This study provides a qualitative exploration of juvenile biographies of women, a genre defined here as a book dealing with the whole or partial life of an individual and reviewed as nonfiction for readers in elementary, middle, or junior high school. Beginning with a survey of juvenile material on Elizabeth Tudor published in England and the United States between 1852 and 2002, author Gale Eaton scrutinizes thirty-four books--juvenile biographies, histories, and collected biographies--for trends in both content and rhetoric. Well-Dressed Role Models: The Portrayal of Women in Biographies for Children then goes on to look at close readings of books published in the United States in the years 1946, 1971, and 1996 and presents a penetrating analysis of a genre that serves the needs of youth. The findings of this study include the fact that juvenile biographies make role models out of women who, in many cases, never would have become famous by following all the rules for good girls. By choice of subject and emphasis, their authors dress the life stories of real women in the appropriate values of new generations. Three appendixes providing annotated book lists for each of the three years analyzed conclude this study.
A biography of Alice M. Jordan, who headed children’s work at the Boston Public Library (BPL) from 1902 to 1940, is long overdue. Daughter of a Maine sea captain and a Massachusetts schoolteacher, she was one of the pioneering generation of children’s librarians, women who entered the field when salaries were low, progressive ideals high, academic credentials spotty, and the drive to professionalization was revolutionizing librarianship and education. Modest and unassuming, high-school graduate Jordan worked effectively to improve educational opportunities for children and their librarians alike. She taught at the Simmons Library School, helped create the BPL Training School, founded the New England Round Table of Children’s Librarians (NERTCL), and mentored Bertha Mahony Miller, founder of The Horn Book Magazine. She had a national reputation among children’s book editors and librarians for her critical acumen, clear writing, and astute advice. Locally, she networked tirelessly with Boston educators, negotiated the placement of qualified children’s librarians in all BPL branches, and trained a generation of gifted youth workers—all from a desk in the middle of a busy children’s room. She left a legacy of high standards for children’s reading, storytelling, and reference services. This biography draws on archival materials including Jordan’s correspondence with poet Louise Imogen Guiney and Horn Book editor Miller; BPL memos and reports; and 1979 interviews with Jordan trainees. I have shown her life and achievement in the context of social history, from late nineteenth-century women’s economic opportunities to early twentieth-century developments in librarianship, especially at the BPL. Each chapter has a brief list of milestones in Jordan and U.S. history.
Vigliani and Eaton’s high-interest exploration of medicine begins in prehistory. The 5,000-year-old Iceman discovered frozen in the Alps may have treated his gallstones, Lyme disease, and hardening of the arteries with the 61 tattoos that covered his body—most of which matched acupuncture points—and the walnut-sized pieces of fungus he carried on his belt. The herbal medicines chamomile and yarrow have been found on 50,000-year-old teeth, and neatly bored holes in prehistoric skulls show that Neolithic surgeons relieved pressure on the brain (or attempted to release evil spirits) at least 10,000 years ago. From Mesopotamian pharmaceuticals and Ancient Greek sleep therapy through midwifery, amputation, bloodletting, Renaissance anatomy, bubonic plague, and cholera to the discovery of germs, X-rays, DNA-based treatments and modern prosthetics, the history of medicine is a wild ride through the history of humankind.
What do the Trojan Horse, Piltdown Man, Keely Motor Company, and Ponzi Scheme have in common? They were all famous hoaxes, carefully designed and bolstered with false evidence. The con artists in this book pursued a variety of ambitions—making money, winning wars, mocking authority, finding fame, trading an ordinary life for a glamorous one—but they all chose the lowest, fastest road to get there. Every hoax is a curtain, and behind it is a deceiver operating levers and smoke machines to make us see what is not there and miss what is. As P.T. Barnum knew, you can short-circuit critical thinking in any century by telling people what they want to hear. Most scams operate on a personal scale, but some have shaped the balance of world power, inspired explorers to sail uncharted seas, derailed scientific progress, or caused terrible massacres. A HISTORY OF AMBITION IN 50 HOAXES guides us through a rogue’s gallery of hustlers, liars, swindlers, imposters, scammers, pretenders, and cheats. In Gale Eaton’s wide-ranging synthesis, the history of deception is a colorful tour, with surprising insights behind every curtain. Fountas & Pinnell Level Z+
*2016 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Silver Award Winner* The earth shakes and cracks open. Volcanoes erupt. Continents freeze, bake, and flood. Droughts parch the land. Wildfires and hundred-year storms consume anything in their paths. Invisible clouds of disease and pestilence probe for victims. Tidal waves sweep ashore from the vast sea. The natural world is a dangerous place, but one species has evolved a unique defense against the hazards: civilization. Civilization rearranges nature for human convenience. Clothes and houses keep us warm; agriculture feeds us; medicine fights our diseases. It all works—most of the time. But key resources lie in the most hazardous places, so we choose to live on river flood plains, on the slopes of volcanoes, at the edge of the sea, above seismic faults. We pack ourselves into cities, Petri dishes for germs. Civilization thrives on the edge of disaster. And what happens when natural forces meet molasses holding tanks, insecticides, deepwater oil rigs, nuclear power plants? We learn the hard way how to avoid the last disaster—and maybe how to create the next one. What we don’t know can, indeed, hurt us. This book’s white-knuckled journey from antiquity to the present leads us to wonder at times how humankind has survived. And yet, as Author Gale Eaton makes clear, civilization has advanced not just in spite of disasters but in part because of them. Hats off to human resilience, ingenuity, and perseverance! They’ve carried us this far; may they continue to do so into our ever-hazardous future. The History in 50 series explores history by telling thematically linked stories. Each book includes 50 illustrated narrative accounts of people and events—some well-known, others often overlooked—that, together, build a rich connect the-dots mosaic and challenge conventional assumptions about how history unfolds. Dedicated to the premise that history is the greatest story ever told. Includes a mix of “greatest hits” with quirky, surprising, provocative accounts. Challenges readers to think and engage. Includes a glossary of technical terms; sources by chapter; teaching resources as jumping-off points for student research; and endnotes. Fountas & Pinnell Level Z+
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A Study Guide for Graham Greene's "A Shocking Accident," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Short Stories for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Short Stories for Students for all of your research needs.
Best remembered today as the author of The Song of Hiawatha, Longfellow continues to be one of the most popular poets in American literary history. This book is a guide to his life and writings. A brief introductory essay overviews Longfellow's life and accomplishments. A chronology then summarizes the chief events in his career. Hundreds of alphabetically arranged entries follow, discussing individual poems, his other writings, his family members and professional associates, and topics related to his life and literary achievements. Entries list works for further reading, and the volume closes with a selected, general bibliography. Longfellow has also enjoyed fame worldwide; in England, his poems outsold those of Browning and Tennyson. In addition to being a gifted poet, Longfellow had a brilliant career as a college professor. He wrote numerous critical works and translations, and was also a leading American Dante scholar. He frequently wrote letters, and his admirers often sought his advice on personal and professional matters.
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