Tidbit: Mysterious Bones

Mysterious Bones: The Story of Kennewick Man, Katherine Kirkpatrick. (Holiday House, 5/1/2011)

Lots of anthropology-nerd appeal here in this very balanced account of the saga of the human remains known as Kennewick Man. Kirkpatrick never sides with the scientists who wanted to study the remains or the local tribes who claimed him as an ancestor, but there's room to make an argument for either.

(Review copy provided by publisher.)

Tidbit: The Many Faces of George Washington

The Many Faces of George Washington, Carla Killough McClafferty. (Carolrhoda, 4/2011)

Gilbert Stuart's portraits of George Washington have left most Americans with a definite image of the first president: austere, dignified, and forever elderly. The Many Faces of George Washington tells the story of the team of historians and artists who have given the world new images of the icon.

The book follow the team's creation of three life-size statues of Washington that show him as a young surveyor, the famous general, and the first president. To build the figures, the team relies on everything from existing images to 3D skeletal models -- and, as the book's copious photo illustrations make clear, lots of painstaking - though fascinating -- work.

(Review copy provided by publisher; text shamelessly cribbed from my Cybils blurb.)

Sacred Mountain Everest

Sacred Mountain Everest, by Christine Taylor-Butler (Lee & Low)

This is a long-overdue Cybils review, but let's start with the important question: how did I not know that Edmund Hillary was a beekeeper until I read this book?

Sacred Mountain Everest is a very cool book, covering some of the familiar history while giving full credit to the Sherpas who made the climbs alongside the famous names.

Seeing the author tweet this, six months after I read the book? Also very cool:

The Vermeer you (probably) don't know

The entire known work of Johannes Vermeer fits on one not-too-long screen on the front page of the website that catalogs his work. Experts generally agree that 34 paintings are his, and there are a couple more possibilities.

Which makes Bob Raczka's in-depth look at seven of them in The Vermeer Interviews a pretty thorough introduction. If you're not familiar with anything beyond the uber-famous Girl With a Pearl Earring, add this book to your list.

Raczka doesn't talk about the paintings as much as he talks to them, and to their subjects. The book is organized as a series of interviews with the milkmaid, the music student, the geographer, and their compatriots.

The interviews bring out technical details about the paintings - the use of light and dark, the possibility that Vermeer used a camera obscura, the fact that scholars have identified the map and globe featured in The Geographer - and speculate on what, precisely, is depicted. (Is Anton van Leewenhoek the model for some of the paintings? Does finding that possibility intriguing mark me as a nerd once again?)

(YA tie-in: The Concert, a Vermeer painting not included in the book, was one of the works taken in the 1990 Gardner heist. So if you're looking for a non-fiction book to pick up after Heist Society has stoked your interest in the history of art theft, try this one.)

The Vermeer Interviews was a Cybils MG/YA non-fiction nominee. The review copy was provided by the publisher.

Whatever this "mixed media" is, I like it

Alas, neither Candlewick nor Walker Books, which published the UK edition of The Time Book, has made any images of the interior pages available, so you're going to have to be satisfied with the cover as a sample of Richard Holland's artwork. (Click the image to see the really high-res version.)

The illustrations, you see, are what make this book work. They're described in the front matter as "mixed media," and in this case it appears to mean Victorian-style collage with a sense of humor.

The text isn't too shabby either (although it has no references whatsoever - no bibliography, no further reading, and definitely no citations). This isn't A Brief History of Time Young Readers' Edition, it's an overview of timekeeping systems in different cultures - and species - and the difficulties of making it fit into any sort of orderly calendar.

And if you finish reading this and find you want a floral clock of your own - well, blame Martin Jenkins and Richard Holland - and Carolus Linnaeus - not me.

The Time Book was a Cybils nominee for MG/YA non-fiction. Review copy provided by publisher.

Correction

It was Miss Grey. But who doesn't need an excuse to reread Sense & Sensibility?

Grad school applications are in, and Cybils nominee blogging commences (finally!) this week.

