Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. 2005. HITLER YOUTH: GROWING UP IN HITLER'S SHADOW. Book Design by Nancy Sahato. New York, NY: Scholastic Nonfiction.ISBN-10: 0439353793
PLOT
During the years 1933 to 1945 Hitler Youth created a supportive force behind Germany's success of the Third Reich. This story gives personal insight of a few children who supported and a few who resisted "Gleichschaltung" or "conformity" to Hitler's education of Nationals Socialism. It portrays the power of youth, their potential and consequences that forge a future.
CRITIQUE
Having grown up listening to countless stories from my mother who was a product of the Hitler Youth in Hamburg, Germany, I was drawn to reading this author's account of other biographies. Giving strength to this book, Bartoletti's accuracy of these episodic researched accounts begins with a foreward introducing the children, an epilogue, time line, author's note and includes original photographs offering a vicarious experience for those unfamiliar with this horiffic event.
The text is organized and written from a historical timeline so the reader can follow the evolution of power gained by the Hitler Youth and the reason for its momentom chronologically. Beginning for example in 1926 Hitler Youth membership total, 6000 compared to 5,437,602- 10 years later. To think, my mother was one of those numbers, unwillingly. By 1939 Hitler Youth membership accounted for 7,287,470 youth.
I ask myself, "If Hitler tapped into such a living resource as those children, who is tapping into our children today? With marketing ads, fashion and technological propaganda of "must haves", what shadow influences our children today?" Noted in the book with reference to the children, Hitler said,"What material! With them I can create a new world." Evaluate then the importance of correct teaching and how it influences children's mindset for good or bad is clearly written from these children's accounts. From the "Author's Notes", her questions that influenced this research were shared. "I wondered: What role did young people serve in Hitler's Third Reich? Did they help Adolf Hitler and his rising Nazi Party ride to power in Germany? If so, were they willing participants in his machinery of oppression and murder? Or were they brainwashed victims? Or something in-between?" Her findings comprise this book and she ends the story with questions," Could another despot like Hitler rise to power on the shoulders of young people? What are you willing to do to prevent such a shadow from falling over you and others?" From this book I have gained greater respect for my mother and deeper understanding of the way I was raised. Citing the title in Chapter 10, "I Could Not Help but Cry".
STARRED REVIEWS
School Library Journal* Starred Review*Grade 5-8–Hitler's plans for the future of Germany relied significantly on its young people, and this excellent history shows how he attempted to carry out his mission with the establishment of the Hitler Youth, or Hitlerjugend, in 1926. With a focus on the years between 1933 and the end of the war in 1945, Bartoletti explains the roles that millions of boys and girls unwittingly played in the horrors of the Third Reich. The book is structured around 12 young individuals and their experiences, which clearly demonstrate how they were victims of leaders who took advantage of their innocence and enthusiasm for evil means. Their stories evolve from patriotic devotion to Hitler and zeal to join, to doubt, confusion, and disillusion. (An epilogue adds a powerful what-became-of-them relevance.) The large period photographs are a primary component and they include Nazi propaganda showing happy and healthy teens as well as the reality of concentration camps and young people with large guns. The final chapter superbly summarizes the weighty significance of this part of the 20th century and challenges young readers to prevent history from repeating itself. Bartoletti lets many of the subjects' words, emotions, and deeds speak for themselves, bringing them together clearly to tell this story unlike anyone else has.–Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, IL Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Booklist*Starred Review* Gr. 7-10. What was it like to be a teenager in Germany under Hitler? Bartoletti draws on oral histories, diaries, letters, and her own extensive interviews with Holocaust survivors, Hitler Youth, resisters, and bystanders to tell the history from the viewpoints of people who were there. Most of the accounts and photos bring close the experiences of those who followed Hitler and fought for the Nazis, revealing why they joined, how Hitler used them, what it was like. Henry Mentelmann, for example, talks about Kristallnacht, when Hitler Youth and Storm Troopers wrecked Jewish homes and stores, and remembers thinking that the victims deserved what they got. The stirring photos tell more of the story. One particularly moving picture shows young Germans undergoing de-Nazification by watching images of people in the camps. The handsome book design, with black-and-white historical photos on every double-page spread, will draw in readers and help spark deep discussion, which will extend beyond the Holocaust curriculum. The extensive back matter is a part of the gripping narrative. Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved.
