more narrative nonfiction in picture books

VIVALDI AND THE INVISIBLE ORCHESTRA by Stephen Costanza (Holt 2012) is part fact and part fiction. Vivaldi did indeed use an orchestra comprised of orphans who played behind a darkened curtain. Taking that fact, Costanza has woven a fanciful narrative about how the creation of Vivaldi's classic "The Four Seasons" came to be. Softly blurred illustrations in pastel colors are a perfect accompaniment to this piece of biographical fiction. <690>



Alexandra Wallner gives readers a biography in SUSAN B. ANTHONY (Holiday House 2012).Her folk art illustrations are a terrific choice for this biography of an important pioneer in women's rights. Readers will see Susan as a child and see the seeds of her discontent over the treatment of women early on. Looking for books with themes of social justice? Here is one to include. <691>



A PICTURE BOOK OF SAM HOUSTON by David A. Adler and Michael S. Adler with illustrations by Matt Collins (Holiday House) manages to convey the highlights of the life of one of Texas' larger-than-life heroes, Gen. Sam Houston. In addition to his heroic actions, the Adlers include information about Sam's failed marriages and his own trouble with unpopular positions he took in his career as a politician. Jean Fritz' biography of Sam Houston and the adult book, THE RAVEN, are the beginning of a nice reading ladder. <692>



LIFE IN THE OCEAN: THE STORY OF OCEANOGRAPHER SYLVIA EARLE by Claire A. Nivola (FSG 2012)will introduce readers to the work of oceanographer Sylvia Earle who from childhood felt the call of the sea. She spent much of her life devising ways of diving deeper and deeper. Using quotes from Earle, Nivola manages to convey the spirit of this underwater explorer well. <693>



IRENA'S JARS OF SECRETS by Marcia Vaughan with illustrations by Ron Mazellan (Lee and Low, 2012)introduces readers to Irena Sendler. Born a Catholic in Poland, Irena went on to help rescue thousands of Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto when the Nazis occupied Poland during World War II. Sendler kept lists of the children and their parents' names buried in jars so that (she hoped) families could be reunited after the war had ended. Sadly, many parents died in concentration camps or were exterminated. However, Sendler's actions did save some of the lives of those persecuted simply because they were Jews. <694>

For the Birds

I am trying to catch up to all those wonderful 700+ books I read in 2011 but did not have the chance to blog. So, mixed in with some new books will be some of the ones that I completed reading over the holidays. Here are two books that pair up nicely in the nonfiction category. One is a biography of a famous birder; the other discusses how birds communicate.



BIRD TALK: WHAT BIRDS ARE SAYING AND WHY by Lita Judge (Roaring Brook Press 2012) uses a bot of anthropomorphism (and what a great term to teach kids) to present information on how birds communicate with sound and with movement. Nicely detailed illustrations show readers grebes, boobies, and mergansers among other more familiar species as they communicate without words to others in their flock, to outside predators, and even to their human co-inhabitants. <688>




FOR THE BIRDS: THE STORY OF ROGER TORREY PETERSON by Peggy Thomas with illustrations by Jim LaMarche (Calkins Creek 2011) is a biography of the man who eventually went on to write the most practical and valuable field guides for birders. Peterson was intrigued by birds as a youth and pursued a career in painting them as an art student. Later, he worked as an environmentalist, a naturalist, a guide: all professions ultimately centered on his passion for wildlife, especially birds. LaMarche's illustrations are lush and seem lit with the same passion as their subject. <689>

final flourish of picture books for 2011

THE UNRULY QUEEN by E.S. Redmond (Candlewick 2012) presents one of the most rude children to grace a picture book. Minerva Von Vyle pitches fits, throws food to the floor if it is not to her liking, and demands candy all the time. After going through a nanny per week for a year, she is about to meet her match in a new nanny.
<681>



AND THEN IT'S SPRING (Roaring Brook 2012) by Julie Fogliano with illustrations by Erin E. Stead (Caldecott artist for SICK DAY FOR AMOS MCGEE) opens with all of the fields and woods in shades of brown. However, a young boy knows that spring will come eventually. And so he plants and waits and waits for the brown to give way to the green. Soft pastel colors exude the calm patience of the young boy as he waits for his blooms to appear. <682>




Jeremy and the Monster are back in THE MONSTER RETURNS by Peter McCarty (Holt 2012). When Peter receives a note on a paper airplane, he learns that his monster is coming back. Jeremy enlists the aid of several of he neighborhood kids to welcome the monster back. Pay attention to the end papers in this book (and there are two different sets of endpapers) and also ask kids about the numbers...<683>




PIGGY BUNNY by Rachel Vail with illustrations by Jeremy Tankard (Feiwel and Friends 2012) is about holding on to dreams. Piggy wants more than anything to be the Easter Bunny. His friends scoff; his parents are dismayed. Only his grandparents listen to his desire and assist Piggy in fulfilling his dreams. <684>




On a perfect Kite Day, Bear and Mole design and create a kite. In KITE DAY (Holiday House 2012) Will Hillebrand not only creates a lovely friendship between mole and bear, he shows readers what even when something does not quite work the way you intended, good things may come of it. <685>




FRISKY BRISKY HIPPITY HOP by Alexina White and Susan Lurie with photo illustrations by Murray Head (Holiday House 2012) follow some squirrels in their antics up and down trees and flying between branches, foraging for food, and just generally having a great squirrel day. <686>

finishing out the year in picture books galore

Big (animal) families are theme for these two picture books.



