Just a Second

Just a Second by Steve Jenkins

I found many of these time based factoids hard to believe.  For example:

• A pygmy shrew's heart beats 14 times (in ONE second)
• A black mamba slithers 24 feet (in ONE second)

When I asked my husband his guesstimation, he just made me frustrated by ridiculously over estimating.

Now, onto the notably slow creatures covering what I thought to be a lot of ground in a short time.

• A three-toed sloth hauls itself about ten feet (in ONE minute)
• A giant tortoise lumbers about 15 feet (in ONE minute)

And, my favorite eco-aware items:

• Around the world, 59,000 barrels of oil are used (almost 15,000 of them in the United States) (in ONE minute)
• People use the equivalent of 200 billion sheets of letter size paper (in ONE day)
• Bamboo can grow 36 inches (in ONE day)
• Human development destroys an area of forest equal in size to 550,000 football fields (in ONE week)
• People around the world produce enough trash to fill a square pit more than one mile on a side and 1,200 feet deep (in ONE month)
• Global warming causes a sea level rise of about 1/8 of an inch (in ONE year)

Fabulous representation of time and distance.

Just a Second
ISBN: 978-0-618-70896-3
Published 2012 by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
I borrowed this copy from the public library to read and review.

The Beetle Book

The Beetle Book by Steve Jenkins

Double confession day, I have also not read (cover to cover)  a Steve Jenkins book, and just like Nic Bishop, he is a name, he is known, he is renowned.  I am ashamed.  But no more!

The Beetle Book details be-tails, ahem, beetles, from small to quite large, colorful to camoflauged, and very, very numerous.  "Line up every kind of plant and animal on Earth...and one of every four will be a beetle."  From Beetle overview to "Beetle bits" and the specialties of each beetle grouped by different characteristics such as "Chemical warfare" and "Battling Beetles", anyone looking for information on beetles has found a treasure trove of info with detailed illustrations by Steve Jenkins.  Since some beetles needed to be enlarged to showcase certain details, each is shown in true size in a silhouette along the bottom of the page.

The Beetle Book
ISBN: 978-0-547-68084-2
Published 2012 by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
I borrowed this copy from the public library to read and review it.

Snakes

Snakes by Nic Bishop

I'm about to make a confession.  Are you ready?  I enjoy Nic Bishop (that's not the confession).  I think he's an incredible photographer, artist, and informational writer.  I've looked at many of his books.  I've purchased many of his books for our school library.  He's a name.  He's known.  He's renowned.  Here's the confession part.  I don't think (there I am protecting myself from perjury) that I've ever read a Nic Bishop book cover to cover.  Every word.  Beginning to end.  Now, in the wonderful world of nonfiction, you often don't need to read in a sequential order to garner information, but nonetheless, I'm embarrassed.

With all that said, CYBILS, it's a good thing you picked me, because I have been doing just that.  Reading nonfiction picture books cover to cover and loving every second (oh, wait...there's a book for that) of it.

Anyway, back to snakes.  These are not snakes on a plane.  At all.  These are not snakes in the wild (as I discovered when I read the author's note) but snakes in Nic Bishop's "snake room."  Don't you have one of those in your house?  Because of the nature of snakes: as Nic states, they "...are shy, nervous, and fast.  They do not always want to stay in one place while you take their picture.  And if a snake does not want to do something, it always gets its way."  So, he photographed them in captivity, learning at the same time how to care for them and their needs.  I also learned that Nic B. uses photoshop (or some other form of computer editing) to get the shot he wants.  Just a little tid bit.  Good to know.  Also, given the picture he doctored, he's VERY good at it.  The most remarkable photo (which was not photoshopped) was the one of an African egg eating snake eating...an egg.  You may never look at an egg the same way.  The snake's throat has special spines to crack the egg, making it possible to "slurp" the contents and spit out the empty eggshell.  That's certainly one way to get your protein.

