Pages

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Non-fiction Picture Book Wednesday


Alyson Beecher over at Kid Lit Frenzy hosts a Non-fiction Picture Book Challenge and has a roundup every Wednesday. I am giving it a try for the first time.

Here are some of the best non-fiction picture books I have read in the past week or two.


Grandfather Gandhi by Arun Gandhi & Bethany Hegedus and illustrated by Evan Turk is a picture book memoir. I have upper grade teachers asking for memoirs for their literature units and this is one I can certainly hand to them enthusiastically. The text has a positive and powerful message about anger and the illustrations are fabulous.


Mama Built a Little Nest by Jennifer Ward and illustrated by Steve Jenkins is another book with fantastic illustrations. Steve Jenkins always wows me. The book is set up to have a simple rhyming text as one portion paired with a paragraph or two of informational text about each of the types of birds and the varieties of their nest styles. I found it fascinating.


Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator by Sarah C. Campbell and illustrated by Sarah C. and Richard P. Campbell is exactly what narrative non-fiction for young readers should be. It is compelling and tells a story filled with facts, but not so many that it is overwhelming or boring for young readers. It won a Geisel honor and I would love more books like this.

Have a great week!

10 comments:

  1. I really am excited to read Grandfather Gandhi - seems like a hugely important book to share and talk about. The other two titles you featured here also look like books I would love in my classroom collection. Yikes - Wednesdays are always my potentially most expensive days!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, Wednesdays could be a hit to the wallet. Non-fiction is a little pricier to start with and add the fact that there are so many great ones to buy...

      Delete
  2. I can't wait to get my hands on Wolfsnail. And I'm with Carrie--so many books I want to purchase on Wednesdays!! (Including all three of the titles you feature!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wolfsnail is so fun. It really is cool to realize that there are predator snails and see them in action.

      Delete
  3. Wow, Grandfather Gandhi looks wonderful, Crystal. I've seen about the other two, and they also are on my ever-growing list. Wolfsnail sounds fascinating. Thanks a bunch!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have to FIND Grandfather Gandhi - this will be a perfect book for our upcoming reading theme. We're also having a regional focus on India for this year's Asian Festival of Children's Content here in Singapore - this sounds like a perfect book to share as well. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That would work well for a focus on India. It helps show Gandhi as a person rather than only a legend since he is introduced as a family member and doesn't deny his own anger in spite of his lack of violence.

      Delete
  5. Grandfather Gandhi looks wonderful indeed. I have to see if we still have it in the store.

    ReplyDelete