Category: BookTalk

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Explorers Who Made It…Or Died Trying

Explorers Who Made It… Or Died Trying by Frieda Wishinsky and illustrated by Bill Dickson is a fun book about twelve famous explorers who got A’s in daring and persistence (according to Wishinkey’s report cards), but did not always get along well with others. This book has been nominated for a Cybils award in the MG/YA nonfiction category.

This book is a fun, fast read. It is broken into ten chapters with plenty of subheadings, so it is easy to find just the information you are looking for. The black and white illustrations include plenty of maps for geography lessons, plus less-than-serious cartoons.

It is perfect for children who are doing research on historical figures, and who are interested in adventurers.

The explorers included are:

  • Erik the Red and Leif Eriksson
    •    Marco Polo
    •    Henry Hudson
    •    Christopher Columbus
    •    James Cook
    •    Hernán Cortés
    •    Samuel de Champlain
    •    Lewis and Clark
    •    John Franklin
    •    Roald Amundsen

Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Canada (Oct 1 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1443100102
ISBN-13: 978-1443100106

This book was provided by the publisher for review purposes.

Be sure to look for more information about children’s books at today’s Book Talk Tuesday.

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Hummingbirds: Facts and Folklore from the Americas

Hummingbirds: Facts and Folklore from the Americas by Jeanette Larson and Adrienne Yorinks with illustrations by Adrienne Yorinks, is a blend of past and present that combines factual information with ancient wisdom of pourquoi tales. Splash in fabric art illustrations and you have an interesting cultural mix that is uniquely American.  

Jeanette Larson and Adrienne Yorinks are friends who were looking for a topic to write about together. Adrienne Yorinks has a degree in animal behavior as well as being a fabric artist. Jeanette has written professional books for librarians. When they hit on a mutual interest in hummingbirds, they knew they had a winner. You can read more about their collaboration at Donna Bowman Bratton.

Hummingbirds are fascinating creatures. Here in Arizona Anna’s hummingbirds stay year around, and many species fly through during migrations. You can’t help but be captivated by their bright colors and furious energy.

It may be the hummingbirds attract your interest to this book, but it is the folktales that make it special. Telling folktales was the way people recorded and passed around information before the advent of writing and printing presses. Many people find that these stories make it easier to remember certain concepts. Folktales also offer a glimpse into the culture of the people who told them.

Both the folktales and the fabric art are great ways to inspire a child’s creativity. After reading the tales aloud, they can be the basis for fabric art and craft projects, puppet shows, serve as writing prompts for new folktales and stories, etc. Jeanette Larson has activity sheets and links on her website to help get you started.

This book has been nominated for a Cybils award in the MG/YA nonfiction category, and has gotten a lot of attention. For more informative reviews of Hummingbirds: Facts and Folklore from the Americas, see

NC Teacher Stuff

Simply Science

Not Just for Kids

Reading level: Ages 9 and up
Hardcover: 64 pages
Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing (February 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1580893325
ISBN-13: 978-1580893329

This book was provided by the publisher for review purposes.

Be sure to look for more information about children’s books at today’s Book Talk Tuesday.

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Oil Spill! Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico

Oil Spill! Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico by Elaine Landau is a succinct account of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in April of 2010 and the subsequent oil spill. The book has been nominated for a Cybils award in the MG/YA nonfiction category.

Although the oil-soaked pelican on the cover might suggest something else, Landau chose to concentrate on how the spill occurred and the technological challenges involved in trying to stop the spill and cleaning it up in the first three chapters. The disastrous effects of the spill are limited to four pages in Chapter 4, and the remainder of the book is devoted to what can be done. In the back matter is a two page spread of past oil spills.

The book is illustrated with color photographs and detailed drawings of the drilling equipment.

I liked that the book was factual and straightforward, not at all alarmist. It is perfect for middle grade readers, and would be appropriate for earth science units or Earth Day studies.

Here’s a fabulous hands-on science activity to accompany Oil Spill.

Reading level: Ages 8 and up
School & Library Binding: 32 pages
Publisher: Millbrook Press (March 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 076137485X
ISBN-13: 978-0761374855

Be sure to look for more information about children’s books at today’s Book Talk Tuesday.

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The Mysteries of Angkor Wat

I have to admit I wondered about The Mysteries of Angkor Wat by Richard Sobol. How would a book about an out-of-the-way place by an award-winning professional photographer appeal to children? Turns out that this book has loads of appeal for children because Sobol let real children help him tell the story. And what a fabulous story it is.

What is Angkor Wat? Translated as “City Temple,” it is a huge temple that was built close to 1000 years ago in what is now Cambodia by people of the mysterious Khmer Empire. The Khmer Empire is mysterious because the people disappeared around the fourteenth century, leaving behind only beautiful art and buildings. No one knows for sure what happened to what was once a thriving community of approximately one million people.

As you might expect from a “Traveling Photographer,” the photographs in the book are wonderful. Once again, they weren’t what I expected. Instead of wide-angle shots of the intricately-carved buildings dominating every layout, there are many spontaneous and close-range shots of the children who live near and play in the ruins each day. In fact, Sobol shows the children and adults performing many of the same tasks as depicted in engravings on the walls of the ancient building, contrasting their bright clothing and shining faces with those of the hard, gray stone. This helps the reader relate to the images and gives a sense of time and place.

The children are instrumental in helping the author find perhaps the strangest mystery of the temple, the “dee no soo,” but I’m not going to reveal what it is. Let’s just say that it is definitely part of the child appeal.

The book would be very useful for a geography unit on Cambodia because it has maps in the endpapers and in the beginning of the book, but has potential for a much wider audience, especially those interested in Asian history and culture.

Cybils notes:  This book is definitely appropriate for the younger reader, but it will appeal to a large age range.

Reading level: Ages 6 and up
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Candlewick (August 23, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0763641669
ISBN-13: 978-0763641665

Be sure to look for more information about children’s books at today’s Book Talk Tuesday.

This book was provided by the publisher for review purposes.