The Family Romanov

The Family Romanov; Murder, Rebellion & the Fall of Imperial Russia
by Candace Fleming

I also read this book before I visited Russia last summer, along with Symphony for the City of the Dead.
Tsar Nicholas Romanov II of Russia was shot and killed along with his entire family--his wife and five children--during the Russian Revolution, in 1917.
Leading up to that, the Romanov family was one of the wealthiest royal families in the world, ruling over 130 million people, most of whom were poverty stricken. Tsar Nicholas--the last emperor of Russia--barely acknowledged the hardships people were living with, while his own family frolicked in luxury.
This nonfiction narrative describes the rise and fall of the House of Romanov, complete with their bizarre connection to a mystic, Rasputin. The photographs in the book are fascinating, as is the story!

Symphony for the City of the Dead

Symphony for the City of the Dead; Dimitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad

By M.T. Anderson

This not a book everyone will love, or even should read. But it is powerful, and I am glad to have read it. If you are interested in classical music, Russian history, or World War II, you might enjoy this incredible true story....and M.T. Anderson is such a great writer! I visited St. Petersburg last summer--formerly known as Leningrad--and read this before I went. Unbelievable history.

Review from School Library Journal:

This ambitious and gripping work is narrative nonfiction at its best. Anderson expertly sets the scene of the tumultuous world into which Dmitri Shostakovich was born in 1906 and traces his development as an artist and a public figure. He also tells the story of the composer's beloved Leningrad, focusing on the creation and legacy of the symphony written in its honor at the height of World War II. In his author's note, Anderson poses an intriguing question: "How do we reconstruct the story of someone who lived in a period in which everyone had an excuse to lie, evade, accuse, or keep silent?" The compelling, well-researched narrative relates what is known of Shostakovich's story, what is speculation, what is revisionist history, and what new sources have revealed. The chilling details of the Stalin regime and the plight of the Russian people even before the Germans arrived will be eye-opening to many teen readers. The book has all the intrigue of a spy thriller, recounts the horrors of living during the three year siege, and delineates the physical oppression and daunting foes within and outside of the city. This is also the story of survival against almost impossible odds. Through it all, Anderson weaves the thread of the composer's music and the role it played in this larger-than-life drama. 

School Library Journal (September 1, 2015)

The 57 Bus

The 57 Bus 

By Dashka Slater

What an incredible, incredible book. Everyone should read this true story of two teens and a horrible incident on a bus in Oakland.

Here's the summary from the publisher:

One teenager in a skirt.
One teenager with a lighter.
One moment that changes both of their lives forever.
If it weren't for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands and attended a large public one. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But one afternoon on the bus ride home from school, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned, and Richard charged with two hate crimes and facing life imprisonment. The case garnered international attention, thrusting both teenagers into the spotlight.

The D.B. Cooper Hijacking

The D.B. Cooper Hijacking: Vanishing Act
by Kay Melchisedech Olson

This is an incredible true crime story that has never been solved!
In 1971 a man (maybe a woman?!), known to the media as D.B. Cooper, hijacked a Boeing 727 airplane and then escaped by jumping out with a parachute--and over a million dollars.
There was a major search for this hijacker involving hundreds of troops, spy planes, and a submarine...but no trace of the criminal was ever found.
D.B. Cooper would have been 90 years old last year, and the FBI finally just ended the hunt!
Read this book to learn all of the details of the crime, the investigation, and why the story continues to intrigue people to this day.

Other books in the True Crime series:
The Black Dahlia: Shattered Dreams
The Great Train Robbery: History-making Heist
The Zodiac killer: Terror and Mystery

The Mildenhall Treasure

The Mildenhall Treasure
By Roald Dahl
Illustrated by Ralph Steadman

Since I love all stories by Roald Dahl, I was curious when I found this on our library's shelves; I had never heard of it before. This true, short story is amazingly and beautifully illustrated, so it's really a picture book--and quite a great one!
Inspired by a news story from a newspaper he read in 1945, Roald Dahl interviewed an English farmer named Gordon Butcher who had accidentally uncovered a Roman treasure while working in the fields one day. Little did Mr. Butcher know he had stumbled upon an incredible, rare fortune, buried for over a thousand years...and then he was cheated out of it by a greedy neighboring farmer who knew what the treasure was really worth.

