Reviews

Prairie Lotus

November 6, 2019 By Annette1 4 Comments

Do you love Little House on the Prairie? The love of the old west, the life and stories of the people who lived there that comes to life? Prairie Lotus, the book I’m reviewing today is a lovely book in the likeness of the life of Laura Ingalls. Linda Sue Park introduces us to Hanna, the Prairie Lotus.

What I am Reviewing

Prairie Lotus.
Linda Sue Park.
Clarion Books.
Houghton Miffin Harcourt Books for Young Readers.
Ages 10-12, Grades 5-7.
272 pages.

Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

Old West, Asian American, Native American, History, Children’s books, Upper Elementary, Country, American history, Chinese American,

A powerful, touching, multi-layered book about a girl determined to fit in and realize her dreams: getting an education, becoming a dressmaker in her father’s shop, and making at least one friend. Acclaimed, award-winning author Linda Sue Park has placed a young half-Asian girl, Hanna, in a small town in America’s heartland, in 1880. Hanna’s adjustment to her new surroundings, which primarily means negotiating the townspeople’s almost unanimous prejudice against Asians, is at the heart of the story. Narrated by Hanna, the novel has poignant moments yet sparkles with humor, introducing a captivating heroine whose wry, observant voice will resonate with readers.

The Details of Prairie Lotus

Oh, what can I tell you about Prairie Lotus? It’s a lovely book. Hanna is a delightful, but determined girl. I loved how Ms. Park developed Hanna’s character. Hanna has her fears, which are very real with distinct elements of danger. At the same time, she knows what she wants and pushes to get them. Navigating hostile waters, she manages to make a friend and get an education. It’s so interesting to watch how it all develops.

With a similar theme to the Little House on the Prairie books, Prairie Lotus touches on a situation that the Ingalls never approached. The fear and bigotry against Asian immigrants and Asian Americans. This was a prevalent part of the early days of Canada and the United States.

We get to see the varied reactions to the Native Americans, the working through of the legal requirements of the law, but mostly…. we get to see history in action. A living book that adds a great dimension to the Little house on the prairie books. Read both, and see history better.

Thoughts/Recommendations

I grew up reading Little House on the Prairie. I immersed myself into Laura’s world. When the TV show came out … I watched in. I know the Ingall’s family well. If Prairie Lotus had been out at that time I would have read it as well and been enthralled with Hanna and her life. It wasn’t easy, but she persevered.

I loved seeing her determination to see things through. Watching people pull together (for good or for ill) gave excellent insight into group dynamics. This was such an interesting book. I urge you to let your Ingall’s fans read this book.

Crossing on Time

November 2, 2019 By Annette1 3 Comments

Steam Ships… there is something about steam ships that incites the imagination (at least for me!). Did you know the first working steam engine was made to help coal miners? Building from those early models, David Macauley draws us into the world of steam ships until we reach the final steam ship, the SS United States in Crossing on Time. A steam ship the author himself travelled on.

This is actually a hard review and intro to write. I so like this book I want to draw you into it and I’m afraid my words will fail me. What will you find? Drawing, illustrations, pictures, well written text and more. Come on, let me show you why you should get this book! 🙂

What I am Reviewing

Crossing on Time: Steam Engines, Fast ships, and a journey to the new world.
David Macaulay.
Roaring Brook Press
128 pages, Ages 10-14 years
Received: Advanced Readers Copy
Formatted as Hardcover or Kindle.

Reviewed for Raincoast books.

Steam Ships, Engines, Ships, History, Boats, Inventors,

Prior to the 1800s, ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean relied on the wind in their sails to make their journeys. But invention of steam power ushered in a new era of transportation that would change ocean travel forever: the steamship.

Award-winning author-illustrator David Macaulay guides readers through the fascinating history that culminated in the building of the most advanced – and last – of these steamships: the SS United States . This book artfully explores the design and construction of the ship and the life of its designer and engineer, William Francis Gibbs.

Framed around the author’s own experience steaming across the Atlantic on the very same SS United States, Crossing on Time is a tour de force of the art of explanation and a touching and surprising childhood story.

