The story is a seemingly straightforward fable that makes a few delightfully humorous twists. The main character is a little bird who at first is either ignored or jeered at. After trying on borrowed finery doesn’t work out as he planned, he learns how to make the most of his own “looks.”

What captures everyone’s attention is the author’s playful use of negative space to create the little bird. Children will delight in finding where the bird is and where he isn’t. It is a refreshing to find a book that stimulates visual thinking this way.

A Funny Little Bird is an art teacher’s delight. The creative illustrations are sure to inspire any number of art projects using negative space, color, simple shapes, found objects and/or birds. It might even inspire some concrete or shape poems. You’ll want discover the little bird and what it has to offer for yourself.

If you are so inclined, this book was originally published in French.

Age Range: 4 – 8 years
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (May 7, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1402280130
ISBN-13: 978-1402280139

Electronic copy supplied by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky for review purposes.

Grandpa turns a rainy day into a rainbow with a trip to the garden. He entices his three grandchildren to come outside and pick brightly colored vegetables in the rain. They splish and splash and get mud on their knees. When they go inside, he and the children cook up a vibrant vegetable stew (the recipe is included). Full of active, rhyming text, this book just begs to be read aloud. The bright, textured illustrations add just the right amount of visual interest.

As shown in the book, gardening is a wonderful activity to share with children. It is beneficial in so many ways, from a fun way to exercise, to learning where our food comes from, to encouraging children to eat more vegetables. Rainbow Stew also helps youngsters learning their colors.

What does gardening have to do with STEM Friday? It turns out that growing plants in a garden opens up a whole world of opportunities to learn about science, technology, engineering and math. For example, use math to figure out the area of the garden, how many packets of seeds will be needed per row, how much the garden tools cost, etc. For older children, the Exploratorium has a cool website about the science of gardening.

For activities related to the book, check the Rainbow Stew Book website for a Rainbow Stew seed packet idea and other resources and activities.

I’m definitely adding Rainbow Stew to my list of gardening books for children. Pick up a copy and you just might get inspired to garden with children as well.

Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Lee & Low Books (June 15, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1600608477
ISBN-13: 978-1600608476

Book was provided by publisher via NetGalley.

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.

One Gorilla: A Counting Book

Anthony Browne is an award-winning British author and illustrator, whose credits include being the Children’s Laureate from 2009-2011, and the book reflects his outstanding expertise. Just take a look at the stunning illustration on the cover.

As with many counting books, Browne introduces new vocabulary as well. The reader quickly discovers the differences between macaques, baboons and lemurs.

If you and your troop are regular visitors to the primate area of the zoo, One Gorilla will be a must have. If not, it might just inspire you to make a visit.

Age Range: 3 – 7 years
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Candlewick (February 12, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0763663522
ISBN-13: 978-0763663520

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.

The poetry comes from such diverse poets as David McCord, Shel Silverstein and Margaret Wise Brown.

The illustrations are lush and mostly gently old-fashioned, which suit the poetry well. Some have rich detail and others are slightly silly, as the poems warrant.

My recommendation is to grab the book, find a quiet spot out in nature and share the poems with some children. I can’t think of a better to celebrate Earth Day.

Age Range: 4 and up
Paperback: 81 pages
Publisher: Byron Preiss Publications (March 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0590451359
ISBN-13: 978-0590451352

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.

J. Patrick Lewis is currently our Children’s Poet Laureate. For this book, he combines some of the best poems written about animals with phenomenal photographs, many from National Geographic’s own archives. Starting with a chapter called “Welcome to the World” and moving through “the big ones,” the little ones,” “the winged ones,” etc., Lewis has arranged the poems in such a way that they feel like a coherent whole, even though they are by poets as diverse as D.H. Lawrence, Ogden Nash, and Jane Yolen.

I already have some favorites from the collection. “What is the Opposite of Pillow?” by Richard Wilbur struck my funny bone. “The answer, child, is armadillo.” The aerial photograph of a flock of flamingos on page 118 forms the shape of a flamingo the way the shape poem by J. Patrick Lewis does. Very cool!

In the back are two pages about writing poems the describes the various forms with humorous examples and encourages children to write their own poetry.

The best part is, this book just begs to be shared. Looking for child-friendly poetry appropriate for Poem in Your Pocket Day, April 18, 2013? Look no further than National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry.

Age Range: 4 – 8 years
Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: National Geographic Children’s Books (September 11, 2012)
ISBN-10: 1426310099
ISBN-13: 978-1426310096

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by Booktalking to see who is hosting each week.

This week’s round-up can be found at NC Teacher Stuff. Stop by and see Jeff’s new book!

The accolades are well deserved. VanDerwater’s gentle poems about nature hit all the right notes. Any book that can evoke the cool summer feeling of wearing “moss socks” is sure to win the reader over. My personal favorite is “Forest News” about reading animals tracks in newly fallen snow, which makes me miss my New England roots.

