Mary LosureBesprekingen

As I was reading this book, I couldn't stop telling people about it. A casual, "How's it going?" would lead to, "Oh my gosh, I'm reading this book about a wild boy, like Mowgli or Tarzan, but REAL." So, yeah, I was completely drawn into the story and I found the subject matter fascinating.

I did some really quick research on feral children and found out about a French book published in 2007 called "The Enigma of Wolf-Children" that claims nearly all supposedly true cases of feral children were actually hoaxes or misunderstandings. It made me wonder about the amount of speculation in this real-life story, but the author clearly did her research. I'm willing to put aside harsh skepticism and believe that the boy probably did survive alone in the woods for at least some of his young life.

This is a quick read with a compelling plot, interesting characters, solid writing, and an exciting premise. Highly recommended. I will probably re-read it later in the year to consider for our mock Newbery. And I can't wait to see the art, which was missing from my ARC.

A fun, short chapter book about the true story of two little girls who convinced a bunch of grown-ups that fairies are real. What a great premise! The writing felt a little stilted at times, but I loved that the actual photographs of the fairies were included. Recommended for fairy lover ages 10 to 14.

It all began with Frances, a young girl who, being new to England, one day discovered fairies at the bottom of the garden. Unfortunately it seemed Frances was the only one to see these fairies and so without proof no one believed her, that is apart from her cousin Elsie of course. But that didn't stop the teasing that followed.

Elsie, being of kind heart and somewhat mischief nature, decided to put a stop to the teasing of her cousin Frances by providing proof of the existence of fairies. Something that was easier said then done, however with a strong will, an artistic flair and a borrowed camera she had managed to do just that.

The Fairy Ring is a true story told of how two girls, innocently enough, fooled the world and those with the passion enough to believe. As spiritualism was becoming increasingly popular at the time, fairies and nature spirits were a popular talking point, and with so little known about the subject proof of the existence of such beings were highly sought after. But little did Frances or Elsie realise just how seriously their proof would be taken.

This engaging non-fiction narrative of the life of Sir Isaac Newton features extensive primary source images, quotations, and samples from his own notebooks. They provide insight into the father of physics and one of the greatest scientists to have ever lived

Good non fiction for lower middle school readers or high elementary school. Story explains how the boy was found and all the people who tried to raise him until the last nun that was able to help him. He ended up passing away in his 40's. Book took place in the 1700's

This unusual biography of Newton completely captivated me once I started it; but I think it will need a lot of booktalking to get kids to pick it up initially.

The narrative of Newton, focused primarily on his youth, begins with the discovery of a small notebook belonging to a young Isaac Newton, wherein he wrote of the secrets of alchemy and the philosopher’s stone. Newton was separated from his mother at a young age, left behind at the family farmhouse while his mother went to live with her new family. Isaac attended the village school and rarely saw his mother again until his stepfather died and the family moved back to the farmhouse, when he was ten. But Isaac was soon sent away again, this time to live with an apothecary and study at another school. Losure considers how Newton may have felt, but never goes beyond speculation to fiction; during this time she focuses on the books he would have had access to, his writings, and contemporary events and philosophy.

Newton moved on to the University of Cambridge, continuing to be solitary, hoarding his secret discoveries to himself. But then came the plague and he returned to the farmhouse of his childhood. Isolated and alone, even in the midst of family and servants, Newton made a great discovery; a mathematical work he called fluxions. When Newton returned to the university he continued to study mathematics, revealing his knowledge to no one; but he also delved ever deeper into alchemy. Although eventually the university discovered his mathematical genius and he did, reluctantly, share some of his discoveries, Newton continued his search for truth on his own. He created his own telescopes and instruments, retreated from the Royal Society after Robert Hooke dismissed his experiments with light and color in prisms, and despite great acclaim after his astronomical discoveries and laws governing motion were made public, continued to pursue his own path.

Losure’s back matter consists of some further explanations of Newtonian laws, chemistry, and alchemy, copious source notes, photographs of some of his original documents and writings from his youth, bibliography, and index.