Details for Crossing on Time

Full colour illustrations dot every page of this book. From drawing illustrating how the engines where put together.

As well as illustrations of vessels. It was important to get ships that could run under their own power. Depending on the wind, or man-power was a barrier to moving people via the waterways. People wanted reliability in their travel, so developing better ships to transport people was an imperative. It was a difficult task, fraught with disappointment, but also with elation. Success was a great thing. The SS United States was the fulfillment of a dream for William Francis Gibbs.

The text throughout was easy to read and lead well from one page to the next. Crossing on Time is not divided into chapters, but reads just like a fiction book from page to page.

There is so much information contained within the pages, but it never felt like a hard read. Just really interesting watching the development of steam ships throughout the years. All the images/illustrations provided broke up the text and really aided understanding.

All these illustrations made me wonder if I could somehow build my own steam engine. It made me thoroughly appreciate the early inventors. Learning how to put all these intricate pieces together.

One of my delights was this fold-out page of the SS United States. Wasn’t it just immense? Remember… this was run on steam. That just amazes me.

Recommendations

I asked my son to look through Crossing on Time. His response after just a short time was “I like how they have so many diagrams. It’s an interesting book. You are keeping this one right?”

And inside I said “YAY!” Because you know what… I really like this book. It’s chock full of details about steam engines. The diagrams are well done and you could really see the progress in the steam ships.

Crossing on Time is a wonderful look back in time. A must read for anyone who loves ships, is interested in innovation, and/or likes to trace the development of invention. A delightfully informative book. Well worth reading.

Calvert Homeschool Review

October 30, 2019 By Annette1 4 Comments

Calvert Homeschool is a place where your students in grades 3-12 can meet all their schooling needs. Can you imagine the ease of life that creates? I do need to tell you though, their high school courses are just as intriguing for their parents (at least this parent!) I have got to tell you all about it. I’ve have, for the past few weeks been able to make good use of their mobile on-line program

What I am Reviewing.

Calvert Homeschool.
Calvert Homeschool Online.
Grades 3-12
Online homeschool, homeschool online
Individual and Family Subscriptions.

Providing quality education using multi-media lessons, hands-on experiences, customizable lesson plans, and easy to access dashboards for parent/teacher and student.

Giving you full online access to 45 courses, this online homeschooling option also provides numerous features such as interactive lessons, automatic grading, and monthly payments.

Details of Calvert Homeschool

It does take some getting used to, the system that Calvert uses as their base. You don’t go to the main site to do your learning, but to the online Calvert Homeschool site. This caused me no end of frustration until I figured that part out. 🙂 Learn from me… connect with their help department!

How we Used It

My original goal, was to have my son use the world history course. He’s currently working through material for world war 2 and I noted it had a few days on this topic. I struggled initially figuring out how to get him to this section and the amazingly helpful staff at Calvert helped me learn how to assign them and close off the rest of the course. WOOT WOOT!

He started, and he admittedly tried. But Calvert wasn’t a good fit for him. He is predominately an audio learner, and Calvert suits other learning styles better. Since Calvert DOES work for me, I stepped into the gap. I’ve been brushing up on my physics and engaging in a biology course.

Details of Calvert Homeschool On Line

Two sections to Calvert

There are two distinct sections to Calvert, the first is the parental section where you can choose lessons, customize how they will work, and grade assignments. The second section is where the student will find their assignments and complete their course work. Each requires their own login information.

Parental Dashboard

In the teacher or parental dashboard you can set up your courses, school, and students quite easily. As a parent you control how your child is able to complete their course. What constitutes an A, how they answer questions, and other important details. With the 3-12 package you can assign ANY course to your student. You will find them under each grade level. These are the options I had for grade nine.

I ended up choosing two courses from grade 10 and just one from grade nine. Grade 10 was Biology and World History, and grade nine was physics/chemistry. Adding another class later isn’t an issue, just go into the curriculum set up area and you are on the way.

If you ever get lost or don’t know what you are doing they have put together helpful manuals to assist you.

