Nonfiction

Fly me to the moon

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Explore the Far Side of the Moon by Jenny Jacoby with consultant Dr. Sheila Kanani, illustrated by Lea Woo (Thames and Hudson, 64 pages, grades 2-6). Readers are invited on a mission to the far side of the moon to explore the area in and around the Shackleton Crater at the lunar South Pole. Each spread covers a different aspect of the mission from Meet Your Crew to Liftoff to Stepping Onto the Moon to The Splashdown. Illustrations include diagrams and pictures that show readers many aspects of space travel that can be highly technical, like a cutaway of the moon lander, or more mundane, like directions for making a beef taco or how to go to the bathroom in space. The last few pages show moon maps and the phases of the moon, and there’s also a glossary and an index.

This is a fun look at many different aspects of space travel, with plenty of information presented in ways to make it easily accessible for elementary kids. It’s perfectly timed to show kids what the real-life NASA Artemis missions are like.

I Built a Rocket Ship by Anna Lazowski, illustrated by Jennica Lounsbury (Kids Can Press, 32 pages, ages 4-8). A grieving child tells her late mother that she’s building a rocket ship. As she creates, she shares some of her memories, like the time they went camping, and her mom showed her the constellations when she was scared of the dark. Dad is quiet when she tells him what she’s doing, but later he takes a lasagna Mom made out of the freezer and promises they’ll use the recipe to make another one together. The two of them paint the spacecraft Mom’s favorite color “so you’ll be sure to see me coming.” The last page shows the purple rocket ship flying through space next to a swan constellation.

This book will break your heart, with memories, and grief woven into the spare text. I loved the rocket as a coping mechanism, following Mom’s advice to build it, filling it with her favorite things, and using it as a springboard for memories. The dad is clearly going through his own grieving process but is there for his daughter throughout.

Life on the Moon by Matthew Swanson, illustrated by Robbi Behr (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 320 pages, grades 3-7). When Leo was given the choice between staying on Earth with his mom and living on the moon with his dad and Dad’s girlfriend, he chose the moon. Which may say something about what his life on Earth has been like recently. But no sooner has he arrived on the moon, than his dad and girlfriend go off on a top-secret mission and disappear. Leo breaks the rules and goes out in a lunar rover to try to find them. Almost immediately, he realizes that two rules he’s been told about moon life–there’s no life on the moon and there are no technical difficulties–are completely untrue. Not only are there life forms, but they are all intricately connected, so that disturbing one will potentially destroy them all. As Leo slowly learns this, he comes to realize that his own life is a web of interconnections, and that he has a purpose that he is only beginning to understand. When catastrophe threatens the lunar colony, it’s up to Leo to come up with an unconventional solution that will give the reader plenty to think about after reading the last page.

Personally, I’m not a big fan of picaresque novels, and the blurb on the cover–“A modern-day Phantom Tollbooth”–was a bit of a red flag, as I don’t particularly care for that book. However, if I’m going to read a book in which the protagonist travels from one adventure to the next meeting all kinds of unusual creatures, each with its own lesson to teach, let it be one by beloved husband-and-wife team Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr. I believe that many readers will fall in love with this book (as the have The Phantom Tollbooth, to be fair). Behr’s illustrations are imaginative and funny, and Swanson’s story is ultimately complex and affecting, raising interesting questions, some of which are nicely articulated in the afterword. This would make a very interesting read-aloud or book club choice that could lead to some good discussions.

14 animal poems

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At the Edge: Curious Creatures of Planet Earth by David Elliott, illustrated by Robin Clover (Candlewick, 40 pages, grade K-3). Fourteen unique animals from around the world are celebrated, each with a poem and a cut paper illustration of the animal in its habitat. There are insects, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and birds. The black rain frog’s poem is just two words (“Bumpy. Grumpy.”), and most of the other poems are under a dozen lines. The final two pages have notes about the animals, with a short paragraph of information about each one.