Prior to reading this book, I was no snake expert.  I'm not the kind of girl who is afraid of snakes, per se, but I've also never been around a truly scary snake outside of an enclosed, controlled habitat.  All that to say, here are some of my favorite (new to me) fun facts:

• Egg eating etiquette
• Snakes can ripple muscles in their underbelly to glide forward without wriggling (while I'm sure I've seen this at some point in time, it didn't occur to me how it was happening).
• Brumation: long, deep rest
• Many snakes only eat 8 big meals a year

Snakes
ISBN: 978-0-545-20638-9
Published 2012 by Scholastic Nonfiction
I borrowed this copy from the public library to read and review it.
I plan to add this book to our school library collection.
It will join:

 

Ocean Sunlight: How Tiny Plants Feed the Seas

Ocean Sunlight: How Tiny Plants Feed the Seas

By Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm

This highly informative text is beautifully illustrated throughout.  Typically, I find that scientific processes such as photosynthesis are best represented with photographic diagrams, but Molly Bang does a great job of representing these types of processes.  This story answers a question I didn’t even realize that I had or should have had.  And one that I’m sure will interest students as well: “…where are the ocean’s green plants?:  For students using “What Smaller Than a Pygmy Shrew” in their science classes will relate to this discussion of they teeny tiny plants, phytoplankton, that you need a microscope to see.  These ideas are somewhat difficult to wrap your brain around, but the illustrations do just what they are needed to do.  They illustrate the points being expressed in each piece of text.  The probing questions throughout make me think of students saying, but wait…what about…[insert seemingly unlikely, but completely probable scenario here]?  As a result, I think students will especially enjoy the way the text moves logically from point A to point B.  The poetic text weaves from one idea to the next and the notes following the main body of text of the book explain each point in turn with more scientific detail.  This book is the third installment in a series with “My Light” and “Living Sunlight”, both of which would work well with lessons about the power we get from our sun.  Penny Chisholm seems to be the information piece of this project, where Molly Bang brings it to life with text that young students can understand and illustrations that bring each idea to life with context.  The bright colors offset the time spent in the deep, deep, deep, deep ocean.  Kudos on a job well done bringing a tricky scientific concept to life for elementary and middle school students (and teachers).

Ocean Sunlight: How Tiny Plants Feed the Seas

ISBN: 978-0-545-27322—0

Published 2012 by The Blue Sky Press

I borrowed this copy from the public library to read and review it.

A Leaf Can Be

A Leaf Can Be... by Laura Purdie Salas

Illustrations by Violeta Dabija

I am a big fan of Laura Purdie Salas’ poetry and “A Leaf Can Be” is no exception.  We have several of Laura Purdie Salas’ books of more traditional poetry collections in our library, including “And Then There Were Eight,” “Always Got My Feet,” "Do Buses Eat Kids?," "Flashy, Clashy, and Oh So Splashy," and the one the students in my school are surely most familiar with; "Tiny Dreams Sprouting Tall: Poems About the United States" (we use several of these in regular rotation on our morning show, PRTV).  I recently visited Laura Purdie Salas’ website to see if she had any new books of poetry out and found to my delight that she did.  I requested “A Leaf Can Be”  from our public library before it was posted to the CYBILS Nonfiction Picture Books Nominee list (love to be ahead of the game!).  Though I am happy it is included in our list, I was also surprised it wasn’t, by contrast, a part of the poetry list.  I have since found out that collections of poems are included in the poetry category, whereas a picture books told in poetry that also happens to be nonfiction, does fall into the NFPB category.  Genre often blurs the lines when it comes to award selection like this, but any way you slice it, I’m honored to be able to share my thoughts on “A Leaf Can Be” with all of you.

Violeta Dabija’s illustrations help to…illustrate the definitions given for what a leaf can be.  For example, “water ladle” is accompanied by a picture of an upturned leaf collecting water and a sheep drinking out of it.  “Rain stopper” shows a pair of foxes (I think) underneath of a tree protected from rain.  The text and illustrations lend themselves to introduce a unit of science, either on leaves themselves, the changing seasons, camoflauge, and more.  In the section at the end, “More About Leaves,” each of the definitions is further explained with specific examples.  Further, the Glossary defines several words for inquiring minds and a bibliography with further reading is included as well.  I enjoy this opportunity for students to view poetry as a form of reflection on scientific observation and to do so beautifully as well.

A Leaf Can Be...

ISBN: 978-0-7613-6203-6

Published: 2012 by Millbrook Press

I borrowed this copy from the public library to read and review it.

I plan to add this book to our school library collection.

