have changed history for the better.

Miss Mary Reporting
by Sue Macy; Illustrated by C.F. Payne
Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman (February 16, 2016)
Nonfiction * Biography * Women's History
Audience: Ages 7 to 10
Indiebound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads: 
While sitting in the bleachers of a Soap Box Derby in the 1950s, Mary Garber overheard two African-American boys in the following exchange: “See that lady down there?” asked one boy. “That’s Mary Garber. She doesn’t care who you are, but if you do something good, she’ll write about you.”

Mary Garber was a pioneering sports journalist in a time where women were rarely a part of the newspaper business. Women weren’t even allowed to sit in the press boxes at sporting events, so Mary was forced to sit with the coaches’ wives. But that didn’t stop her.

In a time when African-American sports were not routinely covered, Mary went to the games and wrote about them. Garber was a sportswriter for fifty-six years and was the first woman to receive the Associated Press Sports Editors’ Red Smith Award, presented for major contributions in sports journalism. And now, every year the Association of Women in Sports Media presents the Mary Garber Pioneer Award in her honor to a role model for women in sports media.

Sure to inspire future journalists, athletes, and any child who has a dream, this illustrated biography of Mary Garber captures her feisty and determined spirit and brings her story to life.

Quick comments on this book:

I have read a number of Macy's books and I always find myself learning about new facts involving women and sports. This biography on Mary Garber is no exception. 

Dorothea's Eyes: Dorothea Lange Photographs the Truth
by Barb Rosenstock; Illustrated by Gerard DuBois
Calkins Creek (March 1, 2016) 
Nonfiction * Biography * Art
Audience: Ages 7 to 10
Indiebound | World Cat

Description from GoodReads: 
After a childhood bout of polio left her with a limp, all Dorothea Lange wanted to do was disappear. But this desire not to be seen helped her learn how to blend into the background and observe others acutely. With a passion for the artistic life, and in spite of her family’s disapproval, Dorothea pursued her dream to become a photographer and focused her lens on the previously unseen victims of the Great Depression. This poetic biography tells the emotional story of Lange’s evolution as one of the founders of documentary photography. It includes a gallery of Lange’s photographs, and an author’s note, timeline, and bibliography.

Quick thoughts:

Rosenstock provides readers with a fascinating biography including the significant factors and life experiences that influenced Dorothea Lange's decision to become a photographer.  

One of Lange's most famous photographs from her Migrant Farm Families series. 

The House That Jane Built
by Tanya Lee Stone; Illustrated by Kathryn Brown
Henry Holt & Co. (June 23, 2015)
Nonfiction * Biography * Social Activists
Audience: Ages 7 to 10
Indiebound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads:
This is the story of Jane Addams, the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, who transformed a poor neighborhood in Chicago by opening up her house as a community center.

Quick comments on this book:

This book about Jane Addams came out too late to feature last year for Women's History Month. As a fan of Smith's work, I knew I needed to include this biography in this year's round-up. 

And one Historical Fiction New Release:

Elizabeth Started All the Trouble
by Doreen Rappaport; Illustrated by Matt Faulkner
Disney-Hyperion (February 23, 2016)
Audience: Ages 7 to 10
Fiction * Historical * Women's Rights
Indiebound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads: 
She couldn't go to college.
She couldn't become a politician.
She couldn't even vote.
But Elizabeth Cady Stanton didn't let that stop her.

She called on women across the nation to stand together and demand to be treated as equal to men-and that included the right to vote. It took nearly seventy-five years and generations of women fighting for their rights through words, through action, and through pure determination . . . for things to slowly begin to change.

With the help of these trailblazers' own words, Doreen Rappaport's engaging text, brought to life by Matt Faulkner's vibrant illustrations, shows readers just how far this revolution has come, and inspires them to keep it going!

Quick comments on this book:

I have been a fan of both Rappaport and Faulkner and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. it made me realize how even today we need to still protect the rights we, as women, have worked so hard to gain. 

All four are worth adding to your classroom or school library. Look for each one of these books at your local indie bookstore or public library.

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews:

Twenty Yawns Blog Tour & Giveaway

Twenty Yawns
by Jane Smiley; Illustrated by Lauren Castillo
Two Lions (April 1, 2016)
Audience: Prek - 2nd grade
Fiction * Bedtime
Amazon | WorldCat 

Description from GoodReads: 
Featuring lyrical text and beautiful illustrations, this bedtime tale from Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley and Caldecott Honor recipient Lauren Castillo evokes the splashy fun of the beach and the quietude of a moonlit night, with twenty yawns sprinkled in for children to discover and count.

As her mom reads a bedtime story, Lucy drifts off. But later, she awakens in a dark, still room, and everything looks mysterious. How will she ever get back to sleep?

If you live in Southern California, Jane and Lauren will be at the LA Times Festival of Books the weekend of April 9 - 10, 2-16. 

Thank you Jane Smiley and Lauren Castillo for stopping by and answering a few questions.

For Jane Smiley:
KLF: In a Washington Post interview, you mentioned that the picture book format (though much shorter than you usually write) was freeing. How is the process of writing a picture book similar or different from writing a novel?

Jane Smiley: The drafts don’t take as long, so you can change things around more readily. Also, the pictures that the artist comes up with are good input, very informative.

KLF: Was the idea for Twenty Yawns based on personal experiences or just something that you wondered about and began to write the story?

JS: I do have kids, and they were idiosyncratic sleepers. I think a lot about sleep, and I had heard that yawns are contagious. I thought it would be funny and fun.

KLF: Where do you most like to write? Do you have any particular routines that you follow?

JS: Nothing after dinner—I will think about it too much when I am trying to sleep. Also, writing five or six days a week, and reading what I write each day aloud to my husband, who makes helpful comments.

