Archive for the 'nonfiction' Category

Nonfiction Monday - The Planet Hunter

Published by Tricia on April 28, 2008 in nonfiction, biography, book review and science. 1 Comment

planet.jpg

The Planet Hunter: The Story Behind What Happened to Pluto, written by Elizabeth Rusch and illustrated by Guy Francis, is a nonfiction picture book that introduces readers to Mike Brown, the astronomer whose discoveries led to the reclassification of Pluto.

We first meet Mike as a young boy. He is wearing a homemade space helmet on his head, dancing in mud puddles he created to mimic the way craters are made on the moon. (You can view an excerpt of this page.) We learn that he grew up in Hunstville, Alabama, home of the Marshall Space Flight Center, and that his fascination with astronomy carried him through childhood and into his adult career. He approached the study of the heavens systematically, as described in this excerpt.

Mike remembered how as a kid, he was always losing his sneakers. The only way he could be sure to find them was to start at one end of the house and search room by room.

“That’s the way to find a planet,” he said.

Using an old telescope, Mike began searching the sky, section by section.

Mike and a fellow astronomer made a bet, in which Mike suggested that someone would find a new planet within four years. He set about the task of searching in an effort to make sure that someone was him. The book goes on to describe how Mike searched for objects in the sky. Finally, five days after losing the bet, he found an object he hadn’t seen before. He pointed as many telescopes as he could at the object he named Eris. Ultimately, photos from the Hubble Telescope confirmed he had found something that was bigger than Pluto!

This discovery led astronomers to rethink the definition of a planet. At an international meeting of astronomers, a planet was defined as “a body that circles the sun. It is large enough to be round. And it orbits alone, far from anything else its size.” This redefinition meant that Mike’s discovery was not a planet, and now, neither was Pluto.

This is a terrifically interesting biography that provides scientific information in an accessible way for young readers. In addition to the story of Mike Brown, throughout the book there are interesting facts and informational tidbits “bubbled” into the corners of the pages. The book also contains a pull-out poster of the solar system (newly reconfigured), with information about dwarf planets, the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud. Overall, I found this to be an informative and thoroughly engaging book. I highly recommend it.

Book: The Planet Hunter: The Story Behind What Happened to Pluto
Author: Elizabeth Rusch
Illustrator: Guy Francis
Publisher: Rising Moon
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 32 pages
Grades: 4-8
ISBN: 978-0873589260
Source of Book: Review copy received from TEOTF.

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to Anastasia Suen’s blog and check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

For those of you interested in learning more about the ideas presented in this book, check out these resources.

Nonfiction Monday - If You Hopped Like a Frog

Published by Tricia on April 21, 2008 in nonfiction, math and book review. 1 Comment

frog.jpg

This book has been in my teaching collection for a while now. I pull it out every time I teach algebraic thinking and my students and I explore the concepts of ratio and proportion. If You Hopped Like a Frog, written by David Schwartz and illustrated by James Warhola, looks at the world of animal facts and applies them (mathematically) to children of average size. In the introduction, Schwartz lets readers in on a little secret–as a child, he wanted to hop like a frog! But how far could he hop? Realizing that a little bit of math would help him find the answer, he tells readers that with math, they can figure anything out!

The book looks at a series of if-then propositions. If you could hope like a frog, then you could jump from home plate to first base in one leap. In the back of the book, readers learn how each calculation was made. In this case, we learn that a 3-inch frog can hop 60 inches, or about 20 times it’s body length. If the child reading the book is 4.5 feet tall, this means he or she could hop 90 feet! This informational section on hopping like a frog ends with this.

How tall are you? If you could jump 20 times your body length, how far could you go? Measure your height and multiply by 20 to find out!

Some of the other comparisons explored in the book include:

  • If you were as strong as an ant
  • If you had the brain of a brachiosaurus
  • If you swallowed like a snake
  • If you ate like a shrew
  • If you high-jumped like a flea

The comparisons are startling and fun. The illustrations show just how fantastic some of these feats would be if you could indeed do them.

This is a wonderful book for encourage mathematical thinking and for introducing a concept that is often difficult for children to understand. This is an informative and thoroughly engaging book. I highly recommend it.

