Nonfiction Monday - The Science of Snow

In the last week we've had a snow day and an early dismissal for snow. It's only been a few inches, but it has been most welcomed by the kids around me. In anticipation of and celebration of snow, we've been reading a few of our favorite books on the subject. 

The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter's Wonder, written by Mark Cassino with Jon Nelson  - Mark Cassino is a fine art and natural history photographer. Jon Nelson is a teacher and physicist who studies ice crystals and clouds. Together they have given us a stunning volume on the formation of snow. A perfect mixture of art and science, Cassino's photographs are accompanied by clearly written text that explains a very complex process in terms kids will understand. Readers will learn what snow is made from, how it forms, what shapes it takes, and more! Photos of snow crystals are included with a comparison of the enlarged images to a snow crystal of actual size. 

In the back matter you will find directions on how to catch snow crystals and examine them. For more ideas for extending the text, download a teacher's guide for this title at the Chronicle web site.

Snowflake Bentley, written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and illustrated by Mary Azarian - This Caldecott Medal winner tells the true story of Wilson Bentley, a farmer who spent the better part of his life studying and photographing snowflakes. It begins this way.

In the days
when farmers worked with ox and sled
and cut the dark with lantern light,
there lived a boy who loved the snow
more than anything else in the world.

Willie's story is told from his childhood through his death. Accompanying the biography are a series of sidebars that contain additional facts about Bentley. The last page of the book contains a photo of Bentley at his camera (the same one at the top of the Wilson Snowflake Bentley home page), a quote about his love for photography, and three of his renowned snowflake images.

This is the story of a remarkable man who pushed the limits of science and technology to create groundbreaking images of snowflakes. If the book inspires an interest in further study, you can view a number of his amazing photographs at The Bentley Snow Crystal Collection.

The Secret Life of a Snowflake: An Up Close Look at the Art and Science of Snowflakes, written by Kenneth Libbrecht  - The author of this book is a physicist at Caltech known for his passion for snow crystals. In this book aimed at 9-12 year olds, but appropriate for a much broader (and older) audience,  Libbrecht teaches readers what snow crystals and snowflakes are, where they come from, and how these amazing structures are created out of thin air. His own photographs beautifully complement the text.

All snowflakes begin with water vapor in air, but as they begin their journey toward the ground, changes in temperature and humidity determine their exact and unique shape. Libbrecht answers questions that many children (and adults) are apt to ask, such as "Why is snow white when the crystals that comprise snow are clear?" 

Libbrecht's web site, SnowCyrstals.com, provides a wealth of images and even more information for those readers who finish the book and want to learn more. I recommend starting with the Snowflake Primer and the Snow Crystal FAQs.

The Snowflake: A Water Cycle Story, written by Neil Waldman - While ostensibly not a book about snowflakes, this water cycle book does begin and end with a snowflake. I like this book because it makes understandable the idea that resources on Earth are finite. Kids have a hard time with this notion, but Waldman makes this message clear as readers learn that the water we drink, wash in, and play in is part of an amazing cycle that repeats itself over and over and over again. 

Water takes many different forms, but it's the form of snow in which this journey begins. In January a snowflake lands on the peak of a mountain. Over the course of year the snowflake changes both location and form. In February it's blown into a mountain pond, where it melts in March. This tiny droplet sinks into an underground stream where it continues its journey. That water drop travels to a farm and evaporates into the clouds before it comes back down to the ground to travel even further. Eventually it becomes a snowflake once more.

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. The round up is being hosted by Laura Salas. Do stop by and check out all the wonderful books being shared today.

Nonfiction Monday is Here!

Hi Folks! Welcome to Nonfiction Monday. I'm offering up a review of a book about autumn, as well as rounding up today's posts. Read on!

Book: AWESOME AUTUMN

Author/Illustrator: Bruce Goldstone

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Publication Date: August, 2012

Pages: 48 pages

Grades: K-4

ISBN: 978-0805092103

Source of Book: Borrowed from my local library

Inspired by Thanksgiving, the mounds of leaves in my yard, the rising of Orion in the sky, and the chill in the air, fall is still very much on my mind. As classrooms prepare to head into winter, I hope they'll hold onto to fall for just a bit longer and delve into Bruce Goldstone's book AWESOME AUTUMN. One of the most comprehensive books on fall I've seen in a long time, the text opens with the heading "AUTUMN IS A SEASON OF AWESOME CHANGES." In text and bright photographs Goldstone explains how these changes affect plants, animals, and humans. Readers learn how days get colder and clothes get heavier, days get shorter and nights get longer, leaves change color, frost forms, crops are harvested, animals migrate and hibernate, and so much more. In addition to a cause/effect approach to some of the double page spreads, there are pages about the feel, tastes, shapes, and sounds of autumn. There are also nods to Halloween, Thanksgiving, and what people do in autumn.

