Two intrepid librarians
Two intrepid librarians review the best nonfiction books for children
Pages
Monday, October 2, 2023
Sisters In Science: Marie Curie, Bronia Dłuska, and the Atomic Power of Sisterhood by Linda Elovitz Marshall
Friday, September 29, 2023
Bristlecone: The Secret Life of the World’s Oldest Tree by Alexandra Siy
Web of Life Children’s Books. 2022.
In the White Mountains of California, behind White Mountain Peak, there lives ancient, twisty trees. The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Trees.
In this informational picture book, Siy (author of, Mosquito Bite, Voyager’s Greatest Hits, and Cars On Mars), explains the life cycle of these ancient trees, one that is thought to be more than 5,000 years old.
By examining their growth rings, these remarkable trees record different environmental conditions. “More moisture makes a wider ring. Drought slows growth so much that a ring may not form at all. Extreme cold damages woods as it grows, making a frost ring. Fire scars form when scorched wood is flooded with a sticky resin.”
The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Tree grows slowly. Fifty years, the tree is almost as tall as a crow. In three hundred years, it will be just three feet tall.
The text draws readers in and clearly explains how the tree grows, repopulates, and how it survives in one of the harshest environments.
Paired with the engaging narrative are Garnsworthy’s meticulously researched illustrations. The pictures were created using watercolor, sand textures, and digital oil paint. They definitely bring the text to life.
Throughout the book some words that will appear in the glossary are in bold type. Im addition to the glossary, there is a note with information about the Bristlecone Pine Trees.
Monday, September 25, 2023
We Are Starlings: Inside the Mesmerizing Magic of a Murmuration written by Robert Furrow & Donna Jo Napoli; Illustrations by Marc Martin
written by Robert Furrow & Donna Jo Napoli; Illustrations by Marc Martin
We Are Starlings: Inside the Mesmerizing Magic of a Murmuration
Monday, September 18, 2023
Dare to Question: Carrie Chapman Catt’s Voice for the Vote By Jasmine A. Stirling
By Jasmine A. Stirling; Illustrated by Udayana Lugo
Union Square Kids, a subsidiary of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
2023
"There will never be a true democracy until every adult, without regard to race, sex, color or creed has his or her own voice in the government." Carrie Chapman Catt: November 1, 1917
Dare to Question is not just a story of how one woman, Carrie Chapman Catt, dedicated over 40-plus years to seeing that women were granted the right to vote. This is also a gripping tale of perseverance and a story of democracy.
Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947) was born in Ripon, Wisconsin. From a young age she asked questions.
“Young Carrie asked too many questions.
She wanted to know how many stars were in the sky, if germs had personalities, and how long it would take a snake egg to hatch behind her mama’s oven.”
Young Carrie also wanted to know why only her father left to vote and not her mama.
After putting herself through college (her father didn’t believe girls needed higher education), Carrie went to join the fight for suffrage. In 1900, Susan B. Anthony, who admired Carrie for asking questions, declared her leader of the Women’s Suffrage Movement.
This informational picture book recounts how Catt’s reinvigorated the suffrage after many defeats. Catt’s felt that to attract more women to the movement, the right to vote should be celebratory, creative, and fun!
“Instead of attracting rebels on the fringe, why couldn’t The Cause appeal to mothers and shopgirls and teachers and ladies who lunch?”
On June 4, 1919, after seventy years of struggle, the United States Congress finally passed the Nineteenth Amendment that granted ALL women the right to vote! Yet, for the amendment to become law, thirty-six states had to agree. The tension builds as readers wonder if Mr. Harry T. Burn, a representative from Mouse Creek, TN, will vote "Nay" or "Aye." The Nineteenth Amendment was adopted in 1920.
Stirling’s narrative, the phrasing that captures the ups and downs of the suffragette movement, is engaging and invigorating. Paired with Lugo’s colorful, historically accurate illustrations that highlight the text, Dare to Question is an important addition to the list of books on the history of women's right to vote.
The book does include an author’s note and a brief bio of Carrie Chapman Catt, unfortunately, there are no source notes or bibliography for further reading.
Click here to watch a 56 minute video by Iowa PBS on the life of Carrie Chapman Catt.
See some pages of the book by clicking here.