Book: If You Hopped Like a Frog
Author: David Schwartz
Illustrator: James Warhola
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: 1999
Pages: 32 pages
Grades: 4-8
ISBN: 0-590098-57-8
Source of Book: Personal copy.

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to Anastasia Suen’s blog and check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

For those of you interested in learning more about the ideas presented in this book, check out these resources.

Nonfiction Monday - Animals, Animals

Published by Tricia on April 14, 2008 in nonfiction, book review, science and art. 1 Comment

There are many, many books written every day about animals. Here are two recent publications for young readers that take innovative approaches to looking at baby animals.

babyanimals.jpg closetoyou.jpg

Baby Animals: Little Ones at Play in 20 Works of Art by William Lach presents works of art in a variety of media in which baby animals take center stage. Each full page work of art is accompanied by a facing page with two words of text in large font that read baby __. Young readers will find baby dogs, baby deer, baby elephants, baby owls, and more. Below these two-word descriptors is a single sentence on each page that tells what the particular baby animal is called. The baby deer page reads “Baby deer are called fawns,” and the baby bats page reads “Baby bats are called pups.” Looking at the selected pieces of art provides wonderful opportunities to try and guess the media they were created in. Pieces include an embroidered carpet (the cover image), a dragon robe, a bark painting, ivory carving, Japanese scroll painting, lithographs, and more traditional works in oil and watercolor. With few exceptions, nearly all of these pieces come from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Close to You: How Animals Bond by Kimiko Kajikawa presents photographs that highlight animal parents and their young during the intimate moments of bonding. Each full page photograph is accompanied by a facing page containing a short sentence about the animal pair. The rhyming text briefly describes how the animals communicate and/or share affection. Here is an excerpt.

Kangaroos
nestle and go for a ride.
Elephants
walk closely side by side.
Giraffes
pucker up, sniff, and lick.
Dolphins
whistle, clack, and click.

The pictures and text on each double-page spread are matted and framed by layers of color, with pages beautifully framed in purples, yellows, blues and oranges. The text ends by highlighting the ways in which humans show affection and caring. At the end of the book is an informational section that presents a bit of background information on each animal. A chart is also included that presents data on each of the animals in the book, including number of babies typically born, weight at birth, weight at maturity, and age of independence. Also listed are some animal web sites of interest.

Both of these books provide interesting views of baby animals and will make outstanding additions to collections for young children.

Book: Baby Animals: Little Ones at Play in 20 Works of Art
Author: William Lach
Publisher: Abrams Young Readers
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 46 pages
Grades: preK-2
ISBN: 978-1588391827
Source of Book: Copy received from publisher.

Book: Close to You: How Animals Bond
Author: Kimiko Kajikawa
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 32 pages
Grades: preK-2
ISBN: 978-0805081237
Source of Book: Copy received from publisher.

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to Anastasia Suen’s blog and check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

Nonfiction Monday - Eggs

Published by Tricia on April 7, 2008 in nonfiction, book review and science. 0 Comments

Recently I wrote a thematic book list on spring life that focused on eggs and life cycles. Marilyn Singer was kind enough to drop by and leave a comment. When I learned she had a new book out entitled Eggs, I ran right out and got one.

eggs1.jpg

Eggs, written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Emma Stevenson, is a gorgeous look at these extraordinary vehicles of early life. The book begins:

IT’S A QUIET CRIB.
It’s a bobbing boat.
It’s a private pond.
It’s a room with no view.
It’s walls to break through.
It’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
It’s an egg.

It goes on to discuss how all animals need to make more of their own kinds, and that while some animals give birth to live young, many animals lay eggs instead. Eggs are described as special worlds that provide everything a developing embryo needs to grow, from food and drink to oxygen. But embryos need more than this to survive. They need a hospitable climate, meaning they must not freeze of overheat. Singer goes on to describe the texture, shape, size and color of eggs. Readers learn about how many eggs different species lay, how they’re protected by parents, nests, or both, and how they hatch. Emma Stevenson makes her debut as a picture book illustrator with this book and it is a beautiful first effort. The gauche paintings are finely detailed and offer a visual treat to accompany the text.

