Nonfiction

How to Clean a Hippopotamus

| Tasha

How to Clean a Hippopotamus by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

A fascinating tour through symbiotic relationships in the animal kingdom, this book uses comic book frames and short text bubbles to become incredibly appealing to reluctant readers.  Filled with Jenkins’ paperwork illustrations that offer clarity beyond that of photographs, this book is a visual treat.  It is also filled with interesting facts, and is sure to surprise even the most informed reader with several of the relationships inside.  Journey through symbiotic relationships where one animal cleans another one to others where enemies become friends and supporters for a time.  Get this one into the hands of children who love animals and struggle with books, they are sure to feel right at home here.

Jenkins’ art is done with such confidence and cleverness.  His use of fuzzy papers to get the feel of fur, of color to get the feel of skin, and of pattern to get the texture right really take him beyond most other paper artists in children’s books today.  The fact that he manages to capture what an animal actually looks like is amazing.  Animals have a light in their eyes, a focus and in this book a relationship with each other, all captured with paper. 

The facts here are done with just the right amount of text and a playful, interested tone.  The book invites readers in and marvels alongside them.  The design here is wonderfully done, breaking what could have been paragraphs of text to wade through into windows of color filled with bite-sized bits of text that get readers wanting more.

Highly recommended, every library needs this book on their shelves.  Guaranteed to go home over and over again.  Appropriate for ages 5-9.

Reviewed from library copy.

Check out another review at A Patchwork of Books.

Dinosaur Mountain: Digging into the Jurassic Age

| Tasha

Dinosaur Mountain: Digging into the Jurassic Age by Deborah Kogan Ray

Ray returns with another great picture book biography.  This time she turns her talents to the story of Earl Douglass and the “Bone Wars” of the turn of the century where paleontologists competed to find the big dinosaur skeletons.  Though the biggest finds had been made in Colorado and Wyoming, Douglass followed his instincts and  headed to northeastern Utah.  The book chronicles his discoveries as he worked the site through prose as well as excerpts from his personal letters.  It also tells of the problems with protecting the area and funding that Douglass faced later in his career and that culminated in Woodrow Wilson creating the Dinosaur National Monument.

Ray’s writing is an invitation to learn more.  Filled with interesting and enticing facts, she tells the story of the person as well as the accomplishments.  Children will love the details about how a dig site works and the excitement of the big finds.  They will also learn about the importance of doing what you love and following your gut instinct. 

Ray’s art adds much to story, from detailed explanations of Jurassic strata and paleontology tools to her larger paintings that tell the story of discovery.  Her large vistas bring the setting clearly to life too.  The book ends with a listing of the dinosaurs found at the site, a map of the Monument, more information on Douglass and his benefactor Andrew Carnegie, a glossary, and a bibliography. 

Highly recommended, this book will be enjoyed by children who enjoy dinosaurs and history.  Ideal for reading before visiting the Dinosaur National Monument, this book can also be used to inspire children to make their own discoveries about the world around them.  Appropriate for ages 7-10.

Reviewed from copy received from Farrar Straus Giroux.

 

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A Place for Frogs

| Tasha

 

A Place for Frogs by Melissa Stewart, illustrated by Higgins Bond

This book is filled with fascinating information and facts about frogs.  It is less about the transformation from egg to tadpole to frog and more about individual species, specific habitats, and what we can do to help save frogs.  The book can be read two ways.  One way is less wordy and offers a chance to share the book with younger children.  The other way, incorporates the detailed information on frog species, which tells the story of how they live and what they need to survive.  Readers will be astonished to discover the different habitats that frogs live in and the wide variety of species. 

Stewart has a gift for offering scientific information in an inviting way for children.  She never talks down to them, but keeps the facts interesting and brief.  The focus on the environment makes this book a good one for green units or programs.  The information offered gives children a way to make a difference for these fascinating creatures.

Bond’s illustrations are almost photographic in detail, but better.  She is able to offer perspectives that would have been impossible to photograph.  Her use of long views of habitat combined with close-ups of animals makes the theme of the book even clearer.  These animals cannot survive without this place. 

