Book: My Autobiography
John Agard, illustrated (b&w) by Neil Packer
ISBN: 9780763672362
Read March 7, 2016
Cute conceit of a thin book covering the history of the recorded word in print from the perspective of a book, looking back at the transformations of the past and present.
Lots of short chapters break up the history of the development of the written word. We begin with oral storytelling and cave paintings, then move through the earliest surviving examples of physically-recorded information from several cultures. Then we're into the developments of types of materials: rock walls to clay tablets to papyrus to parchment to paper pulp (a Chinese invention, which I did not know) and finally to modern e-books. Then we look at styles of writing: cuneiform, hieroglyphics, the Phoenician, then Greek, then Latin alphabets (this section was sadly lacking in Eastern information), along with the writing process: wedge-shaped stylus to quills (with discussion of the various bird species and what their quills were considered good for) to the first block printing and then movable type and then again e-books with hyperlinks.
The "voice" of Book is wry and self-deprecatory and winking, passing information along as if it is just the coolest history in the world (which I personally agree with) and making even ancient history like the switch from papyrus to parchment seem relevant (caused, fyi, by a squabble over intellectual property (papyrus) which was barred from export out to a rival country).
The language is rich and varied and the presentation is quite adult - I had to check the CIP to see that it really was a juvenile nonfiction. There are pull-out and pop quotes from authors and poets and influential people highlighted in almost every chapter that are relevant to the section, or are generally thought-provoking. This would be an excellent "trial" biography for a young voracious nonfiction or micro-history reader - I can easily see them successfully reading through this and feeling empowered to move on to the very similar adult nonfiction or biographies.
A fun, quick, information-packed read, with a great narrative flow and a lovely narrative voice, with just enough black and white illustration and pop quotes to break up the many many many small chapters.
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Thursday, March 3, 2016
New Arrivals: Picture Book: Frog on a Log? Kes Gray & Jim Field
Frog on a Log?
Kes Gray & Jim Field
ISBN: 9780545687911
Originally English, with some "rhymes" that don't play out as a result.
This is a cute little book, but it illustrates (ha ha) the difficulties with using specific regional accents and language in a book that is then published somewhere else in the world. Frog is sick of sitting on his log, because it's frankly uncomfortable. He wants to sit on the mat, but the Cat is quite firm - Cats sit on mats. Frogs sit on logs. Why? It's just the proper way of things. Cat goes on to explain what all sorts of animals sit on, from the primer-reader basics: hares on chairs, mules on stools - to frankly ridiculous assignments: moles on poles, weasels on easels, puffins on muffins (all creatively illustrated with confused animals).
There's really only one difficulty, and it comes in with the difference between British and American English. Early on, we're informed that "gophers sit on sofas" which will blow any American kid's mind trying to make that rhyme. In American English, gopher is pretty much equivalent to "GO for" - as in, go out and get a thing. The "r" is quite distinct. That's I think how it's pronounced in England too. So far so good. Sofa creates the difficulty here - In American English, it doesn't have an "r" at all - the "a" at the end is a nice wide open "ahhhh" sound like you make when the doctor sticks that thing down your throat. Whooopsie! We're good for quite a while until we get to the exact reverse situation a bit further in: Cat declaims that "Gorillas sit on pillars." Here, we're both agreed that "pillar" has a nice ending "r" sound, but in American, gorilla most absolutely does not. Again, it's that wide open "ahhh" that ends on the vowel, with no consonant at all to close it out.
Are these two instances enough to totally sink the book? Of course not. But they are enough to give a read-aloud parent pause, and to make thoughtful children confused, and to make me decide against it for storytime. Those animals could easily have been substituted for others that share the same rhymes in all (or at least the most-spoken) variants of English with no harm done, but the book was simply made available in other markets as-is, possibly without thinking about the differences at all, and that's a real shame.
Kes Gray & Jim Field
ISBN: 9780545687911
Originally English, with some "rhymes" that don't play out as a result.
This is a cute little book, but it illustrates (ha ha) the difficulties with using specific regional accents and language in a book that is then published somewhere else in the world. Frog is sick of sitting on his log, because it's frankly uncomfortable. He wants to sit on the mat, but the Cat is quite firm - Cats sit on mats. Frogs sit on logs. Why? It's just the proper way of things. Cat goes on to explain what all sorts of animals sit on, from the primer-reader basics: hares on chairs, mules on stools - to frankly ridiculous assignments: moles on poles, weasels on easels, puffins on muffins (all creatively illustrated with confused animals).