The book ends with a extensive series of notes, including information on protecting eggs, a glossary, source notes and wildlife organizations. A comprehensive index is also included.

I learned several new facts about eggs while reading this book. Did you know that …

  • Bird eggshells are always hard, but their texture varies? Some eggs feel soapy, while some are powdery.
  • A flying fish’s eggs have long threads to catch on to seaweed so they won’t float into dangerous waters?
  • A termite queen may lay as many as a billion eggs in her lifetime?

Overall, this is an informative and thoroughly engaging book. I highly recommend it.

Book: Eggs
Author: Marilyn Singer
Illustrator: Emma Stevenson
Publisher: Holiday House
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 32 pages
Grades: 3-8
ISBN: 978-0-8234-1727-8
Source of Book: Personal copy purchased from a local independent bookstore.

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to Anastasia Suen’s blog and check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

Nonfiction Monday - Gallery Ghost

Published by Tricia on March 31, 2008 in nonfiction, book review and art. 0 Comments

Remember those “spot the difference” puzzles you solved as a kid? I loved the challenge of comparing two illustrations or photographs and finding all differences between them. Imagine my surprise and utter delight to find a book that uses this format to introduce children to the world of art.

galleryghost_view.jpg

In Gallery Ghost: Find the Ghost Who Paints the Most! by Anna Nilsen, readers learn that the ghosts of 24 artists haunt a gallery. At night, the ghosts play a game where they sneak details from their own paintings onto other artists’ pictures. Sarah, the art student who helps to keep the gallery clean, challenges readers to help find the ghost who makes the most changes to the paintings of others. First she introduces each of the 24 artists, from Hendrick Avercamp to Marguerite Zorach. Next she outlines the steps to take to find the changes and “keep score” for each ghost. The book comes with a magnifying glass to help readers compare original paintings to the ones with changes, as well as a score sheet to keep track of which ghost has made the most changes.

Once directions have been given, readers get to the heart of the matter. The pages in the center of the book are cut (literally) horizontally. The paintings, which come from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., are arranged in two ways. The top half of the page shows the images in chronological order. These are the “doctored” paintings, or the ones with ghostly changes. The bottom half of the page presents the artists in alphabetical order, accompanied by their original painting and a short poem that highlights the painter’s philosophy or technique. Written by Besty Franco, the poems cover a range of topics, from subject matter, to color and composition.

I decided to test my skills by beginning with the doctored painting Tropical Forest with Monkeys by Henri Rousseau. It was rather easy to spot what was added to the painting, but quite another matter to determine which artists were the culprits. I must admit that my old eyes did need the magnifying glass, and that at times it was hard to compare images when they didn’t align directly top-to-bottom. However, I had great fun searching for answers and learned a lot in the short time it took me to solve this first puzzle. I imagine any reader interested in art will have internalized quite a bit about the artists and their works by the time they finish spotting and attributing the differences for all the paintings.

The book ends with a brief biography of each author and an answer key where the differences are highlighted on the piece of artwork and identified by artist who made them.

Gallery Ghost is an interesting book that introduces art to young readers in an unusual and engaging manner. I recommend it for anyone who enjoys puzzles, close observation and/or art.

Book: Gallery Ghost: Find the Ghost Who Paints the Most!
Author: Anna Nilsen, poems by Betsy Franco
Illustrator: Richard Sala
Publisher: Birdcage Press
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 40 pages
Grades: 4-8
ISBN: 978-159960-036-9
Source of Book: Copy received from Raab Associates, Inc.

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to Anastasia Suen’s blog and check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

Nonfiction Monday - Leonardo Da Vinci

Published by Tricia on March 24, 2008 in nonfiction, biography and book review. 0 Comments

A little over a week ago on Weekend Edition, Sylvia Poggioli reported on a lost mural by Leonardo da Vinci. In one of his notebooks, da Vinci wrote, “On the sixth of June, a Friday, at the stroke of the 13th hour, I began to paint in the palace.” The palace he wrote of was the grand hall of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy. It was here that he was commissioned to paint a mural of the Battle of Anghiari, a mural that has since been lost in time. You can see some of the preparatory drawings da Vinci made at the the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage’s Web site.

leonardo.jpg

After listening to the story, High-Tech hunt aims to find missing da Vinci mural, I was immediately reminded of the book Leonardo da Vinci: The Artist, Inventor, Scientist in Three-Dimensional, Movable Pictures by Alice and Martin Provensen. Published in 1984, this pop-up book was one of the favorites in my middle school science class. This beautiful volume contains six double-page spreads with pop-ups, pull-tabs, slide wheels with ribbon pulls and other movable objects.