The genius of Losure’s book lies in the smooth blending of science and story, making Newton seem like a real, albeit strange and remote, person. Readers will sympathize with his difficult family situation and imagine their own reactions and feelings in his place. Losure simplifies the mathematics and science so readers will find themselves understanding the basics of Newton’s experiments without stopping to struggle with the complicated mathematical equations, although mathematically-inclined readers may also pursue those in more detail.

Verdict: Beautifully written and presented, this book brings the life and world of Newton to contemporary readers, showing not only the importance of his discoveries but also the change from medieval to modern world that he played such a large part in. The problem will be trying to find readers for it. While the writing is clear and comprehensible, something even elementary-aged children will be able to learn from, it’s not, at first glance, a riveting topic. I wouldn’t hand this one to reluctant readers or those who are unwilling to explore new topics. It will need a reader who is passionately interested in history or science and one who is willing to give a book at least a chapter before losing interest. Although it may not have a wide audience, it’s a great book that deserves recognition and to be promoted to readers, something that will expand their worldview and understanding and may spark a lifelong interest in learning.

ISBN: 9780763670634; Published 2017 by Candlewick; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

RGG: Well-written and surprisingly clear science explanations. The brevity of the text combined with the illustrations makes the best target audience somewhat difficult to determine. But an understanding of chemistry and physics would probably add to the reading experience. Reading Interest: 12-YA

I loved the story of the girls who saw fairies when I was a girl. I had always known that the pictures were faked, but held out hope that some of the encounters with fairies were real. I was glad that the author still held on to some of the belief that the younger character did see fairies. The story of the young girls convincing many around them of magical existence is a fun story, but I wanted to connect with the main characters more than I did. The book moves very fast, as it is a pretty big story to tell, yet I didn’t feel that personal relationship to either girl like I had with characters in other books. I would still recommend this book to students in my school library. It is well written, easy to read and prints of the original photos being included is interesting to look at.½

Very nicely constructed book of 176 pages, rather large print. Many illustrations, reproductions of contemporary notes, engravings, and paintings all black and white. The focus is really on Newton's life up until he wrote the Principia. The alchemical metaphor is of Newton's transformation of the whole world.
The book is full of questions, as if daring the reader to write a novel about Isaac Newton: a sad one, a crazy one, or maybe an occult one. As usual, I wish that the illustrations had been better captioned.

Chapter 1: The Apothecary's House
Isaac lives in the apothecaries house, and brews stuff up. The store of his early life and anger at his mother and stepfather.

Chapter 2: Book of Mysteries
Isaac is influenced by John Bate's "The Mysteries of Nature and Art". Isaac grows up in very Puritan England.

Chapter 3: Stars
Isaac records the names of stars and their positions in his notebook.

Chapter 4: School
Isaac's notebook contains a mix of things, some may be his own thoughts, but some may be exercises. We will never know. The story of how he beat up a fellow school boy is told.

Chapter 5: Siege Weapons
Isaac also reads "Mathematickall Magic" by John Wilkins. This chapter has several illustrations taken from that work.

Chapter 6: An Inclination for Mechanics
Isaac Newton the builder and model maker. He fights w/ the apothecary's children, but is friendly with Katherine.

Chapter 7: Chymistry
Alchemists and apothecaries.

Chapter 8: Triumph and Recreation
Isaac flies lighted kites, which alarm the neighbors.

Chapter 9: Hemlock, Henbane, Mandrake Root
Isaac reaches his teens, writes out a list of occupations. Hangs out with some other kids. Arthur Storer eventually emigrates to the Americas and becomes a prominent astronomer. There is no other book that I have read that has mentioned this fact.

Chapter 10: What Good is Such a Bookish Boy
Isaac goes home to become a yeoman farmer and does not thrive. It is decided to send him to Cambridge, where is uncle had gone.

Chapter 11: Truth is My Greater Friend
Isaac relocates to Trinity and launches his own private personal research programme, laying out his philosophical questions. This book indicates that that Trinity was a quiet place, but most books seem to concur that it was rowdy, full of Cavalier frat boys.

