nonfiction for children Archives - Page 2 of 16

January 20, 2014January 20, 2014

Celebrating the Chinese New Year with Children’s Books

Did you know next Friday, January 31, 2014, is the start of the Chinese New Year? Now is the time to clean, cook, decorate and get a hair cut in order to be ready for the coming of the Year of the Horse.

Today I have four older nonfiction books about the Chinese New Year. Throughout the week there will be reviews of two new fiction picture books celebrating Chinese culture, as well as suggestions for crafts and activities.

Let’s start out with Holidays Around the World: Celebrate Chinese New Year: With Fireworks, Dragons, and Lanterns by Carolyn Otto. Part of National Geographic’s popular Holidays Around the World series, expect bright, colorful photographs and accurate explanations of the various traditions. For example, the book explains that the Chinese New Year starts on the first new moon of the year, following the lunar cycle. In the past the celebrations continued to the full moon, or for 15 days. In modern times the festival is often shortened to a week or less.

Age Range: 6 – 9 years
Publisher: National Geographic Children’s Books (January 13, 2009)
ISBN-10: 1426303815
ISBN-13: 978-1426303814

Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes by Nina Simonds, Leslie Swartz, and the Children’s Museum, Boston, with illustrations by Meilo So explores five traditional Chinese festivals, starting with the Chinese New Year. On the 15th day, or the end of the New Year’s celebration, is the Lantern Festival. The book also includes chapters on the Cold Foods Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn-Moon Festival. It is packed full of stories, as well as traditional activities and recipes. Fun and learning for the whole year!

Age Range: 8+ years
Hardcover: 80 pages
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers (October 1, 2002)
ISBN-10: 0152019839
ISBN-13: 978-0152019839

Happy New Year! / Kung-Hsi Fa-Ts’ai! by Demi is also sold as Happy, Happy Chinese New Year! in a newer, shorter edition.

Demi has a unique style. Don’t expect text in boxes, because Demi’s text flows with the illustrations. Each two-page spread covers a single topic, such as “The Animal Zodiac,” “Sweep and Dust,” and “Decorate!” I particularly enjoyed the “Trees and Flowers!” because it shows what various plants symbolize to the Chinese.

Age Range: 5 – 8 years
Publisher: Dragonfly Books; Bilingual edition (December 28, 1999)
ISBN-10: 0517885921
ISBN-13: 978-0517885925

Chinese New Year Crafts by Karen E. Bledsoe is a simple introduction to the Chinese New Year through craft projects. What New Year celebration would be complete without a dragon puppet or costume?

Age Range: 7 and up
Publisher: Enslow Elementary (April 1, 2005)
ISBN-10: 0766023478
ISBN-13: 978-0766023475

Looking for more books and craft ideas? Try my Chinese New Year Crafts Pinterest board.

Sharing oranges is a Chinese New Year tradition.

Disclosure: 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 not extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. Join us at the new Nonfiction Monday blog.

January 13, 2014January 11, 2014

Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library

Have you ever wondered why the main Library of Congress building in Washington, D.C. is named for Thomas Jefferson?

If you pick up the picture book Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library by Barb Rosenstock and illustrated by John O’Brien you will find out. It is a whirlwind tour of Thomas Jefferson’s life through the lens of his obsession with books.

Thomas Jefferson started reading at an early age. According to the book, people say he had read his father’s entire very grownup library of 49 books before he went to school, probably around six years old. He spent the rest of his life reading and collecting books on a wide variety of topics and from a wide variety of sources.

During his presidency, Thomas Jefferson supported the Library of Congress, which was in its infancy. He supplied it with a number of books from his own collection. When it was burned down by the British in 1814, he went back into his personal collection at Monticello and sent some 6,500 books to restore the library. He was given some money for this, but not what the books were worth.

To honor his contribution, in 1980 the main building that houses the Library of Congress was renamed the Thomas Jefferson Building. Inside on the second floor is a room filled with more than 2000 of Thomas Jefferson’s original books. Personal note: Have you ever been there? I thought it was a bibliophile’s dream and well worth a visit.

Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library is a fast-paced book, fun to read to young children. It contains many interesting sidebars, which will entice the reader to learn more with each reading. There is also a useful author’s note and bibliography with source notes in the back matter. Because of course, you will want to read more after hearing about Thomas Jefferson’s books!

