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Take Your Child to A Bookstore Day

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.

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Chronicle Nonfiction Books

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

Sprout Your Own Sweet Scents

Animals Marco Polo Saw:  An Adventure on the Silk Road by Sandra Markle
Illustrated by Daniela Terrazzini

And for avid birders:

Nests:  Fifty Nests and the Birds that Built Them by Sharon Beals
Introduction by Scott Weidensaul
Foreword by Jack Dumbacher and Maureen Flannery

Birdscapes:  A Pop-Up Celebration of Birdsongs in Stereo Sound

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.

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Travels With Gannon and Wyatt

In the first book of a new series Travels with Gannon and Wyatt:  Botswana by Patti Wheeler and Keith Hemstreet, you immediately realize you are reading something unique. The book is a fictionalized account of the real life adventures of two real life boys, Gannon and Wyatt Wheeler, traveling to Botswana.

The book has the feel of nonfiction because the text is written as a journal, going back and forth between entries written by both boys. Each boy has his own voice and each tells of the same events from his individual perspective. Factual information about Africa, its people and animals abound. Sprinkled throughout are actual photographs of the boys and of Africa. To make it even harder to tell fact from fiction, the book comes with a DVD interview of the two boys talking about their experiences traveling to Africa to research the book.

As you read, however, it becomes apparent the adventures in the book are fictionalized. The boys would have to be pretty unlucky to encounter all the things that befall them. Starting out with a close call with a mother white rhino that knocks their own mother out of the vehicle they are riding in, the boys run up against everything from frightening giant crocodiles to being held hostage by an angry poacher. Through the book, Gannon and Wyatt experience one harrowing conflict after another.

In fact this intense drama, including graphic accounts of wounded and dying animals, also makes this book a bit difficult to classify as far as intended age of reader. Travels with Gannon and Wyatt:  Botswana just won a silver Moonbeam award in the Best First Book – Chapter Book category. On the other hand, it is listed as young adult at Amazon. I would say probably middle grade based on content. The main characters are supposed to be fifteen, and kids usually like to read about older main characters. It might be appropriate for reluctant readers who like their adventure rapid fire.

What we see in the video trailer is the part of the book that I enjoyed, the flavor of actually being in Botswana.

Doesn’t that make you want to travel, too?

As an aside, the boys, both real and fictional, are homeschooled. If you are interested in finding out more, Reading to Know has an interview with author Patti Wheeler

Reading level: Young Adult (Amazon)
Hardcover: 144 pages
Publisher: Claim Stake Publishing, LLC; Har/DVD edition (June 2010)
ISBN-10: 1936284006
ISBN-13: 978-1936284009

Book provided for review.

Edit: This book is nominated for a Cybils in Middle Grade Fiction.

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How Does Your Mold Garden Grow?

Kitchen Science Experiments:  How Does Your Mold Garden Grow? is definitely a title that will intrigue a child. The neat, well-organized collection of nineteen science experiments/activities that author Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen and illustrator Edward Miller have put together might spark a child’s interest to explore microbiology further.

“What do the jungle and your kitchen have in common? If you said nothing, think again, because they are both home to all kinds of critters!” Thus, Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen starts us out with exciting questions about what might be lurking in the kitchen. The experiments that follow are designed to help you discover out more about these tiny living things.

As you might expect from a book about molds and microbes, several of the experiments require a compound microscope in order to see cells or microscopic organisms, as well as slides and slide covers. The agar and one of the stains the author recommends may require some detective work to find. Otherwise, the experiments require items largely found around the home.

What’s to like:

How Does Your Mold Garden Grow? is carefully crafted and the directions are easy to follow. The explanations are clear and accurate. It has a nice look. Some of the experiments have a great icky factor kids love.

What could be improved:

I don’t like to say it, but the majority of the experiments/activities in this book are widely available around the Internet. For example, I have written about making cabbage and tumeric pH indicators, assembling a lemon battery, and blowing up a balloon with yeast at my science blog. I was hoping for more creative, new ideas.

On the other hand, many times what is old hat to adults is often exciting and new for children. If you are looking for a collection of kitchen science experiments to serve as an introduction to microbiology, and possibly science in general, then you should consider this book. After all, it is right on time for the season we spend so many hours in the kitchen.

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 64 pages
Publisher: Sterling (November 2, 2010)
ISBN-10: 1402724136
ISBN-13: 978-1402724138

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 Anastasia Suen’s Nonfiction Monday page. This week’s post is at Practically Paradise, which is hosted at the School Library Journal website.

This book was provided for review.