Let's Make a Difference: We Can Help Orangutans, by Gabriella Francine and Solara Vayanian

Let's Make a Difference:

We Can Help Orangutans 

Authors: Gabriella Francine and Solara Vayanian 

Publisher: BBM Books 

Publication Date: October 1, 2013

Buy Now on Amazon.com 

Buy Now on Amazon.ca 

My three-year-old (well, she'll be four by the time this review is published, but she was three when we first read it) and I both loved this book, with its big, glossy photos of mother and baby orangutans. It has a lot of information about things that threaten orangutan habitats and how we can help. 

I do wish it had gone further though. As Magda pointed out, it looked like all of the photographs were just of the same mother and baby and she wasn't sure if there were any adult male orangutans pictured at all (I think she's right). 

The advice for how kids can help is limited to things like gathering change from couch cushions to send to charity organizations. After reading Joe the Monkey Learns to Share, from the Money Mammals series, Magda and I were both filled with ideas about having "Spend-Share-Save" jars so children can make charity a regular part of their money management, even at a young age (an idea that we did adapt at home). So by comparison, this seemed like limited advice, especially considering it's supposed to be a "Coins for Causes" book.

Overall, it's great BUT I wish it had included a lot more information. There are ways to make it accessible to both very young and much older kids, by including both large photos AND extra information (in the back or in information boxes). 

Bones Never Lie: How Forensics Helps Solve History's Mysteries, by Elizabeth MacLeod

Bones Never Lie:

How Forensics Helps Solve History's Mysteries

Author: Elizabeth MacLeod

Publisher: Annick Press

Publication Date: February 4, 2013

Buy Now on Amazon.com

Buy Now on Amazon.ca

This book is good, but it could have been great. The idea is that the author presents some of "history's mysteries" such as what killed Napoleon, the supposed disappearance of Anastasia Romanov, the identity of the Man in the Iron Mask, etc., and then reveals how forensic science helped solve those mysteries. The problem is that many of the examples she chooses were NOT solved by forensic science at all, so many chapters end with the conclusion that "we just don't know" or "using deductive reasoning this is our best guess." Why did she choose mysteries that didn't fit her theme?! It's baffling. 

The chapters that do use scientific evidence--like the chapter on Napoleon--are interesting and well done. I just don't know why she opted to include material that didn't fit the theme of the book.

Help Your Kids with Language Arts: A Step-by-Step Visual Guide to Grammar, Punctuation and Writing (DK Publishing)

Help Your Kids with Language Arts:

A Step-by-Step Visual Guide to Grammar, Punctuation and Writing

Author: DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley) 

Publisher: DK Adult 

Publication Date: May 20, 2013

Buy Now on Amazon.com

Buy Now on Amazon.ca

I read a lot of books about language and education, and I've reviewed some great ones (see below for just a few) but this one is AMAZING. I'm serious. It's amazing. I was actually exclaiming out loud as I read it (things like "Wow! This book is amazing!").

What makes it so great? Well first of all, every page could be blown up and used as a poster on the classroom wall. EVERY PAGE. Just look at the illustration below. It's beautiful! Every page is like that: a colourful, easy-to-read infographic that can be used as a handy reference for things like parts of speech, verb tenses, silent letters, and a whole bunch more.

It's a fantastic reference for teachers, students, writers, bloggers (especially those of us who are smug about our writing skills and then find ourselves getting lazier and lazier with grammar and spelling until one day we realize that a handy chart on the wall might, in fact, be in order), and anyone else who might need some reminders about the language. Actually, it would be great for people who have learned English as a second language and want to make sure they have the rules down.

But the book is really perfect for--as the title suggests--parents. Specifically, it's for when your kids are coming home with homework about things like the past perfect tense or when to use a semi-colon, or something called phrasal verbs, and you think, "When did this get so hard? I speak English. I went to elementary school, for heaven's sake. Why don't I remember this stuff?" But you don't want to tell your kids you don't remember because you should remember. And you do remember, really. You just might need a little handy-dandy reminder. And that's where this book comes in.

You know what else makes it great? (Besides EVERYTHING!) It starts each section--grammar, spelling, punctuation, even the introduction to the book itself--by asking the same simple question: Why? Why learn English? Why learn proper grammar? Why learn to spell? 