Robbin Gourley’s illustrations are also marvelous. They reflect the poems, yet leave room for the child’s imagination to flow free. A few curled ferns, a leaf or two, interspersed with scenes of a girl and her dog (and her mother) hiking, playing or skiing in the woods. Poem Farm has a post about how Robin developed the illustrations.

The book trailer of Amy Ludwig VanDerwater reciting the title poem gives you the best impression of what the book is like.

Isn’t that lovely? In an interview at Nerdy Book Club, the author reveals the book took a long time to come out. It was well worth the wait.

Reading Forest Has a Song is a superb way to celebrate National Poetry Month and it sure to inspire some budding poets. It would also be a great choice to read for Earth Day and to celebrate nature. You will want to return to the Forest again and again.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has an awesome Poetry Activity Kit to accompany Forest Has A Song (plus three other books of poetry) to download or print out for free.

Age Range: 6 – 9 years
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Clarion Books (March 26, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0618843493
ISBN-13: 978-0618843497

This book was supplied by the publisher for review purposes.

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by Booktalking to see who is hosting each week.

This week’s round-up can be found at a wrung sponge.

April 1, 2013 kicks off National Poetry Month.

Our favorite event for National Poetry Month is Poem in Your Pocket Day on Thursday, April 18, 2013. Just find a poem and carry a copy in your pocket to share with others. We’ll be featuring poetry-filled books throughout the month to inspire you.

If you need more ideas, here’s a list of 30 ways to celebrate National Poetry Month, one for each day of April.

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On April 12, 2013 it is National Drop Everything and Read Day.

What is National D.E.A.R. Day? It’s a great way to celebrate reading and books. At some point in the day, simply drop what you are doing a read a book. Of course, it is even more fun if you join with family and friends.

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Next is National Library Week, April 14-20, 2013.

Take time to celebrate the value of libraries, librarians and library workers! Look for events at your local libraries.

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We’d love to hear from you about how you are celebrating literacy this month.

At a certain age, children are fascinated with the same road signs that we jaded adults tend to tune out. Maria van Lieshout celebrates this interest as an educational opportunity, using the first letters of various road signs to encourage children to learn the alphabet. As she points out, the bright colors and highly contrasting look of road signs are developmentally appropriate for that age range.

Did you know that some US road sign designs have actually won awards? At Nerdy Book Club, Maria tells how she got the idea for the book from her son and also the “ins-and-outs” (sorry) of road sign design. Cool!

Here’s a cute little trailer for the book:

Backseat A-B-See will make you take a second look at road signs. Share it with a toddler near you.

Reading age:  Toddler/Preschooler
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Chronicle Books (April 11, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1452106649
ISBN-13: 978-1452106649

Starting with the endpapers, which show range maps for 10 common species, the book is full of information about turtles. In a series of two-page spreads, Melissa Stewart introduces the reader to a problem that turtles face and what is being done about it, using simple and easy to comprehend language. Some ideas for protecting turtles are as straightforward as keeping your dog on a leash when hiking or using cloth bags rather than plastic ones.

The illustrations by Higgins Bond are exceptionally bright and enticing. Many of the illustrations draw young readers in by showing children engaging in activities to assist turtles.

The reality of our world today is that many animals are in danger. Unlike some books about threatened and endangered animals that can be depressing to read, this book remains positive by emphasizing what actions can help mitigate the threats. Turtles and turtle lovers both will surely benefit from it.

See related turtle activities and information at Growing with Science.

Ages: 6-10
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers (March 1, 2013)
ISBN-10: 1561456934
ISBN-13: 978-1561456932

Book was provided by publisher for review purposes.

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by Booktalking to see who is hosting each week.

It is hard to describe the visual impact of this book with mere words. The acrylic illustrations are so clean and crisp. The patterns are amazing. It is sure to stimulate the reader to begin looking for stripes and other patterns everywhere. To find out more about how Susan did the illustrations, check Creating Illustrations for Stripes and How I Created Stripes at the Peachtree Publishers blog.

Susan Stockdale highlights many unusual and intriguing animals with stripes, some with very subtle stripes like a turkey’s wing. In the back matter she discusses each animal in more detail, giving its name, where it lives and more about what its stripes might have to say. In the end is a matching game to reinforce learning, which asks the reader to match the square samples of different stripe patterns to the animal that wears them.

Stripes of All Types by Susan Stockdale is a bold look at animals of all stripes. The rhyming text is perfect for preschoolers and the youngest reader, especially those interested in animals. Pick it up for Poetry Month or before a trip to the zoo.

Explore the science behind the stripes at Growing With Science.

For a simple art activity provide children with a outline of an animal or have them draw one,

and then supply markers, crayons and colored pencils for them to explore stripes. Fun!

Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers (April 1, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1561456950
ISBN-13: 978-1561456956

The book was provided by the publisher for review purposes.
 

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.