by Ann Bausum ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 13, 2014
Dog lovers and budding military historians alike should find this canine perspective on the Great War an absorbing read.
In a story that reads like fiction, a remarkable bond between a soldier and his dog provides a unique look at World War I.
Stubby, a mixed-breed dog so named due to his stump of a tail, hung around the Army reservists training at Yale in 1917. Many of them reacted favorably to the dog, but none more than James Robert Conroy, who smuggled the animal onto the ship to France. Stubby even managed to charm the commanding officer, who allowed the dog to stay, not the last to fall under his spell. He became a working dog, hunting rats that plagued the trenches, among other duties. He even suffered an injury that necessitated a stint in the Army hospital—where he went to work boosting patients’ morale. Once back in action, he proved invaluable in finding enemy wounded and managing prisoners of war. He was even credited with capturing a German soldier. At war’s end, Stubby returned home with Conroy with honors, no longer a stowaway. Bausum successfully weaves Stubby’s astonishing story together with information about the war and reveals how connections between people and animals brought an element of humanity into the difficulties of war. Conroy maintained a scrapbook about Stubby, so the text is enlivened with period photographs, including those of Stubby in his uniform.
Dog lovers and budding military historians alike should find this canine perspective on the Great War an absorbing read. (timeline, research notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: May 13, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4263-14865
Page Count: 64
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014
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by Kathleen Krull & illustrated by Boris Kulikov ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2006
Hot on the heels of the well-received Leonardo da Vinci (2005) comes another agreeably chatty entry in the Giants of Science series. Here the pioneering physicist is revealed as undeniably brilliant, but also cantankerous, mean-spirited, paranoid and possibly depressive. Newton’s youth and annus mirabilis receive respectful treatment, the solitude enforced by family estrangement and then the plague seen as critical to the development of his thoughtful, methodical approach. His subsequent squabbles with the rest of the scientific community—he refrained from publishing one treatise until his rival was dead—further support the image of Newton as a scientific lone wolf. Krull’s colloquial treatment sketches Newton’s advances in clearly understandable terms without bogging the text down with detailed explanations. A final chapter on “His Impact” places him squarely in the pantheon of great thinkers, arguing that both his insistence on the scientific method and his theories of physics have informed all subsequent scientific thought. A bibliography, web site and index round out the volume; the lack of detail on the use of sources is regrettable in an otherwise solid offering for middle-grade students. (Biography. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-670-05921-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006
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by Jack Gantos ; illustrated by Jack Gantos ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 29, 2017
A standout among writing guides, valuable for its sage and friendly encouragement and for the sheer fun of hanging out with...
Advice on writing from one of the best writers around.
“I’m a writer and I’m on your side,” Gantos says, as if he’s putting an arm around a young writer’s shoulder and guiding them through a door to a new life. With a snappy voice, his own funny ink drawings, and expertise drawn from a career full of great books, he covers just about everything: where to find ideas and characters, how to structure a story, why to keep a journal, and even what to write with. Every step of the way he includes examples from his own writing. As humorous as he is, Gantos is authoritative and serious about his craft, careful to include every building block for constructing a good story—characters, setting, problem, action, crisis, resolution, and the need for a double ending (physical and emotional). Chapter 2 (“Getting Started”) ought to be read by all teachers and parents: it’s a manifesto on how to raise a reader (and writer) by reading aloud excellent picture books to young children and placing good books in the hands of children as they get older, and he offers a handy list of just what some of those books should be. While his list of picture books is not a particularly diverse one, the middle-grade titles suggested are nicely inclusive.
A standout among writing guides, valuable for its sage and friendly encouragement and for the sheer fun of hanging out with Jack. (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-374-30456-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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