Non-Fiction – Page 5

Early Reader, Intermediate, Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction

Celebrate diversity with The Barefoot Book of Children!

Posted on August 31, 2016August 24, 2019 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Barefoot Book of Children, by Tessa Strickland and Kate DePalma/Illustrated by David Dean, (Oct. 2016, Barefoot Books), $19.99, ISBN: 9781782852964

Recommended for ages 3-8

“Every morning, millions of children open their eyes and start another day.”

Using broad statements and insightful questions about how we live, love, and play, The Barefoot Book of Children introduces readers to children all around the world. David Dean’s bright, hand-painted illustrations show how families around the globe live; dress; and pray and worship. We get glimpses into the treasures we all keep, the stories we all have to tell, the meanings behind our very names. With questions like, “How do you share your love?” and “What will happen in your story?”, the book invites kids to come together and talk about their lives and their families, learning how we are unique and the same, all at once. Illustrated notes at the end of the book provide a deeper examination of the book, focusing on homes, special places, and hobbies featured in the book.

I’m from Queens, New York; one of the most diverse places in the country. The Barefoot Book of Children is what every library, every school, in my borough should be reading and making available to the kids we serve, because every child here will see themselves in this book. That’s tremendous. It brings us together by introducing us to other cultures through the familiar: play, family, home. The bright artwork is so inviting, you can’t help but pull up a comfortable seat and spend some time getting to know your world better.

I loved this book, and I think parents, educators, and most importantly, kids, will, too. Take a look at more of the book and consider adding it to your wish lists.

Early Reader, Graphic Novels, Intermediate, Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction

A touching portrait of a Canadian strongman: The Great Antonio

Posted on August 24, 2016August 24, 2019 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Great Antonio, by Elise Gravel (Oct. 2016, TOON Books), $12.95, ISBN: 978-1-943145-08-9

Recommended for ages 6-8

Antonio Barichievich was a bear of a man: he weighed as much as a horse, once wrestled a bear, pulled passenger buses full of people, and could eat 25 roast chickens and a dozen donuts in one sitting. He was also a beloved figure: an immigrant from Eastern Europe who loved his adopted country of Canada and its people. He was a wrestler and a strongman; he was a kind and gentle soul who twirled kids around on his gigantic braids, who lived simply, and could often be found in his neighborhood donut shop.

Even if you’re not familiar with The Great Antonio – I wasn’t, before this – this is a sweet tribute to a beloved public figure. The book is accessible to anyone, because it’s a story about a larger-than-life person who did larger-than-life things. Add bright and bold illustration to a story about a man that some people thought of in Paul Bunyan-type terms, even joking that he may have been from another planet – and you have a modern tall tale for a new audience.

A note from the author/illustrator at the end of the book explains her interest in Antonio. She “illustrates a little “About Me”, showing readers things she likes, like fart jokes, grumpy unidentified things, and strong and funny girl characters, which assures that I should probably become BFFs with her, because I like those things too, and my kids and the kids in my library know it. This will make life so much easier when I booktalk this book (and try to find more of her illustrated books in the US).

Check out Elsie Gravel’s website for more of her artwork and books. The Great Antonio‘s page on TOON Books will also have a link to an educator’s guide closer to pub date, so keep it bookmarked. The Great Antonio is a Level 2 TOON Book, so it’s appropriate for readers in grades 1-2 (but you can read it to younger – my 4 year old loved seeing Antonio swing kids from his braids and wrestle a bear). If your kids’ school uses Guided Reading, the book is appropriate for levels G-K, and it’s a Lexile BR-240.

As a biography, it’s pretty niche, at least here in the U.S., but as a story about a person who touched lives and made headlines, it’s a great read. I love the art and the story, so I’ll see how this one does in my collection, especially with some booktalking/storytimes.

Early Reader, Non-Fiction, Preschool Reads

Take a trip around the world with Metropolis!

Posted on August 1, 2016June 29, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Metropolis, by Benoit Tardif (Oct. 2016, Kids Can Press), $17.95, ISBN: 9781771387217

Recommended for ages 3-8

Take a trip to all the world’s major cities without leaving your library! Benoit Tardif has created a colorful, exciting profile of the world’s biggest cities with Metropolis. See the famous Opera House in Sydney, Australia, or go whale watching in Auckland, New Zealand. Go for rides on the London Eye and the Ancol Dreamland Amusement Park in Jakarta, Indonesia – with 34 cities to cover, you’ll have your passport punched in no time!

