Format: Picture Book Nonfiction

Nothing Loopy About This: What Are Loops and Conditionals?

Nothing Loopy About This: What Are Loops and Conditionals?Nothing Loopy about This: What Are Loops and Conditionals? by Brian P. Cleary, Martin Goneau
Published by Millbrook Press (Tm) on January 1, 2019
ISBN: 1541533070
Pages: 24
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

This playful picture book geared for younger elementary students introduces two basic but essential fundamentals of computer programming: loops and conditionals. For adults that need a mini-lesson, a loop is a repeating set of instructions, and a conditional tells a program to do something if a situation is true, and another if it is false. As kids are increasingly exposed to introductory programming through curriculum and games, it is the hope that they are laying down the groundwork for coding literacy. This simple introduction helps reinforce the concepts that kids are likely already using if they are playing with Scratch, Alice, or other programming languages for kids. The information is presented in a rhyming format with fun illustrations, such as a robot using a loop to frost thirty cupcakes or a teacher using a conditional to decide if recess will be held indoors or outdoors. This would be a great read-aloud to integrate into coding curriculum. Recommended for grades K-2.

Reviewed by Kat Luedke, Long Island Community Library

four-stars

Dinosaur Feathers

Dinosaur FeathersDinosaur Feathers by Dennis Nolan
Published by Neal Porter Books on September 24, 2019
ISBN: 0823443302
Pages: 48
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
five-stars

A very introductory picture book that introduces the young paleontologist from dinosaur beginnings 228 million years ago to their demise and the emergence of modern dinosaurs – BIRDS! One hundred million years ago dinosaur scales are modified into feathers which allows these creatures to become lighter and fly. Rhyming text is confined to the bottom of each page allowing for Nolan’s illustrations to be the focal point of the book. Most of the text is gives the reader the names of the dinosaurs and then the bird names. The illustrations make the book, they give a face to a name. Nolan has made the dinosaurs come to life with his large, detailed and colorful depictions done in transparent watercolor on watercolor paper. The author has added a glossary of all the dinosaurs and birds mentioned in the back of the book that includes their Latin name, what it means, how big they were and where they were found. There is also a 2 page “Tree of Life” which shows how each branch evolved. Nolan has offered young readers a beautiful picture book that will spark the scientist in everyone who picks it up.  Pair this with Nolen’s Dinosaur Dream. This can be used with units about dinosaurs, evolution and art teachers might  add it to their curriculum. Good for grades K-4.

Submitted by Kathy George, Gray Public Library, Gray.

five-stars

Gross As a Snot Otter

Gross As a Snot OtterGross as a Snot Otter by David DeGrand, Jess Keating
Published by Alfred A. Knopf on October 29, 2019
ISBN: 1524764507
Pages: 48
Genres: Animals
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads

Gross As a Snot Otter: Discovering the World’s Most Disgusting Animals by Jess Keating with illustrations by David DeGrand is a fun browsing book for elementary school aged children. Illustrations  with both colored photos and cartoon drawings reflect the accuracy of the information and spirit of fun while exploring animals. Each double page spread introduces 18 animals. Some do not look gross such as the giraffe and the Siberian chipmunk, but all have some gross habit or feature.  Facts are broken up into smaller print paragraphs and larger print information filled bubbles. Readers can read as much or as little as they like. The science of “Ewww!” at the end explains how “feeling of disgust helped us stay safe.”  This addition to  the Weird Animals series is recommended for public and elementary school libraries by Margy Soule, Coffin Elementary School, Brunswick, Maine

How Do You Feel?

How Do You Feel?How Do You Feel? by Lizzy Rockwell
Published by Holiday House on September 24, 2019
ISBN: 0823440516
Pages: 32
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads

How Do You Feel? by Lizzy Rockwell is an outstanding books to help 3 to 5 year olds understand their emotions. The elegant and deceptively simple acrylic colored illustrations direct the viewers eye to the single young child who is experiencing the event on the opposite page. There is plenty for preschoolers to think about internally and lots for adults to talk about with children all of whom have strong feelings that they are trying to understand with different degrees of success. This is a quietly stated, direct “feelings” book with just one question per double page spread, such as “Do you feel sad?” With seemingly increasing behavior problems in schools, this book offers  a welcome, calm approach to talking about and thinking about one’s emotions. Highly recommended for both public libraries and primary level schools by Margy Soule, Coffin Elementary School, Brunswick, Maine

5 stars

The Reasons for Seasons

The Reasons for SeasonsThe Reasons for Seasons by Gail Gibbons
Published by Holiday House on May 14, 2019
ISBN: 082344273X
Pages: 32
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads

This updated edition of Gail Gibbon’s The Reasons for Seasons provides k-2nd grade children a clear introduction to how the earth’s relation to the sun throughout the year makes the seasons. There are just a few sentences per page, and large, colorful drawings direct the viewer’s eye to what is being explained. With lots of labeled diagrams, an explanation of the earth’s rotation around the sun, and boldly printed headings for each of the four seasons, the book has a logical flow of information. Each season is covered in just 5 pages, and young scientists can absorb the brief information through words and text. Recommended bot libraries serving 5 though 7 year olds. Margy Soule, Coffin Elementary School, Brunswick, Maine

Rating 4

Bark in the Park!

Bark in the Park!Bark in the Park!: Poems for Dog Lovers by Avery Corman, Hyewon Yum
Published by Orchard Books on March 26, 2019
ISBN: 1338118390
Pages: 48
Genres: Fiction in Verse/Poetry
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
three-stars

Bark in the Park!: Poems for Dog Lovers by Avery Corman and pictures by Hyewon Yum offers short two to four-line rhyming poems illustrated with colored lined drawings. There is a poem for  each of 38 different breeds. While enjoyable and easily understandable to young listeners, the poems lack the humor and heart of some earlier dog poetry books such as Patricia MacLachlan’s Once I Ate a Pie. Children will enjoy the end papers that show all the breeds represented, and if their favorite breed is included, all the better. Recommended as an additional purchase by Margy Soule, Coffin Elementary School, Brunswick, Maine

three-stars

Bats

BatsBats by Gail Gibbons
Published by Holiday House on September 24, 2019
ISBN: 082344354X
Pages: 32
Genres: Animals, Non-Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
five-stars

Bats are the only mammals that can fly, who knew?  Children will learn how many inches are from a bats ear to its foot. Gail Gibbons writes informative science books that children can relate to. This book was first published in 1999 and this is a new updated version. The illustrations are wonderful and colorful. Children will remember the facts they learn through reading this book and will be sharing them with their family and friends.

Reviewed by Ginni Nichols, Children’s Librarian, Gardiner Public Library, Gardiner   ME

five-stars

The Supersmart Elephant

Published by Lerner Publications (Tm) ISBN: 9781541519848
Genres: Animals
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction

The Supersmart Elephant by Mari Schuh has what primary teachers seek in informational books – an index, glossary, labels, diagrams, bold chapter headings, and short, factual sentences, It also has colorful photos that children want. The book mentions some of the serious challenges elephants face in their struggle to survive, but it also presents some of the efforts that humans are doing to save them. After being given a brief introduction to the species, readers are presented with examples of elephants’ intelligence, communication skills and cooperative nature within their herds. Recommended by Margy Soule, Coffin Elementary School, Brunswick, Maine

Rating 4

Hummingbird

HummingbirdHummingbird by Jane Ray, Nicola Davies
Published by Candlewick Press on May 7, 2019
ISBN: 1536205389
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
five-stars

The hummingbird: a bird so small it fits in the palm of your hand, weighs no more than a nickel, is sometimes mistaken for a large insect and travels more than 2000 miles each year from Mexico and South America to lay their eggs in North America only to travel back to the south in the fall. Author Nicola Davies offers the voyage of the tiny hummingbird in a simple story told through the voices of the people that see them and offer assistance along their  way north. There is a grandmother and her granddaughter watching the tiny bird at grandmother’s hummingbird feeder, a sailboat offering a place to rest , others along the way with their feeders until  it reaches north where nests are made and eggs laid. Simple story told in simple text with bright, delicate illustrations complimenting the story. For the younger reader, a story, for the more experienced reader, small bits of information are offered on several pages. With an author’s note, bibliography and index at the end of the book, this is STEAM at its best. Use in units about birds, migration, and loss of habitat.

This is a cream offering

Submitted by Kathy George, Gray Public Library, Gray

five-stars

Cultivators Go to Work

Cultivators Go to WorkCultivators Go to Work by Jennifer Boothroyd
Published by Lerner Publications (Tm) on August 1, 2018
ISBN: 154152599X
Pages: 24
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
three-stars

This is a straightforward book that would be great for a kid who loves machines but doesn’t need to know exactly how they work. If they are happy to just look at photos then they’ll enjoy it but the book definitely misses some opportunities to delve a little deeper. The most interesting thing about large machinery (at least to the kids I know) is how it works so some illustrations would have gone a long way in making this book more memorable.

Reviewed by Sarah Maciejewski, Patten Free Library, Bath

three-stars