The scientist in me is particularly thrilled with the treatment of leaves changing color, how leaves "know" when to fall off the tree, what happens to fallen leaves (decomposition, anyone?), and how frost forms. The text is straightforward and highly accessible for kids. Here's an excerpt.

Leaves that fall can help keep the environment healthy. As they break down, they give food to the earth and to tiny living things in the soil. Fallen leaves also act as sponges. They mix with the soil to help it hold rainwater.

The book ends with pictures of autumn activities and then directions on how to do them.

Overall, this is an engaging and wide-ranging book about fall. Highly recommended.

**********

And now, on to the round up!

Myra from Gathering Books shares a review of Queen of the Falls by Chris Van Allsburg.

Tara from A Teaching Life tells us about a number of books she's been reading including Count on Us: American Women in the Military, Spirit Seeker: John  Coltrane's Musical Journey, and Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America. Check out these Monday reads and more.

Jean from True Tales & A Cherry On Top features the picture book biography Helen's Big World - The Life of Helen Keller.

Jeff from NC Teacher Stuff has a review of Apples A to Z by Margaret McNamara.

Sarah Albee shares an interview and review of Michaela Muntean's book Stay: The True Story of Ten Dogs.

Louise from A Strong Belief in Wicker shares Alison Lester's book about Macquarie Island (a remote subantarctic island), One Small Island.

At Booktalking, Anastasia Suen is reading A Christmas Cookbook: Simple Recipes for Kids by Sarah L. Schuette.

Alice from Supratentorial is sharing three picture book biographies on the likes of Thomas Edison, Julia Child, and Abraham Lincoln.

Jennifer from Jean Little Library also has a picture book biography. See her review of Annie and Helen by Deborah Hopkinson.

Roberta from Wrapped in Foil shares a review of the picture book biography I, Galileo by Bonnie Christensen.

Wendie Old from Wendie's Wanderings writes about the Common Core Standards and encourages us to read the NYTimes article about why kids should read nonfiction.

Ami from A Mom's Spare Time reviews From Peanut to Peanut Butter and Circles, Stars, and Squares: Looking for Shapes. Be sure to leave a comment and your ideas for pairing the books with gifts for a chance to win these titles!

Cindy from Bookends is digging up a hoax with a post about Jim Murphy's book The Giant and How He Humbugged America.

Margo from The Fourth Musketeer shares a review of The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau by Michelle Markel.

Tammy from Apples with Many Seeds writes about The Ruins of Detroit by Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre.


Keep those links coming and check back frequently as I round up today's posts. Happy Nonfiction Monday all!

Nonfiction Monday - Planting the Wild Garden

I've seen a number of books over the years about how seeds move from one place to another. PLANTING THE WILD GARDEN, written by Kathryn O. Galbraith and illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin, is a beautiful, quiet book that had me hooked from the opening pages. It begins:

The farmer and her boy plant their garden. They drop seeds--tiny, fat, round, and oval--into the earth. From these seeds, pumpkins and peas, carrots and cabbages will grow. In the wild meadow garden, many seeds are planted too, but not by farmer's hands. 

On this first double page spread is a pictures of a woman and her son, both kneeling in the dirt planting seeds. I was most enamored of the illustrations of the growth stages of the pumpkin, carrot, cabbage and pea that border the main illustration.

On the pages that follow are may examples of how wind, water, and animals help seeds disperse. Galbraith uses language that evocatively describes the sounds of the wind (Oooooo--whishhh!), rain Plip-plop!), acorns falling (thump, bump) minnows dining (Gulp! Gulp!) and more. The sentences are simple but so carefully crafted. There is a lovely rhythm to the lines and the story they tell. It all comes full circle when readers learn that people also help to plant the meadow. 

The muted colors and dreamy quality of Halperin's work gives readers much to appreciate. Many of the illustrations beg to be pored over. 

This book is a terrific introduction to seeds, how they travel, and can even be used to introduce the growing stages (life cycle) of plants. I'm using this one with my preservice teachers next week and predict this will become a classroom favorite. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Book: PLANTING THE WILD GARDEN

Author: Kathryn O. Galbraith
Illustrator: Wendy Anderson Halperin
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
Publication Date: April, 2011
Pages: 32 pages
Grades: K-5
ISBN: 978-1561455638
Source of Book: Personal copy

This review was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to Books Together and check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

Nonfiction Monday - Bugs By the Numbers

BUGS BY THE NUMBERS, written and illustrated by Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss, is a book I have a love/hate relationship with. Let's start with the stuff the "bugs" me (no pun intended) so that I can get on to the many things I love about it. Please bear with me while I put on my scientist hat.

