non-fiction – Peaceful Reader

Two fun non-fiction titles to get excited about…

Get Dressed! by Seymour Chwast (2012). The front of this charming book opens up from the middle for a unique twist. Clothing apparel is presented for two children from the start of their day to the end as they use their imaginations to fend off dragons, rock out in a band, build sand castles, play super hero, and then lose their clothing to take a bath and go to bed. This is perfect to share with a little one to spur their own imagination and for pure fun.

Art Panels, Bam! Speech Bubbles, Pow!; Writing Your Own Graphic Novel by Trisha Speed Shaskan and illustrated by Stephen Shaskan (2011). This cool book takes the reader step-by-step through the writing process and explains exactly how a graphic novel is written. Each page introduces one tool that will help students (and adults) move through and understand what makes a good story. Characters and plot are covered as well as how to draw thumbnail sketches, panels, speech bubbles, and captions. All children who love those drawing books will love these as well as graphic novel fans. I learned a new word “emanata“; little pictures or lines that emanate from a character or object to show emotion. Calvin always had zaggy lines bolting from his brain when he was furious. I feel a little smarter today thanks to this book.

Both of these titles will make it to my fall book list because they will attract both teachers and students. Kids would love a writing lesson based on the skills in this Art Panels and behold the teacher who would be smart enough to use it that way!

Picture Book Frenzy

I have a stack of beautiful books checked out from my public library. I love the library but I struggle with their return on time policy. I dislike paying fines for overdue books. I’m much better with Netflix’s return policy (keep it as long as you like-you’ll get more when you return it)-that is within my power. On the other hand the library lets me take out stacks and stacks. Hmmmm.

Since these are due back before I return from camping-I’m going to review them in batch and return them tomorrow before we leave so I skip out on the hefty fine.

Lucky for me I’ve read them all:

First up, About Habitats; Mountains written by Cathryn Sill; illustrated by John Sill (2009)

Peaceful Girl and I loved this book. It is the perfect kind of nonfiction for elementary students….not a lot of text! It begins: “Mountains are places that rise high above the surrounding land.” and a glorious illustration of Mount McKinley (Alaska Range). Each page has one or two descriptive sentences matched with a mountain scene. The afterword gives greater detail to each mountain illustration and a glossary is included. Highly Recommended-Elementary Nonfiction

Stuff! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle by Steven Kroll; illustrated by Steve Cox (2009)

Stuff! tells the story of Pinch, a pack rat (how perfect)who looks like a cute big-eared mouse. Pinch has trouble getting rid of anything and his house and yard are overflowing. Bumper Bunny and Heddy Hedgehog come knockin’ one day to ask for donations and he turns them down! Yes, he’s a hoarder! He tells them he just can’t part with any of it. He finally has a change of heart and loads up a wheelbarrow to sell at the town tag sale. He does it at first to make money (more money means I can buy new stuff) but ends up enjoying his newly clean home! This is a great story to help children understand how important it is to buy responsibly-a good lesson for many adults. Recommended-Elementary Fiction

What Bluebirds Do by Pamela F. Kirby (2009)

This book has fantastic photographs of a bluebird family-it’s a play-by-play of their relationship, which takes place in Kirby’s backyard. My peaceful girl is fascinated by the bird activities in our own backyard and so loved this book. It shows such clear detail of what the birds look like compared to other blue birds, their mating flirtations (the male flaps his wings and offers her food-sounds easy enough) and how the beautiful eggs fare in the nest. The sentences are easy to read with the photographs taking center stage. It has a ton of useful information in the back as well.
Highly Recommended (if I were to buy any of these three it would be this one)elementary nonfiction.

Enjoy these three lovely books. Hopefully I will have a chance to review three more tomorrow before my library trip. My husband should love that. “Sure honey, I’ll be right there to help you load the car-right after I finish this blog post!” Can you picture it?

April Showers bring May flowers…

I have been looking around at all the amazing books I have added to the library this year and I realize many of them are titles I heard about from the blogs on the right. (insert arrow—) I picked a few favorites just for you.

1. bees, snails, & peacock tails by betsy franco and steve jenkins(2008). I love the combination of math, shapes, patterns mixed into the natural world. The illustrations are amazing!! Here is another great look at this book by another blogger.
2. Flip, Float, Fly; seeds on the move by JoAnn Early Macken, ill. Pam Paparone (2008). I am astounded at how wonderful non-fiction has become and these first two books are perfect examples. Gone are the days of boring text mixed with simple photos of what becomes an uninspiring topic! When you have text like this: “a wild oat seed curls up in the sun like a comma. The seed straightens out when it rains. Wiggle! Jump!” and a perfect illustration to match. How great!
3. Helen Keller; the world in her heart by Lesa Cline-Ransome; ill. James Ransome (2008). Finally a great biography of Helen Keller that elementary students will get! Now if this team could do one on Anne Frank my students would really appreciate it. They have another biography (Young Pele; soccer’s first star) out which is also fantastic.
4. A River of words; the story of William Carlos Williams by Jen Bryant; ill. Melissa Sweet (2008). This book is such a simple retelling of one man’s life; about dreams not realized in the usual way and hope for all artists. The illustrations are as-if-lifted right from his notebook; we get such a sense of being right there with him. Thank you for this book because we glimpse into this life and understand.
5. Cinderella by Max Eilenberg and Niamh Sharkey great blog 🙂(2008). I love fairy tales, all kinds of versions. This particular one I like because of its simplicity and because the father steps up (for once) and says His daughter should try on the glass slipper-yes, thanks for coming out of the fog, dear Dad! I am going to read it to students next week.
6. Beware of the frog by william bee (2008)-great name, great book…funny, funny book and children love it!
7. Our Library by Eve Bunting (2008)-I’ve already blogged about this one so here’s someone else’s thoughts on this great book that reminds us all of working together in our communities!
8. One boy by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (2008). My kindergarten students loved this book when I read it to them in the library. They said “will you read it again…”
9. The Beeman by Laurie Krebs and Valeria Cis (2008). My step-father is a beeman so maybe I like this one because I can relate but this book shows an unusual occupation/hobby that most kids wouldn’t even think about in an easy-to-read rhyming text!
10. Mrs. Claus explains it all by Elsbeth Claus; ill. David Wenzel (2008). I can’t wait for Christmas! This one offers great questions with wonderful answers! How does Santa get into your house if you don’t have a chimney??? This has a great format and beautiful illustrations. Age-0ld, priceless and brand-new, all in one!
I think 10 is a good number to stop at for today-I know there are more but these are the ones that have been stacking up on my desk; Read Me!! These are just the picture books…whew!