More Money Please: The Financial Secrets You Never Learned in School, by Scott Gamm

More Money Please:

The Financial Secrets You Never Learned in School 

Author: Scott Gamm 

Publisher: Plume 

Publication Date: April 30, 2013

Buy Now on Amazon.com

Buy Now on Amazon.ca

I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels my stomach leap into my throat when I think about money. Just the words finances, budget and debt make me feel like I'm going to throw up. It's not that I don't know how important it is to understand where my money goes and how to budget it, and it's not like I'm even that "bad with money." It's just stressful. 

But Scott Gamm gets that. He knows I don't like thinking about money. He knows you don't like thinking about money. So he didn't fill his book with lots of extra noise about how you should "feel" about your finances, or try to convince you to enjoy doing taxes. He just got right to the point. He's like your straightforward, reliable friend who comes to help you move by loading sh*t on to your truck, not spending hours talking about where you got this particular teapot. He's to the point and he gets it done.

This book is like that. It's filled with practical, specific and straightforward advice. Some of it is a lot more applicable to Americans than Canadians (things like tax laws and student loan procedures) but the principals are sound. How to make a budget. How to choose a bank. Why you need to be saving for retirement now. There's even a section on job search skills, which I assume is aimed at a younger reader who is new to the job market.

I can't say he alleviated my low-level stress about thinking about handling my money, but he gave me a very helpful guidebook for actually doing something about it.

What Learning Leaves, poems by Taylor Mali

What Learning Leaves

(New and Revised Edition)

poems by Taylor Mali

Publisher: Write Bloody

Publication Date: November 15, 2012

(First published January 7, 2012)

Buy Now on Amazon.com

Buy Now on Amazon.ca

It wouldn't be National Poetry Month without at least one review of a book of poetry, would it? Apparently not. But I can't think of any book of poetry I'd rather be reviewing than that of Taylor Mali. He's one of my top five favourite slam poets of all time, he's amazing, he's smart AND he's a teacher. It would be harder for me NOT to be a fan of his than to just go ahead and love him (which I do). 

What Learning Leaves contains many of my favourite Taylor Mali poems (including "What Teachers Make" and "Like Lilly Like Wilson" which you can see him perform in the videos below) as well as many I hadn't read before. As I was reading them, I kept getting up to read them aloud to my partner Mike, who is a junior high (middle school) teacher. He particularly liked the notion of "saving the world one eighth grader at a time" and making his classroom a "like-free zone" (as in, like, not, like, letting students say, like, like all the time).

Hit the jump to see videos of Taylor Mali performing some of his poetry. He's truly outstanding.

Digital Wildlife Photography, by John and Barbara Gerlach

Digital Wildlife Photography

Authors: John and Barbara Gerlach

Publisher: Focal Press

Publication Date: November 14, 2012

Buy Now on Amazon.com

Buy Now on Amazon.ca

Boy, if there was ever a book that needed a subtitle, it's this one! I thought it was a book OF wildlife photography, not a book ABOUT wildlife photography! It's my fault for not reading the description better. I was really looking forward to some beautiful, high-res photos of wildlife, like what's on the cover. Instead it's a book about how to get the most out of your digital camera when trying to take pictures like that on your own. So disappointed!

That's not to say that YOU'LL be disappointed because now that you know what the book is about, it might be exactly the book you're looking for. Unless you're looking for a coffee table style book of glossy animal pictures, in which case you will be disappointed (but don't say I didn't warn you). Here are some of the topics covered in the book:

Chapter 1 - Cameras and Accessories: The Best Wildlife Camera SystemsChapter 2 - Choosing and Using Lenses: Selecting Quality LensesChapter 3 - Exposure StrategiesChapter 4 - Precise Focusing TechniquesChapter 5 - Shooting Quality ImagesChapter 6 - The Crucial Role of LightChapter 7 - CompositionChapter 8 - Electronic FlashChapter 9 - Getting Close to Wildlife

Not covered: Adorable little lambs jumping over their mothers. For those photos, you should really check out the Flickr stream of photographer Roeselien Raimond. She has nothing to do with this book, but she took this photo. Look! It's a leaping lamb!

Photo by: Roeselien Raimond
It's not in the book. It has nothing to do with the book. It's just an awesome photo.