Chapter 12: Astrology...to Mathematics...to the Ghosts of Light
Isaac gets into math through astrology, picks up a prism at Stoubridge Fair, and does his fearsome "bodkin in the eye socket" experiment.

Chapter 13: The Comet
A comet shows up, the plague reaches London, Isaac goes home to Woolsthorpe, sets up his study, and does crucial experiments in optics.

Chapter 14: Year of Wonders
Isaac invents the calculus and does numerous calculations in his Waste Book.

Chapter 15: Isaac's Alchemy Begins
Isaac goes back to Cambridge, keeps mum about his discoveries, and gets into alchemy. He also gets promoted; is given a stipend and some status.

Chapter 16: Enter the Royal Society
Isaac's telescope is built and brought to the notice of the society and he gets into a fight with Hooke about the nature of light. Correspondence with John Collins, great quotation: "For I see not what there is desirable in publick esteeme.It would perhaps increase my acquaintance, the thing which I chiefly study to decline."

Chapter 17: Isaac the Alchemist
Isaac gets deeper and deeper into alchemy and mostly ignores all his colleagues.

Chapter 18: Transformations
Newton is persuaded to publish the Principia and all the rest of his life happens.

Afterwords:
Isaacs Notebooks:
Childhood notebooks, written in a secret shorthand, not decoded until the 60s.

Chymistry Demistified

Stinks, Bangs, and More Chymical Secrets

A story based on documented facts. Frances can see nature spirits (fairies or such) but doesn't think much about it. She and her cousin get themselves in a bit of a bind when their family finds this out, so they fake photographs to stop teasing. Unfortunately, the photos come to the attention of Theosophists who, at the time, were trying to prove the existence of nature spirits. One of their members, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gets involved but is unable to prove fakery. Read on to learn what these 2 girls tell their children and grandchildren about this hullabaloo.
A chapter book, written for a younger audience, but not too young. I'm not sure if the current generation of pre-teens will appreciate it though.
Includes source notes, bibliography, and index.½

ISAAC THE ALCHEMIST by Mary Losure takes a fascinating look into the life of Isaac Newton.
This work of narrative nonfiction immerses readers in the life of a boy living in an apothecary’s house. Readers will be particularly intrigued by the connections between magic and science during Isaac’s time period. The book concludes with information about Isaac’s notebooks, science, and additional sources.
Librarians will find this well-written biography to be popular with both children who enjoy narrative nonfiction as well as those simply looking for good report material. The short chapters, discussions of magic and science, and interesting primary source visuals will appeal to reluctant readers. Look for this title on “best of children’s nonfiction” lists for 2017.
Published by Candlewick on February 1, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Literary Merit: Good
Characterization: Great
Recommend: Yes
Level: Middle school and reluctant high school readers

Unpopular opinion this is not the greatest thing since sliced bread. With tons of starred reviews from libraries you will probably buy. Will it win an ALA midwinter award in nonfiction? Yes probably. i think this text is very well written. I think this book would even be great as a supplement to a science or a history class studying Newton. It's just a little dry. I am not sure a teen is going to pick it up on their own and read. Give this book to tween and middle school boys and girls who enjoy mathematical history.

Mary Losure biography of Isaac Netwton is both accurate and gentle. Isaac Newton experimented with both science and magic, which Losure explains as a product of the day in which Newton lived, rather than a personal failing to experiment with magic. The context of Newton's life brings fullness to this story of his scientific discoveries. This book would be a good fit with discussions of the scientific method or early science history.

I read this book with my children and we absolutely loved it. Detailed with information that was entertaining and interesting to children and adults alike. My children begged for more each time we read and they were fascinated and amazed by all the crazy things that Isaac Newton did. I received this book from an Early Readers giveaway.

An interesting but short fantasy (too short for some readers, just right for others) that quietly weaves real world themes environmentalism, family, community. Could make a nice read aloud for our third grade to make connections with their units on rivers, endangered species, and also their lives (families separated, community.) IB PYP: thinker, risk-taker, open-minded, caring, principled.

