Updated: Dec 11, 2024
How Dr. John Snow Solved the Mystery of Cholera
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Knopf Books for Young Readers
(pub. 8.13.2024)
40 pages
Ages 4-8
Author: Deborah Hopkinson
Illustrator: Nik Henderson
Character: Dr. John Snow
Overview:
" Dr. John Snow is one of the most influential doctors and researchers in Western medicine, but before he rose to fame, he was just a simple community doctor who wanted to solve a mystery.
In 19th century London, the spread of cholera was as unstoppable as it was deadly. Dr. Snow was determined to stop it, but he had a problem: His best theory of how the disease was spread flew in the face of popular opinion. He needed evidence, and he needed to find it fast, before more lives were lost.
Taking on the role of detective as well as doctor, Dr. Snow knocked on doors, asked questions and mapped out the data he'd collected. What he discovered would come to define the way we think about public health to this day."
Tantalizing taste:
"Here's Dr. John Snow now, on Sunday evening. He looks like a gentleman, but he grew up poor, the oldest of nine children. John hasn't forgotten that. He's been a doctor to the queen, but he cares about science and regular people, not riches. He often gives his services for free to those in need.
Tonight, John's not here to see a patient. He's on the hunt for clues. Because John is a detective: a medical detective."
And something more: The backmatter of the book explains that: "Evidence! is a true story that marks a key date in public health history: September 8, 1854, when the handle came off the Broad Street pump in London, England. A few months later, Dr. John Snow published a book about his investigation that included a map showing the pattern of the epidemic. This map has inspired scientists ever since.… Each year, the John Snow Society invites a leading scientist to give a lecture on public health. The event is called the Pumphandle Lecture."
Updated: Dec 11, 2024
The Story of Mystery Writer Agatha Christie
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Beach Lane Books
(Simon & Schuster)
(pub. 5.28.2024)
40 pages
Ages 4 - 8
Author: Robyn McGrath
Illustrator: Liz Wong
Character:
Agatha Christie
Overview:
" Before Agatha Christie became the greatest mystery writer of all time, she was a girl who loved books, make-believe, and puzzling out problems. She was a keen observer, always noticing the secrets hiding in the shadows and the clues just waiting to be uncovered.
More than anything, Agatha loved detective stories. She longed to write her own mysteries, but she struggled when she put pen to paper. The letters came out jumbled, the words twisting and snagging. Writing became a new puzzle for her to solve.
Her family and teachers chided her for being lost in her head, but Agatha wasn’t lost…she had a mind of her own!"
Tantalizing taste:
"Setting acting aside, Agath returns to writing.
Tim and time again, she puts pen to paper,
conducting a symphony of ideas,
but teachers reject her compositions
and criticize her grammar...
Back at home, Agatha retreats into her imagination...
Her mind fills with story possibilities ...
but again the words twist and snag
when she puts pen to paper...
Putting together one clue at a time, she begins
filling her six-pence notebooks with
suspicious characters,
fast-paced plots,
engaging scenes,
and sharp dialogue.
Agatha's detective story becomes a puzzle for her to solve.
A mathematical equation.
Just like she did with her father."
And something more: The More About Agatha Christie explains: "With with no playmates or formal schooling, Agatha was often alone with her imagination. She spent a great deal of her time with her imaginary friends and family pets, as well as her nursemaid... As a young girl, Agatha was paralyzingly shy. Family often teased Agatha for appearing to be lost in her thoughts"
Updated: Dec 11, 2024
Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Calkins Creek
(Astra Books for Young Readers)
(pub. 8.27.2024)
40 pages
Ages 7 -10
Author: Nathalie Alonso
Illustrator: Rudy Gutierrez
Character: Roberto Clemente
Overview:
" Roberto Clemente always loved baseball. Growing up in Carolina, Puerto Rico, he swung tree branches (since he didn’t have a bat) and hit tin cans. He was always batting, pitching, running, sliding. His dedication paid off when, at the age of 19, he was tapped for a major league team.
First stop: chilly Montreal . . . where he warmed the bench and himself, longing to play baseball.
Months later, he finally got his chance with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Clemente had an instant impact on the field—hitting the ball and making it to first base and finally home. Many Pittsburgh fans loved his bold style on the field, but not everyone was quick to embrace a Black man from Puerto Rico who spoke español.."
Tantalizing taste:
"But newspaper reporters don't praise Roberto's energy: They call him a show – off. And when his back hurts and he can't play, lazy! To make things worse, people call him "Bob." They think it sounds more familiar – more American.
Roberto doesn't like being called Bob.
Call me Roberto, he insists, orgulloso to be from Puerto Rico.
And Puerto Rico is just as proud of him..."
And something more: The author, Nathalie Alonso, shared in the Author's Note: "...Roberto has long been honored primarily as a humanitarian figure. And while he certainly deserves to be recognized as such, that narrative has obscured what I see as his greatest contribution to baseball: his battle to get the sport to accept and embrace players from Latin America. It is this legacy that most resonates with me as a first – generation Latina, who covers baseball for living, a job that has traditionally been the domain of White men.…
... When Roberto arrived in the majors, he encountered an industry that, years after Jackie Robinson's debut with the Dodgers, remained hostile to people of color.…
His refusal to bow to bigotry and his defiance of racist stereotypes are what most inspire me. As someone whose first language is Spanish but who wasn't always comfortable speaking it in professional settings, the moment when Roberto addressed his parents on national television [when he was named MVP of the World Series in 197 - a first for a Spanish-speaking player] is incredibly validating."