Odd Couples: Extraordinary Differences Between the Sexes in the Animal Kingdom, by Daphne J. Fairbairn

Odd Couples

Extraordinary Differences Between the Sexes in the Animal Kingdom

Author: Daphne J. Fairbairn

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Publication Date: April 28, 2013

Buy Now on Amazon.com

Buy Now on Amazon.ca

I think the problem with this book is that it is a scientific paper trying to be a commercial book with wide mainstream appeal. As a result, it's neither. The author acknowledges that she tried to reach a broader audience by limiting the scientific jargon--which resulted in over a hundred pages of notes, appendices, glossaries and charts in the back of the book--but she doesn't seem to understand what she could have added to the book to give it more lay appeal. There are almost no photos or illustrations in the book see update below (but lots of charts! charts everywhere!), and the ones that are included are mostly line drawings of sea creatures (I think I saw an octopus penis but, honestly, I'm not even sure). Where are the photos?* As a lay person, I was disappointed.

It's not that I couldn't follow along with the science of the book. My first year as an undergraduate was spent as a biology major. So I have some background. Some, but not a lot (as you may have guessed, I switched majors pretty early on). But the thing is, am I the target audience? I felt like anyone with less knowledge of biology would be lost (I was straining at times) and anyone with more (like a biologist) would find the book too "dumbed down." As for me, I was a little bored. I really wanted the glossy pictures of the male and female elephant seals or some high-res shots of those "female tubeworms with harems of minuscule males" I was so excited about.

Just know what you're getting into. I'm not saying the book is terrible. But it is NOT a coffee table book, if that's what you're hoping for. 


*UPDATE: I was contacted by the author who assured me that the finished book does, in fact, contain full colour photos. She even sent me a few to look at. It really does make a big difference. It's always hard to know which things will be different in the final copy of a book, compared to the advanced digital galley, but I really wish the galley had better indicated what the photo spread would be like. I do, however, stand by my initial assessment of the tone of the book. But photos help a lot.

**UPDATE UPDATE: The author had her publisher send me a finished print copy of the book. While that was very nice of her, it didn't make that big a difference. There are fewer pictures than I thought there'd be (STILL!) and they're mostly of the walruses. Meh. I'm thinking it'll be a future giveaway or else I'll donate it to my library.

Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birutė Galdikas, by Jim Ottaviani and Maris Wicks

Primates:

The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birutė Galdikas

Authors: Jim Ottaviani and Maris Wicks

Publisher: First Second

Publication Date: June 11, 2013

Buy Now on Amazon.com

Buy Now on Amazon.ca

I'm not even going to debate with myself about whether or not I would have loved this comic-book-style biography as a child. I know I would have. I had the Mother Theresa comic book as a child! I was a little surprised by how much I enjoyed Primates as an adult though. It was like Persepolis with primates. (I feel like I've made that comparison before. Oh yeah, here. Can you tell I don't read a lot of comics?)

But seriously, y'all. Did you know about "Leaky's Angels"? I thought I knew a little about Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey but obviously I knew nothing because I didn't even realize that their entire careers with primates (chimpanzees for Goodall and gorillas for Fossey--I knew that much at least) started when they were hired by the famous Louis and Mary Leakey to do field work. They've been working on grants set up by the Leakeys all this time! Well, I'm sure Jane Goodall has her own funding now, and Dian Fossey is sadly dead.

And what about Birutė Galdikas? I hadn't even heard about her! Apparently she does the same thing, except with orangutans.

Knitting Classic Style: 35 Modern Designs Inspired by Fashion's Archives, by Veronik Avery

Knitting Classic Style: 

35 Modern Designs Inspired by Fashion's Archives

Author: Veronik Avery

Photographer: Sara Cameron

Publisher: Abrams

Publication Date: October 30, 2012

Buy Now on Amazon.com

Buy Now on Amazon.ca

So a few weeks ago I decided to learn to knit. Well, decided might be too strong a word. Mike was learning to knit and I thought I might try it too, since I had done a little knitting as a child and figured I'd pick it right back up. I didn't. It was a disaster. I hated it. But, more importantly, I felt that knitting had defeated me and I couldn't have that (YOU WON'T BE ME, KNITTING!). So I kept at it, almost 100% out of spite. Who was the spite directed at? I dunno...the needles? It didn't matter. Eventually I got better. Sort of.

