The Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of An American Terrorist Group

Susan Campbell-Bartoletti has thoughtfully crafted the tale of southern mistakes as well as misplaced anger. She uses media from the time period, including the Emancipation Proclamation, newspaper and political cartoons, and interviews written in dialect with former slaves. This inclusion of media adds to a narrative that portrays the southern state of mind and reasoning in the deserved negative light.

Tales of fear of former slaves and how the Klan made them suffer, by killing or ruining any possible chance at prosperity, will create a sense of anger and empathy in any reader. Mark Tinker sums up why we should be and why others should have been sympathetic by saying "I have no heart to work all day and then think at night I will be killed" (page 83). The Klan had more tangible power through politics and even more intangible power through the fear they invoked in both their appearance and the fact it was difficult to determine who or what they would target next.

Though I found Bartoletti's narrative to be interesting, well-written, and thoughtfully crafted, I take issue with her inclusion of "A Note to the Reader." I question the need to include notes like these in any kind of book. To me, as someone who reads frequently, including this note shows some sort of failure in writing. In the note Bartoletti explains the regret she fees for including offensive political cartoons and interviews written in dialect. Basically, I found the note unecessary. Perhaps it was included to set the tone for the book. However, I feel it showed a certain lack of faith Bartoletti has in her own writing. The inclusion of such cartoons and interviews were a reflection of the time period and the book would not be considered notable without such media.

Bartoletti is very accurate in her portrayal of the Klan. Some writers have been rightfully harsh on the clan. However, Bartoletti manages to be rightfully harsh and consider the groups origins, from angry white former Confederate soldiers who thought they were not being treated properly, at the same time. Her book is organized chronologically and includes chapters that focus on how the Klan disturbed the education of former slaves as well as their religious practices.

She also provides a Civil Rights Time Line that begins with the Emancipation Proclamation and follows to the election of Barack Obama. Also an important part of any work of non-fiction are the sections labeled "Quote Attributions," "Bibliography and Source Notes," "Acknowledgements," and "Index." The style of the book is also enticing. Though the cartoons and pictures are not in color, they appear with captions on nearly every page. This keeps young readers actively engaged in the learning process of reading a non-fiction book.

Susan Campbell- Bartoletti has made a name for herself by creating notable non-fiction books for young adults. Some of those books include Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow, Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, Kids on Strike!, and Growing up in Coal Country.

This book, They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group, is a finalist for the YALSA Excellence in Non-Fiction Award. It is also an ALA notable title.

Kirkus says that "Documentation is superb, and even the source notes are fascinating." School Library Journal says "This richly documented, historically contextualized account traces the origin and evolution of the Ku Klux Klan."

I learned a great deal from reading this book. However, I wonder what place a book on such a mature topic will find in many school libraries. I think that teachers who are exploring contemporary terrorist groups can find good information in this text that will be illuminating to students when they compare the Klan to modern terrorist groups. Sharing this book out loud would require a lot of front loading or previous learning because the topic discussed does require a certain level of maturity to understand. However, the much of the media included here would be useful to explain attitudes during reconstruction.

From my reading and exploration, I understand why this book has gotten so much praise. However, as a southern person living in the north, I was ashamed to pull it out and read it in front of other people. The image on the front cover, though attention grabbing and thought provoking, conjures strong reactions in so many people. I imagine that is why it was selected.

References:

Campbell-Bartoletti, Susan. They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2010. ISBN: 978-06-618-44033-7

Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Ameila Earhart

Most people know the ending of the story of Amelia Earhart. So, Fleming does not condescend to hold the story of the search for Amelia and her navigator Fred Noonan until the end of her book. She utilizes radio logs and stories of Americans picking up Amelia on their high- tech radios to generate an element of suspense.