Here is an account of the of the same story and photos of the treasure from the British Museum, where it is kept to this day:
https://blog.britishmuseum.org/2012/03/29/roald-dahl-and-the-mildenhall-treasure/

Bad Girls

Bad Girls: Sirens, Jezebels, Murderesses, Thieves & Other Female Villains
By Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple
Illustrated by Rebecca Guay

I really enjoyed reading these short, lively accounts of real women (girls, in some cases) who made history--infamously--for different reasons and all in different ways.
The mother/daughter team of Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple present some of their own research process in the form of a brief, fun comic strip at the end of each chapter.
Each chapter is about a different "villainous" woman, and in the end, the reader is left to decide whether or not these women deserve their titles of "Sirens, Jezebels, murderesses, thieves...and villains."

Includes brief biographies of: Delilah, Jezebel, Cleopatra, Salome, Anne Boleyn, Bloody Mary, Elisabeth Báthory, Moll Cutpurse, Tituba, Anne Bonney & Mary Read, Catherine the Great, Mata Hari...and many others!

grayson

grayson

By Lynne Cox

A lovely little book! Lynne Cox recalls an incredible experience she had as a 17-year-old long-distance ocean swimmer: a baby grey whale, separated from its mom and lost, followed her around as she swam in the ocean near Long Beach, CA one morning.
The author describes the amazing ocean animals she saw and the wild experiences of that day in vivid detail, sharing the magic of the Pacific ocean with those of us who usually stay on the beach!

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Young Readers Edition

by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer

What an inspiring story! What an impressive young man!
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is the true story of how William Kamkwamba--a young teenager driven by curiosity--built his own wind turbine out of junk to generate electricity for his home in rural Malawi, a small country in Africa. Not only did he succeed with this challenging project (and several others), he overcame many obstacles: like being kicked out of school because his family couldn't afford to pay, and a severe famine in his country that left him and his entire village starving for many months.
And, by the way, this boy completely taught himself the science necessary to build a windmill, with books from a small library...and no access to the Internet.

Harlem Hellfighters

Harlem Hellfighters 
by J. Patrick Lewis and Gary Kelley

This gorgeous and intense picture book tells the true story--in free-verse poetry--of the 369th Infantry Regiment during World War I.
In 1917 a brave group of 2,000 black Americans enlisted and  became known as the Harlem Hellfighters; some of these young men played instruments in a famous band that brought the music of Harlem, New York, straight into the war raging in France.
Faced with racism in the United States, the Harlem Hellfighters returned victorious when the war was over, helping to make progress towards equal rights for all African Americans--that were still a long time coming.



Below, Lt. James Reese Europe, famous jazz
band leader, back with the 369th Regiment.
More photos and information about the Harlem Hellfighers at: www.archives.gov/education/lessons/369th-infantry

I am Malala

I am Malala: how one girl stood up for education and changed the world
By Malala Yousafzai
With Patricia McCormick

(Young Readers Edition)

Malala always had a passion for education--ever since she was a very little girl, she loved school and excelled at learning. When the Islamist militant group known as the Taliban began to take control of her hometown in Pakistan, all girls were suddenly forbidden to attend school. Along with her father, Malala spoke out about this injustice (she was 11 years old at the time) and through interviews and blog postings she gave the world an understanding of the horrors of Taliban occupation.
One day, inside the school bus on the way home from school, Malala was shot in the head by the Taliban...miraculously, she survived, though she underwent many serious operations.
To this day Malala speaks passionately all over the world about the rights of children and women to receive an education.
In 2014, at age 17, Malala Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize--the youngest person ever to win this prestigious honor.
An amazing, inspiring true story of courage and perseverance.

Bomb

Bomb: The race to build--and steal--the world's most dangerous weapon
By Steve Sheinkin

Steve Sheinkin tells the gripping true tale of the construction of the first atomic bomb, dropped on Japan and ultimately ending WWII.
A story chock full of the world's "greatest scientists,  the most expert spies, hardened military commandos, and some of the most ruthless dictators who ever lived. The prize: military dominance over the entire world."
Read and find out what it took to build such a weapon, and why it is so important for countries to avoid using them now.

