Nonfiction Monday Review Archives - Page 61 of 69

April 26, 2010September 6, 2010

Cloud Forest Insects

Hold onto your hats, you are about to enter the cloud forests of Central America. You will be traveling with scientist and adventurer Randall Barnes. Hope you brought your insect net, because you are going to be hunting eight exotic and beautiful insects. You need to bring back specimens for an exhibit at the museum, so keep a sharp lookout.

That’s the exciting feel of The Field Guide to Insects: Explore the Cloud Forests by Paul Beck. With a glorious mix of photographs and colorful illustrations, each page has the look of a nature journal written in the field. The cover is textured to make it feel worn. You can almost smell the dampness and hear the monkeys screeching.

Even better, each page is full of amazing facts to read about each insect. That is, to read if you can keep from opening the enticing pouches attached to the pages. Inside each pouch is a model insect to assemble. I have to admit my son had those open in a flash and we had the diorama in the back all set up before reading the rest. The models are excellent for kinesthetic and visual learners. Both will be highly engaged by this book. The most reluctant reader you know will not be able to put this book down, if they are at all interested in nature or adventure.

The Field Guide to Insects: Explore the Cloud Forests is coming out this summer, and would be perfect for one of those days when the kids say, “I’m bored. There’s nothing to do.” After making the models, setting up the diorama and reading, they are sure to be inspired to go on their own bug hunts and to make their own nature journal. The book is so filled with creativity and imagination, it is guaranteed to stimulate all sorts of stories and projects.

I already had found and loved Tarantulas Inside and Out, published by SilverDolphin. Now I have seen this one, I am totally enamored with their books. They are absolutely wonderful!

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Silver Dolphin Books (June 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1607100932
ISBN-13: 978-1607100935

Note: Although Amazon lists the reading level as ages 4-8, the book says it is for ages 8 and up, which would a better estimation. I would say that assembling the models does require a certain amount of fine motor skill and those younger than 8 would probably need assistance from an adult. The author is not afraid to use advanced entomological terms, either.

This book was provided for review by the publisher.

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. For more information, stop by Picture Book of the Day. This week’s post is at Check It Out.

April 18, 2010April 20, 2010

Nonfiction Monday April 19 Edition

Spring has sprung. Poetry is in the air. The birds are singing, flowers bursting, and the insects are all abuzz. Throw off the dark cloaks of winter and come celebrate the warm spring sunshine with a great nonfiction book.

Nonfiction Monday is here today. Please leave a link to your contribution in the comments and I will post them throughout the day.

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	Robin starts us out with a review of the book Art from Her Heart, a wonderful biography about folk artist Clementine Hunter at The Book Nosher.
	Here at Wrapped in Foil, I have Amy S. Hansen’s Bugs and Bugsicles: Insects in Winter.
	Doret at TheHappyNappyBookseller presents the young adult book Spies of Mississippi by Rick Bowers.
	Sarah listed her family’s favorite wildflower guides at In Need of Chocolate. It’s a great time for wildflowers!
	Bookends is featuring a wonderful book, If Stones Could Speak: Unlocking the Secrets of Stonehenge by Marc Aronson with Mike Parker Pearson.
	At Abby the Librarian, Abby reviewed Prowling the Seas: Exploring the Hidden World of Ocean Predators by Pamela S. Turner.

	Jeannine wrote about two nonfiction picture books that got love from otherwise unimpressed children’s literature class: One Thousand Tracings and Planting the Trees of Kenya, at Jeannine Atkins.
	Kim says they are continuing their Earth Day series at the Wild About Nature blog with a review of Oil Spill! by Melvin Berger.
	Jennifer has a post on introducing nonfiction to early readers showcasing three nonfiction book titles at Jean Little Library. – and there are several other nonfiction posts in the April I can Read Carnival!
	Wait isn’t Wicked a fiction book? Peggy at Telling Kids The Truth, shares a story that highlights the difference between nonfiction and fiction writers. OZ– Literally.
	At Lori Calabrese Writes!, Lori reviews Weird But True: 300 Outrageous Facts. I don’t want to know how they found out about that cat urine thing…
	Mary Ann at Great Kid Books has a review of Tan to Tamarind, a wonderful book of poetry that celebrates the beauty of brown, and helps give voice to the different shades of skin children see all around them.

