Betwixters: Once Upon a Time

Cantu, Laura C. Betwixters: Once Upon a Time. Book 1 of the Betwixters series. 278p. ISBN 978-0-9885-8519-5. Available at FIC CAN on the library shelves.

Noah’s move to England from the United States was not without difficulty, but he has adapted fairly well to his new environment. In English middle school, he made quick friends with always full of himself Ethan and best dancer and quick-witted Skye but is often the target of bully Gunther and his cronies. Noah’s father worked for the NSA, and is now involved in a secret project, which forced the family to move. Noah’s mother, who is Chinese, is very supportive of Noah and his aspirations.

Their town abuts the Dark Wood, a forest reputed to be haunted and the scene of a grizzly murder eight years ago. Noah’s father has made him promise never to enter the forest, but when Noah, Ethan and Skye are chased by Gunther and his crew, the only way to escape is to leave the school through the forest. As they go deeper, the environment changes and they can feel it become oppressive. They run in the man who owns the forest, whom they nickname Scaretaker and who warns them away from the dangers that lurk nearby. Skye, meanwhile, discovers the most amazing creature: Neevya the faerie, who comes from another realm and has unwillingly stepped through a portal to the human world. Stuck in an iron trap, Neevya has been infected by iron poisoning and must find the way back home soon, or she will die.

In a race against time and with enemies occupying the forest, Noah, Ethan, and Skye will need to outwit their parents, their bully, and the Scaretaker to deliver Neevya back to her home and save her life. Can they find the portal before it is too late?

The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism and Treachery

Sheinkin, Steve. The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism and Treachery. 2010. 337p. ISBN 978-1-59643-486-8. Available at B ARN and as an audiobook on Overdrive.

No figure in the history of the American Revolution is more reviled than Benedict Arnold, the man who agrees to betray his country and plotted the end of the Revolution for a large sum of money. Born in January 1741, Benedict Arnold was frail. Even as a small child, Arnold wanted to impress those around him, and felt that he needed to eclipse his father’s many failures. Through dedication and hard work, Arnold managed to redress the family finances and became prosperous. Married with three children, Arnold ran a successful Connecticut shipping company, but still wanted more.

An opportunity presented itself when the British made a series of political blunders while trying to collect taxes from its American colonies. Angry colonists gathered to protect themselves and their properties, until the flames of revolution was ignited with a British march to Concord and Lexington. Hearing of this momentous event, Arnold assumed command of the New Haven militia, and he marched out with his troops to support the nascent Continental Army. Despite never having fought, Arnold was shrewd and came up with a plan to seize the guns of Fort Ticonderoga and use them to dislodge the British from Boston.

Through subsequent action, Arnold made a name for himself for bravery and boldness, yet also attracted an increasingly higher number of detractors who could reproach him his lack of patience, his short fuse, and his capacity to enrich himself at the expense of the institutions he represented. Bold assaults on Quebec, the delay of the British reconquest of Lake Champlain and his bravery on the field spread his name far and wide, but he eventually garnered the ire important Pennsylvanians. With past decisions catching up with him, and with his financial situation in disarray, Arnold reached out to the British, who dispatched Major John André to negotiate a treacherous act: Arnold agreed to turn over Fort West Point to the British. With the Fort, which controlled the upper Hudson River in their hands, the British would have effectively cut off the colonies in two, and might have ended the Revolutionary War in their favor.

Unfortunately the plot failed, André was caught and executed as a spy, and Arnold escaped, joining the British as a general but then forced in exile in England, where he died in 1801. A man who could have been known as one of the greatest military heroes of the United States instead became synonymous with treason and bad judgment.

Engaging and packed with action and adventure, Arnold’s story continues to fascinate and intrigue readers. Fans of historical events and of military prowess will appreciate Arnold’s strength but will ultimately feel sorry for a man who made the wrong decisions.

