Author: Anastasia Suen

From her studio in Northern California, developmental editor Anastasia Suen reads, writes, and edits books for creators of all ages.
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Mushroom Rain

Mushroom Rain
by Laura K. Zimmermann (Author) and Jamie Green (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: What can smell like bubble gum, glow neon green at night, be poisonous and yet still eaten by humans, and even help create rain? The answer is mushrooms! From their hidden networks underground to the fruiting body above, mushrooms can do incredible things. But don’t call them plants–mushrooms are fungi. They’re more closely related to animals like you! Back matter includes a glossary, additional mushroom facts, and a science activity.

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Nonfiction Monday

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Copyright © 2023 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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How Birds Sleep

How Birds Sleep
by David Obuchowski (Author) and Sarah Pedry (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: From the parrots of Thailand to the ostriches of Australia and even the pigeons of New York City, every bird sleeps–but they do it in ways that will surprise you. Discover the mysterious and fascinating sleeping habits of more than twenty bird species from around the world in this picture book.

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Nonfiction Monday

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Copyright © 2023 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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The Real History of Angel Island

The Real History of Angel Island
by Carol Kim (Author)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: People often learn about Ellis Island when they are taught the history of immigration in the US. However, many people also came through Angel Island in California. Discover the history of the Angel Island Immigration Station, the experiences of the people who arrived there, and how it closed.

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Copyright © 2023 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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One World: 24 Hours on Planet Earth

One World: 24 Hours on Planet Earth
by Nicola Davies (Author) and Jenni Desmond (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: Our planet is always turning. It may be midnight in London, but in different time zones other living things are waking up, ready to hunt or feed or fight. As the clock strikes twelve, two sisters are spirited away on a journey to glimpse, in the span of a moment, extraordinary biodiversity: a mother polar bear and her cubs hunting seals in Svalbard, tiny turtles in India following the moon toward the sea, and enormous whale sharks gulping plankton in the Philippines.

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Copyright © 2023 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Big Ideas from History

Big Ideas from History: A History of the World for You
by The School of Life (Author) and Anna Doherty (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: This middle grade book is a big history of the world, from the beginnings of the universe to now, which places the reader at its center by encouraging children to think about how they experience the world and asking them to imagine a world they would like to live in. What might they learn from self-knowledge? How can they grow, develop and create their own place in history?

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Copyright © 2023 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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I Begin with Spring

I Begin with Spring: The Life and Seasons of Henry David Thoreau
by Julie Dunlap (Author) and Megan Elizabeth Baratta (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: Formatted like a nature notebook, this exploration of seasonal changes in Thoreau’s day is also a visual story of his life and times with an introduction to climate change in the back matter showing the use of his 150-year-old observations in our time.

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Copyright © 2023 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

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Courage Like Kate

Courage Like Kate: The True Story of a Girl Lighthouse Keeper
by Anna Crowley Redding (Author) and Emily Sutton (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: Fayerweather Island had seen blustery blizzards and rip-roaring tides, but it had never seen a pint-sized hurricane until Kate Moore claimed that tiny island as her own. Little Kate was supposed to be the lighthouse keeper’s daughter, but she thought of herself as Papa’s assistant.

The thirty-three spiraling lighthouse stairs finally took a toll on Papa’s body, and so twelve-year-old Kate stepped up. Over the years, she kept the flame lit to guide ships to safety, listened for cries for help, and, time and again, pulled men to safety–twenty-three of them in all. At the age of forty-seven, Kate received word–she had been named the official lighthouse keeper of Fayerweather Island.

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Copyright © 2023 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.