Category: Nonfiction

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How Can We Be Kind?

Looking for a picture book that combines cute animals with a gentle message? Pick up How Can We Be Kind? Wisdom from the Animal Kingdom by Janet Halfmann and illustrated by Darla Okada.

Author Janet Halfmann has searched the animal world for endearing examples of kindness.  Condensing complex concepts into a few simple to understand words, she explains how animals perform loving acts of empathy and caring for members of their own species and other species as well.

Young readers learn about how different animals behave as well as get ideas about how to be kind themselves.

 

The illustrations are full of color and activity.  I can’t decide which are the most adorable. The emus are fun. The European badgers in a field of red flowers are sweet. The playful orangutans? They all are my favorites.

Back matter is included. The “Meet the Animals” section has color photographs of the featured animals  and more information about how each animal lives with and looks after its fellow creatures.

How Can We Be Kind? is lovely for bedtime reading. It might also be appropriate to accompany a trip to the zoo.  Be kind and read a copy to a loved one today!

Reading age ‏ : ‎ 3 – 5 years
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Frances Lincoln Children’s Books; Illustrated edition (July 5, 2022)
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0711268797
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0711268791

 

Disclosure:

This book was provided as an e-ARC by the publisher. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

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#Nonfiction Monday No Boundaries

We are featuring another recent book about female scientists today:  No Boundaries: 25 Women Explorers and Scientists Share Adventures, Inspiration, and Advice by two National Geographic Explorers, Clare Fieseler and Gabby Salazar.

The idea for this book came out of an observation by Clare Fiesler. When she was reading a 2013 edition of National Geographic, she noticed only 10% of the scientists quoted throughout were women. Looking through more editions, the average was about 19% women. To rectify this imbalance, she and Gabby Salazar started a documentary about female explorers, which grew into this book.

The authors gathered an amazing group of women to highlight. They have included diverse women working on a wide range of projects from all around the world, from Linguistic Anthropologist Sandhya Narayanan to Volcanologist Stephanie Grocke. Inspiring!

I opened the book first to Danielle N. Lee’s section. Dr. Lee is a fantastic science communicator (I’ve followed her on social media since she was in graduate school.) She’s a mammologist who studies  rodents, from local field mice to giant pouched rats in Tanzania (so cool!). In this book, I loved reading about how she discovered science as a career. I also applaud her advice about securing enough funding to cover a college education before starting.

As you would expect from any book by National Geographic, the illustrations are eye-popping full color photographs.  Even better, we learn about how Visual Storyteller Hannah Reyes Morales and Conservation Photographer Jenny Adler capture some of those amazing images.

No Boundries  is perfect to help girls (and boys, too) evaluate potential careers. Discovering what careers are possible and how women achieved their goals is a absolute treasure. Explore a copy today!

Check out the interview with the authors at Science Friday:

How Can We Inspire The Next Generation Of Female Scientists?

Check our growing list of children’s books about women scientists at Science Books for Kids.

Grade level ‏ : ‎ 5 – 9
Publisher ‏ : ‎ National Geographic Kids (February 1, 2022)
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1426371764
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1426371769

 

Disclosure: The book was provided by my local library. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

Looking for more children’s nonfiction books? Try the Nonfiction Monday blog.

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STEM Friday #Kidlit Animal Allies

Chicago Review Press has done it again with their new middle grade/YA biography collection, Animal Allies: 15 Amazing Women in Wildlife Research by Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan .

What a fantastic idea to gather stories of women all with a common love for animals!

Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan has sorted the animals into five categories:  birds, arthropods, sea creatures, reptiles and amphibians, and mammals. Within each category, she has found three amazing female scientists who study those types of animals For example, Corina Newsome is saving seaside sparrows while Michelle LaRue uses satellites to study Antarctic birds. Lizzy Lowe takes on what many fear in researching spiders, and Erin Ashe lives out the dream of many studying dolphins and whales. Kristen Hecht chases the elusive hellbender amphibian while Enikö Kubinyi uses robots to get information on wolf pups.

As an entomologist, I went straight to the arthropod section. The first biography is of Dr. Corrie Moreau, who studies ants. She is currently working at Cornell University, where she is the curator of the insect collection. Corrie Moreau is passionate about ants, which comes across clearly in the text. We learn about her childhood, her education, about different aspects of the ants she studies (dracula ants!), and some of the pitfalls she encountered.

I love that Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan has included multi-sensory information, which pulls the reader right in. For example, we learn that Dr. Moreau can smell army ants and how Jasmin Graham feels standing out in the rain on a boat (headache and vertigo). Those are details you can’t get in an online search of a topic.

As for reading level, the suggested age is 12+, but mature middle graders will probably enjoy it as well.

Animal Allies is a must have collection for young readers who are interested in careers studying animals. It is also a wonderful choice for those interested in STEM, as well as nature lovers. Investigate a copy today!

Related:

Research more about the women who inspire you.

For example, the Bug Chicks –who are featured in Animal Allies — have a fun and educational series about insects on Vimeo.

You can get a feel for their somewhat offbeat approach in this video:

Then share what you find out with others!

Check our growing list of children’s books about women scientists at Science Books for Kids.

Reading age ‏ : ‎ 12 years and up
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chicago Review Press (May 17, 2022)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1641606223
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1641606226

 

Disclosure: This book was provided as an e-ARC by the publisher. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.

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#Nonfiction Monday Our Seasons Board Book


As spring moves to summer, it is a good time to explore the unique board book, Our Seasons: The World in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn by Sue Lowell Gallion and illustrated by Lisk Feng.

Our Seasons is a sculpture as well as a book. Each spread is cut in the shape of a globe sitting on a base. Opened, the book can stand alone because the front and back covers fasten together with magnetic closures, giving it three dimensions. Visit the Phaidon Press website to see photos of how it works.

The text is layered. For those who aren’t familiar with that term, there is a primary rhyming text that would be good for reading aloud to younger readers and a prose secondary text that is perfect for older children who want to learn more.

Our Seasons will likely capture the attention of young artists. It would also be perfect for a lesson on seasons. Open up a copy today!

Related Activity Suggestions:

To understand why we have seasons, it is useful to show the tilt of the Earth. With this book, you can use a flashlight or other light source to show how it works without having to hunt up a globe.

Here’s how it works, check out this cool video:


Do you have a favorite season? Our favorite is fall. Check out our growing list of autumn science children’s books at Science Books for Kids.

 

Reading age ‏ : ‎ 5 – 6 years
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Phaidon Press (April 20, 2022)
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1838664327
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1838664329

 

Disclosure: The  publisher provided an e-ARC for review purposes. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

 


Looking for more children’s nonfiction books? Try the Nonfiction Monday blog.