This biography provides only brief highlights from the life of da Vinci, but accompanied by the Provensens’ panoramic views and paintings that evoke 15th century Florence, there is much here to pique the interest of any reader. Attention is given to da Vinci’s fascination with flight and his attempts (although failed) to build flying machines. Quotes from da Vinci’s notebooks and examples of his sketches can be found on several pages. Readers also learn about his interest in drawing a range of objects from nature, his study of the heavens, and some of his works of art.

Here is an excerpt. It is found on a page where readers pull down a movable section of the page to see a mural fade from view.

Leonardo was invited to paint a mural in the great hall of the grand council of Florence. In order to cover the vast space he constructed an ingenious scaffold that could be raised or lowered to reach any part of the wall.

At last Leonardo began to paint.

He made a design so extraordinary that all Florence came to marvel. Alas! The wall was as porous as a sponge! As the paint sank in, the wonderful picture disappeared before their very eyes.

This is the very mural referred to in the NPR piece. It is easy to understand why the mural faded when listeners learn that da Vinci experimented with techniques used by the ancient Romans. He faced many challenges in using oil on dry plaster, not the least of which was how to dry the painting.

I am not generally a fan of pop-up books, but this one has always held my interest, largely because of the beauty of the illustrations and my general fascination with da Vinci. If you can get your hands on a copy, I recommend it as a nice introduction for readers with a budding interest in the original Renaissance man.

Book: Leonardo da Vinci: The Artist, Inventor, Scientist in Three-Dimensional, Movable Pictures
Author/Illustrators: Alice and Martin Provensen
Publisher: Viking Press
Publication Date: 1984
Pages: 12 pages
Grades: 4-8
ISBN: 067042384X
Source of Book: Personal copy.

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to Anastasia Suen’s blog and check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

Nonfiction Monday - The Dirt on Dirt

Published by Tricia on March 17, 2008 in nonfiction, book review and science. 0 Comments

dirt1.jpg

As a child who lived in the sandbox, played in the mud, dug for worms and other creatures, I find books about this topic appealing. The back cover of the book begins with the words, “Muck around in the dirt!” Yes, this is the book for me! As for the rest of the world, how can anyone not like a book in which the table of contents opens with You and Dirt?

The Dirt on Dirt, by Paulette Bourgeois, is an interesting mix of information and activities (labeled FUN with Dirt). In the categories of You and Dirt, Dirt Matters, Buried!, Building with Dirt, and Dirt for Gardening, readers learn everything under the sun about dirt. Here are a few interesting facts.

Some animals, like elephants and pigs, wallow in mud to get rid of ticks and fleas. The dried mud then helps protect the animals from the heat of the sun.

There are more than a million dust mites in an average bed. They don’t eat dust, but rather flakes of skin. Since we shed skin flakes every minute, they never go hungry!

It can take from 100 to 10,000 years to make 2 cm (0.8 inches) of good topsoil from crushed rock.

In 1974, archaeologists uncovered 7,000 life-sized, clay soldiers while digging on a peasant’s farm near the city of Xi’an.

Earthworms turn rotting plants and animals into fertilizer and create spaces for air and water to flow through the soil.

Using vivid photographs and inviting illustrations, this text captures the imagination of readers. My seven year old son was enamored of the section on building with dirt, which looks closely at the world that lies beneath our feet and the animals who inhabit it. There is a wonderful true or false quiz that asks readers to test their knowledge of earthworms. The book also contains a glossary and extensive index.

Throughout the text readers are encouraged to try activities related to dirt science. They can experiment to see how soap and detergents work, bake a mud cake, make the world’s greatest dirt (from a homemade composting box), make a dirt shake to see what’s in dirt, learn about erosion, and more. On the Kids Can Press web site you can download a free activity.

