Nonfiction Archives - Page 89 of 111

February 28, 2011February 28, 2011

Beco’s Big Year Has Elephant-Sized Child Appeal

Talk about huge child appeal! Beco’s Big Year: A Baby Elephant Turns One by Linda Stanek has it all: an adorable baby elephant as the main character, a compelling and well-written story, behind-the-scenes peeks at zoo life, and captivating photographs. What a fun book!

Beco was born at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium on March 27, 2009. The story follows his birth and adventures during the first year. Linda Stanek deserves a lot of credit for her writing, which engages a child’s interest and is heartwarming, but never steps over the bounds into anthropomorphic. She goes back to her teacher roots and delivers a lot of educational value in a very easy to read package. Did you know female Asian elephants have tushes rather than tusks? This book is jam-packed with interesting facts about elephants and their handlers.

If you are planning a trip to a zoo, teaching a unit on elephants, know a child interested in animals or know a child who wants to be a zookeeper, Beco’s Big Year: A Baby Elephant Turns One is a perfect choice.

For more photographs, videos and ideas for science activities, see Growing With Science

Shirley at Simply Science has a review.

Jeff at NC Teacher Stuff also has a review.

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 48 pages
Publisher: Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (August 2010)
ISBN-10: 0984155430
ISBN-13: 978-0984155439

A big thank you to Shirley at Simply Science for sharing this wonderful book.

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 Rasco from RIF. Go see her wonderful review of a book about tulips!

February 21, 2011February 21, 2011

Three Books For Black History Month

This year there were three wonderful books to celebrate African American History Month on the Cybils nonfiction picture book shortlist.

	`Henry Aaron's Dream` by Matt Travares (Candlewick Press)
	`Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down` by Andrea Davis Pinkney (Little Brown Kids), illustrated by Brian Pinkney.
	`Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat: Ella Fitzgerald` by Roxane Orgill (Candlewick Press)

Although all are about a piece of black history, the flavor of each is distinct.

Henry Aaron’s Dream is an uplifting history of a man who broke barriers with quiet hard work and unquestionable talent. The earthy real story is wonderfully done and Matt Tavares’ illustrations are simply luscious. His illustration of Henry Aaron reading the lineup to see that he was starting a baseball game for the Milwaukee Braves captures an incredibly emotional moment with delicious simplicity.

I like the layout, with a single column of text on each page. It is easy to read aloud to a group. The audience can see the illustrations clearly and you can find the text to read without having to search. Henry Aaron’s Dream is perfect for struggling readers, and the story appeals to all baseball fans, but particularly to boys.

I recently did a blog post about the amazing writing/illustrating pair of Andrea and Brian Pinkney. Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down is adds yet another high quality book to their bibliography. Although it is not a personal story of one individual, it does tell a piece of history that deserves to be remembered.

Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat: Ella Fitzgerald by Roxane Orgill has a lot of educational potential, but it comes with a warning. Ella Fitzgerald’s early life was a difficult one. Her father wasn’t around, her mother passed away and Ella fell into the wrong sort of crowd. Some of the rough spots may make children uncomfortable. But you could do many fun tie-in activities with reading Skit-Skat: Play some of Ella Fitzgerald’s music, learn some of the dances, explore the clothes of the time, delve into the history of the Depression, read about Ella Fitzgerald’s later life. Skit-Skat has a vibrant energy that could be a jumping off point to many discoveries. Ready, set, go.

Note: Henry Aaron’s Dream was provided by the publisher as part of the Cybils review process. The other books were available at my local library.

This week’s post is at Three Turtles and Their Pet Librarian .

February 7, 2011

A Little History of the World

Today we have a book that has been gently receiving attention for years. A Little History of the World by Ernst H. Gombrich is a wonderful little book that is a piece of history of it’s own. Gombrich wrote the book in 1935 in just six weeks (how this came about is a story in itself). Written in Vienna, the original was published in German, but soon caught on and was translated into many other languages. It was not, however, translated into English until 2005. Intended for children, this “little” book has vast appeal for all ages, and has been slowly gaining in popularity.

Have you seen it yet? It starts a little lightly, with “Once upon a time…” but don’t let that fool you. Grombrich had just finished a PhD in Art History and he had the depth of knowledge to write an overview of history that is really a “big picture” view. It is not like a textbook at all. It travels chronologically through time, mainly through the stories of the lives of famous figures. What I really liked about it is it covers what is happening in Asia as well as Europe, something that was definitely lacking in my America-centric history lessons from school. I found it gave a structure to many disjointed facts and ideas I had gleaned from various sources, a backbone that made the parts come together as a more complete whole.

The book is a fast read and is also fun for reading aloud with children.

I would love to hear if you have read it and what you think of it.

An excerpt from the first chapter is available online at NPR.

A link to a Yale Press podcast with the author’s granddaughter (the book also contains most of this information in the Preface.) She reveals how the book came about, putting it into the context of its time.

Publisher: Yale University Press (October 7, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 030014332X
ISBN-13: 978-0300143324

January 31, 2011October 4, 2011

Silk and Venom

Silk & Venom: Searching for a Dangerous Spider by Kathryn Lasky and her husband, photographer Christopher G. Knight is a new biography of arachnologist, Greta Binford. For the spider squeamish and spider enthusiast both: Yes, this book is filled with large, colorful photographs of spiders. In the back is a “Glossary of Spiders” that shows sixteen different kinds of spiders. This isn’t a general book about spiders, however, the story follows scientist Binford on her journey to the Caribbean to find a certain species of brown recluse spider. She is looking into how spiders of the genus Loxosceles, the brown spiders, may have migrated and evolved.

You may recognize Kathryn Lasky as the author of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series. She has also written a number of nonfiction titles. On the book jacket, she admits that she has always been afraid of spiders, but when she heard an interview with Greta Binford on the radio, she was so impressed with the scientist’s passion for spiders, she immediately wanted to know more. Her husband, photographer and documentary filmmaker Christopher G. Knight, revealed that he had to learn new techniques to photograph creatures as small as spiders, but his work paid off.

Greta Binford is a professor of biology at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. After a general introduction to spiders in the first chapter, the book delves into Binford’s childhood interest in nature. The text unfolds in such a way that children will be able to relate to getting dirty and picking up earthworms, as well as her brother tricking her into eating cat food. Perhaps unexpectedly, Lasky also mentions Binford’s childhood struggles with her religious beliefs. She mentions her belief in God, but how she grappled to come to grips with the stories of the Bible.

The book then turns to Binford’s current research into the venom of the brown spiders. Venom is the poisonous fluid that spiders inject with their fangs to help subdue and digest their prey. In the case of the brown recluse and its relatives, the venom can cause open sores that are slow to heal in humans, and sometimes more severe reactions. One group of species in South America has quite different venom and Binford is interested in how that might have come about.

Silk & Venom is sure to interest budding middle grade scientists. It might also entice a spider-phobe or two to become interested in spiders, just like it did for Kathryn Lasky.

For related activities see:

Spider Webs

Baby spiders and spider books for the younger set

Reading level: Ages 4-8 (Amazon, this is probably better for 9-12)
Hardcover: 64 pages
Publisher: Candlewick (February 22, 2011)
ISBN-10: 0763642223
ISBN-13: 978-0763642228

This books was provided for review purposes.