Go Wild: Pandas

Go Wild: PandasGo Wild! Pandas by Margie Markarian
Published by National Geographic Kids on June 1, 2021
ISBN: 1426371608
Pages: 48
Genres: Animals, Non-Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

This is the Pandas edition of National Geographic’s Go Wild series. These picture books are loaded with information and phenomenal images. This book features maps to show where pandas are found as well as information about their growth, diet, habitats, and more. The book ends with information about environmental threats to pandas and the conservation efforts to preserve the species.

Recommended for readers 4 and up. Reviewed by Jessie Trafton, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta, ME

four-stars

Go Wild: Sea Turtles

Go Wild: Sea TurtlesSea Turtles by Jill Esbaum
Published by National Geographic Kids on April 1, 2021
ISBN: 1426371586
Genres: Animals, Non-Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

This is the Sea Turtle edition of National Geographic’s Go Wild series. These books are picture books with loads of information and phenomenal images. The book covers sea turtles of all types and compares and contrasts their different features. There are maps showing the ranges of the different species so readers can see who they may encounter in local waters.

Recommended for readers 4 and up. Reviewed by Jessie Trafton, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta, ME

four-stars

Look what I found in the woods

Look what I found in the woodsLook What I Found in the Woods by Jesús Verona, Moira Butterfield
Published by Nosy Crow on April 20, 2021
ISBN: 1536217239
Pages: 32
Genres: Adventure, Animals
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

This book takes readers on a woods adventure with a diverse group of kids, exploring all the different aspects of the woods and what you can find in them. Each page is full of information about the natural world—leaf types, trees, animals, and more. There are search-and-finds peppered throughout and every other page has a list of different things to find in nature. This book will surely inspire young explorers to notice even more about the world around them. The digitally rendered illustrations are colorful and very detailed. At times, they feel a bit busy but it works for this book given the exploration theme.

Recommended for readers 4 and up, this is a book you can revisit many times over. Reviewed by Jessie Trafton, Skidompha Library, Damariscotta, ME

four-stars

What are little Girls made of?

What are little Girls made of?What Are Little Girls Made Of?: Nursery Rhymes to Empower Young Feminists by Isabelle Follath, Jeanne Willis
Published by Nosy Crow on February 4, 2021
ISBN: 1536217336
Pages: 32
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
five-stars

This nonfiction picture book for readers in grades 2-4 reimages some popular nursery rhymes from a feminist and non-gender affirming point of view.   Girls are made of “sun and rain and heart and brain” and boys much the same.  Little Jade Horner is found in her striped pajamas creating spaceships to send her teddies to Mars.  Georgie Porgie is sent on his way after being told by the girl “don’t kiss me unless I say!”  Little Miss Muffet enjoys ham and eggs and pets the spider’s furry legs when he joins her.  Some of the rhymes may not be as familiar and some of the song cadences may be changed slightly with the re-imagined version, but they all work for a new generation.  The final rhyme entitled “Girls and Boys, Come out to play” support play that doesn’t conformed to gender stereotypes.  The layout provides one and two rhymes per two-page spread with mix media illustrations featuring muted pinks and greys.

Reviewed by Sheila Dube, Youth Services Librarian, Springvale Public Library

five-stars

I Am Not a Penguin: A Pangolin’s Lament

I Am Not a Penguin: A Pangolin’s LamentI Am Not a Penguin: A Pangolin's Lament by Liz Wong
Published by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers on January 19, 2021
ISBN: 9780593127407
Pages: 40
Genres: Animals
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
three-stars

Pangolin tries to explain who he is, but all the other animals keep getting him confused with the more popular penguin. Told mostly with speech bubbles and amusing confusion. The most interesting part of the book was the fact sheets in the back of the book. An introduction for kids about this little known animal. A missed opportunity in that a photograph of an actual pangolin was not included.

Reviewed by Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

three-stars

The Sun

The SunThe Sun by J.P. Press
Published by Bearcub Books on January 1, 2021
ISBN: 9781647475093
Pages: 24
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
three-stars

Part of series “Off to Space.” Learn about the closest star to Earth and all it does. Simple text and engaging photos make this an excellent book for K-2 units on space or for examining components of a nonfiction book.

Reviewed by Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

three-stars

What’s Inside a Flower: and other questions about science and nature

What’s Inside a Flower: and other questions about science and natureWhat's Inside a Flower?: And Other Questions about Science & Nature by Rachel Ignotofsky
Published by Crown Books for Young Readers on February 2, 2021
ISBN: 9780593176474
Pages: 48
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
five-stars

Book 1 in series “What’s Inside.” The distinctive art style and engaging text clearly answers any questions you have about flowers. It’s both a picture book to read to kids and a book for them to sit and search through. Although it is very informative, the stunning artwork is what truly makes this an exceptional book.

Reviewed by Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

five-stars

Flying Paintings

Flying PaintingsFlying Paintings: The Zhou Brothers: A Story of Revolution and Art by Amy Alznauer, DaHuang Zhou, ShanZuo Zhou
Published by Candlewick Press on September 1, 2020
ISBN: 1536204285
Pages: 48
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
five-stars

This picture book biography, published in 2020, details the “beautiful and the terrible” of the world-renowned artists’ lives in a clear and engaging way.  Whether playing, fighting, creating or going their own ways, the two brothers carry with them the love and wisdom of their Po Po’s stories.  They lived through Chairman Mao’s oppression of their family’s bookstore and their own art to come together and begin a new journey of painting together.  The illustrations are rendered by the artists themselves which holds more meaning to the survivalist story.   The time frame and the content may be the focus of more high school level study, but this picture book provides a useful introduction to both the time period and the art that is accessible for grades 3-6.

Reviewed by Sheila Dube, Youth Services Librarian, Springvale Public Library

 

five-stars

Rise Up and Write It

Rise Up and Write ItRise Up and Write It: With Real Mail, Posters, and More! by Anoosha Syed, Nandini Ahuja
Published by HarperFestival on January 5, 2021
ISBN: 0063029596
Pages: 48
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
five-stars

This non-fiction picture book,  for readers in 3-6 grades, lays out the steps needed to community organize through the story of Farah Patel.  Farah wonders why there are no butterflies where she lives in the city. She does a casual assessment of her neighborhood and then contacts the mayor with a solution.  The steps to success require Farah and her enthusiastic friends to write a petition, attend a public forum, make slogan signs and create their own activist program.   Interspersed between the bright illustrations are large pockets that represent addressed envelopes that hold removable examples of each type of correspondence, signs and buttons that Farah uses throughout the book.   Useful for letter writing curriculum, community issues and civic units. Libraries will need to evaluate if the book’s loose pieces will hinder circulation.

Reviewed by Sheila Dube, Youth Services Librarian, Springvale Public Library

five-stars