I learned quite a bit from Fleming's account of Amelia Earhart, even though there was a time period as a child that I attempted to emulate Earhart by cutting my hair and wearing a leather jacket in the July heat. Amelia's father's drinking problem had a profound effect on her teen years and social development, according to Fleming. I knew that Amelia had broken up George Putnam's previous marriage to a woman named Dorthy. However, Fleming makes it feel like Amelia had no fault in the divorce. Perhaps in an effort to make the aviator look like a hero, Fleming rushes to excuse this poor personal behavior. On the other hand, Fleming does point out that Earhart did not take the man who installed her radio before her last flight seriously. Before she left, Amelia had only one lesson in using her radio. This adds an element of sadness, because a woman known for her whit and independence may have had the tool to save herself right at her fingertips but didn't know how to use it.

In the end, Fleming paints Earhart as a role model for girls. She does give her faults, openly stating that Earhart was not the most well-rounded pilot, that young people can learn from.

Not only is the lettering by Jessica Hische attractive and enticing, I believe that the style of this book gives readers added value. This in not simply a boring, sad narrative of a life lost. "Grey" pages tell the story of the disappearance of and search for Amelia Earhart. Chapters break her life into parts such as Little Amelia 1897-1908 or Fame 1927-1928. Kirkus Reviews said that "Handwritten notes, photos, maps and inquisitive sidebars (What did Earhart eat during flight? Tomato juice and chocolate) complete this impeccably researched, appealing package. A stunning look at an equally stunning lady."

Fleming proves her worth as a researcher and a biographer through her questioning of the accounts provided my Earhart's publisher and husband. Fleming says that many of the reports or the facts that are accepted about Earhart's life were generated to boost her image. Fleming also provides an extensive bibliography and pathfinder for finding out more about Amelia on the web. Source notes are organized by chapter and an index as well as picture credits are provided.

I would pull this book for a class working on a biography project if classes were researching heroes, specifically American heroes. I would also utilize this book if a teacher were talking about how radios worked in a science class. The "grey" pages I mentioned earlier discuss how radios and radio waves work. School Library Journal says "Ho-Hum history? Not in Fleming's apt hands. What could be a dry recitation of facts and dates is instead a gripping and suspenseful thriller."

Fleming's publisher provides a free curriculum guide at http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/teachers_guides/9780375841989.pdf. Also, this book was a starred review for Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Horn Book, Kirkus Reviews, and School Library Journal.

Most of the learning from using this book in a classroom or reading it would be very motivational. I felt as if Fleming, through the story of Amelia was encouraging young readers to go further, learn more, and reach for the next thing no matter how far away that thing feels.

References:

Fleming, Candace. Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart. New York: Random House Children's Books, 2011.

Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine & the Lawless days of Prohibition

Blumenthal begins and ends her tale of Prohibition with the story of the 1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre. At first, this seems like a very unfitting starting point. However, Blumenthal dedicates the remainder of her book to explaining how both the Temperance Movement and the enforcement, or lack of enforcement, of Prohibition could get so our of control. Blumenthal intersperses biographies of important Temperance movement leaders such as Morris Sheppard and Carrie Nation as well as Prohibition figures like Al Capone.

I found this book to be richly entertaining and felt that it accomplished a second task beyond entertainment, being informative. I had laugh-out-loud moments when I imagined "Carry A. Nation," a little old lady, walking into an illegal saloon and smashing up the place because of her hatred of booze.

Before reading this book, I thought I knew everything that I would find between the covers, the origins of NASCAR, crooked cops, and a society that refused to follow the laws that they had fought for only a few year prior. However, I was most impressed by and learned a great deal from Blumenthal's content on the Temperance movement. I've always understood that parts of American society had a certain hatred for drinking, but by learning the origins of that hatred, I came to understand how the 14th Amendment came to be.

The 14th Amendment was backed by a very politically savvy group that once enjoyed the majority, if only for a brief time. Once they achieved their means, passing an amendment to outlaw alcohol, they did not really have a plan. This is one of the main reasons the amendment was repealed, lack of political foresight.

