- Jan 5
Nan Songer and Her Arachnid WWII Army
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Calkins Creek
(Astra Books for Young Readers)
pub. 5.10.2025
48 pages
Ages 4 - 8
Author: Penny Parker Klostermann
Illustrator: Anne Lambelet
Character: Nan Songer
Overview:
"'Venomous spiders, delicate silk, and science experiments filled Nan Songer’s days and nights—her home in California overflowed with many-legged critters.
With inspiration from a friend, Nan began to study how spider silk could be harvested. The finely woven material spiders used to create webs was much stronger than it looked, and Nan was eager to unlock its potential and hopefully help her country at the same time.
At the height of WWII, she studied different spiders before landing on the poisonous black widow as the perfect spider to experiment with. Their strong silk could be used for crosshairs on rifles, which Nan used to fill massive orders for the US military. Despite the danger posed by black widows, Nan wasn’t deterred—she wanted to play her part. Using a device she built for extracting silk, Nan humanely used it on the deadly spiders to get both extra fine and super heavy silk.
Tantalizing taste:
"Spiders filled one whole room!
Species that might eat their roommates lived in jars.
Others lived in cabinets with screen doors.
Some wove their webs in windows.
Nan put branches in the spiders' homes, so they' d have a place to spin.
When thousands of spiders took over her home, feeding them wasn't easy.
She captured bugs and moths at night, raised crickets and fruit flies in jars, kept grubworms in crocks filled with sawdust, attracted gnats with sweet bait and flies with garbage. She even sprayed mist in their homes to take the place of the dewdrops they drank outdoors."
And something more: Penny Parker Klostermann in the Author's Note explains: "The fact that black widow spiders were one of the species Nan worked with certainly got my attention. In her papers she admitted that, initially, she feared them...But after working with them, she found they were the least aggressive species in her spidery and felt they feared her more than she feared them... [When] Nan's supply ran low... people mailed them to Nan, which was against postal regulations but since spiders were needed to help with the war effort, she was issued a special permit so she could receive the spiders."
- Jan 4
The World's First All-Woman
Anti-Poaching Unit
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Millbrook Press
(Lerner Publishing)
pub. 4.1.2025
40 pages
Ages 6 - 10
Author and photographer: Kelly Crull
Characters: The Black Mambas
Overview:
"The Black Mambas, South Africa's first women-led anti-poaching unit, is unlike any other: they carry no weapons. Instead, they keep animals safe with frequent patrols and a keen eye for footprints, snares, and other clues that poachers are nearby. These courageous women work in a nature reserve in South Africa’s Greater Kruger National Park. The reserve is home to the largest remaining populations of white rhinos, critically endangered black rhinos, and ground pangolins, one of the most trafficked animals in the world."
Tantalizing taste:
"Our story began when we were young. Most of us had never seen the animals that live in the Olifants West Nature Reserve near our homes.
When we finally met our neighbors, we discovered that they're a lot like us.
They have families. They like to cuddle and play games. They get hungry and tired. Sometimes they argue. They stick together.
But the animals in the reserve began to disappear, especially the rhinos and the pangolins...
When we heard the reserve was hiring women to become the first female rangers in South Africa, we were first in line. Our job is to protect the animals in the reserve from poachers.
Our families weren't as excited as we were. They wondered if women could do a job that has always been done by men. They wondered what other people would think. They wondered if we would be safe...
We say to the animals in the reserve ...
We are your mothers, your aunties, and your sisters.
We are here to protect you.
The Black Mambas are on patrol!"
And something more: Kelly Crull in the Author's Note explains: "I learned many things from the rangers, but the most remarkable was their ability to see things I did not. In a spot I would have passed by without a second glance, they noticed a family of rhinos on a hill, a leopard hiding in the bushes, a small cat perched in a tree, and lions lounging in the grass.
The rangers' job is to be the eyes and ears of the reserve. Thanks to this 'visual policing,' no rhinos have been poached in Olifants West Reserve since 2013. The rangers also notice snares in the bush. According to the local game warden, snares kill more animals than anything else. And the Black Mambas have reduced snared wildlife in their reserve by 86 percent."
Updated: Jan 6
Thrilled that the esteemed Betsy Bird chose our book!! Here's her review:
"Not the first Pei picture book we’ve seen but the first that focuses squarely on the construction of his work on the Louvre.
It’s funny, but 2025 was a year when I was paying a lot more attention to how architects were portrayed in media. The film The Brutalist, for example, (out in 2024) was very much of the Genius Misunderstood type of take, which is a dangerous way to grapple with architecture as a field (think: Atlas Shrugged).
So the challenge of Jeanne Walker Harvey here was to portray I.M. Pei not as a stubborn man fighting a corrupt system, but simply of someone placed in a difficult position (an “outsider” to the French working on their beloved Louvre) who has to stick to their guns on their vision while also working to persuade people to see things his way. But gently.
At one point Harvey writes, “So, during difficult newspaper and TV interviews, he focuses his energy on the Confucian teachings his grandfather taught him. Never show anger. Express oneself calmly and clearly. Be patient.” Lessons I’d love to see utilized a lot more in discussions these days.
The art of Khoa Le adapts perfectly, never shying away from the more geometrical structures at work.
But, being me, my favorite part is undeniably when the Pei introduces a model of his pyramid to the French for the first time. “A cheap-looking tacky diamond!” Great writing."
