Nonfiction

Butterflies and Moths

| Tasha

Butterflies and Moths by Nic Bishop

Nic Bishop’s latest nonfiction book for children is filled with crystal clear photographs that dazzle and amaze.  This time Bishop has turned his attention to the wonder of caterpillars, butterflies and moths. Accompanying the images is fascinating text that allow readers to better understand moths and butterflies and the way their lives and bodies work.  Bishop has once again managed to take pictures that verge on the impossible.  The furry body of a luna moth with his bright yellow antennae is looming and large.  The actual-size image of a blue morpho butterfly hovering in the air is breathtaking.  The four-page spread of a butterfly taking off from a flower is simply amazing.

Budding scientists and just those who love these lovely insects will find much to see and learn here.  This book belongs in every school and public library.  Period.  Appropriate for ages 5-9.

Plant Secrets

| Tasha

Plant Secrets by Emily Goodman, illustrated by Phyllis Limbacher Tildes

Shh.  Every plant has a secret or really a series of secrets.  Seeds hold the secret of a new plant inside them.  Plants have the secret of being able to create flowers.  Flowers in turn are able to turn into fruits.  And inside the fruits are the hidden seeds.  Cleverly done with lots of scientific information, many good examples offering variety, and the theme of secrecy and surprises, this book will be well received by children.

Goodman does a great job of being scientifically accurate but also speaking at a child-appropriate level about plants.  Tildes has created illustrations that do the same.  Her gouache illustrations are detailed but very approachable.  They also represent plants that children will recognize from their own lives. 

An accessible and interesting book about the life-cycle of plants, this will be welcomed in preschool and early elementary classrooms as well as libraries.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Big George

| Tasha

Big George by Anne Rockwell, illustrated by Matt Phelan

George Washington was a tall, shy boy who loved to spend time on his own in the woods.  He learned from his half brother to be a Virginia gentleman, and loved to read books about ancient Roman heroes like Cincinnatus.  George grew into a man who worked on mapping the colony, loved the outdoors and excelled at sports, but he didn’t like to talk.  He could never find the right words unless he was angry.  Throughout this fascinating picture book, readers discover Washington’s path to greatness and history.  It is an unlikely and intriguing story of the first President.

Rockwell’s Phelan’s illustrations offer glimpses into moments in history.  Washington’s shock of red hair lends a different feeling to the history, as does seeing him as a boy who does more than chop down a cherry tree.  This is a much more human and therefore more interesting person.  Rockwell does well capturing history fully even though she is brief and concise.

Great for classroom use for President’s Day, this book will also find an audience amongst children who prefer nonfiction.  Appropriate for ages 6-7, younger for reading aloud.

Babies Don't Eat Pizza

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Babies Don’t Eat Pizza by Dianne Danzig, illustrated by Debbie Tilley.

Stop right here if you are looking for a perfect book to tell children about their new little brother or sister.  Done in a light-hearted but also matter-of-fact style, this book will answer all of the questions new big siblings have.  The book ranges from what babies look like to what they eat to what they can do plus all of the hair pulling and stinky bottoms too.  The mix of the sweet with the annoying will prepare children well.

Danzig’s text is spot on, offering just the right amount of information and leaving nothing to a child’s imagination.  The tone is exactly right too, filled with humor but staying up front and informative.  Tilley’s illustrations add a friendly approachable feel to the information, keeping the book light rather than intimidating.

A great book for public libraries to have on hand to inform all of the new big brothers and sisters.  This would also be a great gift for the new sibling when the pregnancy announcement is made.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Adventures of Riley: South Pole Penguins

| Tasha

Adventures of Riley: South Pole Penguins by Amanda Lumry and Laura Hurwitz, illustrated by Sarah McIntyre.

