More war books
Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust by Doreen Rappaport, Candlewick, 11–15 years.
A Game for Swallows: To Die, to Leave, to Return by Zeina Abirached, trans. from the French by Edward Gauvin, Graphic Universe/Lerner, 11–15 years.
Personal Effects by E. M. Kokie, Candlewick, 14–17 years.
This Is Not Forgiveness by Celia Rees, Bloomsbury, 14–17 years.

Things that go
Machines Go to Work in the City by William Low, Holt, 2–5 years.
Everything Goes: In the Air by Brian Biggs, Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 3–5 years.
What Can a Crane Pick Up? written by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, illus. by Mike Lowery, Knopf, 3–5 years.
Little Tug by Stephen Savage, Porter/Roaring Brook, 4–8 years.

Folklore retellings/tall tales
Who Pushed Humpty Dumpty?: And Other Notorious Nursery Tale Mysteries written by David Levinthal, illus. by John Nickle, Schwartz & Wade/Random, 4–7 years.
Jangles: A Big Fish Story by David Shannon, Blue Sky/Scholastic, 4–7 years.
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems, Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 3–5 years.
What’s the Time, Mr. Wolf? by Debi Gliori, Walker, 3–5 years.

Middle-grade graphic novels
Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: One Dead Spy and Big Bad Ironclad, both by Nathan Hale, Amulet/Abrams, 9–14 years.
Little White Duck: A Childhood in China by Na Liu and Andrés Vera Martínez, illus. by Andrés Vera Martínez, Graphic Universe/Lerner, 9–14 years.
Drama by Raina Telegemeier, color by Gurihiru, Graphix/Scholastic, 9–14 years.
Hereville: How Mirka Met a Meteorite by Barry Deutsch, Amulet/Abrams, 9–14 years.

These titles were featured in the November 2012 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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Steve Sheinkin, author of the 2011 Boston Globe–Horn Book Nonfiction Award–winning The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism, & Treachery (12–16 years, Flash Point/Roaring Brook), is fast emerging as one of the most compelling writers of narrative nonfiction for young readers today. His books, packed with action and drama, combine meticulous research with page-turning narration. Sheinkin’s latest — Bomb: The Race to Build — and Steal — the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon (12–16 years, Flash Point/Roaring Brook)— delves into Cold War history, science, politics — and spies.

1. We know of your longtime interest in Benedict Arnold — what drew you to the story of the first atomic bomb?

Steve Sheinkin: Unlike with Arnold, I wasn’t obsessed with this story for years before writing the book. What really hooked me was a Smithsonian magazine article about George Koval, a little-known Soviet spy in the Manhattan Project. I dove into Koval’s story, even getting a digital copy of his FBI file. Turns out they suspected him of spying, and investigated him in the 1950s, but he’d already slipped back behind the Iron Curtain. Fascinating stuff, though I couldn’t find out enough to make a book of it. I’d hit a dead end, but a lucky one, because the search had led me to Ted Hall and the other spy stories from Los Alamos, and that became the basis for Bomb.

2. Your approach in Bomb is unusual — you start with the micro and move to the macro. Why did you decide to look at your subject this way?

SS: A teacher in film class once told us to try shooting a scene “from specific to general,” meaning show something eye-catching first and then, gradually, pull back to let viewers know what’s going on. It’s a common technique, but the teacher’s description really helped me visualize it. I turned out not to be very good at making movies, but some of what I learned about structuring scenes and transitioning between them is applicable in my writing life. When I do school visits, kids are not shy about telling me they think history is boring — which is a total lie! That’s why I like to begin some sections with action or interesting scenes that draw them in.

3. You keep a multitude of characters and their stories up in the air, so to speak. How did you accomplish this juggling feat?

SS: That’s a good analogy. Writing this book did feel like juggling, which I can’t actually do. My secret: index cards. I realize that’s very twentieth century, but it works for me. When I know everything I want to happen in a book, I break the story into little pieces and write one piece on each card. Then I can arrange and rearrange the cards, kind of like puzzle pieces, until it all flows.

4. Bomb has been described as a “nonfiction thriller.” How do you create the feel of fiction without crossing the line into making stuff up?

SS: I was well trained in my many years in the textbook world, where I learned to obsessively back up every quote and fact. With books like Bomb, I try to track down several sources for each event, hoping to find tiny details that can help make things more compelling and visual. Sometimes you get lucky — like the scene with the Hungarian physicists Leo Szilard and Eugene Wigner searching for Einstein on Long Island. In that case, both Szilard and Wigner wrote their own versions of what happened. More often you end up wishing you knew more — I’d pay big money to listen in on one of the Los Alamos dorm room conversations between Klaus Fuchs and Richard Feynman! Either way, I put quote sources in the back of the book, but not sources for each fact — standard procedure for narrative nonfiction. If anyone wants to know where I got something, they’re more than welcome to email me.

