Rounding up the best nonfiction for children and teens
On Wings of Words: The Extraordinary Life of Emily Dickinson
by Jennifer Berne (Author) and Becca Stadtlander (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Booktalk: In a small New England town lives Emily Dickinson, a girl in love with small things–a flower petal, a bird, a ray of light, a word. In those small things, her brilliant imagination can see the wide world–and in her words, she takes wing.
Snippet:
It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Wilderness
by John Muir (Author) and Giovanni Manna (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Booktalk: A collection of some of John Muir’s most memorable and inspirational words reminds us of a shared responsibility and inescapable bond–that all inhabitants of this planet “travel the Milky Way together.”
Snippet: The sun shines not on us but in us.
Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.
It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Now it is time to celebrate some wonderful picture books for National Poetry Month. Our first selection is Whoo-Ku Haiku: A Great Horned Owl Story by Maria Gianferrari and illustrated by Jonathan Voss.
Told in a series of haiku poems, the story follows a pair of great horned owls as they raise their owlets.
Pip. Pip. Pip. Poking
A hole. Cracking. Cracking. Out
Pecks the white owlet.
The life of the owls is not easy. Although great horned owls are predators, they also have enemies such as crows, raccoons, hawks, and foxes. The owlets are particularly vulnerable to danger.
Although the text is written entirely in haiku and the emphasis on haiku in the title, it flows together so effortlessly that you get lost in the story and forget about the structure. Maria Gianferrari allows the owls to shine as the main characters.
The illustrations are gorgeous. The owlets look so soft and realistic that you want to reach out and touch them. If you look more carefully, you will see they contain much information about owl habitats in a subtle way. For example, the nest is made of leaves, an abandoned squirrel nest. Without resorting to too many dark pages, you realize the birds hunt at night. The way Jonathan Voss controls the lighting is incredible.
The back matter also emphasizes the owls, giving more information about different aspects of their biology and resources for deeper research.
Whoo-Ku Haiku is a wonderful example of how to use poetry to entice readers into a nonfiction story. It is a must have for budding ornithologists, nature lovers, and poetry aficionados alike. Enjoy a copy today!
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Copyright © 2021 Roberta Gibson All Rights Reserved.
Science and Me: Inspired by the Discoveries of Nobel Prize Laureates in Physics, Chemistry and Medicine
by Ali Winter (Author) and Mickael El Fathi (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Booktalk: Discover some of the inspirational men and women who have received Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry and Medicine from 1901 to the present day, among them Marie Curie, Hermann Joseph Muller, and Donna Strickland.
Snippet:
It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
How to Change Everything: The Young Human’s Guide to Protecting the Planet and Each Other
by Naomi Klein (Author) with Rebecca Stefoff (Adapter)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Booktalk: Warmer temperatures. Fires in the Amazon. Superstorms. These are just some of the effects of climate change that we are already experiencing.
The good news is that we can all do something about it. A movement is already underway to combat not only the environmental effects of climate change but also to fight for climate justice and make a fair and livable future possible for everyone. And young people are not just part of that movement, they are leading the way. They are showing us that this moment of danger is also a moment of great opportunity–an opportunity to change everything.
Snippet: In early 2020 the virus grew into a pandemic, a disease that affected people in nearly every country. Rates of sickness and death were tragically high. Millions of people had to change their ways, staying home and avoiding other people, to slow the spread of the virus. Schools closed in many countries, throwing kids into a new routine of learning at home while missing their friends.
At the end of this book you’ll find what I think we can learn from this shared worldwide experience. But as you read the following chapters, keep in mind that the coronavirus pandemic did not halt climate change–or the movement to bring climate change under control.
The movement is underway now. Its goal is to fight climate change while also making a fair and livable future for everyone. This is called climate justice. And young people are not just part of that movement. They are leading the way. Will you be one of them?
It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.