Tag Archives: nonfiction

PPBF – Home

Posted on April 26, 2024 | 2 comments

I’m a serial mover, so I think a lot about housing and what turns a dwelling into a home. It should surprise no one, then, that I love books about homes and what makes some homes special. Today’s Perfect Picture Book is one of those books that shows us the special places that some creatures call home.

Title: Home

Written & Illustrated By: Isabelle Simler

Translated By: Vineet Lal

Publisher/Date: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers/2024 (originally published in France as Maison, Éditions Courtes et Longues/2022)

Suitable for Ages: 4 and up

Themes/Topics: animal homes, poetry, nonfiction

Opening:

I’ve been to some truly amazing homes.

Brief Synopsis: A collection of 27 poems about animal homes.

Links to Resources:

  • Learn about animal homes and try these science experiments;
  • Take a walk near your home or in the woods and collect materials to build a nest for a favorite bird or insect;
  • Write a poem about a favorite animal’s home;
  • Learn more in the back matter about the amazing creatures featured in this poetry collection.

Why I Like this Book:

In 27 poems accompanied by gorgeous illustrations, author/illustrator Simler explores the different homes that birds, sea creatures, insects, reptiles, and other animals inhabit. I loved exploring these different dwellings, and I think kids will, too.

In a foreword, quoted above, Simler shares that she “had to bend, and shrink, and squeeze, and let myself be transformed in weird and wonderful ways” to imagine “life in these homes.”  From the text and accompanying illustrations, it’s clear that Simler has adopted the viewpoints of her subjects – a unique and interesting way to share their stories and build empathy among readers.

Even the poem titles raise our curiosity – who knew that a comet moth lives in a “Silky Apartment,” that a satin bowerbird builds a “Blue Pavilion,” or that a honeybee resides in a “Wax Palace.” Drawing comparisons between these dwellings and our own will, I think, help kids relate to them.

The creatures featured are not your run-of-the-mill farm or zoo animals. Simler includes lesser-known fan worms, weaver ants, alpine marmots, and many more. Such a fascinating array of animals is sure to capture the interest of budding naturalists and build awareness of the diversity of creatures and habitats in our world.

I highly recommend Home for school and home libraries – this is a picture book that all ages will enjoy.

A Note about Craft:

As I mentioned above, Simler crafted poems about each of the highlighted creature’s home from the perspective of that creature. That she chose first-person point-of-view without anthropomorphizing them is amazing. Equally amazing, Simler wrote these poems in French, and Lal translated them into English – no easy task, I’m sure.

This Perfect Picture Book entry is being added to Susanna Hill’s Perfect Picture Book list. Check out the other great picture books featured there!

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PPBF – Is This a House for Hermit Crab?

Posted on March 9, 2024 | 2 comments

Today I’m happy to feature a newly-illustrated version of a classic picture book that truly is a Perfect Picture Book.

Title: Is This a House for Hermit Crab?

Written By: Megan McDonald

Art By: Katherine Tillotson

Publisher/Date: Neal Porter Books/2024 (originally published by Orchard Books in 1990, with illustrations by S.D. Schindler)

Suitable for Ages: 4-8

Themes/Topics: hermit crabs, home, moving, nonfiction, nature

Opening:

Hermit Crab was growing too big for the house on his back.

Brief Synopsis: A hermit crab outgrows its shell and seeks a larger one.

Links to Resources:

  • Read the Back Matter to find out more about hermit crabs and other sea creatures;
  • Make your own hermit crab.

Why I Like this Book:

With its endearing main character seeking a new home, its repeated question, “Is this a house for Hermit Crab?”, and its repeated refrain that begs readers to turn the page, “So he stepped along the shore, by the sea, in the sand…scritch-scratch, scritch-scratch”, Is This a House for Hermit Crab? is sure to become a favorite in homes, libraries, and classrooms.

Although McDonald wrote the text over 30 years ago, the story seems fresh and the amount of text seems just right for read-alouds, even to younger kids. Tillotson’s vibrant watercolor, acrylic, finger paint, and collage illustrations made me feel like I was walking on the beach with Hermit Crab and snorkeling above the underwater action. And the facts in the Back Matter will make this a welcome resource as kids seek to learn more about hermit crabs and other ocean creatures.

A Note about Craft:

As a querying picture book author, I follow the advice of those in the know and only include books published within the last three years, max five years, as comparable titles. But as you can see above, McDonald penned the text for Is This a House for Hermit Crab? over 30 years ago. Which goes to show that some picture books that we may remember from our childhoods or from our children’s childhoods stand the test of time and are worth studying as mentor texts. In this case, I think a combination of several factors helps this story seem fresh today: the relatable story – crab has to move; the fact that very few, if any, picture books about hermit crabs have been published in the last several years; and the fairly short text with its distinct refrain – “So he stepped along the shore, by the sea, in the sand…scritch-scratch, scritch-scratch.”

This Perfect Picture Book entry is being added to Susanna Hill’s Perfect Picture Book list. Check out the other great picture books featured there!