5. How emotionally involved did you become in the story? For instance, I’m still amazed that Klaus Fuchs and Ted Hall, the two scientists who literally handed the Russians the full design of the atom bomb, got off pretty much scot-free while Robert Oppenheimer was rewarded with the destruction of his reputation.

SS: I think the Ted Hall story — the existence of this eighteen-year-old spy at Los Alamos — was the most stunning to me, and it’s one kids seem particularly intrigued by. And, yes, I did find myself becoming emotionally involved, especially with Oppenheimer. Some biographers describe him as self-destructive, and he did do some foolish things, but I agree that the U.S. government kind of screwed him over. He was such a complex, confusing character.  I think that if Shakespeare could choose to write a historical play about just one American, he’d pick Oppenheimer.

From the November 2012 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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In Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust, author Doreen Rappaport presents numerous instances of Jewish resistance, grouping them by theme and introduced with brief essays, that make up a far-reaching survey. Examples range from secret acts of defiance (forging documents, writing poetry) to outright fighting (the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising) and escape (the Sobibor death camp). The narrative effectively highlights the fortitude and resiliency of humankind in the face of atrocity. Many black-and-white and sepia photographs further develop the subjects and setting. (11–15 years, Candlewick)

Zeina Abirached’s autobiographical graphic novel A Game for Swallows: To Die, To Leave, To Return is set in 1984 Beirut, a city with Christians and Muslims locked in civil war. The story’s focus is a single harrowing night when Zeina’s parents, visiting her grandparents a few blocks away, must make their way home through heavy bombing. Abirached skillfully weaves flashbacks and explanatory asides into the narrative; despite the oppressive atmosphere of fear and uncertainty, much-needed moments of levity shine through. Stark, dramatic illustrations effectively capture elements of the culture and lend nuance to the tale’s high emotions. (11–15 years, Graphic Universe/Lerner)

Seven months since his beloved brother T.J. was killed in Iraq, Matt, the main character in E. M. Kokie’s Personal Effects, is so laden with anger and pain that he is on the verge of exploding. A vocal pacifist pushes Matt over the edge: he breaks the student’s nose and smashes a glass trophy case. Suspended for a week, he worries only about what his violence-prone ex-sergeant father will do. When Matt discovers love letters among T.J’s things, he lights out on a road trip to explore some unknown pieces of his brother’s life. Kokie’s well-crafted debut novel depicts a complex military family while tracing one young man’s hard-won coming of age. (14–17 years, Candlewick)

In Celia Rees’s This Is Not Forgiveness, Jamie has always had a contentious relationship with his older brother, especially now that Rob has returned from Afghanistan with a case of posttraumatic stress disorder. Rob is also sniffing around Jamie’s love interest Caro, a wild but misunderstood girl with a bad reputation—and a past with Rob about which Jamie is in the dark. Meanwhile, Rob’s illness grips him tighter and tighter, making him unstable and highly unpredictable. The book’s climax—explosive, violent, and unexpected—will leave readers unsettled and, like Jamie, looking for answers. (14–17 years, Bloomsbury)

From the November 2012 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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David Levinthal recasts the events of fairyland as crimes (“The Three Bears” is a breaking-and-entering case; “Snow White” is an attempted murder) in Who Pushed Humpty Dumpty?: And Other Notorious Nursery Tale Mysteries. Binky, a laconic and rumpled frog detective, investigates the mayhem, and Levinthal’s fun with scene-of-the-crime details is contagious. John Nickle’s dramatic, hard-edged paintings, with their hint of grotesque misanthropy, fulfill the story’s potential. (4–7 years, Random/Schwartz & Wade)

In Jangles: A Big Fish Story by David Shannon, a father tells his son a one-that-got-away tall tale. Jangles, legendary trout of Big Lake, had “broken so many fishing lines that his huge, crooked jaw was covered with shiny metal lures and rusty old fishhooks.” Working with a palette as dark and evocative as the depths in which his elusive character dwells, Shannon provides formidable close-up views of this battle-scarred, larger-than-life character. (4–7 years, Scholastic/Blue Sky)

The calculating dinos of Mo Willems’s Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs plan to lure Goldilocks into their home with chocolate pudding, then swoop in for a snack of “chocolate-filled-little-girl-bonbons.” However, the over-eager (and highly unsubtle) creatures give themselves away, allowing their would-be victim to beat a hasty retreat. The meta elements fly fast and furious throughout this zany tale. (3–5 years, HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray)

