How we are Smart

by W. Nikola-Lisa, Sean Qualls (Illustrator)

Musician Tito Puente. Ballerina Maria Tallchief. Explorer Matthew Henson. Congresswoman Patsy Mink. These are some of the people profiled in this book. T

Genres: Picture Books, Biography, Nonfiction, Poetry, History, Childrens

Hardcover

First published May 1, 2006

About the author

W. Nikola-Lisa's interest in writing books for young readers began as an elementary school teacher. He is the author of numerous books, including the award-winning Bein' With You This Way (Lee & Low), Shake Dem Halloween Bones (Houghton Mifflin) and the How We Are Smart (Lee & Low), recipient of the prestigious Christopher Award. As an accomplished storyteller and musician, Mr. Nikola-Lisa enjoys sharing his writing experiences with elementary and middle school students nationwide.

Reviews

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent selection of poetry and key cultural figure students probably do not know - great to use with MI

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think the book quite accomplishes what it wants to, which is giving examples of different ways of being smart, based on multiple intelligence.

12 people represent the 8 intelligences (first problem), and each example has a personal quote, a poem, and a short bio. It is not always obvious which intelligence they are supposed to be representing. (Multiple intelligence itself can be a bit fuzzy.)

The options for carrying it further can be good for older children, and there is a definite value in helping children see find and value their individual aptitudes, but I don't think this book does the best job of it.

[Fisal Ansari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Age:
Grades 8--YA

Genre:
Informational

Diversity
Americans of different ethnicities, races.

Illustrations:
Picture drawings of famous historical figures,

Personal response:
I liked this because it highlighted the accomplishments of some very intelligent and scholarly individuals.

Curricular or programming connections:
In a library setting, this poem could be used to create a play read in which children or young adults could read aloud and bring in something to represent what the poem means to them such as a quilt. Parents can tell stories of their own if they are related to the poem.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend recommended this book to me (thanks ML!). This is a book that talks about 12 different important people (not necessarily household names, however -- I liked that!). For each individual, there is a double-page spread -- it contains a quote from that person, a poem about the person, and a smaill bio. I like this book on several levels -- first, it introduces children to the idea of mulitple intelligences. Second, it introduces them to some people that aren't rock star famous. And, lastly, I hope it gets them to think about all the different ways they are smart!!

[Danielle]

Always love illustrations by Sean Qualls and I also love the concept.
Introduces the idea of multiple intelligences and gives varies examples of them. The best part is the bit at the back to help identify readers' own different kinds of intelligence(s).

Sadly though, even for a "word smart" person, there were too many words for me. :)
I would love to see this done with infogaphics/a pictorial representation along with the beautiful quote and painting on each spread instead.

[W. Nikola-Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Christopher Award recipient. A runner-up for a Gustavus Meyer Award. A collective biography addressing Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence theory. I wrote after I heard him lecture at the Art Institute of Chicago. When I realized that all of his examples were Dead White Men, I started immediately on the book, presenting his ideas through a multicultural lens. My intent: that every child that picks up the book will see themselves in it.

[Lindsay]

How We Are Smart briefly introduces a diverse array of American figures with a quote, a poem, a prose summary of their lives. At the end of the book, the concept of multiple intelligences is described along with activities to engage that idea using the biographies. This could be a jumping off book for a classroom project on biography research.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually kid poetry. Poems about inspirational people for kids. Had a few names that I didn't recognize because I was unfamiliar with their fields, but good for kids to see the variety. And always good to throw some poetry in there.

[Erin Ramai]

Christopher Award

[Debbie Hoskins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cool book for me, but what a neat book for kids to learn from! I wish I had this book as a child. I am a fan of Lee & Low. This is another gem.

[Lori Gravley]

Uses the types of intelligence as a structure for poems about a diverse group of thinkers and artists.