First, I really dislike the use of the word bugs as a broad classification for arthropods and other "creepy crawly" creatures. Here's a rundown on the classification system and where these organisms are found.

Domain - Eukarya / Kingdom - Animal / Phylum - Arthropod

Arthropods are composed of five classes of organisms--arachnids, insects, crustaceans, centipedes, and millipedes. Now, hemiptera is an order of insects known as "true bugs." Included here are stink bugs, cicadas, aphids, water striders and more. 

The animals highlighted in this book are ant, butterfly, dobsonfly, fly, ladybug, spider, centipede, grasshopper, walking stick, leaf insect, scorpion, dragonfly, bee, mosquito, firefly, flea, cockroach, praying mantis, tick, bed bug, beetle, termite, and earthworm. All come from the phylum arthropod with the exception of the earthworm. This raises my second concern regarding the use of the word bug. Annelids are a phylum in the animal kingdom consisting largely of segmented worms. Earthworms fall within this phylum. They are not bugs in any sense of the word. I will admit that the term "worm" is used rather loosely and  is sometimes used to refer to certain forms of insect larvae (think mealworms, glowworms, inchworms, etc.). The authors do explain in the fine print on the earthworm page that all bugs evolved from earthworms. Even so, I find their inclusion here troubling. It's the one page that I skip while sharing this book with students.  

Now that I've had may little science rant, let's talk about the really amazing features of this book. When I read this book I begin by reading a bit from the jacket flap, as two brief rhyming stanzas do a terrific job introducing the contents of the book.

Each bug on these pages
Looks unique and rare,
Not like the insects
You see everywhere.

They're made up of numbers:
The ones that you count.
'Cause when you think bugs,
You think BIG amounts.

When you open the pages you'll find 23 different animals constructed from numbers of varying sizes and font faces. Many of the pages have fun flaps and flip-out sections. On every page there is a wealth of information on the animal, always highlighting in some way the numbers used to create it. For example, the ant is composed of 1s, 2s, and 3s, with each number comprising a different body segment (1s-head, 2s-thorax, 3s-abdomen). A fold-out flap of a leaf includes the number 3 and the fact that like other insects, ants have 3 body parts. When the flap is lifted up, 50 ants form the number 50. Beneath the number is this fact. "Ants can lift 50 times their own body weight. If you could do that, you'd be able to life a car." The fold-out flap on the bottom of the page looks like a pile of dirt. When it is folded down, a picture of ant tunnels beneath the ground is accompanied by the fact "An ant colony can reach 20 feet below ground. " In addition to these numbers and facts, readers learn that ants have 2 stomachs, that worker ants can take 250 short naps a day, and that queen ants can live for 30 years. As you can see, this one double-page spread is jam-packed with information. Nineteen of the animals in the book receive such extended treatment, with only four (dobsonfly, fly, tick and bedbug) garnering only a single page each.

My favorite page is the beetle page. While the graphic highlights the rhinocerous beetle, the bits of information along the bottom of the page describe a few standouts in the beetle family. Did you know that the fastest-running insect is the Australian Tiger Beetle? Or the that Goliath Beetle is the world's heaviest insect? Or that there are over 300,000 species of beetles on the planet? 

Want to know or see more? Check out the BUGS BY THE NUMBERS photostream on Flickr.

It's clear from the outset that Werner and Forss anticipated the kind of concern I raised about the use of the word bug. Here's an excerpt from the introductory page.

Now some smarties might notice
As the go through and look,
Not every creature is a bug in this book. 

Not all critters that fly or crawl  on the ground
Are technically bugs, but we both have found
Mos folks call them bugs, and since they do,
We figured, why not? We'd call them "bugs" too. 

Real bugs are insects, but not all insects are bugs
And spiders are neither (oh, please don't say, "Ugh").

So yes, the authors beg a bit of latitude in the beginning. I do think that if you use this in any kind of science context this needs to be explained and perhaps examined in a bit more depth.

Despite my concerns regarding the use of the word bug and the inclusion of the earthworm, I find the bulk of the book to be gorgeously constructed, highly engaging, and chock full of interesting tidbits. The kids in your classroom will be fighting over this one, so you may want more than one copy. RECOMMENDED.

