August Link-Up: Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge (Nonfiction)

As summer winds down, please share any old school nonfiction you read in August.

I read and reviewed quite a few books:

• A Book of Americans by Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benet, illustrated by Charles Child (1933)
• A Picturesque Tale of Progress: Beginnings I by Olive Beaupre Miller
• Juvenile Story Writing (1922) and Writing for Young People (1950) by Mabel Robinson
• And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? (1973), Why Don't You Get a Horse, Sam Adams? (1974), Where Was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? (1975), What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin? (1976), Will You Sign Here, John Hancock? (1976), Can't You Make Them Behave, King George? (1977), Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus? (1980), and Shh! We're Writing the Constitution (1987), all by Jean Fritz (and all reviewed in one post here.)

I also read A Picturesque Tale of Progress: Beginnings II by Olive Beaupre Miller and Gates of Excellence: On Reading and Writing Books for Children by Katherine Paterson, but ran out of time to review them this month. 

What about you? Share your links in comments! 

Reading with Little Miss Muffet and Little Bo Peep, August 2017

Little Miss Muffet's independent reading has just completely taken off this month. I have to admit that I used to scoff at parents who came to the library claiming their preschoolers could read, but this child (age 3 years, 9 months) has proven to me that some kids truly are natural readers. She has finished all of the Hooked on Phonics readers we had in the house, and she can read most of the Early I Can Read books without help. With help, she has also been reading I Can Read books and similar titles up to almost a second grade level. Her favorites so far have been the Little Bear series by Else Holmelund Minarik and Maurice Sendak, the Oliver Pig series by Jean van Leeuwen and Arnold Lobel, and the Penny books by Kevin Henkes. Personally, I am loving listening to her read Oliver Pig. Amanda Pig reminds us both of Little Bo Peep, which gives us something to laugh about, and I am enjoying the trip down memory lane, since I read many of the titles of the series as a kid. I'm also thrilled with how much she loves Penny.

When she's not reading to herself, I'm still trying to keep reading aloud to her as many picture books as she will allow. Sometimes she grabs them away and says she would prefer to read them herself, but she is also still happy as can be to listen to Frances, Curious George, Lentil, Ira Sleeps Over and other favorites. She continues to be completely obsessed with the Mouse books by Kevin Henkes, especially A Weekend with Wendell and Sheila Rae, the Brave, which Grandma recently sent to her after hearing our collection wasn't complete. My husband has also started reading Little House in the Big Woods aloud to the family after dinner, which I think will be a good habit for us to start, especially with a new baby joining the family. Both of the girls heard longer books read aloud as newborns and this will be a way to keep that going within our normal routine. Each chapter only takes about 10 minutes, and Miss Muffet is completely fascinated by the idea of a world without refrigerators or cars.

As for Little Bo Peep (23 months), her interest in books right now is primarily character-driven. No matter what book she is looking at, she wants to know everyone's name. "Who dat?" she asks and then points repeatedly to a figure on the page until someone says the name. She is especially interested in knowing the names of the baby's big sisters in Mockingbird by Allan Ahlberg and Paul Howard, and she is desperate to know who all the background figures are in the Catholic Children's Bible. (She can identify the baby Jesus - or "Baby God" as she calls him - all by herself, but everyone else is subject to constant questions.)

Thanks to her sister reading A Weekend with Wendell aloud to her, she is also constantly asking for it so she can show us her favorite page. It happens to be an odd scene, where Wendell is hidden in the closet making  noises and Sophie's tail is the only part of her visible as she flees off of the edge of the page. Every time she picks up the book, she flips immediately to that page and says in a troubled tone, "Oh, scary noises. Wen-all make-a scary noises." I have a feeling Kevin Henkes did not imagine that this page would be the most appealing of all the illustrations in the book, but you just never know what a toddler is going to find interesting.

Bo Peep's other big discovery this month has been the Nini books by Anita Lobel Though I'm not sure I ever blogged about them, these books about a gray cat were favorites of Miss Muffet just before she turned two, and we had a feeling Bo Peep would also enjoy them. They came home from the library with my husband last week, and they were an instant hit. Now Bo Peep can be found wandering the house with either Nini Here and There or Nini Lost and Found, meowing and saying, "Who dat? Where Nini?"

