Young Americans Books

This was a fun book to read. I think it's a great book for 4-6th graders who like a little " who done it?" mystery without being scary. It was an easy read, yet offered great vocabulary. I've been inspired to now read the next book of the series...I've already ordered it.

My aunt Betty just bought me Kid Caramel for my birthday. I read it twice so far and laughed so many times. I think it's the best book I got for a present so far. I hope she gets me more and some games too

My name is Issac Porter and I am 11 years old. I thought this book was so fun to read. It made me laugh. I would tell other kids to read it if they like fun stuff and mysteries

A wonderful book of short stories, all of which are very interesting. A MUST read book from a very talented author.

From Catching the Bullet to Rasslin, every one of these stories is a pleasure to read.

This densely packed, powerful volume shows Daniel Hawkes as a writer not just of potential but of great accomplishment. Most of the stories center around sports and the meaning of sports for those who play and watch, and Hawkes has a real gift for describing physical activity, the feel of running, throwing, competing. The title story, "Catching the Bullet," beautifully dramatizes the ways family relations get acted out in sports and the terrible importance to kids, girls as well as boys, of failure and success in sports. Another, "Marathoners," captures the sweet camaraderie of adult athletic companionship, the inner life of the athlete, and the anguish of injury. But, for me, Hawkes is even stronger in two stories not about sports, "Pants," which deals with the pain and inevitable self-deception in the aftermath a failed marriage, and especially "The Bells," a wrenching story about the irrevocable passage of time.

I wish I had written this book! It grabbed me from page one and kept me breathless throughout. The story, a boy caught in an Irish Union workerss' intrigue in post-Civil War coal country, hunted by a man on a scent tracking horse, is original and gripping. The development and growth of the character, Phin, is great.

Susan Williams Beckhorn
Wind Rider, Harper Collins 2006

Phin Chase has gone from being an orphan that no one really wants to being someone that a lot of dangerous people want to find.

Phin has witnessed a murder by the Sleepers, otherwise known as the Molly Maguires or the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Whatever you call them, they run most Irish immigrant towns, and you don't want to be on their bad side. In fact, most people try to avoid them all together.

Now they're looking for Phin. And the more he finds out about them, the more he realizes there is no one he can trust. He's never missed his mother so much or felt so very alone. The only logical thing Phin can think of to do is run. So run he does. But he seems to keep running directly into the hands of two men. Both men are definitely dangerous -- one wants to hurt Phin, but the other is debatable. Sometimes Phin thinks he could trust him, even be helped by him, but then there are times that Phin is sure he's at least as dangerous as the first man.

How long can one young boy hold out against an entire underground militia and a horse that can track his scent? CHASE is a great adventure story, set in the midst of real history. It's exciting and interesting and fully believable. Phin Chase is a great hero; he's unsure, he makes mistakes, he has a multitude of narrow escapes. Right up until the very end you're not sure if or how he'll escape. Page-turning, edge-of-your-seat adventure with an interesting cast of characters, set during a real time in the history of our country. Definitely a great choice for a good regular read, or a way to make a book report more interesting!

Reviewed by: Carrie Spellman

Chase -by Jessie Haas gr 4-9

Set in a Pennsylvania coal mining town in the 1870's, young Phin Chase has just witnessed a murder. He's reading a borrowed book on Englebright's front porch when several men from the mine who have a grievance with Englebright, kill him.. Instead of killing Phin too, they decide to pin the murder on him. He can't stay in town. If he does, he will be tried and convicted, because who will believe the story of an orphaned boy against respectable men from the town? So he runs.

On the way, a friend gives him the killer's wallet to return to him, but Phin can't do that. He knows he'll be caught and brought to the jail. So he runs, with the wallet. It has enough money to help him get far away. If only he can.

He manages to hop a train out of town, but there is a mysterious stranger hot on his trail; a mule trader who keeps showing up in town. Really a mule trader? And if not, then who is this man and his magnificient black stallion who never seem to be more than a stone's throw from Phin and his hiding places. Phin ends up leaving town in the same car as the mule trader and the killer, Ned Plume, who is also looking for the boy, because he wants his wallet back.

Phin leads them on an intense chase, suffering all manner of ills and chills, hunger and bruises while running for his life. Eventually, a regretful confrontation comes to bear bewteen Phin and the mule trader, exposing the man's true identity and his reasons for hunting Phin. But these reasons are not the same as Ned Plumes, and Phin still has one more person to face before he can think about ending his flight.

