Reviews: Children's Biographies

 We have two biography series that are popular at my library - Who Was/Is and She Persisted. With a new book order, a bunch came in. Here are my thoughts:

This was good - I loved how detailed the younger years were and how Maya Lin got her first big break. However, I would have liked more details pictures of her creations after the Vietnam Memorial. That seemed a little glossed over to me. 

This was a great read - not enough time spent on the Celtics (but I'm just picky because I bleed green). I enjoyed how this covered more than just basketball for Shaq. 

I'm a huge fan of Michelangelo's work - he's one of my favorite artists. This is a great biography of his struggles, his art, and politics of the time. 

I really enjoyed getting to know more about Diana Taurasi and her awesome skills at basketball. I only wished I had seen her play in person...

I enjoyed learning more about Alex Trebeck - especially his time before Jeopardy! and the other games he hosted and of course his moment with Queen Elizabeth. 

I confess I didn't know anything about Wilma Mankiller, but know I do! She's an impressive woman who has helped the Cherokee Nation. 

A little look into the life of the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. I enjoyed reading about her moment with Obama. 

* These two series are must have books for your school and public library collections.

Blog Tour: Who Was

We're stopping today at the Grand Canyon.

It's perfect because just about a year ago, I hiked the Grand Canyon rim to rim. And it was amazing!

Of course, I would have liked to have read this book before hand to learn all about the history of the canyon. I was surprised by the number of animals we saw - lots of mule deer, including a few fawns.

I really enjoyed how this book captured the history of the place - from Teddy Roosevelt to the Native American tribes who live/lived near the canyon to the explorers who shared their knowledge of the land. The illustrations are great, but it's really hard to do any illustration justice of this wonder.  I liked reading more about the wildlife and the geological layers that I saw. I really liked learning more about the river.

What we didn't get to really hike along in the light was the Colorado River - mostly because we got up early to get out before the heat of the sun hit. We were there during a heat wave. Because of the early hour, we did see some bats and lots of moths as they were attracted to the head lamp light. 

I admit I was a little nervous about hiking (and camping) but it wasn't too bad. Although we won't talk about bathrooms.

Here are some photos:

Start of the trip

On the way down

Close to the Cottonwood Camp Ground

Between Cottonwood and Bright Angel Camp Ground

This is call the Box - you don't want to get stuck here between 10 and 2 because it gets SUPER hot

Mule Deer near Bright Angel Campground

The Colorado River - we would hike over the bridge in the dark the next morning.

It was LONG!

The corkscrew in between Bright Angel Campground and Indian Garden

Hiking Out

We made it out!

View from the Top

10 Things You Need for Hiking the Grand Canyon

A Camera

Sunscreen

Water

A Hat

Snacks

Good Hiking Shoes

Someone to Hike with you

Sunglasses

Comfortable Shoes.

A Plan