My desire is to walk you through EVERYTHING but that would make this review FAR too long, so let me just walk you through the sections I used the most.

Everything is easily right at hand. Everything that is clickable is in blue. I used the assigned work and grading tasks the most.

I absolutely loved how easy they made it for me to grade the assignments. Just click on the link and grade.

One thing that I couldn’t figure was how to know what mark to assign a given assignment. Should I give it a five out six, or a 2 out of 3? It wasn’t, at least for me, always an intuitive decision. How to fix that, I haven’t a clue. But we muddled through and grades were assigned.

Student Dashboard

Like the parent/teacher board, the student dashboard is easy to navigate.

You can see at a glance what you have to work on (a report, experiment or project) and what lesson is up next. A list of items needed for assignments can be found so it’s easy enough to have supplies at hand. One of the assignment (about needing to closely observe for experiments) called for a bowl of peanuts, my son and I (cause I told him about this one and he thought it sounded fun) used a bowl of dried fruit instead. We choose to not get lost on the details and peanuts we would have had to purchase. 🙂

Lesson Set up

One of the beauties of Calvert is that you aren’t tied down to working at home on a specified device. As long as you have the internet, you can work off your laptop, tablet or phone.

Each lesson follows a predictable format. Overview, lesson pages, questions based on the lesson. Each lesson can easily be completed in a day. Stopping and starting again is not a problem either, because we all know that things happen and sometimes lessons started have to wait.

Vocabulary Arcade

On the overview page the student is introduced to the vocabulary words used throughout. With these words comes the vocab arcade.

While I think it’s great to have a way to help students practice their vocabulary, I had to wonder why they chose to have animated characters that would clap for a correct answer. It makes sense for elementary school students, but not for high school. Neither I or my 14 year old were impressed with the arcade.

I found the flash cards to be helpful. It’s a simple platform that simply helps you learn new words.

What a lesson looks like

The overview pages introduces the lesson, showing the highlights, and giving needed vocabulary words to understand the lesson.

One of the things I really enjoyed was that videos come with transcripts! So for someone like me who would rather watch a video than listen to it. I can avoid the video and read my way through. Using this option of course is not mandatory, but it’s a lovely aid for those who have English as a second language, or other comprehension issues.

I do have a bone to pick though. Growing up in Canada, I am well used to the metric system. Using a centimeter/millimeter rule in a lesson for accuracy and then not actually being accurate. It’s just wrong. Accuracy is not guessing. If you are measuring something you DO need to be accurate but you can’t on a centimeter ruler be accurate to a 100th place value if they don’t have a 100th place value on the ruler. Anything else is just guessing.

Other than that particular math question, overall I found this secular, online homeschool option to be a good program.

Should You Use Calvert Homeschool?

There are mixed feelings in this household toward Calvert Homeschool. Read all the way through to understand why. 🙂

Normally I would have my son speak his mind, but his mind is not disposed kindly toward Calvert. He doesn’t like it. Would he adapt if I told him to, yes, but relationship is always before schooling. There are a myriad of things that he doesn’t like, but most of it comes down to personal preference and he has other avenues he’d rather pursue.

Therefore I ended up signing up the lad for two additional courses. These courses are Science300 and Integrated Physics and Chemistry. I did this so that I could review the program well. Calvert was kind enough to let us have six months, so they deserve someone reviewing their program well. The end result being: that although, like the lad, I dislike certain aspects, I do overall like the rest of the program.

What I think:

I love that if I know the material already I can skip ahead to the questions.

I love the the first page of each new section is an overview of what I will be learning about. It sets my brain in the right direction.

I dislike that for essay questions that it comes up in a F for the final grade (when you click on complete lesson). Like my lad I find that rather demotivating. I would rather it would say something like “awaiting marking by teacher”, or something, anything else than F.

I like that each page is focused. You can jump back and forth from one page to the next. You can rush through, or take your time. This aspect gives it a feel of a self-paced course. I love that the main page spells out what the next assignments are and that they are clickable.

Would it be useful for high school students?

