Archive for Nonfiction

The Tree: An Environmental Fable

Written and Illustrated by Neal Layton

A tree is a home. A home for birds in their nest. A home for squirrels in their nest. A home for owls in their hollow. A home for rabbits in their burrow under the roots. Told in very simple language, the story is one that a first grader can easily read on their own. Of course, teachers and parents will want to read it with the kids the first time just to discuss all the implications.

Two humans decide to build a home at the location of a tree, not realizing that their plans would seriously disrupt or destroy the lives of many other creatures. When they come to that realization, they are able to find a way for everyone to live in harmony.

The Tree makes the idea of environmental responsibility personal. The humans in the story realize that the animals need their homes and might have emotions too. They do their best to fulfill their own needs while helping the animals and the tree itself. Sharing is the key, and kids can understand this.

This is heartwarming and beautiful book.  

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  • Title: The Tree: An Environmental Fable
  • Author/Illustrator: Neal Layton
  • Published: Candlewick Publishing, 2017
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 40 pages
  • Grade Level: PreK to 1
  • Genre: Picture book, Nature, Creative nonfiction
  • ISBN: 978-0-7636-8952-0

Baby on Board: How Animals Carry Their Young

Written by Marianne Berkes
Illustrated by Cathy Morrison

“Pick me up, pick me up,” our children say. Then as they get a bit older, they begin to carry around their own stuffed animals, dolls, or action figures. This leads in well to a discussion of animals and their babies. Teachers, parents and librarians can use this beautifully illustrated book of how animal babies are carried to introduce or supplement any animal unit of study. Close-ups of each animal pair make it easy to see how the baby is transported from one place to another. Young children will enjoy this immensely.

Short rhyming lines introduce each animal pair followed by a slightly more in-depth description. A glossary gives even more detail.

Following the narration, a matching game is provided as a culmination of the story. For teachers, there are several suggestions for cross-curricular activities in language arts, math, engineering and movement. There are also web links to provide additional activities.

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  • Baby on Board.jpgTitle:  Baby on Board: How Animals Carry Their Young
  • Author:  Marianne Berkes
  • Illustrator:  Cathy Morrison
  • Publisher:  Dawn Publications, 2017
  • Reviewer: Elizabeth Swartz
  • Format:  Paperback, 32 pages
  • Genre: nonfiction, science
  • Grade level: PreK to 3
  • ISBN:  978-1-58469-593-6
  • Extras: Teacher guidelines for use in language arts, math, engineering, movement and math. An extensive glossary, extended reading lists and web links. It also contains a matching game for young readers to complete after reading the book.

Fantastic Flowers

Written and Illustrated by Susan Stockdale

In most things we observe, it’s natural to compare the unfamiliar with the familiar. So it’s no surprise that flowers are often given names relating to other objects they resemble.  Beautiful illustrations point out these similarities with skill and humor. From ballerinas to hats to pocketbooks, the flowers come in all shapes. Dutchman’s breeches do in fact look like a pair of pants. The monkey orchid looks a lot like a monkey’s face. The red spider flower looks like a group of spiders. And the bumblebee orchid looks like a bumblebee. Stockdale uses lilting, rhyming language sure to draw in youngsters seeking to learn about the natural world. The Afterword further discusses the patterns and how they may help the plants survive, often to attract a pollinator. A photo of each flower shows how close the illustrations are to the real world. This unique and playful look at flowers will have kids looking for patterns in all sorts of other places.

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  • Title: Fantastic Flowers          
  • Author/Illustrator: Susan Stockdale
  • Published: Peachtree Publishers, 2017
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 32 pages
  • Grade Level: PreK to 2
  • Genre: Nature
  • ISBN: 978-1-56145-952-0

Mr. Cookie Baker

Written and Illustrated by Monica Wellington

Wellington has a real talent for drawing kids into activities that also have a fun end-product. In this re-issued classic, kids learn all about cookies and where they come from. The lively illustrations make the process that much more fun.  Simple, bright pictures contain many, many details to spot and remember.

Behind a sign that tells the reader the bakery opens at 9 am, Mr. Baker is hard at work using his flour, sugar, butter, milk, eggs, and salt. With his big bowl and spoon, measuring spoons and cups, mixer, and spatulas, he mixes his dough. He rolls, cuts, and shapes. He bakes the cookies in a bog oven. They smell delicious. With care, he decorates the cookies. A crowd of customers buy the fresh product. He hangs the closed sign and has a cookie himself.

From this, and books like it, kids will learn about the processes that affect the world around them. Most will delight in helping adults try the recipes in the book, decorating the cookies, and giving them the taste test.

