Do you have an image (photo, chart, illustration) from a nonfiction book that has stayed with you, even though you don’t remember many of the details about what you read?

So many of the nonfiction picture books these days have extraordinary images, it is hard to really narrow it down to a few. I asked my son to help, and here are his favorite books with memorable visuals:

Pumpkin Circle:  The Story of a Garden by George Levenson has the most amazing photographs by Shmuel Thaler. This book is sure to excite any child. Who doesn’t love pumpkins and growing things?

He also picked out A Seed is Sleepy by Diana Hutts Aston and illustrated by Sylvia Long, as well as An Egg is Quiet, by the same pair.

Finally, he said, “The beetle book!” He meant Dragonfly Beetle Butterfly Bee by Maryjo Koch. He helped me make the Amazon widget, and decided to add her other books to remind me to buy them.

(Am I the only one who thinks these carousel widgets are really cool? I don’t see many people using them.)

Any of these beautiful books is guaranteed to attract a child’s attention and encourage him or her to pick it up.

What books would you add?

Thanks to Elizabeth Dulemba for the great Share -A -Story button!

1. What is the book from your childhood you can’t wait to share with a child and why?

The book that I can remember most vividly from childhood is The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald. It was a really old book (copyright 1907) that I found in a box my mother had gotten at a garage sale. I remember it was the first time ever reading a book where the author spoke directly to the reader, or at least the imagined reader. Everything about it was magical; the tone, the story, the fancy illustrations. I have to say I was a voracious reader by the time I found this book. I would read piles of books each week. This is one of the few, however, that really stands out all these years later.

I couldn’t wait to share it with my son. I figured he would enjoy the goblins and the adventure aspect of the story. But (at least thus far) he hasn’t had the slightest interest in it at all. I realize now that I found the book at exactly the right time in my life, and it spoke to me. If I had read it earlier or later, I don’t think it would have meant as much. Also, it resonated at a personal level because the princess has a special grandmother and I had a special relationship with my grandmother. It is not surprising my son doesn’t enjoy it. He is a different person and different books hold meaning for him.

2. Who is the person who influenced you most as a reader?

Hands down it was my mother, who read to my sister and me every night for years and years. My sister and I both loved this nighttime ritual.

In addition to reading aloud, my mom carted us to the library every week, or basically any time we wanted to go. I loved the library. We also had newspapers, magazines and books lying around any time we wanted to pick up and read.

Interestingly, I have not been able to pass my love of libraries on to my son. He is perfectly happy to read whatever I bring home to him, but has no interest in visiting himself.  Sigh.

3. Do you have any special reading-time rituals for reading aloud with kids?

I still read aloud to my son every night. I would say that the special part is that I always let him pick the book. That has meant sometimes reading the same book over and over and over. I always feel that if he wants to hear the same book again there is something he needs to process more, or something that he particularly enjoyed and wants to retain in his memory. In any case, I never hesitate to read a book over.

So, do you have any special reading time rituals? Do you have any suggestions to get a tween to go to the library?

Thanks to Elizabeth Dulemba for the great Share -A -Story button!

Annette Kellerman was born in Australia in 1886. When she was young, she suffered from weak legs. As therapy, her father taught her to swim and swim she did. After her legs recovered and became strong, she continued to swim. Eventually she was competing and winning awards. She also is credited with inventing “water ballet,” the early form of modern synchronized swimming.

When she went to England and then United States to perform, she met with resistance, not for her performances, but with her skimpy bathing suits. Annette had learned that swimming in the proper bathing dresses of the time was too difficult, so she designed more form-fitting suits. The suits initially caused a scandal and even led to her arrest, but she soon convinced everyone that it was much healthier to swim unencumbered. From these beginnings, our modern swim suits were developed.

As Shana Corey points out, although Annette had many firsts she also had some setbacks. One setback was her failure to swim the English Channel. At that time only one man had done so successfully. People admired Annette’s effort and she went on to increased fame. Her story is a wonderful way for children to learn that they may experience disappointments, but what may look like failure can turn into adventures and triumphs.