THE HOUSE OF 12 BUNNIES By Carolyn Stills and Sarcia Stills-Blott with illustrations by Judith Russell (Holiday House 2012)opens with Sophia, one of the 12 bunnies, searching for something. As she searches, careful readers will notice lots of twelves in the book. They are presented in a variety of permutations: 3 baby carriages, 4 tricycles, 2 scooters, 2 pogo sticks and a bike for example. What is Sophia looking for? See if readers can guess. <679>




ANOTHER BROTHER by Matthew Cordell (Feiwel and Friends 2012) presents readers with Davy. At first, Davy is an only "child" (he is a lamb). When his brothers come along they pester him by copying his every action. When Davy finally gets them to stop, he discovers he is lonely. Who will fill the void? <680>

Critters in Picture Books

Here are a few picture books that provide some information about various creatures through rhyming text and other more visual elements.



IN THE SEA by David Elliott with illustrations by Holly Meade (Candlewick Press, 2012) is a collection of short poems about various sea creatures. Here is a quarter of poems from one double page spread:

The Urchin
Spiny.
The Sardine
Tiny.
The Mackerel
Shiny.
The Shrimp
Briny.
<672>



BUGS GALORE by Peter Stein with illustrations by Bob Staake (Candlewick Press 2012) is one long poetic homage to bugs of all kinds: stinky bugs, crawly bugs, roly poly, swimming, shiny, etc. Two children frolic in their adventures as they discover more and more bugs. <673>



I SPY UNDER THE SEA by Edward Gibbs (Templar Books 2012) has a die-cut hole in the cover that allows readers to "spy" on a tiny piece of a sea creature. Using the clue provided, they are invited to guess which animal will appear on the next page. <674>

Picture Books and Animal Romps

SCOOTER IN THE OUTSIDE by Anne Bowen with illustrations by Abby Carter (Holiday House 2012) will delight readers as they follow Scooter the dog on an adventure outside on his own. At first, life is quite good as he bounces merrily down the street and crosses to the "other side." Soon, though, he is lost and frightened. His owner comes to his rescue, thankfully, and Scooter has learned a valuable lesson about the outside. <675>




ZOO AH-CHOOO by Peter Mandel with illustrations by Elwood Smith (Holiday House 2012) is a comical look at what happens one day at the zoo when the sneeze of a snow leopard seemingly triggers a chain reaction with all the animals in turn sneezing and causing quite a bit of mess and mayhem. <676>



AUNT ANT LEAVES THROUGH THE LEAVES: A STORY WITH HOMOPHONES AND HOMONYMS by Nancy Coffelt (Holiday House 2012) is similar to The Little Red Hen. Monkey has a ton of bananas and wants to make pie. The animals, though, are all in too much of a hurry to help, at least at first. Aunt Ant comes to the rescue and eventually the other animals follow suit. Part of the word play here is the inclusion of homophones and homonyms. <677>




LET'S HAVE A TREE PARTY by David Martin with illustrations by John Manders (Candlewick Press 2012) is a rollicking rhythmic rhyming story of animals having a party in the tree. There is even a game of Simon Says to add to the fun. Join Crow and Bear and the others for the tree party. <678>

picture books for math class

As I finish out the year with a plethora pf picture books, I thought I would point out some that would work well in other content areas. Here are two that are excellent for inclusion in math classes.



PERIMETER, AREA, AND VOLUME: A MONSTER BOOK OF DIFFERENCES by David Adler with illustrations by Edward Miller (Holiday House 2012) provides a terrific introduction to the concepts of dimensions and the mathematical terms that describe different dimensions. Making concepts more concrete with picture books allows readers who are still not able to think abstractly a scaffold by which they might begin to grasp these concepts. <670>





ZERO THE HERO by Joan Holub with illustrations by Tom Lichtenheld (Holt 2012) is a funny story about how zero feels outcast from the other numbers. They tease him until one day they discover that without him they cannot perform some of their mathematical functions. Zero comes to the rescue when the other numbers are captured by Roman Numerals. Lots of good humor here to make for a fun lesson or two in math class. <671>