This would be a great introduction to poetry for young readers, with interesting, colorful illustrations of a host of unique creatures along with short, easy-to-read information. I do kind of wish the information appeared on each page instead of at the end to make it easier to learn more about these fascinating animals. This is part of a poetry series by Elliott called Paws, Fins, Feathers, Claws that looks like it would be an excellent addition to an elementary poetry collection.

Fourteen Ways of Looking at Jellyfish by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline (Candlewick, 32 pages, grades 1-5). How to consider jellyfish? They can be seen in the water by a child on a dock, listed by their unusual common names like fried-egg or flower hat, or looked at from the perspective of the hundreds of millions of years they have lived on earth, predating dinosaurs by millions of years. Each way of looking is described with a different type of poem and shown with a variety of illustration styles, like a page from a scientist’s notebook, or a cartoon showing the emergency of a box jellyfish’s sting, or a dreamy underwater landscape. The back matter includes a bibliography and a list of websites to dive deeper into jellyfish research.

This gorgeous poetic meditation on jellyfish is sure to be considered for awards, whether it’s Sibert for the information or Caldecott for the illustrations. It seems to have been inspired by Wallace Stevens’s “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” but I couldn’t find that cited anywhere in the book.

Science Friday

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Honeybird Blue by Taunya English, illustrated by Raissa Figueroa (HarperCollins, 40 pages, ages 4-8). Honeybird and Pop get up before the sun to head into the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Philadelphia for a day of birding. Honeybird has a list of birds by color that she hopes to see, and she’s sure today will be the day that she finally sees Blue: the great blue heron, who has skinny legs and a topknot just like her. Off they go, and as the day progresses, they see Yellow (yellowthroats), Green (mallards), Grey (woodpeckers), Black (blackbirds), Brown (geese)…but no Blue. Pop reminds Honeybird that “birding is seeing what you see,” but she’s still disappointed as they head back to the car. Right before they go, they gather in a circle with other birders, each one naming a favorite bird (“Honeybird,” says Pop). Just as they pose for a photo…there’s Blue! Flying in the sky, then landing nearby so that Honeybird gets a good look and makes the last tick on her list. Includes a birding glossary as well as pictures and additional information about all the birds in the book, including the honeybird.

This lovely book with illustrations by Coretta Scott King Honoree Figueroa is an excellent introduction to birding with an enthusiastic and knowledgeable main character. It would also make a nice Father’s Day gift and might inspire a father-child outing into nature.

Hooray for My Brain! by Paul Meisel (Holiday House, 32 pages, grades K-4). “Look at us!” two kids call from the first page. “We can run! We can read and play the drums! We can jump and draw and throw and talk!” And it’s all thanks to their brains. They then get into the details, introducing readers to the way the brain connects to the spinal cord and nerves to allow our bodies to do so many amazing things. Information on the structure of the brain shows which lobes are responsible for which bodily functions. Glands located in the brain–the pituitary and the hypothalamus–are described. “Hooray for my brain!” the narrators say in unison as they ride their bikes off the last page. Includes a glossary.

Theodor Seuss Geisel Honoree has created a science book that’s accessible for younger readers but doesn’t shy away from challenging vocabulary and complex concepts. The illustrations play a big role in providing clarity, and showing the two kids on many of the pages helps readers understand how different parts of the brain make different activities possible. Kids may want to do additional research on some of the concepts introduced, and a list of resources would have made a nice addition.

Fun American history books for the Fourth of July

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America’s Founding Myths…And What Really Happened! by Christy Mihaly, illustrated by Marta Sevilla (Barefoot Books, 40 pages, grades 2 and up). Each two-page spread covers a different event in American history, beginning with the idea of America as the “New World” and Christopher Columbus and continuing through colonial days and the American Revolution. The myth is printed on a flap on the left-hand page; lift the flap to find out where that myth came from and what the true story is. The rest of the information is arranged in question-and-answer format, with photos, illustrations, cartoon bubbles, and brief facts. Questions are posed to give kids a chance to think critically about the event. The last few pages give some pointers for ascertaining if history is true and encourage kids to record their own history. There’s also a glossary; information about the author and illustrator, including their experiences creating the book; and a lit of additional resources.

