Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011

Happy New Year to you all. 

It’s resolution time! In 2011, I resolve to:
1. Blog more
2. Redesign my blog
3. Discover more great history for children.

As we say goodbye to last year,  I thought I'd look back on what history titles the publishing world offered children in 2010.  This assortment includes one written by the President. It’s a clever introduction to thirteen famous Americans. As a whole, the group is not concentrated on any one era or theme. Titles range from the age of dinosaurs to the invention of the Apple computer.  

It will be interesting to see what 2011 offers. What are your resolutions?

BEACH WEEK - Fossil Finder

TITLE: Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon

AUTHOR: Jennine Atkins

WHO WAS AT THE BEACH? Mary Anning, paleontologist extraordinaire, before paleontology was cool (or even actually thought of).

WHAT BEACH AND WHEN? In Lyme Regis, England in 1810, eleven year old Mary Anning made an amazing discovery!

WHAT HAPPENED? Mary was born to a struggling family. Her father was a cabinetmaker by trade, but collected fossils from the cliffs on the beach to sell to tourists. Mary was his frequent companion in this endeavor. Then when she was eleven he died, leaving the Annings even more destitute. Mary continued hunting for “curiousities” to help provide for her family. Soon after her father’s death she was the first person to ever uncover an ichthyosaur.  She went on to make other important discoveries, most notably the first plesiosaur.

An inspiring tale of an amazing individual. I highly recommend this book.

Ages 9-12
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Activity: Mary was uncovering fossils from the Jurassic period. Can you match the picture of the Jurassic creature with it’s name?

Carl’s Cosmic Calendar

Cosmos is the most watched American public television series in history, with over 500 million people having seen it. And you can add four more to that list.  

On these seven DVDs Sagan has intrigued my family as he discusses the origins of life, space, DNA, intelligent design, the diversity of life, the evolution of cities, the speed of light, constellations, terraforming Mars, natural selection and even the early explorers, the Rosetta Stone and the Alexandria Library.

Sagan had a gift for making complex scientific concepts clear, as shown by this explanation of the beginning of the universe to the arrival of humans on this cosmic calendar.




Ages 9 and up
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The History of Energy

Cavemen gathering around a fire, Benjamin Franklin flying a kite in a lightening storm and a mushroom cloud exploding over Hiroshima; everything you think about when you think of energy is here, and more. The History of Energy contains over fifty pages filled with data about fire, wind, water, coal, steam, oil and nuclear energy. There is lots of cause and effect to boot. Did you know that in order to power his lightbulbs, Thomas Edison built the first commercial power station? Did you ever think about how nuclear energy was a precursor to procedures in the medical field...radiation therapy and CT scans for instance? Did you ever consider what a dangerous mess it was to fill your car with gasoline before there were gas stations?

This book follows the chronological order of man's attempts to harness energy while making the distinction between renewable and nonrenewable. And speaking of nonrenewable, it is amazing to realize that the first big oil boom was just 109 years ago. Think of all the oil we have used up since then! A detailed timeline is included.

Ages 9-12
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Activity: Imagine what future skies will look like filled with solar powered flight! The Aviation and Space Education Commission is sponsoring a poster contest titled Flying With the Sun. The deadline is April 12. Here is more information.

SNOW WEEK - 5,000 Year Old Ice Man

TITLE: Frozen Man

AUTHOR: David Getz

WHO WAS WHERE IN THE SNOW? A man, nicknamed Ötzi the Iceman, died in the Italian Alps about 3,300 B.C. His mummified body was discovered by hikers in 1991.

AMAZING FACTS ABOUT THIS EVENT: This book describes the discovery, recovery and scientific study of a man who met his demise during the copper age, some 5,000 years ago. Many of his personal belongings were recovered as well, including clothes and shoes sewn with amazing skill, a copper ax, a flint knife, a bow and arrows, birch bark baskets, berries, mushrooms, and a fire-starting kit. It is also interesting to note that he bore tattoos.

This book was published in 1996 and at that time it was surmised that Ötzi got caught in an unexpected snow storm and froze to death. In 2001 x-rays and a CT scan were performed on Ötzi and showed that an arrowhead was lodged in his shoulder. It is now believed that this killed him. For children with an interest in the work of medical examiners, I would encourage them to do further research on Ötzi. It is AMAZING the knowledge obtained from these scans as well as from tests on his DNA, his hair, his one existing nail, his teeth and so on. Scientists have pinned down the time of year he died, the contents of his last two meals, where he lived as a child and as an adult, how he spent his time, the fact that he was infertile, that he had intestinal parasites, and that he was sick for about two weeks a couple of months before he died.

Ages 9 to 12
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I have not had the opportunity to read Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers and the Recovery of the Past, but see it was published in 2008 and am sure it contains more updated information on Ötzi. It also discusses discoveries of Incan children sacrificed to the gods and the recovered body of George Mallory, who died trying to climb Mt. Everest.

Activity: The Museum in Italy where Ötzi is now on display offers interactive internet activities for children where they can do things like Take a Walk with Ötzi.

