Gravity

GRAVITY by Jason Chin. Roaring Brook, April 2014.

Gravity works to
Keep us all anchored to Earth
To keep Earth on course.

Ribbit (again)!

THE MYSTERY OF DARWIN'S FROG by Marty Crump with illustrations by Steve Jenkins and Edel Rodriguez. HMH, 2013.

Did you know there is a species of frog in which the male minds the eggs and tadpoles? Did you know the male frog slurps up the tadpoles into his vocal sac and then releases them from inside when they are fully formed frogs? And did you know this species is in danger of becoming extinct. This beautifully illustrated and simply written piece of NF will please many readers as they learn about habitat, animal behavior, and more.

NF for young readers

BECOMING BABE RUTH by Matt Tavares. Candlewick Press, 2013.

Tavares' lovingly illustrated biography of Babe Ruth takes the giant down off the pedestal and makes him truly human despite his athletic ability. Through arduous practice and perseverance, Ruth became an iconic part of baseball and American history. <674>

WHO PUT THE COOKIES IN THE COOKIE JAR? by George Shannon with illustrations by Julie Paschkis. Holt, 2013.

How does the cookie get to the cookie jar in the first place? Shannon takes readers into the process that eventually results in a cookie. Not just ingredients, but where the ingredients come from are part of the story. This book might just be step one in a lesson on economics for kids who will come to realize all of the work and workers responsible for bringing goods to market. <675>

LOOK! by Ted Lewin. Holiday House 2013.

An I LIKE TO READ book, the simple text will be a child's introduction to animals of all kinds, including a boy reading a book surrounded by stuffed versions of the animals brought to life through Lewin's watercolor and pencil illustrations. <676>

MILLIONS, BILLIONS, & TRILLIONS: UNDERSTANDING BIG NUMBERS by David A. Adler with illustrations by Edward Miller. Holiday House, 2013.

Math teachers rejoice! Here is a book that shows young readers the enormity of big numbers. Lots of analogies and colorful illustrations help make something that is rather abstract a tad more concrete. <677>

YUMMY! GOOD FOOD MAKES ME STRONGER. by Shelley Rotner and Shelia Kelly with photographs by Shelly Rotner.

Involving kids in all phases of food including preparation leads to healthier choices being easier to make. From growing veggies in a garden, to preparing simply salads for lunch and more, the colorful photographs capture the fun of eating well. <678>

going to the dogs

IT'S A DOG'S LIFE: HOW MAN'S BEST FRIEND SEES, HEARS, AND SMELLS THE WORLD by Susan E. Goodman with illustrations by David Slonim (Roaring Brook, July 2012) blends fiction and nonfiction effortlessly as our fearless narrator (a dog) tells us all about how dogs use their senses to interact with one another and with their humans. <109>




Carl the rottweiler is back with CARL AT THE DOG SHOW by Alexandra Day (FSG 2012). Carl was one of the favorite books of my now 26 year old granddaughter when she was much younger. She would "read" the books (they are textless) to her younger sisters. Now Carl goes to the Dog Show and explores it along with his young charge. <110>