As for the physical look of the book itself, the illustrations in Mermaid Queen are bright, colorful and frothy. You can feel the water, energy and motion on every page. The only criticism I have is the choice of font and font size. The fonts jump around and change size. Some of the fonts are quite frilly. It is fun for an adult to read, but difficult for a reader who is struggling or just learning to read.

Mermaid Queen is another great example of a book about someone who has been all but forgotten in modern times, but whose story is inspiring and deserves to be told.

As a Cybils judge, a copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review purposes.

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press (April 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0439698359
ISBN-13: 978-0439698351

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. For more information, stop by Picture Book of the Day. This week’s post is at Lost Between The Pages.

Although this is only the second year of the event, the organizers have over 400 authors giving lectures, signing books, etc. Children’s book authors are well-represented, including a talk by Jon Scieszka. A number of local organizations are presenting child-friendly activities as well. Best of all, the event is free (well, except for all the books you are sure to bring home.)

Head on over to the website for more details:  http://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org/.

Each day a different blog will host a specific topic. Nonfiction-oriented friends will be particularly interested in the discussion on Day3 – Just the Facts: The Nonfiction Book Hook, hosted by Sarah Mulhernat at The Reading Zone.

Hope to “see” you there.

Thanks to Elizabeth Dulemba for the great button!

Photographer Kelly Johnson introduces the book with a touching story of how she was inspired by her grandparents’ hairstyling business. Her photographs of children are lively, lovely and incredible pieces of art, just like the hairstyles.

The photographs are brilliant enough to carry the book all on their own, but the poetry by Dinah Johnson adds the bows to this hair piece.

As a book by two women that contains many pictures of girls, this is a book full of female energy and wisdom. It would be a great gift for any girl needing a little confidence or struggling with her identity. I can also envision it as a fun part of a birthday party celebration or sleepover where girls style each others’ hair.

Hair Dance is an awesome example of what I mentioned in my last post, how to make a nonfiction work personal and relevant.

The Brown Bookshelf has a post about the author, Dr. Dinah Johnson, as well as many other authors and books in celebration of Black History Month.

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1st edition (September 4, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0805065237
ISBN-13: 978-0805065237

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. For more information, stop by Picture Book of the Day. This week’s post is at Simply Science.

Rosen calls the technically savvy kids the “iGeneration,” with the “i” in this case standing for individualized. In the past media was generic and everyone watched or listened to the same limited offerings provided on television or the radio. In contrast, the youngest children have grown up with a plethora of choices. From the TV they watch to the music they download, the media they experience is all individualized to their specific, unique tastes.

The individualization doesn’t stop at media, either. What children experience and learn is also more personal.

” ‘They know almost every piece of information they want is at their disposal whenever they need it,’ [Dave] Verhaagen [a child and adolescent psychologist in Charlotte] says. ‘They’re less interested in learning facts and learning data than in knowing how to gain access to it and synthesize it and integrate it into their life.’ ”

If this statement is true, then it represents a huge challenge to those of us writing children’s nonfiction books. Not only do we need to present the facts in an entertaining way, but also make them more personal and relevant than ever before. On the other hand, the bit that children’s books do well is the synthesis of information, and we have to continue to make that a strength.

Although challenging, the extra effort will likely result in innovative and better quality books. I can’t wait to see where we go next.

What about you? What do you think about the idea of the iGeneration? How do you think it will change children’s books?

‘igeneration’ kids grow up techie
By Sharon Jayson, USA Today. Retrieved 2/27/10 from http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/kids/articles/2010/02/09/20100209i-generation-kids-technology.html

The premise of Life Size Zoo is deceptively simple. Each spread shows fantastic life size photograph of an actual zoo animal, its head in the case of the biggest animals. The name of each animal, its gender and age are included. The spare words on the page point to a distinctive feature, such as the tiger’s rough tongue. The sidebar points out a few facts and asks some simple questions. It seems straightforward.

Once you start using the book, however, its real charm and value emerge. Every time I read this book to a group or with an individual child, the story has been different. Often I hear of trips to various zoos, individual animals that are favorites, the child’s observations of each animals, etc. Each time we find something new in the photographs. Often the discussion leads to more questions, which in turn lead to more stories. It is definitely a fun, kid-friendly book that is very much an open-ended story prompt. You won’t get bored reading this one again and again.