A Visual History of the World’s Enduring Mysteries

Campos, Joan Soriano. A Visual History of the World’s Enduring Mysteries. Part of the Visual History of the World series. 2016. 100p. ISBN 978-1499465785. Available at 930.1 SOR on the library shelves.

History is plagued with events and locations that, to this day, have no explanation or are considered mythical. Yet, these events, whether or not they occurred, have influenced the course of civilization. And these locations, such as the Nazca lines, Stonehenge or Machu Picchu, clearly exist yet their purposes remain unclear. In World’s Enduring Mysteries, explore some of the strangest and mysterious occurrences throughout history. Was the quest for the Holy Grail real? Who was Jack the Ripper? Did the golden city of El Dorado really exist? How about Troy?

Providing timelines, gorgeous illustrations, and over forty mysteries, this book will fascinate readers who appreciate the “life is stranger than fiction” aspect of our world, and will give a better understanding of the mysteries that continue to intrigue and puzzle people millenia later.

Maximizing the One-Shot: Connecting Library Instruction with the Curriculum

Markgraf, Jill et al. Maximizing the One-Shot: Connecting Library Instruction with the Curriculum. 2015. 173p. ISBN 978-1-44223866-4. Available at PROF 025.5 MAR on the library shelves.

School librarians often have limited classroom contact with students. Unlike teachers who interact with their classes every day, librarians collaborate with teachers and staff and may not be in the classroom as much as they would like. Librarians are blessed when collaboration involve more than a classroom session, but for most of us the one-shot approach to coming in a classroom, presenting information, and then departing is more often than not the reality.

Aimed for the college librarian, Maximizing the One-Shot nevertheless provides excellent and adaptable advice to school librarians on how to better plan and use the one-shot approach to ensure that information delivery is effective and memorable. Their approach was to use the Lesson Study, where librarians and faculty collaborated together to develop one one-shot lesson to address specific skills necessary for students to successfully complete the class. Though they report that it took a lot of time, this was time well spent as it allowed all stakeholders to be on the same page as far as expectations and information needs, and it allowed the librarians to participate in the assessment of the skills taught.

The Lesson Study model approach to have multiple participants designing a unit lesson may be hard to accomplish in a K-12 environment, however the steps and recommendations can easily be used between one classroom teacher and one librarian to devise a truly collaborative one-shot lesson. Success can then be used as a model to build more collaboration with other classroom teachers.

Land of the Lustrous, Vol. 1

Ichikawa, Haruko. Land of the Lustrous, Vol. 1. 2017. 192p. ISBN 9781632364975. Available in the graphic novels section of the library.

All of Earth’s intelligent life was wiped out eons ago, leaving the planet bare. Over time a crystal-based life form evolved and returned to inhabit the planet. Called the Lustrous, each crystal humanoid is a gem made of precious material. They can be chipped and broken, but not destroyed as long as enough pieces of them remain to be put back together and healed.

Descendents of the humans who escaped to the moon before the collapse of their civilization on Earth are bent on capturing the Lustrous to use them for decorations and as ornaments. The Lunarians launch successive attacks, hoping to catch the Lustrous unable to defend themselves, but roaming patrols of Lustrous protect their home against these attacks.

Phosphohyllite would really like to fight. She would love to be useful. But the most brittle of gems, Phos is instead tasked with creating a natural history of Earth. Ignoring where to even begin with writing such a story, Phos talks to all of the gems, and discovers that Cinnabar, due to her unique ability to focus light and function at night, has been effectively banished to the night to patrol, when the Lunarians never attack. What makes her different is also deadly to the other gems, tarnishing their brightness.

When she finally meets Cinnabar, Phos makes a promise she may not be able to keep: She will find her a new job, one that uses her talents and that don’t involve having to work the night shift.

The Lunarians are crafty, however. When they return to Earth to launch yet another attack, this time they bring a giant snail with them ...

