Library on Wheels: Mary Lemist Titcomb and American’s First Bookmobile By Sharlee Glenn

Library on Wheels: Mary Lemist Titcomb and American’s First Bookmobile

By Sharlee Glenn

Abrams Books for Young Readers. 2018

ISBN: 9781419728754

Grades 4 and up

Glenn has written a loving homage to librarians, those dedicated individuals who work hard to guarentee that people in their communities have easy access to materials and services. Mary Lemist Titcomb was such a librarian. Born in 1852, Titcomb, in 1914, served as the second vice president of ALA. It was while working as the director of the Washington County Free Library in Hagerstown, Maryland, that Titcomb made her mark. Titcomb knew that over half of the residents, 25,00 people, lived on farms and were not able to get in to the library. “Miss Titcomb was determined that everyone should have access to the library, not just adults, not just the rich or educated, not just those who lived in town.”   

How did she manage this?

•  By opening one of the first children’s rooms in the nation
•  By Providing village schools with rotating collections of good books and pictures from the library
• Going on the road, offering story times in remote areas of the county
•  Setting up over seventy-five deposit stations, like Little Free Libraries, around the county

Yet, Titcomb felt there were still some residents the library was not serving. How to reach them? She came up with the idea of using a horse-drawn “book wagon.” The first book wagon, pulled by two horses, Black Beauty and Dandy, made its maiden voyage in 1905.  It was an immediate success. By 1922, bookmobiles began appearing up in other parts of the country.

Readers learn how Titcomb overcame the prejudices of her time. People told her she couldn’t do this or that. Why? Because she was either too young or a girl. “But Mary never gave up.”  

Supporting Glenn's engaging narrative are many historic photos, some copies of letters and an article about Titcomb. The photos enhance what is being explained in the text. 

Back matter includes an author’s note, source notes, bibliography of materials used for research, and index.

How did Glenn come up with the idea to write about a little known librarian? Glenn explains in her author’s note, "I was doing research for another book when I ran across an obscure reference to a woman named Mary Lemist Titcomb who was credited with the invention of the bookmobile in America. A woman had invented the bookmobile! I was immediately intrigued.”  

Share this book with children, and adults. When I booktalk Library on Wheels is gives me another opportunity to share that a librarians job is more than sitting around reading all day.  

In addition...I loved the book because I have always wanted to work on a bookmobile. 

To write this review, I borrowed a copy of this book from my local public library.

A Seed is the Start

A Seed is the Start 
by Melissa Stewart
National Geographic Kids, 2018
Preschool-Grade 3
978-1-4263-2978-4


Melissa Stewart's new nonfiction book about seeds hits all the right notes. Upon opening A Seed Is the Start, readers are introduced to important vocabulary words related to the topic. Each two-page spread has large yellow and white headings that introduce the concept. Paragraphs of expository text provide readers with key details about how seeds travel and grow. Close-up photographs accompany the text and show burrs, nuts, seeds, pods and berries in nature. One impressive photograph near the beginning of the book illustrates the stages of a corn seed growing into a plant. Captions describe each stage of the growth process.

A Seed Is the Start is a highly recommended purchase for school libraries, classrooms and public libraries. It could be read as part of a plant unit in an elementary classroom and could be used for science programming and story time in a public library. Publishers and authors of nonfiction should take note of A Seed Is the Start as an example of excellent book design, layout, visuals, and quality science writing aimed at very young readers. Visit Melissa Stewart's website to read notes about A Seed Is the Start.

Terrific Tongues! Blog Tour

Terrific Tongues!
by Maria Gianferrari
illustrated by Jia Liu
Boyds Mills Press, 2018
ISBN: 9781620917848

To write this review, the publisher sent us advanced copies of the book.

Today we are taking part in the Terrific Tongues! Blog Tour. As part of this blog tour, we are giving away one copy of Terrific Tongues! donated by the publisher. Details and the entry form can be found at the bottom of this page.

In this engaging informational picture book, Gianferrari, the author of Coyote Moon, celebrates the wonders of the tongue! A monkey is our host as we are taken through the many terrific things a tongue can do.


Gianferrari blends two writing styles: narrative and expository to make an informative and interesting story for young readers. The narrative parts include similes and comparisons that illustrate the diversity of tongues found in the animal kingdom: "If you had a tongue like a nose, you might be..." and with a turn of the page, we learn it is ..."a snake!" Each comparison is accompanied by a paragraph containing details about the animal's tongue: "A snake's tongue helps it smell. It sticks out its forked tongue to collect chemicals in the environment. The chemicals are then absorbed by two pits on the roof of its mouth called the Jacobson's organ. The Jacobson's organ sends a message to the snake's brain, letting it know whether it's smelling food, danger, or a mate." 


Liu's digital illustrations are lively and very colorful, and the monkey narrator adds comic relief to the story. Terrific Tongues! would make story time very lively and fun; it would also enliven science classes for all ages.

