Finding a great children's book is like unwrapping a perfect sweet.
American Library Association announced the various youth media award winners yesterday. Go on over to their website and read all about it.
Of course, we were interested in the Robert F. Sibert Medal for most distinguished informational book for children. The 2011 winner is Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot, written by Sy Montgomery, which was reviewed just last week here at Wrapped In Foil. Cool!
It’s all about getting books and children together.
Jenny Milchman over at Suspenseyourdisbelief.com has a good idea to create a special opportunity to introduce children to books. She has created “Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day” for December 4, 2010.
Seems like a useful way to help support the future of bookstores and enrich your child’s life at the same time.
And if you think this idea is too commercial, remember that many libraries have book sale areas run by volunteers to support your local library. We have found many a well-loved treasure at library sales.
What do you think? If you like the idea, why not spread the word to your friends?
I’d love to hear from you if you participate.
What is better than all the Black Friday bargains? A chance at some free children’s books without ever leaving the house!
Chronicle Books is getting into the spirit of the season with a Happy Haul-idays give-away contest open until December 10, 2010. If you are a blogger, create a list of your favorite Chronicle books (up to $500 worth) and send your URL to the link.
And, if you leave a comment on this post and I win the blogger contest, then you might win too. One blogger and one commenter on the winning post will each win the books listed on that particular blog.
I had fun looking through all the books at Chronicle and figuring out what some of the children I know might appreciate. Of course, my list is full of nonfiction titles, and Chronicle has some very fine ones.
Children’s Nonfiction from Chronicle
The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder by Mark Cassino
with Jon Nelson, Ph.D.
Show and Tell: Exploring the Fine Art of Children’s Book Illustration by Dilys Evans
Sparky: The Life and Art of Charles Schulz by Beverly Gherman
Cave Detectives: Unraveling the Mystery of an Ice Age Cave by David L. Harrison
Wideness and Wonder: The Art and Life of Georgia O’Keeffe by Susan Goldman Rubin
Delicious: The Art and Life of Wayne Thiebaud by Susan Goldman Rubin
The Kid Who Named Pluto: And the Stories of Other Extraordinary Young People in Science by Marc McCutcheon, Illustrated by Jon Cannell
Prisoners in the Palace: How Princess Victoria became Queen with the Help of Her Maid, a Reporter, and a Scoundrel by Michaela MacColl
Animals Marco Polo Saw: An Adventure on the Silk Road by Sandra Markle
Illustrated by Daniela Terrazzini
And for avid birders:
By Miyoko Chu
with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Illustrations by Julia Hargreaves
(I’ve been drooling over this one for ages)
Of all these wonderful titles, which one is your favorite? Leave a comment, and you might have a chance of winning it.
Science fair season is upon us and two new books from the Science Fair Winners series have arrived just in time. Science Fair Winners: Junkyard Science by Karen Romano Young and illustrated by David Goldin contains 20 projects and experiments about junk, garbage, waste, things we don’t need any more, and ways to recycle or reuse it-or lose it. The subtitle says it all.
Junkyard Science has “workshops” ranging from comparing batteries, to investigating the ingredients in a diaper, to looking at trash in space. Each experiment/activity has the potential to be helpful for the environment, as well as a nifty science fair project.
The second book, Science Fair Winners: Experiments to Do On Your Family: 20 Projects and Experiments About Sisters, Brothers, Parents, Pets and the Rest of the Gang, is also by Karen Romano Young and illustrated by David Goldin.
The workshops in this book range from examining the effects of birth order, to finding out what babies like, to testing whether humans can identify each other by smell.
Using your own family for human projects is a clever idea. Having dealt with preparing students for our state science fair, I know that experiments with humans (all vertebrates, for that matter) as subjects are difficult because of all the special permission and paperwork required. Depending on the rules of your state organization, using members of your own family may make it easier to get proper permission, and at the very least reduces the chance of legal repercussions. Check the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) rules as well.
What I like about both of these books is that they offer some fresh ideas, not the same old lemon batteries or erupting volcanoes, The instructions are good to get you started, and have website links and extension ideas to take you further than the book. The author also collected ideas that build on one another. Too many science fair books are just random collections of experiments thrown together, with no theme or way to organize your ideas systematically.
The best thing about these two Science Fair Winners is that they are also very useful for science teachers and club leaders looking for project ideas.
Edit: I just found out that there is a White House Science Fair today. Cool!
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 Anastasia Suen’s Nonfiction Monday page. This week’s post is at Mother Reader.