Under a War-Torn Sky

Elliott, L.M. Under a War-Torn Sky. 2003. 288p. ISBN 9780786817535. Available as an eBook from Overdrive.

During the Second World War, crewmen aboard American bombers flying over Europe had to complete 25 missions before being able to return home. On average, however, a crewman could expect to live through 15 missions before being shot down, killed in action, or captured after parachuting out of a flaming plane. Nineteen-year-old Henry Forester left his home in Virginia and his abusive father to join the bombing squadron. He always wanted to fly, and now he copilots a B-24 Liberator over Nazi-occupied Europe, bombing military and transportation targets. In March 1944, Henry is ready to board the plane for his 15th mission, and he realizes that statistically this might be his last one.

His plane and crew head for Southern Germany to bomb a ball-bearing plant when his plane is shot down by German fighters. Henry manages to escape and helps the wounded pilot out of the plane, but then loses sight of him. Crashing to the ground, he hurts his ankle and has difficulty walking. Hidden by a Frenchman, he is taken to neutral Switzerland. There he is informed that he can either remain here as a prisoner of war of the Swiss, or he can attempt to escape back into occupied France to make his way to Spain, thence to freedom. Not knowing how long the war will continue, and aware that his presence in Switzerland puts him in danger if the Germans attack, he decides to make the attempt.

As he travels through France, Henry encounters villains ready to turn him to the Germans for money or for a false sense of patriotism. He also meets people ready to risk their lives to help him escape and rejoin his own family. Through it all, Henry grows up and eventually realizes that his father, though abusive, has shaped up his life and has provided him with enough experiences to survive a total war. With D-Day and Americans landing in the North, can Henry and the Resistance resist the Germans long enough to ensure an Allied victory?

An adventure of survival against the odds, this book pairs well with Unbroken and Louis Zamperini’s story of survival as a bombardier in the Pacific theatre during World War II.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

Hillenbrand, Laura. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. 2010. 473p. 836 mins. Available as an audiobook on Overdrive.

A child of Italian immigrants, Louis Zamperini was a troubled youth. Always breaking the law and causing trouble, he would steal pies, hop trains, and try to avoid the law. His older brother Pete tried to keep him on the straight and narrow, but even he could be taken in by Louis’ antics. As they grew up in the 1920s, Pete spent time on the school’s track and field team, while Louis pursued girls. Pete suddenly realized that Louis could run faster than most people on the team. He helped his brother redirect his energies into running, and soon Louis began eclipsing marks. First it was the high school’s fastest run. Then the county. Then the state. Sent to New York to participate in the U.S. Olympics tryout, he finished third, earning a spot to the Berlin games in 1936, where he met Hitler. There were high hopes that he would be the first person to break the 4 minute mile mark.

With the Second World War looming, Louis joined the air force but immediately realized he didn’t enjoy flying. Called back to service, Louis trained to be a bombardier, the man who aims the bombs dropped by a bomber, and ended up posted in the Pacific. During a mission, his plane ran out of fuel and crash landed in the water, killing all but three of the crewmembers. Louis survived in a raft with the other two, surrounded by sharks. Although many planes flew above, none of them spotted them. Louis and Russell survived their ordeal while their third companion perished on the raft, and the men drifted for 42 days before being captured by the Japanese.

Transferred to prison camps, Louis was brutally abused by the Bird, a sadistic Japanese guard. Surviving in camps for two years, the war ended with Japan’s surrender and Louis was freed. Reunited with his family that had thought him dead, Louis attempted to resume running, but was unable to do so due to his injuries. Confronted by old demons from his years in captivity in Japan, it wasn’t until he heard Billy Graham speak at one of his crusades, and he became deeply religious.

Louis’ perseverance and determination helped him surmount obstacles and triumph over his abusers. He became a motivational speaker and even ran the Olympic Torch during the 1998 Nagano, passing by the location of his old camp. An inspiration to all, Louis’ story of survival and dedication is well worth listening to.