There's really only one difficulty, and it comes in with the difference between British and American English. Early on, we're informed that "gophers sit on sofas" which will blow any American kid's mind trying to make that rhyme. In American English, gopher is pretty much equivalent to "GO for" - as in, go out and get a thing. The "r" is quite distinct. That's I think how it's pronounced in England too. So far so good. Sofa creates the difficulty here - In American English, it doesn't have an "r" at all - the "a" at the end is a nice wide open "ahhhh" sound like you make when the doctor sticks that thing down your throat. Whooopsie! We're good for quite a while until we get to the exact reverse situation a bit further in: Cat declaims that "Gorillas sit on pillars." Here, we're both agreed that "pillar" has a nice ending "r" sound, but in American, gorilla most absolutely does not. Again, it's that wide open "ahhh" that ends on the vowel, with no consonant at all to close it out.
Are these two instances enough to totally sink the book? Of course not. But they are enough to give a read-aloud parent pause, and to make thoughtful children confused, and to make me decide against it for storytime. Those animals could easily have been substituted for others that share the same rhymes in all (or at least the most-spoken) variants of English with no harm done, but the book was simply made available in other markets as-is, possibly without thinking about the differences at all, and that's a real shame.
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Nonfiction: Thirty Million Words, Dana Suskind, MD
Thirty Million Words
Dana Suskind, MD
ISBN: 9780525954873
Tune In, Talk More, Take Turns.
Suskind is a specialist who fits patients with cochlear implants. She is also, after a lifetime of watching some of her patients thrive and others flounder, a staunch promoter of language readiness.
Suskind uses this book to promote the overwhelming (and currently irreplacable) responsibility of parents and caregivers to use the first three years of a child's life to introduce them to the language they'll need to thrive and succeed in life. The thirty million words in the title refer to the landmark longitudinal study of parents from different socio-economic status: by the end of their third year, the well-off child has heard thirty million more words than their less fortunate schoolmates, and this difference profoundly handicaps the kids on the low end of the scale.
The first half of the book explains why Suskind got into this passion project, and details the science behind her drive. The second half breaks down the three Ts involved: Tune In (pay attention to and work in concert with the child's interests) Talk More (the more language you use the better, and specifically the more descriptive language and names of things and concepts), and Take Turns (language learning works best when the kid and the adult are in it together, and the adult isn't "teaching" or lecturing, or simply narrating to the kid).
Dana Suskind, MD
ISBN: 9780525954873
Tune In, Talk More, Take Turns.
Suskind is a specialist who fits patients with cochlear implants. She is also, after a lifetime of watching some of her patients thrive and others flounder, a staunch promoter of language readiness.
Suskind uses this book to promote the overwhelming (and currently irreplacable) responsibility of parents and caregivers to use the first three years of a child's life to introduce them to the language they'll need to thrive and succeed in life. The thirty million words in the title refer to the landmark longitudinal study of parents from different socio-economic status: by the end of their third year, the well-off child has heard thirty million more words than their less fortunate schoolmates, and this difference profoundly handicaps the kids on the low end of the scale.
The first half of the book explains why Suskind got into this passion project, and details the science behind her drive. The second half breaks down the three Ts involved: Tune In (pay attention to and work in concert with the child's interests) Talk More (the more language you use the better, and specifically the more descriptive language and names of things and concepts), and Take Turns (language learning works best when the kid and the adult are in it together, and the adult isn't "teaching" or lecturing, or simply narrating to the kid).
Friday, April 3, 2015
Teaching Resource: The Sounds and Spelling Patterns of English: Phonics for Teachers and Parents, by Phyllis E. Fischer
The Sounds and Spelling Patterns of English: Phonics for Teachers and Parents
Phyllis E. Fischer
ISBN: 1881929019
Read March 30, 2015
An older (1993) but useful compilation of phonics and phoneme-based instruction that drills in the basic English constructions and when and where they appear, and what they "say" when they are in certain situations. Very short, but direct and to-the-point, wasting no time on tangents or side-trips into teaching philosophy or any of that. Just straight instruction, aimed at adults who wish to help other people learn to understand the workings of English better.
Very useful. I'll probably get a copy for my own personal library. I never remember learning to read, and my husband is dyslexic, and wasn't diagnosed until after he had gotten into college. He has great troubles with English structure, and my own background of picking it up so naturally is a handicap now, because I have troubles explaining how it all works - just that I know it does. Dyslexia is heritable, so this is me preparing for the worst if I ever have kids. I want them to enjoy reading and writing, perhaps not as a hobby or job, but at least enough to always be comfortable as a reader.