Highly recommended, this book belongs in every public library.  Children will pick it up for love of the animal and in the process learn about their own impact on frogs.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from copy received from Peachtree Publishers.

Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook

| Tasha

Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter, illustrated by Matt Phelan.

Two veteran authors take their years of writing, their know-how, and their energy and offer it happily to new authors, both young and old.  What could have been a dry subject is definitely not in their hands.  Simply starting the book will have you hooked and make you wonder why you never wrote that book that you know you have inside you.  Mazer and Potter take on all of your excuses, throw in some great advice, and really inspire you to go for it!  Written with lots of humor, this book has I Dare You sections to get you started, funny stories of both failure and success, and offers a refreshing look at the process of writing.

There are so many parts to love in this book.  It has real information about subjects like metaphors, perspective, setting, and plot.  At the same time it is light-hearted and very personal.  Mazer and Potter have created an invitation to join them in both the success and failure of writing.  Their personal stories make the book a pleasure to read, carrying the information easily to readers.  Once you start reading, you will find it reads as easily as one of their novels, which is rare in a nonfiction book on the writing process! 

Phelan’s art suits the writing well with its organic and natural feel.  The illustrations and the fact that the chapters are broken into small bite-sized pieces contribute to the welcoming feel of the entire book.

Highly recommended, I see this as the ideal book to share with writing classes, to encourage young authors, and to hand to adults who want to start writing for children.  Not only will it offer those adults the tools they need to write, it will also show them exactly what a great book for children should be.

Appropriate for ages 10-14.  (I had to pry it out of my 13-year-old son’s hands to get to finish it.  And only by promising not to touch his bookmark!)

Reviewed from Advanced Reader Copy received from author.

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Here Comes the Garbage Barge!

| Tasha

Here Comes the Garbage Barge! by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Red Nose Studio

This is the true story of what happened in 1987 when the town of Islip had 3,168 tons of garbage that they had no room for.  So it was placed on a barge to be taken to North Carolina.  Captain Duffy St. Pierre used his small tugboat to pull the barge down to North Carolina, but it wasn’t that simple.  North Carolina refused to take the garbage!  Captain Duffy was then sent to New Orleans.  Nope, they didn’t want it either.  Mexico?  No.  Belize?  No.  Texas?  No.  Florida? No.  The garbage was getting older, smellier and more horrid by the day.  Finally Brooklyn agreed to take the garbage and incinerate it.  It was 162 days after the barge first set out. 

This book could have been a dry look at recycling, garbage and waste, but it definitely is not.  Instead Winter and Red Nose Studio have created a book filled with humor and character that tells the garbage story with more style than the facts could have offered.  Winter’s writing is ideal for reading aloud.  There are plenty of accents, lots of exclamations that fill the book with energy and fun.  Red Nose Studio’s art is three-dimensional, witty and filled with found objects.  His art is humorous, detailed and a delight to look at.  It is a testament to Winters’ writing that it is a great match to this art. 

A perfect book for Earth Day or any eco-friendly event, this book will get children thinking about how many pounds of garbage they create and exactly what happens to it.  Even if it’s not headed for a garbage barge.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Check out the video below of the making of the art for the book:

Reviewed from copy received from Random House.

Older Than the Stars

| Tasha

Older Than the Stars by Karen C. Fox, illustrated by Nancy Davis

Celebrate the age of your atoms with this dynamic nonfiction picture book.  Starting with the lines:

You are older than the dinosaurs.

Older than the earth.

Older than the sun and all the planets.

You are older than the stars.

You are as old as the universe itself.

Through a traditional folktale format of cumulative rhyming lines, this book can be read in several ways.  The rhymes serve as a structure for the book, but the real pleasure is in the scientific facts that are presented with flair and an eagerness that make them fun to read.  Young readers will learn about the Big Bang, how stars were created, and how our planet and humans came about.  The book ends with a colorful timeline and a glossary of terms.

Fox’s rhyming is catchy and sound.  Her scientific information is interesting and a pleasure to read.  Featuring strong colors, deep contrasts and vivid design, Davis’ illustrations are dynamic.  They have a timeless feel that is very appropriate for the subject, yet they are definitely modern in feel as well. 

