Format: Picture Book Nonfiction

Cookie Queen: How One Girl Started Tate’s Bake Shop

Genres: Biography/Autobiography
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
four-stars

This is the story of Kathleen King, a girl who worked hard to perfect the chocolate-chip cookie, and grew-up to found the world-renowned Tate’s Bake Shop. At 11-years-old, she started out by selling cookies she made at her father’s farm stand. She experimented many times and never gave up in her desire to make the best chocolate chip cookie. One has to admire her determination and attitude. When she grew up, she started Tate’s Bakery using the same recipe she developed when she was eleven. King is an impressive role model for kids wanting to start their own business. The book is appealing in its clear, straight-forward style and colorful illustrations. And there is a lot of information about cookies and the ingredients that go into them! My one criticism is the recipe in the back, which was an inspired addition, is for a molasses cookie when the whole story was about creating the perfect chocolate chip cookies. Is the recipe so secret that she cannot share it? Perhaps she intends for the reader to create their own?

Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

four-stars

Farm Boots

Farm BootsFarm Boots by Lisl H. Detlefsen, Renee Kurilla
Published by Feeding Minds Press on March 21, 2023
ISBN: 194889811X
Pages: 32
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

With brief text and effective use of rhyme, Detlefsen teaches readers why farmers wear a variety of boots for different tasks. Combined with Kurilla’s bright and cheerful illustrations, the pages lead the way through chores, seasons, and celebrations.

Several points of note may be of interest to librarians and parents. The children on the pages are representative of racial and ethnic diversity, and include various skin tones as well as one child wearing a hijab. This is helpful not only in terms of the “windows and mirrors” goal, but also because it more accurately represents the types of people working on modern American farms. For readers who want to learn more, there is even a farm boots glossary at the end of the book.

This book would make an excellent story time selection, and would appeal most to children ages six and younger. Farm Boots is a solid choice for any library that serves children of this age, but particularly those who live in rural areas.

Reviewed by Kristi Favaloro, Skidompha Public Library

four-stars

Whose Dinosaur Bones Are Those?

Whose Dinosaur Bones Are Those?Whose Dinosaur Bones Are Those? by Chihiro Takeuchi
Published by Candlewick Studio on May 9, 2023
Pages: 40
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
five-stars

This is the simplest of STEM picture books. Author Takeuchi introduces the youngest of paleontologists to the dinosaur’s most basic makeup- their bones. With the repeating question, “whose dinosaur bones?”, the facing page has a smattering of bones. It is up to the reader to guess the type of dinosaur it is. The following facing pages answer the question with a complete skeleton, the name of each dinosaur and what it looked like if we saw it with skin. Illustrations done in cut paper are simple with no clutter or extras. Readers find “fun fact” pages in the end that can “fill out” even further what the dinosaur was like while alive. What makes this book different is its simplicity and the challenge of guessing what type of sauropod the author has drawn. It is an engaging way of introducing dinosaurs to early and pre-readers.

Reviewed by Kathy George, retired Gray Public Library

five-stars

Ancient Night

Ancient NightAncient Night by David Alvarez, David Bowles
Published by Levine Querido on March 14, 2023
ISBN: 1646142519
Pages: 40
Genres: Fairy Tale, Folklore
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

Every night, Rabbit gathers glowing nectar from the holy maguey (a sacred agave plant) and pours it into a large vessel in the sky, creating moonlight. When Possum decides he wants some of the nectar for himself, he breaks the vessel, drains it out, and drinks it. The earth is dark. Filled with regret, Possum travels underground to bring back fire. He fills a vessel in the sky, creating sunlight. Together, Rabbit and Possum serve as Guardians of Light, lifting their cups of nectar in friendship. This story is “a twist on several traditional stories of Mesoamerica — what we now call Mexico and Central America.”

David Alvarez’s illustrations are stunning and were I just rating those I would give this book 5 stars. The text is brief and relies heavily on the illustrations to tell the story. So much so that the story is difficult to understand. For example, simply mentioning that the Ceiba is a tree and aguamiel is the nectar from an agave plant would have gone a long way to explain the story. Instead one has to consult the authors’ notes at the back of the book to learn about them. Children will have difficulty translating on their own, “Now, no heavenly light can shine upon the earth,” to there is no longer moonlight. Learning how Opossum lost the fur on his tail was a missed opportunity.

If I were to read this folktale aloud, I would explain the terminology and background, as well as pointing out elements of the illustrations while reading so that the audience understands the story. The illustrations are well-worth the extra effort.

Reviewed by Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

four-stars

Why Are We Afraid?

