By SK

Have you ever heard of the Chicano Blowouts? Or the Federal Theater Project? What about Sister Corita's artwork, or the NAMES project? In Rad American History A-Z, Kate Schatz and Miriam Klein Stahl explore the American history that you might not have learned in school. Some stories are from America's founding, while others focus on recent events, but all celebrate the power of unified people, working together to change their world for the better.

I loved Rad Girls Can, so I was excited to learn that Rad American History A-Z had come out, and it completely lived up my high expectations! The striking illustrations and appealing formatting make it a fun, engaging read for younger readers, but I would highly recommend it to older readers as well--I had never heard of many of the featured people and events at all, and of those which I had, the book usually provided new facts or a fresh perspective. I really liked how instead of focusing on a particular person for each section, the book focuses on a broader subject (from #BlackLivesMatter to Hull House to Riot Grrrl), and then delves into the stories of a handful of related events, people, or topics, such as the Combahee River Collective and March for Our Lives. I also appreciated how the book highlights not just movements and events, but also things which have long been a part of democracy and resistance, such as libraries, quilts, and jazz. The writing is snappy, accessible, and informative, and the illustrations combine watercolor and cutouts with stunning results. An inspiring read celebrating the power of the people and the ever-present possibility of positive change, I would highly recommend Rad American History A-Z to readers ages eleven and up.

By Super Kitty
 
“Americans now spend more on fast food than on movies, books, magazines, newspapers, and recorded music—combined,” according to Chew on This, a book by Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson that examines the fast food industry and its effects worldwide. Drawing connections between rising childhood obesity levels and the increasing popularity and power of fast food restaurants, it brings to light disturbing facts about “an industry that both feeds and feeds off the young.” Unlike many similar books, it’s a fairly easy read, with occasional pictures and short pieces about real people, many of them teenagers, whose lives are affected by the fast food industry every day. And for anyone who reads it and is inspired to take action, check out the extras in the back for ideas on how to get started.

Before reading Chew on This (and The Omnivore’s Dilemma), I had only a basic knowledge of the fast food industry, and it’s amazing how much such companies influence our everyday lives—and even more amazing how few of us realize it. Although the information Chew on This details is often disturbing, the authors don’t say fast food is bad, don’t eat it. Instead, they present their research with the attitude that “Everyone should be allowed to make up his or her mind. But in order to make up your own mind, you need to get more than one point of view. Chew on This was written to give a different point of view from the one presented every single day in hundreds of fast-food ads.”

No matter what you think about the fast food industry (or if you’re just beginning to form an opinion about it), Chew on This is an engaging, thought-provoking, and most of all, important book that’s especially good for discussions/book groups. I would highly recommend it for readers ages twelve and up.

By Piranha T.

The most common piece of writing advice is ‘write what you know.’ But what if nothing worthy of a story ever happens to you?

In Writing Radar, Jack Gantos proves that everyone has tale-worthy material in their lives, and it can be gleaned by recording it in a journal. He highlights ways to discover stories, including taking notes on people you know, recording the madcap stories which your family always tells, and jotting down unusual details which catch your attention. This book is funny, engaging, and reads like the stories it’s teaching you to tell. Interspersed are tales from Gantos’s childhood journals, where he dissects which elements make a good story.
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Writing Radar is a fantastic book for anyone who wants to write, no matter your genre; it helps people find great ideas and turn them into fabulous stories. But it’s also a perfect book for people who don’t think of themselves as authors—if you want somewhere to start, this book is excellent, just like Spilling Ink. I highly recommend Writing Radar to writers and non-writers ages eight and up, particularly those who don’t know where to find ideas. 

By Super Kitty
 
We are what we eat, as the old saying goes, but how many Americans really know what goes into their food? In The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan explores the modern food chain, and the ever-growing gap between our food and us. Interviewing farmers and visiting factories, he pieces together the story of plants and animals as they make their way through the modern food processing systems and onto our plates.
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This book really changed the way I look at processed and fast food. I knew they were unhealthy and so on, but I had no idea what a toll it takes on the environment for them to be produced, and what a toll it takes on us to eat them. The beginning of the book, while interesting, is a little slow at times; once you get into it, though, it’s fascinating. The Omnivore’s Dilemma gave me a whole new perspective on the food industry, and I think that it’s an important book for kids (and adults!) to read—I would highly recommend it to readers ages 10 and up. 