Students should take learning from this. A politician can often sway us to follow him or her, but when that politician lacks the ability to follow through, we need to be smart enough to identify that. Thus, before and after reading this book I would ask students to make contemporary political connections.

I find few faults in this book. However, I understand that there are a few school districts across this country where parents would not appreciated their children reading about speakeasies, saloons, and gangsters. Kirkus Reviews calls Bootleg "an informative, insightful account of a fascinating period of American history." School Library Journal says that "The breadth of the well-researched material makes Bootleg a substantial resource for reports; a deep bibliography and copious source notes provide ample opportunities for further study."

I found the content to be accurate and the method of organization to be enticing; beginning and ending with the St. Valentine's Day Massacre helped me to understand the lack of control of human emotions on all sides of the Prohibition debate, from members of Temperance Leagues, to gangsters.

Interspersed with full page photographs of prominent figures, political cartoons, newspaper clippings, and actual photographs of bootleggers and Temperance advocates, the design and style of writing keep this from being a dry book of facts.

Most of the classroom or school learning that comes from this book might be supplementary. I doubt that much of the content will tie into state social studies standards. However, I would include this text if a teacher asked me to pull biographies for a student biography project. There are too many interesting and unsavory characters to not point inquiring minds this way.

This text also provides a good model for researchers. There are bibliography and source notes by chapter, a list of acknowledgements, picture credits and an extensive index. At the end of the book, Blumenthal also provides lists of books on important topics in the text like Women of the WCTU, Carrie Nation, the Anti-Saloon League, Cars and Henry Ford, and Al Capone.

Finally, don't misunderstand me, but I would have worn a "Carry A. Nation" hatchet pin because I admire a woman who has the courage to walk into a bar and bust the place up.

Resources:

Blumenthal, Karen. Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of Prohibition. New York: Roaring Book Press, 2011. ISBN:978-1-59643-449-3

Form takes the show

In the text for my course, we were directed to review poetry based on rhythm, rhyme, sound, language, imagery, and emotion. I believe that form is a new element for evaluation.

I've been reading over my reviews from a few days ago and I've begun to wonder. In the review of What My Mother Doesn't Know, I've mentioned the strong emotions that Sophie experiences in the span of a few days. In A Pocketful of Poems, I've made reference to the clever imagery that is mirrored in the poems and in the collage illustrations (straws and "one last sip of summer").

However, the rhythm in most of the poetry books I picked out was not obvious had had little impact on the actual reading or interpretation. Also, nothing rhymed in any of the the three poetry books I read. Sound didn't stand out either to me. There was limited onomatopoeia, assonance or consonance. Language was important, particularly in Pocketful of Poems where one word directed an entire layout and two poems.

Form was dramatically important in all three books that I read. In Pocketful of Poems, Grimes provides an author's note to describe her poetic form of choice, Haiku. In What My Mother Doesn't Know, Sones uses line breaks to create dramatic pauses. In Blue Lipstick, the form is the poem. The shapes that are created with the words create a deeper meaning and require a longer reading.

A Pocketful of Poems

Nikki Grimes takes readers through a year in the life of a young girl living in Harlem. To successfully complete the task of show readers the beauty of Harlem, Grimes uses free verse and haiku. Tiana has words in her pocket and pulls one out to inspire each poem or haiku. As readers, we have the opportunity to meet her mother in the morning, spend a HOT day with Tiana, see her hit a HOMER on Labor Day, and watch an ANGEL catch her as she decorates a Christmas tree. For each spread, Tiana gives us one word that came out of her pocket that describes a time of year or part of a day.

These experiences create a rateable experience, much like Uptown, which I have previously reviewed. As a matter of fact, both books have another commonality besides Harlem. Both books are illustrated with collage. In A Pocketful of Poems, Javaka Steptoe, winner of a Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration, uses a wide range of materials to create charming, fascinating, and memorable images that students would have the capacity to imitate. For example, in a poem titled "Caterpillar," Steptoe uses actual leaves to represent leaves, but to give the illustration a colorful vibe she backs those leaves with blue construction paper.