Why Are We Afraid?Why Are We Afraid? by Fran Pintadera, Ana Sender
Published by Kids Can Press on June 6, 2023
ISBN: 1525311298
Pages: 34
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

Originally written in Spanish, Why Are We Afraid? tells the story of a power outage and a young boy named Henry asking his dad to answer the question of the book title. This book launches into a very abstract and metaphorical discussion of fear, with illustrations that are simultaneously gorgeous and frightening while the end includes a more straightforward informational section about the history of fear. Overall, it is unclear who this book is for; it is in picture book format but seems more suitable for an older crowd than would normally read picture books. It could still be a book worth adding to a collection, but it may be a bit alarming for the younger crowd.

Reviewed by Mary Randall, Patten Free Library

four-stars

So You Want to Be a Frog

So You Want to Be a FrogSo You Want to Be a Frog by Jane Porter, Neil Clark
Published by Candlewick Press on April 25, 2023
Pages: 32
Genres: Animals
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

So You Want to Be a Frog is a nonfiction book all about frogs; where they come from, what they eat, and how they differ from one another. All this information is formatted as a call to the reader to become a frog, if they think they can, and it is an amusing and informative way to present the information. The illustrations are well done and bright. Overall, a solid addition to a collection.

Reviewed by Mary Randall, Patten Free Library

four-stars

Where’s Waldo? The Great Speed Search

Where’s Waldo? The Great Speed SearchWhere’s Waldo?: The Great Speed Search by Martin Handford
Published by Candlewick Press on March 7, 2023
ISBN: 1536228613
Pages: 24
Genres: Arts
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

Where’s Waldo? The Great Speed Search is a novel approach to the classic Where’s Waldo. This book is set up as a challenge, allowing two competitors to sit opposite each other with the pages oriented outward. Each page has the same content and readers are encouraged to find the hidden items faster than their opponent. It is still the classic Where’s Waldo that has maintained popularity throughout the years, but with a nice twist to allow for competition and more engagement. A fun addition to a collection!

Reviewed by Mary Randall, Patten Free Library

four-stars

The Tree Book

The Tree BookThe Tree Book by Hannah Alice
Published by Candlewick Press on March 7, 2023
Pages: 18
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

This book does a thorough job of explaining the life cycles of different types of trees, using clear cutouts to help layer each “season” of the tree. This is a dynamic way to illustrate the cycles; however, there are a few pages where it muddies the message by making it unclear whether the infographic is for the current page, or if it is merely peeking through because of the transparent pages ahead of it. The topic is well-explained in easy-to-understand terms and is exhaustive, but it would have been helpful to have more about conservation at the end of the book, rather than wrapping the topic into one sentence. Overall, a worthwhile addition to a nonfiction collection.

Reviewed by Mary Randall, Patten Free Library

four-stars

The Book of Turtles

The Book of TurtlesThe Book of Turtles by Sy Montgomery, Matt Patterson
Published by Clarion Books on May 2, 2023
ISBN: 0358458072
Pages: 40
Genres: Animals
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
five-stars

While Sy Montgomery is renowned for her “Scientists in the Field” series, this nonfiction science book about turtles is not part of that series. The fact-filled text is engaging and the “Celebrity Turtle Profiles” features some of the world’s most famous turtles, including Myrtle, the 90-year-old, 550-pound green sea turtle at the New England Aquarium in Boston. The book concludes with some of the dangers turtles face and how we can help. Patterson’s highly detailed illustrations are accurate and life-like. I recommend this book for all ages. I guarantee you will learn something new about turtles. However, a book for adults Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell by the same author and illustrator duo will be published in September. The first sentence of the book is brilliant – “Sometime around 240 million years ago — about the time of the first dinosaurs, and 9 million years before the first crocodile — the shell invented the turtle.” It goes on to report that the shell, composed of 60 joined bones, makes a turtle a turtle.

Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library

five-stars

From Shore to Ocean Floor

From Shore to Ocean FloorFrom Shore to Ocean Floor: The Human Journey to the Deep by Gill Arbuthnott, Christopher Nielsen
Published by Big Picture Press on May 2, 2023
ISBN: 1536229741
Pages: 80
Genres: Animals
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads
four-stars

This unique nonfiction picture book explores many aspects of human knowledge and exploration of the ocean. Infographics, timelines, comics, and maps cover an array of topics such as ocean myths and legends across cultures, marine biologists, shipwrecks, and biodiversity. The topics are varied, but all revolve around how humans increased their understanding of the oceans and what they learned as they explored the ocean depths. The distinct illustration and text style add to the book’s cohesion. The textured hand-drawn illustrations have a retro style and color palette and the use of color and shading reflect the information described in the text. While graphics dominate this book, there is a little narrative text sprinkled throughout. The book includes a short table of contents, but there is no glossary or index. In addition to engaging illustrations, another strength of this book is the diversity of perspectives that are included, such as contributions from ancient civilizations, and male and female modern scientists from all over the world. After showing how amazing and important the oceans are, the book ends with a kid-friendly call to action to help care for the oceans. This book would be a great addition to any elementary or middle school library.

Reviewed by Lindsay Varnum, Orono Public Library

four-stars