Book: BUGS BY THE NUMBERS,

Author/Illustrator:  Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss
Publisher: Blue Apple Books
Publication Date: April 2011
Pages: 56 pages
Grades: 3-8
ISBN: 978-1609050610
Source of Book: Copy borrowed from my local public library

P.S. - Did I mention that their new book, Alphasaurs and Other Prehistoric Types, comes out in October?

This review was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to The Swimmer Writer and check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

Nonfiction Monday - Potatoes on Rooftops

I grew up in western NY surrounded by dairy farms. Even today the house I grew up in is surrounded largely by fields and not the kind of suburban housing developments that seem to be swallowing up our green space. Because of these roots I've always made room in my teaching for agriculture lessons. Too many kids today just don't understand where their food and fiber comes from. If they live in a city, they may have even missed opportunities to tend a garden of their own. However, urban gardening has grown in popularity as families and individuals explore ways to eat healthier and in a manner that is more environmentally conscious.

In POTATOES ON ROOFTOPS: FARMING IN THE CITY, Hadley Dyer gives us a book that shows just how manageable eating locally can be and how important it is for personal health and the health of our planet. She also highlights the urban farming movement and shares a wealth of ideas for getting kids involved.

Part 1: Hungry Cities does a fine job outlining the issues concerning city living, the number of miles it now takes to get food to people, and how many city dwellers find themselves living in a food desert, an area where there are no sources of good food close by. Imagine you live on a low income and can't easily travel to another neighborhood. The options aren't good, especially when "convenience stores charge up to one-and-a-half times as much as a grocery store. So a carton of eggs might cost $4.00 instead of $2.50. The only other option might be a fast-food restaurant, where the calories are plentiful but the food is full of fat and salt." All this important background information sets the stage for delving into the myriad of ways urban farming can and does occur.

Part 2: Plant a Seed describes the different forms urban gardening takes. Beyond traditional pots and rooftop gardens, people can grow food on trellises or on specially designed walls. In Los Angeles, the Urban Farming Food Chain Project "created food-producing wall panels that are mounted buildings." Dyer provides readers a great deal of information on how to get started, what to grow, and what to grow it in. The ideas are clever and often use recyclable materials.

Part 3: Green Your City looks at harvesting water, composting, raising small animals, growing vegetables inside, and much more. There's an interesting look in this chapter, as well as the others, at what folks in other parts of the world raise and how they do it.

Part 4: Your Green Thumb focuses on the principle of "Think globally, act locally." It is much easier to become involved in this movement, both personally and at the community level than one would think. Dyer describes some fo the projects in cities around the world, as well as the ways people are reclaiming spaces in their cities for agriculture. For example, in Detroit many vacant lots are being used for agriculture projects. The charity Urban Farming "has established gardens throughout the city that are tended by community groups, and the harvest is given away for free."

The book ends with a glossary, a section entitled Learn How to Start Your Urban Farm which contains a number of suggested titles, an annotated bibliography of web sites for further information, and a lengthy list of acknowledgements.

The images in the book have been carefully selected and nicely complement the text. I was particularly surprised and engaged with the number of "extra" facts/stories that were inserted that expanded on an idea or presented something tangentially related to the topic. I learned quite a bit from these pieces and they gave me even more to ponder. Here's an excerpt.

Former South African president Nelson Mandela spent 27 years as a political prisoner on Robben Island. He dug into the rocky soil with his bare hands to create a vegetable patch that was just 0.9m (one yards) wide and shared his harvest with fellow prisoners. People visit his garden today as a monument of kindness, perseverance, and hope. 

If Mandela's humble garden had the power to transform lives, what could we do with the space, tools, and technology available in our cities?

I've been growing herbs in a pot for some time now, constantly frustrated by the poor soil in my yard. Dyer has convinced me that I can do so much more with just a bit of effort, and that it will be well worth it. Overall, Dyer makes an inspiring and powerful case for urban farming. I'm ready! How about you? RECOMMENDED.

Book: POTATOES ON ROOFTOPS: FARMING IN THE CITY
Author: Hadley Dyer
Publisher: Annick Press
Publication Date: July, 20102
Pages: 84 pages
Grades: 5-10
ISBN: 978-1554514243
Source of Book: NetGalley digital review copy

This review was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to Simply Science and check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

Nonfiction Monday - World Without Fish

Last year I wrote a review of THE STORY OF SALT by Mark Kurlansky. I love Kurlansky's work in children's literature as he possesses great skill in making complex ideas accessible to kids. Heck, his work for adults is just as well-written, clearly conveying history and science in interesting and meaningful ways.

