Informational Nonfiction – Page 19

Dining with Dinosaurs: A Tasty Guide to Mesozoic Munching by Hannah Bonner

January 4, 2017 by Kellee

Nonfiction Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

Also, I’d like to thank Sarah Brannen for making such a beautiful piece of artwork for our weekly nonfiction link up. It is perfect for illustrating why nonfiction is so important!

Dining with Dinosaurs: A Tasty Guide to Mesozoic Munching
Author: Hannah Bonner
Published September 20th, 2016 by National Geographic Children’s Books

Summary: Sure you know T-Rex was the meat-eating king and brontosaurus munched on leaves, but what else was on the dino dining menu during the Mesozoic era?

Meet the ‘vores: carnivores, piscivores, herbivores, insectivores, “trashivores,” “sunivores,” and omnivores like us.

Readers will be surprised and inspired to learn about dino diets and they’ll get to explore how scientists can tell which dinosaurs ate what just from looking at fossils!

Journey through artist and author Hannah Bonner’s whimsical world to learn how the dinosaurs and their contemporaries bit, chewed, and soaked up their food.

Review: Although the cover looks a bit silly, this text is to be taken seriously. Hannah Bonner does a wonderful job examining what different dinosaurs ate, the science behind what and why they ate what they did, how paleontologists know what dinos ate, and where all these dinosaurs fit in the grand scheme of things. Told in a unique structure that alternates between Hannah and a microraptor narrating and comic strip interviews with scientists, the text is not only informative but very entertaining.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This is going to be the perfect text for a dinosaur unit in a classroom. It allows for so many different discussions including the different periods within the Mesozoic Era (and Cenozoic Era), connections between dinosaur diets and modern animals, types of scientists that study dinosaurs, different species of dinosaurs, and even text structure. Such a wide range of opportunities for classroom discussion (and even extension activities from the discussions). Additionally, the back matter of the text is filled to the brim with information and even an experiment.

Discussion Questions: What are some ways paleontologists can tell which dinosaurs ate what?; What modern animals fit into each of the ‘vore categories in the text?; Why did the author choose to include the comic strip interviews throughout the book?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: Dinosaurs

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Karen at Media Masters Publicity for providing a copy for review!!**

Kellee’s Favorite Reads in 2016

January 28, 2017January 3, 2017 by Kellee

In 2016, I am so proud of myself that I read 291 books! My goal was 250, so I surpassed it–YAY! Last year I finished 288, but I was able to keep track of first reads of so many picture books that I have now read over and over again and wasn’t able to put as 2016 books because I wanted to keep their original date on Goodreads, so I am considering this year a much better reading year.

Today, I want to share with you 60 favorites (broken up into 5 categories) from the 291 that I read in 2016. If you haven’t read any of these, put them on your TBR now!!!!!
*These are books I read in 2016, not books that were published (only) in 2016
**In no particular order
***I included links to Unleashing Readers reviews if I wrote one

My 15 Favorite Fiction Picture Books I Read in 2016

Reviews:
Shy by Deborah Freedman
A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston
Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty
Pirasaurs! by Josh Funk
A Piece of Home by Jeri Watts
Return by Aaron Becker
We Found a Hat by Jon Klassen
Dear Dragon by Josh Funk
Nibbles: The Book Monster by Emma Yarlett

My 10 Favorite Non-Fiction Books I Read in 2016

Reviews:
Antsy Ansel by Cindy Jenson-Elliott
Dorothea’s Eyes by Barb Rosenstock
Hillary Rodham Clinton by Michelle Markel

My 5 Favorite Graphic Novels I Read in 2016

My 20 Favorite Middle Grade Novels I Read in 2016

Reviews:
Still a Work in Progress by Jo Knowles
Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson
Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard by Jonathan Auxier
The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart
Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo

My 10 Favorite Young Adult Novels I Read in 2016

Reviews:
Rescued by Eliot Schrefer
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

This year was a phenomenal reading year; I hope yours was too! Here’s to another year full of books and stories!

Natumi Takes the Lead: The True Story of an Orphan Elephant Who Finds a Family by Gerry Ellis with Amy Novesky

December 28, 2016 by Kellee

Nonfiction Wednesday

Natumi Takes the Lead: The True Story of an Orphan Elephant Who Finds Family
Author: Gerry Ellis with Amy Novesky
Published November 8th, 2016 by National Geographic Children’s Books

Goodreads Summary: After losing her mother, shy Natumi is rescued by a team from the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, an orphanage for baby elephants. At the shelter, Natumi hides behind keepers’ legs to watch the other elephants at the shelter. But soon, she meets several other orphans, and the eight of them play together in the surrounding bush.

As the babies become closer and more like a real family, they need a leader, someone they can trust. Can Natumi grow into this role?

Join the herd to find out what happens when they travel back into the wild. This sweet story, with its heartwarming photographs, explores the challenges and joys of family, love, and growing up, and is a perfect bedtime tale.

