Category Archive for ‘nonfiction’ at Open Wide, Look Inside

Archive for the 'nonfiction' Category

Nonfiction Monday - It’s Moving Day!

Published by Tricia on February 18, 2008 in nonfiction, book review and science. 0 Comments

When I was a kid I was fond of exploring the woods in my backyard. I often wished I could see inside the burrows that were so cleverly hidden near gnarled tree roots and clumps of rocks. In her new book, It’s Moving Day!, Pamela Hickman has granted this wish. The book begins:

The burrow lies hidden beneath
a big tree on the edge of the field.

After a long winter’s sleep, the
woodchuck climbs out of his
underground home and stretches.

Time to dig his summer home down
in the farmer’s pasture where
there is more food to eat.

It’s moving day!

As the woodchuck looks around and prepares to leave the safety of the burrow, a rabbit can be seen in the nearby field. The cottontail hops into the burrow and soon makes it a comfortable home in which to raise her young. Her young grow and leave the burrow, and upon winter’s approach, she too leaves to find a winter home. Rabbit’s moving day makes way for a yellow-spotted salamander, looking for a place to hibernate.

The text is accompanied by the illustrations of Geraldo Valério. The acrylics depicting the animals and their comings and goings in the burrow are warm and full of life. The scenes move easily from season to season, connecting readers to the rhythm of life in the burrow.

After the salamander, the burrow is home to a raccoons, milk snakes, chipmunks, skunks, and finally, to bring the story full circle, a woodchuck. The book ends with a page that briefly introduces each of the animals that live in the burrow. I would match this book with Barbara Brenner’s One Small Place in a Tree and Brenda Guiberson’s Cactus Hotel for an expanded look at how many animals can inhabit one home over time.

This is a beautiful book that provides an engaging introduction to woodland animals and a type of home many share. I highly recommend it. In fact, I’m so smitten with this book that I am predicting a Cybils 2008 nomination in its future for nonfiction picture book.

Book: It’s Moving Day!
Author: Pamela Hickman
Illustrator: Geraldo Valério
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Publication Date: March 1, 2008
Pages: 32 pages
Grades: K-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-55453-074-8
ISBN-10: 1-55453-074-1
Source of Book: Copy received from Raab Associates, Inc.

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.

Nonfiction Monday - The Story of Salt

Published by Tricia on February 4, 2008 in nonfiction, book review, social studies and science. 0 Comments

I love books that explore science and history from different perspectives. For example, I love the notion of learning about animals not by the groups they belong to (say a book on birds or reptiles), but by some common feature that links them together, as in Venom by Marilyn Singer, or Living Color by Steve Jenkins.

One of my favorite history books looks at how salt has shaped our world. No, this isn’t a straight chronology, but rather a book that examines historical events through the lens of a very important substance. One could easily imagine a book written about tea, or silk or gold in this same fashion, but being the science lover that I am, I loved learning about salt.

I learned of this book only after reading Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. The Story of Salt is a kid-friendly version of this work. In it, Kurlansky shares the history and science of salt. Here are some interesting things kids will learn while reading this book.

Salt is the only rock consumed by humans.
Salt paid for the Great Wall of China.
Without salt there would be no mummies. (If you haven’t ever mummified a chicken while studying Ancient Egypt, you should!)
Roman soldiers were often paid in salt.
When the Jamestown colony was started, a saltwork was established.
When America declared independence from England, the salt supply was cut off. (Did you know you need salt to make gunpowder? Losing their supply of salt prior to war was a big problem.)
Ghandi walked 240 miles to the sea to defy British law and make salt.
Today, the US is the world’s largest supplier of salt.

This well-written and fascinating text is accompanied by color-washed pen-and-ink drawings that add humor and interest. The book ends with a timeline of salt through the centuries. Overall, this is a well-researched piece that deserves a place on your bookshelf.

Book: The Story of Salt
Author: Mark Kurlansky
Illustrator: S. D. Schindler
Publisher: G. P. Putnam’s Sons
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 48
Grades: 3-8
ISBN-10: 0399239987
ISBN-13: 978-0399239984
Source of Book: Personal copy purchased at a 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.

Nonfiction Monday - I, Matthew Henson: Polar Explorer

Published by Tricia on January 28, 2008 in nonfiction, biography, African American and book review. 2 Comments

I am always on the lookout for strong biographies to add to my teaching collection. I stumbled across I, Matthew Henson shortly after the new year and after reading just a few pages, knew I had to have it. Here’s how it begins.

I did not walk forty miles
from the nation’s capital
to Baltimore’s busy harbor to eye
ships from a dock. Though just thirteen
I yearned for a taste of the adventures
that I had heard old sailors speak of,
to explore the seven seas
and somehow find my calling.

I did not start as a cabin boy, climb
the ranks to able-bodied seaman,
sail five continents, and learn
trades and foreign tongues to be shunned
by white crews who thought blacks
were not seaworthy. I did not chart
this course to drift in humdrum jobs
ashore. My dreams had sails.

And what dreams they were. In language that is lyrical and poetic, accompanied by vibrant pastels, readers learn how Henson serendipitously met Robert Peary while working as a clerk. Once he signed on with Peary, his life was never the same. In haunting words and images, we are taken north again and again with Henson. The images are stark and help us to understand how arduous these trips were. Henson made this trip seven times between 1891 and 1909. A trip like this would be difficult today, with all our advanced technologies. Knowing this makes the feat accomplished by Henson that much more extraordinary.

In his time with Peary, Henson sailed to Greenland, where he befriended the native peoples, learned the Inuit language, learned to hunt and track on ice, and honed many more skills that would help him eventually reach the North Pole. On April 6, 1909, six men reached the North Pole. One was black, one was white, and fur were native. The text ends here, but the Author’s Note explains that when the explorers returned, they were greeted with controversy. Dr. Frederick Cook, who sailed on an earlier expedition with Henson and Peary, claimed he reached the Pole in 1908. But this was not the only difficulty Henson faced. America was not willing to accept an African American hero in 1909.

It took years for Henson to achieve the recognition he deserved. In 1944 he was finally awarded duplicate of the Congressional silver medal given to Peary. In 1988 he was moved to Arlington National Cemetery, where he is buried beside Peary.

This book works on many levels, not only because of the beauty of the writing, but also the strength of the illustrations. I can’t say enough about how lovely this book is. I highly recommend it.

Book: I, Matthew Henson: Polar Explorer
Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrator: Eric Velasquez
Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 32
Grades: K-5
ISBN-10: 0802796885
ISBN-13: 978-0802796882
Source of Book: Personal copy purchased at a local independent bookstore

To learn more about the author, be sure to visit The Brown Bookshelf. As part of their 28 Days Later project, Carole Boston Weatherford will be featured on February 20th. And if you didn’t know it, Weatherford’s book Birmingham, 1963 was just awarded the 2008 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award.

This review was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to Anastasia Suen’s blog and check out the round-up of posts.

NCTE Orbis Pictus Awards Announced

Published by Tricia on January 27, 2008 in nonfiction and book awards. 0 Comments

The National Council for Teachers of English announced the Orbis Pictus awards on Friday. Each year, one winner and up to five honor books are selected as well as a list of recommended nonfiction children’s titles. Books are judged on accuracy, organization, design, and style as well as their usefulness in classroom teaching.

Winner

M.L.K.: Journey of a King
by Tonya Bolden