Mr. Tardif’s images are exciting, bright, and pop off the pages. More than just a collection of buildings, Metropolis uses both digital and traditional artwork to create mini-tourism posters for each location. We see cartoon-like characters selling bagels (Montreal) and seafood (Vancouver); baseball players in New York and Chicago; bridges, sporting venues, and natural sights.

This is a great addition to any collection. It’s perfect for young readers – I’d shelve this with concept books as easily as I’d display it with the Good Night Our World series of board books by Adam Gamble. I’d make it available to elementary students who need information on world cities and landmarks. I’d give it to a graduating student, to provoke some wanderlust!

Enjoy more of Benoit Tardif’s illustration at his website.

A solid investment for your shelves.

Early Reader, Intermediate, Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction

Animal Planet’s Animal Bites series is great for young readers!

Posted on July 15, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Animal books are KING with younger readers. I gush constantly about the NatGeo books, but I’ve just been made aware of Animal Planet’s Animal Bites series: books spotlighting animals from different habitats, like Farm Animals and Wild Animals, and loaded with bite-sized info (see what I did there?), questions for discussion, and yes, outstanding photos.

Each book is organized to guide readers through information about family relationships, animal bodies, ecosystems, play time, conservation, and so much more. Check boxes throughout prompt discussion about whether these animals are friendly or would make good pets (bears, not so much; horses, yes) and discussion questions ask kids to compare themselves with animals: do you like to play games, like a border collie does? We get infographics on featured animals, including geographic location, weight, and height, and to help younger kids form a more solid frame of reference, a comparison to something most of us see every day, from a truck to a computer printer.

I love the emphasis on conservation, particularly in the Wild Animals book. Features on animals that have been saved from the brink of extinction, like the gray wolf, make very real the idea that conservation works when there is awareness.

Each book ends with a quiz, an activity and a craft, and a robust list of resources, a glossary, and an index. Endpapers lead readers in and send them off with a gorgeous photo of an animal.

There are over 200 photos in each book, along with infographics, maps, and informative Quick Bites. Other books in the series include Animal Planet Polar Animals and Animal Planet Ocean Animals.

Further committing to conservation, a portion of the proceeds benefits Animal Planet’s R.O.A.R. (Reach Out. Act. Respond.) campaign that partners with leading animal organization to make the world a better place for domestic and wild animals.

My 4 year old LOVES these books: trying to get them back so I could refer to them for this review was fun (he’s at school right now). Every page is a new discovery, something waiting for him to find and explore. Sometimes, he plays with his animal toys, showing me his horses when I read the section on horses; he’ll show me a lion when I get to a spotlight on lions. If he asks why his shark is missing, I’ll explain that I have to buy him a copy of Ocean Animals. 😉

Kids love animals. Animal Planet books make it easy for you to bring more animals into their lives, and even more importantly, to discuss humane treatment of animals and the importance of conservation of our planet with them. The books are a nice, sturdy softcover, perfect for tucking into your tote bag when you’re traveling (or sneaking your kid’s copy out so you can read it on the way to work), and it’ll hold up to repeated reads.

Animal Planet: Animal Bites – Wild Animals, by Laaren Brown (Animal Planet, June 2016), $12.95, ISBN: 978-1618934147

Animal Planet: Animal Bites – Farm Animals, by Laaren Brown (Animal Planet, June 2016), $12.95, ISBN: 978-1618934130

Recommended for ages 4-8

Early Reader, Non-Fiction, Preschool Reads

Ocean Animals from Head to Tail is SO MUCH FUN!

Posted on July 2, 2016May 16, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Ocean Animals from Head to Tail, by Stacey Roderick/Illustrated by Kwanchai Moriya, (Sept. 2016, Kids Can Press), $16.95, ISBN: 9781771383455

Recommended for ages 3-7

Does anyone love Steve Jenkins’ Actual Size and Prehistoric Actual Size as much as I do? They are the perfect non-fiction read-aloud for elementary school class visits; the kids go berserk when they see a life-sized Goliath beetle, or watch me put a dinosaur’s claw to the back of my head to illustrate how it could pick me up like a grape. Less terrifying, but just as amazing for the younger set – especially those Octonauts fans out there! – is Ocean Animals from Head to Tail, by Stacey Roderick and illustrated by Kwanchai Moriya.