This books is a real page turner. Beautifully written in terse prose that keeps the tension high and the questions present until the last possible moments, this book is well worth the read. In addition to being that great kind of historical fiction that makes you want to know more about the period, it also makes you want to stay with Phinn, keeps you rooting for him all the way, and does not disppoint in the end.

This is all the stories:

Woof, There It Is: This is when the Cheetah's arrive to Hollywood.They also start making Cheetah Girls chokers. It's a cute story.

It's Raining Benjamins: It's Pucci's 9th birthday. Chanel's mother isn't sure if she wants Pucci to have his own pet. But anyway, she buys one. On Pucci's b-day, Chanel's mother is angry because Chanel did not have permission to get a pet. And, Pucci gets upset because his father bought him a math book. It's a cool story.

Dorinda's Secret: Dorinda finds out she has a REAL sister. Tiffany. Dorinda isn't sure that the Cheetah's are gonna be okay with it. So, she doesn't tell her crew. When Dorinda meets Tiffany, she finds out she is white. Dorinda also has a meltdown. But, at the end of the meet Tiffany says: " Can i have your phone number?" then " Can i have a hug?" then " I'm so glad i met you!" Dorinda tells her crew about her sis. They are cool with it. It's a neat story.

Growl Power: Aqua And Angie are going back to houston for Thanksgivng. It's a big story. You'll have to read it it! It's a fabulous story.

This is a nice book.

Thank You For Taking Your Time To Read My Review

All the reviews I've read are nothing like the book the book is much more different than the movie. It turns out that there are 5 grls instead of 4 and its really different like a totally different book except wit the same names. It is really good though.

i bought this for my 11 year old. she loves this book. kiki started reading it on saturday afternoon and was half way finshised by sunday night. she even took it in the bathroom. thahk god we have two. she is on her second or third time reading it and has recomended it to all her friends. she won't loan it to them yet. i will be purchasing the rest of the series.

The second in the Cul-de-sac Kids series and they have been hit by the chicken pox. A fun story which also teaches without being preachy. Abby plans a surprise for her brother and helps her friend solve the mystery of her childhood. Nothing scary in this story, it's one to make you smile.

I realy liked it because Abby kept a secret from her Korean broter Shawn. I think this is a funny book because Abby made a huge mess when she was baking a cake shaped like South Korea. I think this is a great book and you should read it too!

Wonderful & funny. Teaches kids what to do when something special goes wrong & how to still have fun. My boys ages 7 & 9, had a hard time putting the book down. The book keeps one's attention & is never boring.

This was a chapter book for my [...] grandson. We read a chapter each night and it kept him interested and curious about davey's life for weeks... It was a fun book and really sparked his imagination.

As a kid, Davy wanted to be just like Daniel Boone. He hunted the wilderness, protected people from indians, and even joined the government. Soon, he fought in the Alamo, and became a Texan HERO!

Remember The Alamo
Davy Crockett Aileen Wells Parks
The book Davy Crockett is about one of the most famous men in the history of America. It tells about how he became a great hunter with Daniel Boone. One of my favorite parts is where he defended the Alamoe for his country. The book is great if I had a choice from 1to 10 I wold give it a flat 10 all because of its description and its pictures. This is the kind of book that I would conceders to people that love to learn about history.
The author is Aileen Wells Parks. If you ask me I think she writes good books for all ages. I think she should write more and more books for men, women, and children. I encourage her to write more.
The date this book was published was 1986.
A brief discription is when he goes to hunt for his first time he dosen't bring anything home. But the next week when he goes to hunt he finds a new friend named Danile Boone.

The characters experienced the full range of emotions. I felt like I was right along with them for the adventures. Such strong characters, determination. Very inspiring!

I truly enjoyed every word of this book. I was hooked after the first page and wasn't willing to stop reading! Shyanne has such strength and courage. Watching her grow and deal with her problems touched me.

I liked the part in the schoolhouse when Josh Paul,Shiloh,and Shenandoah were trapped with Miss Gibson in the schoolhouse, because that part has a lot of tragedy to it and a way to survive if you're ever stuck in a schoolhouse when there is a blizzard. The rest of the book is just great so I think Ms.Freeman should get something special.

Sullivan, Michael.2003. Connecting Boys with Books: What Libraries Can Do. Chicago: American Library Association.