Celebrations such as the American 250th celebration this year can often be a reason to trot out old myths about the past. This book is a great antidote, with a fun format and brief but interesting information about each event that may inspire readers to dig deeper into what really happened. I liked the emphasis on being an active consumer of history, asking questions and evaluating sources.

Hot Dog: The History of America’s Favorite Sausage by Christine Van Zandt, illustrated by Steven Salerno (Odd Dot, 48 pages, grades 1-5). Official hot dog historian Frank de Wienerdog takes readers on a journey through the world of hot dogs, a food item consumed by Americans at the rate of 20 billion a year. Starting with the history of hot dogs–aka, frankfurters or wieners–readers will learn how the ordinary sausage became a hot dog, and how it came to be eaten in a bun. Their cheap price and easy transportability made them popular at amusement parks and ballparks, as well as a staple during the Great Depression. Nowadays, the average American eats around 70 hot dogs per year…and a couple people eat that many in a matter of minutes at the famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest held annually in Brooklyn. The last few pages celebrate ways to eat hot dogs, including a U.S. map that shows local specialties around the nation. Includes a timeline of hot dog history, a recipe for Curly Snake Dogs, and additional information and resources on hot dogs.

This colorful introduction to hot dogs with a friendly dachshund narrator is full of interesting facts about hot dogs that are fun and easy to digest (which may or may not be the case for the food they describe). The eye-catching cover and interesting topic will make this an easy nonfiction book to sell to kids.

Science, art, and nature

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Reaching Across the Sky: A Celebration of Bridges by Christy Hale (Christy Ottaviano Books, 48 pages, grades 2-6). The author’s note introduces readers to bridges, not only as structures that help people travel across gaps, but also as both real and symbolic ways to connect people and communities. She then looks at more than 100 bridges around the world, dividing them by categories on two-page spreads: “Bridges span obstacles,” “Bridges join places,” “Bridges take people where they need to go,” etc. Each spread shows one, two, three, or more bridges that illustrate this concept, along with a sentence or two of additional information about each one. She also looks at how human bridge builders have been inspired by nature, whether it’s a fallen tree, a stone arch, or a spider web. There are fourteen pages of back matter, giving extensive additional information about bridges with more real-life illustrations, as well as a glossary, and resources for learning more.

This book really has something for everyone, from kindergarteners to older students studying engineering or physics. The gorgeous collage illustrations made me want to visit many of the bridges shown. I confess I didn’t wade through all the back matter, but it would be a great starting place for kids engaged in bridge building projects.

Kaleidoscope of Hope: How Butterfly Life Cycles Reflect Our World by Miranda Paul, illustrated by Hari and Deepti (Greenwillow Books, 40 pages, grades K-4). The collective noun for butterflies is kaleidoscope–as I learned on the first page of this book–and kaleidoscopes are used not only to show the brilliant patterns of butterflies’ wings, but to explain the various stages of the butterfly life cycle. Eggs are a kaleidoscope of hope, caterpillars are a kaleidoscope of growth, and metamorphosis is a kaleidoscope of change. Each stage is introduced with a two-page spread that includes a few sentences and illustrations. Turn the page for more detailed information about that stage, along with gorgeous kaleidoscopes of eggs, caterpillars, chrysalises, etc. The final two sections (A Kaleidoscope of Nothing? and A Kaleidoscope of Action) discuss threats to butterfly populations, as well as actions kids can take to welcome butterflies to their yards. Includes a note from the author about the hundreds of butterflies she and her family have raised, instructions for making a butterfly puddle, a note from the artists about how they created the illustrations, and a list of sources.

The more I examined this book, the more impressed I was with every aspect of it. Not only does it introduce the butterfly life cycle in ways that will be understandable to younger kids, but it gives additional information for those wanting to take a deeper dive. The paper sculpture illustrations by husband-and-wife team Hari and Deepti are unique and gorgeous, particularly the kaleidoscope ones, and I’m glad they got to show how they created them in the illustrators’ note.

Under the sea

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The Secret World of Seahorses by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Lou Baker-Smith (Candlewick, 32 pages, grades K-4). This straightforward introduction to seahorses includes information on eating, mating, reproduction, and body structure. Human activity endangers millions of seahorses–76 million are caught every year and turned into lucky charms, key rings, teas, and tonics. Three projects to save seahorses around the world are described, in Malaysia, Cambodia, and England. Additional information about seahorses and climate change is given at the end.

This would make a great nonfiction companion to Eric Carle’s Mister Seahorse, offering more information about different aspects of seahorses that are touched on in that book. The mixed media illustrations with a wide color palette do a beautiful job of portraying underwater scenes. While Nicola Davies doesn’t shy away from describing human dangers to seahorses, the specific projects to save them add an upbeat note.

If You Went to the Bottom of the Ocean by Brooke McIntyre, illustrated by Gordy Wright (Chronicle Books, 50 pages, grades 1-5). Follow a submersible as it heads out into the ocean, then dives down, down, down. In the sunlight zone, there’s still plenty of light and life, but as you head through the twilight zone and the midnight zone, there is less and less of both. It gets colder and darker, with the weight of the water pressing down harder. Finally, 3.5 miles down, you’ll reach the floor of the ocean…but there are still more depths to explore. The Mariana Trench is another 3 miles deeper, and if you reach the bottom, you’ll be in a place few other humans have ever seen. Includes additional information about the layers of the ocean, their geography, and milestones in human exploration.

Both the writing and the illustrations do an amazing job of conveying the vastness and wonder of the ocean depths. The illustrations grow darker and darker, illuminated by the bioluminescent creatures that live there. The back matter adds interesting information and may inspire readers to dream about traveling to a part of Earth that is still 90% unexplored.

Two innovative artists

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The True Ugly Duckling: How Hans Christian Andersen Became a Swan by Sandra Nickel, illustrated by Calvin Nicholls (Levine Querido, 32 pages, grades K-3). Hans Christian Andersen’s life is presented as a story that parallels his ugly duckling fairy tale. As a child growing up in a small town, he spent his days making up stories and creating costumes to act them out. While a few townspeople were kind, most made fun of him, and young Hans headed to the city of Copenhagen as soon as he could. There, he tried to make it as an actor, dancer, and singer, but he failed at each of these endeavors. Finally, a play he wrote caught the eye of a director who sent him to school. Teachers there made him put aside his storytelling in favor of Latin and history. After six long years, he was able to return to his stories, and although adults found them strange, children loved them. Hans Christian Andersen’s stories and cut paper illustrations earned him a place among the royalty of Copenhagen, and those stories live on today. Includes an author’s note with additional information about Andersen, including how her own autism drew her to write about the storyteller, who likely had both autism and Marfan syndrome.

This lightly fictionalized account of Hans Christian Andersen’s life would make a good introduction to a study of his work, with both biographical information and references to some of his well-known stories. The cut-paper illustrations are beautiful and mirror Andersen’s own work with paper.

Piece by Piece: How Stephen Sondheim Made Musical Puzzles Come Alive by Erin Frankel, illustrated by Stacy Innerst (Calkins Creek, 40 pages, grades 2-5). Growing up in New York City, Stephen Sondheim was a curious kid who liked to figure out how things worked. When he saw his first musical, he was completely captivated by how the different pieces–music, story, dance–all fit together. After his parents split up, he and his mother moved to Pennsylvania, where he made a new friend Jamie, whose father, Oscar Hammerstein II, became Stephen’s mentor. Stephen wrote his first musical, By George, when he was 15. After college, he got a lucky break when he was offered the role of lyricist for the new musical West Side Story. That brought him enough recognition to start creating his own musicals, and Stephen Sondheim became a Broadway legend. Includes an author’s note, photos, a timeline of Sondheim’s life, and a bibliography.