Mary Losure takes a look at the “real life” of young boy found in the wilderness of Southern France in the late eighteenth century. Nothing is known about how the boy who lived the area prior to his capture in 1799. He could not speak and lacked any social skills. He was captured and escaped a few times until he was ultimately taken to Paris. Dr. Itard and a woman, Madame Guerin, cared for the young boy (who came to be called Victor) for almost thirty years. Between the two of them, they tired to teach Victor to speak and act “socially expectable”. Itard and Guerin “had a plan...to treat him kindly, give him plenty of food, and let him do what he wanted (p. 79). While Victor never did learn to speak, he was “tamed from his wild ways”. This book is a very interesting, quick read. Like the notes on the book jacket mention, this is a “work of nonfiction that reads like a novel.” It is suspenseful and sad. The reader feels for the young wild boy at every turn.
What I found interesting, was in the Author’s Note section, Losure mentions that Maria Montessori education methods are based on Dr. Itard’s work with Victor (p.157). I have read a lot on Montessori’s thoughts and is was nice to she where her foundation came from. With Itard’s help, Montessori developed “new teaching methods that influence teachers around the world” (p. 157).

A really interesting approach to depicting one of the first discoveries of feral children in history. It reads more as creative non-fiction, and I wish there was more evidence to support the facts throughout the story. It does get you interested in maybe checking out some of the books mentioned in the bibliography.

Interesting read. I love how the author tried to get inside the Wild Boy's head, imagining what he must have been feeling and thinking. Enjoyable and an important story to know, as it raises many questions and gives much for students to think about.

This was a different type of book. It is filled with history and dates and yet it reads like a book of fiction, well crafted. Youth and adults alike will enjoy the story told her. The doctor was one of my favorite characters even though I didn’t like him. I enjoyed disliking him and his lack of affection and emotion. He definitely was more into the explaining why and figuring it out; very fitting for the doctor character. The journey of this young boy from the wilds to society and all that comes with it is one I enjoyed taking with him. I also read this book aloud to my youths in my learning center. The children sat quietly and very interested in the fact that this happened. I have the feeling it will become a book on the shelf that we read every year. Nice job…
I bought this via Amazon

Very little research material was available. Not very interesting.

The book is well written and flows easily from one section to the next. It concerns a bit of history I had never heard of before, two young girls in the 1920's had many people (including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) believing that they had actually photographed fairies. What started as a way to get people to stop making fun of them became a sensation. Interesting reading and a fabulous look at a piece of British history.

In the 1920s, people believed in fairies. Or at least the Theosophists, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, did. Their belief was helped along by a series of photographs taken by two young girls, showing delicate, transparent fairies.

One girl, Frances, saw little green men and delicate flying fairies. She told her older cousin, Elsie, who thought it would be a good joke to take some pictures, so she painted and cut out fairies and with the help of some hatpins and a borrowed camera they took the photos that would become famous.

It's hard to look back at these photos from a modern perspective and see how people were so easily fooled, but the theme that runs through this story is that people see what they want to see. The Theosophists already believed in fairies and were just looking for the proof of what they already "knew". Mary Losure tells the story of two girls, one who believed in fairies and one who just wanted to prove her artistic ability and the photos that became unexpectedly famous.

The book includes a lot of original documents, mostly letters, and there's additional information in the bibliography and author's note. This is pretty short for a nonfiction chapter book, under 200 pages, including back matter, but it's really a fairly brief story. Although the cousins gave some interviews near the end of their lives and they have living descendants, there's really not that much information on their lives as children.

I have a hard time thinking of an audience for this story, at least at my library. All my fairy fans are little girls in love with pink sparkles and my history buffs are generally boys who want books about war. It's not exciting or funny enough to appeal to the kids who would normally like a book about a good hoax. One of the big appeals of this story is the connection to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and while I'm guessing quite a few kids are vaguely familiar with Sherlock due to the various movies and television shows, I don't think many of them know much about the creator.

Verdict: This could work if booktalked for its haunting, mysterious quality and the odd bits about the story - did Frances really see fairies? What about the final photograph that the girls didn't pose for? - but it's not something I can see having wide appeal. It has gotten a lot of enthusiastic reviews, so I may be wrong, but it seems like a niche book that needs a bigger library than mine to find its niche.