It didn't take long before spite turned into cockiness. I could knit anything! I was well on my way to being a knitting master! I had knit! I had purled! I had cast on AND bound off (binded off?). What more did I need? I was officially a Beginner Knitter, I assumed.

So when I saw this book that claimed to be "aimed at both beginning and more advanced knitters" I thought, "Aha! I'm totally ready for this!" I was wrong. So, so wrong.

Turns out knitting is like its own language, and reading a knitting pattern is like reading music. You have to know what you're looking at and really understand how it relates to what you're supposed to be doing with your hands. Knowing how to do a purl stitch really isn't enough to be able to follow a "beginner" pattern any more than knowing how to bang your fingers on a piano is enough to be able to read--and play--a piece of sheet music. This book had me feeling in over my head pretty quickly.

As cute as some of the sweaters in this book are (and some are very cute, though others just look dated and old-fashioned, if I'm honest), you really have to think about how you define "beginner" before attempting them. If you're completely fine with using patterns--and by patterns I mean a series of abbreviations and code that knitters use, not step-by-step directions--you might want to try some of these. If, like me, you would like more tutelage, you're probably not ready for this book. All but one of the photos are of the finished products; none of them (save one) are of the process itself. If this book is for beginners, I am clearly nowhere near "beginner" status.

Farmyard Knits, by Fiona Goble

Farmyard Knits

Author: Fiona Goble

Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing

Publication Date: April 23, 2013

Buy Now on Amazon.com

Buy Now on Amazon.ca

WOW! Can I do this? Like, right now? Look at all the little farm animals she made! Look at the l'il tractor! OMG! Honestly, I don't think I'm ready to make any of these since I just started knitting, like, a second ago. But I think I'm going to try to get better so I can work towards this!

The book shows you how to make everything shown on the cover (including the tractor!), which you can then use as toys or as set pieces for little farm scenes. There is a warning at the beginning of the book saying that the projects described are not intended to be used as toys for small children, something about small parts and choking and what have you. So maybe technically they're supposed to be used in the latter capacity. (BUT JUST TRY TO STOP ME FROM PLAYING WITH THEM!)

Oh you know what it would be great for? Illustrating a children's book about farm animals! OMG I HAVE TO GET BETTER AT KNITTING RIGHT NOW!!

Keep reading to see more pictures from inside the book, including the knit animals in action.

Topsy-Turvy Inside-Out Knit Toys: Magical Two-in-One Reversible Projects, by Susan B. Anderson

Topsy-Turvy Inside-Out Knit Toys:

Magical Two-in-One Reversible Projects

Author: Susan B. Anderson

Publisher: Artisan

Publication Date: March 19, 2013

Buy Now on Amazon.com

Buy Now on Amazon.ca

Squeee! I want to make all of these right now, right now, RIGHT NOW!! Unfortunately, I don't think I'm anywhere near ready for these projects, but maybe I will be soon if I learn a little bit more about knitting basics. The projects are so adorable it'll be worth doing a little work to learn how to make them, and the instructions in this book seem pretty accessible. It's not just a book of patterns and abbreviations with no explanations. There are step-by-step instructions and a lot of photos and diagrams of work in progress. So I think I'll be able to figure it out.

And I hope I do because the toys in the book are ah-MAAAAZING! They are all two toys in one (like the title suggests). There's a doghouse that you flip over and it turns into a dog. There's a crocodile that folds into its own egg. There's a bunny that you turn inside out and it becomes a lamb. It's hard to describe.

Here, just hit the jump to watch a video of the reversible toys in action:

Canada's Road: A Journey on the Trans-Canada Highway from St. John's to Victoria, by Mark Richardson

Canada's Road:

A Journey on the Trans-Canada Highway from St. John's to Victoria

Author: Mark Richardson

Publisher: Dundurn

Publication Date: April 1, 2013

Buy Now on Amazon.com

Buy Now on Amazon.ca

It's not often I get to say this about a book, let alone say it and mean it as a compliment, but this book was exactly what I expected. I hoped, based on the cover and description, that this would be a travel memoir about driving across country on the Trans-Canada Highway ("the TCH"),an informative book about the history of the road and the country, with a few pictures and colourful anecdotes thrown in. I hoped it would make me want to travel the TCH myself, or at least feel like I had. I was even hoping it would make me feel more Canadian somehow, and that I would learn a thing or two. Honestly, it was all of those things. Mark Richardson delivered exactly what I was hoping for in this book and the only thing I regret is that I only have the ebook edition instead a coffee table book hardcover (does it come in that? I couldn't tell based on the Amazon product page).

