Okay, so that was tongue-in-cheek, which I’m sure Mike Venezia would understand because he is so fantastic at injecting humor into his works.

This weekend I found a copy of Jane Goodall:  Researcher Who Champions Chimps at the library. If you are familiar with Mike Venezia’s previous books, you will immediately recognize the winning formula here. Interspersed with pages of the typical biographical information and photographs are lighthearted stories of things Jane Goodall did as a child, illustrated with funny cartoons.

Most children find the less-serious approach very appealing, and these books are wonderful for reluctant readers. Adults shouldn’t be fooled though, this book does an excellent job of covering the essentials of Jane Goodall’s life. One can’t help being inspired by an eager young secretary who goes to Africa in search of adventure and ends up a famous ethologist and world authority on chimpanzees.

A perfect fit for any library, this book is sure to attract readers.

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Library Binding: 32 pages
Publisher: Children’s Press (March 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0531237311
ISBN-13: 978-0531237311

On the same day, I also found Termites on a Stick by Michele Coxon, which would make a fine companion to the Jane Goodall book.

In this case, the illustrations caught my eye. The chimpanzees that Jane Goodall studied take center stage. The story follows a little chimp as he learns the important skill of using a stick as a tool to fish for termites. This is one of the first interesting behaviors that Jane Goodall discovered.

The book includes a page of chimpanzee facts and detailed illustrations of a chimps hands and feet, as well as the inside of a termite mound.

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Star Bright Books (May 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1595721835
ISBN-13: 978-1595721839

If you are interested in learning more about Jane Goodall, try Meet A Scientist:  Jane Goodall at Growing With Science today. If you want to see more about how chimps and gorillas feed on ants, check Wild About Ants.

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 In Need of Chocolate.

If you like snarky book reviews, or reviews that will make you laugh out loud, try Curious Pages blog. One of my favorites is the review of The Stupids Die by Harry Allard and James Marshall. It’s short and sweet.

Thanks to Sandra Foyt for making my day.

At first I thought probably it would be too broad an alert and I’d get dozens or maybe even hundreds of links. I figured I’d have to tweak it to make it manageable. As it turns out, I have gotten relatively few alerts, even though I know our community is actively blogging about children’s nonfiction. I began to wonder how are the blog posts chosen for alerts.

Today’s alert hit a new bottom. There was only one alert for “children’s nonfiction” this week, despite all the posts I know have been written. I don’t want to give this post any more traffic, but I know you’ll be curious and want to see it for yourself, so here’s the link. I am just so very, very sad that this is the only post chosen.

Do you know how Google chooses blog posts for its alerts? Do you think I’m missing the boat because most people choose to hyphenate non-fiction?

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