In a nutshell yes, even though it is not a good fit for my lad, but I think I would have liked it at his age. The difference being in our learning styles. I like being able to jump back and forth, reading and re-reading and he likes to simply move straight-forward. He is an auditory learner and I’m a reader.

Calvert, I think, works best for students who like to read and who pick up on details quickly while reading. My son, reads, but when he doesn’t get something, falls back to searching for videos that will explain it better. He does not feel confident doing that with the world history course from Calvert as the questions are based directly on the lesson rather than on an overall concept.

The fact that there are a good variety of projects, it is highly customizable, and the excellent customer service makes Calvert an option you should explore further. Use the free trial period. See if it’s a good fit for your student, and give it a go. 🙂

45 members of the crew took part in reviewing Calvert. You should check out what they have to say! 🙂

Social Media Links

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CalvertHomeschool
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CalvertEdu
Instagram: www.instagram.com/calverthomeschool
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/CalvertHomeschool/

King of the Mole People

October 26, 2019 By Annette1 4 Comments

I was struggling with how to write this review for King of the Mole People. It’s a book I didn’t particularly enjoy reading but it has some redeeming qualities. Knowing that didn’t make it any easier for me to figure out how to write it. As I was taking a break, reading through the list of words for the Write 31 Days Challenge I saw the word Accept…and like a light bulb I knew how to write this review.

A big part of King of the Mole People is Doug Underbelly needs to learn to accept himself for who he is. Many of the people in his life also need to learn this truth. You are who you are. Do not pretend to be someone else.

What I am Reviewing

King of the Mole People (Book 1).
Paul Gilligan.
Christy Ottaviano Books. Henry Holt & Company.
272 pages, hardcover, 8-12 years.

Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Humour, Upper Elementary, Middle School

Doug Underbelly is doing his best to be normal. It’s not easy: he’s bad at jokes, he’s lousy at sports, and he lives in a creaky old mansion surrounded by gravestones. Also Magda, the weird girl at school, won’t leave him alone. And if that weren’t enough, he recently got crowned King of an underground race of Mole People.

Doug didn’t ask to be king – it’s a job he can’t really avoid, like the eel sandwiches his dad makes for him (with love). If he thought dealing with seventh grade was tricky, it’s nothing compared to navigating the feud between Mole People, Slug People, Mushroom Folk and Stone Goons, not to mention preventing giant worms from rising up and destroying everything. How will Doug restore order? It’s all a matter of diplomacy!

The Details for King of the Mole People

If you like Captain Underpants and books along that line (or have children who do) King of the Mole People will be highly entertaining for them. Similar humour, images and writing style.

Doug Underbelly wants so desperately to fit in, to that end he gets into a whole lot of different situations. In the midst of all that is Doug’s role as King of the Mole people. I know…go figure…. the mole people? But they are a real part of this book along with many others who dwell below.

Can Doug manage the pressures of life above and life below? You’ll have to read the book to find out.

As Doug figures things you’ll meet all the characters in simple black/white drawings. I would have to say that 3/4’s of the pages have illustrations on them. I love the illustrator portrayed Magda. Such a quirky character. I liked her from the start. She was mostly comfortable in her own skin and just needed to learn a bit more. 🙂

Thoughts/Recommendations

Growth in characters across the board make King of the Mole People a winner. While I am not a fan of the genre, I am a fan of how it all comes together in the end. One even learns some good science!

I loved how Doug learned to accept himself and work within his own abilities, even learning to use the skills he learned trying to be someone else.

Finding Narnia

October 21, 2019 By Annette1 4 Comments

Finding Narnia, which is the story of C.S. Lewis and his brother gives me a great opportunity to participate in the Write 31 Days Challenge. Today’s word is NOT Narnia, but rather person.