I love just about about everything about this book, save for one thing. On the back cover of the book, is the sentence, “Earth, mud, grime, soil–whatever you call it, dirt is everywhere, even where you don’t expect it.” The scientist in me really bristles at the use of the word dirt, and I am disappointed that the word soil wasn’t used more often. I know this is picky, and that for some of you, this is simply a matter of semantics. However, I work very closely with teachers and kids in classrooms to define and study soil. Calling it dirt is akin to calling insects bugs.

Despite this one tiny complaint about the use of the word dirt instead of soil, I found this book to be extremely entertaining and informative. I highly recommend it.

Book: The Dirt on Dirt
Author: Paulette Bourgeois
Illustrator: Martha Newbigging
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 48 pages
Grades: 4-8
ISBN: 978-1554531011
Source of Book: Copy received from Raab Associates, Inc.

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to Anastasia Suen’s blog and check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

For those of you interested in digging around for some more info on dirt (soil!), here are some terrific sites to get you started.

Nonfiction Monday - On Matters Evolutionary

Published by Tricia on March 10, 2008 in nonfiction, biography, book review and science. 3 Comments

My Foundations of Education class has been studying religion in public education. Before we left for break, we spent time considering the evolution debate. This is a topic near and dear to my heart, and one in which I have a hard time buying the “teach all sides” argument, since my undergraduate degree was in biochemistry, and my masters and Ph.D in science education. That said, I do not believe the theory of evolution and my religious beliefs are mutually incompatible. One is faith, the other science, and I don’t believe my faith, or that of anyone else, belongs in a public school classroom.

For students who struggle with the notion of evolution, how it works, what it means, and other aspects, I like to share books that clearly present the science. I’m also interested in having them understand its historical roots. Here are two books I find to be valuable resources in discussing this topic.

lifeonearth.gif darwin.JPG

Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution by Steve Jenkins, explores the history of life on earth and Darwin’s revolutionary theory. It includes a timeline of life on earth in which the history of life is compressed into a 24 hour day so that readers can understand just how old our planet is, and for how long we humans have lived on it. The text begins:

The earth is more than 4 1/2 billion years old. For a long time, life couldn’t exist here. The ground was hot enough to melt rocks. There was not liquid water. Comets and asteroids frequently crashed into the surface, and volcanoes erupted constantly, filling the air with poisonous gases.

From here we learn about the first forms of life (microscopic bacteria) and the organisms that sprang up in their wake. Using his highly skilled cut/torn paper collage technique, we meet early sea life, plants, a T. Rex, other animals which are now extinct, and finally get a look at early man. The next page shows a small ground-level reptile, a larger reptile walking on its hind legs, a large bird on the ground, and lastly, a bird in flight. Beneath this sequence is the question, “Why have so many different forms of life development on earth?” From here, Jenkins launches into an introduction to Darwin and the theory of evolution. The text is packed with information, elucidated in meaningful ways by the illustrations. When describing survival of the fittest, 10 frogs appear on a page in which their strengths and weaknesses are described, and the mechanism by which they pass on their strongest traits is highlighted.

Overall, this is a gorgeous text that provides a strong introduction to the theory of evolution.

While Jenkins’ book provides a brief introduction to Darwin, The Tree of Life: A Book Depicting the Life of Charles Darwin: Naturalist, Geologist & Thinker by Peter Sís provides a more intimate look at the man. Who was Charles Darwin? We know him today as a naturalist, geologist, and the father of modern evolutionary biology. But did you know that Charles Darwin was a man who always regretted not learning how to draw? Even though he did not fancy himself an artist, he took “dense and vivid” written notes of all he observed. From these notes, Peter Sís has created a book of intricately drawn pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations that depict Darwin’s life as he developed his theories about the origins of life and natural selection. In what may be one of the best nonfiction introductions EVER, this book begins:

Charles Darwin opens his eyes for the first time! He has no idea that he will (a) start a revolution when he grows up, (b) sail around the world on a five-year voyage, (c) spend many years studying nature, and (d) write a book that will change the world. Luckily, he is unaware that (e) not everyone will see things his way, and that (f) he himself will have doubts about revealing his grand conclusions. This is his story.