By Piranha T.

The newspaper industry in the 1800s wasn’t fair. Most editors declared that it was too rough a pursuit for women, and relegated the few female reporters to writing about recent social events and the hair styles of celebrities. Only a few women managed to land in-depth reporting jobs, or a regular column in a newspaper or magazine. Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland were two of those women.

Pennsylvania-born Nellie Bly wrote her first articles for a smaller newspaper which allowed her to write investigative articles about the poor, working conditions, and other subjects which most editors found unfit for women. When she went to New York City, she managed to land a job at the World newspaper, where she wrote regular articles which displayed little-known facts about a variety of things to the public which she learned by going undercover throughout the city.

Elizabeth Bisland, born in the south, known for her beauty as well as her writing skills, also found a job in New York after writing for other publications for several years: writing a regular column about recent books for the magazine The Cosmopolitan.

In 1889, to boost declining sales, the World sends Nellie Bly to race around the world. Her goal is to beat the fictional record established in Jules Verne’s book Around the World in Eighty Days. But only hours after she leaves, the editor of The Cosmopolitan sends Elizabeth Bisland around the world the other way. These two pioneering female journalists set a record against time, fiction, and each other.
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80 Days was a very interesting book. Set near the turn of the 19th century, this is a fast-paced historical nonfiction book about two very real, very skilled women pioneering in the world of journalism in a race which fascinated not just the nation, but the world. In addition to narrating the journeys of Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland, Matthew Goodman provides interesting information about other subjects in the world at the same time, such as conditions of immigrants and the influence of the telegraph. And in the narrations of their journeys, readers learn interesting facts about the world and culture in the nineteenth century. It does not, however, feel as though information is being forced into the text—instead, it flowed naturally and enhanced the text rather than making it dry. Although 80 Days was written for older audiences, I found it to be very interesting, and recommend it to readers twelve and up, especially those who like history and geography. 

By Super Kitty

Have you ever heard of Maryam Mirzakhani? How about Chien-Shiung Wu? Or Mae Jemison? In Women in Science, Rachel Ignotofsky writes about fifty amazing women from around the world who made vital contributions to the world of science. Full of quotes, fun facts, and colorful illustrations, each page focuses on a different scientist’s life and achievements.

Interesting and inspiring, this book makes even the most abstract fields of science feel accessible—it’s almost guaranteed to get you researching more about the amazing people it celebrates! In many ways it’s reminiscent of Rad Girls Can, with its engaging, illustrated biographies of groundbreaking women and focus on encouraging girls to pursue their passions. (Though boys are sure to enjoy it as well!)

Many of the women featured in Women in Science have been largely forgotten, or in some cases were never properly recognized in the first place, and learning about them gives a different perspective on history—behind many incredible discoveries there are unsung sheroes who never received the credit they deserve. The movement to encourage girls to pursue STEM careers has led to the publication of many awesome books celebrating those little-known scientists. Women in Science is definitely a top pick.

By Super Kitty

In Someone Like Me, Julissa Arce tells of her experiences growing up as an undocumented immigrant in San Antonio. When her family first moved to America, none of them spoke fluent English, but Julissa learned quickly and eventually graduated high school in the top five percent of her class. During weekdays, she was a normal high schooler, doing homework and going to cheerleading practice, but on the weekends she and her parents would work long days at festivals, selling funnel cakes to support their family. As she got older, Julissa became ever more aware of how limited her future was—colleges rejected her because she didn’t list a social security number in her applications, and she lived in constant fear of deportation. Yet her extraordinary intellect and hard work paid off, and she eventually became first a Wall Street executive, and then the writer, speaker, and activist which she is known as today.

I’ve been wanting to read Someone Like Me for a while, and it didn’t disappoint. It’s far too easy when hearing about the lives of undocumented immigrants to lose sight of the individual stories and personal struggles that countless Dreamers experience, and this book focuses on the humanity of those fighting for citizenship. The writing is engaging, and the story timely and powerful. Julissa Arce describes the many struggles she faced as a young undocumented girl, from her difficulty getting into college (despite her stellar grades) to the way it sometimes felt as though her family was falling apart. The experiences which she recounts are often harrowing, but it’s also a story of courage and hope. I would highly recommend Someone Like Me to readers ages 10 and up, and it’s perfect for parents and kids to discuss, or as a book group selection. And for readers who enjoy memoirs/autobiographies, be sure to check out our reviews on Find Where the Wind Goes, Farewell to Manzanar, and I am Malala.​

By Piranha T.