CONNECTIONS
School Library: Interfacing with Technology and the Musuem of Holocaust in Washington,D.C, allow the children to "tour" virtually the facility, stopping at the wall of shoes, noting the children's black shoes. Have them write a response, "Walking in these shoes", what would they feel, they see, they experience from reading this book and seeing these accounts.
Public Library: Present a Days of Remembrance theme, "Never Again: What You Do Matters". Compare with past themes, Children in Crisis:Voices from the Holocaust, Life in Shadows:Hidden Children and the Holocaust.http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/ (accessed July 13, 2009). http://www.ushmm.org/remembrance/dor/years/detail.php?content=2009 (accessed July 13, 2009). Have children from the community draw a black and white picture of themselves to post on the wall next to the theme,"What You Do Matters" with book jackets of Anne Frank and other stories to be read regarding children and change on the wall.
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BIBLIOGRAPHYMontgomery, Sy.2006.QUEST FOR THE TREE KANGAROO:AN EXPEDITION TO THE CLOUD FOREST OF NEW GUINEA. Photography by Nic Bishop. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.ISBN-10: 0618496416
PLOT
Travel with an expedition into the ancient trees of Papua New Guinea's cloud forest to find a Matschie tree kangaroo. Achieve the goal set by this team of scientists who hope to collar critters, record information of animal diet, lifestyle, and contribute information to the conservation of survival.
CRITIQUE
Lets "Tok Pisin", a real language, "Mi likim kapul longpela tel"(I like kangaroos). Tree Kangaroo Conservationalist and director at Woodland Park Zoo, Lisa Dabek was the impetus in bringing light to this topic. Her passionate proposal began in 2005, with the printing of Montgomery's book in 2006 and media work published 2008 reflecting the success of her work. Nic Bishop, photographer for the book also provides the movie media photography bringing to life his film presentation. His colorful photos capture the spirit of the person and the animal focusing on the eyes and extremities such as the crisp yellow fur paw with sharp ebony claws of the tree climbing roo from page 44. The design and layout encourages further interest in finding more materials relating to the tree kangaroo conservation project which leads back to Dabek's work, her team and a familiar feeling. Lisa believes the future of conservation lies with the children. "The more kids around the world understand the importance of protecting plants and animals, the better off we'll be "(Montgomery, 2006 pg. 29). With such readable organization, curiosity of creature, she's off to a great start inspiring a child one day to be the next tree kangaroo scientist.
An accurately written description of the expedition is logically presented with before trip preparation, materials needed and itemized for the trip, the flight, the hunt, the procedure of tagging a Joey and studying the animal after it's release into the wild. Factual terminology is shared such as "clinometer", measuring the angle from where on stands to the top of the tree providing the angle in degrees. A "rangefinder" gives the distance in meters of a kangaroo's position providing new research information to be collected. The author may pop a question to the reader at anytime,"Now you figure out how to convert meters into Farhenheit", using this style to keep the reader involved in the scientific process of exploration. And of course, any child who has personally visited Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo as my girls have know, every animal there is a favorite and a book written about "them", a celebrity.