If that introduction doesn’t grab you, then nothing will. From here readers will find tidbits from Darwin’s extensive and legendary voyage on the Beagle, notes on Galapagos tortoises, bloodsucking benchuca bugs, Toxodon skeletons, and much more. Perhaps even more interesting is the way the text is set up. Beneath each 3/4 page illustration the text is divided into sections on public life, private life, and secret life. There is much to love about this biography, and much more to learn.

I highly recommend both of these books, particularly for middle school teachers tackling the topic of evolution.

Book: Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution
Author: Steve Jenkins
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: 2002
Pages: 40 pages
Grades: 4-8
ISBN-10: 0618164766
ISBN-13: 978-0618164769
Source of Book: Personal copy.

Book: The Tree of Life: A Book Depicting the Life of Charles Darwin: Naturalist, Geologist & Thinker
Author: Peter Sís
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication Date: 2003
Pages: 44 pages
Grades: 4-8
ISBN-10: 0374456283
ISBN-13: 978-0374456283
Source of Book: Personal copy.

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to Anastasia Suen’s blog and check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

Nonfiction Monday - The Philosopher and the Traveler: Two Books by Russell Freedman

Published by Tricia on March 3, 2008 in nonfiction, biography, book review and social studies. 1 Comment

When I was preparing for my trip to China last year, I read everything I could get my hands on. Two books I particularly enjoyed were by one of my favorite authors of nonfiction, Russell Freedman.

confucius.jpeg

Confucius: The Golden Rule is a painstakingly researched biography that led the author to the Chinese city of Qufu, formerly the state of Lu, where Confucius was born, spent much of his life, and died. In this fascinating work, Freedman presents biographical information about Confucius, along with a bit of Chinese history. Drawing heavily on The Analects of Confucius, readers gain remarkable insight into a man for whom “little is known for certain about the actual events of his life.” While he is known for what we call today his philosophy, it is his teaching that inspired me. Here is an excerpt.

He took his students from every background, welcoming barefoot peasant boys into his circle along with the sons of princes, hoping to shape them into statesman. His revolutionary stand would earn him a saint’s reputation among future generations of Chinese teachers. “I never denied my teaching to anyone who sought it,” he said, “even if he came to me on foot with nothing more to offer as tuition than a package of dried meat.”

He had just one requirement: A student had to demonstrate a passion for learning. “I teach only those who burst with enthusiasm. I guide only those who are struggling to learn themselves. If I explain one corner of a subject, I expect the student to discover the other three for himself, and if he doesn’t, I don’t continue the lesson.”

Accompanied by the magnificent paintings of Frédéric Clément, readers can immerse themselves in a bit of Chinese history while learning about one of the greatest thinkers of all time.

marcopolo.jpg

Since I’d been hearing stories about Marco Polo since I was a child, I thought a book about him and his (alleged?) travels to China would make for interesting reading. The Adventures of Marco Polo did not disappoint. It begins:

As Marco Polo lay dying, friends and relatives gathered anxiously by his bedside and begged him to confess. They pleaded with him to tall the truth, to renounce his exaggerations and lies, so he might meet his maker with a clear conscience.

He was known in some circles as “the man of a million lies.” And all because of a book in which he told fantastic tales about his travels and adventures.

In an age when the Earth was said to be flat, Marco claimed that he had visited a distant and unknown land so far away, so difficult to reach, that no European had been there before and come back to tell the tale.

Extraordinary traveler or liar? The bulk of Freedman’s book draws heavily on Polo’s own accounts of his travels to describe this fantastic journey. However, Freedman never lets us forget for one moment that many doubt the veracity of these claims. Near the end of the book is a section entitled Did Marco Polo Go to China?, where Freedman helps readers understand the scholarly debate that still wages on this subject. This is followed by an extensive author’s note, where Freedman discusses the original manuscript, translations of the book, and attempts to dispel some myths. The text is illustrated in the style of an illuminated manuscript, with images representing either the European or eastern culture being described. This is a fascinating biography that will leave readers with much to think about long after the cover is closed.

I recommend both of these books as extraordinarily well-researched and thoroughly engrossing biographies.