What I am Reviewing

Finding Narnia: the Story of C.S.Lewis and His Brother.
Caroline McAlister
Jessica Lanan (illustrator).
Roaring Brook Press
48 pages, Grades 1-2, Ages 4-8, trade paperback

Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

Narnia, C.S.Lewis, biography, siblings, boys and men, picture book,

Before C.S. Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia, he was a young boy named Jack who spent his days dreaming up stories of other worlds filled with knights, castles, and talking animals. His brother, Warnie, spent his days imagining worlds filled with trains, boats, and technology. One rainy day, they found a wardrobe in a little room next to the attic, and they wondered, What if the wardrobe had no end?

Years later, Jack began to think about what could be beyond that wardrobe, and about a girl named Lucy and her siblings. This picture book biography introduces the beloved creator of The Chronicles of Narnia to a new generation of children who see hidden magic in the world around them.

The Details for Finding Narnia

Beautiful images fill the pages of Finding Narnia. The reader is introduced to the lives of the Narnia boys from boyhood through to adulthood.

Caroline McAlister does an excellent job of bringing the imagination of two young boys to life. Can’t you just see the knights in action? We get to see how they worried over their sick mama and how they dealt with it.

Their dislike of boarding school was made apparent, and over time their involvement in World War 1. The love of family was ever so clear.

The World War 2 came and to my surprise, it was also brought the beginnings of Narnia. Who would have thought?

I loved how illustrator Jessica Lanan started this lovely picture book with a map of England and then closed it with a map of Narnia. Very clever!

Recommendations

Many people chose to read the Chronicles of Narnia with their children. It’s a wonderful series. Imagine if you could introduce your children to the author of those books? Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

Finding Narnia is a gentle look into the life of C.S.Lewis. The lovely pictures give us insight into the sights he would have seen, the places he might have biked with his brother. The colours showing the bleakness of war or the joy of starting a good story.

It is not an indepth biography of this famous person, but picture books can’t be an indepth as a non-fiction book can they? 🙂 For sure it is a great introduction into the life of C.S.Lewis.

The Other Half of Happy

October 19, 2019 By Annette1 2 Comments

The word in the Write 31 days challenge is strong. I was trying to think of something I could do with this word and then I thought of this review book, The Other Half of Happy. Strength is something this family needed, and though it didn’t always seem apparent, it was something they possessed.

What I am Reviewing

The Other Half of Happy.
Rebecca Balcarcell.
Chronicle Books.
8-12 years, Grades 5-8, 332 pages, hardcover with fly.

Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

middle school, fiction, prejudice, racism, death, family tension, Special needs, Latin America, Cross-cultural, Latino,

Quijana is a girl in pieces. One-half Guatemalan, one-half American : When Quijana’s Guatemalan cousins move to town, her dad seems ashamed that she doesn’t know more about her family’s heritage. One-half crush, one-half buddy : When Quijana meets Zuri and Jayden, she knows she’s found true friends. But she can’t help the growing feelings she has for Jayden. One-half kid, one-half grown-up : Quijana spends her nights Skyping with her ailing grandma and trying to figure out what’s going on with her increasingly hard-to-reach brother. In the course of this immersive and beautifully written novel, Quijana must figure out which parts of herself are most important, and which pieces come together to make her whole.

The Details of The Other Half of Happy

I have to admit, I was surprised. Much of this book I thoroughly enjoyed, I really did. Good characters, I could see the struggles that Quijana had. Being a young teen, learning to hold to her preferences, struggling to understand parental concerns, and trying to be a good sister to a younger brother.

I didn’t expect the bullying she needed to endure over cross-cultural issues. This issue was a surprise to me. I wasn’t expecting native language use (or lack thereof) to be a concern among Latino Americans.

The characters were well-developed. I feel like I could meet Quijana and her friends and know what to expect from them. Jayden and Zuri became real people in my mind, good people for Quijana to hang out with.

I loved the closeness between Quijana and her gramma. The attention of teachers who noticed struggles.

This middle school book was an easy read. The only struggle I was with the bits of Spanish, and some of the Latino names.

Comments

A good book. Enjoyed reading for the most part. There was a lot thrown into this book. Homosexuality, what I think is autism, cross-cultural issues. the death of a family member, and a girl coming to understand herself.

