Nonfiction

Follow the Moon Home: A Tale of One Idea, Twenty Kids, and a Hundred Sea Turtles by Philippe Cousteau and Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Meilo So

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Published by Chronicle Books

Summary:  Viv is new in town, and unsure how she feels about her new home.  On her first day of school, her new teacher encourages the class to look for a problem in their community that the kids can work to solve.  Walking on the beach, Viv learns that sea turtles nest there, and that the babies often get disoriented by beach house lights and can’t find their way to the ocean.  Her own difficulties finding her way in a new place makes Viv sympathetic for the turtles.  Soon her whole class is involved in researching the turtles’ plight and spreading the word to turn out lights and close curtains at night.  Their hard work pays off, and on a night patrol, Viv gets to see a line of loggerhead turtles heading for the sea.  Back matter includes a letter to young activists, a note to parents and teachers on how to help kids make a difference in their communities, and additional information about sea turtles.  48 pages; grades K-4.

Pros:  Environmental activist Cousteau (grandson of Jacques) and award-winning write Hopkinson join forces for an inspiring tale about young kids making a difference, backed up with information readers can use themselves.

Cons:  I was hoping this was based on a true story, but it seems to be fictional.

Slickety Quick: Poems About Sharks by Skila Brown, illustrated by Bob Kolar

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Candlewick

 

Summary: 14 different types of sharks get a poem, along with a brief factual description and two-page illustration. There are well-known sharks, such as the great white and the whale shark, and some lesser known species, like the cookie-cutter shark and wobbegong. Some of the poems are only a few lines (“Whale Shark: In water she dangles, and bubbles and jangles, and blinks her mouth right up at me. Her back spots they shimmer, her tail getting dimmer, the silkiest wave of the sea.”); others are a few stanzas. All are descriptive and playful with language. 32 pages; grades K-4.

Pros: The Venn diagram showing the intersection of poetry readers and shark fans must be pretty close to the null set. Slickety Quick does its part to remedy this situation, with fun poems and interesting shark lore to appeal to both groups.

Cons: Back matter with additional shark information would have been a nice addition.

I Am Pan by Mordicai Gerstein

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Roaring Brook Press 

Summary: Which Greek god has the most kid appeal? Pan, of course, the fun-loving god of noise, confusion, sheep, shepherds, goats, goatherds, bees, and beekeepers. Mordicai Gerstein combed through Greek myths to find all the ones he could in which Pan played a role. So after recounting his own birth, Pan then goes on to tell different stories about himself, including his marriage to Echo (who knew?), how he invented his famous pipes, and his pivotal role in helping the Greeks at the Battle of Marathon. The ending suggests that Pan and his deity comrades are still living among us today, a “fact” Rick Riordan fans will appreciate. A brief author’s note explains how and why Gerstein came to write this book; a list of the mythology books he used for his research is included. 80 pages; grades 1-5.

Pros: Written in comic book form with illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Gerstein, this is a perfect introduction to mythology for elementary age kids. Those already familiar with the Greek pantheon will enjoy expanding on their knowledge.

Cons: Reading a book with a goofy goat-man on the cover, emblazoned with the large words, “I Am Pan!” may open you up to scorn and derision from offspring over the age of 10.

Sports (My Weird School Fast Facts) by Dan Gutman

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Published by HarperCollins 

Summary: A.J. and Andrea, two of the wisecracking, squabbling kids from the My Weird School series, offer weird and interesting facts about a variety of sports. In addition to more well-known information, such as how different sports were invented, there are tidbits that will appeal specifically to elementary boys (some early hockey pucks were made of frozen cow poop) and some that are just bizarre (a hockey puck once hit a player in the chest, where he had a pack of matches, and his uniform caught on fire). Chapters include baseball, football, soccer, basketball, hockey, golf, car racing, the Olympics, and a couple chapters of miscellaneous facts. Includes lots of black-and-white illustrations by My Weird School illustrator Jim Paillot, as well as some photos. Look for a similar book with geography facts, and undoubtedly more on the way. 175 pages; grades 1-4.

Pros: Perfect for reluctant readers, this new series combines popular topics, interesting facts, and plenty of the humor that has made this series a favorite.

Cons: To my mind, the fast-fact format got a little old in the last few chapters. It wouldn’t have been a great loss to edit out the miscellaneous stuff.

The Great Monkey Rescue: Saving the Golden Lion Tamarins by Sandra Markle

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Published by Millbrook Press 

Summary: The story begins with a female golden lion tamarin trying to find a place to start a family. She’s rejected by groups of tamarins until she finally comes to the edge of the forest and realizes she has nowhere else to go. The narrative then moves to a look at the last few decades of human efforts to save this endangered Brazilian species. So much of the tamarins’ habitat has been destroyed that the animals were in danger of extinction. Tamarins in zoos weren’t breeding much, and if they did, the babies usually did not survive. Studying how the animals live in the wild led to greater success with zoo breeding programs, but challenges remained on how to introduce animals back into the rainforests. Slowly, over many years, scientists learned more about the golden lion tamarins and their environment, so that today the outlook for these animals looks positive. The female from the beginning discovers a tree bridge planted by scientists that leads her to a new home and family.   Includes a timeline, glossary, additional resources, and index. 48 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros: Packed with information, this book is written so engagingly that it’s hard to put down.  Plus, it has a happy ending.