In Connecting Boys with Books, Michael Sullivan, a children's librarian and director of library services, has created a book that helps librarians far and wide tackle an age old problem, how to get boys interested in reading books. This book focuses on boys that are mostly between the ages of eight and twelve years old. This is the age group that has been identified, through careful research in Sullivan's book, as the time when boys stop reading. Sullivan identifies several reasons as to why boys become disinterested in reading though his introductory and first two chapters. He identifies reasons such as lack of male role models in schools and libraries, the lack of making boys feel welcome in libraries, and most importantly lack of effective programming that targets boys.
We all know that boys and girls have different needs, yet more often than not, libraries inadvertently perpetuate the notion that libraries are quiet places for girls to use and don't make libraries "boy friendly." One of the main keys to getting boys into the library is making the library a welcoming and inviting place for boys by appealing to their wants and needs. Sullivan identifies the most significant thing that can be done to attract boys the library is by offering effective programming. Sullivan suggests that bringing men into the library is one of the most pivotal actions that can be taken to achieve keeping boys interested in the library. This can be best achieved by offering programs in the library that focus on fathers and/or father figures and their children for activities in the library. Invite male guest speakers to the library, not only can they lead a book talk or just talk about subjects that interest boys, but boys will feel welcome when they see other men or boys in the library. Sullivan suggests that men are willing to participate in library programs but librarians need to be more proactive in actually inviting them into the libraries.
Sullivan also suggests that librarians familiarize themselves with what boys are reading and how to use the genres that interest boys to promote reading. Especially useful is the section in Chapter 3 It's Still about Books, which gives lists of authors and book suggestions for each of the genres that interest boys. He suggests giving book talks that have boys' needs in mind can make the difference in boys reading the books or not.
Providing games and other competitions within the library is another way to welcome boys. Providing boys with challenges and competitions will appeal to the competitive nature of most boys. Sullivan outlines the use of successes of other libraries through the inclusion of chess and other board games in libraries.
Lastly, Sullivan suggests the power of stories and storytelling in the library. He discusses how to get boys involved in storytelling and how to make boys more confident in their storytelling abilities. Sullivan offers useful strategies and techniques to keep in mind as well as several stories that can be used in storytelling activities.
I think this is a great book that all librarians both in the school and public library domains should read. The information provided is useful for not only librarians but I think teachers can greatly benefit from the suggestions in this book as well. I believe that parents of these "tween" aged boys can find great use in the chapters involving the reading interest of young boys and parents will find the suggested reading list most useful. Sullivan makes easy and helpful suggestions to librarians on how to best work with these reluctant library users and he does so in a comforting way. His writing style made me feel as though I was talking to another colleague and not reading a "how to" book. I especially appreciated that the book was written in a non-didactic form. This book is a great addition to any professional's collection in order to help our boys become life long readers and users of the library.

Sullivan, Michael. Connecting Boys with Books: What Libraries Can Do. Chicago: American Library Association, 2003.

"If you care at all about kids and reading - read this book. If you don't care about kids and reading - read this book. In fact, you probably shouldn't even bother to read the rest of the forward. Just go ahead and read this book"(Scieszka, ix). After reading Connecting Boys with Books: What Libraries Can Do, most readers will agree with the above statements written by Jon Scieszka in the forward. This book focuses specifically on boys in the "tween" years (between eight-years-old and twelve-years-old) when most boys stop reading. It discusses reasons that boys are falling behind in reading and "...the difficulties boys face in becoming readers: cultural factors that discourage boys from reading, stereotypes that keep boys away from libraries, the lack of male role models in schools and libraries, and the absence of fathers in the library experience" (Sullivan, xiii).

Girls read more than boys. Boys learn differently from girls. Boys are not girls. Yet, often times we, as librarians, will ask boys to be girls. For instance, "[b]oys tend to be more loud, boisterous, and physical than girls. When they exhibit these traits in the library, they are shushed, glared at, and made to feel unwelcome in a hundred different ways - that is, if they are not actually told to leave" (Sullivan, 10). This makes boys feel that the library is not a place for them.

The main focus of this book is how to make the library more inviting for boys. Bringing men into the library is one of the suggestions Sullivan gives readers. He submits that this can be through offering programs that focus on father-son or father-daughter time in the library. The library can ask guest (male) speakers in to discuss various topics such as sports, careers, or books. Men, like boys, need to feel welcome in the library also, and we can do this by simply inviting them. When boys see their fathers or male role models excited about books and reading, they will become enthusiastic as well. This provides a better opportunity for boys to become life-time readers.