11 Planets

11 Planets. David Aguilar, National Geographic Children's Books, 2008.

It's a geeky thing to admit, but I totally have a soft spot for the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Maybe it's because one of my college astronomy professors is married to a researcher there, and she took her students to visit the labs. Whatever the reason, I thought it was pretty cool that David Aguilar, a director at the CfA, is both the writer and illustrator of 11 Planets.

For a man who probably gets most of his images off the pixels of a CCD, Aguilar creates some beautiful drawings. He covers the eleven planets of the title, along with some other highlights of this solar system and a look at the solar systems that have only recently been discovered.

If the title count seems off to you, there's a good chance you went through science class before the International Astronomical Union decided to make everyone's mnemonics obsolete. There are now, according to the IAU, which gets to make the rules for this sort of thing, eight full-fledged planets and three minor ones. The minor planets include the now-demoted Pluto, the large asteroid Ceres, and Eris, which had the even cooler name Xena until the official body decided to weigh in. The name they chose is hardly inappropriate, though: in Greek mythology, Eris' domain is discord.

11 Planets is a Cybils Middle Grade/YA Non-Fiction finalist.

Science on the Loose

Science on the Loose. Helaine Becker, Maple Tree Press, 2008.

Science on the Loose is a fun book.

I'm not saying that it isn't informative or filled with examples or anything like that - but fundamentally, it's about all the fun you can find in science.

From mini-volcanoes (did I miss something as a kid? I don't remember making one, but this experiment shows up in almost every science book) to testing whether images with eyes make people behave better to pointing out that Nature once ran an article called "Chickens Prefer Beautiful Humans" (apparently chickens are among the more discerning barnyard fowl; an unrelated experiment revealed just how little it takes to make a turkey happy), Science on the Loose is a great introduction to the idea of science as a subject that's simultaneously playful, joyful, and real.

Science on the Loose is a Cybils Middle Grade/YA Non-Fiction nominee.

Lincoln Through the Lens

Lincoln Through the Lens. Martin W. Sandler, Walker Books for Young Readers, 2008.

American political mythology gives John F. Kennedy credit for being the first president to use the power of televised images to sway public opinion. I came away from Lincoln Through the Lens ready to give Abraham Lincoln credit for doing the same with photographic images.

Martin W. Sandler points to Lincoln's deliberately mussed hair in one picture, the country lawyer's way of showing that even in his city clothes, he still knew where his roots were.

Lincoln thought a different photograph had a lot to do with his victory in 1860. In that image he's standing, using his height for added authority. "[Matthew] Brady and the Cooper Union Institute [speech] made me president," he said.

If you're at all into photography, pick up a copy of this book. It's almost as good as having the whole Life Magazine archive to pore over!

Lincoln Through the Lens is a Cybils Middle Grade/YA Non-Fiction finalist.

The Bite of the Mango

The Bite of the Mango. Mariatu Kamara with Susan McClelland, Annick Press, 2008.

I'll be honest: I really didn't want to read this book.

The cover copy left me squirming. Mariatu Kamara, who tells her story with the help of Susan McClelland, lost both hands when she was attacked during Sierra Leone's civil war.

But the story is so well-written and intriguing that I kept going, following Mariatu from the refugee camp to London and Canada, where she eventually relocated.

Go into this book aware of what you're getting into. Not only are the rebel attacks described in detail, but there's also a scene of genital mutilation. (Keep this one in mind when you join Readergirlz in discussing No Laughter Here in February.)

The Bite of the Mango is a Cybils Middle Grade/YA Non-Fiction nominee.

Super Crocs & Monster Wings

Super Crocs & Monster Wings: Modern Animals' Ancient Past. Claire Eamer, Annick Press, 2008.

Super Crocs & Monster Wings had me hooked by the time it offered instructions on "How to Become a Fossil." Because, really, who wants a textbook that sticks to the practical stuff?

Super Crocs looks at the ancestors of contemporary animals like dragonflies, beavers, and ground sloths, and it (metaphorically, of course; the target audience didn't even grow up on Jurassic Park) brings them to life.

Think you understand just how big dragonfly ancestor Meganeura was? Look for the picture of the researcher posed with a life-sized model, and try to imagine that settling on your knee.