As far as read-alouds, Bo Peep's number one favorite right now is Honey Bear by Dixie Willson, a book my husband loved as a child, and which he frequently reads to her at bedtime. She's heard it so many times at this point that she can recite entire lines from memory. She also continues to be interested in anything baby-related, which makes sense since we're about 7 weeks away from the arrival of her little brother or sister. Her favorite babies are in Baby Dear by Eloise Wilkin and The New Baby by Fred Rogers.

Reading Through History: Jean Fritz's American History Books

This month, while the Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge has been focusing on nonfiction, I decided to finally sit down and read a stack of the late Jean Fritz's books about the history of the United States. In total, I read 8 titles:

• And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? illustrated by Margot Tomes (1973)
• Why Don't You Get a Horse, Sam Adams? illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman (1974)
• Where Was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? illustrated by Margot Tomes (1975)
• What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin? illustrated by Margot Tomes (1976)
• Will You Sign Here, John Hancock? illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman (1976)
• Can't You Make Them Behave, King George? illustrated by Tomie dePaola (1977)
• Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus? illustrated by Margot Tomes (1980)
• Shh! We're Writing the Constitution illustrated by Tomie dePaola (1987)

All of these except the last one are biographies of key figures in early America. In each biography, Fritz focuses on a representative quirk of each individual she profiles, which serves as a unifying thread for the important events of that person's life. For John Hancock, whose signature looms so large on the declaration of independence, this is his desire for attention and the ostentatious ways he went about trying to get it. For Sam Adams, it is his refusal to learn to ride a horse, for Columbus, his terrible sense of direction and tendency to stumble upon good fortune, and for King George, his blind paternalism toward the colonists, even when they have made very clear their disdain for him. In the last book, Shh! We're Writing the Constitution, Fritz tells the story of the difficulties and compromises that occurred among different historical figures as the U.S. Constitution slowly took shape. 

In both types of books, Fritz focuses heavily not just on historical events, but on the personalities of the key figures who contributed to the outcomes of these events. Fritz does not simply idolize these men for their greatness; instead she shows both how they were ordinary (stubborn, foolish, insufferable, laughable, quirky, selfish, etc.) and extraordinary. No one is treated as all good or all bad, but instead they are portrayed as very human. For a reader like me who reads books mainly for their characters, I found this approach refreshing and endearing. Whereas I struggle to focus on lengthy informational texts that try to drill details into my memory, the "characters" in each of these books were fascinating to me. As I read in the evenings, I kept saying to my husband, "Hey did you know...?" and "I never knew that..." 

None of these books is enough on its own to convey all the details of the discovery of America, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War, or the drafting of the Constitution, but every single one of them provides context for understanding those events on a more personal and emotional level.  The straightforward facts which are included alongside the biographical details are made more memorable by Fritz's engaging and humorous writing style, and everything she writes about comes to life in a way that school textbooks never could.They would make wonderful read-alouds for elementary kids who are studying colonial America, but they are just as entertaining as independent reads for older readers who want a refresher. 

Also wonderful are the illustrations for each volume. There are three illustrators for these books: Margot Tomes, Trina Schart Hyman, and Tomie dePaola. Though all three artists' styles suit the mood and content of the books, my personal favorite is Hyman. Her pictures have the most detail, and in my opinion, the most personality. Tomes is a close second - I especially like the way she draws children - but found that I associated dePaola too much with other books and other genres to feel like he was a good fit for this subject matter. Still, I think the designer for these books did a great job of keeping a consistent look to the whole series that places the reader in a particular frame of mind regardless of who drew the pictures.

Now that I have read all of these books, I understand why they were so popular in my school library during childhood and why I hear so much about them in homeschooling circles. I plan to use them with my kids when we study U.S. history and I hope they will learn to love history (as I never did as a child) by observing how much fun Fritz clearly had writing about it. 

The RAHM Report for 8/28/17

Last week, I participated in Bout of Books. Today's post rounds up everything I read during the 7-day read-a-thon, plus what I'll be reading next!