Ocean Animals introduces readers to eight different ocean animals, focusing on a unique body part. First, we see a close-up of the animals in question – the scalloped head of a hammerhead shark, a colossal squid’s eye, a blue whale’s mouth with a focus on its baleen – and a question: What ocean animal has a head like this? What ocean animal has eyes like this? What ocean animal has a mouth like this? The body part in question is highlighted with a gray font to call attention to it, and the following spread answers the question, zooms out to illustrate the animal in its natural environment, and provides interesting and quick facts about the animal. We learn that the squid’s soccer ball-sized eyes are the largest of any animal, and help the squid see in areas where there’s very little light. The blue whale’s baleen act as a huge sieve to catch the tasty krill it loves to eat. A spread at the end introduces kids to eight more ocean animals.

Not featured in actual size, but still in huge detail, the kids will LOVE this book. Kwanchai Moriya’s paper collage art is bright and interesting, popping off the page and adding depth to the spreads. My three year-old loves this book (as well as the Actual Size books) and has me read this to him constantly. (It came in handy at the doctor’s office today!) With shows like Octonauts and Wild Kratts generating interest in animals, nature, and conservation, this is a great book to have on home, school, and library shelves. It’s a great storytime book, too: pair it with a Rainbow Fish story, Shark in the Dark, Mr. Seahorse – any underwater theme will do! Show an episode of Octonauts that stars one of the featured animals, and let the kids color some pictures of underwater animals that appear in the book.

This is the second in the Head to Tail series: Dinosaurs from Head to Tail was published in 2015, and Bugs From Head to Tail will be coming in 2017.

Great book for easy nonfiction collections.

Early Reader, Intermediate, Middle Grade, Non-fiction, Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Blog Tour: NatGeo Kids/Put Me in the Story and a Trip to San Diego!

Posted on June 8, 2016June 3, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

I LOVE the NatGeo Kids’ books. They have breathtaking artwork and photography, they break down information into chunks that kids can’t get enough of, and they cover everything from dinosaurs to gross science. What’s not to love? They’re aces at my library, too – just about every title is on my “reorder” list, because the kids circulate every last book like it was gospel, and at home? My little guy devours them, just like his older brothers did before.

I was lucky enough to get copies of their new “Put Me in the Story” books for dinosaurs and animals, and am in love. It makes a great gift for a dino fan or an animal fan: you upload your child’s picture to the (very secure) site, put in your child’s name, plus a dedication, and they generate the book. My little guy has his own Dinosaurs and Animal books, and each spread contains facts, photos, and questions aimed at your child, like, “How fast can you run, Anthony?” “What’s your favorite dinosaur, Sarah?”! It’s such a great way to spark discussion, and let’s be honest, it’s just really cool.

Even better, you have a chance to win a trip to the San Diego Zoo for their 100th Anniversary, courtesy of Put Me in the Story and National Geographic Kids! Read on!

PUT ME IN THE STORY AND NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS PRESENT…

THE LITTLE EXPLORER DRAWING CONTEST!

Help us celebrate the new National Geographic Kids personalized books and the San Diego Zoo’s 100^th Anniversary!

Enter the contest for your chance to win a trip to the San Diego Zoo to celebrate their 100^th anniversary!

The San Diego Zoo has an extra special year of fun planned and we want YOU to be a part of it! With displays on Centennial Plaza, new film experiences, new shows and more, this year will be one of the most exciting at the San Diego Zoo!

Contest Open: May 16 – July 8

To Enter: Adults 18+ can fill out the form on the contest page to enter.

For EXTRA entries: Download the free coloring pages on the contest page and share a photo of your child’s drawing on their coloring page with the hashtag #ColorAndExplore on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook! You can also upload the drawing to the photo gallery on the contest page.

*Social media posts must be public for them to be counted as an extra entry.

1 GRAND PRIZE WINNER will receive:

Family vacation to San Diego!
- 4-days/3-nights for a family of 4! Includes flights and hotel accommodations and 4 tickets to the San Diego Zoo
National Geographic Little Kids Book of Animals and National Geographic Little Kids Book of Dinosaurs personalized books

2 RUNNER-UP WINNERS will receive:

National Geographic Little Kids Book of Animals and National Geographic Little Kids Book of Dinosaurs personalized books
1-year subscriptions to National Geographic Kids magazine and National Geographic magazine

ABOUT THE BOOKS

National Geographic Little Kids Book of Animals

Hardcover $29.99 | Paperback $19.99

Explore the rain forest, the ocean, and the icecaps with this personalized guide for your animal-lover! National Geographic Little Kids Book of Animals is a colorful introduction to some of the world’s coolest creatures. From blue morpho butterflies and red-eyed tree frogs to tigers and polar bears, this personalized guide is sure to indulge your junior explorer.