The presented are: sugar cookies, chocolate chip, peanut butter, and oatmeal.

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  • mr-cookie-bakerTitle: Mr. Cookie Baker                           
  • Author/Illustrator: Monica Wellington
  • Published: Dutton Children’s Books, 2011
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 32 pages
  • Grade Level: PreK to 1
  • Genre: Picture Book, Baking
  • ISBN: 978-0-525-47763-1
  • Extras: Four standard cookie recipes

Octopus Escapes Again!

Written and Illustrated by Laurie Ellen Angus

How talented is an octopus? As talented as it needs to be to survive all the predators that would love to eat it. In this informative picture book, the author follows an unnamed octopus as she works to find a meal of her own. First, her quest for shrimp is interrupted by a sea turtle. She hides inside an empty shell. When she spots some small fish, an eel is on the prowl. She escapes due to her ink. Next, a shark closes in, and she shoots away quickly. A large fish grabs one arm. The arm breaks off, and the octopus escapes again. The arm will grow back. A gull tries to get her. She uses her natural camouflage. Finally, she catches some clams for dinner.

The many animals highlighted in this tale are discussed in much more detail in the Explore More sections. In addition, the author suggests several interesting activities where kids can learn more – both about the octopus and the other animals present. Some great online videos are also mentioned.

The writing is fun and the illustrations give the “being there” feel for underwater adventures. Recommended as the focus for a stand-alone unit or as further exploration related to food chains or sea creatures.

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  • octopus-escapes-againTitle: Octopus Escapes Again!
  • Author/Illustrator: Laurie Ellen Angus
  • Publisher: Dawn Publishers, 2016
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Paperback, 32 pages
  • Grade Level: K to 3
  • Genre: Nature, Animals
  • ISBN: 978-1-58469-578-3
  • Extras: Explore More – For Kids, Explore More – For Teachers and Parents

Every Day Birds

Written by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
Illustrated by Dylan Metrano

Glorious cut paper illustrations of common birds jump from the pages of this delightful new poetic nonfiction book. The text is simple, with large, bold type. Birds illustrated are correctly portrayed to fit the text as well as their own habitat.

Youngsters hearing it read aloud will love the rhythm and rhyme of the poem. They will quickly learn to identify the birds and will be repeating the poem before long.

This book will be an asset to science teachers in the elementary grades and will fulfill many core curriculum standards for teachers and librarians in the areas of literacy as well as science. The art teacher or classroom teacher might well use this as an example of excellent cut paper art. Children will love making cut art of their own in school or at home to put in books or greeting cards.

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  • Everyday BirdsTitle: Every Day Birds
  • Author: Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
  • Illustrator: Dylan Metrano
  • Publisher: Orchard Books, Imprint of Scholastic, 2016
  • Reviewer: Elizabeth Swartz
  • Format: Hardcover, 32 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0-545-69980-8
  • Genre: Nonfiction Picture Book
  • Grade level: PreK to 3
  • Extras: Back pages provide in-depth information about what each type of bird eats, where it lives, how it looks, or what sounds it makes. The poem is also provided in its entirety on a double paged spread at the back of the book.

Who We Are! All About Being the Same and Being Different

Written by Robie H. Harris
Illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott

Another in the series “Let’s Talk About You and Me.” In this trip to Funland, Harris explores the physical characteristics that make us the same and make us different. As a read-aloud, this is great for kids just learning about the wider world. Illustrated with a lot of detail, the book shows many examples. On the very first page, the reader sees a wheelchair, a stroller, and a kid riding in a backpack. Clothing is another highlight – from shorts, T-shirt, and baseball cap to a tunic, pants, and a head scarf. Bodies are big and small, all with heart, muscle, and belly button. Most with ears, nose, and mouth. Hair comes in all shades and stages of curly. So does skin. Eyes are all different shapes and colors. Skin color depends on melanin. Many characteristics come from your family. Feelings are important and are things we share with everyone. So be aware of the feelings of those around you. We were all somebody’s baby once.

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  • Who We AreTitle: Who We Are! All About Being the Same and Being Different (Let’s Talk About You and Me)
  • Author: Robie H. Harris
  • Illustrator: Nadine Bernard Westcott
  • Published: Candlewick Press, 2016
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 40 pages
  • Grade Level: PreK to 1
  • Genre: Nonfiction, Science
  • ISBN: 978-0-7636-6903-4

Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear

Written by Lindsay Mattick
Illustrated by Sophie Blackall

Winnie-the-Pooh was real? Actually, the bear he was named after was real. This story written by Lindsay Mattick, is the truth behind the bear and his name. Lindsay is the great granddaughter of one of the main characters in the whole affair, Captain Harry Coleburn.

