Nonfiction Monday

January 27, 2020March 29, 2020

Draw Silly Superheroes!

Draw Silly Superheroes!
by Luke Colins (Author) and Catherine Cates (Illustrator)

Booktalk: From putting food on human legs to silly bobblehead creations, step-by-step instructions and images will guide readers to create their own silly sketches.

Snippet: To be a silly sketcher, all you need is a pencil, some paper, and a funny bone. Draw a square here. Add some big hair there. Just follow the steps. You’ll have super art in no time.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

January 27, 2020January 26, 2020

To Dance: Special Edition

To Dance: Special Edition
by Siena Cherson Siegel (Author) and Mark Siegel (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Ballerinas are young when they first dream of dance. Siena was six–and her dreams kept skipping and leaping, circling and spinning, from airy runs along a beach near her home in Puerto Rico, to dance classes at the School of American Ballet, to her debut performance on stage with the New York City Ballet while working with ballet legend George Balanchine.

Part family history, part backstage drama, this updated graphic memoir with a brand-new scrapbook of Siena’s mementoes is a firsthand look a young dancer’s beginnings.

Snippet:

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

January 20, 2020January 19, 2020

Bread for Words

Bread for Words: A Frederick Douglass Story
by Shana Keller (Author) and Kayla Stark (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Frederick Douglass knew where he was born but not when. He knew his grandmother but not his father. And as a young child, there were other questions, such as Why am I a slave? Answers to those questions might have eluded him but Douglass did know for certain that learning to read and to write would be the first step in his quest for freedom and his fight for equality.

Snippet:

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

January 13, 2020March 29, 2020

Figure Skating

Figure Skating
by Mari Schuh (Author)

Booktalk: This search-and-find book invites early readers to look for new vocabulary words and picture details while offering simple facts about figure skating competition.

Snippet:

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

January 13, 2020January 12, 2020

Charles Darwin and the Theory of Evolution

Charles Darwin and the Theory of Evolution (Graphic Science Biographies)
by Jordi Bayarri (Author / Illustrator)

Booktalk: From his childhood in England to his pivotal ocean voyages, Charles Darwin took every opportunity to study the natural world. And he helped shape a new understanding of how life forms change over time. This graphic biography highlights Darwin’s youthful push to become a naturalist―against the wishes of his stern father. It also shares a look at his field research, collaborations, and scientific breakthroughs.

Snippet:

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

January 6, 2020March 29, 2020

Once Upon a Fairy Tale Craft

Once Upon a Fairy Tale Craft
by Annalees Lim (Author) and Supriya Sahai (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Transform your home into a fairy tale kingdom with more than twenty craft ideas. Readers can make a mermaid tail, frog prince treats, jeweled goblets, and more fairy tale-inspired creations with the help of simple step-by-step instructions and illustrations.

Snippet:

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

January 6, 2020January 5, 2020

Hello, Crochet Friends!: Making Art, Being Mindful, Giving Back: Do What Makes You Happy

Today at Wrapped in Foil blog we are featuring the picture book autobiography Hello, Crochet Friends!: Making Art, Being Mindful, Giving Back: Do What Makes You Happy by Jonah Larson and Jennifer Larson, with photographs by Erin Harris..

Jonah Larson is a phenomenon. Born in Ethiopia, a family from Wisconsin adopted him when he was an infant. Later he struggled at school until one day — at five years old — he picked up a crochet hook. Soon crocheting became his passion and it has changed his life. Now he says he wants to share the joy of crocheting with everyone.

Although this is an autobiography, Jonah tells one part of his story and his adoptive mother Jennifer Larson tells another part. The duel points of view are poignant. Jonah also shares one crochet pattern (this is NOT a how-to book).

I was so impressed with the map that shows the location of all his crochet friends from around the world. He really is spreading the joy.

Hello Crochet Friends! is a one-of-a-kind book about a one-of-a-kind boy. It might just inspire readers to find their own passions.

January 6, 2020January 5, 2020

Moth: An Evolution Story

Moth: An Evolution Story
by Isabel Thomas (Author) and Daniel Egnéus (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Against a lush backdrop of lichen-covered trees, the peppered moth lies hidden. Until the world begins to change…

Along come people with their magnificent machines which stain the land with soot. In a beautiful landscape changed by humans how will one little moth survive?

Snippet:

See the book trailer.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

December 16, 2019December 15, 2019

Spies, Lies, and Disguise

Spies, Lies, and Disguise: The Daring Tricks and Deeds that Won World War II
by Jennifer Swanson (Author) amd Kevin O’Malley (Illustrator)

Booktalk: In the late 1930s, times were desperate. The world found itself at war again, less than twenty years after the first World War had ended. No one could quite believe it. And no one wanted it. The leaders of every country involved were left with no choice. They had to try to end the war as fast as possible, using whatever means they could.
That meant coming up with secret operations meant to deceive, deflect, and confuse their enemies. Poison the cattle that the Germans eat? Deliberately float a corpse dressed up as a spy across the water to have it wash up on Germany’s shore? Create a unit of top secret commandos with a license to kill? These were all real tactics attempted with the ultimate goal of defeating Hitler. In this off-center look at history, readers will be captivated by the classified and covert efforts made by each side as they tried to gain the upper hand and win the war. Restricted access is lifted to give the reader a peek into the top secret operations of the daring men and women who fought the war under a cloak of secrecy.

Snippet:
PRIVATE PENS
Roald Dahl, British spy? Yep? That is correct. Before Dahl became the award-winning children’s author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda, he was a British secret agent. His mission? To hobnob with the American president, vice president, and other American dignitaries to get them to commit to entering the war.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

December 9, 2019December 8, 2019

Predator and Prey

Predator and Prey: A Conversation in Verse
by Susannah Buhrman-Deever (Author) and Bert Kitchen (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Who wins, the assassin bug or the spider? The bat or the frog? The ant or the honey bee? The male firefly . . . or the female? The battle for survival between predator and prey is sometimes a fight, sometimes a dance, and often involves spying, lying, or even telling the truth to get ahead. Biologist Susannah Buhrman-Deever explores these clashes in poems and prose explanations that offer both sides of the story.

Snippet:

A 2019 Cybils Poetry nominee

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!