10 Deadliest Earthquakes in History

The disaster in Haiti is a testament to the sheer power of earthquakes. I've been wondering about earthquakes back through history. I poked around a little bit and I've found these to be the ten deadliest earthquakes ever:

1. Shaanxi

Country: China
Year: 1556
Death Toll: 830,000
Magnitude: 8.0

2. Tangshan

Country: China
Year: 1976
Death Toll: 255,000
Magnitude: 7.5

3. Antioch

Country: Byzantine Empire
Year: 526
Death Toll: 250,000
Magnitude: not recorded

4. Indian Ocean

Country: Off coast of Indonesia
Year: 2004
Death Toll: 230,210
Magnitude: 9.3

5. Aleppo

Country: Syria
Year: 1138
Death Toll: 230,000
Magnitude: 8.5

6. Gansu

Country: China
Year: 1920
Death Toll: 200,000 - 240,000
Magnitude: 7.8 or 8.5

7. Haiti

Country: Haiti
Year: 2010
Death Toll: 75,000 - 200,000
Magnitude: 7.0

8. Ardabil

Country: Iran
Year: 893
Death Toll: 150,000
Magnitude: not recorded

9. Great Kanto

Country: Japan
Year: 1923
Death Toll: 143,000
Magnitude: 7.9

10. Ashgabat

Country: Turkmenistan
Year: 1948
Death Toll: 110,000
Magnitude: 7.3

Jacques Cousteau - The Oceans’ Ambassador

“The best way to observe a fish is to become a fish.” Each spread of the recently published The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau has a bubble (how apropos) containing a Cousteau quote. And each bubble floats on colorful wall to wall artwork with a 1950's retro look. The copy, though sparse, is so informative. I learned that as a young weakling, Cousteau was encouraged to swim to strengthen himself. And that after a car accident later in life it was recommended that he wear arm braces; but swimming in the Mediterranean saved him again. It was at this point that a friend gave him goggles — the turning point in his life.

He couldn't get enough of seeing underwater. And he wound up going to great lengths to do just that. He was involved with the invention of the aqua-lung, the underwater camera and devices designed to get divers deeper than they had gone before. He explored oceans no one else ever had. And he, for the first time, brought the ocean right into people’s living rooms with his popular TV series, The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau.

This would be a great book to share with the child who loves the beach, sea animals or exploration.

Ages 6-9
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Activity: Now here’s something Jacques Cousteau would appreciate. You entering a design an ocean flag contest sponsored by National Geographic. This contest ends February 20, 2010. Good luck!

3, 2, 1, Blast Off!

Vaguely familiar. That's how I would have described my awareness of:
1. Graphic novels
2. Canine cosmonauts

Then I read Laika and discovered that graphic novels seem like a cross between a book and a movie and that a dog named Laika was the first living earthling to be launched into outer space. After reading about this 1957 Russian endeavor, I can't imagine being introduced to the story of Sputnik 2 in any other genre. Nick Abadzis accomplishes an amazing feat by combining impressive research, lively artwork and effective story-telling. This award-winning book gives insight into the Russian push to excel at space exploration, the bleak Communist lifestyle, and of course the people and the dog involved in this mission. Even though it is not a happy ending, it was a treat to read.

Ages 12 and up
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Reading about Laika brought to mind a movie my whole family thoroughly enjoyed and watched time and again. October Sky is the true story of some West Virginia school boys whose rocket project won the national science fair in the late 50's. In one scene, Homer, the main character is doing what he swore he would never do...going down into the coal mine to work (due to family circumstances). As he is lowered into the mine shaft he sees Sputnik 1 trekking across his last glimpse of sky. The cage begins it's dark descent and an old timer says to Homer regarding his headlamp, "turn your light on boy." We love this line!! My husband and I often tell our son as he is leaving the house for the bus stop on dark winter mornings, "turn your light on boy."

In real life Homer grew up to work for NASA. I highly recommend this feel good, family movie!

Ages 9 and up
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Activity: This is the rocket my son enjoyed building at school. It is only $6.58 and it has earned lots of positive customer feedback.

Sir Isaac Newton

Knowing that Ryan had to do a report on Isaac Newton for science class I grabbed this book, Isaac Newton: Giants of Science, while at the library. It happened to be in the car when we were on a 75 mile trek (one way!) to a soccer match so I opened it up and started reading it aloud. Katherine Krull had us hooked right from her first sentence, “Grim is a fitting description for Isaac Newton’s childhood.” After I finished the first chapter about his dismal upbringing the kids and my husband exclaimed, “read another chapter!” Krull has a gift for breathing life into this biography by weaving together nuances of a seventeenth century existence with details from Newton’s life. It flows like a hard to put down novel. Some parents will be uncomfortable with chapter nine where the author speculates about whether or not Newton was homosexual, while claiming there is no evidence one way or the other. At any rate, it was certainly interesting getting to know Newton—probably the greatest genius of all time.

Ages 8-12
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Activity: Test your genius when you finish the book with this Isaac Newton Crossword Puzzle.

Fish Stories

If you have a young fisherman in the family, he or she is sure to enjoy one or both of these titles.

Abe's Fish: A Boyhood Tale of Abraham Lincoln is a picture book based on Abraham Lincoln's only memory of the war of 1812. In his biography his secretaries published in 1890 he is quoted to have said, "I had been fishing one day and caught a little fish which I was taking home. I met a soldier in the road, and, having been always told at home that we must be good to the soldiers, I gave him my fish." The author, Jen Bryant, dexterously weaves this little bit of information with a sense of Lincoln's childhood family dynamics, their hardscrabble cabin living, his love for words and his reflective nature. The illustrations complement the story perfectly, resulting in a pleasant read that children will be drawn to.

Ages 5-10
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Fossil Fish Found Alive: Discovering the Coelacanth is a well told account of the happenstance discovery of an ancient and long thought to be extinct fish. Sally M. Walker does a remarkable job of recounting the initial discovery in 1938 by Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, a museum director, and all subsequent research up to 2001. The author has a gift for turning comprehensive information into a fascinating easy to digest story. Great photos complement the text. Don't miss this true history of scientific inquiry.

Ages 10 to young adult
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