How Angel Peterson Got His Name by Gary Paulsen

Yes, the author is Gary Paulsen, but just look at the cover. This is not Hatchet. How Angel Peterson Got His Name is funny, quirky and, claims to be, non-fiction. These stories of Paulsen's early days as a young boy and some of the dangerous -near death adventures he had with his friends are really timeless. Just ask my long-boarding, rock-climbing son. Rather than serious wilderness survival, this is the adolescent fool side of Paulsen. (I would hope some of the stories are exaggerated or Paulsen and his friend are very lucky to be alive.)

Paulsen knows his audience. He keeps the writing simple and stretches the tension. He includes just the right amount of humor and naughtiness - such as peeing on an electric fence. These stories have speed and camaraderie, wasps and killer dogs, and stupid, stupid boys. I think the first time I read them, I laughed so hard I almost cried.

In my experience, children tend to avoid short stories, they are just not that rewarding after going to all the trouble of getting into the book. But I keep pushing these, reading them aloud, and watching for the spark of recognition. Paulsen has a few other non-fiction books which are also good, but this is my favorite.

This is the book I read to try to hook 4th grade boys. And not just to hook them, but also to inspire them as writers. So many children confuse writing with fiction and forget that they tell stories all the time. This book reminds them that everyday is a story. Maybe I shouldn't have read it to my son.

How Angel Peterson Got His Name by Gary Paulsen

Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books (January 14, 2003)
ISBN-10: 0385729499
ISBN-13: 978-0385729499

My Librarian is a Camel by Margriet Ruurs

My Librarian is a Camel! Isn't this a wonderful title? I would be interested in this book even if I wasn't a Librarian. Actually the full title is My Librarian is a Camel: How Books are Brought to Children Around the World and it pretty much describes the subject of this book which is not fiction.

Yes, I've left the land of fiction for camel librarians. Sounds like fiction, you say, but nay, there are pictures in this informational text of not only camel librarians, but boats and buses and wheelbarrows and horses. The book is a travelogue of children's libraries from far corners of the world where Libraries are not defined by walls, but by the function of lending books.

I love sharing this book with children who are book lovers and regular library users. Just seeing pictures of other children around the world enjoying books is important, but seeing the various ways those books are delivered is an education. It is an education in geography and culture, economics and social studies. Hopefully, children who see this book will feel more connected to other children around the world and will not take the libraries we have for granted.

Also check out:My School in the Rain Forest: How Children Attend School Around the World

• My Librarian is a Camel
  
• Boyds Mills Press (August 15, 2005)
• ISBN-10: 1590780930
• ISBN-13: 978-1590780930

The Pig War by Betty Baker, Pictures by Robert Lopshire

Maybe its because I live in the Pacific NW or maybe it is just because I'm a history buff, but I love this book. I have a good collection of vintage children's books, but only really feel that a few of them are worth reissuing. The Pig War would be one (though I have to admit, I might update the illustrations.) Based on the true story of an 1860's boundary dispute between Britain and the USA in the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State, this is one of those true stories that is stranger than fiction.

The Pig War is a wonderful story about diplomacy and the challenges of peacekeeping, which, unfortunately is always timely. Seems in 1860 the ownership of San Juan Island was contested and the island settled by both British and Americans. When a British pig got into an American garden and was killed, an international incident replete with infantry and warships was triggered. The standoff lasted twelve years, but the only casualty was the pig.

Not only is this a wonderful "real" story, but The Pig War is an Easy Reader, an I CAN READ HISTORY BOOK, which means the story is stripped to its bare essentials and seems even more ludicrous. When an act of war is "The farmer shot my pig." the reader is forced to think, is that all? I usually don't like books that are too didactic, but having this mini-war presented in the format of an easy reader works for me! I am pretty sure this is out of print, but just had to include it.

Teacher Notes: This REALLY happpened! Manifest Destiny, Boundary disputes, Diplomacy, Civil War Times. It makes a great play!

The Pig War by Betty Baker, Pictures by Robert Lopshire

ISBN	0060203331 / 9780060203337 / 0-06-020333-1
	Harpercollins 1969