Trapped

Trapped: 
How the World 
Rescued 
33 Miners 
from 
2,000 Feet 
Below the 
Chilean Desert
by Marc Aronson

Here is a true story of the survival and incredible rescue of all 33 miners trapped underground for more than 60 days in a mine in northern Chile.
In 2010, the San José copper mine entrance was shut off when 700,000 tons of rock came crashing down, and the miners 2,000 feet below had no way to escape. Using teamwork, limited emergency supplies and huge amounts of hope, they waited and waited for the difficult rescue that finally came weeks later.
Many different people from all over the world contributed to the nearly-impossible rescue, using drills and technology from NASA to naval submarines. A thrilling read and powerful story of survival!

Queen of the Falls

Queen of the Falls
By Chris Van Allsburg

I'm a big fan of all of Chris Van Allsburg's books. I love his detailed illustrations--sometimes creepy, sometimes haunting--and the unusual stories that accompany these pictures. Queen of the Falls is the biography of an unusual and little-known woman who, at age 62, climbed into a wooden barrel and plummeted over Niagara Falls in an attempt at fame and fortune! She survived, but didn't make a lot of money for her efforts, even though it was a very daring feat. That was in 1901! Annie Taylor remains the only woman to have ever gone over the falls alone (and only one of nine who have survived the trip at all).

Trains

Trains
By Lynn Curlee

This is a super interesting history of railroads--from the first steam engines to the development of high speed "maglev" trains (in Europe, China and Japan) that can go up to 300 miles per hour!
It gave me some perspective on the importance of the building of the transcontinental railroad, and how it was crucial to the shaping of the U.S.
And this book also reminds readers that while many train lines have been replaced by highways in this country, trains continue to play a big role in transportation in most other countries.

Fred Korematsu

Fred Korematsu: All American Hero
By Anupam Chander and Madhavi Sunder
Illustrated by Angelia Loi


This informative graphic novel tells the story of Fred Korematsu, who spoke up and fought for justice for his Japanese American community despite great challenges. During WWII, Fred and his family and 120,000 other Japanese Americans living on the West coast were forced to live in internment camps for no reason but that they were of Japanese ancestry. Fred Korematsu took his case to the Supreme Court--twice--before the U.S. officially apologized to him, and to the entire Japanese American community. He continued to fight for justice for all people in the United States until his death at age 86, in 2005.
The story also mentions similar unfair treatment of Muslims after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001.

  

California now commemorates this impressive civil rights activist each January 30th (this began in 2011) with Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberaties and the Constitution.

Malcolm X

Malcolm X:  By Any Means Necessary
By Walter Dean Myers

Walter Dean Myers has written a fascinating account of the life--and death--of one of the greatest and most influential but also most controversial leaders of the Civil Rights Movement.
Malcolm X was the "militant leader of hundreds of thousands in the Nation of Islam, a Muslim minister, a target of the F.B.I., a guest of Arab princes, at one time a streetwise, blade-sharp teenager" on the streets of Harlem.  He spent 6 1/2 years in prison as a young man, and used that time to read and learn, emerging as a powerful force for change in the years afterward.

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World:  The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance
By Jennifer Armstrong

Talk about incredible survival stories...talk about serious misery, crazy subzero conditions, a diet of penguin and seals for months, blizzards and toppling icebergs, tippy, leaking lifeboats, and mountaineering feats up and down sheer glacial ice...Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew of 28 men survived against all odds--and then some--during a failed trans-Antarctic expedition in 1915.  This book will truly make you feel lucky to have a warm bed and a hot shower.  Marvel at the photos that somehow survived the many different disasters this brave, strong crew endured...this is a story you will never forget once you hear it.

The Harvey Milk Story

The Harvey Milk Story
By Kari Krakow
Illustrated by David Gardner

The inspiring story of our country's first openly gay elected city official, right here in San Francisco.  Everyone should know this story.  Every kid and adult should read this book.
(ISBN: 0-9674468-3-x-51795)

Mega-Beasts

Encyclopedia Prehistorica;  Mega-Beasts
By Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart

This ultra-sophisticated pop-up book will really wow you, guaranteed.  Not only is it chock-full of incredible facts about prehistoric mega-beasts, but the illustrations literally jump out at you each time you turn the page. 
(ISBN: 978-0-7636-2230-5)

Edible Schoolyard

Edible Schoolyard;  A Universal Idea
By Alice Waters

With lots of beautiful, colorful photographs, this book explains how Alice Waters' dream to transform a Berkeley public middle school lunch program really happened...and it started a food revolution just across the Bay.  I hope we're next!
(ISBN: 978-0-8118-6280-6)