Category: Nonfiction

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Carrots Grow Underground

Did you know that May is Get Caught Reading month? Why not get caught reading some great science books and do some hands-on activities, too?

Carrots Grow Underground by Mari Schuh

Reading level: Beginning/Easy Reader (Ages 4-8)

Summary: Describes and illustrates the life cycle of carrots and other root vegetables using appropriate first-grade vocabulary. Contains Glossary, Read More, Internet Sites and Index.

Illustrations:  Color photographs

Comments:  The formatting is perfect for the age group. The illustrations are yummy, and are consistent with one another in composition. Makes you want to get out there and plant some seeds, or even better, eat some fresh vegetables.

Related activities:

Compatible fiction: The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss

Publisher: Capstone Press; Pebble Books (January 2, 2011)
ISBN-10: 1429661852
ISBN-13: 978-1429661850

Click on button to return to main science book list.

Next title to be reviewed: Space, Stars, and the Beginning of Time:  What the Hubble Telescope Saw by Elaine Scott

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

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Autism Spectrum Disorders: A New Book By Ana María Rodríguez

“Every year, one out of every 100 children in the United States—or six out of every 1,000 young people worldwide—is diagnosed with autism.” Autism Spectrum Disorders by Ana María Rodríguez is a timely young adult book that explores case studies, symptoms, diagnosis, treatments, and research. Excerpts of recent USA Today newspaper articles are included in sidebars to make the text fresh and current.

Autism Spectrum Disorders delves deeply into the topic. The book starts out with a case study of a boy who exhibits the classic symptoms of autism, and then contrasts with the story of another boy who has Asperger’s syndrome. The author then explains how both have disorders that affect the child’s brain development, especially in the areas of communication and socialization. She explains how the disorders have a genetic component, but also seem to be influenced by the environment as well. She walks us through the process of diagnosis and the alphabet soup of therapies that are used to treat autism spectrum patients. She then writes about how to cope with the diagnosis of a loved one and how overwhelming and bewildering it can seem, especially when each individual has their own unique set of symptoms and strengths.

Ana María Rodríguez is a fabulous writer (she wrote Secret of the Puking Penguins, reviewed in a previous post). She has a talent of tackling difficult informational subjects and distilling the essence in a clear and confident way. She obviously has a good understanding of the medical issues she covers in this book.

Autism Spectrum Disorders is a top notch book that could be used in many ways. It is an important resource for students studying and/or writing a paper on autism spectrum disorders. Teachers with autistic children in their classrooms, or other professionals who work with autistic individuals, might want to use it to refresh themselves on the topic quickly. Parents of children recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders will be thankful for a concise summary of a vast array of information and for all the additional resources in the back. Older children who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders may want to read it to learn more about themselves.

Conclusion: If you are seeking information about autism spectrum disorders, then this is a wonderful book for you.

Reading level: Young Adult
Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books (March 2011)
ISBN-10: 0761358838
ISBN-13: 978-0761358831

An electronic copy of this book was provided for review purposes via NetGalley.

nonfictionmonday

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by the new Nonfiction Monday blog to see who is hosting each week.

This week’s post is at Simply Science.

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What to Expect When You’re Expecting Larvae: A Guide for Insect Parents

What to Expect When You’re Expecting Larvae: A Guide for Insect Parents by Bridget Heos and illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch, is a fun take off on the What to Expect When You Are Expecting books for adults. With a humorous question and answer format, children can find out about the details of insect life cycles.

Author Bridget Heos seems to have a definite passion about insects, which shines through. The text is interesting and informative, as well as amusing.

The lighthearted illustrations by award-winning illustrator Stéphane Jorisch are bright, colorful and enchanting. They are, at times, silly in a good way.

Though I don’t want to detract from all the wonderful positives of this book, I do want to be perfectly honest that you might find a few flaws. For example, -snip- on page 16, the illustration implies that adult dragonflies eat mosquito larvae. Actually the mosquito larvae (wigglers) live in the water and are eaten by young of dragonflies (nymphs or naiads). The adult dragonflies (sometimes referred to as mosquito hawks) eat the adult mosquitoes flying in the air. Not a big deal.

On page 27, it says “A moth pupa is a cocoon.” Sorry, a cocoon is technically the silky bag wrapping around a moth pupa. It should read, “A moth pupa is often found in a cocoon.”

Don’t be put off by these small points, however. The author has packed in facts that aren’t often found in children’s books about insects. It has a child-appropriate level of the “yucky” factor, too. Children are sure to find What to Expect When You’re Expecting Larvae: A Guide for Insect Parents amusing and enlightening.

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Publisher: Lerner’s Millbrook Press (March 2011)
ISBN-10: 9780761358589
ISBN-13: 978-0761358589

An electronic copy of the book was provided for review purposes via NetGalley.

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

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The Voyage of Turtle Rex

Kurt Cyrus has done it again with his new book, The Voyage of Turtle Rex. Cyrus travels on the border between fiction and nonfiction successfully with the dramatic story of a giant sea turtle’s adventures growing up in ancient seas.

If you are familiar with Cyrus’ previous award-winning book, Tadpole Rex, you already know about his breathtaking, vibrant illustrations and tightly-crafted rhyme.  Although a computer screen does not do them justice, Cyrus has examples of some of the illustrations at his website. How does Cyrus create the stark black lines of varying width that give such depth to each page? He uses a scratchboard technique and adds details like bubbles and a crust of barnacles to make the giant sea turtle come alive.

Not only has Cyrus done his research about the creature, Archelon, itself (he even includes the fact the turtles may sleep under the mud for long periods), but also he obviously spent the time to craft the story to perfection. Showing the contrast in size between the tiny baby turtles on the beach in the beginning, to the adult turtles laying eggs on the same beach at the end, by including the same local dinosaurs for scale in both scenes is pure genius. He also brings the story neatly to present day with a few perfectly-chosen words.

The Voyage of Turtle Rex is a must-have book for your shelf, because it can be used in so many ways. You could pull it out for a poetry unit, a science unit, and for any reader interested in dinosaurs. This book sure to thrill and entrall dinosaur-loving children of all ages.

See an interview with Kurt Cyrus at Miss Rumphius Effect

Growing with Science has related science activities

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books (April 4, 2011)
ISBN-10: 9780547429243
ISBN-13: 978-0547429243

Book was supplied for review purposes.

nonfictionmonday

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by the new Nonfiction Monday blog to see who is hosting each week.

This week’s post is at Writing Nonfiction for Children.