Lady Dai and the Ancient Chinese Treasures of Mawangdui

At Home in Her Tomb: Lady Dai and the Ancient Chinese Treasures of Mawangdui.
by Christine Liu-Perkins; illus by Sarah S. Brannen
80 pages; ages 9-14
Charlesbridge, 2014

"For more than two thousand years, people had gazed across the plains at a pair of hills rising like a giant saddle from the earth," begins Christine Liu-Perkins. These aren't ordinary hills, but burial mounds of ancient royalty. But who?

When the tomb was opened, scientists found the mummy of Lady Dai of Mawangdui. Her body was so well preserved that they were able to perform an autopsy on her, and learned that she died of a hear attack. They also found 138 muskmelon seeds in her digestive tract - remains from her last meal.

This book takes readers into the tomb of Lady Dai, along with the archeologists - and forensic scientists - who excavated the site. It's filled with photos and drawings of the things she carried with her to the next life. There's plenty of back matter for folks who want more:  a timeline, glossary, author's notes and sources.

To learn more about this archeological treasure, and see photos and a video, check out this article.

Hop over to Nonfiction Monday where you'll find lots more great nonfiction books at the Nonfiction Monday blog. Review copy provided by publisher.

Geometry takes flight with the Wing Wing Brothers

The Wing Wing Brothers Geometry Palooza!
by Ethan Long
32 pages; ages 4-7
Holiday House, 2014

themes: math, humor

"Walter wheels out the Whammer. Here comes Wendell! Watch him whiz through the air!"

The Wing Wing Brothers are a family circus act of five wacky birds: Walter, Wendell, Willy, Wilmer, and Woody. They do their best to make math painless and fun. Using magic wands and feats of daring they whip those polygons into shape.

Their first amazing feat - Describing Relative Positions - opens with a blast, boom, splat! Their goal: Launch a human bird cannonball through a hoop of fire. Then, with a waggle of the wand - poof! Triangles! Squares! Rectangles! and more to amaze you! Of course there's the "sawing a person in the box" act... which turns out just the way you'd expect and requires special glue...

What I like about this book: it's silly and a fun way to play with math - as long as kids don't try these stunts at home! The alliterative language is fun, too.

Beyond the book: The first thing I wanted to do after reading this book was see how many different shapes I could make using just triangles and squares. Easy to do - just cut a couple or three index cards into right triangles and a square and put them together.

Tangrams! A tangram is a puzzle of seven shapes that are put together to form specific shapes, such as a rabbit or a boat. The tans (pieces) are: two large right triangles, two small right triangles, one medium right triangle, a square and a parallelogram. If you don't have a tangram puzzle, you can make one - directions here (you might want to trace the pieces onto a cereal box so they last longer). Or you can play with the puzzle online here.

Go on a field trip to find shapes. The best place to hunt for triangles (and other straight-edged shapes) is around town: bridges, buildings, playgrounds.

Today is STEM Friday - head over to the STEM Friday blog to see what other people are talking about in science. Review copy provided by publisher.

Babe Conquers the World

Babe Conquers the World: the legendary life of Babe Didrikson Zaharias
by Rich Wallace and Sandra Neil Wallace
272 pages; ages 9-14
Calkins Creek/ Boyds Mills, 2014

When Babe grew up it was rare for young girls to play sports. But she lucked out - her elementary school principal realized that Babe needed to sweat and jump and run and allowed her to play sports with the boys. After school, Babe headed to the sandlot for baseball. Without women athletes to serve as role models, Babe fashioned her own way into sports.

In high school Babe played basketball, baseball, tennis... and when the 1928 Olympics opened track-and-field events to women, Babe followed the news. Her school didn't have a girl's track-and-field team, but there were rows of hedges all along the avenue. Heck - she even wanted to play football. For her, playing sports was a way to be equal.
Rich and Sandra follow Babe's life from her first big break on a women's semi-pro basketball team to the 1932 Olympics, her foray into golf and professional athletics, and even a stage show. They infuse her story with warmth and help us see Babe as a whole person, not just the world class athlete. In true journalist fashion they include all kinds of extras at the back: a timeline, FAQs, source notes and more.


This is Nonfiction Monday. You'll find lots more great nonfiction books at the Nonfiction Monday blog. It's also Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday - and you'll find more good middle-grade and YA literature over at Shannon Messenger's blog. Review copy provided by publisher.