Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods

Riordan, Rick. Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods. 2014. 336p. ISBN 978-1423183648. Available at FIC RIO on the library shelves.

When first asked by his editor to write a compendium on the Greek Gods, Percy Jackson is hesitant. After all, as a demi-god himself, he could catch a lot of flak from the Titans and the Olympians. But after thinking it over, he decides that such a book would be very helpful for mere mortals to understand the relationships between the rulers of Olympia.

Told from Percy’s perspective, this book presents a concise history of the twelve Olympians, as well as that Gaea and her children, the Titans. Each God and Goddess gets his or her own profile, including how they came about to be and what they have been up to since, all in the unmistakable voice of a teenager.

Beautifully illustrated, this volume is a must for the lovers of the Percy Jackson series and for those who want a hilarious look at the lives of the Greek Gods.

A Night Divided

Nielsen, Jennifer A. A Night Divided. 2015. 317p. ISBN 978-0-545-68242-8. Available at FIC NIE on the library shelves.

The end of the Second World War led to the occupation of Germany by the British, the French, the Americans, and the Russians, who divided the country into zones of occupations. The first three zones eventually became West Germany, whereas the Russian-controlled area became East Germany. The capital city of Berlin was similarly divided into four zones that became two camps, but because it was deep inside the Russian zone West Berlin acted as a beacon of freedom for East Germans everywhere.

In 1961, rumors abound that the East Germans will close the border down between East and West Berlin, preventing people from escaping to the West. Greta’s father and her brother Dominic cross over to West Berlin on a Friday night, with the hope of getting an apartment and securing a job before returning on Sunday to retrieve and cross the line with the rest of the family. Unfortunately, at midnight on Sunday, the East German government erects a barb wire barrier between West and East Berlin, and suddenly the border is shut. Greta’s father and brother are on the West side, while she remains stuck in East Berlin with her mother and older brother Fritz.

Socialism is not kind to Greta, and since her father was an active intellectual who resisted socialist propaganda, the entire family has been black-listed. Life is miserable for the three left behind.

Four years later, now twelve-years-old Greta is walking to school when she notices someone who looks like her brother Dominic on one of the platforms on the West side that overlook the wall. Sure enough, soon her father comes up and waves at her. But there is danger in even this small an action, and a border guard tells Greta to move along. On another occasion, she sees her father again, and he seems to be miming digging. This was an old song he used to sing to her when she was a child, but what could he possibly mean?

With their lives in danger, in a society filled with oppression and spies, Greta and her family have no future. And when she receives a cryptic map indicating an abandoned building next to the Wall, Greta realizes that to escape to freedom, she will need to construct a tunnel underneath the Wall and the Death Strip.

The penalty for this attempt, if caught, is death. Can Greta trust anyone with her secret plan to escape to freedom?

Based on historical events, Nielsen successfully recreates the paranoia and oppressive nature of the East German regime and helps the reader imagine what it was like living in a totalitarian society. Fans of realistic drama and historical novels will enjoy this tale of courage and bravery against overwhelming odds. For an American take on the Cold War, take a look at The Enemy by Sara Holbrook, which details the Red Scare and its impacts on middle school students in the 1950s. Take a look too at This Rebel Heart for a Hungarian perspective on the same era.

Checking for Understanding: Formative Assessment Techniques For Your Classroom

Fisher, Douglas and Nancy Frey. Checking for Understanding: Formative Assessment Techniques For Your Classroom. 2007. 156p. ISBN 978-1-4166-0569-0. Available at PROF 371.27 FIS.

One of the most important, but often overlooked, task teachers have is to ensure that students understand the material they present. This short volume describes several techniques that can be employed to move away from calling on outstretched hands and instead focusing on the entire group. This allows teachers to determine what students know, how they know it, and what remedial steps must be taken to ensure that the material imparted is acquired.

Fisher and Frey look at several methods of checking for understanding, such as using oral language, asking questions, using writing, projects, performances, tests, and common assessments and consensus scoring. Each of these broad subjects are explored and several suggestions and techniques are presented, as well as ways in which some checks are not appropriate.

Several charts compare the advantages and disadvantage of different techniques, while other charts present information and samples for each of the techniques described. Even for the veteran teacher, there will be several new techniques that can easily be used in the classroom to facilitate checking for student understanding.

The Wednesday Wars

Schmidt, Gary. The Wednesday Wars. 2007. 256p. ISBN 9780618724833. Available both as an eBook and an audiobook on Overdrive as well as at FIC SCH on the library shelves.

It’s 1967, Holling Hoodhood is in 7th grade at Camillo Junior High on Long Island, and, unlike all of his classmates he lives right on the border of everything. He’s on the border between the northern and the southern part of the town. He’s on the border between the religious groups, half the class being Jewish and the other half being Catholic, while he’s the only Presbyterian. His father is a driven architect who is always seeking the next contract in town. His mother is quiet and doesn’t go against her husband’s wishes. And his sister is a flower child wannabe.

Holling finds himself in Mrs. Baker’s class. With the Vietnam War raging on, Mrs. Baker’s husband is deployed and fighting in Vietnam, so Mrs. Baker has plenty of time to focus on her class. On Wednesdays, all Jewish students leave early afternoon to attend religious instruction at the synagog, while all catholics leave ten minutes later to also attend religious instruction at church. Holling is the only one left in class, and Mrs. Baker must supervise him despite an attempt to have him sent to remedial 6th grade math. Holling is pretty sure Mrs. Baker hates him.