Cons: The tamarins’ situation still seems somewhat tenuous.

The Big Book of Bugs by Yuval Zommer

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Published by Thames & Hudson 

Summary: It’s difficult to come up with an insect category that doesn’t have its own section in this oversized book. Beetles, praying mantises, flies, crickets…they’re all there, as well as a few non-insects like spiders and snails. Each two-page spread has several facts and detailed illustrations. Some pages contain an “I Spy” type challenge, such as finding 29 moths, two praying mantises eating dinner, or a family of silverfish. There are also sections on baby bugs, bugs on the move, house-loving bugs, bugs at work, and bugs in your garden. The last several pages include answers to the challenges, an illustrated glossary (“Bug words”), and an index. 64 pages; grades Pre-K-2.

Pros: Anyone with even the slightest interest in insects will find a lot of interesting facts here, as well as have the opportunity to see the beautiful Eric Carle-like illustrations of all the different creatures in their natural habitats. The wealth of information and attractive pictures might even be able to help the squeamish overcome their trepidation around creepy-crawlies.

Cons: This is indeed a big book—almost 14 inches tall—so you may need some special accommodations for library shelving.

 

America’s Tea Parties: Not One But Four! Boston, Charleston, New York, Philadelphia by Marissa Moss

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Published by Abrams 

Summary:  Everyone knows about the Boston Tea Party, but it turns out that event was just the beginning.  After word got around to the other colonies, Sons of Liberty groups in Charleston, New York, and Philadelphia had their own tea parties to prevent British tea from getting into colonial shops and to protest the hated tax on tea.  The four tea parties are put into context with a thorough look at the events leading up to them, as well as the various players in each colony.  Plentiful illustrations and sidebars add even more information.  End matter includes a six-page author’s note, a timeline covering events from fall of 1773 to the end of 1774, an extensive bibliography, and an index.  48 pages; grades 3-7.

Pros:  Middle grade social studies curricula will be given a boost with this well-written history of the period leading up to the American Revolution.  Thorough research, an engaging writing style, and plenty of illustrations make this an excellent nonfiction choice.

Cons:  There’s a lot of information here for the average fifth or sixth grader to wade through.

Two Friends: Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass by Dean Robbins, illustrated by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko

~ Janet Dawson ~ 2 Comments

Published by Orchard Books 

Summary:  Imagine Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass, both civil rights activists who lived in Rochester, New York, sitting down to tea and cake together.  That’s the starting point of Two Friends, which then takes a look back at the early life of both Anthony and Douglass and how they became involved in the struggles to end slavery and give women the right to vote.  An author’s note gives a bit more information, as well as dates when both goals were achieved in the United States.  32 pages; grades K-3.

Pros:  An interesting introduction to two important 19th century activists whose civil rights struggles are still relevant today.  The colorful folk-artsy illustrations nicely portray Anthony, Douglass, and their homes in Rochester.

Cons:  A pretty brief introduction with only a little biographical information.

Every Day Birds by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, illustrations by Dylan Metrano

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Published by Orchard Books 

Summary:  20 North American birds are introduced in simple rhyming text (“Chickadee wears a wee black cap/Jay is loud and bold/Nuthatch perches upside down/Finch is clothed in gold”).  Each line of the rhyme is on a separate page with a large cut-paper illustration of the bird.  The entire text is included on two pages at the end, followed by smaller pictures and additional information about each bird, listed alphabetically.  32 pages; ages 2-5.

Pros:  Each line perfectly captures a characteristic of the bird it describes.  The illustrations are simple and bright, appealing for young kids, yet accurately depicting the bird.  Readers will be ready to head outside and look in trees and the sky for some feathered friends.

Cons:  So many birds in one place triggered a brief Alfred Hitchcock moment.

The Hole Story of the Doughnut by Pat Miller, illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 

Summary:  Hanson Gregory left his family’s farm for a life at sea in 1844 at the age of 13.  He quickly rose from cook’s assistant to become captain of a clipper ship.  By all accounts, he became an excellent commander, even receiving a medal for heroism from the queen of Spain after rescuing seven Spanish sailors.  But what Hanson Gregory is remembered for today is inventing the doughnut.  As cook’s assistant, he was charged with making breakfast cakes of fried dough.  Because the centers of these cakes remained raw and heavy, they were called sinkers.  One day Gregory had the brilliant idea to cut out the centers with the top of the pepper shaker.  The rest is baking history.  Over the years, legends arose about the genesis of the doughnut, and others even claimed to have invented it, but this book lays these rumors to rest once and for all.  An author’s note gives a bit more information about Gregory.  A timeline and bibliography are also included.  32 pages; grades K-3.

Pros:  An excellent introduction to the invention of ordinary items, told with plenty of humor in both the text and the illustrations.

Cons:  Does not really address the question, Dunkin’ or Krispy Kreme?