Another good book for introducing the work of an artist, with a short enough story to easily read aloud but plenty of allusions to Sondheim plays in both the text and illustrations. The puzzle metaphor felt a little forced to me, but it did give me a deeper appreciation for all the parts of a musical that have to work together.

Liberty and justice for all

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Walk the Walk by R. J. Owens, illustrated by Reggie Brown (Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 40 pages, ages 4-8). Dex and Papa are walking to his piano lesson, a walk that seems to Dexter to take forever. But Papa tells him, “If we’re going to talk the talk, we’ve got to walk the walk.” This means supporting the Montgomery Bus Boycott, just like other Black people are doing all over the city. Along the way, Dex and Papa see signs reminding people not to ride the bus and giving information about how to get a ride if they need one. They’re hassled by police and people riding in a truck with a Confederate flag in the back. When Dex has to pee, they can’t go in a restaurant with a “Whites Only” sign out front. At last, the two of them walk past a church where people are outside celebrating. The boycott is over, and they can ride on any seat in the bus! Even though the piano teacher is only a few blocks away, they hop on a bus and choose a front seat, each one wiping away tears of joy. The last page shows a grown-up Dex and an older Papa crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge with a crowd of protesters. “And sure enough, as the years rolled on by, Papa and I just kept on walking, together.” Includes an author’s note, a Montgomery Bus Boycott timeline, and lists of sources and further reading.

This is a great introduction to an important chapter in the civil rights movement, with Dex serving as a generally cheerful but occasionally whiny kid narrator, and Papa keeping his spirits up with his refrain of “walk the walk.” The text and illustrations work together to show features of the boycott, including the racism the participants encountered. Although readers may need a preliminary introduction to the boycott’s history before reading the book, it’s a story that would work well with kids as young as preschool or kindergarten.

We the People Is All the People by Howard W. Reeves, illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh (Harry N. Abrams, 40 pages, grades 1-5). Starting with the Preamble to the Constitution, the narrative states, “We the people is all the people,” then goes on to celebrate the huge diversity of people living in the United States: different religions, cultures, occupations, sexualities, physical abilities, and homes. The illustrations bring this diversity to life, showing all kinds of people in a variety of American settings. One particularly memorable one shows a Native woman with outstretched braids and arms that hold people from history, like a Chinese-American railroad worker laboring up one braid, and a white man leading two enslaved people in chains up one of her arms. The author’s note talks about both the revolutionary nature of the U.S. Constitution and its shortcomings, with references to unnamed people in power who seek to undo it and a sobering but realistic look at the work still needed to ensure that “all the people” are served by it. Also includes an illustrator’s note.

This timely book is a thought-provoking meditation on the diversity of people who are (or should be) served and protected by the U.S. Constitution. Along with the author’s note, it’s an excellent springboard for learning about and discussing the Constitution and the freedoms it outlines that are currently under threat. Duncan Tonatiuh’s illustrations are truly spectacular, and, in my opinion, should receive Caldecott consideration.

Ocean animals

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The Octopus by Guojing (Two Lions, 48 pages, ages 4-8). A little girl and her mother are walking on the beach when they find a tiny octopus caught in some plastic rings. The girl carefully frees the octopus, then lets it go in the ocean. To repay her kindness, the creature uses a shell pendant around her neck to create magic that shrinks her down to its own size. Together they go on a magical journey through the sea, swimming with all kinds of marine animals and hiding together in scallop shells. When a sea turtle swims head first into a plastic bag, the girl frees it, then takes the bag back with her when she returns home. Back on the beach with her mom, she discards the bag and other trash she’s found into the proper receptacles, then shares her amazing story with her mother while they watch a beautiful beach sunset together. Includes an author’s note with additional information about keeping beaches clean and treating animals with respect, as well as some fun facts about octopuses.

The luminous illustrations tell the story in this wordless picture book that also imparts a lesson about taking care of the environment. Kids will be enraptured by the adorable octopus and the magical underwater scenes.