STARRED REVIEWS
A Junior Library Guild Selection from School Library Journal *Starred Review*. Grade 4-9–Montgomery and Bishop continue their outstanding collaboration to introduce readers to scientists at work. Here, they document their participation in an expedition to the rugged and remote cloud forest of Papua New Guinea in search of the elusive and fascinating Matschie's tree kangaroo. Biologist Lisa Dabek heads a team of scientists from around the world who work with local guides to locate the creatures and fit them with radio collars to learn more about them. Bishop's photographs capture the expedition in detail. Stunning close-ups of plants, insects, and birds vie for attention with panoramas of moss-draped trees in the eerie, ancient forest. Montgomery describes both the hardships and exhilaration of the enterprise. She also introduces readers to some of the local people dedicated to conservation efforts. Dabek's pursuit of her interest in animals despite problems with asthma and her suggestions about exploring the natural world should encourage young scientists. The book's fascinating glimpses into a little-explored region will hold the attention of anyone interested in unusual creatures and the efforts to study them.–Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Booklist*Starred Review* Montgomery and Bishop follow award-wining titles such as The Tarantula Scientist (2004) with another beautifully illustrated entry in the Scientists in the Field series. This time, they join researchers on a grueling expedition in Papua New Guinea to track the rare Matschie's tree kangaroo. Montgomery gives a chronological, sometimes moment-by-moment account of the challenging climb into the remote cloud forest, the conditions in camp (rice-and-fern dinners, icy waterfall showers), and the awe-inspiring encounters with barely studied animals. The text occasionally veers into a casual tone ("a leech dropped into Lisa's eye. Yuck!") that seems aimed at a young audience, while the small font, exacting detail, and meandering narrative may demand older readers. Still, Montgomery gives an unusually strong, visceral sense of the work and cooperation fieldwork entails and the scope and uniqueness of this particular mission. She also communicates the thrill of studying animals in the wild, making observations, and discovering new information. As usual, Bishop's color photographs are exemplary and extend the excitement in stunning close-ups of creatures and of the team at work. Web resources, notes about conservation, and a glossary of Tok Pisin (the language spoken by the team's Papuan members) are appended. Gillian EngbergCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
CONNECTION
School Library: For limited language learners or older students,this website outlines plans on how to write a biography selecting a conservationalist such as Lisa Dabek. http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/championsofland/ (accessed July 16,2009). Primary age students studying Zoo life, Animals, or Conservation as a theme, connect with Lisa Dabek personally. This project coordinator from the book, can be reached through the Woodland Park Zoo website. Follow along with her Tree Kangaroo Conservation notes and web video for additional information not included in the book. Create a class "conservation from afar" possibly writing letters to zoo workers or "adopting" an animal to follow online by reporting growth stats and reporting it to members of the school in the library display wall. Children visiting the library read the facts and write responses or "research questions" for other students to follow-up. Different grade levels could "adopt a zoo" virtually and post their findings in the library involving the whole school . http://www.nationalgeographic.com/field/projects/tree-kangaroo-conservation.html (accessed July 16,2009)making mention of material from the book and highlighting tree kangaroo efforts.
Upper grades may research the conservation logo, needs, proposal, team members and the mission. Students will chose their conservation project, make their own proposal, draw up the logo and select team members supporting their mission.
http://www.zoo.org/conservation/pdf_bin/treeroo_2005.pdf (accessed July 16,2009). Older grade levels can evaluate the 2005 proposal with the 2009 noting the differences which have been made.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfhHTyhoR5w&NR=1 Interview with Toby Ross from the book and Dr. Lisa Dabek video using pictures from the book, hearing her voice in a multimedia presentation supporting the factual information presented in the book thrilled my girls. "Mom, she's the same person we read in the book". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3NXDHlq2rU&NR=1 (accessed July 16, 2009). Hear the language, see the children, students and listen to live interaction with tree kangaroos. http://www.zoo.org/conservation/treeroo.html (accessed July 16, 2009).
Public Library: Dr. Dabek mentioned her asthmatic condition and this could also be used to encourage children to follow their dreams as did she with this condition.
Art/Conservation Lesson. Storytime puppets using Tree Kangaroo and Australian kangaroo can dialogue their differences and simmilarities meanwhile expressing the importance of their habitats and conservation projects protecting their environment. Children can take a coloring page home or a bookmark from the local forestry department noting local conservation projects.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Krull, Kathleen. 2000. LIVES OF EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN:RULERS,REBELS (AND WHAT THE NEIGHBORS THOUGHT).Ill by Kathryn Hewitt.Harcourt Children's Books.ISBN-10: 0152008071
PLOT
Twenty of historys most influential women from prime ministers to warriors are spotlighted in a way that personalizes past regards. Their lives, personalities, fears and oddities are exposed. Their contributions remembered, their role in leadership recounted.
CRITIQUE
"Well-behaved women rarely make history," a quote by Laural Thatcher Ulrich, American Historian, are the words on a page of their own before the title page. This author/illustrator team of women are behaving quite creatively making biographical literary history. First, with access information inside the front and rear page jackets introducing to the reader, the illustrator numbers and identifies each woman presented on the front and back covers. One flaw to note is the selection of only twenty women for profile. I would have liked to read more about the last reigning Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii or Maya Lin's architectural contributions. Researching deep enough, I believe each person can find an "extraordinary" piece in their life to write a story about.