Baby Flo: Florence Mills Lights Up the Stage

Baby Flo: Florence Mills Lights Up the Stage

By Alan Schroeder

Illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying Hwa Hu

The author’s note that precedes the opening text of the book on the verso piqued my interest.  Alan Schroeder indicates that for historical accuracy, Baby Flo’s debut was not in a butcher shop as portrayed in the book, but in a less savory establishment.  Hmm.  Also, the change of her last name at age four is well documented.  Schroeder writes, “Her parents presumably did not think that a black woman could make it in show business with the last name of Winfrey.”  Little did they know.

While I didn’t find myself a huge fan of the cover design and cover art (and I do generally judge a book by its cover) I was pleasantly surprised once I opened the book and perused the interior illustrations.  Looking at the faces of her parents as they realized what a talent they had on their hands, and knowing the stories of young talent in our country during current times, I wonder about their motives.  But at the same time, with a bleak future and a child just jumping at the chance to perform, I hope that they did what was right both for their daughter and their family.

The story starts out much as a tall tale might, except for that it is a true tale.  Baby Florence Mills worked her way from Goat Alley to Bijou Theatre and as she grew older, to New York and even London.  I enjoyed reading the story of Florence Mills’ early years, but appreciated the author’s note with photographs of Florence even more.  Tragically, film footage or audio recordings have not surfaced of Florence Mills remarkable performances as part of the Harlem Renaissance.

Baby Flo 

ISBN: 978-1-60060-410-2

Published 2012 by Lee and Low Books

I received a galley copy of Baby Flo from a publisher's preview event during KidLitCon.

I, Galileo

I, Galileo by Bonnie Christensen 

The first thing that caught my eye about I, Galileo was on the cover.  The title itself is spelled out in glittery, sparkly stars above the head of Galielo glimpsing the heavens through his telescope.  The endpapers include a map showing different cities in Italy that are included in the story.  An illustration of the Universe of Aristotle and Ptolemy shows what was believed to be true in 1564; that Earth was at the center of the universe followed by each of the planets out to Saturn (which does bring up the point that in 1564, Pluto was also NOT a planet…so perhaps they were on to something there) with the sun at the outer edges of the universe.  That would be mighty chilly, folks.

I, Galileo begins with Galileo near the end of his life, blind and imprisoned, on “house arrest.”  From there, Galileo tells us of his own childhood when he was the center of his parent’s universe.  His father was a musical theorist whose views challenged tradition.  His father insisted that, “A person must be allowed to ask questions and seek answers in search of truth.”  Galileo reminds me of Steve Jobs (I know this is a bit of a stretch) in that he went on to great success after not finishing a traditional education.  Galileo challenged many of Aristotle’s teachings and even proved them, but people would not agree and he became quite unpopular.  Galileo went on to Padua to continue his teaching and explorations of new ideas.  The illustrations with inset of some of Galileo’s inventions like a compass and sketches of his early telescope help the reader understand how these inventions helped the people of the time in a revolutionary way.  Through use of the telescope, Galileo was able to observe the night sky in a way no one ever had before.  Though Copernicus had proposed a sun centered universe 50 years before Galileo’s birth, he hadn’t been able to prove it.  Galileo lectured that he could prove it.  But he knew what the consequences could be for even talking about such ideas.  Imprisonment and death.  Galileo turned to reversing his telescope and created a microscope, studying much smaller objects.  Seven years later, Galileo’s friend became Pope and granted him the freedom to discuss the theory of a sun-centered universe as an idea, but not the truth.  He went on to publish a book discussing both theories on the earth’s placement in the universe, but the Pope’s advisor’s persuaded him that he was portrayed as a fool in the book.  As a result, Galileo was imprisoned for the remainder of his days and his writings were banned.  On the page with this information, there is a circular picture with Galileo in the center standing trial in Rome with a light  (the sun) shining down from the ceiling.  This page seems so symbolic with the shape of the main illustration, the sun shining, Galileo’s centrist position, and the surrounding color, like a dark night sky with broad brush strokes.  And so, the story ends as it began with Galileo as an old man in his garden under the open sky.  At the end of the book, a Chronology is included as well as an outline of Galielo’s Experiments, Inventions, Improvements, Astornomic Discoveries, a Glossary, Bibliography, and Websites to find more information.

Bonnie Christensen does an excellent job of bringing I, Galileo to life.  Her illustrations complement the text and the times it represents.

I, Galileo

ISBN: 978-0-375-86753-8

Published 2012 by Alfred A. Knopf

I borrowed this copy from my public library to read and review it.