Pamela Pollack

The book “Who Is J.K. Rowling?” was one of the best children’s books I have read this semester. First, the author wrote the chapter book with a voice that appeals to the reader, especially if the reader is a young child. For example, when telling the hard times that “Jo” (as she was called) had at her old schools, the author explained that “No one stuck Jo’s head down the toilet at Wyedean,” her new school. The author also explained that “Jo was a lot like Harry’s brainy show more friend, Hermoine Granger.” Small analogies like this are amusing to a reader and make the biography less historical or tedious, and much more enjoyable. I also really enjoyed this book because the illustrations within the chapter book definitely added to the story, almost like a picture book would. The illustrator drew pictures within the writing in black and white, so I felt like the pictures did not distract from the words too much. For example, some of the pictures included her as a child, maps of places she has visited, and experiences she has had. Overall, the big idea of this story was to help the reader to understand J.K. Rowling’s life and the way she thinks, which led her to create some of the best fantasy stories of all time. show less

While factually informative, this book does not quite live up to the standards of the Who Was... series. As I read the book, the flow seemed off and something rang a bell, "something's not right here." After this point, I specifically noted that Elizabeth (Stanton) and Susan's names are swapped at least twice. As the book progressed, I noted typos and word placement/ tense errors more frequently.

Any Who Was book provides a much more in-depth lesson than standard public school history, but show more it's a shame that this one was so sloppy. show less

The book on Steve Jobs is a very comprehensive account of his life. Although the sentences read choppy to me, I do believe that it is written in a manner that is easily digestible for children. One thing that I really liked was the focus on the perseverance of Steve Jobs. Despite many things working against him, he continued to work hard and saw success from that. However, Pollick constantly pointed out Steve’s great manipulation powers. To me, the praise showered upon Jobs for show more manipulating people to get what he wants may not be the best thing in the world. I believe this can be distorted by children into thinking that they should be using people as a means to an end, which is not the way I would desire my students to act. show less

The Alamo is something this northeasterner only knew the vague details about, so I was pleased to read this children's history book with my son. Interesting details include the infighting and poor planning of the "heroes" of the Alamo that contributed to their defeat, as well as a broader picture of the conflicts among the Mexicans and American settlers in Texas.