Finished Reading: 

• Eugenia Lincoln and the Unexpected Package by Kate DiCamillo (ARC)
  This series never disappoints. This one struck me as especially funny.
• Just Dance by Patricia MacLachlan (ARC)
  This is another of those introspective and descriptive short novels of which MacLachlan has written so many. It was well-written, but not my favorite of hers.
• Best Buds Under Frogs by Leslie Patricelli (ARC)
  I was really curious about this first novel by board book and picture book author/illustrator Leslie Patricelli. I was pleasantly surprised by how refreshing and different it was.
• Swing it, Sunny by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (ARC)
  I enjoyed this graphic novel as much as the first one, but it felt short to me. I could have read 100 pages more at least.
• Dear Fahrenheit 451: A Librarian's Love Letters and Break-Up Notes to the Books in Her Life by Annie Spence (ARC)
  This was a fun diversion for a former librarian. I liked the letters, but not so much the book lists in the second half of the book.
• Patina by Jason Reynolds (ARC)
  The voice in this one is not as strong as that of the main character in Ghost, but otherwise it was everything I wanted the second book of the series to be.
• Did You Carry the Flag Today, Charley? by Rebecca Caudill
  I am reading ahead a little bit for the Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge, which will focus on school stories in September. This was a sweet story about a mischievous Appalachian boy's first experience with school. I loved the writing style.
• Here Comes the Bus by Carolyn Haywood
  I also read this for the Old School Kidlit Challenge. I would have loved it as a kid because I didn't ride the bus and was always curious about what it was like.
• The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser (ARC)
  This heartwarming family story set over Christmas is reminiscent of kids' novels of the 50s and 60s as well as the Penderwicks series. This one's not even out yet and I'm already eager for the sequel, which is due out in 2018. 
• A Picturesque Tale of Progress: Beginnings II by Olive Beaupre Miller
  I told myself I was going to read all 8 volumes of this set, and I'm regretting that decision a little bit. There were a lot of names in this, and I found it hard to retain any information. I did like the treatment of Biblical history, however.
• Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
  I enjoyed this book differently this time than I did as a teenager. I'll have a lot to say in my review.
• Beware the Fish! by Gordon Korman
  I ended the read-a-thon with this quick read. I'm hoping to finish the series and review it for the Old School Kidlit Reading Challenge as well. 

Currently Reading: 

• Raising Demons by Shirley Jackson
  I made some good progress on this book this week, but since I save it to read at night, it's always going to be a slower read than the others. I may try to finish it this week, but I make no guarantees.
• Butternut Summer by Mary McNear
  I barely touched this all week. It's on my phone so I can sneak in a chapter here and there, but it's quicker and more satisfying to read kids' books, especially during a read-a-thon.
• The Ghosts of Greenglass House by Kate Milford (ARC)
  I am loving this, but it's a long one. I'm about a third of the way through.
• The War with Mr. Wizzle by Gordon Korman
  I just borrowed this from Open Library since it comes right after Beware the Fish and I'm trying to get through the rest of the series. I've only read the first page so far. 

I'll be linking up today with Bout of Books to report on my progress for the last time, and with Unleashing Readers/Teach Mentor Texts and Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Bout of Books Progress, Day 6

On day 6, I finished two books:

• A Picturesque Tale of Progress: Beginnings II by Olive Beaupre Miller
• Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

It feels like I've been reading both of these forever, so I'm glad to finally be done!

I also read:

• 16 pages of Raising Demons by Shirley Jackson
• 47 pages of my digital ARC of The Ghosts of Greenglass House by Kate Milford

Bout of Books Progress, Day 5

On day 5, I finished reading:

• Here Comes the Bus by Carolyn Haywood 
• Did You Carry the Flag Today, Charley? by Rebecca Caudill 
• The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser 

That's a total of 9 books finished for the read-a-thon so far - hoping to make it 12 (or more!) by the end of the weekend!

Bout of Books Progress, Day 4

I didn't finish any books on day 4, but I made some progress on several of my current reads.

I read:

• 17 pages of Raising Demons by Shirley Jackson 
• 38 pages of Picturesque Tale of Progress: Beginnings II by Olive Beaupre Miller
• 2% of the Kindle edition of Butternut Summer by Mary McNear 
• 60 pages of Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury 
• 64 pages of my digital ARC of The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser 

I feel accomplished and I'm determined to finish at least a couple of these before the week is over!