Nonfiction

The Monarchs Are Missing: A Butterfly Mystery by Rebecca E. Hirsch

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Published by Millbrook Press

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Summary:  The monarchs are missing?  Some of them are, anyway.  In the last two decades, the monarch butterfly population has steeply declined.  How can we even know how many monarchs there are?  The answer to that goes back to the 1960’s when scientists first discovered the areas in Mexico where monarchs spend the winter.  Since then, they’ve taken annual measurements of the area the butterflies inhabit to get a rough estimate of the population.  There’s no agreement in the scientific community about why there are so many fewer monarchs today, but some theories include climate change, new pesticides, and agricultural methods that have impacted milkweed, the butterflies’ main food source.  Kids can help by planting milkweed and other wildflowers that provide nectar for the monarchs during their migration south.  Includes an author’s note, glossary, 3 books for further reading, an index, instructions for planting a butterfly garden, and several websites to help kids become citizen scientists.  56 pages; grades 3-7.

Pros:  A fascinating look at science at work, with plenty of photos and kid-friendly ideas for making a difference.

Cons:  The introduction profiled two kids catching and tagging butterflies; it would have been interesting to read more about kids acting as citizen scientists.

If you would like to buy this book from Amazon, click here.

The Bee Book by Charlotte Milner

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Published by DK Children

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Summary:  What’s the buzz about bees?  This book seeks to answer this and quite a few more questions like “Where does honey come from?”, “What would we do without bees?”, and “What can you do to help?”.  Turns out the whole “busy as a bee” thing is real; you might appreciate that spoonful of honey more when you know it’s the lifetime’s work of 12 honeybees (a jar of honey represents 55,000 miles of flying).  Why should humans be concerned about the disappearance of bees?  One-third of our food comes from crops pollinated by animals.  Scientists are working to develop a robot bee, but it’s not quite the same, is it?  Activities at the end include making a bee hotel and planting a garden to help bees in their pollination efforts.  48 pages; grades K-5.

Pros:  Interesting information combined with lots of graphics make this an appealing choice to learn more about all kinds bees, with a focus on honeybees.

Cons:  The whole bee situation is a lot more serious than I realized.

If you would like to buy this book from Amazon, click here.

 

Bad Princess: True Tales from Behind the Tiara by Kris Waldherr

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Published by Scholastic

Amazon.com: Bad Princess: True Tales from Behind the Tiara eBook: Waldherr, Kris, Waldherr, Kris: Kindle Store

Summary:  For centuries, princesses have captured the public’s imagination.  From the “princess wars” between Henry VIII’s daughters Mary and Elizabeth to the 21st century obsession with Kate Middleton, princesses have long been in the public eye.  This book looks at some of history’s “bad” princesses who have been surrounded by scandals ranging from divorce to murder.  Many are European, but there are also appearances by other nationalities like Hawaii’s Princess Ka’iulani and Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, a Dubai sheikha who competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in tae kwon do.  Sidebars give interesting additional information about real-life princesses and their fairytale counterparts.  The book ends with a tournament of historical and storybook princesses (you’ll have to find out for yourself if Diana or Cinderella takes it all) and a princess board game.  Includes resources for further reading.  128 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  A heavy dose of history is handled with a light touch, complete with pink-tinged black-and-white illustrations and plenty of humor.  

Cons:  So many princesses to keep track of.

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Made for Each Other: Why Dogs and Puppies Are Perfect Partners by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent, photographs by William Munoz

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Published by Crown Books for Young Readers

Summary:  Man’s best friend gets a closer look in the three sections of this book.  The first discusses the history of dogs, and how they evolved from wolves to partner with humans.  Part two, “The Science of Love” looks at how dogs’ brains work and what their body language and barks can communicate to humans.  The final section shows how contemporary humans and dogs share lives. The topics change quickly, with each two-page spread featuring a new heading and lots of adorable and sometimes funny photos.  Includes a long list of additional resources and source notes.  64 pages; grades 1-4.

Pros:  This book will be irresistible to dog lovers, not only because of the incredibly cute photographs, but also the interesting and relevant information (who doesn’t want to know what their dog is thinking?).  A perfect STEM title for all readers.

Cons:  Sorry, I just can’t think of anything negative in the presence of all those cute puppies.

If you would like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.

March Forward Girl: From Young Warrior to Little Rock Nine by Melba Beals, illustrated by Frank Morrison

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Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Summary:  Melba Beals, who told her story of helping to integrate Little Rock’s Central High School in Warriors Don’t Cry, recounts her early days, growing up in Jim Crow Arkansas.  At the age of three, she observed her family making the house quiet and dark each night, hoping the Ku Klux Klan would leave them alone.  She raged at seeing her beloved parents and grandmother slighted and scolded whenever they went into town, and at having to use inferior facilities everywhere, while white people got the best of everything.  As she grew up, her fear and anger turned into a determination to change things and to get out of Arkansas.  She jumped at the chance to go to Central High School, a huge, beautiful school that she had admired for years.  The main part of the book ends right before she starts high school; an epilogue describes the violent and frightening experience of integration.  The text is illustrated with drawings and a few photographs.  224 pages; grades 6-9.

Pros:  Readers will gain a better understanding of what it was like for African Americans living in the South in the 1940’s.  Beals’ conversational tone draws the reader in, and her story is so powerful and compelling (and at times, horrifying) that the book is hard to put down.

Cons:  This book is recommended for grade 5 or age 10 and up.  Be aware that there is a scene in which the KKK storms into a prayer meeting, and 5-year-old Melba witnesses a lynching from the church rafters; at age 11, she gets lost on a dark, isolated road and narrowly escapes being raped and/or murdered by a group of Klansmen.

If you would like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.