Review: In addition to being a story that teaches about elephants, Natumi’s story is one that will warm readers’ hearts. Her story is sad yet inspiring, heart breaking yet beautiful, and the reader gets to be there every step of the way. Gery Ellis’s photographs allow the reader to be right in the story and helps move this book past just a normal informational nonfiction text to literary nonfiction thus allowing it to cross boundaries in the classroom.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Since the text crosses the informational/literary boundaries, there are immense possibilities to how this text could be used in the classroom. When I finished, the two things that struck me right away were the theme of the story and the inquiry that this story could be a basis for. Natumi’s story definitely has a pretty solid theme that can tie into many other texts or even science discussions about animal behaviors. Also, the text talks about one animal in peril in the wild, and it could be a jumping off point for a science/language arts crossover project where students state find a problem in the wild and create information, much like the author’s note, that shows ways to help and learn more about the issue. In addition, there are opportunities for vocabulary development, mapping skills, prediction, cause/effect, and much more.

Discussion Questions: How did poachers change Natumi’s life forever? Why are there poachers in Africa?; Why are elephant orphanages needed? How could we help this problem?; How did Natumi become the leader of her family?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Love: Elephants, Learning about endangered animals, Africa

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Karen at Media Masters for providing a copy for review!**

Supercars (Mean Machines Series) by Kane Miller Books

December 7, 2016 by Ricki

Nonfiction Wednesday

Supercars
Published: March 2016 by Kane Miller Books

Kane Miller Summary of the Mean Machine Series: Sure to get your young car enthusiast revved up, the Mean Machines series is pedal-to-themetal, fast and furious fun … from the comfort and safety of your living room! Which customized car has a top speed of 252 mph? Which engine has a nitrous oxide injector? Which car’s nickname is the Black Bat? Which car has a plasma TV inside the truck?! Find out!

Ricki’s Review: My favorite aspect of this book (and the series) is that readers of all levels will enjoy it. My toddler absolutely loves the pictures and can’t get enough of them. This book has not left our house since we received it a few weeks ago. He says, “What’s this, Mama?” to every picture on every page. My husband has also enjoyed this book, and I love to watch the two of them engrossed in the pictures and text. This is a book that reminds me that there is so much that I don’t know about cars. I may not be able to pronounce some of the terms in the book, but I most certainly have fun trying! I suspect this book will remain on our couch for several more weeks (if not months), and I am quite all right with that.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This would be a great book to spark research projects. Teachers might give students a copy of one of the books in this series and ask them to research cars that would fit into the other texts of the series. They might also investigate why certain cars are included while others aren’t.

Discussion Questions: Which car is the fastest? Which is the largest? Which has the most power?; What differences do you see between the cars? What similarities do you see?; What makes these cars “super”?; Which car would you most want to own and why?

We Flagged a spread from the Performance Cars book, which looks similar to Supercars (but with different cars):

Read This If You Love: Cars!

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Lynn for providing a review copy!**

Oh, Ick!: 114 Science Experiments Guaranteed to Gross You Out! by Joy Masoff

November 16, 2016 by Kellee

Nonfiction Wednesday

Oh, Ick!: 114 Science Experiments Guaranteed to Gross You Out
Author: Joy Masoff with Jessica Garrett and Ben Ligon
Published November 1st, 2016 by Workman Publishing Company

Summary: From the bestselling author of Oh, Yuck! and Oh, Yikes! here is an A-Z compendium of hands-on grossness.

Featuring 114 interactive experiments and ick-tivities, Oh, Ick!delves into the science behind everything disgusting.

Stage an Ooze Olympics to demonstrate viscosity and the nature of slime. Observe how fungi grow by making a Mold Zoo. Embark on an Insect Safari to get to know the creepy crawlies around your home. And learn what causes that embarrassing acne on your face by baking a Pimple Cake to pop—and eat. Eww!

Review: I always struggled with science, but I think if I had done more science experiments, putting the facts and information that I couldn’t memorize into practice, I would have been able to understand the concepts and information better. Books like Oh, Ick! and its companions Oh, Yuck! and Oh, Yikes! make science interesting thus helping kids put science into action and moving the information from short term to long term!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: I would love to see some of these icky experiments used in the classroom! Although the experiments are alphabetical by topic, the index gives teachers the ability to search for what they need. Want to teach about B cells and scabs, why not do “Spaghetti Scab Dinner?” Sound waves? Why not try “Sick Sounds?”

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Loved: Gross and interesting science experiments

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Estelle from Workman Publishing for providing a copy for review!**

Strange, Unusual, Gross, and Cool Animals by Charles Ghigna

November 9, 2016 by Kellee

Nonfiction Wednesday

Strange, Unusual, Gross, and Cool Animals
Author: Charles Ghigna
Published October 11th, 2016 by Animal Planet

Summary: Animal Planet presents the ickiest, stickiest, blobbiest, and oddest animals in the world!