Not only are the illustrations in this book of poetry interesting and entertaining, but the poems themselves tend to take the show. My favorite has to be from the HOMER page, 21.

"Labor Day-- watch me

smash one last homer, take on

last sip of summer."

Tiana's team jersey is labeled "Sippers" and the collage on the page is scattered with drinking straws. This made me smile; I found it to be simple and clever.

School Library Journal calls this "a playful and thoroughly successful paring of words and pictures." Booklist says that "There's so much vibrant energy and freshness in this collaboration, the book will dance into the hearts of children right away." As usual, they are right; the colors and poems in A Pocketful of Poems are so bright, exciting, and energizing that it is nearly impossible not to relate and enjoy in some fashion. A Pocketful of Poems was nominated for the Emphasis on Reading Award

If completing a poetry program with students, this is a great book to share because you would have the ability to pick out a poem for a specific time of year. For example, if it were Halloween, you could read the PUMPKIN page. Perhaps if you were ambitions and depending on what kinds of classes you teach, you could even have library patrons or students make a paper mache pumpkin or bake a pumpkin pie. Or in the SPRINGtime, you and the students could make a window box of flowers like mama's from the story.

While this kind of sharing is always fun and entertaining, the most useful part of this book comes from the Author's Note on Haiku. Grimes says "The style of haiku depends on the personality of the poet. And while this form of poetry originated in Japan, haiku is as exportable, and as open to universal interpretation, as the American art form, jazz" (page 32). Grimes also explains what a haiku is and encourages others to write some of their own. If teaching a unit on haiku at any grade level, A Pocketful of Poems is a more than useful tool to aide in showing the beauty and simplicity of the poetic form.

Reference:

Grimes, Nikki. A Pocketful of Poems. Illustrated by Javake Steptoe. New York: Clarion Books, 2001.

Blue Lipstick

Jessie, a high school student, struggles to find her place. Her unique interests, from modern art to the cello to volleyball and of course blue lipstick, with the help of her own personal wall and aversion to meat eaters and pretty much everyone in high school keep Jessie a bit lonely. However, she starts to take down that wall throughout the book and build friendships with unexpected people.

While the plot of this poetry book is a bit scattered or limited compared to some of the much longer Ellen Hopkins and Sonya Sones books that are told in verse form, the visuals of this form poetry provide a strong element of humor and fun. I found myself rotating and turning the book as I read many of the poems and identifying with Jessie. I too do my best thinking in the shower and was amused when the words tumbled out of the shower head like water.

There is a certain element of visual literacy required to understand the humor or cleverness of this book and the poems in it. Interpreting a deeper meaning would be nearly impossible if a reader were unable to first take in the entire picture, read the text, and follow Jessie's sense of humor. Obviously, without this skill in visual literacy the plot would feel even more fragmented

I enjoyed and shared this book with students at several grade levels for several reasons. The themes, becoming a woman and overcoming teen angst, are understatedly mature. The moral, dealing with the pressures of high school is a task best completed with company, can be applied by almost anyone. Also, this book and the one Grandits wrote previously, Technically, It's Not My Fault: Concrete Poems, are constantly interactive. For example, in Blue Lipstick, Jessie writes a poem about what she sees in the mirror. To read the poem, I had to hold the book up to the mirror and read the reflection. The only real issue that I have with this book is the way that it mocks cheerleaders, though I am not naive enough to think that people in the stands aren't doing that. I found it unnecessary, when creating the form of a cheerleader with letters, to use the Os of "boobs" as breasts.

Blue Lipstick has won several awards. These awards include being named to the American Library Association's Notable Books for Children list, being nominated for the Beehive Children's Poetry Award and the Dorthory Canfield Fisher's Children's Book Award, and being named to School Library Journal's Best Books of the Year list.

School Library Journal calls this a "irreverent, witty collection." Also, the Horn Book says that this book has a cover that "will grab and adolescent girls attention---and the poetry inside is equally appealing."

As someone who has taught creative writing, I wish I had known about this book then. The are some great examples that students from 4th to 12th grade would enjoy mimicking. For example, in a poem titled Volleyball Practice, the words follow the path of the ball as it is served, spiked, and the point is delivered as the ball rolls away. Students could easily do this with a game of football, hockey, basketball, or pretty much any other sport. Stands of words on top of a head make for a poem titled Bad Hair Day. Every person could share a similar experience. The book also makes an interactive read aloud, having students or listeners read a steam of water as they trace the path down with their finger.

All in all, this book made me smile and laugh while I was reading it. Also, every person that I have shared a poem or two with have responded with "neat" or "cool." This book is easy to share and show to students and library patrons.

What My Mother Doesn't Know

Sophie is an artistic and talented high school freshman who falls in and out of love very quickly with a handsome boy named Dylan. She has some serious problems in her life, like parents who are not too interested in what she is doing and who argue with each other all the time. When her best friends, Grace and Rachel, go on vacations for Christmas break, Sophie finally falls for a guy for reasons beyond his appearance. Too bad it is Murphy, the school's social outcast. Sophie's choice between making her friends happy and making her happy defines the moral of the story.

Some awards this book has won, include Booklist Editor's Choice, ALA 2002 Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, the Iowa Teen Award, and ALA 2002 Best Book for Young Adults. What My Mother Doesn't Know also found a place on Amazon.com's best seller list.

The poetry in this book is dramatically simple, but Sones intelligently uses line breaks as pauses to convey Sophie's strong emotions as she falls in and out and in and out of love. Taken out of context of the plot, some of the poems reach far into the emotions surrounding teen angst, new love, and fading love. As a teen, I remember having these emotions within the span of 20 minutes, so it didn't bother me to see them in the span of 4 pages.

A poem on page 66 titled I Wish would be an excellent tool to use to discuss writing shaped poetry. The poem ends with one word at the bottom of a funnel and gives readers a feeling that Sophie feels like she is spiraling, either out of control or into love--she doesn't really know. Many other individual poems could be used out of context for quality examples, specifically those that address Sophie's emotions of love and loving someone she probably should not. Using one of this poems would also give a teacher or a librarian an easy transition to book talk the book to the entire class.

I believe that this is a cleverly written book. However, I worry about some of the lessons that girls could take away from reading it. Boys are not disposable and they don't always understand when you break up with them because you feel like it. While the book ends with a positive moral, stay true to yourself and what you love, I'm not sure that a teen struggling to fit in would walk away from this story with that lesson.

Also, I recently asked a friend what the dirtiest book she had ever read was. Her reply, without too much delay, was What My Mother Doesn't Know. I was surprised because I really didn't find this to be what I would consider a dirty book. However, if you take all the moments where Sophie is talking about kissing Murphy or Dylan or sneaking around to "hang out" with one of them and think about it as sex, I would understand why someone would think this is a "dirty book," because that is pretty my the entire book. In a Starred Review from Publishers Weekly, the direct comment was made "Sones poignantly captures the tingle and heartache of being young and boy-crazy." I simply think that there was to much "tingle" for my friend.

This book could be a precursor to some of the Ellen Hopkins books that address more mature issues like Crank and Impulse. What my Mother Doesn't Know is a very simple book to book talk in a library setting because it is a quick read for the librarian and sharing a few pages of poems could be quite enticing to a female reader. I would recommend having a document camera handy to show the shape of poems to the class.

This book would be popular among girls in 5th through 8th grades. As stated previously, some of the poems in this book address love and falling in love very well. The sing-song pattern of some more juvenile poetry books is missing and thus adds to the appeal for slightly older readers.

Reference:

Sones, Sonya. What My Mother Doesn't Know. New York: Simon Pulse, 2001.