A PERFECT
This is a creative non-fiction story about the albatross,
told from the perspective of a female bird. The bird tells about her life in a
narrative fashion. Many interesting tidbits are embedded in the text. The back
matter provides three additional pages of information about these fascinating
birds.
BEST IN SNOW by April
Pulley
Minimal rhyming text and beautiful photos combine for the
perfect picture book about snow. Two pages of back matter explain the concepts
of snow mentioned in the text.
FINDING WINNIE: The True Story of the World's Most Famous
Bear by Lindsay Mattick
This wonderful book was written by Lindsay Mattick, the
great-granddaughter of Captain Harry Colebourn. Captain Colebourn, a vet, was
on his way to tend to the soldier's horses during the war, when he came upon a
man with a bear cub. The captain bought the cub and named her Winnipeg ,
calling her Winnie, for short. He trained her and she became the mascot for the
Second Canadian Infantry Brigade. When the troops were sent out to fight, Capt.
Colebourn had to leave Winnie behind. He was in
England
at the time, and he drove Winnie to the London Zoo, where she lived out the
rest of her days.
She became a favorite attraction at the zoo. One day, little
Christopher Robin Milne went to the zoo with his father. Christopher Robin fell
in love with Winnie. He and the bear became great friends. Christopher Robin
had a stuffed bear at home that he named Winnie-the-Pooh. His father, A.A.
Milne, wrote great stories about the adventures of Christopher Robin,
Winnie-the-Pooh and their friends in the Hundred Acre Woods.
Mattick writes the story in a refreshingly creative way. She
begins by having a young boy curling up with mom while mom reads the story. The
little boy keeps interrupting the mother as she reads, as children often do. In
this manner, Mattick tells the story of how Winnie-the-Pooh became famous.
I TOOK THE MOON FOR A WALK
by Carolyn Curtis
A young boy imagines that he is
taking the moon for a walk one night when the moon is shining bright. The
rhyming verse, repetition and kid-friendly illustrations create a book that any
child will love and appreciate.
Two pages at the end of the book
give facts and information about the moon. One page is headed "The
Mysterious Moon" and the "The World at Night."
IMANI'S MOON by JaNay Brown-Wood
Imani lives in Tanzania
in Kenya and is
part of the Maasai tribe there. She is small for her age and her peers are
always making fun of her size. Imani's dream is to touch the moon. She tries
several ways to make that happen. When she succeeds, she is given a moon rock
to take back to her mother.
Author JaNay Brown-Wood not only
tells a lovely tale, she includes an Author's Note in the back of the book that
provides more information about the Maasai culture and people.
LISTEN TO OUR WORLD by Bill
Martin, Jr. & Michael Sampson
Each morning, Mama wakes her
children up and tells them to listen to their world. Their world is filled with
wonderful sounds from the parrots in the rain forest, Gila monsters in the
desert, eagles in the wilderness, monkeys in the jungle, as well as other
animals.
This is both an entertaining
and an educational look at the world around us, as the illustrations, by
Melissa Sweet, show each of the animals in their natural habitats. And, the end
matter of the book includes a section called Facts About the Animals in the
Book, with a bit of trivia about each animal mentioned in the text.
LOCOMOTIVE by Brian Floca
Hop aboard the train and travel across the country from East
to West, as the mighty steam locomotive goes across the country. Share the
experiences of the people on board as they make the long trek across the
country.
This book is chockfull of information about the history of
the railroad industry. Not only is a great deal of information woven throughout
the text, more details are provided in the back of the book in a section called
"A Note On the Locomotive." The author also includes a lengthy list
of resources that he used when writing the book. Even the end pages provide
maps and pictures at the front of the book, and a detailed drawing of a
locomotive at the end of the book.
MORE-IGAMI by Dori Kleber
Joey likes things that fold, like maps and accordions. When
he first saw a crane made out of folded paper, he was fascinated and wanted to
learn how to make one for himself. He was told it would take a lot of practice
and patience to be an origami master.
Joey practices and practices making cranes. He uses all
kinds of paper, like construction paper and notebook paper, and his homework
papers and his sister's sheet music. His folding mania becomes a nuisance until
he finds an acceptable and creative outlet for it.
QUICK LITTLE MONKEY by Sarah L. Thomson
Little monkey loves flying through the trees in the jungle,
safe on Papa's back. But when he falls off and goes down, down, down, will he
be able to get away from the hungry lion or the terrifying snake?
Author Sarah L. Thomson provides an Author's Note at the
back of the book that explains the story is about pygmy marmoset monkeys. She
gives a few facts about these interesting creatures that will be sure to
interest youngsters.
SOME PETS by Angela DiTerlizzi
Author Angela Diterlizzi will put a smile on your face with
her poem about pets, all kinds of pets. Illustrator Brendan Wenzel will put a
smile on your face with his colorful, expressive and very kid-friendly text.
The back matter at the end of the book is a section called
"What's the Pet?" It names all of the animals that are highlighted in
the text.
THE ALLIGATOR'S SMILE by Jane Yolen
Just about everything you always wanted to know about
alligator's is included in this great little book. Author Jane Yolen combines
unique poems and text boxes to describe the different aspects of an alligator -
its size and shape, its nesting habits, what it eats, its longevity, etc. Each
poem is accompanied by a short blurb that provides more detail about a certain
aspect of an alligator. More Gator Facts, a Glossary and a list of additional
resources are found at the back of the book. Photos by Jason Stemple make this
a great book for anyone who is interested in alligators.
THUNDER UNDERGROUND by Jane Yolen
How many things do you think about that are underground?
There are basements and animals and tree roots and buried treasure and all
sorts of wonderful things under the ground. Author Jane Yolen uses verse to
interest children in what lies under the ground.
The back matter at the end of the book gives more
information about all the under ground things that are mentioned in the text.
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