Unlike THE STORY OF SALT and THE COD'S TALE, which are nonfiction picture books aimed at ages 7-10, WORLD WITHOUT FISH weaves a graphic novel throughout the informational text and is geard towards older students, perhaps ages 10-16.

When I picked this book up last year I was looking for resources for teaching about food chains and food webs, but Kurlansky goes well beyond this in his determination to describe the causes and effects of overfishing on marine ecosystems.

In the Introduction Kurlansky writes, "Most stories about the destruction of the planet involve a villan with an evil plot. But this is the story of how the Earth could be destroyed by well-meaning people who fail to solve a problem simply because their calculations are wrong. Most of the fish we commonly eat, most of the fish we know, could be gone in the next fifty years."

Yeah, so this is not a happy story. It carries a heavy dose of doom and gloom, and while this is a scary message, it's one everyone needs to hear. I'll admit that I'm not usually keen on introductions, and this one is a crash course on Darwin, biological classification, the interconnectedness of things living and nonliving in the environment, and more. It does set the stage for the book, but it's a lot to take in at the beginning. The introduction ends with The Story of Kram and Aliat: Part 1, the graphic novel woven through the text. In fact, each chapter ends with a page of the story. These parts follow a young girl, Aliat, and her father, Kram, over a number of decades as the condition of the ocean grows increasingly bleak. Eventually it becomes an orange mess inhabited largely by leatherback turtles and jellyfish.

Following the Introduction there are these chapters:

1. Being a Short Exposition About What Could Happen and How It Would Happen
2. Being the True Story of How Humans Frist Began to Fish and How Fishing Became an Industry
3. Being the Sad, Cautionary Tale of the Orange Roughy
4. Being the Myth of Nature's Bounty and How Scientists Got It Wrong for Many Years
5. Being a Concise History of the Politics of Fish
6. Being an Examination of Why We Can't Simply Stop Fishing
7. Being a Detailed Look at Four Possible Solutions and Why They Alone Won't Work
8. The Best Solution to Overfishing: Sustainable Fishing
9. How Pollution is Killing Fish, Too
10. How Global Warming is Also Killing Fish
11. Time to Wake Up and Smell the Fish

You'll also find a lengthy section of resources and an index, but surprisingly, you won't find any references. Now, Kurlansky did work at one time as a commercial fisherman and has written a number of books on the industry, so he does have firsthand knowledge of the topic. He also thanks a number of biologists in the Acknowledgements at the end of the book, so I know he's talked to the experts. However, given that this is not a nonfiction picture and is targeted to an older group of readers, I think references are a must. 

Now that you know what I perceive to be the main weakness of the book, let me talk for a minute about all Kurlansky and Frank Stockton, the illustrator, do well. First, the text is imminently readable. Kurlansky makes the science understandable, underscores the causes and effects of the problems with many meaningful examples, and uses an arsenal of writer's tools to make the reader want to press on despite the incredibly depressing content. Kurlansky is a terrific storyteller, seamlessly integrating history, science, and politics into a compelling narrative. The text is littered with photographs, illustrations, sidebar pieces, maps, and more. Graphic variations in the font, similar to "SHOUTY CAPITALS" in e-mail correspondence serve to highlight important ideas and keep readers involved with the text. They also serve as natural stopping places to reflect on the gravity of the situation. Every so often reader's run across a full-page illustration that highlights some bit of information on the opposing page. Like the endpapers of the book, they are beautifully rendered and dramatic. Sadly, there are too few for my liking. 

I learned a great many things while reading this book and was reminded of some other things I hadn't thought of for a while. Here are few points that stood out for me.

• The jellyfish is actually a very highly evolved type of plankton. It is the cockroach of the sea, an animal little loved by human beings but particularly well designed for survival (p. 13). (For more on this check out Zooplanton at Marinebio.org.)
• Several times the size of the elephant, the humpback whale is one of the largest mammals on earth—and yet it feeds on one of the tiniest forms of life in the world (p. 42).
• For thousands of years, fishing was sustainable. But nowadays, between 100 and 120 million tons of sea life are killed by fishing every year (p.85).
• Fish prefer colder waters. The warming of the seas is a crisis for fish. If the seas are warming and ice is melting, this means that the melted ice, which is freshwater, will make the seas less salty (pp. 139-140).

As you can see, there is much to learn and ponder here. There is a ray of hope beginning on p. 149 when Kurlansky writes "What can we do about this?" The answer is, quite a bit! What we need to do is educate ourselves about all the ways we can help.