Book: Confucius: The Golden Rule
Author: Russell Freedman
Illustrator: Frédéric Clément
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Publication Date: 2002
Pages: 48 pages
Grades: 4-8
ISBN-10: 0439139570
ISBN-13: 978-0439139571
Source of Book: Personal copy purchased from local independent bookstore.

Book: The Adventures of Marco Polo
Author: Russell Freedman
Illustrator: Bagram Ibatoulline
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 64 pages
Grades: 4-8
ISBN-10: 043952394X
ISBN-13: 978-0439523943
Source of Book: Personal copy purchased from local independent bookstore.

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to Anastasia Suen’s blog and check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

Nonfiction Monday - Artist to Artist: 23 Major Illustrators Talk to Children about Their Art

Published by Tricia on February 25, 2008 in nonfiction, book review and art. 1 Comment

artists.jpg

My son has been enamored of art, looking at it and creating it since he could pick up a crayon and scribble. He’s particularly interested in how pictures tell stories and how they are created, so reading Artist to Artist: 23 Major Illustrators Talk to Children about Their Art with him has been particularly enjoyable.

This anthology begins, “Dear Young Artist…” What follows is a letter from one of 23 artists (with the exception of Lionni, whose letter is written by his granddaughter) about how and why they became an artist and their thoughts on their chosen profession. The letter is followed by a self-portrait of the artist on the outside of a gatefold. The fold-out pages include studio photos, sketches, examples of the evolution of a piece of work, and much more. Most artists have also included photographs from their childhood.

The letters are as different as the art created by these talented folks. In reading them, we learn about hope, inspiration, and dreams. We also learn about art itself. Here are some examples.

Mitsumasa Anno - “But in developing one’s own individual artistic style, I believe that the culture that is part of your being from childhood is of great importance. If you look deeply into the culture you were brought up in, you will find there the inspiration and the roots of your own power to create good pictures.”

Nancy Eckholm Burkert - “Artists observe. The trajectory of a ball, the thrust of a twig, the enigma of fog, patterns in the sand, the uniqueness of every cloud, the convolution of an ear, the mood on a friend’s face … everything has meaning to our eyes.”

Mordicai Gerstein - “What I always wanted to do in my pictures was to express my feelings about something — a mood of some kind, or a piece of music, or how I felt about some event or person. That’s what I still try to do. I try to make pictures that aren’t about something, but that make you feel something, — about an event, a person, or maybe just the picture itself.”

Rosemary Wells - “Draw from your life. Draw all the time. Expect to be different from other kids, because if you are an artist, you are different. Sometimes it’s hard to be different. Sometimes it hurts when people don’t understand you or laugh at you for not being cool enough, but stay the course. Believe in yourself. Believe in the paintings and drawings that come out of your mind and your hand.”

Illustrators featured in the book include:

  • Mitsumasa Anno
  • Quentin Blake
  • Ashley Bryan
  • Nancy Ekholm Burkert
  • Eric Carle
  • Tomie dePaola
  • Jane Dyer
  • Mordicai Gerstein
  • Robert Ingpen
  • Steven Kellogg
  • Leo Lionni
  • Petra Mathers
  • Wendell Minor
  • Barry Moser
  • Jerry Pinkney
  • Alice Provensen
  • Robert Sabuda & Matthew Reinhart
  • Maurice Sendak
  • Gennady Spirin
  • Chris Van Allsburg
  • Rosemary Wells
  • Paul O. Zelinsky

These letters are gifts from the heart of the artists, who share bits of their souls with readers. For children interested in how books are made, how art is created, or just crazy about creating art of their own, this book will help them recognize that becoming and artist is not only a process that requires dedication, practice and passion, but also an endeavor that can last a lifetime. I recommend this for readers of all ages who share a passion for the art of storytelling in pictures.

Book: Artist to Artist: 23 Major Illustrators Talk to Children about Their Art
Publisher: Philomel Books
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 114 pages
Grades: 3-12
ISBN-10: 0399246002
ISBN-13: 978-0399246005
 Source of Book: Personal copy purchased from local independent bookstore.

This review was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to Anastasia Suen’s blog and check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.