Phyllis E. Fischer
ISBN: 1881929019
Read March 30, 2015
An older (1993) but useful compilation of phonics and phoneme-based instruction that drills in the basic English constructions and when and where they appear, and what they "say" when they are in certain situations. Very short, but direct and to-the-point, wasting no time on tangents or side-trips into teaching philosophy or any of that. Just straight instruction, aimed at adults who wish to help other people learn to understand the workings of English better.
Very useful. I'll probably get a copy for my own personal library. I never remember learning to read, and my husband is dyslexic, and wasn't diagnosed until after he had gotten into college. He has great troubles with English structure, and my own background of picking it up so naturally is a handicap now, because I have troubles explaining how it all works - just that I know it does. Dyslexia is heritable, so this is me preparing for the worst if I ever have kids. I want them to enjoy reading and writing, perhaps not as a hobby or job, but at least enough to always be comfortable as a reader.
Thursday, April 2, 2015
New Arrival: Picture Book: The Very Inappropriate Word, Jim Tobin & Dave Coverly
The Very Inappropriate Word
Jim Tobin, illustrated by Dave Coverly
ISBN: 9780805094749
Cartoon-art, thesaurus, concepts presented as concrete objects.
Hooo boy. I will probably never ever ever use this in a storytime, but it's a really fun and funny book, and I'm glad to have run across it.
Michael is our protagonist for this morality tale (because that's exactly what it is) and he loves words. He collects them even (shades of Max's Words and Max's Dragon by Kate Banks) and loves to store them safely away under his bed. Until he is on the bus one morning and hears a new word. He tries it out on his sister, and quickly learns that this is a very inappropriate word. So now what to do? Of course, now that he knows it, he hears it everywhere; at the park, on the radio, even from a parent! (His parents make me exceedingly happy, on a complete tangent.) So he tries it out himself, and shares it with his friends, and of course gets in trouble with the teacher, who (and this is the best part of the book) realizes what has happened, and asks Michael for help collecting new and interesting words for some upcoming spelling tests she needs to create. The time spent (and the new words learned) searching for good enough words just shoves the inappropriate word off out of mind, which is the best way for dealing with those sorts of words anyway.
So very cool, so not appropriate for storytime. :)
Jim Tobin, illustrated by Dave Coverly
ISBN: 9780805094749
Cartoon-art, thesaurus, concepts presented as concrete objects.
Hooo boy. I will probably never ever ever use this in a storytime, but it's a really fun and funny book, and I'm glad to have run across it.
Michael is our protagonist for this morality tale (because that's exactly what it is) and he loves words. He collects them even (shades of Max's Words and Max's Dragon by Kate Banks) and loves to store them safely away under his bed. Until he is on the bus one morning and hears a new word. He tries it out on his sister, and quickly learns that this is a very inappropriate word. So now what to do? Of course, now that he knows it, he hears it everywhere; at the park, on the radio, even from a parent! (His parents make me exceedingly happy, on a complete tangent.) So he tries it out himself, and shares it with his friends, and of course gets in trouble with the teacher, who (and this is the best part of the book) realizes what has happened, and asks Michael for help collecting new and interesting words for some upcoming spelling tests she needs to create. The time spent (and the new words learned) searching for good enough words just shoves the inappropriate word off out of mind, which is the best way for dealing with those sorts of words anyway.
So very cool, so not appropriate for storytime. :)
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Nonfiction: The Elements of Eloquence, Mark Forsyth
The Elements of Eloquence
Mark Forsyth
ISBN: 9780425276181 (imported from England)
Read January 23, 2015
Author goes through various rhetorical figures and how they are used.
Lots of Shakespeare in this book, and a decent smattering of classic English lit, some nursery rhymes and political speechifying, and even a few pop standards.
Very useful for a literature/writing craft resource. I agree heartily with the author that this sort of thing should be consciously taught to anyone who is planning on verbal expression as a large part of their life or profession.
Mark Forsyth
ISBN: 9780425276181 (imported from England)
Read January 23, 2015
Author goes through various rhetorical figures and how they are used.
Lots of Shakespeare in this book, and a decent smattering of classic English lit, some nursery rhymes and political speechifying, and even a few pop standards.
Very useful for a literature/writing craft resource. I agree heartily with the author that this sort of thing should be consciously taught to anyone who is planning on verbal expression as a large part of their life or profession.
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