One more thing worth noting and something I appreciated was the inclusion of a quote from Darwin's ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES at the beginning of each chapter, each quote nicely aligned with the overall theme. These quotes give readers just one more thing to chew on. Perhaps some will even be inclined to pick up the book to learn more.

Overall, Kurlansky makes a powerful case here for not only the promise of sustainable fishing, but also its necessity for the health of our planet. RECOMMENDED.

Book: WORLD WITHOUT FISH
Author:  Mark Kurlansky
Illustrator: Frank Stockton
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 192
Grades: 5-12
ISBN: 978-0761156079
Source of Book: Personal copy purchased at a local independent bookstore

This review was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to Jean Little Library and check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

Nonfiction Monday - Fastest and Slowest

Book: Fastest and Slowest

Author:  Camilla De la Bédoyère

Publisher: Firefly Books

Publication Date: 2011

Pages: 32 pages

Grades: K-4

Quick! Before you peak at the cover to the left, what animals come to mind when you think about speed? Which ones stand out as slow?

When my son handed me this book and I saw the cheetah and sloth on the cover, I didn't think there would be much new ground to cover. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the organization of the book and the variety of animals described.

This title in the Animal Opposites series is divided into a series two-page informational sections. It begins with On the Move which provides a brief introduction to types of animal movement. The next section, A Need for Speed, explains why speed is often key to a species survival, whether it be to catch prey or avoid becoming a meal for someone else. Go Slow further explains that some animals use lack of speed for survival as well, moving so slowly that they are more easily camouflaged. Additional sections focus on swimmers, flyers, runners, diggers/burrowers, climbers, slitherers, mini-movers, weird walkers, energy savers, and growers.

The double page spreads are filled with vivid photographs and sidebars that describe animal record breakers or show others in actual size (ruler-included). To get a feel for the book's layout, take a look at these sample pages. While the topics are covered with more breadth than depth, there is an amazing wealth of information and odd factoids that many students will find engaging.
 Here are some of the interesting things I learned while reading this book.

• Gentoo penguins are the fastest underwater birds, reaching a speed of 22 miles (36 km) per hour in short bursts.
• One mole can dig 65 feet (20 meters) of tunnel in a single day.
• The Potoo bird spends all day motionless where it positions itself in a tree and mimics a branch.

The book contains a table of contents, glossary of terms, index, and activity suggestions for parents and teachers.

Overall, this book will appeal to reluctant readers, as well as kids with an interest in animals.

This book was written for Nonfiction Monday. Today's host is Amy O'Quinn. Do stop by and check out the titles being shared this week.

Nonfiction Monday - Eggs

The eNature blog had an interesting post last week entitled Why Do Bird Eggs Vary In Shape and Color?. That and a trip to the lake to watch the baby goslings got me thinking about egg books.

Eggs, written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Emma Stevenson, is a gorgeous look at these extraordinary vehicles of early life. The book begins:

IT'S A QUIET CRIB.
It's a bobbing boat.
It's a private pond.
It's a room with no view.
It's walls to break through.
It's breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
It's an egg.

It goes on to discuss how all animals need to make more of their own kinds, and that while some animals give birth to live young, many animals lay eggs instead. Eggs are described as special worlds that provide everything a developing embryo needs to grow, from food and drink to oxygen. But embryos need more than this to survive. They need a hospitable climate, meaning they must not freeze of overheat. Singer goes on to describe the texture, shape, size and color of eggs. Readers learn about how many eggs different species lay, how they're protected by parents, nests, or both, and how they hatch. Emma Stevenson makes her debut as a picture book illustrator with this book and it is a beautiful first effort. The gouache paintings are finely detailed and offer a visual treat to accompany the text.

The book ends with a extensive series of notes, including information on protecting eggs, a glossary, source notes and wildlife organizations. A comprehensive index is also included.

I learned several new facts about eggs while reading this book. Here are a few of them.

• Bird eggshells are always hard, but their texture varies? Some eggs feel soapy, while some are powdery.

• A flying fish's eggs have long threads to catch on to seaweed so they won't float into dangerous waters?

• A termite queen may lay as many as a billion eggs in her lifetime?

Overall, this is an informative and thoroughly engaging book. I highly recommend it.

Book: Eggs
Author: Marilyn Singer
Illustrator: Emma Stevenson
Publisher: Holiday House
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 32 pages
Grades: 3-8
ISBN: 978-0-8234-1727-8
Source of Book: Personal copy purchased from a local independent bookstore.

If you are interested in some other books about eggs, check out my thematic book list on spring life that focused on eggs and life cycles.

