Nonfiction Spotlight: Lulu & Rocky in Detroit

Title: Lulu & Rocky in Detroit

Author: Barbara Joosse

Illustrated By: Renée Graef

Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press

Copyright date: 2019

Target Audience: Pre-K & Lower Elementary

Summary:

Lulu and Rocky are fox cousins that explore different cities together. Their journey always begins with a letter from Aunt Fancy. Rocky gets his mysterious letter in the mail and Lulu gets hers via email. This time they’re going to visit Detroit, Michigan. Everyday of their stay, Aunt Fancy leaves a new Adventure Assignment with the concierge. These Adventure Assignments lead them all over the city, allowing readers to learn about all of the awesome places to see when visiting Detroit.

Critique of Contents & Organization:

The dedications section on the Copyright Page lists all the organizations and business that helped the author and illustrator create the book. The title page is a hand drawn map of Detroit that lists all the places Lulu and Rocky visit throughout the book. At the end of the book there is also a More to Know! Section, which gives information on all the places Lulu and Rocky visited. The story itself is told in chronological order as the fox cousins go on their journey exploring Detroit.

This is a narrative nonfiction that blurs the lines a bit between facts and fiction. I say this because the main characters are anthropomorphic foxes that talk and go on adventures. Clearly this is not realistic—however, I think even preschoolers know that this isn’t how foxes typically behave, and therefore does not lead them to believe that penguins chauffeur foxes around the state of Michigan.

This book does a great job of making a trip to Detroit exciting and adventurous. Instead of simply saying, “visit the United States’ oldest aquarium”, readers get a sneak peek of what the United States’ oldest aquarium looks like. The book doesn’t bog readers down with lots of details, but instead provides just enough information through minimal text and exhilarating illustrations to pique interest and encourage a sense of adventure.

Between the amazing illustrations and the minimal text, this book makes for a great read aloud.

Reasons to Include this Title in Your Library Collection:

I think this book is a great way to encourage reluctant readers to engage with cities they’ve never visited before. It’s an entirely different spin on the larger, more detailed travel guides and books older students use for class reports or to plan vacations. I think this is far more engaging and encourages readers to become interested in all the different attractions and businesses different cities provide. I could even see this as a great resource for children that are moving to a new city and fear the move because it makes the new city seem like a grand adventure with lots of mysteries and cool locations to explore and discover. There’s also a lot of travel related extensions!

Use & Extension Activities:

•  Read this book aloud in class before a field trip to Detroit.     
• Have children imagine that Lulu & Rocky are visiting their hometown. What places would Aunt Fancy send them to visit? What is the message our hometown expresses?
• Older children can create Adventure Assignments for cities they are unfamiliar with. 
• Discuss cities the students have visited and what made the trip so special. (Older students can also create their own travel scrapbooks, and if the students haven’t visited a different town, they can create one for their hometown or pick a town to investigate).

Read Alikes:

Title: Lulu & Rocky in Milwaukee

Author:  Barbara Joosse

Reason: This is the first book in Lulu & Rocky’s traveling adventures. It explores the city of Milwaukee. It also has a ton of amazing illustrations and does a great job of exploring Milwaukee.

Title: KeeKee’s Big Adventures in London, England

Author:  Shannon Jones

Reasoning: This is another narrative nonfiction book about travel featuring an anthropomorphic main character, KeeKee the cat. 

 

Nonfiction Spotlight: Anne Frank's Diary

Title: Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation

Adapted By: Ari Folman

Illustrated By: David Polonsky

Publisher: Anne Frank Fonds

Copyright date: 2018

Target Audience: Teens

Lexile Reading Level: GN800L

Book Trailer:

Anne Frank's Diary, page 5. This illustration captures
the feel of Anne's Diary--it's like Anne is
whispering all of her secrets to her best friend.

Summary:

This is an Anne Frank graphic novel biography, adapted from her original diary by Ari Folman and David Polonsky on behalf of the Anne Frank Fonds. While they admittedly could not transfer every diary entry and word into a graphic format, they did take five years to determine which scenes were best represented in graphics and tried their best to “remain true to Anne Frank’s memory and legacy” (p. 149). This adaptation starts on June 12, 1942-the day Anne received her dear diary, Kitty for her 13^th birthday, to August 1^st, 1944-three days before Anne’s family is arrested and sent away to concentration camps. It details Anne’s day-to-day life and struggles as she hides from the Nazis in the secret apartment of her father’s jam stabilizing company.

Anne Frank's Diary page 42, The date is written
across the  top of the page like a typical diary entry 
and is accompanied by Polonsky's vivid animations.

Critique of Contents & Organization:

This book has a Cast of Characters, Afterword (p.146), Adapter’s Note (p. 148), A Note About the Author (p.151), A note About the Adapter (p.151), and A Note About the Illustrator (p.151).

The organization of the novel is much like an illustrated diary. The date is listed across the top of the page and Ari Folman expertly weaves Anne’s original diary text into the frames, sometimes as nothing more than a diary entry, sometimes accompanied by David Polonsky’s startlingly vivid animations. 

I love how they hold their comic-like art quality, but some how feel very realistic. Perhaps it’s because the familiar words and horrific situations are presented visually and cannot be ignored or as easily filtered by the mind.

Anne Frank's  Diary, page 28. I love
how we get to see Anne's personality 
come to light in Polonsky's illustrations.

I love all the instances where readers get to see Anne’s personality come to light in the illustrations. Polonsky does a great job of expressing her emotions. I also really loved seeing the drawings that mapped out the Annex. As someone who has never visited the Anne Frank Museum, it was very interesting to finally give the space a visual representation.