Each page features beautiful photos of the animal alongside quick facts about its size, diet, and habitat. Questions like “How fast can you run?” are woven throughout to keep your little one’s interest.

Personalize this book with your child’s name, photo, and an encouraging dedication message to create a memorable keepsake. For a special surprise, check out the final pages, where your child can mark their favorite animal characteristics, then draw themselves as their favorite animal!

National Geographic Little Kids Book of Dinosaurs

Hardcover $29.99 | Paperback $19.99

Take a trip back in time with this personalized guide through the prehistoric world! With full-color illustrations, quick facts, and pronunciation guides, National Geographic Little Kids Book of Dinosaurs has plenty of information to captivate your paleontologist-in-training.

This kid-friendly reference book includes dinosaurs of all kinds: big and small, scaled and feathered, meat-eating and plant-eating. Your kiddo will learn fun facts about each dinosaur and answer questions like, “How many plates do you see on the Stegosaurus?”

Personalized with your child’s name, photo, and special dedication message, National Geographic Little Kids Book of Dinosaurs will become a favorite read. On the final pages, your child can mark the dinosaur qualities they like best, then draw themselves as a dinosaur!

ABOUT THE HOSTS/SPONSORS

About National Geographic Kids

National Geographic Kids inspires young adventurers to explore the world through award-winning magazines, books, apps, games, toys, videos, events and a website, and is the only kids brand with a world-class scientific organization at its core. National Geographic Kids magazine (10 issues per year) and National Geographic Little Kids magazine (six issues per year) are photo-driven publications available on newsstands or by subscription in print and on tablets. National Geographic Kids Books is the leading nonfiction publisher for kids with more than 100 titles each year, including The New York Times best-seller “Kids Almanac.”

About San Diego Zoo Global

Bringing species back from the brink of extinction is the goal of San Diego Zoo Global. As a leader in conservation, the work of San Diego Zoo Global includes on-site wildlife conservation efforts (representing both plants and animals) at the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, as well as international field programs on six continents. The work of San Diego Zoo Global is made possible by the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy and is supported in part by the Foundation of San Diego Zoo Global.

About Put Me In The Story

Put Me In The Story, the #1 personalized books site in the U.S., creates personalized versions of bestselling books and books where you star alongside your favorite characters. Our gifts capture moments that matter and memories that last. With each touching picture and special dedication message, our readers have become our most dynamic characters.

Put Me In The Story inspires a love for reading, across all ages and generations, through the experience of shared, personalized stories.

GOOD LUCK!

Early Reader, Non-Fiction, Preschool Reads

Explore life On the Space Station!

Posted on March 23, 2016March 22, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

On the Space Station: A Shine-A-Light Book, by Carron Brown/Ilustrated by Bee Johnson, (Jan. 2016, Kane Miller), $12.99, ISBN: 978-1-61067-411-9

Recommended for ages 4-8

Take readers on a trip to outer space, where they can discover what astronauts do in space: how they sleep and exercise, for starters; we also get a glimpse into some of the work astronauts do on board the space station: working robotics, making repairs, even calling home!

On the Space Station is one of the books in Kane Miller’s Shine-A-Light series, where see-through pages allow readers to shine a light – a flashlight, or simply holding the page up to a light source – behind the page to reveal a new piece of information about the picture! A great next step for little ones who love the excitement of lift-the-flap books but are ready for something more, Shine-A-Light books continue working with the concept of object permanence for younger readers while adding a new dimension of interactivity to older readers. The books ask a question on one page; the child is able to discover the answer for his or herself by illuminating the page. The highlighted image has an expanded explanation on the next page.

The contrast between black and white images on the left and color images on the right will keep readers’ attention; explanations are black and white, concrete; activity and exploration is in color, provoking the imagination. The artwork is wonderful and fluid, giving kids an idea of the weightlessness of space contained within the space of a page.

My 3 year old loved this concept, and yes, this book has entered the regular rotation, too. The language is great for young audiences; direct, with fun “flicks”, “swishes”, and “wheees!” to add some zing to the nonfiction text. This could make for a fun storytime book, too – I have to figure out how to smoothly shine the light onto the page without the book flopping down as I hold it up!