There's a surprising amount of information packed into this thin paperback, but the presentation isn't overwhelming. Call-outs, photos, and artists' renderings, all in full color, break up the page without disturbing the flow of the text.

Super Crocs & Monster Wings is a 2008 Cybils Middle Grade/YA Non-Fiction nominee.

Tidbits

I managed to cross off a few more titles on the Cybils list, but it still feels like a long way to go. (In a good way, though! Lots of books I might not have gotten to otherwise.)

There are tons of reviews I'd like to post, but I haven't quite figured out when that's going to happen. For now, here's my endorsement of Jo Walton's Farthing: It resulted in an unplanned trip to Harlem.

(I was reading it on the subway. Between being engrossed in the book and ignoring the announcements because the PA system was pretty poor, I didn't realize the train turned into an express after 59th Street.)

Cybils progress report

If you want to know details about the Cybils NFMG/YA nominees, click here. If you want to watch me track my progress through the list, scroll down.

Reviews? Yeah, one of these days. For now, I just want the sense of achievement that comes with crossing stuff off.

11 Planets: A New View of the Solar System
Afghan Dreams: Young Voices of Afghanistan
Ain't Nothing but a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry
Amazing Kitchen Chemistry Projects You Can Build Yourself
Body Drama: Real Girls, Real Bodies, Real Issues, Real Answers
Chill: Stress-Reducing Techniques for a More Balanced, Peaceful You
Generation Green: The Ultimate Teen Guide to Living an Eco-Friendly Life
George Washington Carver
Girls Inc. Presents: You're Amazing!: A No-Pressure Guide to Being Your Best Self
Gotcha Covered: Everything You Need To Know About Your Period
Great Peacemakers: True Stories from Around the World
Hidden Letters
Horse Song: The Naadam of Mongolia
I Am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee
In Defiance of Hitler: The Secret Mission of Varian Fry
Independent Dames: What You Never Knew about the Women and Girls of the American Revolution
King George: What Was His Problem?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the American Revolution
Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss
Knucklehead: Tall Tales and Almost True Stories of Growing up Scieszka
Lincoln Shot: A President's Life Remembered
Lincoln Through the Lens
Little Lions, Bull Baiters & Hunting Hounds: A History of Dog Breeds
Model
Mysterious Universe: Supernovae, Dark Energy, and Black Holes
No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row
Off to War: Voices of Soldiers' Children
One Hundred Young Americans
OUR FARM: Four Seasons with Five Kids on One Family Farm
Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out
Painting the Wild Frontier: The Art and Adventures of George Catlin
Physics: Why Matter Matters
ridiculous/hilarious/terrible/cool: a year in an american high school
Science on the Loose: Amazing Activities and Science Facts You'll Never Believe
Sea Queens: Women Pirates Around the World
Sedimentary Rock
Seize the Story
She Touched the World: Laura Bridgman, Deaf-Blind Pioneer
Snow Falling in Spring
Steel Drumming at the Apollo: The Road to Super Top Dog
Super Crocs and Monster Wings
Swords: An Artist's Devotion
Taking Care of Your Girls: A Breast Health Guide for Girls, Teens, and In-Betweens
The Bite of the Mango
The Great Race:The Amazing Round-the-World Auto Race of 1908
The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary
The Pocket Guide to Mischief
The Raucous Royals: Test Your Royal Wits: Crack Codes, Solve Mysteries, and Deduce which Royal Rumors are True
The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West
The Way We Work
The Year We Disappeared: A Father-Daughter Memoir
The Young Birder's Guide to Birds of Eastern North America
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
What the World Eats
Who's Haunting the White House?: The President's Mansion and the Ghosts Who Live There
Women of Granite: 25 New Hampshire Women You Should Know
Yes We Can: A Biography of Barack Obama
YUM: Your Ultimate Manual for Good Nutrition

Updated 12/26. (43/56)

You might want to vary your reading list if...

I've been working on Cybils books over the past few weeks, including some of the very fun science books.

Which is why, when I cleaned the bathroom yesterday, and splashed ammonia all over the floor, I thought about the fact that it was slippery because ammonia is a base.

Yeah.

And then I went back to scrubbing.