Monday, September 11, 2023
Impossible Escape: A True Story of Survival and Heroism in Nazi Europe by Steve Sheinkin
Friday, September 8, 2023
The Upside-Down Book of Sloths by Elizabeth Shreeve
- Small
- Huge
- Tree Huggers
- Explorers
- Shy Loners
- tough herds
- Leaf-Munchers
- Ocean Foragers
- Adorable
- Weird
- Slackers?
Monday, September 4, 2023
The Story of the Saxophone
by Lesa Cline-Ransome
illustrated by James E. Ransome
Holiday House, 2023
As a young boy growing up in Belgium, Sax liked to tinker and build. He also played multiple instruments and made his own instruments. Sax created an instrument that had the high notes of a clarinet and the low notes of a trumpet: le saxophon. The story spans decades and continents as Sax brings his saxophone to Paris where it became a military instrument for the French Army before making its way to Mexico and eventually New Orleans as jazz music was beginning to spread. The narrative is inviting and lyrical, making it the perfect book to read aloud. James E. Ransome's illustrations use watercolor and and collage to portray life in the late 1800s in a realistic style with some humor mixed in at times.
Monday, August 28, 2023
The Bones of Birka: Unraveling the Mystery of a Female Viking Warrior by C. M. Surrisi
by C. M. Surrisi
Chicago Review Press. 2023
In 1871, Hjalmar Stolpe, visited the island of Björkö, in Lake Mälaren, Sweden. A bug scientist, Stolpe intended to look for insects that were incased in ancient amber. You can imagine Stolpe’s surprise and delight, when he discovered the one thousand years old Viking town of Birka. There, Stolpe unearths several ancient graves, one of which he meticulously numbered Bj 581.
Friday, August 25, 2023
The Gentle Genius of Trees by Philip Bunting
Monday, August 21, 2023
New Nonfiction- August 2023
Friday, August 18, 2023
Not A Monster by Claudia Guadalupe Martinez
Monday, August 14, 2023
Glitter Everywhere! : Where It Came From, Where It's Found & Where It's Going by Chris Barton
- How it was invented?
- How it is made?
- Why does it stick to everything?
- Is it bad for the environment?
Friday, August 11, 2023
Doomed: Sacco, Vanzetti & the End of the American Dream by John Florio and Ouisie Shapiro
Monday, August 7, 2023
The Queen of Chess : How Judit Polgár Changed the Game by Laurie Wallmark
Friday, August 4, 2023
Polar: Wildlife at the Ends of the Earth by L. E. Carmichael
Monday, July 31, 2023
The Other Pandemic: An AIDS Memoir by Lynn Curlee
Friday, July 28, 2023
The Forest Keeper: The True Story of Jadav Payeng
Monday, July 24, 2023
Breaking News : Why Media Matters by Raina Delisle
Book 10 in the Orca Think series
Raina Delisle; Illustrated by Julie McLaughlin
Orca Book Publishers. 2023
As we head into the next presidential election, making sure we can detect facts from fake news is a must. In, Breaking News, Canadian journalist, Raina Delisle, an award-winning writer whose work as been featured in magazines, newspapers, and on the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), offers a very balanced look at the media industry, its history, its role of keeping the public informed, and the challenges news outlets face with the rise of disinformation (fake news) on social media sites.
The six chapters are: News You Can Use; Media Matters; Making the News; Press Under Pressure; Saving Journalism; Become a News House.
The narrative is engaging and takes into account the many challenges news outlets face today, and throughout history. In Chapter Four, Press Under Pressure, Delisle states: “News organizations and journalists face lots of challenges today, many of which have been brought on or intensified by the internet and social media.” Delisle explores how, in the early days of the internet, media outlets offered their stories for free. As people became dependent on the free news sites, to save money, they canceled their print subscriptions. Thus, advertisers moved their ads online, to Google and Facebook, making it challenging, or impossible, for many newspapers and magazines to stay in business.
Competing for readers attention has brought about journalists writing more sensational stories. “If it bleeds, it leads.”
Delisle does an excellent job of balancing the negative with the positive. For example, though many newspapers and magazines have shuttered newsrooms, leaving many small towns with no local news, there is a growing movement of non-profit news outlets that are fighting fake news by reporting the facts.
Side bars are throughout giving more details of what is explained in the text.
Included is a glossary, a list of resources, and index.
I personally found the book insightful and gave me tools to better help me tell fact from fake news as I look for news I can believe.