	Anastasia has a sentence fluency mini-lesson relating to Pierre the Penguin: A True Story at Picture Book of the Day.
	Shirley at SimplyScience reviews Garbage Helps Our Garden Grow: A Compost Story,right in time for spring gardening season.
	Becky also takes a look at the popular If Stones Could Speak by Marc Aronson today at Becky’s Book Reviews.
	Today at The Cat & The Fiddle, Michelle has an interview with Poet/Author Betsy Franco about the process of writing her math book Zero is the Leaves on the Tree.
	Wendie Old at Wendie’s Wanderings is featuring Linda Sue Park’s yummy book of poetry Bee-bim Bop!
	A big welcome to Tammy Flanders, who writes about 14 Cows at Apples with Many Seeds.

Amanda adds a review of Global Warming over at A Patchwork of Books for Earth Day.

Welcome to Paula from Belgium. She reviews a book about WWII called The Little Ships at her blog.

Thank you to everyone who contributed this week.

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. For more information, stop by Picture Book of the Day.

April 12, 2010August 6, 2015

Bursting With Poetry

April is a wonderful time for National Poetry Month. Flowers are blooming, the leaves are popping, insects are buzzing. Spring is a magical time of rebirth, which seems can only be fully and joyfully expressed in the form of poetry.

For example, the bright yellow brittlebush (Encelia farinosa) are blooming on the roadsides right now in Arizona.

The bright yellow masses inspired this simple acrostic poem:

Brittlebush

Bright yellow flowers
Rattlesnakes slip into shade
Indigenous to Arizona
Tortoises munch
Tarantulas wander by
Lizards sunbathe quietly
Elegant bouquet

Bees slurp, then zip
Underneath is cool
Sun loving
Heat resistant

By Nathan and Roberta

And this haiku:

bee sits on flower

buzz buzz bee sips sweet nectar

quick! next flower waits

Roberta Gibson

If you are in the mood to read some insect-inspired poetry, then Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman (illustrated by Eric Beddows), is an absoulutely wonderful older book to pull out and enjoy once again. It was the winner of 1989 Newbery Medal.

On page 3, the grasshopper poem is a perfect accompaniment to a good bout of spring fever.

Enjoy!

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 64 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins; First Edition edition (December 28, 2004)
ISBN-10: 0064460932
ISBN-13: 978-0064460934
Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices

(Affiliate link to Amazon)

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. For more information, stop by Picture Book of the Day. This week’s post is at Shelf-Employed.

April 5, 2010September 6, 2010

Can Old Dogs Learn New Facts?

Kudos once again to Buffy Silverman for her new book Can Old Dog Learn New Tricks? And Other Questions About Animals (illustrated by Colin W. Thompson).

Are bats blind? Does the early bird really catch the worm? Silverman’s book takes the approach of the TV show “Mythbusters,” but without the explosions. She examines seventeen common truisms or sayings, and finds out whether science backs them up or not.

What is important about this book, as with the others in the Is That A Fact? series, is that it encourages the young reader to fact-check information. Yes, it is easy to find almost anything on the Internet these days, but how can you sort the truth from the urban legends, myths, rumors, and general misinformation? By discussing what scientific investigations tell us, and also showing that we still don’t know all the details about certain things, Silverman teaches the importance of critical thinking and research.

I admit I love Buffy Silverman’s writing style. She knows how to find exactly the right word and convey the information in a clear, concise way. She also passed my personal test for accuracy when she nailed the “Does a Female Praying Mantis Really Eat Her Mate?” question. When scientists first studied this question, they used hungry females kept under stressful conditions and came up with the idea that the female had to eat her mate in order to produce eggs. Later observations showed, however, that under more natural conditions the female usually doesn’t eat her mate. The earlier idea was more startling, so it has persisted. Silverman does her part to set the record straight.

The best part about this book is that it is fun and enjoyable to read, (well, except maybe about the worm in the brain).Can an Old Dog Learn New Tricks? definitely got the tween boy stamp of approval.

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Library Binding: 40 pages
Publisher: Lerner Publications (March 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0822590832
ISBN-13: 978-0822590835

(In case you were wondering, I picked this book up at the library and had no idea that Lerner Books was hosting today when I chose it.)

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. For more information, stop by Picture Book of the Day. This week’s post is at Lerner Books Blog.