Plus, he's from Cobourg, Ontario, home Alan Bradley, creator of everyone's favourite chemistry-obsessed preteen amateur sleuth, Flavia de Luce. So bonus points for that! 

You can also read more about Mark's journey cross country here.

10 Plants That Shook the World, by Gillian Richardson (illustrated by Kim Rosen)

10 Plants That Shook the World

Author: Gillian Richardson

Illustrator: Kim Rosen

Publisher: Annick Press

Publication Date: February 14, 2013

Buy Now on Amazon.com

Buy Now on Amazon.ca

I thought from the title that I would be able to guess what the "10 plants that shook the world" would be. I figured papyrus, cotton and corn would be on there (they are), and I wasn't surprised by potato, tea, sugarcane and cacao (you know, chocolate). But not coffee? Then there's pepper and rubber, which I wouldn't have thought of, but it made sense. But no wheat? No soy? And what the hell is chinchona??

Turns out I should have been paying more attention to the "shook the world" part of the title. The theme of the book is actually the top plants that changed how international trade and exploration evolved. So the plants that they talk about are ones that not only changed how we eat and live, but also how we communicate (hence the papyrus) or interact with each other. So, for example, tea, sugarcane and cacao became globally traded commodities; sugarcane and cotton sadly contributed to an international slave trade; and potatoes both doubled and halved the population of Ireland and greatly contributed to Irish emigration. 

And chinchona? It's the plant that provides the key ingredient to the malaria vaccine. While that's incredibly important for the people most at risk of malaria, it was also a major factor in the ability of Europeans to explore countries they previously had been unable to explore. See? It's a theme.

But seriously? No tomato? No chick pea? Not even a sweet pea in honour of Gregor Mendel?

Follow Your Money: Who Gets It, Who Spends It, Where Does It Go? by Kevin Sylvester and Michael Hlinka

Follow Your Money:

Who Gets It, Who Spends It, Where Does It Go? 

Authors: Kevin Sylvester and Michael Hlinka 

Illustrator: Kevin Sylvester 

Publisher: Annick Press 

Publication Date: February 4, 2013

Buy Now on Amazon.com

Buy Now on Amazon.ca

The idea behind the book is solid: Why do things cost what they cost? If an item costs a dollar to make but sells for thirty, who gets the other twenty-nine dollars? This thought experiment is repeated a few dozen times in the book with items the authors must have figured kids would be interested in, like sneakers and music. Unfortunately, it mostly feels like a repeated thought experiment, since there's no reason to think that the numbers they use are anything but theoretical. The first example is a "10 dollar cardboard box," for instance. Ten dollars for a cardboard box??

Throughout the book the numbers they give for what things cost all seem randomly chosen and not at all accurate. The breakdown of a metro transit bus ticket, for example, includes things like fuel costs, worker salaries, bus maintenance, etc., but it does not acknowledge that virtually no transit system in the world is sustained entirely by the cost of a rider ticket. (This is something I know about. There was a transit strike in my city last year and I did a lot of research on transit systems in Canada and the rest of the world, trying to figure out what the costs were in other cities. The overwhelming majority of transit systems only get about half of their funding from rider tickets and the other half from government support.)

It may sound like I'm being picky, but the book is presented as if the numbers ARE solid facts, as if the reader could take that information and break down the exact costs of various items (how much goes to production, distribution, profit, etc.). But without the benefit of accuracy (which I don't believe this book has...or if so, it's a gross oversimplification at best), it's really just a long list of examples and not much else.

