nonfiction Archives - Page 607 of 611

Traveling Butterflies
by Susumu Shingu (Author/Illustrator)

Booktalk: Monarch butterfly migration is one of nature’s great mysteries. How do monarchs manage to fly some 2,500 miles from Canada and the northern United States south to Mexico? How do they trace a route they’ve never flown and reach the same destination their ancestors once found? See a monarch’s progression from an egg the size of a dewdrop through growth, metamorphosis, and preparation for their journey south to winter in Mexico before they return north in the spring.

Snippet:
One day in the short summer of a country up north,

TURN THE PAGE

a tiny creature wakes up inside
an egg as small as a dewdrop.

Six Traits Mini Lesson

Traits: Organization The book begins with a single sentence. The first part of the sentence appears on the first double paged spread (2 facing book pages). Here the setting in introduced.

One day in the short summer of a country up north,

After the page is turned, readers meet the main character:

a tiny creature wakes up inside
an egg as small as a dewdrop.

A story begins when something changes. That change is called the inciting incident. What changes here?

a tiny creature wakes up

Traits: Word Choice The words in this opening sentence provide specific details for the reader.

One day

in the short summer

of a country up north,

TURN THE PAGE

a tiny creature

wakes up

inside an egg

as small as a dewdrop.

The simile at the end adds a poetic touch.

My Leaf Book
by Monica Wellington (Author/Illustrator)

Booktalk: When the seasons change, a young girl visits the arboretum to collect fallen leaves and make a book with them. Basic concepts such as counting and shapes are introduced alongside tree and leaf identification. Readers can make their very own leaf books, prints, and projects by following the directions on the last page of the book.

Snippet:
So many trees, so many leaves.
When the trees change colors, autumn is here,
and I go to the park to see
how many leaves I can find.

Six Traits Mini Lesson

Trait: Ideas The Library of Congress Cataloging-In-Publication Data says that this is a fiction picture book. You can see it online at WorldCat, “the world’s largest library catalog”. The WorldCat listing for My Leaf Book says:

Summary: “A young girl visits an arboretum in the autumn to collect fallen leaves. She identifies various trees by the shapes of their leaves and pastes her collection into her own leaf book.”

Below the book summary are the Subjects. In the book they are numbered like this:

1. Leaves — Fiction.
2. Trees — Fiction.
3. Autumn — Fiction.

This picture book has a story, an imaginary story, that is filled with facts. The facts that are included are seen in the Summary:

She identifies various trees by the shapes of their leaves

The facts are also included in the Subjects:

1. Leaves —
2. Trees —
3. Autumn —

This book is fiction because it has an imaginary story, but the facts in the story are all true. Each leaf is identified by its unique characteristics and each of those characteristics is correctly named. In a small box at the bottom of the page the scientific terms (lobes, veins, etc) are used.

Fiction + Facts = Faction

Question: Why does this book have two genres?
Answer: Many preschool concept books use a fiction story to teach facts. Some educators use the term faction to describe these books with two genres.

Preschool children are ego-centric. At this stage of their development, the children think that the entire world revolves around them. What they think and say and do is all that matters–and that is how they learn.

When preschool children listen to a story, they imagine that they are the main character in that story. They imagine themselves acting out the events in the story. They experience the same emotions that the story character has. And after the story is read aloud, children also act out the story in the real world. (Educators call this dramatic play.)

This book keeps the reader in mind by tapping into a young child’s hands-on approach to life. Young readers will use this book again and again throughout the fall season. A MUST for the preschool crowd!