Articles by Scot Smith
Reaching Across the Sky
In her opening note, author Christy Hale informs readers what they will encounter as they turn the forty pages of Reaching Across the Sky: they will be introduced to more than one hundred bridges, from simple logs over creeks to technologically advanced architectural wonders that span miles across open waters, from ancient marvels of engineering and construction to modern ones, all from geographically diverse locations.
Review of Children of Owl
★ Children of Owl by Darcie Little Badger; illus. by Abigail Rajunov Middle School, High School Levine/Levine Querido 288 pp. 10/26 9781646145683 $19.99 In this imaginative work of speculative fiction with a highly visual format, Lipan Apache cousins Maisie, Joel, and Verona work together to understand the strange events happening in their southwest Texas trailer park and solve their attendant mysteries.
Review of Hand-Me-Down
Hand-Me-Down by Damian Alexander; illus. by the author Middle School First Second 224 pp. 7/26 9781250860200 $22.99 While his debut graphic memoir, Other Boys (rev. 1/22), centered on his sexual identity as a teen, cartoonist Alexander here returns to his middle-school years, shifting the focus to his relationship with his grandmother, Nanny, and to themes of memory and storytelling. After their mother’s death, Damian and his older brother are raised by Nanny.
Review of Armaveni: A Graphic Novel of the Armenian Genocide
Armaveni: A Graphic Novel of the Armenian Genocide by Nadine Takvorian; illus. by the author Middle School, High School Levine/Levine Querido 344 pp. 3/26 9781646146369 $26.99 In this semiautobiographical graphic novel, Takvorian weaves a nuanced fictionalized narrative about coming of age in the early 2000s as a first-generation Armenian American.
The Horn Book | A Place for Us
In this wordless picture book, James Ransome depicts a few hours in the lives of a mother and her son through colorfully detailed illustrations. The mother picks her son up at school at the end of the day. The pair then have dinner at a food court and go to the local public library so the boy can complete his homework. After the library closes for the evening, the mother and her son walk to the park and prepare to spend the night on a bench.
The Horn Book | Good Golden Sun
In this brightly colored concept book, Brendan Wenzel shows the sun from dawn to dusk as it makes its way across the sky. During its journey, an array of flora and fauna — bees, a bear, flowers, a pair of foxes, crops in the field, birds, and others — asks the sun a variety of questions. "Where have you been?" "Do you ever get cold?" "Does your belly ever ache?" "How’d you get so big?" "Are you happy? Are you sad?" "Won’t you come down to play?" The sun never replies.
The Tree and the River
In this work of speculative fiction, Aaron Becker crafts an innovative wordless picture book that follows the life of a tree as it grows in a verdant valley next to a small river. Over several centuries, the tree witnesses the development of human civilizations from farm to village and then from village to town along the banks of the river.
The Horn Book | Little Land
While Diana Sudyka’s illustrations can be found in numerous picture books and middle-grade novels (including last year’s Schneider Family Book Award winner Wildoak), Little Land is her author/illustrator debut. She writes and illustrates this delightful book about the significance of environmental stewardship. Sudyka focuses on a small piece of land — just a tiny piece of the Earth — and details how it transforms over the epochs of time, from the Devonian period to the present.
Mentors, Colleagues, and Mentees
In my journey through life and business, I've come to realize the importance of maintaining diverse social circles, each playing a unique role in my personal and professional growth. My mentors are the lighthouses in my professional journey. They provide wisdom, guidance, and a broader perspective that helps me navigate challenges and make informed decisions. They've trodden paths that I aspire to, and their insights are invaluable in shaping my strategies and approach.
Landsat-Based Assessment of Morphological Changes along the Sinai Mediterranean Coast between 1990 and 2020
Open AccessArticle by Kamal Darwish 1 and Scot Smith 2,* 1 Geography Department, Faculty of Arts, Minia University, El Minia 61519, Egypt 2 Geomatics Program, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Remote Sens.
The Horn Book | Choosing Brave
by Scot Smith Nov 03, 2022 | Filed in Blogs The picture-book biography Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement, illustrated by debut picture-book artist Janelle Washington, should be a contender for the Caldecott — and for other awards as well.
Speeding motorcycles have become a problem on Northwest Eighth Avenue
Scot E. Smith It's 2 a.m. on a typical Thursday in Gainesville. The weekend has already started. I remember my students telling me the mantra: "Thursday is the new Friday." Noise from the outdoor music nightclub venues is quieting down, but motorcycles are just getting started. They will run full throttle until dawn. The Florida Park subdivision has taken the brunt of noise since police cracked down on speeding traffic on West University Avenue.
The Horn Book | King of Ragtime
In music, syncopation is a mixture or variety of rhythms or beats that are played together. These rhythms form the foundation of several types of dance music, particularly ragtime. Stephen Costanza’s illustrations in King of Ragtime depict composer Scott Joplin’s use of syncopation through complex collage work, thoughtful use of vibrant colors, and a mixture of artistic styles. We can almost hear "Maple Leaf Rag" as we turn the pages.
Survivor Tree and This Very Tree: A Look at Two 9/11 Picture Books
As a school librarian, I teach my fifth graders lessons on how to compare and contrast similar stories. I hope to put the concepts of those lessons to good use as I delve into two picture books about 9/11 — Survivor Tree, written by Marcie Colleen and illustrated by Aaron Becker, and This Very Tree by Sean Rubin. We have seen numerous books about 9/11 published in 2021, 20 years after that tragic event.
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