Be Smart About Your Career.

Graham, Amy.  Be Smart About Your Career.  Enslow  2014     48p  $15.95  ISBN 978-0-7660-4286-5  hs  series: Be Smart About Money & Financial Literacy  Nonfiction  VG-BN

Intended for a high-school readership, this book provides advice for making post-secondary decisions about further education or training, identifying career interests and understanding income.  At the end of each chapter there is a good/bad list of things to consider when making decisions related to one’s future.  Simple math and word problems help to put the chapter information into perspective.  The book is a slim volume and presents just the basics of each issue. However, it is a good starting point to introduce post-secondary decision-making to high-school students at any grade level.  The explanations are simple and clear, with many practical examples given. The book includes a glossary, lists of additional resources, answers to math problems, and an index.

     

Summary: This book provides advice for making post-secondary decisions about further education or training, identifying career interests and understanding income. Gr 9-12   

Career, Employment, Personal finances           --Stephanie Pennucci

Graham, Amy. What Are the 7 Wonders of the Natural World?

Graham, Amy.  What Are the 7 Wonders of the Natural World?  Enslow      2013  48p  $23.95  ISBN 978-0-7660-4153-0 ms      series: What Are the 7 Wonders of the World? E-BN    

The many processes of nature have created these seven wonders of the natural world: Mount Everest, Victoria Falls, the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, the Northern Lights, Paricutin Volcano, and the Harbor of Rio de Janeiro.  A chapter is dedicated to each “wonder”, explaining and exploring it in detail.  The engaging and informative text about each one is enhanced with full-color photographs and illustrations, such as that of Victoria Falls (page 15) and the aurora borealis (page 29). The text is written for middle-school students, and will no doubt provide a wonderful resource for pleasure reading as well as research. For those interested in learning more about each wonder of the natural world, the author has provided excellent chapter notes that can be found at the end of the book.  The book concludes with a glossary, said chapter notes, a list for further reading (print and web), and an index.  Complete in four titles, this series What Are the Seven Wonders of the World? provides an excellent resource for research about the wonders, as well as pleasure reading for interested students.   

Natural wonders                                                   --Lynn Fisher

Graham, Ian. You Wouldn’t Want to be Sir Issac Newton.

Graham, Ian.  You Wouldn’t Want to be Sir Issac Newton.  Scholastic/Watts     2013  35p   $29.00  ISBN 978-0-531-25943-6      elm/ms  series: You Wouldn't Want to Be E-BN   

This is a most delightful and informative biography of Sir Isaac Newton from his birth and early school days through his death in 1727. Some of the less commonly known bits of information included are his dabbling into alchemy, his position with the British mint, and his apparently nasty personality.  What a fun book, and a great way to learn about such an historical, scientific figure. Here are some things I found I did not know about Sir Isaac Newton: he spent many of his formative years with his grandmother, having been left with her by his mother for a new husband; that he became involved with the Royal Mint; and that he was evidently a most obnoxious man.  Who knew?  The illustrations, with their associated quips and bits of information, accompany and enhance the associated text. Each double-page spread covers a specific aspect of Newton’s life or work, and includes not just the text and illustrations, but also a ‘Handy Hint” that can be read as a point to be remembered. While some of the “handy hints” are also a tad sarcastic, all are valid.  Lots of fun!  The book concludes with a glossary and an index.      The You Wouldn’t Want to Be series is now comprised of 37 titles.  Each one is engagingly illustrated and written and, while aimed at  elementary and middle-school students, would be fun reads for all ages.

Newton, Isaac, 1642-1727                                          --Lynn Fisher

Graham, Ian. You Wouldn’t Want to be a Hoover Dam.

Graham, Ian.      You Wouldn’t Want to be a Hoover Dam.     Scholastic/ Watts 32p   $26.10      978-0-531-20873-7       elem            Series: You Wouldn't Want to Be (Scholastic/Watts)               

This book, a history with a healthy dose of humor, describes the hazards of being one of the many construction workers who built the Hoover Dam.  It is presented through the eyes of a hopeful laborer during the Great Depression, and it teaches readers about the events that led to the creation of the dam, and about the people who built it.  Students might not ordinarily find a book on architecture, history, or construction appealing -- not even one on the Hoover Dam, a concrete arch-gravity dam that is the largest producer of hydroelectric power in the world.  However, with an engaging text, humorous sidebars, and clever comic-style illustrations, this book makes the topic both interesting and readable.

The slender volume describes the many hazards workers faced during construction, including tough living conditions, heights, and the arduous task of diverting a river.  The book provides an excellent springboard for discussion and is an appealing, interactive addition for most school and public library collections.          --  Hilary Welliver