More Surprising Stories Behind Everyday Stuff
by Stephanie Warren Drimmer (Author)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Booktalk: From familiar foods and common clothing items to bizarre beauty regimens and quirky products, prepare to be amazed by the surprising backstories behind the things you use or do every day!
Snippet:
It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Where Are You, Agnes?
by Tessa McWatt (Author) and Zuzanna Celej (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Booktalk: Agnes Martin was born on the Canadian prairies in the early twentieth century. In this imagining of her childhood, Agnes spends her days surrounded by wheat fields, where her grandfather encourages her to draw what she sees and feels around her: the straight horizon, the feeling of the sun, the movement of birds’ wings and the shapes she sees in the wheat.
One day, Agnes’s family moves to a house in a big city. The straight horizon and wheat fields are gone, but Agnes continues to draw what she sees and feels around her. No one except her grandfather understands what she is trying to capture — not her mother, who asks, “Where are you, Agnes?” when she sees her daughter engrossed in her drawing; nor her siblings, who think her art is ugly. Still, Agnes keeps trying to capture what she sees inside her mind.
Agnes Martin grew up to become a famous abstract expressionist artist.
Snippet:
It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Doing a unit on nocturnal animals? You will want to take a look at Night Creatures: Animals That Swoop, Crawl, and Creep While You Sleep by Rebecca E. Hirsch and illustrated by Sonia Possentini (Millbrook Press ).
The book starts in a soft, lyrical settling-down-to-bedtime voice.
A cool night breeze
blows softly on your face
As night creatures wake…
Soon, your heart begins to race as bobcats leap, owls pounce, and rabbits run away. No worries, however, because the quiet descends again as night turns into day.
Young readers will enjoy Sonia Possentini’s marvelous illustrations. They use a pallet of blues, greens and black tree silhouettes to reflect nighttime, but also capture the warm hues of a bobcat’s coat or an owl’s feathers.
Night Creatures is a celebration of animals that are active when many people are sleeping. Slip into a copy and discover what you have been missing.
For more information and related science activity suggestions, visit Growing with Science blog.
Copyright © 2021 Roberta Gibson All Rights Reserved.
Every Day Amazing: Fantastic Facts for Every Day of the Year
by Mike Barfield (Author) and Marianna Madriz (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Booktalk: Something amazing really does happen every single day! Discover fantastic facts for every date on the calendar. For example, did you know that Buzz Aldrin took the first selfie in space on November 12th, 1966? Or that October 21st is International Day of the Nacho?
Snippet:
It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Whose Big Rig? (A Guess-the-Job Book) Board Book
by Toni Buzzeo (Author) and Ramon Olivera (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Booktalk: This nonfiction board book features six kinds of specialized rigs used to construct a light-rail system–a tunnel borer, an excavator, a bulldozer, a tie dragon, a tamping machine, and a bucket truck–with five different parts of each rig properly labeled. The answer to each inquiring refrain of “Whose rig is this?” is revealed under a gatefold, engaging the reader in an informative guessing game about construction machines and their operators.
Snippet:
It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Meet the Artist: Andy Warhol
by Tate Museum (Author) and Rose Blake (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Booktalk: Meet Andy Warhol and explore the prominent themes and ideas in this internationally renowned artist’s body of work. Experiment with printing and blotted line drawings, design your own disco outfit, be famous for 15 minutes, make your very own time capsule, and even become the director of your own movie!
Snippet:
It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
LSU Tigers (College Football Teams)
by K. C. Kelley (Author)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Booktalk: Learn about the key players and big wins that have made the LSU Tigers one of the most popular teams in college football.
Snippet: LSU stated playing football in 1894. They were very good right away. The school’s first perfect season was in 1895. Four of the next 13 seasons were perfect.
It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
My Life with Dyslexia
by Mari Schuh (Author) and Isabel Munoz (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Booktalk: Meet Scott. He likes coding and playing basketball. He also has dyslexia. Scott is real and so are his experiences. Learn about his life in this nonfiction picture book for elementary students.
Snippet: People with dyslexia have a unique way of thinking. I love to code. I’ve learned how to give computers the instructions to do all kinds of things.
It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Mia Hamm: Striking Gold
by Joe Levit (Author)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Booktalk: Soccer superstar Mia Hamm was a goal-scoring machine. At 15, she joined the US Women’s National Team. In college, Hamm led her team to four straight national championships. And in 1999, she made history, breaking the all-time record for goals scored in international matches. Learn more about Hamm’s life and the moments that made her a soccer legend.
Snippet:
It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Flip! How the Frisbee Took Flight
by Margaret Muirhead (Author) and Adam Gustavson (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Booktalk: Fred Morrison is credited with inventing this classic toy, but for centuries folks have been flipping for flying discs. Ancient Greeks flicked discs, and beginning in the 1920s, college kids at Yale University were tossing pie tins.
Fred’s invention quest began in 1932 after tossing a tin popcorn lid around the backyard. For more than twenty years, Fred and his wife, Lu, tried and failed to perfect a flying-disc concept. Eventually they created what we know today as the Frisbee.
Snippet:
It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2021 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