The author provides her criteria and reasoning of those she chose. http://www.kathleenkrull.com/author.html illustrates the author yesteryear and today. "I love getting the chance to explore subjects I’m passionate about, like music, and making them meaningful for kids. I’m nosy about people, for example, and the Lives of ... series allows me to snoop behind the closed doors of some of my favorite groups of (really strange) people." quotes Krull from her website. And so she finds people to write about, non fiction.
One strength included ending each description, the "Ever After"...not the "Happily Ever After" that girls are trained to expect though not demystifying the "extraordinary" quality or characteristic in any way. As a woman, "What would be your one "extraordinary" trait or event to be remembered by? From page 63, Jeannette Rankin, first woman elected to the U.S. Congress shared,"If I am to be remembered for no other act, I want to be remembered as the only woman who ever voted to give women the right to vote."
The illustrator, Kathryn Hewitt wants to be remembered in another light. http://www.kathrynhewitt.com/author.htm (accessed July 11, 2009).When asked,"Why do you draw people with big heads?" The illustrator responded, "I hope it makes kids laugh. I tell them you don't have to have a big head to be famous but it helps."
STARRED REVIEWS
Honors and Awards the illustrator has earned include:
2002 Children's Writer in Residence; The Thurber House, Columbus, Ohio 2003 First Prize (Illustrator) Bologna Book Fair and SCBWI "The Importance (and Difficulties) of Books in Translation" contest. Elizabeth Burr Award (Wisconsin)IRA Teachers' ChoiceNCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social StudiesVoice for Youth Advocates (VOYA) Nonfiction Honor List
*Publishers Weekly* Just in time for Women's History Month comes the Audio Bookshelf adaptation of Lives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels (and What the Neighbors Thought). The latest book in the excellent Lives of... biography series by Kathleen Krull, illus. by Kathryn Hewitt, comes to colorful life via Melissa Hughes's sharp performance. From Cleopatra to Eleanor Roosevelt, concise profiles provide fun and fascinating facts about notable female role models from around the globe.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
School Library JournalGrade 4-8
This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition. As with other titles in this nicely thought-out series, Krull whets readers' appetites with brief biographies of some amazing individuals. Most of these women will be familiar to students, but a few obscure figures are introduced. The writing tends toward gossip in places. (Isabella I of Spain reportedly took only two baths in her lifetime.) Like gossip, each chapter is enticing. A full-page caricature of the subject opens each chapter. The stories are arranged chronologically, beginning with Cleopatra, who reportedly spoke eight languages, and concluding with Guatemalan leader Rigoberta Menchu, who fights for native Indian rights. "Ever After" sections reveal aftereffects of each person's contribution to history. The gaps left by the absence of Margaret Thatcher and Benazir Bhutto are filled by the more obscure likes of Nzingha, Gertrude Bell, and Aung San Suu Kyi. Don Nardo's Women Leaders of Nations (Lucent, 1998) aptly complements Extraordinary Women. The jacket art offers evidence of the fun inside-Queen Victoria looks not amusedly at Marie Antoinette toying with her riches. Catherine holds an "I AM GREAT" sign. Joan of Arc chats with Eleanor of Aquitaine. And Cleopatra walks like an Egyptian. A captivating browsers' delight and a jumping-off point for report writers.Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
CONNECTIONS
School Library:Younger primary age classes can research their "favorite person" using Krull's many "Lives" series books. For older Language Learners,this lesson highlights International Women's Day. http://www.eslholidaylessons.com/03/international_womens_day.html(accessed July 16, 2009).
The illustrations from these books offer ample opportunities to learn how to draw caricatures. Having fun with "large" heads and "small" bodies, students can cut out large faces from magazines and draw in tiny bodies and create their "extraordinary" personality.
Public Library:International Womens' Day theme. Children can have fun identifying the logo with it's represented country on a bulletin board. Reading books in a collection on display or for storytime highlighting extraordinary women of color, talent, or other newer women of recent prominence. Leaving the library with a cutout that describes the wonders of women or books to read more on the topic. http://www.internationalwomensday.com/
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