​Published by: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers 2015

Publisher's Summary: Abraham Dee Bartlett knew from a young age that he wanted to spend his life working with animals. But in Victorian London, there weren’t many jobs that provided an opportunity to do that. Still, Abraham spent years gaining knowledge and pursuing his dream until he eventually became superintendent in the London Zoo. Driven by his compassion for the animals, Abraham dramatically improved the conditions of the zoo to ensure that the animals could be happy and healthy.

With engaging back matter and charming illustrations, Cassandre Maxwell’s book brings to life the little-known story of the man who helped to create the modern zoo.

Like many of you, I have been enthralled by the editor of Eerdmans nonfiction posts on their website. Naturally it enticed me to grab one of their books and see how it stacked up to my trusty compass test that never lets me down in finding my direction.

Nugget: Abraham Dee Bartlett and the Invention of the Modern Zoo. -- Nice nugget, children love animals. Needless to say, I was curious.

Need Enticement: From the time he was a little boy, Abraham Dee Bartlett loved animals. He was fascinated by anything with fur, fins or feathers.  --not very exciting, I can't say that I was hooked.

Escalation: His father knew a man that owned animals, people lined up for animals (this set up is three pages) before we get to... the man let Abraham play with the animals. He reads about them, grows up to work with animals then gets a job with the London Zoo.

He is a very hands-on zookeeper. He makes many changes still in effect today such as zoo guides and description plates by each animal. He works to help find ways to help injured and dying animals.

In the end, the Queen is impressed with him, but the animals aren't. They howl and grunt at night. He comes up with the idea of large habitats that emulate their natural homes much like we see today.

Satisfying Ending: And, proud as any papa, he welcomed thousands of visitors to marvel at the magnificent animals, happy at last in their home at the zoo.  --Does this ending fulfill the story promise that is set  in the beginning? No. Who is the papa? This was the entire last section as though it was a paragraph. Did his love do this? Were all the fur, fin, and feathers at home in the zoo? This ending left me wanting more.

Sources: Great timeline, author's note, small bibliography, but there are tips for further reading.

Show Words: This area disappointed me, they could have had a nice vocabulary in the back of the book. The only word I thought would engage talk was "sedate." The end of this book was all about the animals talking, but never once did they mention the actual language of an animal. They mention Abraham listening to a lullaby of grunts, hoots, etc. Then show a picture of a giraffe- giraffes DON'T make a sound.

Why: This book will entice children. It is fascinating to think how far we have come from small boxes where lions traveled from one town to the next. To what we have now, make shift prides, where we can watch lions in a somewhat natural atmosphere. Fascinating.

Need and Want: Abraham wanted a life devoted to animals, he wanted to help them, play with them, fix them. But, deep down he realized that the animals weren't happy. Who wants to be confined? Making the best of a bad situation, he came up with the idea of large habitats where the animals were surrounded by their natural plants and surroundings.

** Overall I do like this book but it leads you off the beaten path and now and then we find our way back to the bread crumb trail. The story is fascinating, and I look forward to researching it even more. 

Dial Books: The story of a transgender child based on the real-life experience of Jazz Jennings, who has become a spokesperson for transkids everywhere

"This is an essential tool for parents and teachers to share with children whether those kids identify as trans or not. I wish I had had a book like this when I was a kid struggling with gender identity questions. I found it deeply moving in its simplicity and honesty."—Laverne Cox (who plays Sophia in “Orange Is the New Black”)

From the time she was two years old, Jazz knew that she had a girl's brain in a boy's body. She loved pink and dressing up as a mermaid and didn't feel like herself in boys' clothing. This confused her family, until they took her to a doctor who said that Jazz was transgender and that she was born that way. Jazz's story is based on her real-life experience and she tells it in a simple, clear way that will be appreciated by picture book readers, their parents, and teachers.


This week's book created a huge discussion among the Nonfiction Archaeology Graduate program and whether or not this was an ideal text for young children. Here were some of our big issues:

The book was written for parents not children as the adults were the ones unaccepting and having a need and want. The parents sought advice, the doctor provided advice and the child never changed.