A note  to parents:  some of the sidebars include information about the animal’s bodily functions (a selling point to fourth grade boys ).

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Seven Footer Press (April 7, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1934734209

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. For more information, stop by Picture Book of the Day. This week’s post is at Practically Paradise.

The Day-Glo Brothers is about the Switzer brothers, Bob and Joe. Both boys were fascinated by science, probably due to the fact their father was a pharmacist, but Bob wanted to be a doctor and Joe wanted to entertain people. When Bob had a bad accident that kept him confined to home, his brother Joe entertained him by playing around with an ultraviolet lamp (also called a black light) that he had made from instructions out of Popular Science magazine. Joe had a magic show and he was interested in fluorescent paints to develop a new magic trick. After finding commercial uses for fluorescent paints that would shine under ultraviolet light, the brothers continued to experiment until they found a paint that would glow in regular daylight. They had created the “eye-popping” Day-Glo colors found today in products as diverse as highlighters and traffic cones.

One of the great characteristics of this book is the retro-look illustrations that use Day-Glo colors for emphasis. As explained in the back, these colors release an extra amount of light, which makes them glow. Using the colors in the illustrations in contrast to gray tones was a touch of genius.

Another important aspect of The Day-Glo Brothers is the fact that it is a story that hasn’t been written before. Both this book and Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, written by Phillip Hoose, are about people who have been overlooked in the past, but whose stories deserve to be told. Both have gotten recognition and awards. Hopefully the popularity of these books will be noted and we will begin to see more like them. Perhaps instead of yet another book about the Wright Brothers for example, there might be room for one about the lesser-known but highly-interesting aviator/inventor Glen Curtiss.

Finally, this book is a fascinating glimpse at science and the process of invention. The brothers had an good idea of what they wanted to create and kept at it. They also had a lucky accident, which brought together the elements they needed for success. On top of that, the timing of the discovery coincided with an event (the coming of World War II) when there was a great need for their products. Luck, timing and perseverance led to a successful result.

In a similar way, author Chris Barton has brought together all the elements needed to make The Day-Glo Brothers an award-winning book. Congratulations!

For related science activities, try experiments with things that glow at Growing With Science.

Shirley at Simply Science blog reviewed this treasure back in August.

Thank you very much to the adults and children who worked with me on the Cybils project. You all made this a wonderful experience, and I appreciate your time and talents.

Disclosure:  As a round II Cybils judge, I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.

February 14 is a huge day because, in addition to being Valentine’s Day, the 2009 Cybils Award winners are going to be announced.

The Cybils are annual book awards given by children’s and young adult book bloggers. The Cybils have only two criteria: literary merit and kid appeal.

The judges are 100+ bloggers who write about children’s and teen’s books every day. As some of you already know, I have been acting as a Round II judge in the category of nonfiction picture book (Is there any other genre? ).

Here is a list of the nonfiction picture book finalists that were announced on January 1st. Check the Cybils website for more information on each book. (If you are looking for books to share with your children, the other genre finalists are fantastic as well.)

Which of these finalists do you think will be the 2009 winner? Do you have a favorite?

2009 Non-fiction Picture Book Finalists:

Mermaid Queen: The Spectacular True Story Of Annette Kellerman, Who Swam Her Way To Fame, Fortune & Swimsuit History!

by Shana Corey

Scholastic


The Day-Glo Brothers

by Chris Barton
 and illustrated by Tony Persiani
Charlesbridge


Life-Size Zoo: From Tiny Rodents to Gigantic Elephants, An Actual Size Animal Encyclopedia

Created by Teruyuki Komiya with photographs by Toyofumi Fukuda

Seven Footer Press


14 Cows for America

by Carmen Agra Deedy

Peachtree


Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11

by Brian Floca

Atheneum



Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea

by Steve Jenkins

Houghton Mifflin


Faith (Global Fund for Children Books)

by Maya Ajmera, Magde Nakassis, and Cynthia Pon for the Global Fund for Children

Charlesbridge