It seems a young Canadian vet headed off to war, saw a trapper with a bear cub and offered to buy it from him for $20, which really was a lot of money back then. The young vet kept the bear, trained it, so to speak, and named it Winnie, short for Winnipeg, to help the fellows in his unit from becoming too homesick. The bear was their mascot and traveled with them until it became too dangerous. Then he was donated to the London zoo, where he was often visited by a young boy named Christopher Robin Milne. Christopher took such a liking to Winnie that he went home and named his stuffed bear, Winnie. Well, we all know what happened then.

The story is told through beautiful lyrical language as, “the train rolled through dinner…”, and difficult to grasp philosophy, “sometimes one story must end so another can begin.” It includes humor and heartbreak, but most stunningly, the truth.

The watercolor illustrations are wonderfully done to realistically show children what soldiers training for the First World War looked like and how they lived. The back of the book is a collection of real photographs of the men, the bear, and even the journal in which Harry, the vet, kept his notes. The format reminds one of the many American Heritage Girl books, which were among the first to put a story at the front and the nonfiction correlation in the back. The illustrations are so stunning, they won the Caldecott Medal for this wonderful book.

Core curriculum standards can be attained by teachers and librarians in the areas of literacy, geography and history. It is wonderful book for teachers of writing to use as an illustration of how authors use the things around them every day in creation of stories. Children, parents, and grandparents alike will delight in getting to know a little bit more about their own favorite pooh bear,

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  • Finding WinnieTitle: Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear
  • Author: Lindsay Mattick
  • Illustrator: Sophie Blackall
  • Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2015.
  • Reviewer: Elizabeth Swartz
  • Format: Hardcover, 56 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0316324908
  • Genre: Nonfiction Picture Book
  • Grade level: K to 1
  • Extras: photographs of the real people, real bear and the journal entries

Clothesline Clues to Sports People Play

Written by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook
Illustrated by Andy Robert Davies

Kids love sports, riddles, and colorful pictures. This new book combines them all. Readers are given a four line, rhyming riddle about the pictures on the double page spread showing uniform pieces on a clothesline. The appropriate other pieces of sports equipment are on the ground. The following page gives the answer to the riddle and shows the particular game in progress.

Children will love guessing from picture clues and looking to see if the category of sports uniforms and equipment are complete. Core curriculum standards of literacy will be met using this book in preschool, kindergarten, first grade, or in ESL classes. Teachers, librarians and daycare providers will want to add this book to their collection. Surely, kids will return to this book time and time again. Second grade readers will enjoy reading these riddles to younger siblings at home.

The characters represent a diverse group of children and the sports represented include common, as well as uncommon, sports and will broaden children’s understandings of unfamiliar sports.

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  • ClotheslineTitle: Clothesline Clues to Sports People Play
  • Author: Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook
  • Illustrator: Andy Robert Davies
  • Publisher: Charlesbridge, 2015
  • Reviewer: Elizabeth Swartz
  • Format: Hardcover, 32 pages
  • ISBN: 978-1-58089-602-4
  • Genre: Nonfiction Picture Book
  • Grade level: PreK to 1

Can We Help? Kids Volunteering to Help Their Communities

Written by George Ancona

“I want to help.” It’s something kids say often and they really mean it. But sometimes it is hard for them to think of real jobs they can accomplish on their own.

Full color photographs of actual kids doing worthwhile jobs will help students find realistic goals. This book lists several jobs often overlooked. Bagging fruits and vegetables, as well as going along to deliver meals to shut-ins are things children are very good at accomplishing.

Various clubs take on the responsibility of cleaning certain sections of roadsides, but maybe someone in your class never thought of it. Seeing the kids clean up trash in this book might spark an idea for your local community.

Crafts kids can do that have a useful future are highlighted here as kids are shown making hats and scarves to donate to homeless shelters.

This book will meet the literacy skills of distinguishing fact from fiction, as well as main idea and picture clues. School and public librarians will want to display this book in a high traffic area as there are so few books like it to help kids contribute to their own communities.

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  • Can We HelpTitle: Can We Help? Kids Volunteering to Help Their Communities
  • Author: George Ancona
  • Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2015
  • Reviewer: Elizabeth Swartz
  • Format: Hardcover, 32 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0-7636-7367-3
  • Genre: Non-fiction
  • Grade level: K to 3
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