Sullivan also focuses on the kinds of literature that boys prefer. Boys like sports, fantasy, and humorous books. They enjoy books that involve the external struggle as opposed to an internal struggle. Sullivan provides readers with many book suggestions that might appeal to boys. He also gives readers several suggestions for including boys in library programs designed with their learning styles and mental capabilities in mind. Book talks given with boys' needs in mind can make the difference in boys reading the book or not.

Another way to welcome boys is to provide challenge and competition in the library. "If we view competitiveness as a social evil, then we will project to every boy who crosses our paths that a basic component of his psyche is wrong, so he himself is flawed" (Sullivan, 110). One suggestion Sullivan gives is providing chess or board games in the library.

Storytelling can be another draw for boys and literature. Sullivan suggests providing classes to boys on how to tell stories so that they realize that each of us has a story. Also provided is a list of stories to include and how to use the stories when teaching boys how to tell stories. In addition, he suggests that older boys read to younger boys instead of struggling readers reading to adults. Boys like to feel helpful and useful. If paired with a younger child, the reader will feel helpful; however, if paired with an adult, the reader will feel intimidated.

This is a fantastic book that anyone and everyone working with children, especially boys, should read. Librarians, teachers, parents, and anyone working with boys can benefit from the information provided in this book. The reasons why boys resist reading or going to the library are revealed and discussed. Easy, helpful, and applicable suggestions are given so that those working with boys can help them feel welcome in the library and around books. By doing this librarians, teachers, and parents can better assist boys in becoming life-long readers and learners. Michael Sullivan presents the information in a non-threatening way using professional but genuine language. In addition to Sullivan's use of his own personal experiences and observations in the library, the bibliography provides readers with further reading and/or research. This book is a must-have for understanding, accepting, and helping boys become life-long readers and learners.

"The author suggests ways that librarians and educators can attract preadolescent boys to library programs that are built on the unique developmental needs and interests of boys in the 'tween years. The goal of these programs is to create and maintain in this age group an interest in books and reading that will last a lifetime." (summary by South TX Library System)
This fills a need for librarians trying to target this hard-to-reach audience.
Why is it important? Check out these dismal statistics:
Boys are generally 1½ year behind girls in reading.
Girls at the age of 15 read twice as much as boys.
80% of high school dropouts are male.
95% of hyperactive elementary students are male.
85% of special education students are male.

I read this book for a term paper and found it very informative and interesting!

Currently there is no review here for this fine book, and it deserves one. For starters, the title for this well-researched history of 400 years of cattle raising in North America is not exactly right. It should be called "Cattle Culture," because cattle and not cowboys are at the center of the story the author tells. And his story traces their introduction to the New World by Columbus in 1494 through to the end of the open ranges in the American West in the late 1800s. Horses, also introduced by the Spanish, are no less a part of that story, along with the cattlemen who owned, bought, sold and sometimes stole cattle, and the horsemen (vaqueros, buckaroos, and cowboys) who worked the cattle.

Readers learn a great deal about cattle as a business, how the price of livestock fluctuated with demand and depended always on getting cattle to market, often many hundreds of difficult miles away. In some periods, the value of cattle was not in the beef on the hoof but in the hides and tallow. The California vaqueros, we learn, were not just herders but also expert slaughterers of cattle.

Not surprisingly, a great swath of Texas history is interwoven with the rising and falling fortunes of cattlemen, and the author puts together a detailed picture of the industry as it emerged there in the mid-19th century, foundered during the Civil War, and then flourished as the railheads worked west into Kansas. But the cattle drives from Texas to cow-towns like Abilene were only some of the many that the century witnessed, as herds were driven in various directions, sometimes by west-bound settlers on the Oregon Trail, or often to meet the sudden demand for beef wherever there were gold strikes. The author provides accounts of many of these, illustrated with maps.

There are many black and white period photographs in the book, which challenge the back-lot Hollywood imagery that readers are likely to have of the West. There are also informative illustrations, like that of the early western bridle called a jáquima by the Spanish-speaking vaqueros, later anglicized to "hackamore" by their American counterparts. The reader learns of many words flowing from Spanish into English, including "ranch," from the Spanish "rancho." The meanings of Spanish words like "hacienda" (a place where work is done) are also clarified. There are also illustrations of how to throw ropes in different ways to catch cattle and horses, how to dally a rope around a saddle horn, and the design of various kinds of barbed wire.

