A Book to Inspire Us All

The Boy Who Changed the World by Andy Andrews   illustrated by Philip Hurst

I wish I had blogged about this book earlier.  It would make a wonderful graduation present.

This beautiful picture books starts out about the young boy Norman Borlaug, who grew up and helped feed millions of people with improved seeds and agricultural methods.  And so, he changed the world... but the book then introduces us to Henry Wallace, the vice president who gave Borlaug the task and encouragement to do what he did, so maybe it was really Henry Wallace who changed the world...but we are introduced to George Washington Carver, who encouraged Wallace as a young boy to study nature and plants, so really it was probably Carver who changed the world...except that when he was a boy, he was saved from kidnappers by Moses Carver.  So maybe it was really Moses Carver.  The book ties is all together and suggest that the reader can be the child who changes the world.  This true tale is very inspiring.  My children and I were all moved by the book, both it's story and illustrations.  And if this is of interest to you, Borlaug and Wallace of from Iowa, and George Washington Carver, met Wallace while studying at Iowa State University.

Who Wouldn't Want Some Chocolate?

The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling
How It's Made: Chocolate Bar by Sarah Ridley

Booker...
I used The Chocolate Touch with my younger son for a home school unit.  He really enjoyed the book.  It definitely helped that he knew the Greek myth of Midas' Touch.  In this book, John Midas, who loves all things candy, gets the chocolate touch.  As he goes through the day, his chocolate touch becomes more powerful.  My son found some of his mishaps quite funny.  It is a fairly short chapter book with at least one full page illustration for each of the twelve chapters.  I think the new cover art definitely draws kids in more than the original cover.  I would recommend this book for a younger reader who loves chocolate or a reluctant reader who could be drawn into the story by the chocolate and funny situations.  At the end of the story, hopefully the reader has learned that greed gains nothing good or too much of a good thing can be bad.

After reading  The Chocolate Touch, we had a unit study on chocolate.  One of the best books I found on the process of making chocolate was A Chocolate Bar, copyrighted 2005 and 2006.  I don't usually blog on the resource books I use during home schooling, but I was so impressed by this book that I needed to let people know about it.  This book had just the right amount of information--enough that we both learned many new things, but my son was not overwhelmed by all the facts or bored by too much information.  The reader starts in Ghana at a cocoa tree and follows the cocoa from harvest, then  across the ocean to the factory and finally to the wrapped chocolate bar.  The photographs and glossary are wonderful.  I also appreciated the information on fair trade chocolate!!  I don't know if this book is available now or if only libraries can get it, but I highly recommend this book if you're interested at all in how chocolate is made.  There are other titles in the How It's Made series covering Cotton T-Shirt, Rubber Tire, and Wooden Chair.  The books are published by Gareth Stevens Publishing with a website at www.garethstevens.com .

St. Francis of Assisi

ST. FRANCIS by G. K. Chesterton
                        (Go to end to see comment on Picture Book)

Blogger...
I don't have a good picture of this book, and since it was initially published in the 1920's, I don't think the picture would be all that good anyway. St. Francis  by G.K. Chesterton is not a traditional biography of the Saint. Instead, it is a historical commentary/biography. Chesterton, a Catholic, was attempting to recapture St. Francis for the Church, after what he felt was an attempt by the Secularists of the day to claim the great Saint for themselves. The commentary focuses on the importance of God in the life of St. Francis, as well as his role in the Renaissance of the 13th Century.

I have to admit, this wasn't what I was looking for in a book about St. Francis. I was looking for more of a biography, so I'll have to continue to look. I want to understand more about the man many have said have came closer to living the life Christ intended than anybody other than Christ himself. If anybody out there has any good suggestions for books on St. Francis, please let me know.

Booker...
I really liked this book.  It's short (I think 94 pages).  The pace I read it at made it seem to be about 200 pages, but I don't think that was a bad thing.  I have always thought so much of St. Francis.  I was eager to learn more about him and I knew Chesterton was a good writer, so I picked up this book.  I was not disappointed. 

The first time I picked it up, I had checked it out from the library and I didn't get very far before I had to return it.  This time, I got it on my Nook, which was astoundingly handy for looking words up in the dictionary on the Nook.  I did need to have a dictionary to fully appreciate what I was reading.  I would highly suggest looking up the words you don't know in this book rather than guessing using the context.  The precise words Chesterton uses often have a double meaning which is significant or are so exact at relating his point, it's impressive. 

Chesterton approaches this book as an address to those who are skeptical or don't believe St. Francis is a saint but rather was just a radical.  But he doesn't prove his point by listing miracle after miracle performed by or to St. Francis because if a person is already skeptical-miracles are suspect.  Chesterton explains the amazing things St. Francis did and the self-sacrifices he made.  And because Francis was a human being just like all of us, his sacrifice is inspiring.  In the beginning of the turn in direction of St. Francis' life, Chesterton comments, "Francis still looks more or less like an ordinary young man; and it is only when we look at him as an ordinary young man, that we realise what an extraordinary young man he must be."  Chesterton also shows how St. Francis' life mirrored Christ's.  Examining St. Francis' life, which mirrored Christ's so closely, may help us to base our life on Christ's because we may be able to relate more to St. Francis as he was an ordinary man who took up an extraordinary life and who faced the questions and struggles we all face.  Chesterton wrote, "St. Francis is the mirror of Christ rather as the moon is the mirror of the sun.  The moon is much smaller than the sun, but it is also much nearer to us; and being less vivid it is more visible." 

In the end, Chesterton lays out a powerful case for St. Francis' honor and sainthood.  This book literally made me stop and think as I was reading it.  It really is worth the time (and perhaps extra effort) it may take to read.

If you would like a more simple introduction to St. Francis' life rather than a commentary on his holiness and relevance, I highly recommend FRANCIS, HOLY MAN OF ASSISSI by Tomie dePaola.  This is a wonderful book, even for adults.  Tomie dePaola has many excellent books on saints and Jesus.  You should really check them out.

He's Actually a Genius!!

BLOCKHEAD: THE LIFE OF FIBONACCI by Joseph D'Agnese  
                                                                         illustrated by John O'Brien

My mom told me about this book after seeing a review of it in her local newspaper.  I got it right away since one of my kids loves math (just like Mom).  It's a good book and not too long as some historical picture books can be.  It begins in a classroom with a young Fibonacci.  He is called a blockhead because he always seems to be thinking rather than paying attention.  Fibonacci's tutor understands his brilliance and encourages him.  Throughout the book, the illustrations contains Fibonacci curves and things in nature made up of numbers in the Fibonacci sequence like flowers with three petals and starfish with five legs.  The book explains the significance of the Fibonacci sequence and how Fibonacci came about defining it in simple terms most can understand.

This is a good book not just for math lovers, but for those who need to hear the message that being different doesn't mean you're bad, it might just mean you're great.