kiddieliter

The Gooch Machine Poems for Children by Brod Bagert

cathy.johns — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:13:50 +0000

Some of the funniest poems you will ever read! Poetry about real life things in a kids life told in a fun way. From doughnuts to dad it is just a great book of poems! The illustrations only add to the already fantastic poetry!

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCammillo

cathy.johns — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:08:09 +0000

It is sometimes hard to move to a new town and make new friends! Opal and her dad do just that, they move too Floridak. Opal meets a crazy dog running through the local Winn-Dixie supermarket and makes her first friend. Her new friend, the dog she names Winn-Dixie, helps Opal makes a variety of new, interesting friends and togther they spend the summer listening to some great stories. Opals mother is not in the picture anymore. It is a summer of larning and growing on many levels.

Great Americans- Frederick Douglass

cathy.johns — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:01:49 +0000

This book shares facts about Frederick Douglass from his childhood as a slave to his time as a runaway slave. It tells about Douglass’ ocupation as a ship caulker and then later as an advisor to President Lincoln. Douglass was also an abolisionist and an advocate for womens rights.

Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson

cathy.johns — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:56:14 +0000

An upbeat look at how quilts were actually story boards and maps to freedom for the slaves! Jacqueline Woodson is also originally from upstate SC, so a great way to show how a SC person can be an author!

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig

cathy.johns — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:47:13 +0000

Sylvester a donkey finds a magic pebble that grants his wishes, while he holds the pebble. On his way home with the pebble he is confronted with a lion and in fear wished he was a rock! As a rock he could no longer hold the pebble and so could not wish to be a donkey again. The story has a happy ending with his mother and father having a picinic on his back, in his rock form. They found the pebble and wished that Sylvester was with them and he was changed back to himself again.

A Woman for President: The Story of Victoria Woodhull by: Kathleen Krull

amber.scates — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:53:48 +0000

Victoria Woodhull was born into poverty in 1838; she spent most of her childhood in a variety of bad situations. Victoria and her sister began the first stock business owned by women and eventually ran for the presidency.

Ronald McNair by Corinne Naden

clarissa.milligan — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 05:21:59 +0000

This book tells about the events of Ronald McNair’s life. They start the book off by talking about The Challenger and how it exploded when they took off. Then they began the story of his life. Something that I found interesting about his is the fact that he is from Lake City, South Carolina. They talk about his adventures of his career being one of the first black astronauts.

George Wachington and the Founding of a Nation

latressia.morman — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 21:48:55 +0000

This books is a biography of George Washington’s life as wella as his presidency. It talks about the Revolution the years of 1175-1783 and the French and Indian War. It also goes in depth about the colonial period. Although this is a juvenile literature book I feel that alot can be learned from reading it. There were things that I had forgotten and it refreshed my memory about what happen in history.

“George Washington Carver: Scientist and Inventor” by Barbara Kramer

elnora.adams — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 19:10:32 +0000

George Washington Carver was born into slavery around 1864 on Moses Carver’s farm near Diamond, Missouri. Moses and his wife, Susan, were German immigrants who taught George and his brother many things, but it was George’s insatiable thirst for knowledge which led him to discover many things on his own and to pursue a formal education, even though there many obstacles facing him in this quest. Nevertheless, he persevered and received a bachelor of science degree and a master’s in agriculture from Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, the first of his race to do so there. In fact, he was a trailblazer for all races in many areas because he did many things which no one had ever done before and would write informational literature detailing his research and works. He would later receive an honorary doctorate from Simpson College where he had once attended before transferring to Iowa State.

He was different from the vast majority of scientists because he was able to join religion and science by attributing his scientfific discoveries to inspiration from God. He explained (p. 89): “The thing I am to do and the way of doing it comes to me. The method is revealed at the moment I am inspired to create something new. Without God to draw aside the curtain, I would be helpless.”

Because he wanted to be a help to his people, he took a teaching position at Tuskegee Institute, a renowned Black institution of higher learning in Alabama which was headed by another great Black historical educator and leader, Booker T. Washington. It was at Tuskegee where Dr. Carver would discover many uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, cotton, and other common products, such as clay from which he derived pigments and formulated paints.

His love of God and his fellowmen allowed him to form lasting friendships and associations, most notably that of his friendship with Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company. They had a common interest in chemurgy, a new science whose purpose was to find industrial uses for farm products. (It is now called biochemical engineering.)

Another notable person whose life was touched by Dr. Carver was Henry A. Wallace, the inquisitive young son of one of Carver’s former professors. He would later have a successful career in agriculture and would eventully serve as the U. S. Secretary of Agriculture under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Wallace was then successfully nominated as the vice presidential candidate on President Roosevelt’s ticket and was inaugurated on January 20, 1941.

Dr. Carver died on January 5, 1943. He is buried on the Tuskegee campus (as is Dr. Booker T. Washington).

This book provides a vast amount of information regarding Dr. Carver’s life (including some of his recipes for peanuts and sweet potatoes) and the discoveries he made and the accolades and honors which he received during his lifetime and posthumously.

The author notes that he was a leader in discovering industrial uses for agricultural products and opened doors for other African-American scientists, but further states that perhaps Dr. Carver’s legacy is the individual lives he touched as a teacher and mentor and the young people he guided and inspired. He had told his students (p. 113): “When you do the common things of life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.”

Ian’s Walk: A Story about Autism by Laurie Lears

clarissa.milligan — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:49:52 +0000

This book is about a girl who tells the story of her brother, who has autism. She wants to go to the park with her friend, and decides to take her brother along. Since he has autism he does things different from normal children. He listens to the brick walk, and the sidewalk. It tells how children with autism are different but they are still people who need to be loved.