For Lauren Castillo:
Kid Lit Frenzy: In the book, readers can almost go on a "scavenger hunt" to find the 20 yawns. Was this something that you decided to add to the artwork for the book or was this something that you and Jane had discussed?

Lauren Castillo: The yawns were included in the original manuscript from Jane, but I discussed ways to incorporate them into the art with our fantastic designer, Sara Gillingham. I think her type and color selections for the yawns were perfect and really add that extra special something to the book.

KLF: When I think of creating the illustrations for a book, I imagine illustrators being very intentional about the images and how things are portrayed. Were there any surprises as you were working on the illustrations?

LC: I don’t think there were any surprises, but I know that I was trying hard to convey a potpourri of fear, determination, humor, magic and warmth into little Lucy’s nighttime adventure.

KLF: What was your favorite spread in the book and why? 

LC: The spread where Lucy and her parents are walking along the shore is my favorite, I think. I enjoyed painting all the warm, sun drenched beachscapes, but especially loved illustrating the time lapse path of activities in this one.

KLF: Will you be doing any other events together?

LC: Jane and I will be presenting together at the LA Times Festival of Books on April 9th, and at Bank Street Bookstore in NYC on April 12th.

KLF: Do you have any upcoming projects that you can share with readers?

LC: Sure! I illustrated a picture book called IT IS NOT TIME FOR SLEEPING coming out this fall (Clarion/HMH), written by the wonderful Lisa Graff. And I am currently working on the art for a picture book biography on E.B. White, written by Barbara Herkert, coming out fall 2017 (Holt/Macmillan). SO VERY EXCITED about both of these books. I hope you will keep an eye out for them.

Watch the official book trailer here:

The Twenty Yawn Challenge: 
n this book, Twenty Yawns, there are supposedly twenty yawns to discover on the pages of the book. I have now read this book multiple times. Sadly I must be missing something because I have found only 18 of the 20. If you have read the book, how did you do? If you get the book after the release date on 4/1 - report back and let me know how you did. 

Quick thoughts on this book: 
Jane Smiley's debut picture book, Twenty Yawns, is an adorable story about a young girl's trip to the beach and then her night time adventure after her parents have gone to bed. Lauren Castillo's illustrations are gorgeous.  Below are a few spreads from the book.

Do you see the 7 yawns below? 

Young children will relate to Lucy and her fun in the sun and then later in her exploration of the house after dark. I will caution that if you have a child who wonders from bed, this book may just give him or her new ideas. 

Look for this book at your public library or local bookstore or online at Amazon (see links above).

Note: Illustrations from TWENTY YAWNS by Jane Smiley, illus. by Lauren Castillo; © 2016 Lauren Castillo. Published by Two Lions.

Check out the activity kit here.

About the author: 
Jane Smiley is the author of numerous novels, including A Thousand Acres, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, as well as five works of nonfiction and a series of books for young adults. In 2001 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and in 2006 she received the PEN USA Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature. This is her first picture book. She lives in Northern California.  Find her at facebook.com/janesmileyauthor

About the illustrator: 
Lauren Castillo is the illustrator of many books, including The Reader by Amy Hest. She has also written and illustrated several books, including Caldecott Honor book Nana in the City and The Troublemaker. She lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. To learn more, visit www.laurencastillo.com.
Twitter: @studiocastillo.

Follow the tour: 

Thurs, Mar 17    Watch.Connect.Read
Fri, Mar 18       Sharpread
Mon, Mar 21    Children's Book Review
Tues, Mar 22       Kid Lit Frenzy
Wed, Mar 23    Cracking the Cover
Thurs, Mar 24      Unleashing Readers
Fri, Mar 25       5 Minutes for Books
Sat, Mar 26     Booking Mama
Mon, Mar 28    A Rup Life
Tues, Mar 29       Children's Book Review
Wed, Mar 30    Once Upon a Story
Thurs, Mar 31      NC Teacher Stuff
Fri, April 1       A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust
Mon, Apr 4      Where Imagination Grows
Wed, Apr 6      Teach Mentor Texts
Tues, Apr 12    Jean Little Library       

Enter the Giveaway:

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It's Monday! What are you reading? From Picture Books to YA - 3/21/16

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.  Jen Vincent of Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee Moye & Ricki Ginsberg of Unleashing Readers decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!

Here's what has jumped out from what I have been reading lately...

The Storm by Akiko Miyakoshi (Kids Can Press, April 5, 2016) - Very different from Miyakoshi's Tea Party in the Woods but the illustrations are just as beautiful. 

You Must Be This Tall by Steve Weinberg (Margaret K McElderry Books, March 8, 2016) - Just plain fun and would make a great read aloud.

What to Do With a Box by Jane Yolen; Illustrated by Chris Sheban (Creative Editions, March 8, 2016) - Full of imagination around boxes and would pair nicely with Antoinette Portis' Not a Box.

Maybe a Fox by Kathi Appelt & Alison McGhee (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, March 8, 2016) - Last week I posted a review on this book. Definitely need tissues and maybe one of my favorite Appelt books.

Hippopotamister by John Green (First Second, May 10, 2016) - Love this graphic novel by the other "John Green". Put it on your TBR list for May.

Flora and the Peacocks by Molly Idle (Chronicle Books, May 3, 2016) - I have loved all of Molly Idle's Flora books but this is probably my favorite. 

Swatch: The Girl Who Loved Color by Julia Denos (Balzer & Bray, March 15, 2015) - There is something about this book that I just really loved. 

Fluffy Strikes Back by Ashley Spires (Kids Can Press, April 5, 2015) - Fans of Binky or folks who simply love cats will enjoy Ashley Spires "spin-off" from her Binky graphic novel series. 

So, what are you reading?