This review was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to Great Kid Books and check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

Nonfiction Monday - The Story of Salt

I love books that explore science and history from different perspectives. For example, I love the notion of learning about animals not by the groups they belong to (say a book on birds or reptiles), but by some common feature that links them together, as in Venom by Marilyn Singer, or Living Color by Steve Jenkins.

One of my favorite history books looks at how salt has shaped our world. No, this isn't a straight chronology, but rather a book that examines historical events through the lens of a very important substance. One could easily imagine a book written about tea, or silk or gold in this same fashion, but being the science lover that I am, I loved learning about salt.
I learned of this book only after reading Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. The Story of Salt is a kid-friendly version of this work. In it, Kurlansky shares the history and science of salt. Here are some interesting things kids will learn while reading this book.

• Salt is the only rock consumed by humans.


• Salt paid for the Great Wall of China.


• Without salt there would be no mummies. (If you haven't ever mummified a chicken while studying Ancient Egypt, you should!)


• Roman soldiers were often paid in salt.


• When the Jamestown colony was started, a saltwork was established.


• When America declared independence from England, the salt supply was cut off. (Did you know you need salt to make gunpowder? Losing their supply of salt prior to war was a big problem.)


• Ghandi walked 240 miles to the sea to defy British law and make salt.


• Today, the US is the world's largest supplier of salt.

This well-written and fascinating text is accompanied by color-washed pen-and-ink drawings that add humor and interest. The book ends with a timeline of salt through the centuries. Overall, this is a well-researched piece that deserves a place on your bookshelf.

Book: The Story of Salt
Author: Mark Kurlansky
Illustrator: S. D. Schindler
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 48
Grades: 3-8
ISBN: 978-0399239984
Source of Book: Personal copy purchased at a local independent bookstore

This review was written for Nonfiction Monday. Head on over to Simply Science and check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

Nonfiction Monday Is Here!

It is Monday and that means it's time to see what great nonfiction titles folks are reading this week. I'll be rounding up throughout the day, so leave me a note about your post and I'll add it to the list below.

Jone of Check It Out shares a review of Jimi Sounds Like a Rainbow.

The Wild About Nature writers share a review of Over in Australia.

Abby the Librarian shares a review of Mythbusters Science Fair Book.

Jeff at North Carolina Teacher Stuff shares a review of Animal Eggs: An Amazing Clutch of Mysteries and Marvels.

Bookish Blather shares a review of Frozen Secrets: Antarctica Revealed.

Lisa of Shelf-Employed shares a review of A Nation's Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis.

Jennifer of the Jean Little Library shares a review of Not Your Typical Book About the Environment.

Roberta of Wrapped in Foil shares a review of Silk and Venom.

Anastasia Suen of Picture Book of the Day shares a review of The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy).

Mary Ann Scheuer of Great Kid Books shares a review of The Magic School Bus Oceans as an iPad app.

Lori Calabrese shares a review of Where Did Dinosaurs Come From?.

Jeanne Walker Harvey of True Tales & A Cherry on Top shares a review of Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave.

Shirley of SimplyScience Blog shares a review of Beco's Big Year.

The Fourth Musketeer shares a review of Tom Thumb: The Remarkable True Story of a Man in Miniature.

Nonfiction Monday - Project Seahorse

One of the things I love about working in academia is hearing my colleagues speak about their research. This summer I had the great pleasure of listening to a member of the biology faculty speak about her work with mosquitoes. It was both disgusting (did you know mosquitoes pee when they drink your blood?) and utterly fascinating (mosquitoes carry anticoagulants in their saliva so that blood doesn't clot while they're feeding). Not only was I engrossed in the topic, but thoroughly caught up in the excitement that enveloped the room during the lecture.

Whether it's mosquitoes or frogs or seahorses, it is this passion for their work that makes scientists such an interesting breed. It's also what makes the Scientists in the Field series so downright entertaining. Pamela Turner's latest title, Project Seahorse, is a fine addition to the series.
The first thing you should know is that this book is not entirely about the science of seahorses. Project Seahorse is the name of an organization committed to conservation and sustainable use of the world’s coastal marine ecosystems. Seahorses serve as the focus for finding marine conservation solutions.

The book opens describing a night dive in the waters just off Handumon in the Philippines. Scientists search for, find and measure seahorses and use them as a "barometer" of sorts to the health of the coral community. At the same time, a local fisherman is diving for his livelihood. Balancing the need to protect reefs with the need for locals to make a living is a problem that communities with coral reefs must work to solve. Project Seahorse hopes to find solutions to such problems.