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PPBF – Welcome to the Wonder House

Posted on March 1, 2024 | 2 comments

When I saw the cover of today’s Perfect Picture Book on Deborah Freedman’s website, I wasn’t sure what this book was about. But that title intrigued me, and I couldn’t resist that dreamy cover art. Enjoy!

Title: Welcome to the Wonder House

Poems By: Rebecca Kai Dotlich & Georgia Heard

Illustrations By: Deborah Freedman

Publisher/Date: Wordsong, an imprint of Astra Books for Young Readers/2023

Suitable for Ages: 7 and up (per the publisher; I think all ages will enjoy it)

Themes/Topics: poetry, imagination, curiosity, nonfiction

Opening:

Room of Curiosity

Why do diamonds wink and shine?

What is quartz?

What is lime?

Brief Synopsis: A collection of 29 poems about curiosity arranged topically in 12 rooms of a house of wonder.

Links to Resources:

  • Check out the Authors’ Note with its suggestions of finding wonder by beginning a poem, telling a story, sharing discoveries with a friend, etc.
  • Find more activities in the Discussion Guide.

Why I Like this Book:

A house filled with wonder? And I’m welcome to visit? Yes! Please!

Any child will be enchanted by this collection of poems about curiosity, arranged into 12 rooms by topic. What a wonderful way to introduce children to poetry and pique their curiosity.

The collection begins with a spread laying out the Contents, to make it easier for readers to choose the order of rooms they visit depending on their mood. Craving Nature? There’s a room for that. Thinking about Time? Read about tree rings and “a cracked iguanodon tooth.”

Because each room in the collection stands on its own, there’s no right or wrong way to read Welcome to the Wonder House – Do you have loads of time and you want to visit the rooms in order? That works. Studying different types of scientists? Head to the room of Science. Searching for a few quick stanzas before your little one nods off to sleep? Explore the room of Imagination to foster vivid dreams.

Although wonder connects all of the rooms, as well as a few ladders and staircases sprinkled about, the rooms are also distinct, which broadens this collection’s appeal. And if the thought of entering wonder-filled rooms isn’t enough to get you reading, Freedman’s detailed, gorgeous mixed media illustrations should.

Welcome to the Wonder House belongs in every home and school.

A Note about Craft:

Two poets and an editor go for a ride. Really! Check out the book launch interview with Betsy Bird to discover the genesis of this awesome picture book. And maybe schedule a trip with a few potential collaborators.

This Perfect Picture Book entry is being added to Susanna Hill’s Perfect Picture Book list. Check out the other great picture books featured there!

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PPBF – A Seed Grows

Posted on February 9, 2024 | 3 comments

Spring is just around the corner…I hope! If you, like me, can’t wait to get hands in the soil and seeds in the ground, today’s Perfect Picture Book is just what you need to read!

Title: A Seed Grows

Written & Illustrated By: Antoinette Portis

Publisher/Date: Neal Porter Books/2022

Suitable for Ages: 3-6

Themes/Topics: sunflowers, seeds, life cycle; nonfiction; STEAM

Opening:

A seed falls

and settles into the soil

Brief Synopsis: The life cycle of a sunflower plant.

Links to Resources:

Why I Like this Book:

It’s brief. It’s to the point. And it’s beautiful!

With its 76 words and gel-printed, linocut, potato-stamped, and printed-with-a-celery-stalk vibrant illustrations, A Seed Grows shows the life cycle of a sunflower plant. The premise is simple. The story is entirely non-fiction, without a young child or any human in sight. Just a seed that germinates, a plant that grows and blossoms, and a bird that grabs a seed, then drops it, enabling the cycle to continue.

Kids love sunflowers with their sunshiny “faces” (my own kids always have). I think that kids can relate to the small seed becoming a tiny plant then stretching towards the sky and producing a large, round, face-like flower. Additionally, I think kids can relate to the tiny bird with its outsize role in the sunflower’s lifecycle.

Whether you read A Seed Grows at home, at school, or in the library, kids will love it, and they won’t even realize that they’re learning as they listen. Spoiler alert: don’t miss the top fold-out to view the full-grown sunflower.

A Note about Craft:

The text of A Seed Grows contains two sentences. Yep! You read that correctly: TWO sentences! Notably, the first sentence is rather lengthy. It doesn’t end until the final spread, with eight “ands” followed by other transition words. All of these transitions occur after a page turn. Despite a lack of commas, semi-colons, and periods, I had no trouble reading the text aloud, finding myself pausing naturally without these signals to break. I also discovered that the switch from “and” to “until” indicated a change in the action, a turning point. For writers trying to “make every word count”, Portis has provided a master class in A Seed Grows.

This Perfect Picture Book entry is being added to Susanna Hill’s Perfect Picture Book list. Check out the other great picture books featured there!

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Perfect Pairing is Abuzz about Bee Books

Posted on April 21, 2020 | 1 comment

It’s Earth Day tomorrow and a month when flowers blossom and insects reappear near my house. To celebrate, I’m pairing two recent non-fiction picture books that focus on a very important creature in our world: the honeybee.

Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera

Author: Candace Fleming

Illustrator: Eric Rohmann

Publisher/Date: Neal Porter Books, an imprint of Holiday House Publishing/2020

Ages: 6-9

Themes: honeybees, nature, nonfiction

Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Get up close and personal with Apis, one honeybee, as she embarks on her journey through life, complete with exquisitely detailed illustrations.

Beginning at birth, the honeybee emerges through the wax cap of her cell and is driven to protect and take care of her hive. She cleans the nursery and feeds the larvae and the queen. But is she strong enough to fly? Not yet!

She builds wax comb to store honey, and transfers pollen from other bees into the storage. She defends the hive from invaders. Apis accomplishes all of this before beginning her life outdoors as an adventurer, seeking nectar to bring back to her hive.

Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann describe the life cycle of the hard-working honeybee in this poetically written, thoroughly researched picture book, similar in form and concept to the Sibert and Orbis Pictus award book Giant Squid, complete with stunning gatefold and an essay on the plight of honeybees.

Read a review at The Picture Book Buzz and another by Jilanne Hoffmann.

 

The Honeybee

Author: Kirsten Hall

Illustrator: Isabelle Arsenault

Publisher/Date: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster/2018

Ages: 3-7

Themes: honeybees, nonfiction, nature, rhyming

Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Buzz from flower to flower with a sweet honeybee in this timely, clever, and breathtakingly gorgeous picture book from critically acclaimed author Kirsten Hall and award-winning illustrator Isabelle Arsenault.

Bzzz…

What’s that?
Do you hear it?
You’re near it.
It’s closer,
it’s coming,
it’s buzzing,
it’s humming…

A BEE!

With zooming, vibrant verse by Kirsten Hall and buzzy, beautiful illustrations by Isabelle Arsenault, this celebration of the critically important honeybee is a honey-sweet treasure of a picture book.

Read a review at Julie Rowan-Zoch’s blog.

I paired these books because they explore the same topic in different ways. In Honeybee, Fleming and Rohmann get up close to one honeybee and recount her life in minute detail. This reader, and reviewers, have noted that it feels like you’re inhabiting the hive with Apis as the tension builds to the day Apis flies. In contrast, The Honeybee is a rhyming picture book, suitable for younger readers, that encourages readers to follow along with a flying honeybee, as she zooms through fields, pollinating as she flies, and then returns to her hive. Both books contain back matter, useful for further research about these fascinating and important insects.

 

 

 

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Perfect Pairing Visits Polar Bears

Posted on September 24, 2019 | Leave a comment

I generally think about the subject of today’s Perfect Pairing in winter time, when it’s cold outside. But given the increased warming of our world, I think any time of year is a good time to learn about these Arctic creatures. Don’t you agree?

Polar Bear Island

Written By: Lindsay Bonilla

Illustrated By: Cinta Villalobos

Publisher/Date: Sterling Children’s Books/2018

Ages: 3 and up

Themes: inclusivity, polar bears, penguins, differences, immigration, welcoming others

Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):

When Kirby, a fun-loving penguin, arrives on Polar Bear Island, she shakes things up—much to the dismay of Parker, the mayor. Will Parker learn to see how great it is to make new friends? Or will he chase Kirby away . . . forever? 
“Welcome to Polar Bear Island. NO OTHERS ALLOWED!” Parker is the mayor of this peaceful, predictable island, and he wants to keep it just the way it is. But Kirby, a penguin, thinks the place is paradise, and she wants to stay. Parker says no, but the other polar bears love Kirby —and soon they’re begging Parker to let Kirby (and her family) move in. Will Parker agree . . . and make the island fun for EVERYONE? With its gentle message of inclusivity, this playful and lighthearted story will delight children.

Read my review.

 

Sea Bear: A Journey for Survival

Author & Illustrator: Lindsay Moore

Publisher/Date: Greenwillow Books, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers/2019

Ages: 4-9

Themes: polar bears, family, perseverance, nonfiction, climate change

Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Imagine you are a polar bear.

Your coat is thick. Your teeth are sharp.

Your front paws are paddles, your back paws are rudders, and you can swim for miles.

Your home has always been the sea and the ice.

A sea bear, far north in the Arctic, hunts and naps and raises her young. She moves with the ice, swimming, running, stalking seals, resting. She follows the rhythm of the sea and the seasons.

But what happens when those rhythms change? What happens when there is no ice?

Lindsay Moore shares the story of one polar bear’s journey for survival in this stunning picture book.

Imagine. 

Read a review at Kirkus Reviews.

I paired these books because both feature polar bears. While Polar Bear Island is a work of fiction and its main themes are welcoming others and immigrants, climate change is causing some people and animals to flee their homes and search for better lives elsewhere. With its emphasis on climate change, its informative back matter, and its text told in lyrical language from the perspective of a polar bear, Sea Bear is, I think, a wonderful book to pair with it.

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