One lucky reader will win a copy of Terrific Tongues! courtesy of Boyds Mill Press. 

Giveaway Rules

• Complete the form below to enter the giveaway.
• One entry per person.
• You must be 13 years old or older to enter.
• U.S. addresses only
• The contest will end at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, May 3, 2018.
• The winner will be notified by email. 

Trash Revolution: Breaking the Waste Cycle written by Erica Fyvie

Trash Revolution: Breaking the Waste Cycle

Written by Erica Fyvie; Illustrated by Bill Slavin

Kids Can Press. 2018

ISBN: 9781771360782

Grades 3 and up

 The publisher sent me a copy of this book to review.

Did you know…

• Every day throughout the world, approximately 270,000 trees are cut down to make paper products? 10% of that amount (2700) is used to make toilet paper.
•  It takes 1000 years for a pair of running shoes to decompose.
• Love chips? Each year, most of the 17 billion potato chip bags produced in the United States end up in the trash.

Those facts and more are woven into an engaging narrative that enlightens readers on the everyday items we purchase and what we can do to stop the cycle of waste. Using the premise of items we might carry in a backpack, the book is divided into sections (Water; Food; Clothing; Paper; Plastic; Metals; Electronics). Within each section, the book takes a look at how that item is produced, and then what happens to it when it becomes waste. 

The section on Waste in Space, compares and contrasts the daily consumption and waste of the astronauts versus every day on Earth. On the whole, waste in space is less than on Earth (1 gal.(3.8L) of water waste is generated in space, while on Earth the average is about 75 gallons (287 L)).  Although, I found this fact very disturbing: “Space Clothing: Since washing machines aren’t an option in space, dirty space clothes are typically bundled and shot into Earth’s atmosphere to burn up. A six-person crew can generate 900 lb. (408 kg) of clothing per year.” 

The book’s design is colorful with cartoon-like illustrations giving a visual representation of what is being discussed on the page. Sidebars are placed throughout offering more detailed information. Wherever it applies, readers learn about countries or individuals who have come up with a way to have zero waste. 

The book closes with the hope of a zero-waste future. In Taiwan, a Zero-Waste Leader, manufacturers pay a fine for produce excess packaging. The money earned goes to recyclers. They also collect 30 different kinds of waste and recycling twice a week, including fluorescent tubes and clothing.

Back matter includes a glossary of terms, resources for more information, and index.

This is a great book for families to share when making a plan to lower their carbon footprint. It will spark discussions and have readers seriously thinking about making wise purchases. (Is it really necessary to always upgrade your electronic devices?) Especially when they realize just how long an item lasts in a landfill.

All That Trash Written and illustrated by Meghan McCarthy

All That Trash: The Story of the 1987 Garbage Barge and Our Problem with Stuff

Written and illustrated by Meghan McCarthy

Paula Wiseman Books: an imprint of Simon & Schuster. 2018

ISBN: 9781481477529

Ages 4 thru 18

The publisher sent me a copy of this book to review.

In 1987, Lowell Harrelson, the owner of the National Waste Contractors in Alabama, came up with, what he thought, a perfect solution when he was told that a New York landfill was almost out of room. He would take the 3,186 tons of trash and dump it in North Carolina. “First, he rented a barge to carry the garbage. Second, he got a tugboat and crew to tow the barge.” 

Harrelson’s idea was to use the methane gas created from the decomposing garbage and turn it into energy! Unfortunately, no state in the U.S. would let him dump the stuff. After five months and more than six thousand miles later, a New York judge ordered that the rotten and stinky garbage was to be burned. It became 400 tons of ash. 

McCarthy’s comic style, big-eyed characters, rendered in acrylic paint, perfectly compliment the simple narrative. This informational picture book about the importance of recycling and protecting our environment is engaging.

In addition to a selected bibliography, back matter also includes facts on garbage barge, recycling, and ocean garbage. Readers also learn what the crew aboard the tugboat, Break of Dawn did during those five long months hauling the increasingly rotting (and very smelly) garbage.

This is a perfect book to share with any age when talking about recycling. 

Click here to listen to the 1987 NBC news report featuring Tom Brokaw about the barge. 

If using All That Trash with high school students, may I suggest The Story of Stuff Project. Their website offers many videos on environmental concerns and suggestions on how to become an advocate. According to their film, “The Story of Microfibers, “Every day, the world throws away billions and billions and billions of plastic bottles.”

Girl Running: Bobbi Gibb and the Boston Marathon

Girl Running: Bobbi Gibb and the Boston Marathon 

by Annette Bay Pimentel

illustrated by Michael Archer

Nancy Paulsen Books, 2018

Grades K-5

This morning 30,000 runners will compete in the Boston Marathon. The race is one of the oldest marathons in existence. When the Boston Marathon was established in 1897, women were not allowed to entered. This did not change until 1972. 