A great nonfiction picture book on a subject that will intrigue young readers, this picture book will not sit still on shelves for long.  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy)

| Tasha

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham

At age 13, Susy, the daughter of Mark Twain, was annoyed that people writing biographies of her father got things wrong.  So she decided to write her own biography of her famous father because she truly knew him.  At first Susy’s biography was a secret but soon her parents had discovered her book and her father helped by offering quotes at opportune moments.  In her biography, Susy told of her father’s childhood, his public side and his private life.  She documented his finer qualities and also his lesser ones.  She also wrote about his writing practice and how her mother cleaned up the racier passages.  This is a biography that shows us Twain as a family man and father as well as an author.

Kerley’s biography of Twain is immensely readable and inviting.  She has incorporated passages from Susy’s biography in an inventive way.  They are placed in inserts that look like small books on each page.  Readers will be delighted by the passages and the insights they offer.  Fotheringham’s illustrations are a creative mix of vintage and modern.  Done digitally, they have a warmth and strong graphic quality. 

Highly recommended, this is a great biographical picture book for elementary-aged students.  It is also ideal to share with children who want to be writers since it shows not only Twain’s process but gives readers a young writer to model themselves after as well.  Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by Kiss the Book, Sommer Reading, and Young Readers.

You can read about Barbara Kerley’s own writing process for this book at INK.

In the Belly of an Ox

| Tasha

In the Belly of an Ox: the Unexpected Photographic Adventures of Richard and Cherry Kearton by Rebecca Bond

Two brothers, Richard and Cherry Kearton, grew up in the hills of Yorkshire and spent much of their time outside exploring.  When they both moved to London, they missed the countryside, so they visited it whenever they could.  One visit, Cherry brought his new camera and took a picture of a bird’s nest.  An idea was born!  The brothers decided to take pictures of birds nests using a variety of blinds, disguises and props, including a large bull to hide inside.  It took them three years and 30,000 miles of travel across Britain to make their book.  British Birds’ Nests was published in 1895.  It was the first nature book to be illustrated entirely with photographs. 

This is really the story of two brothers who were willing to work hard, invent their own solutions, and follow their personal dreams.  It is a story of being yourself and finding your own way in life and not listening to what “should” be done.  Make sure to look at the end of the book where you can see some of their photographs.  One is a heart-stopping photo of both brothers high in a tree with a ladder. 

Bond’s text here sets just the right mood.  She and the readers revel in the inventiveness of the brothers and their enthusiasm and hers shine.  Her illustrations have a wonderful vintage feel.  The watercolor landscapes evoke the region nicely and the brothers come through as vibrant characters.

A great piece of picture-book nonfiction, this title is one that should be shared.  It’s a great piece to start conversations about what children are really dreaming of, what their special gifts are, and what they may become someday.  And it just might get indoor children moving outside to take their own pictures and climb their own trees.  What could be better?!  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Under the Snow

| Tasha

Under the Snow by Melissa Stewart, illustrated by Constance R. Bergum

After our blizzard on Wednesday, this book seems like a very appropriate choice as we dig ourselves out of 14 inches of snow.

Find out what animals and insects are hidden under the snow as they try to survive the winter.  Ladybugs packed into a gap in a stone wall and  butterflies that are active in the winter may surprise readers.  The cozy burrow of a chipmunk and the sleeping woodchuck deep underground will charm.  Then readers get to look below the ice on the pond to turtles, fish, frogs and newts to see the different ways they act in winter. 

Stewart keeps her explanations of the animals simple and straightforward enough to use with preschoolers.  I would have liked to have seen an appendix with more information on the animals themselves.  Bergum’s watercolor illustrations capture the animals and their natural surroundings with great skill.  They offer close-ups when they are needed and still manage to evoke the larger environment of field, forest and pond. 

A very nice scientific look at animals in winter, this will be welcome in preschool classrooms or for winter story times looking for nonfiction that is very readable.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Also reviewed by 100 Scope Notes.