This is the latest in the Adventures of Riley series that mixes illustrations with photographs in an inviting way.  The book is packed with scientific facts offered in bite-sized pieces, digestible and interesting.  The story is told through the eyes of young Riley who heads out with his scientist aunt and uncle and their daughter to the South Pole to study the effect of air pollution on krill, the foundation of the food supply for many Antarctic creatures.  This focus on the environment is part of the Riley series, making it all the more current and interesting to today’s youth.

The book can be read in two ways.  One would be simply reading the story itself.  The other way, you read the story and the accompanying facts, making it more of a science book than a story book.  Because of this flexibility, the book works for a variety of ages.

The illustrations are inventive and offer the ease of a cartoon paired with the beauty and grandeur of real photographs of the region and its animals.  The science facts come identified with the scientist who said it, offering children the opportunity to understand not only the need for science but the many areas of speciality available. 

Recommended for budding scientists to peruse of their own, these books are better used in small groups than large because of the details shown.  They are useful as discussion starters about the environment and science in general.  Appropriate for ages 6-8.

Crocodile Safari

| Tasha

Crocodile Safari by Jim Arnosky

Journey with Jim Arnosky into the mangrove swamps and learn all about the American crocodile, its habitat and its life.  This nonfiction picture book is accompanied by Arnosky’s paintings that capture the wonder and grandeur of this animal.  The reader follows Arnosky through the swamps and into hidden corners where crocs swim and bask in the sun.  Readers will feel the thrill of exploration and discovery along with the author.

The paintings and language ask children to stretch a bit and think when reading, something that is good to see in a children’s picture book.  Because of this, the book can be used with older elementary children very successfully.  This is not a book that talks down to the reader.  Rather like an exploration of its own.  Arnosky’s art ranges from quite simple to almost lifelike detail as seen on the cover image. 

This is a winning nonfiction picture book that focuses on an animal that children find fascinating already.  Filled with facts, the book brings them to life wonderfully.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Who's Been Here: A Tale in Tracks

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Who’s Been Here? : a tale in tracks by Fran Hodgkins, illustrated by Karel Hayes.

Take a walk through a wintry setting and find out what three children and their dog discover has been there before them.  Each illustration is framed with branches (as you can see on the cover too) and outside that frame readers will see the tracks close up.  Animals range from cats to turkeys to bears!  It is an exciting walk in the woods indeed.

The illustrations are charming in their rustic style framed by the woodsy branches.  The book is a winning combination of information and guessing game.  It will work well for units on animals and their tracks.  Plus it will be equally at home in story times about the winter.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

2009 Orbis Pictus Award

| Tasha

Hey, if I can ever manage to review a nonfiction book for Nonfiction Monday, then at least I can refer to a nonfiction book award!

The Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children is given by the National Council of Teachers of English.  The 2009 award went to:

Amelia Earhart: the legend of the lost aviator by Shelley Tanaka, illustrated by David Craig.

The Honor Books are:

George Washington Carver by Tonya Bolden

The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary by Candace Fleming

Washington at Valley Forge by Russell Freedman

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson

When the Wolves Returned: Restoring Nature’s Balance in Yellowstone by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

Wish: Wishing Traditions Around the World

| Tasha

Wish: Wishing Traditions around the World by Roseanne Thong, illustrated by Elisa Kleven.

Readers get the joy of moving from country to country and seeing how children make wishes in various cultures.  Each country gets a two-page spread with an explanation of the way to wish and the culture lovingly depicted in Kleven’s illustrations.  Though we move from country to country and each is seen as unique, there is also a strong sense of global community here all based on the common thread of the wish.  What a powerful symbol for everyone’s desire for a positive future in the world.

Thong’s paragraphs on how to make wishes are each accompanied by a four line poem.  One could read the book to smaller children and just share the short poems in each one, but most children will want all of the interesting details.  Thong has edited her paragraphs with great skill, harboring no repetition from country to country and being factual but fascinating at the same time.

Recommended for nonfiction collections in libraries that are looking for books that are friendly entry points to multiculturalism.  This makes a great book to cuddle up with and start a discussion on how we make wishes ourselves.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.