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JUNE 2014 Five questions for Don Mitchell Freedom Summer and Black History To sleep, perchance to dream To infinity and beyond! Graphic novels for middle schoolers From the Editor

Five questions for Don Mitchell by Kathleen T. Horning Don Mitchell worked in the office of Senator John Glenn, about whom he later wrote a biography for young people. Liftoff: A Photobiography of John Glenn was followed by Driven: A Photobiography of Henry Ford (both National Geographic, 9–12 years). Mitchell's new book The Freedom Summer Murders (Scholastic, 14–17 years) shows his meticulous attention to details culled from primary and secondary sources as he recounts the events in a fluid, readable style. 1. What got you into researching the Freedom Summer murders? DM: My interest in this case goes back many years. I was aware of the Chaney, Goodman, Schwerner murders from an early age. At my high school in Kettering, Ohio, I took a course in black history and learned about this case in more depth. When I went on to attend Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, I frequently studied at the university's Western Campus, which used to be the Western College for Women. It's a beautiful, tranquil place. I often thought of the Freedom Summer volunteers who trained there in 1964. When I was casting about for a new book idea several years ago, I realized the fiftieth anniversary of Freedom Summer was approaching and I decided it would be a good time to explore this important story. Read More... Freedom Summer and Black History by Elissa Gershowitz This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of Freedom Summer, a touchstone in the civil rights movement. The following nonfiction books highlight important turning points in African American history. And for more on Freedom Summer, read Kathleen T. Horning's Five Questions interview with Don Mitchell (author of the new The Freedom Summer Murders, Scholastic, 14–17 years) along with Deborah Wiles's picture book Freedom Summer (illus. by Jerome Lagarrigue, Atheneum, 5–8 years) and her novel Revolution (follow-up to Countdown, both Scholastic, 10–14 years). Freedom Summer: The 1964 Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi by Susan Goldman Rubin provides a useful and informative look at the event's organizers, the volunteers, the voter registration drives, etc. Rubin conducted many interviews, in person, by telephone, and by e-mail, with people who were directly involved, and their firsthand accounts—along with copious archival black-and-white photographs—bring the events to life. (Holiday, 11–15 years) Read More...

To sleep, perchance to dream by Kitty Flynn A lyrical bedtime reverie; an open-only-at-night library run by a little librarian; a toddler's pre-dawn escapades; and a kooky bedtime cruise: four new picture books help smooth the way from daytime activity to bedtime quiet.  Simona Mulazzani's lush folk art in cozy nighttime colors lends a magical, drowsy atmosphere to Giovanna Zoboli's The Big Book of Slumber, a large-format ode to the joys of dreamland. Translated from the Italian, soothing rhyming couplets are full of rhythm and repetition: "Mouse ate her apple and read her nice book. / Who else is sleeping? Just take a good look." Appealingly drawn sleeping arrangements include some captivatingly out of the ordinary: Hippo sleeps on a sofa, giraffes in sleeping bags, and seals in armchairs propped up in the trees. (Eerdmans, 2–5 years) Read More... To infinity and beyond! by Cynthia Ritter Inquisitive intermediate readers travel into the great unknown with these four new sci-fi offerings (two of which are series openers) involving space exploration, inventions gone berserk, and UFOs. In Wendy Mass and Michael Brawer's Space Taxi: Archie Takes Flight, eight-year-old Archie learns, on "Take Your Kid to Work Day," that his plain old dad is in fact an interstellar taxi driver. Archie also discovers his destiny: he has the rare power to be a space taxi copilot. The entertaining plot moves right along, and Elise Gravel's occasional black-and-white cartoon illustrations add to the fun. This is just the first adventure for Archie—here's to more to come! (Little, Brown, 6–10 years) Read More...   2014 SUMMER READING Recommendations from The Horn Book Educationalists will tell you how important it is for children to keep reading throughout the long summer break lest their ever-evolving literacy skills erode. Fine. That does not, however, excuse the frequently dreadful list of recommended or — eep — required reading that schools shoot out as one last salvo of homework just as everybody is looking forward to a nice break. The Horn Book's list is not that list. Recommended Reads | Download the Free PDF Graphic novels for middle schoolers by Katie Bircher From poignant historical fiction to introspective coming-of-age tale, hilarious space caper to action-packed superhero story, four new graphic novels for middle schoolers showcase the range of the graphic novel format. In Gaijin: American Prisoner of War, thirteen-year-old Koji Miyamoto is living in San Francisco with his (white) mother when Japan attacks Pearl Harbor. Despite being only half-Japanese, Koji is forced to relocate to the Alameda Downs Assembly Center across the bay. There he wrestles not only with his father's temporary absence from the family but also with a gang of boys in the camp who constantly bully him—for being a gaijin, a foreigner. Through astute choices of medium, color, and composition, author/illustrator Matt Faulkner creates a vivid and compelling internment-camp drama for young readers. (Disney-Hyperion, 11–14 years) Read More...

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