Family tension was a very solid part of this book. I saw strength in parenting, strength in Quijana holding to what is solid part of who she was despite familial pressure, and growing strength as she realized more was going on in the world then what she was going through herself. This story, in and of itself would have been enough. Watching her mature, even in small ways, was wonderful.

I disliked the need to throw a homosexual character into an already divisive book. Like seriously, what was the real need to do so? There was so much going on in The Other Half of Happy already, adding this extra element just seemed pointless.

The focus should have remained on Quijana and the cross-cultural issues she was already dealing with. Internal strength is a part of this book.

Spies, Lies, and Disguise

October 16, 2019 By Annette1 2 Comments

HA! I like this one. The word in the Write 31 days challenge is avoid. My book is Spies, Lies and Disguise. What do spies want to avoid having done to them? Being captured! Today we get to learn how spies worked to avoid being captured in World War Two.

Spies, Lies, and Disguise: The Daring Tricks and deeds that won World War II.
Jennifer Swanson.
Kevin O’Malley (illustrator).
Bloomsbury Press
160 pages, 9-12 years, grade 5-8.

Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

World War Two, history, spies, disguise, military, Europe,

In the late 1930s, times were desperate. The world found itself at war again, less than twenty years after the first World War had ended. No one could quite believe it. And no one wanted it. The leaders of every country involved were left with no choice. They had to try to end the war as fast as possible, using whatever means they could.

That meant coming up with secret operations meant to deceive, deflect, and confuse their enemies. …… These were all real tactics attempted with the ultimate goal of defeating Hitler. In this off-center look at history, readers will be captivated by the classified and covert efforts made by each side as they tried to gain the upper hand and win the war. Restricted access is lifted to give the reader a peek into the top secret operations of the daring men and women who fought the war under a cloak of secrecy.

The Details of Spies, Lies, and Disguise

What a fun read. I know, might not sound like a fun read but I thought it was GREAT. Not fun as in ha ha joke, but fun because I learned so much! It was also written in an “invite you in style”. Not a dry read but quick moving, draw you in, causing you want to know what job comes next.

Each chapter started with a wanted poster. Stating what sort of people were wanted, and then an intriguing title. Like seriously…wouldn’t you want to know what type of spy a night witch would be?

We are then walked into a scenario, the need for smart people with a particular skill set. Actual case scenarios are explained and laid out. This one made me laugh. The idea that skipping stones could be a useful skill and then discovering that indeed it was! I was so surprised that I blurted out “it worked! Skipping bombs worked!” This of course got my lad’s interest so over he came where I showed him the picture of how the bombs were used. He was suitably impressed but demanded I don’t tell him anything more so he could read this book on his own. No spoilers allowed.

Many of the chapters closed with a short vignette of a helpful spy or a helpful science scoop that directly connected with the chapter. Occasionally images would be included like this one of the boats.

Recommendation

If you have any interest in being a spy, in covert activities, code-making, or world war 2… get Spies, Lies, and Disguise. It is a fascinating look into the world of being a spy. Whether it be as a look out, or to set a misleading trail, spies were busy confounding the enemy. It’s approachable style makes it an easy read, with nothing too complicated to understand.

Some day I will teach (I hope) from this book in a co-op class. I think it would a hoot to engage teenagers in how they could do the work of a spy themselves and avoid being captured in the process.

Reviews

What I am Reviewing

The Details of Prairie Lotus

Thoughts/Recommendations

What I am Reviewing

Details for Crossing on Time

Recommendations

What I am Reviewing.

Details of Calvert Homeschool

How we Used It

Details of Calvert Homeschool On Line

Two sections to Calvert

Parental Dashboard

Student Dashboard

Lesson Set up

Vocabulary Arcade

What a lesson looks like

Should You Use Calvert Homeschool?

What I think:

Would it be useful for high school students?

Social Media Links

What I am Reviewing

The Details for King of the Mole People

Thoughts/Recommendations

What I am Reviewing

The Details for Finding Narnia

Recommendations

What I am Reviewing

The Details of The Other Half of Happy

Comments

The Details of Spies, Lies, and Disguise

Recommendation

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