Joe the Monkey Saves for a Goal: A Loop-Dee-Loo Story (A Share-Save-Spend Smart Book), by John Lanza (illustrations by John Lanza and Patrick Rooney)

Joe the Monkey Saves for a Goal:

A Loop-Dee-Loo Story

(A Share-Save-Spend Smart Book)

Author: John Lanza

Illustrators: John Lanza and Patrick Rooney

Publisher: Snigglezoo

Publication Date: April 1, 2010

Buy Now on Amazon.com

Joe the Monkey Saves for a Goal is the first book in the "Share-Save-Spend Smart" series. I previously reviewed the book Joe the Monkey Learns to Share and I was very impressed. The series is great for helping kids see that money management is something they can do at any age. 

It's not always easy to talk to your kids about money. You want them to develop good financial habits, but where do you start? I was talking about this with my cousin Lisa just the other day (Well, she's the wife of my partner's second cousin once removed, so...I guess I was talking about this with my friend Lisa). We have kids the same age (3 1/2) and she was saying her son was asking her where quarters come from and how he could get more quarters for his collection. I told her how we had been talking to our own child, Magda, about money using a "three jars" concept that we learned about from the book Joe the Monkey Learns to Share. 

The idea is that children divide up their money (whether it's allowance, birthday money, etc.) into "spend," "save" and "share" jars (we also added a fourth jar called "invest" for money that goes directly into the bank). Some of their money can be used for immediate goals, like buying little treats (the "spend" jar) but if they want to buy something big they'll need to save up (the "save" jar). This book is specifically about the save jar.

Joe the Monkey wants to buy a new vine (he's a monkey...that's like an Xbox to him) but it costs too much money. He doesn't have twenty dollars! His allowance is only four! But he REALLY wants it, which means he'll have to save up for a few weeks and not spend his money on little things if he wants to buy the big thing he has his eye on. It's not easy, and he's very tempted to say forget it and just buy candy. But in the end he realizes it's worth it to save his money for something he really wants.

I love this series. It's fun, it's accessible, it's kid-friendly. Oh, and it's secular too. That may not be important to everybody, but I've come across quite a few Christian-based books about the three jars system. Those are great if they fit your religious values, but if not, it's great to have non-religious options. Besides, the John Lanza books could easily be read by Christian and non-Christian families alike. 

War Brothers: The Graphic Novel, by Sharon E. McKay (illustrated by Daniel LaFrance)

War Brothers: The Graphic Novel

Author: Sharon E. McKay

Illustrator: Daniel Lafrance

Publisher: Annick Press

Publication Date: February 7, 2013

Buy Now on Amazon.com

Buy Now on Amazon.ca

I have not read Sharon McKay's 2008 YA novel, War Brothers, so I can't compare the graphic novel version to the original. Like the original, War Brothers--The Graphic Novel tells the story of child soldiers in Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, this time with illustrations by Daniel Lafrance to add a new dimension to the characters. 

I discussed this book with my partner Mike (he reads a lot of comic books and graphic novels). Here's what he had to say:

"A pretty good story.  A little safe – only one of the main characters has to kill, and they manage to escape together.  There’s even a little deus ex machina in the jungle. Not bad for younger readers – it wades into the horror of child soldiers and the LRA.  It’s fiction, and it feels that way.  Weird to say, but feels a bit “Feel good story”, even given the topic.  The feeling of guilt and belief that everyone was afraid of them as killers was well done."

He also mentioned how much he liked the fact that the illustrations were somewhere between typical graphic novel images and children's book illustrations. They were almost cute, or they would have been if the subject matter hadn't been so horrifying. It added to the feeling that these children's childhoods were being stolen from them by being forced into children's armies.

Summary: How Children Succeed...in 30 Minutes A Concise Summary of Paul Tough's Bestselling Book: A 30 Minute Expert Summary

Summary: How Children Succeed...in 30 Minutes

A Concise Summary of Paul Tough's Bestselling Book

Authors: 30 Minute Expert Summaries

Publisher: Garamond

Publication Date: November 29, 2012

Buy Now on Amazon.com

Buy Now on Amazon.ca

I got this book from the library because after listening to the unabridged audio version. I thought maybe I would like Paul Tough's book more if it were more concise. The audiobook rambled, went on and on about study after study, but seemed to provide no framework for understanding each study, particularly when the findings of one conflicted with the findings of another. All of the studies and experiments he talked about just seemed to be "a bunch of stuff that happened." His conclusion always seems to be "Well that didn't work. I guess that's not the answer." 