The Secrets of the Jellies: Amazing Jellyfish and Their Surprising Talents by Karen Jameson, illustrated by Marie Hermansson (Chronicle Books, 40 pages, ages 4-8). Inspired by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s jellyfish exhibit and live Jelly Cam, this book introduces kids to jellyfish with rhyming text and colorful illustrations portraying a variety of species that sometimes seems to glow in their marine habitat. A sentence or two on each page gives a fact about jellyfish, all of which are elaborated on in a page-by-page guide at the end. There are also thumbnail illustrations and additional information about 22 different jellyfish.

Readers will want to hop on a plane to California to see what must be a truly spectacular exhibit at the Monterey Aquarium. The book is written and illustrated in a way that will appeal to very young readers, but the additional information in the back makes it a good choice for older kids too. The only thing missing was a list of resources for further research.

The Whale’s Tale and the Otter’s Side of the Story: a book to read from front to back and back to front by Kate Messner, illustrated by Brian Biggs (Clarion Books, 40 pages, ages 4-9). A whale and an otter stand at a microphone, each one prepared to make the case about why its species is the best. Starting on the first page, the whale explains the superior ways that whales hunt, communicate, swim, and help the environment, with disparaging remarks about otters sprinkled throughout. The last page tells readers to start on the last page and read the book backwards. In this version, the exact same words are used by the otter to make the case that otters are better than whales. The author’s note explains how words can be used to create misinformation and encourages readers to consider a speaker or writer’s point of view learning something new. There’s also additional information about whales and otters, with a list of books for further reading.

This very clever book is written like Marilyn Singer’s reveso poetry, making it fun to read but also a good exercise in thinking about how the same words can be used to present points of view that are completely opposite. The illustrations are cute, with lots of humor, although I personally prefer a greater variety of colors than the mostly turquoise and black.

The beautiful game

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Lionel Messi’s World Cup Triumph (History’s Greatest Games, book 1) by Chris Barish, illustrated by Nate Sweitzer (Harry N. Abrams, 136 pages, grades 4-8). This graphic nonfiction account of how Lionel Messi led Argentina to World Cup victory in 2022 is narrated by a sports commentator who takes readers through a brief history of soccer, then tells them about another Argentinian great, Diego Maradono, who was key to the 1986 World Cup win. From there, we go to Messi’s childhood, when his greatness in the sport was apparent from an early age. A growth hormone deficiency threatened his chances of becoming an athletic superstar, but he was recruited by Barcelona, who paid for the medical treatment his parents couldn’t afford. Lionel won every championship imaginable, except for the ultimate World Cup one, which eluded him for four tournaments. The 2022 final against France went into extra time and was finally decided by a penalty shoot-out. In a final chapter, two fans debate whether Maradono or Messi is the Argentinian G.O.A.T., with readers left to decide for themselves. Includes a list of sources.

There are probably few people on the planet who know less about soccer than I do, yet I found this book riveting right up until the end (and I wound up on Team Messi in the final debate). The quick pace and exciting play-by-play narration will keep fans turning the pages. I hope more entries in this series are on their way soon, as it’s sure to be a popular choice for upper elementary and middle school readers.

Soccerology: Unbelievable Facts and Stories About the Beautiful Game by Kevin Sylvester (Annick Press, 92 pages, grades 4-7). The author delivers on his promise in the introduction to look at all aspects of soccer: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Starting with the earliest forms of the game that go all the way back to 1600 BCE, he moves to the current era of soccer when a consistent set of rules was codified in the nineteenth century, and then the evolution of that game to the present day. The bad and the ugly parts involve the uphill battle women and people of color have faced (and continue to face) to get equal playing time, publicity, and pay, as well as various scandals and the way money has come to dominate the game. The book ends with a chapter of fun facts about soccer, including games that feature underdogs, all-time records, and quirky trivia. Includes selected references with websites for further reading and an index.

Again, I can’t emphasize enough how little I know about soccer, and there I was again, getting drawn into this book that’s chock full of fascinating information. Soccer devotees will want to read it cover to cover while more casual fans will enjoy browsing through the different sections. The selected references list includes plenty of places to look for further information.