Non-Fiction Round Up

I don't read many juvenile biographies, unless they come highly recommended. Luckily, such was the case with George Sullivan's Tom Thumb: The Remarkable True Story of a Man in Miniature. It was included on an ALA list of notable books to be discussed at Annual Conference and received a starred review from Booklist. Going in, I didn't know much about Tom Thumb, outside of his involvement with P.T. Barnum, but I was certainly interested to learn more. What I found from Sullivan was a well-reseached, detailed and engaging portrait of a man from his early childhood to his young death at the age of forty-five. I was impressed with Sullivan's tactful handling of the touchy topic of "freaks" and their exhibitions, and the sensitivity he gave to Tom's story. The archival potraits and drawings are a wonderful touch, particular the photographs of Tom and Lavinia's famous wedding ceremony. This will make for the second biography for last year that I'm going to be actively pushing into reader's hands (the first being the wonderful Amelia Lost), but with books still left in my pile, hopefully it won't be the last.

The first thing to say about Stewart Ross' Into the Unknown: How Great Explorers Found Their Way by Land, Sea, and Air must be said. This book is cool. Like, super-duper cool. If I can just get kids, especially boys, to open the book, I know I'll have them hooked. Into the Unknown tells the tale of fourteen great explorations and the great men and women who undertook them. Each section is rich in historical facts and modern context, and makes for interesting reading, but lets face it, the coolest parts of this book are the fold-outs. Each section contains a fold-out with incredibly detailed drawings by Stephen Biesty. These drawings include maps and cross sections of every vehicle employed by our explorers, even the clothing worn by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. These additions are extraordinary, and I got lost in each and every one, examining even the smallest detail so painstakingly crafted by Biesty. I should have no trouble getting this book into eager hands.

Tom Thumb: The Remarkable True Story of a Man in Miniature by George Sullivan
2011, Clarion Books
Library copy

Into the Unknown: How Great Explorers Found Their Way by Land, Sea, and Air by Stewart Ross, ill. by Stephen Biesty
2011, Candlewick Press
Library copy