I thought at least this summary would provide a little clarity, pare the book down to the author's main points, if in fact he had any. I also suspected that the very existence of this "30 minute" version suggested I was not alone in thinking Paul Tough's book was convoluted. 

Turns out the condensed version didn't help except to confirm my original suspicion  Paul Tough doesn't actually understand these studies himself. He's not a psychologist or an educator or a social worker. He didn't participate in any of the research he's discussing. He simply found the subject matter compelling, found a bunch of people who had been studying child development, and related their opinions--largely unfiltered--in the form of this book. When their research (or more often anecdotal examples) conflicts, Tough doesn't know how to interpret that except with vagaries like "the answers are elusive" or "children need a certain indefinable quality in order to succeed." 

In other words I've just wasted my own time. Twice.

GRAPHIC: The Story of Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani teenager shot in the head for attending school

This is an image from artist Gavin Aung's illustrated version of the story of Malala Yousafzai, the 15-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban for attending school. It's a one page comic book graphic showing her story, in her own words. It's all kinds of heartbreaking and inspiring and awful and...it's all of those things.

You can check out the full thing here or on the artist's site here.

How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character, by Paul Tough (Audiobook Narrated by Dan John Miller)

How Children Succeed:

Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character

Author: Paul Tough

(Audiobook Narrated by: Dan John Miller)

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

(Audiobook Published by: Tantor Media)

Publication Date: September 4, 2012

Buy Now on Amazon.com: hardcover paperback kindle audiobook

Buy Now on Amazon.ca: hardcover paperback kindle audiobook

I listened to the audiobook of this so I guess I should review it both as a book and as an audiobook. As an audiobook, it's fair. The narration is good, except for the fact that the narrator insists on doing accents and character voices, which is unnecessary in a non-fiction title. I know the author references interviews that he conducted or quotations that he pulled from other sources, but it doesn't mean the narrator has to act them out with every accent and "funny female voice" he can muster. At best, it's distracting. At worst, it's pretty annoying. But other than that, the narration is great.

As a book, I can understand a lot of the frustration expressed by other reviewers. The title is misleading, indicating that: (a) the book is aimed at parents or educators as a how-to guide; and (b) the author has arrived at actual conclusions about "how children succeed." Neither is entirely true.

Mostly the book is a collection of anecdotal evidence and isolated case studies that show...well, nothing. At least according to the author. It seems that every case he brings up--whether it is research done by psychologists, or pedagogical experiments undertaken by schools, or statistics gathering done by government agents--leads him to the same conclusion: Well, that didn't work. 

This book would be depressing if it weren't so ridiculous. His ultimate conclusion about why some children succeed and others don't? An intangible quality that we can't really define and don't understand how to teach but probably is either learned, acquired or inherited..or none of those.

Great. Thanks.

Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photographs to Inspire Writing, by Elizabeth Guy and Hank Kellner

Reflect and Write:

300 Poems and Photographs to Inspire Writing

Authors: Elizabeth Guy and Hank Kellner

Editor: Sean Redmond

Publisher: Prufrock Press

Publication Date: February 1, 2013
Buy Now on Amazon.com
Buy Now on Amazon.ca

It has been a while since I taught poetry, but when I did I often made use of art, photography and quotations to act as writing prompts. So I appreciate the compilation of poetry, photography, quotations and questions in this book.

The photos are well-chosen, helping to elucidate the themes of the accompanying poem and spark students’ imaginations. (The image of three nuns watching a “Spirit Cruises” ship next to a poem about longing to travel made me smile.) Each poem also includes key words that students can discuss as well as questions about the theme, or ideas for writing assignments. I particularly like the quotations from famous people on each page because they often offer a wryly dissenting opinion from the poem. (A particularly peppy poem entitled “I Love a Parade” is followed by the Ulysses S. Grant quote, “The one thing I never want to see again is a military parade.”)

There were, however, some things I wish the authors had included but didn’t. There are no author bios for any of the authors of the poems (except Elizabeth Guy and Hank Kellner). There is a symbol indicating if the poem was written by a student or not, but that is the only information we are given. As a reader, I like to have at least basic information about a poet that may help me understand the context in which they write. And as a teacher I like to have that information to share with the class or as a prompt for further research.