One of the best parts about fantasy novels are their unique worlds. I love opening a book and discovering a whole new universe between its pages, a place interwoven with magical creatures, complex histories, and unique landscapes. But when you’re the writer, how do you create that kind of world? For many aspiring authors, the question is—where do you start?

In Storyworld First: Creating a Unique Fantasy World for Your Novel, young adult author Jill Williamson proves that you don’t have to invent a language like J. R. R. Tolkien to create a unique, varied storyworld. Throughout this book, she relates different elements of worldbuilding—rules of magic, basic histories, creating interesting creatures, and more—interwoven with strategies for brainstorming and incorporating those details into your story. To any writer looking to take a deeper look at the setting of their story (even if it isn’t fantasy!), I’d highly recommend Storyworld First.
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Note: Jill Williamson is also the coauthor of Go Teen Writers, which is an excellent book about writing, revising and even publishing before you’re an adult.

By Super Kitty

When Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston was seven, she and her family were forced by the American government to move from their comfortable home in Ocean Park, California, to Manzanar, a half-constructed camp in a mountainous desert region of California. They had committed no crime, but during World War II, a fear of Japanese spies swept the nation, and President Roosevelt signed an Executive Order permitting the relocation of any potential hazards to the country and/or winning the war. The Wakatsukis started off their three and a half years at the camp in half-finished shacks, and the food and conditions were appalling. But things improved, and eventually the camp grew to resemble an ordinary town, with movie theaters, churches, and schools. The camp became home, a place where Japanese heritage was not a curse.

Several years after it was founded, the camp was disbanded, following several court cases fought on the issue. Families which had been forced to move in were now being sent away, a sudden freedom which was no longer a blessing. People had built their lives only to be brought to the internment camps, their belongings hastily sold (or stolen) after they left. And now they were being thrust back into the outside world, with nowhere to start from, faced with widespread American anti-Japanese sentiment. For Jeanne, still a child, Manzanar was where her life truly began. For many, including her parents, it was the beginning of the end. No matter their age, the internees left the camp with scars that never fully healed, and memories, both good and bad, that haunted them for the rest of their lives. 

To be honest, I can’t believe that this part of history isn’t more widely known. Most people haven’t even heard of the Japanese internment camps, or if they have, they don’t truly understand what happened to the people—elders, children, families—who were brought there. Farewell to Manzanar is especially powerful because it’s not just modern-day historical fiction, but the true story of a family’s experience, drawn from the author’s own memories. It’s a great book to discuss, and is an excellent choice for book groups. Thought-provoking and sometimes heartbreaking, I would highly recommend Farewell to Manzanar for readers ages eleven and up.

​And if you’re interested in learning more about World War II, check out our review on Fly Girls! ​

By Super Kitty
 
In Fly Girls, P. O’Connell Pearson tells the forgotten story of the women pilots who worked for the military during World War II. In the United States, planes were being produced at an incredible rate, and the army needed them—and fast.

To allow as many pilots as possible to fly in combat, two accomplished pilots named Jacqueline Cochran and Nancy Love proposed a program where female aviators could fly planes from factories to bases. Woman were taking on what were traditionally men’s jobs all over the country, but if a woman wanted to work directly for the military, only specific roles were open. While not all of them consisted of traditionally ‘feminine’ work, many people thought women flying combat planes, particularly the heavy bombers, was going too far.

But women were not afraid to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), despite the hard conditions and difficult standards (often much higher than those required of male pilots), and one thousand, one hundred and two of them flew for their country until the program was shut down in 1944.
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Fly Girls tells a fascinating story, and one I can’t believe I didn’t know about. More than eleven hundred women worked ferrying planes from 1942 to 1944, and yet this is a piece of history largely forgotten. It also gave me a different perspective on World War II and the suffragettes; how far we have come since then, but also how far we have to go before women will have complete equality with men. The writing is engaging, and it reads like a story, which I for one quite appreciated, as many similar books tend to be on the drier side. I was impressed by the amazing women the story centered around—now forgotten, many battles might have ended differently were it not for the young pilots who risked their lives flying for their country. I would recommend it to readers ages ten and up looking for interesting and inspiring history, about war, planes, and the women who flew them.