In addition to being ideal for a history lesson about Thomas Jefferson, this book also celebrates reading and literacy. It is a must if you are going to visit Washington, especially the Library of Congress. The bottom line is you will definitely want a copy for your own library.

Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library book trailer:

Doesn’t the fife and drum music suit the fast paced text of the book?

Age Range: 8 – 11 years
Grade Level: 3 – 6
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Calkins Creek (September 1, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1590789326
ISBN-13: 978-1590789322

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. Join us at the new Nonfiction Monday blog.

December 30, 2013December 29, 2013

5 Reasons to Grab A Splash of Red

Let’s mix things up this week by creating a list of five reasons you should check out this special children’s book. After all, A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet is a picture book biography that is showing up on a lot of “Best of 2013” lists.

1. The story of Horace Pippin’s life is an important piece of history.

Horace Pippin’s grandmother had been a slave. He was a soldier in World War I. His paintings recorded many scenes unique to his times.

You will definitely want to pull this one out for Black History Month.

2. Award-winning illustrator Melissa Sweet’s insightful illustrations.

Melissa Sweet’s real strength is that she becomes one with the text and subject. For this book she and the author Jen Bryant researched Horace Pippin together and even went on a road trip. Talk about method acting, Sweet went as far as to re-create materials that Pippin would have used. No wonder she won the Caldecott for A River of Words.

3. The story is inspirational.

Horace Pippin loved to draw and paint and even won a contest as a child. During the war, however, his right arm was so severely damaged he could not lift it. Many people would have given up art, but Horace Pippin figured out a way to lift his right arm with his left and he managed to start creating again. Amazing!

4. Jen Bryant’s text

Jen Bryant is an experienced author and it shows. She knows how to capture the full essence of a person’s life and present it in a way that captures a child’s attention. For some figures, covering a portion of their life would be sufficient. For Horace Pippin, his whole life is the story and Jen Bryant recognized that fact and embraced it.

5. Let’s not forget Horace Pippin’s fabulous art, some which is shown in the end papers of the book.

See some examples in the video above, or this gallery of some of his art.

Conclusion: The numbers for A Splash of Red add up to a book that definitely deserves a second look.

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. Join us at the new Nonfiction Monday blog.

December 23, 2013December 26, 2013

How the Meteorite Got to the Museum

Given that one of my family’s favorite TV shows used to be Meteorite Men, I knew I had to take a look at How the Meteorite Got to the Museum by Jessie Hartland. In her usual lightly humorous style Hartland reveals how a piece of the Peekskill meteorite ended up on display at the American Museum of Natural History.

First, what exactly is a meteorite? TV watching pays off because I can tell you that a meteorite is a hunk of space rock that actually falls to earth. A meteor, on the other hand, is a hunk of space rock or dust that burns up in the atmosphere before it reaches the surface (also known as a shooting star). Note: the book’s coverage of the term meteor is as Winnie the Pooh might say, “A bit wobbly.”

The meteorite in the book was quite unusual because when it landed, it struck a car in Peekskill, New York. It turns out that some people at a sporting event saw it and were able to film the meteorite falling to earth. Here is an example of some footage from that night:

This book is the third in a series in which Hartland uses a cumulative story technique borrowed from “The House that Jack Built.” Here she explains where the meteorite came from, who saw it, and what the owner of the car did when she discovered the damage, etc. Read carefully, however, because although the sequence of previous events repeats in each two-page spread as you would expect, the verbs change a bit, adding interest.

How the Meteorite Got to the Museum is one of those special books that can be used in a number of ways. Of course it would be ideal for units on the solar system, as well as earth science. It would also hop right over to language arts for a lesson in story structure or verbs. Don’t forget art, because Hartland’s energetic illustrations will be a source of discussion and inspiration. It also begs to be used to accompany a trip to a museum. Finally, it stands alone as a tale that children are going to find intriguing. Try out a copy today!

A review and activities related to Bon Appétit! The Delicious Life of Julia Child by author and illustrator Jessie Hartland here at Wrapped in Foil

Lively interview showing illustrations coming together at Pen and Ink

Age Range: 6 – 9 years
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Blue Apple Books (October 8, 2013)
ISBN-10: 1609052528
ISBN-13: 978-1609052522

Disclosure: This book was originally obtained for review electronically from Edelweiss, although I finished the review using a copy from my local public 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 not extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. Join us at the new Nonfiction Monday blog.