In a world were we put labels on way too many things, we are once again labeling a child. Do we really tell our children, "Oh, that person is a transgender?" No, we tell, "Great, her favorite color is pink and mine is red." We don't highlight the difference but make children understand that there is something different about everyone.

Looking back at the 80's when stars and musicians came out of the "closet" it seemed that many of them either went back in or blamed it on being "confused". Was it a marketing ploy? I know for my friends, they didn't just have a revelation, they always knew that they were gay. Nothing turned them, nothing changed, they just found the courage to tell others. So, for the true people who are transgender, does this book make light or create a hype where it is unnecessary? And if you are trying to bring transgender awareness, is a children's book the place to do it? Her friends accepted her, others didn't, isn't that the case with every child about something?

* I would truly love to know your thoughts.

Nugget- A transgender child is accepted.
Need Enticement- Not so much a hook as it is just facts to establish that the child is normal.
Escalation- Things that Jazz likes. People that see Jazz as weird or different. Parents and doctor solving the problem.
Satisfying Ending- A sweet ending about liking the fact that she is different. But yet the story started about getting people to accept her as normal. So? I am left wanting more.
Sources-Not any since the co-author is who the story is about.
Show Words- Mainly normal words to emphasize normality.
Why- I believe that there is absolute need for awareness here but since it is written mainly to the adults then I feel that an older book would have been better suited. It seemed as though friends her age accepted her it was her older siblings, teachers and parents that made it an issue.
Need and Want- Mainly it is other people's need and want that is satisfied. The parents need their child to fit into the stereotypical boy child but at the same time they want to understand.
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Dragonfly Books: A picture-book account of one of the most famous pieces of radio history!

* “Sandwiched between a look at Depression-era radios and a set of fanciful period advertisements, McCarthy delivers a semi-serious account of the 1938 War of the Worlds broadcast, illustrating both passages from the script and briefly told descriptions of widespread panic with smudgy cartoon scenes featuring bug-eyed monsters and equally bug-eyed people. The author closes with a substantial note that analyzes the broadcast’ immediate and long-term effects, points out that the announcers repeatedly admitted that they were presenting a drama during the broadcast, mentions several later revivals here and internationally and notes the response of H.G. Wells himself to the original production. She has also set up an invitingly designed Web site with an array of relevant links.”

​This 578-word non-fiction picture book would be an appropriate story to read around Halloween—it would keep your listeners believing in aliens till the end!

Nugget: People really believed aliens had landed in Grovers Mill, NJ in 1938.

Needs Enticement: The opening spread has an illustration of an announcer with a speech bubble telling kids that in the 1930’s people listened to the radio for their news and entertainment. “Because Americans believed what they heard, they were easily fooled by a radio play that sounded like an actual news bulletin. Here is the story . . .”

Escalation: The announcer describes what the aliens look like and how other cylinders are landing all over the country. . . “WAS THIS THE END OF THE WORLD?” he asks. Much chaos ensues as people react to what they think is really happening.

Satisfying Ending: The 2-page ending spread reveals “Meanwhile, the actors from the Mercury Theatre on CBS Radio continued with their radio show, unaware of the terror they caused outside their door.”

Sources: There is an extensive Bibliography at the back of this book which includes five books and many newspaper articles. A three-page Author’s Note explains the history of the news broadcast.
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Show Words (and Pictures): The majority of the book reads like a play because it’s set up with the actual actors’ names and the lines they read . . . all in present tense, like it’s happening right now! I love the way McCarthy used black and white to illustrate the real-world scenes and bright color to illustrate the “alien news” story that was unfolding during the reading of the play.

Why: Children today probably don’t know about this piece of history. In their internet-up-to-the-minute-info-world, they couldn’t imagine how such a thing could really happen. It shows how different the world was when their grandparents and great-grandparents were young—great conversation starter!

Need and Want: There is no main character in this story. The best I can do is say that Orson Welles wanted to put on a play based on the book THE WAR OF THE WORLDS by H. G. Wells. And he thought for it to be successful it needed a twist—“the actors even studied the tapes of the 1937 Hindenburg disaster so that their delivery would contain a convincing sense of urgency”!