Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Author: Judi Barrett
If food dropped like rain from the sky, wouldn't it be marvelous! Or would it? It could, after all, be messy. And you'd have no choice. What if you didn't like what fell? Or what if too much came? Have you ever thought of what it might be like to be squashed flat by a pancake?
Interesting book: John Barleycorn or Tasty Entertaining
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Journey to Change the World... One Child at a Time
Author: Greg Mortenson
This young readers' edition of the worldwide bestseller Three Cups of Tea has been specially adapted and updated by Greg Mortenson to bring his remarkable story of humanitarianism up-to-date. It includes brand-new photos, maps, and illustrations, as well as a special afterword by Greg's twelve-year-old daughter, Amira, who has traveled with her father as an advocate for the Pennies for Peace program for children.
Publishers Weekly
In 1993, while climbing one of the world's most difficult peaks, Mortenson became lost and ill, and eventually found aid in the tiny Pakistani village of Korphe. He vowed to repay his generous hosts by building a school; his efforts have grown into the Central Asia Institute, which has since provided education for 25,000 children. Retold for middle readers, the story remains inspirational and compelling. Solid pacing and the authors' skill at giving very personal identities to people of a different country, religion and culture help Mortenson deliver his message without sounding preachy; he encourages readers to put aside prejudice and politics, and to remember that the majority of people are good. An interview with Mortenson's 12-year-old daughter, who has traveled with her father to Pakistan, offers another accessible window onto this far-away and underlines Mortenson's sacrifice and courage. Illustrated throughout with b&w photos, it also contains two eight-page insets of color photos.
The picture book, while close in content to the longer books, is written in the voice of Korphe's children rather than providing Mortenson's view, making it easier for American kids to enter the story. Roth (Leon's Story) pairs the words with her signature mixed-media collage work, this time using scraps of cloth along with a variety of papers. Her work has a welcoming, tactile dimension-readers would want to touch the fabric headscarves, for example. A detailed scrapbook featuring photos from Three Cups of Tea and an artist's note firmly ground the book in fact. A portion of the authors' royalties will benefit the Central Asia Institute. (Jan.)
Publishers Weekly
Some failures lead to phenomenal successes, and this American nurse's unsuccessful attempt to climb K2, the world's second tallest mountain, is one of them. Dangerously ill when he finished his climb in 1993, Mortenson was sheltered for seven weeks by the small Pakistani village of Korphe; in return, he promised to build the impoverished town's first school, a project that grew into the Central Asia Institute, which has since constructed more than 50 schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. Coauthor Relin recounts Mortenson's efforts in fascinating detail, presenting compelling portraits of the village elders, con artists, philanthropists, mujahideen, Taliban officials, ambitious school girls and upright Muslims Mortenson met along the way. As the book moves into the post-9/11 world, Mortenson and Relin argue that the United States must fight Islamic extremism in the region through collaborative efforts to alleviate poverty and improve access to education, especially for girls. Captivating and suspenseful, with engrossing accounts of both hostilities and unlikely friendships, this book will win many readers' hearts. (Mar.)
