Niki Walker

As someone with a great deal of knowledge about the material, I found it a good reading experience, but found myself taking issue with semantics. There were times that the language could have been more neutral. While it does try to mention instances of contemporary practice, like the popularity of lacrosse or Navajo code talkers in WWII, it does seem at times to place Natives in the past. There are a few pages at the end of living role models, though, as well as a glossary.

The obvious place show more for this to be presented would be during Native American Heritage Month, but a unit looking at how people from various continents and cultures contributed to the modern world would be good as well. Assigning groups of students to explore regions of the world or cultural groups and reporting back to their class in some way would help them take ownership in the groups that they studied and taught to their classmates show less

Teen readers will learn about the roots of conflict and how to keep oneself open-minded and informed when assessing a given conflict. The author doesn't focus on current news-making conflicts, choosing instead to help readers understand how and why conflicts in general happen. A useful resource for developing critical thinking.

I was asked by a patron for picture books on swimming - she's getting ready to teach her four year old to swim and was looking for "how to swim" books. Hmm. It turned out to be really hard to find how to swim books for very young children. There are quite a few (really, really bad - seriously you don't want to know) on water safety, but on actual swimming? This is what I came up with trolling through other library's catalogs. Let's Swim! by Carol Lindeen is a pretty pathetic picturebook. show more There are only 24 pages, including back matter. A table of contents, glossary, further reading, and index for basically 20 pages of text seems a bit ridiculous. The text features such gems as "Swimmers jump and dive into deep water. Then they swim back to the edge." opposite stock photographs. The text would make a decent easy reader and the photography isn't bad, but it's certainly not worth a $24 library bound edition, which is the only format it's available in. I know authors have to write these things to a set of guidelines, but the guidelines for this just aren't what I'm looking for.

ISBN: 978-0736853675; Published January 2006 by Capstone (Pebble); Borrowed from the library

The next title, Let's Talk Swimming by Amanda Miller is actually intended to be an easy reader. Set in the context of a race, this book talks about different strokes, practicing kicking, swimwear, and gives instructions on how to do a flip turn. This would make a good easy reader and probably a fine introduction for a small child, but I don't generally shell out $20 for an easy reader.

ISBN: 978-0531204252; Published September 2008 by Children's Press; Borrowed from the library

Swimming in Action by John Crossingham and Niki Walker is the most detailed of these three books and one that I think might actually work. It opens with a brief history of swimming, some water safety, and a guide to a typical pool. It lists equipment, and how to get started with breathing instructions, stretching, and treading water. It gives instructions for various simple strokes and touches on racing and pool games. There is also a brief glossary and index. This isn't quite what my patron wanted; she was looking for something aimed at a much younger child, but the clear illustrations and photographs should give a little one an idea of what they'll be doing in the pool and a parent can easily adapt the text for a younger listener. This will also be a good introduction for older readers, so I'll be covering a variety of audiences at only $13, which is quite reasonable.

ISBN: 978-0778703518; Published October 2002 by Crabtree; Borrowed from the library; Purchased for the library

Do you have any favorite swimming picturebooks? Alternate suggestions? I'd be glad to hear if you have anything better than these options. show less

Why do we fight provides it's young adult readers with real world examples of different types of conflict, and breaks down the reasons for the conflict.