Girl Running, a new picture book biography of Bobbi Gibb chronicles the story of the first woman to compete in the Boston Marathon. After introducing readers to a young Gibb who loved to run, the story shifts to 1966 when Bobbi Gibb was denied entry to the Boston Marathon because of her gender. This didn't stop Gibb. She put on a large sweatshirt and joined the race near the start line.

Pimentel describes the excitement and of Gibb running the race in unofficially as she's cheered on by onlookers. The text is simple and accessible to young readers. Archer uses different textures and patterns using oil paint and collage to show movement and motion. Don't miss the Afterword which contains more information about Gibbs and the history of women running in the Boston Marathon. Read aloud Girl Running to children of all ages. It is sure to spark discussions about gender equity and how one person can make a difference.  

Born to Swing by Mara Rockliff

Born to Swing: Lil Hardin Armstrong’s Life in Jazz

Written by Mara Rockliff; Illustrated by Michele Wood

Calkins Creek. 2018

ISBN: 9781629795553

Grades 2 and up

The publisher sent me a copy of this book to review.

Born February 3, 1898 in Memphis, Tennessee, Lillian Hardin Armstrong came to the music scene when only men played music professionally. As a young girl she studied music, but when she heard jazz, that was it. She was hooked. 

“I was born to swing, that’s all. Call it what you want, blues, swing, jazz, it caught hold of me way back in Memphis and it looks like it won’t ever let  go.” 

It seemed the music was so deep inside her, Lil couldn’t help but let it all come out whenever she played the piano. Growing up near Beale Street in Memphis, Mister W. C. Handy, the Father of Blues, would march his band right down the middle of the street. Lil longed to go listen, but her mother said, “Oh, no.” “Devil music.” She kept Lil far away.

When her family moved North, part of the Great Migration, they ended up in Chicago. There, she would meet Jelly Roll Morton and other Jazz greats. While working as the piano player for the New Orleans Creole Jazz Band, she met a fellow from New Orleans…Louis Armstrong. They married and would write together, play together, and formed a band, The Hot Five, and recorded together.  

In this lively picture book biography, Rockliff let’s Lil tell her story. Complementing the text are the illustrations of Michele Wood. Rendered in acrylic, the paintings are vibrant and capture the pulse of the music and the times.

Back matter includes a timeline, author’s note, and a bibliography of primary and secondary sources. 

Lil Hardin Armstrong performed in the days of the Big Bands. Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. "I did it all. I wrote songs, I led bands. Men, women - oh, it made no difference to me, so long as they could swing those tunes." 

Go here and listen to Lil sing and play the piano. Be sure to play her music whenever you share this book with students of all ages, especially those who play in the school jazz band. 

New Nonfiction Releases- March and April

Don't miss these upcoming nonfiction titles for children and young adults.

March Releases

Siege: How General Washington Kicked the British Out of Boston and Launched a Revolution

 by Roxanne Orgill

Candlewick Press

Outrageous Animal Adaptations

 by Michael J. Rosen

Twenty-First Century Books

Meet My Family!: Animal Babies and Their Families

by Laurie Purdie Salas and Stephanie Fizer Coleman

Millbrook Press

Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World

by Penelope Bagieu

First Second

Blue Grass Boy: The Story of Bill Monroe, Father of Blue Grass Music

by Barb Rosenstock and Edwin Fortheringham

Boyds Mill Press

Itch!: Everything You Didn't Want to Know About What Makes You Scratch

by Anita Sanchez and Gilbert Ford

HMH Books for Young Readers

Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide

by Isabel Quintero

Abrams Books

Coco Chanel: Pearls, Perfume and the Little Black Dress

by Susan Goldman Rubin

Abrams Books for Young Readers

Champion: The Comeback Tale of the American Chestnut Tree 

by Sally M. Walker

Henry Holt and Co.

Drawn from Nature

by Helen Ahpornsiri

Candlewick Press

Dog Days of History: The Incredible Story of Our Best Friends

 by Sarah Albee

National Geographic Kids

April Releases

Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam

by Elizabeth Partridge

Viking

Abraham Lincoln's Dueling Words

 by Donna Janell Bowman and S.D. Schindler

Peachtree Publishers

Terrific Tongues!

 by Maria Gianferrari and Jia Liu

Boyds Mill Press

Fossil by Fossil: Comparing Dinosaur Bones

by Sara Levine

Millbrook Press

They Lost Their Heads!

 by Carlyn Beccia

Bloomsbury

Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code: A Navajo Code Talker's Story

 by Joseph Bruchac and Liz Amini-Holmes

Albert Whitman Company

Crash: The Great Depression and the Fall and Rise of America in the 1930s

by Marc Favreau

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag

by Rob Sanders and Steven Salerno

Random House

Camp Panda: Helping Cubs Return to the Wild

by Catherine Thimmesh 

HMH Books for Young Readers

Sharks: Nature's Perfect Hunters

 by Joe Flood

First Second

Back from the Brink: Saving Animals from Extinction

 by Nancy F. Castaldo

HMH Books for Young Readers