Anne Frank's Diary, page 35. This is the rendition of the Annex
where Anne, her family and the Van Daan's hid from 1942-1944.

I feel that together, Folman and Polonsky have made Anne very relatable in their adaptation and have created a powerful and important gateway into a tragic and horrific time in history for reluctant teenage readers.

Reasons to Include this Title in Your Library Collection:

This adaptation is perfect for reluctant teenage readers and any fans of graphic novels or comics—but still portrays an accurate account of an important and tragic time in history. I feel like the graphic novel version has an advantage over the written text in that it doesn’t allow readers to skim over the details that are too horrific or difficult for the mind to handle. For example, to the right is an example of Anne’s constant nightmares. We can read about them in her diary, but there are no visuals for us to connect with so they might not have as big of an impact on readers. However, in the graphic novel adaptation it’s hard not to be haunted by the visual representations of her nightmares.

Use & Extension Activities:

•     Discussion of WWII and the Holocaust
•     Compare and Contrast the original Diary to the Graphic Novel Adaptation
•     Have a Holocaust Survivor visit your school or library (Scholastic)
•     Investigate past and present instances of government sanctioned intolerance and genocide (Scholastic)

Read Alikes:

Title: The Diary of a Young Girl

Author:  Anne Frank

Reason: This is Anne Frank’s original diary, if readers want to know more about Anne Frank, this is the book to read.

Title: The Complete Maus

Author:  Art Spiegelman

Reasoning: This is another graphic novel of a Holocaust Survivor’s Tale and how the Holocaust affected his family even after the war was over. While it doesn’t shy away from any of the graphic details, it has been marked on Goodreads and Common Sense Media as a must read for teenagers and adults interested in learning more about the Holocaust. 

Nonfiction Spotlight: Kids Bake!

This post was inspired by a friend’s blog post, Literal Candy Crushes by NeriSiren. For Halloween she posted some of her favorite treats found throughout the different books she’s been reading. Everything sounded so good I proposed a bake off and suddenly found myself in need of a good cookbook for beginners!

Cover from Goodreads

Title: Good Housekeeping Kids Bake! 100+ Sweet and Savory Recipes

Author: Good Housekeeping

Publisher: Hearst Books

Copyright date: 2018

Target Audience: Elementary & Middle Grade

Lexile Reading Level: N/A

Summary:

This active cookbook is for aspiring young chefs. It takes the time to explain basic baking terms, measurements and utensils in an easy to understand manner. It has several stunning photos and includes over 100 mouth watering recipes ranging from cookies to tasty pizzas. Just looking at the pictures alone made me super hungry. Susan Westmoreland, the editor for the book states in her Forward, “once you try our Granola Bars or Glazed Cinnamon Rolls, you won’t want to buy them again!” (Good Housekeeping, 2018, p. 7). Personally, I can’t wait to try a few of these recipes out myself!

Critique of Contents & Organization:

This table from page 15 extends the readers 

knowledge of common measurement equivalents.

In the Introduction, the editor explains how to use the book, what equipment and tools bakers will need, the basic ingredients to always keep on hand, how to measure with accuracy, the importance of healthy nutrition, which pans to use when, what different baking terms mean, and basic kitchen safety. This information is presented in a very straightforward manner that doesn’t make a reader feel stupid for not knowing the terms or proper uses for the different types of spatulas (in case you’re curious, “Rubber spatulas are used to fold in flour mixtures as well as to scrape bowls. A wide metal spatula is used to remove cookies and pizzas from hot cookie sheets. A narrow metal spatula or mini offset spatula is the go-to tool for frosting cakes and cupcakes and spreading glazing” (p. 11).


The images, photographs and tables are used to represent directions in the recipes, final, mouth watering treats, and further extend readers’ knowledge by providing information not presented in the text. For example, here are some tasty treat photos, and a table used to convey common baking measurements.


I really appreciate the way the recipes are organized. It lists the Active Time, Total Time, and servings under the recipe title so that bakers can make sure they have enough time to make the treats without feeling rushed. The ingredients are listed down the left-hand side, and below that is the nutritional information. The largest section is geared toward the baking directions. Some pages even have extra photos that explain what some of the less common ingredients are. For example, in this recipe, there’s an information box about what rhubarb is. Most of the recipes also have mouth watering photos of what the final treats look like.

Example of how recipes are set up throughout the book.

Reasons to Include this Title in Your Library Collection:

This book does a wonderful job of introducing aspiring chefs to the basics of baking in a fun and engaging way. Active nonfiction titles such as this give readers knowledge they can apply immediately, teaching them that reading has a real-world application. Because it also explains the basics of nutrition, it also teaches healthy eating in a nonpreachy manner.

Use & Extension Activities:

•           Make a recipe together in class
•           Have students make a treat at home to share with the class
•           If you aren’t a teacher, but a parent, have your child pick out a recipe they’re interested in and make it together
•           Have a bake sale to raise funds for a local charity

Read Alikes:

Title: Good Housekeeping Kids Cook!

Author: Good Housekeeping

Reason: This cookbook was put together by the same editor as Kids Bake! And has the same set up, great pictures and nutritional information.

Title: The Complete Baking Book for Young Chefs

Author: America’s Test Kitchen

Reasoning: This is another book with baking recipes for aspiring young chefs. This book is also filed with several amazing photos and great recipes.

Title: Cooking Class: 57 Recipes Kids Will Love to Make (and Eat!)

Author: Deanna F. Cook

Reasoning: This book includes cooking and baking recipes for first time chefs. It also has awesome pictures and step-by-step instructions that makes learning to cook fun and interesting.