Ann Bausum

With short vignettes that could stand alone looking at Chinese immigration, Japanese internment, deportation of anarchists, and the blocked borders on those on the St. Louis trying to escape Germany, this book explored the dark side of immigration. The book starts with a fantastic poem by Naomi Shihab Nye. The stories are compelling as Bausum explores the story of a person or family in each section and then weaves in the larger social and political context. I found this book to be accessible show more and thought-provoking. show less

This was a well-organized and engaging book about what is considered to be one of the most important moments in LGBTQIA+ US history. It was wonderful to be able to read something that taught me about a notable event that was purposefully left out of our history books in school.

The 1/2 point is docked because I felt it could have been told in a bit more of an interesting and/or focused manner. Sometimes, it felt like a bit too much was being pushed into small sections.

In February we celebrate “Black History Month,” which sometimes makes me wonder what we do for the other eleven months germane to OUR history. Bausum has written (another) fabulous book that has students look at OUR civil rights struggle as something that transcends race. She does this with a narrow focus and a fabulous, flowing narrative. We read about a white guy, Jim Zwerg and John Lewis, a black guy. Each person writes a foreword in which they describe two totally different show more backgrounds. Yet each one is drawn into this struggle for rights and dignity. There is a wealth of references, which adds to Bausum’s message. Part of the message is that we are not finished. Students reading this book cannot help but get sucked into believing that each of us STILL has a role to play in OUR fight for civil rights. Highly recommended for all middle school and high school libraries. show less

Well researched, illustrated, and attractively designed nonfiction book that explores how the First Folio was created and preserved the works of William Shakespeare. Each copy of the book has a descriptor based on ownership, smell, and other characteristics. There are 235 copies of the First Folio still known to be in existence. As someone who has read, studied, and seen Shakespeare plays, I found this accessible read really interesting.