Nonfiction

Nonfiction Monday – An Eye for Color: the Story of Josef Albers

| Tasha

An Eye for Color: the Story of Josef Albers by Natasha Wing, illustrated by Julia Breckenreid.

Josef Albers was born in Germany where he saw art everywhere including in the doors his father painted.  As he grew up, he worked with collage and different medium in his art.  When he traveled to Mexico, he found inspiration everywhere.  He began painting rectangles and noticing how colors changed depending on what is around them.  He set out to study color itself and eventually wrote a book, Interaction of Color.  Albers’ colorful squares play a major role in modern art, and readers of this book will understand his importance.

Wing has summed up Albers’ life in a way that is fascinating and very child-friendly.  Her language is simple while the concepts are large.  She has managed to convey facts of his life alongside the wonder of his discoveries.  I especially appreciate the portion of the book where she looks at color specifically, just as Albers does.  Breckenreid’s art pays homage to Albers with its playful use of color and strong use of shape.  She evokes Albers on every page.

Highly recommended for art classrooms but also as an accessible biography for children. Appropriate for ages 5-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt.

Check out Natasha Wing’s blog!

Day-Glo Brothers

| Tasha

The Day-Glo Brothers: the true story of Bob and Joe Switzer’s bright ideas and brand-new colors by Chris Barton, illustrated by Tony Persiani

I am always on the look-out for books that offer a great story combined with nonfiction.  This book definitely has that.  Even better, it offers a tangible example of invention that children can relate to and understand.  Joe and Bob were not similar brothers.  Bob enjoyed working and planning while Joe preferred magic tricks and problem-solving.  The two made the perfect inventing pair.  After Bob suffered an accident and was limited to living in the family’s basement, Joe joined him there to practice using fluorescence in his magic tricks.  The two worked together and created glow-in-the-dark paints.  After years of success, they found that with some tweaking they could create paints that glowed even in broad daylight – day-glo colors. 

The book is written in a style that is inviting and intelligent.  It offers lots of background information on the brothers, understanding that part of the fascination is with the inventors themselves along with their flashy colors.  The illustrations work to great effect with their vintage advertising style and effective use of bright colors. 

A great biographical nonfiction picture book about an accessible subject, this book will be snatched off of shelves for the cover alone.  Add it to bibliographies about inventors and children will be thrilled to have such a youthful title to use for reports.  Appropriate for ages 6-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by Abby the Librarian with author features on Cynsations and 7 Imp.  You can also visit Chris Barton’s own blog.

That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals

| Tasha

That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals: A Book about Vegans, Vegetarians, and All Living Things by Ruby Roth.

A friendly introduction to veganism and vegetarianism for elementary-age children, this book focuses more on the evils of factory farming than eating animals.  This slant makes it more appropriate for the young audience.  The animals are portrayed as whimsical characters.  The pigs have huge nostrils, the chickens stay round as an egg, and the cows are lanky with long-lashed eyes.  Animals are shown in family groups, demonstrating what their natural lives would be like.  This is contrasted with the misery they find on factory farms combined with the environmental toll as well.  The book makes a sound, green argument for reducing animal consumption as well as eliminating factory farms.

This book deserves a place in most public libraries alongside all of those farm animal books.  It offers another perspective that is missing from children’s sections in libraries.  As adults learn that vegetarian and vegan diets are healthier for people as well as animals, parents will turn to libraries to help explain this to their children.  It is a pleasure to find such a well-done book on the subject that provides information without the shocking images that would be too much for children.

Roth has done an admirable job of creating a book on a subject that could easily confuse and upset young readers.  This book instead talks about nature, the importance of kindness, and gives children a way to make a difference right now.  Her illustrations help to keep the subject from being too bleak with their cartoony feel.

Highly recommended for all public library collections, this book will be appreciated by vegetarians, vegans and others who are exploring their eating options.  Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Slither and Crawl: Eye to Eye with Reptiles

| Tasha

Slither and Crawl: Eye to Eye with Reptiles by Jim Arnosky

Another winner from Arnosky, this book offers life-size drawings of reptiles.  The pages even fold-out for those really large animals.  In between the detailed pictures that will have everyone oo-ing and ah-ing, Arnosky offers some great scientific facts tempered nicely with personal anecdotes.  These more scientific passages are also illustrated with a facing page in color and pencil drawings surrounding the text.  Then you unfold the page to see the life-size reptiles nice and close.  Beware the sea turtles.  I nearly dropped the book much to my son’s delight.

Any fan of animals or reptiles will adore this book.  It is appropriate for a wide-range of ages with younger children enjoying the pictures and older children finding engrossing details too.  Arnosky completes the book by admitting he is afraid of snakes and a little afraid of all reptiles, but that doesn’t stop him from admiring them.  A wonderful cap on a book that will entice reptile lovers and others to take a look.

