Nancy F. Castaldo

An interesting biography about a historical figure we should know more about. It does a respectable job of explaining the world that women lived in and explaining the choices that were made by several characters throughout. Keeps a light touch, and keeps moving without sugar-coating or getting in the way of the story. Ada's accomplishments are explained with similar talent, she was into some pretty obscure-level mathmatics and old technologies, and it would be easy to lose the audience but I think children would stay with this. I learned some things through this book, specifically about the role that the Jaquard loom played with its punchcards, and how that became the inspiration for card-based computer programming. This book stays in the biography lane: we learn a little about history, math, and science with several callouts and sidebars, but they don't distract from the story about Ada Lovelace.
I recommend for 3rd-grade and up, the book will appeal to more girls than boys as well, but I wouldn't shy away from recommending to anyone interested in STEM or the historical period. It has enough info to be useful for a book report/research.… (mere)

Excerpt from a longer article:

Synergy: Exploring Farms

FARMS are places that grow crops and nurture livestock. Farmers sell their agricultural products to companies or at markets directly to individuals. Sustainable farming practices are intended protect the environment.

To understand a concept, it’s useful to read a cluster of books related to a theme. Explore these recently published books for young people:
...

THE WORLD THAT FEEDS US written by Nancy Castaldo and illustrated by Ginnie Hsu explores approaches to green, sustainable farming practices from around the global. Each of the four chapters explores farming methods and settings in a different season. ARC courtesy of words & pictures, an imprint of Quarto Group.… (mere)