Antsy Ansel

Antsy Ansel by Cindy Jenson-Elliott and illustrated by Christy Hale is a picture book biography worth picking up at the library and sharing with your children or students.  Ansel Adams' life is told from when he was very young until his life as a professional and well-known photographer.  It is not extremely detailed, but the story does explain his love of nature from a young age and the environment his family provided to nurture his love of nature, learning, and photography.  Although this is a picture book, anyone who enjoys the work of Ansel Adams would enjoy this brief biography. 

Stormy Seas: Stories of Young Boat Refugees

Stormy Seas: Stories of Young Boat Refugees written by Mary Beth Leatherdale and illustrated by Eleanor Shakespeare is a book recommended for anyone between the ages of 10 and 100.
Leatherdale crafts a narrative about the lives of five different refugee youth from the last century.  Featured in the book are Ruth from Germany, Phu from Vietnam, Jose from Cuba, Najeeba from Afghanistan, and Mohamed from the Ivory Coast. There is plenty of background information regarding each refugee's situation.  Despite each refugee being from a different cultural background, there are many similarities in their stories.  Leatherdale begins the book with Ruth leaving Nazi Germany because she is Jewish.  Starting that way makes the story stronger, as it is a sad, but very well known wrong in world history.  It continues on to more current stories, which makes me realize that such tragedy still happens in our world. 
With the refugee crisis a current political issue, this book should be required reading in any social studies class.  Anyone who knows a refugee would find this worth reading as well.  

Storm's Coming!

Storm's Coming! by Margi Preus and illustrated by David Geister is a book anyone who has visited the North Shore of Minnesota would enjoy.  Sophie lives on Lake Superior at Split Rock Lighthouse with her family.  She knows the weather signs and goes about telling her brothers and sisters that the storm is coming.  This book would also be good to share with students on a unit about nature's signals.  At the end of the story there is a page explaining the different signs, which was new information for me.  Good for middle or older level elementary students, adults will find the story engaging as well.  I added it to my list of books to share with students highlighting Minnesota.