ISBN: 9780763656706; Published 2012 by Candlewick; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Found living wild and naked in the mountains of France in 1797, the Savage of Aveyron, or Victor, as he was later called, was treated in turns as a curiosity, an object of derision, a specimen, an imbecile, a burden.

About ten years old at the time of his discovery and capture, the Savage of Aveyron lived the rest of his life under the scrutiny of other people. "Doctors" and "scientists" of the time, were a far cry from what they are today and it is fascinating to compare and contrast the state of modern science. In the same circumstance today, the scientists most likely studying the young boy would be cultural anthropologists, with a focus on learning how the child adapts to his environment, what he eats, how he communicates. Modern scientists would study him in his own habitat. In France, 1797, however, there is only one main focus - acculturate the boy and teach him to speak French. No attempt is made to study the boy where he lives; in fact, nothing about his home in the wild is even noted.

Mary Losure has done an excellent job in telling "Victor's" story using period source documents (orphanage rolls, medical journals, correspondence) and accounts written in previous centuries. There is little or no narrative license taken in this chronological account. Her description of towns, roads and structures are taken from accounts of the time, and where information is missing, she helpful in filling in the back story, but clear on what is factual and what is speculation.

"No one alive today knows the details of what happened next - whether the woodsmen kept a rode around the wild boy's neck or tied his hands behind his back. No one knows if that night, they took him somewhere to sleep or left him in the square, tied and helpless. But every day, he was forced to stand, hour after our, for everyone to see.

And maybe it was then that the wild boy began to hate the staring eyes of crowds."

The boy escapes and is recaptured many times over the years. He is given to the care of several different scientists, and finds (outside the scientific community), a few people who genuinely care for him. However, his life is always difficult and sad. He was known to laugh with glee at the opportunity to enjoy even the coldest of days outdoors, and alternatively, to pine sadly at windows when the moon was full and he was trapped indoors.

Despite spending years in the care of Dr. Itard at the Paris Institute for Deaf-Mutes, and in close proximity to its deaf students, no one ever attempted to teach him to sign.

"Dr. Itard had known from the first time he'd met the wild boy that communicating with hand gestures came naturally to him.

Yet it never seemed to occur to Dr. Itard to try to teach Victor formal sign language.

Dr. Itard himself had never learned it, even though he spent more than thirty years working at a school for deaf children. Like many people in those days, he did not believe that the formal signing used by deaf people was real language. He wanted Victor to speak, and to Itard, that meant speaking aloud."

Victor never learned to speak aloud, therefore, the entire decades-long intrusion into the life of Victor, the Savage of Aveyron, was considered a failure by the scientific standards of the time. A strange, sad and true tale that, though featuring a boy without words, speaks volumes about communication and ethnocentrism. It is the savage, not science, that triumphs in Wild Boy.

Haunting, monochromatic illustrations by Timothy Basil Ering add much to the story. Endpapers contain maps of the boy's journey, and back matter includes an Author's Note, Source Notes, Bibliography, Index, and Acknowledgments.

Written for a target audience of age ten and up (difficult words are often explained parenthetically), this is a biography that will be of interest to teens and adults as well.

Mary Losure is the author of The Fairy Ring. Timothy Basil Ering has illustrated many books including Kate DiCamillo's The Tale of Despereaux.

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The true story of two cousins who took fake photos of fairies and fooled quite a few people, including the famous Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Before listening, all I knew was a couple of British girls fooled many people with fake photos of fairies. The good reviews for the audiobook, had me give it a go.
Nicola Barber does a wonderful job with her narration. Frances certainly believed in fairies. She claims to have regularly seen little green men. This book accepts Frances' belief and goes from there to the story and afterward of the fake photos. The disadvantage of an audiobook is no biblography to peruse but it sounds like Frances wrote the story of the fake photos later in her life. Apparently, there is one photo that Frances claims is not fake. Fascinating.

The fascinating true story about how two girls perpetuated the Cottingsley Fairy hoax and kept it secret for over 60 years.