One chapter, "Bunkhouse Culture," is devoted to describing the fraternity of young men, mostly from the South, who came to be the Texas "cow-boys" that eventually emerged as the mythic figures on horseback that excited popular imagination. The author describes the unspoken "code" that bound them together and notes their quick passing from history as long-range drovers when barbed wire brought an end to the open range starting in the 1870s. About the same time, ranching as a corporate enterprise transformed the old conditions of loyalty between cowman and cowboy that characterized the earlier years. And so 400 years of history drew to a close.

At 300+ pages, plus another 50 of notes and an index, the book is not a quick page-turner. It reads instead like a very informative and often entertaining textbook on its subject, drawing heavily on contemporary accounts from diaries, journals, and newspapers. Doing so, it brings the past to life with people, personalities, and arresting incidents. I'm happy to recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the American West, the origins and development of the cattle industry, and the interplay between cattle, politics, economics, and social history.

I enjoyed it. The title sounds like a college textbook, but the style is very conversational and there are stories on every page. The author clearly relishes his subject. The writing is crisp and the humor is understated. He puts the cattle business in a very helpful historical perspective. Although it's not a page turner, I always looked forward to picking it up. I also expect to get more out of it the next time I read it.

I was so impressed by the way Marcum is able to keep his poems accessible and conversational, intimate and complicated, formal and engaged. This is one of the best books I've had the pleasure to read in months.

Marcum uses magic realism, gritty lies, prayer and confession to propel this book of poems. And make no mistake, this is a book--a narrative thread moves througout the work--and not just a random collection of poems.

The voice of this poet is always true, even and musical. He moves in and through Spanish and English, between borders and bodies, along highways and pool halls. I especially appreciate his constant engagement with the political acts of self and language--it is evident that Marcum knows the responsibility of the poet, he stares it down, bears witness and finds himself singing. His "I am Joaquin," "Dreaming Pancho Villa," is both vital and fresh in the American Chicano tradition of the identity poem.

A truly remarkable debut. I'm keeping my eye out for his reading tour.

Do yourself a favor and buy this book. Cue Lazarus marks the debut of a vital new poet, one who has already hit his stride. Marcum mines the richness of his mixed identity (he is the son of a Mexican woman and an Anglo man), often weaving Spanish together with English to create the basic material of his art. His poetry plunges through a network of blurred boundaries to explore fundamental human predicaments. But while Marcum explicitly roots his art in an imaginative construction of the Mexican-American experience, he slyly lays claim to a wider cultural tradition. He moves through the souls of Ezra Pound, Jay Gatsby, and Marc Antony with the same command as those of Pancho Villa, his friends, his relatives, and his many selves. William Carlos Williams famously insists that the universal exists in the particular. Carl Marcum shines intense light on particular moments of particular lives and, in the process, achieves more than a thousand volumes of presumptuous generalizations. He straddles the fault line of self-knowledge, a vantage point that offers precious insight. Cue Lazarus is a pure pleasure.

"Cue Lazarus" is a book of poetry for people who hate poetry; "Cue Lazarus" is a book of poetry for people who love poetry. It is a book filled both with stories and sensations, celebration and criticism, hope and despair. Carl Marcum tells the story of a self becoming aware of the world around him and his own power and responsibility to interpret that world.

Beginning in "a seventy-seven Pinto / [on] an eastbound freeway" in the southwest and ending in a Philadelphia train station, this book is truly a journey. In between is death, love, cigarettes, bourbon, pool, road signs, fairy tales, coffee and pie, breakfast, and angels. And yet, from this amalgam emerges a voice, strong and true, sometimes wryly amused, always passionately engaged.

These poems are subtly wrought, the often politically-charged content cleverly concealed beneath the lyricism of the language. But make no mistake, everything in this book is an act of both personal and political identity. The most obvious instance, "Cuando El Presidente visito a mi pueblo," claims this blatantly propagandist moment as an intensely personal experience. Other poems achieve the same goal by positioning the speaker on a very literal border between selves, between languages, between cultures.

"Cue Lazarus" is not just an astonishing first book of poems, it is an astonishing book. These are poems not just for the sake of poetry, but present things that can only be said as poems.