Nonfiction

Who's Been Here: A Tale in Tracks

| Tasha

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. 

Living Sunlight

| Tasha

Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth to Life by Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm

Through an amazing blend of poetry and science, children learn about the importance of the sun in our lives.  There is a sense of wonder about the process of photosynthesis that elevates this book above that of a more scientific text.  Here you see the beauty and glory of the sun reflected too.  Bang’s illustrations capture the depth of space, lacing it with waves of light, showing the same waves washing upon the earth, the plants and us.

This book’s text comes in waves too.  Waves of poetry that are laced with scientific facts, pinning the high floating poetry down a bit to more earthly concerns.  The marriage of the two is so well done that it is hard to see where poetry ends and science begins.  Pair that with the scientific yet thrilling illustrations and this book becomes transcendent.

Highly recommended, this winning scientific picture book deserves a spot in every library.  If we wonder why children don’t tend to become scientists, we can look at this book that will inspire each child to ask questions of their world but not stop wondering and dreaming too.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.