Be A King: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream and You by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by James Ransome

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Published by Bloomsbury

Summary:  “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve….You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.”  Martin Luther King Jr.’s words speak to children in this book showing how anyone can “be a King.”  Illustrations portraying scenes from King’s life are interspersed with others in a different style showing kids working together to paint an MLK mural.  Ideas for how to be a King include standing for peace, having a dream, and doing your very best at whatever you do.  The last page shows the kids gathered around the mural with the advice, “You can be a King.  Set your sights on the mountaintop.  Climb a little higher every day.”  An author’s note gives biographical information.  40 pages; ages 4-9.

Pros:  I liked how this book connected the sometimes abstract concepts of King’s work and speeches with concrete actions that kids can take to make the world a better place.  This would be an excellent book to use in conjunction with the day of service aspect of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.  There is a lot to look at in the illustrations, with two stories interwoven.

Cons:  Having biographical information on the pages with the pictures of King–even just a sentence or two–would have made this even more useful in helping kids understand his life.

If you would like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.

Martin Rising: Requiem for a King by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Scholastic Press

Summary:  The Pinkneys relate the story of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination, beginning with a “Henny Penny Prelude”, in which the fairy tale hen tries to warn of the bitter events ahead.  The remaining poems are in three sections: “Daylight”, “Darkness”, and “Dawn”, in which King’s work is described, particularly the sanitation workers’ strike that brought him to Memphis, Tennessee in March and April of 1968.  The assassination occurs part way through “Darkness”, and includes poems about Coretta Scott King, the Kings’ four children, and James Earl Ray.  “Dawn” is made up of just three poems, concluding with “Rejoice the Legacy” which celebrates MLK’s legacy, including the holiday celebrating his birth.  Back matter includes author’s and artist’s reflections, four pages of text describing the events from the poems called “Now Is the Time” (with several photographs), a timeline, and sources.  128 pages; grades 4-8.

Pros:  Both the poetry and the illustrations are majestic and give the reader much to think about.  The author’s note suggests that the poems could be performed with the “Now Is the Time” section as narration and adding poems to the appropriate parts of the story.

Cons:  The Henny Penny motif was a bit confusing to me.

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The Underground Railroad (American Girl: Real Stories from My Time series) by Bonnie Bader, with Addy stories by Connie Porter; illustrated by Kelley McMorris

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Published by Scholastic

Summary:  The story of the Underground Railroad and slavery in America is told in this chapter book that includes sections on these two topics as well as abolitionists, slave catchers, and the Emancipation Proclamation.  Each chapter ends with two pages told by Addy Walker, the American Girl whose story includes an escape from slavery.  Her narrative is in her voice, drawing from the original American Girl books.  Black and white illustrations and photographs appear every two or three pages.  Includes a note about Addy’s dialect, a glossary, a map of free and slave states and territories in 1856, a timeline, and source notes.  112 pages; grades 3-6.

Pros:  What could have been a simple marketing tool for Addy is actually a very informative, engagingly written nonfiction book.  Other topics in the series will include the Boston Tea Party, the Titanic, and Pearl Harbor.  I will leave it to you to match the topic with the American Girl.

Cons:  On page 25, Quakers are described as “a Christian group who believe that people should shake and tremble at the word of the Lord.”  Having been part of a variety of Quaker meetings for the last fifteen years, I can safely say I have yet to meet a Quaker who fits this description.

If you would like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.

 

Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinson; illustrated by Frank Morrison

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

The majority of books I have read in 2018 have been about African-Americans and the Civil Rights Movement.  I will be sharing reviews of these for the next week, beginning today.

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Summary:  A girl tells about her participation in the Birmingham Children’s March of 1963, starting with a family trip to church to hear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  When he urges the congregation to march, many of the adults are afraid of losing jobs, so young people offer to go.  On May 2, she and other children and teens begin their protest, only to be met with dogs, fire hoses, and arrest.  On the third day, she is sent to jail.  When their story is broadcast around the world, changes begin to happen, and within two months, the girl is playing on a playground she’s never been allowed to use before.  Back matter includes an afterword, an artist’s statement, a bibliography, and three photos from the march.  40 pages; grades 1-4.

Pros:  A compelling story, made even more so by the first-person narration and the large, realistic oil paintings.  The message that one person can make a difference is inspiring.

Cons:  The desegregation process seemed overly simplified.

If you would like to buy this book on Amazon, click here.

Five favorite nonfiction books

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

I do love nonfiction, and this year there were so many, I’ve ended up making two lists.  Look for biographies coming tomorrow; that will be my last list and final post for the next few weeks.

 

Grand Canyon by Jason Chin.  Published by Roaring Brook Press.

Save yourself airfare to Arizona, and just take a long, slow look through Jason Chin’s book instead.  This could also be on my Caldecott contenders’ list.  Link to Amazon.

 

Stormy Seas: Stories of Young Boat Refugees by Mary Beth Leatherdale.  Published by Annick Press

Compelling stories from the last 60 years that will engage fans of the “I Survived” series.  The text format and collage illustrations make it visually appealing.  Link to Amazon.

 

How Many Guinea Pigs Can Fit on a Plane? Answers to Your Most Clever Math Questions by Laura Overdeck.  Published by Feiwel and Friends.

Kids clamoring to read a math book?  I’ve seen it with my own eyes.  Link to Amazon.

 

The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater.  Published by Farrar Straus Giroux.

A hate crime without the hate told with compassion from both sides.  I hope this amazing book gets some award recognition from the YA world.  Link to Amazon.

 

The Secret Project by Jonah Winter.  Published by Beach Lane Books.

I know there’s controversy about this book.  Be sure to also look at an opposing viewpoint.  It reminds me of A Fine Dessert of a few years ago–I think the controversy will prevent it from winning any awards, but I still find it a compelling read.  Link to Amazon.