Children's Literature
This memoir by Greg Mortenson begins in 1993 with his failure to reach the summit of K2, the world's second tallest mountain. Disoriented from the high altitude and discouraged by his failure, Greg gets lost and stumbles into the remote Pakistani village of Korphe. It is in Korphe, through the friendships he develops with the locals, that Greg discovers his next calling in life. He wants to build a school for the children of Korphe. He returns to the U.S. to raise money but realizes that he has no idea how to do this. Some good fortune brings him a benefactor, a man named Jean Hoerni, who is intrigued by Greg's idea and offers him the money to build a school. Thrilled, Greg returns to Korphe with money and supplies only to learn that the villagers have a more immediate need—a bridge. Greg helps build their bridge and then three years later, in 1996, the Korphe School is finally finished. Greg next turns his attention to other villages needing schools. With the help of his friend and benefactor, Hoerni, a foundation called Central Asia Institute (CAI) is formed to help Greg continue his work. During the next 12 years, Greg helps build more than 60 schools for the children of Pakistan and Afghanistan despite many frightening moments including a kidnapping, illness and even death threats. To assist teachers and parents, this young reader's edition includes a question and answer chapter with Greg's daughter, Amira, a glossary of terms, a timeline and a reader's guide. Reviewer: Jody J. Little
VOYA
This young readers' version of the wildly successful book about Greg Mortenson, founder of the nonprofit Central Asia Institute, is good for what it is-a younger adaptation of a successful book for adults. The subject matter-Mortenson's serendipitous discovery of his calling to build schools for children in impoverished, remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan-should certainly be of interest, and Thompson does a serviceable job of keeping the story appropriate for upper elementary and middle school students. Thomson addresses potentially disturbing issues like Mortenson's kidnapping and various near-death experiences with sensitivity and clearly depicts the people Mortenson works with and for as fully human, in just a few deft strokes. Overall, though, the narrative here is best characterized as medicinal reading, colored by the occasional inspiring flash, which is the opposite of the style and effect of the book written for adults. By far the most engaging part of the book is the interview with Mortenson's twelve-year-old daughter Amira, whose enthusiastic, earnest, and warmly expressed views on the privilege of education and its power to lift people of every race and creed out of poverty and hopelessness is the clarion call the book as a whole wants but fails to be. Maps, photos, a time line, and the glossary round out this title's usefulness and classroom readiness. Thomson deserves an A+ for effort and a B- for execution and youthful appeal. Reviewer: Sophie Brookover
Library Journal
Rescued by Pakistani villagers after a failed attempt at climbing K2, Mortenson vowed to build them a school. Twelve years later, his Central Asia Institute has built 55 schools (some serving girls) despite fatwas and worse. With a six-city tour.
School Library Journal
Gr 6-8
Hiking in the mountains of Pakistan in 1993, Mortenson got lost. He found his way to a small village where the locals helped him recover from his ordeal. While there, he noticed that the students had no building and did all of their schooling out of doors. Motivated to repay the kindness he had received, he vowed to return to the village and help build a school. Thus began his real life's journey. Mortenson's story recounts the troubles he faced in the U.S. trying to raise the money and then in Pakistan, trying to get the actual supplies to a remote mountain location. His eventual success led to another, and yet another, until he established a foundation and built a string of schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mortenson manages to give the story an insider's feel despite being an outsider himself. His love of the region and the people is evident throughout and his dedication to them stalwart. The writing is lively, if simplistic, and for the most part the story moves along at a fairly quick clip. In this specially adapted edition for young people, new photographs and an interview with Mortenson's young daughter, who often travels with him, have been added.-Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA
Kirkus Reviews
An unlikely diplomat scores points for America in a corner of the world hostile to all things American-and not without reason. Mortenson first came to Pakistan to climb K2, the world's second-tallest peak, seeking to honor his deceased sister by leaving a necklace of hers atop the summit. The attempt failed, and Mortenson, emaciated and exhausted, was taken in by villagers below and nursed back to health. He vowed to build a school in exchange for their kindness, a goal that would come to seem as insurmountable as the mountain, thanks to corrupt officials and hostility on the part of some locals. Yet, writes Parade magazine contributor Relin, Mortenson had reserves of stubbornness, patience and charm, and, nearly penniless himself, was able to piece together dollars enough to do the job; remarks one donor after writing a hefty check, "You know, some of my ex-wives could spend more than that in a weekend," adding the proviso that Mortenson build the school as quickly as possible, since said donor wasn't getting any younger. Just as he had caught the mountaineering bug, Mortenson discovered that he had a knack for building schools and making friends in the glacial heights of Karakoram and the remote deserts of Waziristan; under the auspices of the Central Asia Institute, he has built some 55 schools in places whose leaders had long memories of unfulfilled American promises of such help in exchange for their services during the war against Russia in Afghanistan. Comments Mortenson to Relin, who is a clear and enthusiastic champion of his subject, "We had no problem flying in bags of cash to pay the warlords to fight against the Taliban. I wondered why we couldn't do the same thing to buildroads, and sewers, and schools."Answering by delivering what his country will not, Mortenson is "fighting the war on terror the way I think it should be conducted," Relin writes. This inspiring, adventure-filled book makes that case admirably.
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