Snarky Mr. Wolf puts up a tough front in Debi Gliori’s What’s the Time, Mr. Wolf?, but neither the story’s recognizable nursery-rhyme and fairy-tale characters—nor readers—will buy his big-bad act. As the hours pass, readers will quickly figure out that it’s a special day, leading to the story’s rewarding climax: a surprise birthday party. Watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations show Mr. Wolf’s mood going from grumpy to grateful. (3–5 years, Walker)

From the November 2012 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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The first two books in the Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales series introduce the Revolutionary War hero as a time-traveling, history-teaching storyteller. In One Dead Spy, Hale stalls his execution by thrillingly recounting his adventures to the hangman and a jailor. Big Bad Ironclad! finds Hale narrating a Civil War naval battle. Author/illustrator Nathan Hale (no relation) employs comic panels of varying sizes, a you-are-there style, and over-the-top humor to relate real-life historical events. (9–14 years, Amulet/Abrams)

In Little White Duck: A Childhood in China, wife-and-husband team Na Liu and Andrés Vera Martínez bring Liu’s childhood in 1970s Wuhan, China, to life for contemporary children. In eight vignettes ranging from poignant (Liu’s tears at Chairman Mao’s death) to hilarious (Liu and her younger sister’s elaborate rat-trapping schemes), author and illustrator together give readers an unvarnished and intimate account of a real childhood: plain-speaking, rough-hewn, and very much down-to-earth. (9–14 years Graphic Universe/Lerner)

Seventh-grader Callie, star of Drama, loves musical theater but isn’t much of a singer. She fulfills her passion by working as a set designer for the school drama club—but romantic drama in the cast and crew threatens to upstage the love story musical they’re producing. Raina Telgemeier handles the many crushes with aplomb and gets her middle school characters just right. Like her previous graphic novel, Smile (a 2010 Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Book), Drama will appeal to a wide range of readers. (9–14 years, Graphix/Scholastic)

Irrepressible Mirka (Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword), an eleven-year-old Orthodox Jewish wannabe warrior with a magical weapon, races to stop a meteor strike in Hereville: How Mirka Met a Meteorite. A witch transforms the meteorite into a Mirka-clone—who soon becomes determined to take Mirka’s place. Author/illustrator Barry Deutsch melds fantasy, realism, and a whopping dose of imagination in this quirky graphic novel incorporating both the particularities of traditional Judaism and the universal foibles of a girl who dreams big but forgets to plan ahead. (9–14 years, Amulet/Abrams)

From the November 2012 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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In an attempt to help teachers and librarians build collections for schools using the Common Core standards, the Horn Book is publishing a quarterly supplement to Notes from the Horn Book called — catchily — Nonfiction Notes from the Horn Book, which debuted last month. It comes for free and with no extra work on your part to Notes subscribers; in case you missed it, you can find the Fall 2012 issue here and keep up with our ongoing nonfiction coverage at http://www.hbook.com/notes-from-the-horn-book-newsletter/nonfiction-notes-from-the-horn-book/.

Roger Sutton
Editor in Chief

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The hero of Stephen Savage’s Little Tug isn’t the tallest or the fastest or the biggest boat in the harbor, but he’s very helpful when the other boats need a push, a pull, or a guide. Savage’s illustrations give the boats distinct personalities and provide punch for the story. Tug’s busy day in the harbor will resonate with children, especially toddlers who also spend their days measuring up, helping out, and thoroughly exhausting themselves. (2–5 years, Porter/Roaring Brook)

In Machines Go to Work in the City by William Low, each illustration introduces a situation involving vehicles, from a garbage truck to a tower crane to an airplane. What happens next? Lift a flap (which provides an extended scene of the problem at hand) and find out. Machinery-loving preschoolers will be drawn to the drama and excitement of the bustling cityscape in Low’s painterly illustrations. (3–5 years, Holt)

What Can a Crane Pick Up? The answer, according to this book, is anything and everything: “a truck / a train / a car / a plane”? “Men in business suits… / and a load of cowboy boots”? No problem! Rebecca Kai Dotlich’s energetic rhyming text is well matched with Mike Lowery’s engagingly childlike mixed-media illustrations. The images of happy, friendly-looking machines (as well as people, animals, planets, and underpants) are irresistible. (3–5 years, Knopf)

In Everything Goes: In the Air, Brian Biggs’s second transportation celebration (after Everything Goes: On Land), Henry and his parents walk through a busy airport en route to their flight. Their speech-bubble conversation touches on aviation history, modern airplanes, helicopters, hot-air balloons, and blimps. The cheery cartoon illustrations are chock-full of details, with visual surprises on every page. This accessible survey of flight also serves as a handy what-to-expect introduction for young, less-frequent fliers. (4–8 years, Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins)

From the November 2012 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.

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