Rounding up the best nonfiction for children and teens
The Extraordinary Life of Serena Williams
by Shelina Janmahomed (Author) and Ashley Evans (Illustrator)
Booktalk: From sports to fashion to activism to motherhood, game-changing tennis champion Serena has become an inspiration to every young person who has dared to dream big.
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It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
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Black Heroes of the Wild West: Featuring Stagecoach Mary, Bass Reeves, and Bob Lemmons
by James Otis Smith (Author / Illustrator)
Booktalk: This graphic novel celebrates the extraordinary true tales of three black heroes who took control of their destinies and stood up for their communities in the Old West. Born into slavery in Tennessee, Mary Fields became famous as “Stagecoach Mary,” a cigar-chomping, card playing coach driver who never missed a delivery. Bass Reeves, the first black Deputy US Marshal west of the Mississippi, was one of the wiliest lawmen in the territories, bringing thousands of outlaws to justice with his smarts. Bob Lemmons lived to be 99 years old and was so good with horses that the wild mustangs on the plains of Texas took him for one of their own.
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See the book trailer.
It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
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Joseph Biden: Our 46th President
by Ann Gaines Rodriguez (Author)
Booktalk: An illustrated biography discussing the childhood, career, family, and election of Joseph Biden, forty-sixth president of the United States. Includes a table of contents, time line, phonetic glossary, sources for further research, an index, and detailed captions and sidebars to aid in comprehension.
Snippet: At the very end of their term, Obama surprised Joe Biden by awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction–the highest civilian honor there is.
It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
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Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre
by Carole Boston Weatherford (Author) and Floyd Cooper (Illustrator)
Booktalk: The Tulsa Race Massacre a hundred years ago was one of the worst incidents of racial violence in our nation’s history. This picture book for grades 3-6 traces the history of African Americans in Tulsa’s Greenwood district and chronicles the devastation that occurred in 1921 when a white mob attacked the Black community.
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It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Let’s Explore Chocolate! (Food Field Trips)
by Jill Colella (Author)
Booktalk: Chocolate is a delicious food that people around the world enjoy. Have you ever seen where chocolate comes from? Visit a cacao farm, look inside a cacao pod, and learn how to make hot chocolate and chocolate-covered pretzels.
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It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
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How I Survived: Four Nights on the Ice
by Serapio Ittusardjuat (Author) and Matthew K. Hoddy (Illustrator)
Booktalk: After his snowmobile breaks down halfway across the sea ice on a trip back from a fishing camp, Serapio Ittusardjuat recounts the traditional skills and knowledge he leaned on to stay alive. This harrowing first-person account of four nights spent on the open sea ice–with few supplies and no water–shows young readers the determination and strength necessary to survive in the harsh Arctic climate, even when the worst occurs.
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It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
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Music Is . . .
by Stephen T. Johnson (Author / Illustrator)
Booktalk: Experience ten different types of music–classical, Latin, jazz, country, heavy metal, hip-hop, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, electronica, pop, and a surprise finale in this accordion book with an in-depth glossary for each genre on the reverse side.
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It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2020 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
The Impossible First: An Explorer’s Race Across Antarctica (Young Readers Edition)
by Colin O’Brady (Author)
Booktalk: Prior to December 2018, no individual had ever crossed the landmass of Antarctica alone, without support, and completely human-powered. But Colin O’Brady was determined to do just that–even though ten years earlier a tragic accident raised doubts that he’d ever walk again normally.
O’Brady’s quest drew him into a head-to-head battle with British SAS Captain Louis Rudd–also striving to be “the first.” Enduring Antarctica’s sub-zero temperatures and pulling a sled that initially weighed 375 pounds in complete isolation and through a succession of whiteouts, storms, and a series of near disasters, O’Brady journeyed 932 miles to a world first.
Snippet: The plane shuddered and shook as it landed, its skis rattling on the sea ice. The crew helped me pull off the sled, offered a few bang-bang handshakes of good luck, and jumped back in with a schedule to keep, taxiing off to deliver Rudd to his drop-off a mile away, the same distance as me from the starting line waypoint at the continent’s edge.
See the PBSNewsHour story.
It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2020 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
The Extraordinary Life of Mahatma Gandhi
by Chitra Soundar (Author) and Dàlia Adillon (Illustrator)
Booktalk: Born in a small town in India, growing up to study law, Mahatma Gandhi became a powerful voice for change and is now known all over the world as a symbol of perseverance and peace.
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It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2020 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
The Fangirl’s Guide to the Universe: A Handbook for Girl Geeks
by Sam Maggs (Author) and Kat Goodloe (Illustrator)
Booktalk: Fandom, pop culture, feminism, cosplay, cons, books, memes, podcasts, vlogs, OTPs and RPGs and MMOs and more–there’s never been a better time to be a fangirl, or a better guide to navigate the wide universe of fandoms. Experience the joys of the fandom community in this fun, feminist take on the often male-dominated world of geekdom.
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It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2020 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.