As I said regarding The River, I worry about this one in circ. The paper is a good quality stock, but I have visions of pages being yanked and torn as little hands hold them up to the light. I may buy a set to keep in storytime reference, because I love this concept and think the kids will, too. Classrooms and home collections will really benefit from these.

Kane Miller is knocking my socks off with the quality of material they’re putting out for kids now! I’m becoming an unabashed Kane Miller fangirl, with good reason. Stay tuned for more!

Early Reader, Non-Fiction

Follow a penguin chick’s daily adventures One Day on Our Blue Planet… in the Anarctic

Posted on February 1, 2016August 24, 2019 by Rosemary Kiladitis

One Day On Our Blue Planet… In the Antarctic, by Ella Bailey (April 2016, Nobrow), $16.95, ISBN: 9781909263673

Recommended for ages 3-7

Join an Adélie penguin chick as she gets breakfast from her mother and heads out into the giant world on her own! We see her jump into the water and swim, searching for food, encountering whales and seals, and making sure to avoid becoming someone else’s dinner! Along the way, readers learn about how penguins like our little Adélie friend will travel for years before returning to solid land, how penguin bodies develop to keep warm, what they eat, and meet other types of penguins and sea animals.

Adorable, child-friendly, cartoony illustrations introduce us to all sorts of sea life, including a warty squid porpoise, Antarctic krill, leopard seal, and humpback whale. This is a fun introduction to the Antarctic for young audiences, with an animal kids already love: Penguins! Books like this help turn kids on to nonfiction – pair it with some Salina Yoon for a great penguin storytime, or have a nature read-aloud by pairing with the first book in the series, One Day On Our Blue Planet… In the Savannah.

Ella Bailey is an illustrator and writer. You can see more of her illustrations at Ohh Deer, and you can see some more art from One Day On Our Blue Planet… In the Antarctic right here.

Non-Fiction

Coco and the Little Black Dress is an inspirational story

Posted on September 13, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Coco and the Little Black Dress, by Annemarie Van Haeringen (Sept. 2015, North South Books), $16.95, ISBN: 9780735842397

Recommended for ages 6-10

Raised in an orphanage, Coco Chanel may have started life off in a decidedly life, but she learned life skills and developed a drive for success that propelled her to the heights of high fashion. Coco and the Little Black Dress tells the story of Coco Chanel’s rise to fame, beginning with learning how to sew, embroider, knit, mend, and crochet at the orphanage. She befriended the wealthy and powerful as she got older, and decided to change to outlandish and uncomfortable clothing the women wore. Starting with a pair of jodphurs for herself, she began making beautiful hats and comfortable, loosely fitted knits for women, freeing them from corsets. She created a perfume that smelled “like a beautiful woman” and finally, her crowning achievement: the little black dress – “the magic dress that shows how beautiful a woman is.”

It’s always a relief to see a biography for younger children about a strong female figure, and Coco Chanel certainly fits the bill. She was a self-made woman who gave women the ability to be free of uncomfortable clothing, to embrace their figures. The endpapers lead us right into Coco’s story, providing an early dress design at the beginning and a finished black dress to leave us with.

Author Annemarie van Haeringen is a three-time Golden Brush Award winner; Coco and the Little Black Dress, previously published in German, won the silver in 2014.

Early Reader, Non-Fiction, Preschool Reads

It’s a great day for A Visit to the Library!

Posted on September 10, 2015September 9, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

A Visit to the Library, by Mary Lindeed (Aug. 2015, Norwood House Press), $21.95, ISBN: 9781599536910

Recommended for ages 4-7

Take a trip to the library! Read a book, listen to a story at storytime, and use the computer! See what the librarian does, and check out a book! This Easy Reader is a great introduction to the library for young audiences and readers. There are vivid photos and informational, large print text, plus sight words and vocabulary at the end of the book. Activities round out the book and provide a neat little lesson for kids who are about to start using the library through school, maybe without a parent for the first time.

I’m going to read this with my preschoolers at my next storytime as a way to introduce them to the library, and talk with them about using the library. Norwood’s website suggests pairing At The Library with its fiction counterpart, Dear Dragon Goes to the Library by Margaret Hillert. Teachers may want to consider this pairing for a pre-library visit warmup, and parents could borrow this to read to their children in anticipation of a library visit.

A great addition to nonfiction collections.