Grand Discoveries

Kicking off a school year is like launching a ship into unknown territory, “Grand Discoveries” lie around every bend. Newsbee knows all about that. Eight years ago, he made a discovery and Book Buzz was born on the pages of your community newspaper.

Since September 2002, your literary bee buddy has brought you stories that bee-light and excite, tales serious and delirious, honeys that educate and exhilarate.

So here’s to another year of wonderful books — and of “Paging On” together. I couldn’t bee in better company!

"How Rocket Learned to Read"

There’s nothing like learning to read — it’s simply grand. Just ask Rocket, the polka-dot pooch star of “How Rocket Learned to Read,” by Tad Hills, of “Duck, Goose” fame.

Like all new students, Rocket doesn’t really know what’s in store for him when he meets his teacher, a sweet little birdie determined to introduce the pup to all the letters of the “wondrous, mighty, gorgeous alphabet.”

At first Rocket thinks this birdie is barking up the wrong tree. Rocket would much rather romp in the grass, chase his tail and wile away the day. But he does like recess — is a star pupil in that class.

The birdie has other plans for Rocket and she patiently teaches him, knowing eventually reading will appeal to the pooch. Then poof she flies south for the winter, leaving Rocket to explore his world with the seeds of knowledge she’s planted in his head. Soon he’s sounding out m-e-l-t and m-u-d and his teacher is back, finding a much more willing student.

The end result for Rocket is magical, and makes for a miracle of a book you and the adults in your life won’t forget.

"Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum"

Bonanza! Bazooka! Newsbee can’t pass by a bubble gum machine without dropping in a coin. Oh the sweet crunch, the bubble-licious possibilities. Celebrate this fun treat with “Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum,” by Meghan McCarthy, the author of several Book Buzz Picks.

In the 1920s, Walter Diemer was a mere accountant in a factory where gum and candy were made. He had an ordinary job, but his office was located next to a lab where pots were brewing — concoctions being mixed to develop a gum that would enable people to blow bubbles.

You see gum had already been around for a while, but all folks could do was chew it. Walt changed all that by adding a bit of this and a bit of that to a mixture everyone else had given up on. Once again, a little man with a big dream won out because he set his sights on grand discoveries, and didn’t throw in the towel—which would have been a sticky mess.

The end result of Walter’s winning mixture was a batch of pink Dubble Bubble. Comic illustrations detail Walter’s quest for the best in a title that’s both fun and educational.

"Heart of a Samurai"

You can’t make discoveries without taking some risks, and risks can be difficult and scary. They were for Manjiro, a young Japanese, who lived in the mid-1800s.

“Heart of a Samurai,” by Margi Preus details the life of Manjiro, the first Japanese to set foot in America, a country he was raised to believe was inhabited by fierce barbarians.

For hundreds of years, Japan was closed off from the rest of the world, and fictional stories of people from other lands filled the heads of the Japanese, who knew no better. One was 14-year-old Manjiro, who, along with some friends, left their village to fish. A storm capsized their boat and they were washed up on an island. Injured and starving, facing certain death, they were rescued by a crew on a whaling ship.

Manjiro was befriended by the ship’s captain and taken to America. There, he faced many hardships, had to learn English and adapt to a culture totally different from his own, but along the way he never gave up, though he often longed to return to his native country.

This adventure is a wonderful read and Preus’ first book — she’s a grand author Newsbee was glad to discover

Reprinted with permission, Missourian Publishing Company. Copyright 2010.