Nonfiction Monday

June 24, 2019June 23, 2019

Susan B. Anthony: The Making of America

Susan B. Anthony: The Making of America
by Teri Kanefield (Author)

Booktalk: America’s famous suffragette Susan B. Anthony was born into a world in which men ruled women: A man could beat his wife, take her earnings, have her committed into an asylum based on his word, and take her children away from her. While the young nation was ablaze with the radical notion that people could govern themselves, “people” were understood to be white and male. Women were expected to stay out of public life and debates. Anthony began her public career as a radical abolitionist, and after the Civil War, she became an international figurehead of the women’s suffrage movement.

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

June 17, 2019June 16, 2019

Make Your Own Pixel Art

Make Your Own Pixel Art: Create Graphics for Games, Animations, and More!
by Jennifer Dawe (Author) and Matthew Humphries (Author)

Booktalk: Draw digitally using a keyboard and mouse. Walk step-by-step through the available tools, learn pixel art techniques and the importance of shapes, colors, shading. Turn your art into animation!

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

June 17, 2019June 16, 2019

The Apollo Missions for Kids

The Apollo Missions for Kids: The People and Engineering Behind the Race to the Moon, with 21 Activities
by Jerome Pohlen (Author)

Booktalk: In addition to learning about ALL of the Apollo missions, readers can prepare for #Apollo50 next month with these 21 hands-on activities, that include:

Determining what they would weigh on the moon
Learning to identify the moon’s features
Demonstrating orbital mechanics with a marble and a shallow bowl
Calculating how far away the moon is using sports equipment
Recreating the shape and size of the command module
Eating like an astronaut and making “space food”
Designing a mission patch

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Moongazing
First, locate Tycho, the large white crater on the lunar map above. This will help you determine north and south. The full moon will appear to be lying on its left side if you look at it just after sundown and on its right side just before sunrise. Also, if you look at moon with a telescope, everything will be inverted–upside down–or mirrored left to right.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

June 10, 2019June 9, 2019

Deep in the Ocean

Deep in the Ocean
by Lucie Brunellière (Author / Illustrator)

Booktalk: Dive into the ocean with a submarine for an amazing underwater adventure in this oversized board book! As you turn the pages, listen to whales singing and icebergs creaking, dolphins splashing and waves crashing in the ten-minute soundtrack.

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

June 10, 2019June 16, 2019

O Captain, My Captain

O Captain, My Captain: Walt Whitman, Abraham Lincoln, and the Civil War
by Robert Burleigh (Author)and Sterling Hundley (Illustrator)

Booktalk: The story of one of America’s greatest poets and how he was inspired by one of America’s greatest presidents. Whitman and Lincoln shared the national stage in Washington, DC, during the Civil War. Though the two men never met, Whitman would often see Lincoln’s carriage on the road. The president was never far from the poet’s mind, and Lincoln’s “grace under pressure” was something Whitman returned to again and again in his poetry. Whitman witnessed Lincoln’s second inauguration and mourned along with America as Lincoln’s funeral train wound its way across the landscape to his final resting place. The book includes the poem “O Captain! My Captain!” and an excerpt from “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d,” brief bios of Lincoln and Whitman, a timeline of Civil War events, endnotes, and a bibliography.

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

June 3, 2019June 2, 2019

Working in Space

Working in Space
by Ellen Lawrence (Author)

Booktalk: How does it feel to work in zero gravity in a laboratory more than 200 miles above Earth? What kinds of experiments do astronauts carry out aboard the International Space Station (ISS)? And how does it feel to step out of the space station into the darkness of space? Discover the answers to all these questions and many more fascinating facts about working in space.

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

June 3, 2019June 2, 2019

Rocket to the Moon!

Rocket to the Moon!: Big Ideas that Changed the World
by Don Brown (Author / Illustrator)

Booktalk: On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong took “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” when the Apollo 11 landed on the moon. But it wasn’t just one man who got us to the moon. See the history of rocket building: from ancient Chinese rockets, to “bombs bursting in air” during the War of 1812, to Russia’s Sputnik program, to the moon landing.

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

May 20, 2019May 19, 2019

SEAL Team Six

SEAL Team Six (U.S. Special Forces)
by Jim Whiting (Author)

Booktalk: A chronological account of the American military special forces unit known as SEAL Team Six, including key details about important figures, landmark missions, and controversies.

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

May 20, 2019May 19, 2019

Bloom Boom!

At Wrapped in Foil today, we have have the beautiful picture book by April Pulley Sayre, Bloom Boom!

As with some of her earlier books, April Pulley Sayre combines her gorgeous nature photographs with sparse, lyrical text.

On the cover is a photograph of brilliantly-colored poppies, which sets the tone for what is to come inside. Every spread is filled with vibrant color, either in sprawling landscapes or detailed close ups of flowers and growing plants.

With only a few words on each page, Sayre manages to introduce children to botanical terms and concepts. She also uses alliteration and repetition to keep young readers interested. Besides learning about plants, the book is also a great way for little ones to learn about color (see activity suggestion on the blog).

After you’ve gasped at the final spread, don’t forget to check out the back matter. In “The Bloom Boom” section, Sayre explains how to find areas where masses of flowers bloom all at once. In “A Bit More About Blooms” you can find thumbnails of each spread with accompanying details about the flowers in each.

Bloom Boom! is a visual feast, sure to enthrall young nature lovers. Explore a copy today!

May 20, 2019May 19, 2019

Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana: Sound of the Heart, Song of the World
by Gary Golio (Author) and Rudy Gutierrez (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Carlos Santana grew up surrounded by music. His father, a beloved mariachi performer, teaches his son how to play the violin when he is only six years old. But when Carlos discovers American blues, he is captivated by the raw honesty of the music. Unable to think of anything else, he loses all interest in the violin. When Carlos finally receives his first guitar, his whole life begins to change.

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Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!