So begins a Wednesday War between Mrs. Baker and Holling. At first their relationship is rocky, but eventually they work out a compromise. Holling will read Shakespeare and then take a test on it. It will not count for anything but his edification on universal themes of humanity, love, death, and family.

Despite himself, Holling realizes that Mrs. Baker may in fact not be the enemy, but an ally who seeks to help him discover who he really is. Take a trip with Holling through the school year and the Wednesday Wars, and see how he grows as a student and as a human.

The writing is hilarious and Holling thinks out loud what most people are afraid of saying. With an unforgettable cast of well-rounded characters, you will thoroughly enjoy this book and want more. Fans of the Wednesday Wars should take a look at The Labors of Hercules Bean.

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes

Auxier, Jonathan. Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes. 2011. 397p. ISBN 9781419700255. Available at FIC AUX on the library shelves.

Discovered floating at sea with a raven sitting on the basket and with his eyes pecked out, Peter grew up a blind orphan in the port town that became his home. Adopted by a master thief, Peter became schooled in the art of pilfering, stealing, plundering, lock-picking, and pick-pocketing. He could maneuver in the tightest spots, climb the highest buildings, and explore through people’s houses with them in it. But this was never enough for Mr. Seamus, his evil master and his equally evil and vicious dog.

So when Peter manages to steal a box of magical eyes from a mysterious haberdasher, his life irrevocably changes. With nothing to lose, he decides to place one of the pair of eyes in his empty sockets, since they seem about the same size as his eyeballs would be. He is instantly transported into the waters of a tropical island, where he has to struggle to get out of the water while attempting to save a strange creature who turns out to be Sir Tode, a not-so-brave knight who was bewitched and turned into a strange mixture of cat and horse.

The two of them land on the island, where they meet the Professor and the haberdasher, who live on this island. Peter is to be sent on a very important mission: he must go to the missing kingdom and help the inhabitants restore the true king. At first Peter doesn’t want to go on this mission, but he and Sir Tode reluctantly agree to go.

They meet many strange creatures along the way, and end up in the desert, for the kingdom has lost all access to the ocean due to a curse. As Peter and Sir Tode make their way towards the distant castle, they must figure how to cross the uncrossable moat and help the people inside the castle. But ravens fly the skies and jealously guard the desert. And the evil king rules the castle with an iron fist and an army of armed gorillas.

Equipped only with his wits and his skills as a master thief, Peter must help the princess and the other children overthrow the king and escape from the bonds of slavery. As dangers grow and the stakes get higher, can Peter and his magical eyes shift the balance of justice?

A companion volume is called Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard. If you enjoyed this magical story, you might like Fake I.D. and The Great Greene Heist. Auxier also wrote a great horror story titled The Night Gardener.

X: A Novel

Shabazz, Ilyasha with Kekla Magoon. X: A Novel. 2015. 348p. ISBN 978-0-7636-6967-6. Available at FIC SHA on the library shelves.

Malcolm Little lives in Lansing, Michigan, during the Depression. His father and mother were both strong advocates for the rights of Blacks, and told their many children they could accomplish anything they set their minds to. Marcus Garvey’s mantra, “Up, you mighty race,” illuminated their childhood. But all is not right in the 1930s Michigan, and as Malcolm grows up he realizes that his father’s preaching earn nothing but scorn and insults from the white folks that surround them.

His father has an “accident” when Malcolm is six, and his mother is hard pressed to help the family survive. She manages to hang on for seven long years before the government finally institutionalizes her and places all of the children in foster care. Malcolm is now on his own, and loses the little direction he had from his father. His English teacher in high school asks him what he wants to be, and when he replies he wants to become a lawyer the teacher laughs. A black man can’t be a lawyer!

Rudderless and lost, Malcolm is given the opportunity to move to Boston with his half-sister. There he discovers a whole new world where Blacks live together in their own neighborhoods, where they can dance and party away. Malcolm quickly succumbs to the night life and the easy money hustling various schemes.

As he sinks further in a life of crime, easy women, and easy money, Malcolm finds himself searching for more. It’s only when he finally gets arrested and gets sent to prison that Malcolm discovers the power of Garvey’s quote. He converts to Islam, changes his name to Malcolm X to reject the patronyme given to him by slavers, and joins the Nation of Islam.

Drawn from real events and written in part by his daughter, the story of Malcolm X’s youth is fascinating and demonstrates his growth from a petty and narcissistic criminal to a religious and political leader who was part of the Civil Rights movement. Fans of historical fiction will enjoy discovering an individual whose myth has now overwhelmed his real life.

Secrets of the Space Shuttle

Rees, Peter. Secrets of the Space Shuttle. 2008. 36p. ISBN 978-0-531-17590-3. Available at 629.44 REE on the library shelves.

The space shuttle delivered astronauts, satellites, and pieces of the International Space Station to orbit around Earth for over three decades. This book not only tells the story of the space shuttle, but also of the whole space adventure from the beginning of the space race to today. Well written with great illustrations, it also discusses the future of space travel and space living.