A great book for any library, this one will slither quickly off the shelves.  The fold-out pages are sturdy and if worried you could reinforce the folds with some tape.  Recommended for ages 4-8.

Every Human Has Rights

| Tasha

Every Human Has Rights by National Geographic.

In classic National Geographic style, this book is filled with incredible photographs of people from around the world.  Each photo tells a story, which brings the text of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights to life.  Powerful and gripping, this book gives readers glimpses of the horrors around the world but also the strength and resilience of its peoples. Each line of the Declaration is accompanied by photographs with captions as well as a poem or statement by a young person that goes with that part of the Declaration.  Readers can modify it depending on their age.  Teens will enjoy the poems and statements while younger children may find them too intense.

Each line of the Declaration is simple and strong.  The accompanying photographs are fascinating and one lingers over them, looking into the eyes and faces and finding kinship there.  When I shared this book with my 7-year-old and 12-year-old we got to talk at length about tough issues like torture, the Holocaust and human rights in general.  Any book that offers me that opportunity is worth reading and sharing.

Appropriate for a wide range of ages depending on how it is used: 7-14.

Vanishing Cultures

| Tasha

 

Vanishing Cultures series by Jan Reynolds

This is a series that will have children thinking, questioning and seeing beyond their personal lives.  Each book in the series focuses on a culture that is quickly disappearing.  The culture is seen through the eyes of one specific child who shows readers around their home, family and life in general.  Information is offered matter-of-factly and contains fascinating tidbits that underline the differences between cultures.  Nothing is overly dramatic, nothing pointed out as strange.  Just a real look at a culture with permission to stare, linger and think.

 

The photographs in the books are just as lovely as the covers above.  Done in a variety of layouts and sizes, the photos really help create a bridge to the reader.  The text is filled with unknown words, but that is part of the fun of reading them.  Children and adults alike will find the About the Journey section at the back interesting and can refer to the map in the back cover to get their bearings. 

Highly recommended, this series is eye-opening and lots of fun.  The text is just the right level for 7-9 year olds to read independently, but the series is also perfect for teachers to share in the classroom with even younger children.

Redwoods

| Tasha

Redwoods by Jason Chin

A boy waiting for the subway finds a book on redwood trees on the bench next to him.  As he becomes immersed in the information, the world around him changes until he finds himself in the middle of a redwood forest.  Through the boy’s eyes readers will get to repel to the top of the redwood crowns, stand on enormous stumps, and view the redwoods compared to a city skyline.  This book is the epitome of an informational book made accessible and fun.  Though the text is primarily factual, the illustrations take it to a different level of wonder and interest.

Chin’s text culls the most fascinating facts about the great redwood trees while combining them with illustrations that are fantastical and fun.  The book reads aloud well thanks to the charm of the illustrations and Chin’s talent at writing facts with readability and interest in mind.

This book will have your spirit soaring to the tops of these gargantuan trees and my is the view fine.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

A Young Dancer

| Tasha

 

A Young Dancer: The Life of an Ailey Student by Valerie Gladstone, photographs by Jose Ivey.

Enter the world of the prestigious Ailey School in New York City and view it through the eyes of Iman Bright, a thirteen-year-old student.  As she goes through her lessons in ballet, jazz, modern and West African dance, readers will understand the dedication it takes to study dance at this level.  At the same time, readers will see a normal thirteen year old who goes to school and plays the violin.  The book strikes exactly the right balance. 

Ivey’s photographs nicely capture the movement and poses of dance.  He is equally successful capturing Iman when she is out of school with her friends and family.  Gladstone’s text comes from Iman’s point of view and is simple and frank about what she is doing. 

A strong nonfiction dance title, this book takes it beyond popular dance with sparkly costumes and to a more studious and serious level.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Dinosaurs Roar, Butterflies Soar!

| Tasha

 

Dinosaurs Roar, Butterflies Soar! by Bob Barner.

Millions of years ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth, butterflies fluttered over it.  Butterflies and other insects aided in the flourishing of flowering plants by spreading pollen from one plant to the next.  When the meteor hit the earth and caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, butterflies and other insects survived.  The modern butterfly is very similar to its prehistoric ancestors in both size and shape.  The book offers the ability to read just one portion of the text which is more accessible to small children or to add in the interesting facts on each page which offer detailed information on the dinosaurs and butterflies.  This makes the title very flexible for teachers, parents and librarians to use with different ages.

Barner’s pastel and paper illustrations are large, colorful and filled with a playfulness that is charming.  Small children will enjoy the large dinosaurs in a rainbow of hues while older children will love the facts and enjoy the juxtaposition of large lizards and tiny butterflies in history.  The facts are intriguing and tantalizing while the text for younger children is bouncy, brief and friendly.

Recommended for all dino lovers as well as all library collections.  Appropriate for ages 3-7.