Did you know that an archerfish can spit water up to 16 feet? Or that the giant weta is the world’s largest and heaviest insect? Animal Planet’s fascinating exploration of animal oddities introduces young animal lovers to some of the most astonishing, gorgeous, and obscure animals in the world-including some brand new discoveries! Packed with more than 200 vibrant photographs and fun facts about animals with unusual behaviors, strange appearances, and remarkable stats, this deluxe gift book is perfect for reluctant readers or anyone who loves totally gross and amazing animals.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of books in the Animal Bites series benefits the principal partners of R.O.A.R. (Reach Out. Act. Respond.), Animal Planet’s initiative dedicated to improving the lives of animals in our communities and in the wild.

Review: I love learning about weird animals because it is so amazing to see what mother nature has made out there! This book shares with the reader some of the weirdest! Trent and I love to sit and look through the pages and look at the cool animals!

What I really like about Animal Planet texts is that they have a variety of spreads throughout the text and include really interesting information but also beautiful photographs. This text has four types of spreads: Gallery, a spread that explores a theme; Featured Creature, a spread that focuses on one animal; Creature Collection, a spread that compares and contrasts a group of animals; and Macroview, a spread that shows tiny details of small animals.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: In addition to being an amazing text to have in classroom and school libraries, this text is a wonderful way to begin inquiry projects. When I teach my central idea unit, for my final assessment I ask my students to write their own nonfiction text with a clear central idea and supporting details. Many students choose animals for their nonfiction text, but it is usually the same offenders: dolphins, cheetahs, and dogs, so it would be really nice to have this text to jump start the brainstorming process.

Discussion Questions: What type of features do some animals have the help them protect themselves from predators?; Which animal did you think was the oddest looking?; Which animal do you think is not that odd looking?; Which animal would you like to learn more about?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Loved: Pink is for Blobfish by Jess Keating and other nonfiction picture books about animals, Animal Planet & National Geographic nonfiction such as Real or Fake?, Ocean Animals, Awesome 8, Animal Atlas, or the Animal Bites series

Recommended For:

**Thank you Charles Ghigna and Animal Planet for providing a copy for review!**

Around America To Win the Vote: Two Suffragists, a Kitten, and 10,000 Miles by Mara Rockliff

November 2, 2016 by Kellee

Nonfiction Wednesday

Around America to Win the Vote: Two Suffragists, a Kitten, and 10,000 Miles
Author: Mara Rockliff
Illustrator: Hadley Hooper
Published August 2nd, 2016

Summary: The author of Mesmerized delivers another fascinating glimpse into history, this time the story of two brave suffragists on a trek across America to spread the word: Votes for Women!

In April 1916, Nell Richardson and Alice Burke set out from New York City in a little yellow car, embarking on a bumpy, muddy, unmapped journey ten thousand miles long. They took with them a teeny typewriter, a tiny sewing machine, a wee black kitten, and a message for Americans all across the country: Votes for Women! The women’s suffrage movement was in full swing, and Nell and Alice would not let anything keep them from spreading the word about equal voting rights for women. Braving blizzards, deserts, and naysayers—not to mention a whole lot of tires stuck in the mud—the two courageous friends made their way through the cities and towns of America to further their cause. One hundred years after Nell and Alice set off on their trip, Mara Rockliff revives their spirit in a lively and whimsical picture book, with exuberant illustrations by Hadley Hooper bringing their inspiring historical trek to life.

Review: I am posting this review specifically today because it is amazing to hear for these women’s journey when today a woman is running for president under a major political power. It is amazing that in 2016 we have made it this far, which is amazing, but we also have to remember how hard woman fought for women’s rights and that women’s equality isn’t here yet.

Another reason why I posted this today is to remind people to vote. All election days are our opportunity to choose our futures. We are not powerless; voting gives us power and a voice. Please vote and remind all those close and dear to you to vote as well.

Now to the book. I loved reading Nell and Alice’s adventure. These are woman that are truly role models because they did something so unexpected and unacceptable at the time to fight for something they believe in a peaceful and intelligent manner. Mara Rockliff, along with Hooper’s busy yet muted and beautiful illustrations, tell us their story in an engaging way that will definitely make the reader think about so much.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: In addition to reading Nell and Alice’s story in conjunction to history lessons about suffragists and this time in history or as a lit circle text with other books about strong woman or people making a difference, Michele Knott had an idea that I thought would be fascinating: compare and contrast the way that politics has changed in 100 years. How has tactics changed? How has technology changed the delivery and reception of politics?

Discussion Questions: What obstacles did Nell and Alice face that they would not have faced if they were traveling 10,000 miles in 2016? How would their journey have been different if it was 2016? Do you think face-to-face works better than some of the use of technology that we see nowadays?; Do you think Nell and Alice made a difference?

Flagged Passages:

Read This If You Loved: The First Step by Susan E. Goodman, Fearless Flyer by Heather Lang, Hillary Rodham Clinton by Michelle Markel, Brave Girl by Michelle Markel or any book about a strong female of history; Sit-In by Andrea Davis Pinkney or any book about how people made a difference for what they knew was right

Recommended For: