Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum

McCarthy, Meghan. 2010. Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum tells the improbable story of bubble gum and its inventor, young Walter Diemer, an accountant in a 1920s Philadelphia chewing gum factory. Walter's boss had given up on the idea of a gum that could make bubbles,

But Walter hadn't.  He spent months playing with different mixtures.  Finally something was happening!  Bubbles!  Big, glorious bubbles!

Using simple text and colorful, simple artwork, McCarthy infuses a bubbly, buoyant flavor to Pop!  The illustrations range from ancient Greeks with gum in their cheeks, to a double-spread collection of joyous, bug-eyed, hand-holding, bubble-blowers from across the globe!

Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum is a delicious mix of nonfiction and fun!  (Don't let all the fun fool you, it's well-researched too!)

Browse inside Pop!

Thanks to Rasco from RIF for pointing out Pop!
Rasco from RIF's review.

A personal note, Walter Diemer's invention, Dubble Bubble is my absolute favorite!  I chew at least 3 pieces at a time and one of my peculiar talents is that I can blow a bubble inside a bubble.  But alas, despite years of practice, I still cannot snap my gum.

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The Strange Case of Origami Yoda - Read it you must

Angleberger, Tom. 2010. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. New York: Amulet.

(My own Origami Yoda says "Read it you must!)

Dwight is a 6th grade oddball, but he's good at one thing - origami.  When his origami Yoda begins to tell the future and give advice, Tommy and his friends can't decide whether to believe him or not.  The Strange Case of Origami Yoda is the illustrated case file of the mysterious events surrounding Origami Yoda -- as told and illustrated by Tommy (whose future romance hangs in the balance), Harvey (the skeptic), Jennifer (the texter), Quavondo (a.k.a. The Cheeto Hog) and other members of McQuarrie Middle School.

Is this a great book? Irresistibly insightful and funny?

"Certain am I," said Dwight's Yoda.

I agree!

A sample chapter can be viewed online @ Abrams Books.

Reviews (and Origami Yoda instructions) at:

Fuse #8

100 Scope Notes

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Call for Sibert Award suggestions

It’s Nonfiction Monday, the weekly gathering of bloggers highlighting nonfiction books for kids.  Today’s host is The Miss Rumphius Effect.

What was your favorite nonfiction book of the year?  Would you like to see it win the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award, "awarded annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published in English during the preceding year?”

Since we’re all nonfiction fans, I’d like to use today’s gathering remind everyone that the ALSC 2011 Sibert Committee is seeking nominations for the Sibert Award.  A few of my favorites this year were (in no particular order):

• Biblioburro by Jeanette Winter
• Sir Charlie Chaplin by Sid Fleischman
• Older than the Stars by Karen C. Fox  

and

• Zeus: King of the Gods by George O’Connor (which I believe may not be eligible because it is “traditional literature")

Nominations may be submitted by members of the Association for Library Service to Children. If you’re not a member, think about joining!  It’s an active and helpful organization. Be sure to check the criteria for the Sibert Award before sending in your nominations.

More details are available on the ALSC blog.

Happy Labor Day - enjoy!

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Speling Mistayks

Pilkey, Dav. 2010. The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future. Scholastic.

Okay, so I wanted to like this book.  I really did.  I think Dav Pilkey is hilarious and love the fact that he has introduced countless boys into the world of reading with The Adventures of Captain Underpants.  I love Dav Pilkey’s “Extra Crunchy Website O’ Fun.” I love “flip-o-rama,” the world’s cheesiest animation.

So, why don’t I like his latest offering, The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future? It’s the spelling!

In the Captain Underpants series, George and Harold (who are, BTW, the “authors” of the new series) were notoriously bad spellers.  Their graphic interludes usually contained misspellings.  The actual story in text however, was always written with proper spelling and grammar.  In contrast, The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, contains only the graphic cartooning of George and Harold, and so is consistently misspelled.  How bad is it?

When Ooks sister, Gak, heard the comoshen, she pleeded with Chief Gobernopper.

Aack! It just grates against my brain, and I imagine thousands of kids reading it without an inkling that there might be an error.  Is it just me?

The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future - cartoons, flip-o-rama, cavemen, dinosaurs, robots, kung-fu, evil leaders.

Will kids (especially boys) love The Adventures of Ook and Gluk?  Probably.  Do I? Sadly, no.

(Still, I do love “flip-o-rama.”)


Now I’d better try to revive my spell-checker!

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Cosmic

I’m a bit late to the Cosmic love fest, but am finally ready to chime in.

Cottrell Boyce, Frank. 2010. Cosmic. Walden Pond Press.

An improbable premise powers this first-person, space-age novel.  Twelve-year-old Liam Digby is tall for his age - so tall, in fact, that he's often mistaken for an adult - great fun at the amusement park or car dealership, but a very different story when he finds himself in China's Gobi desert, playing "dad" to his friend, Florida, as they train for a secret mission to outer space.  He does his best to appear "dadly," even referring to a copy of "Talk to Your Teen," hijacked from his own dad, who believes Liam and Florida to be attending a multi-day Gifted and Talented symposium for school!

The laughs are plentiful in this cosmic romp, but Liam and Florida also manage to learn a few things about space, human nature, themselves, and of course, "dadliness."

One person has just left the crowd and is heading over to me.  It's Dad.  He's walking toward me like there's some special gravity pulling him toward me.  And maybe there is.  Maybe everyone's got their own special gravity that lets you go far away, really far away sometimes, but which always brings you back in the end.  Because here's the thing.  Gravity is variable.  Sometimes you float like a feather.  Sometimes you're too heavy to move.  Sometimes one boy can weigh more than the whole universe.  The universe goes on forever, but that doesn't make you small. Everyone is massive.  Everyone is King Kong.

Well said.

Enjoy the trailer.


The publisher offers a Cosmic Reading Group Guide.

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