At the end of chapter 1 was sucked in, but it was chapter 2 ("Mr. Mom") that sealed my fate. Reading about the work of Amanda Vincent made me want to strap on some SCUBA gear and head out for my own view of the reefs and their many unusual and beautiful inhabitants. Here's an excerpt that describes an experience of Amanda's.

Amanda still remembers a pair of White's seahorses she studies in Australia. The pregnant male was attacked during the night by another animal that bit a hole in his pouch and sucked out his babies. Amanda didn't expect the male to survive his terrible injury. Though nearby males tried to lure the female seahorse away, she refused to abandon her wounded mate. Every morning the female greeted her partner with the courtship dance that seahorse couples use to keep their reproductive cycles in harmony. After a few months, the male's pouch healed and he fathered another brood. "For any animal, that level of devotion is extraordinary," says Amanda.

After earning her degree, Amanda's work focused on examining the impact of fishing and trading on seahorse populations. Amanda not only continued her work as a biologist, but also took on the role of activist. In 1994 she joined forces with a Philippine environmental organization to "launch the world's first seahorse conservation project."

The remaining portion of Turner's narrative describes the lives of locals in Handumon and how they balance their reliance on fishing the reefs with their commitment to protecting them. Readers also learn about the work of conducting coral reef surveys and more about the efforts of Project Seahorse and the impact of education and conservation efforts.

There is much here to love, from vivid underwater photographs of seahorses and other coral reef inhabitants to a nonfiction narrative that is unusually compelling. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the work of real scientists or better understand the challenges of coral reef conservation efforts. Highly recommended.

Book: Project Seahorse
Author: Pamela Turner
Illustrator: Scott Tuason
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Publication Date: July 2010
Pages: 64 pages
Grades: 4-8
ISBN: 978-0547207131

Source of Book: Copy received from publisher.

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. I am hosting this week at The Miss Rumphius Effect. Do take some time to check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

Nonfiction Monday is Here!

I've not been seen around these parts much lately, but now that school is back in session I've got my game face on. I'm happy to launch my return by hosting nonfiction Monday. So without further ado, here's what folks are sharing in the vastly informative and entertaining world of nonfiction.

Shelf-employed is in with a call for nominations for the Sibert award.

Andi of a wrung sponge shares a list of titles on global warming.

Roberta of Wrapped in Foil shares a review of Amazing Faces by Lee Bennett Hopkins.

Jeff Barger of NC Teacher Stuff shares a review of Biblioburro: A True Story From Columbia by Jeanette Winter.

Doret of The Happy Nappy Bookseller shares a review of Side by Side/ Lado a Lado by Monica Brown.

Angela Craft of Bookish Blather shares a review of Curveball: The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone, the First Woman to Play Professional Baseball in the Negro League.

In Need of Chocolate shares a review of the book Rabbit by Sally Tagholm.

Jennifer at Jean Little Library shares her thoughts on two gardening/farm books.

Lori Calabrese of Lori Calabrese Writes! shares a review of How To Turn Your Book Club into a Spectacular Event by Mayra Calvani.

Paula of Pink Me shares a review of Hot X: Algebra Exposed by Danica McKellar.

Mary Ann Scheuer of Great Kid Books shares a review of the Scholastic Children's Dictionary.

Tammy Flanders of Apples With Many Seeds shares some thoughts on International Literacy Day.

Margo of The Fourth Musketeer shares a review of The War to End All Wars: World War I by Russell Freedman.

Janet of All About Books with Janet Squires shares a review of Labor Day by Mari C. Schuh.

Alex of The Children's War shares a review of The Champion of Children: the story of Janusz Korczak by Tomek Bogacki.

Michelle Markel of The Cat and the Fiddle recommends some children's books for Labor Day.

Tricia of The Miss Rumphius Effect (that's me!) shares a review of Project Seahorse by Pamela Turner.

Wendie O. of Wendie's Wanderings shares a review of Parrots by Margaret Fetty.

Anamaria of Books Together shares a review of How the Sphinx Got to the Museum by Jessie Hartland.

proseandkahn shares a review of Whose Fingerprints are These? Crime-solving Science Projects by Robert Gardner.

Keep those reviews coming and I'll add to the list throughout the day.

Nonfiction Monday - 100 Ways to Celebrate 100 Days

I've come to rely on Bruce Goldstone's books Great Estimations (2006) and Greater Estimations (2008) for teaching students about number sense and quantitative estimation. I'm thrilled he's added a new title to his growing collection of math books. 100 Ways to Celebrate 100 Days will also be useful for the study of number sense and offers suggestions for celebrating the 100th day of school that extend well beyond traditional counting activities.

As a writer and photo stylist, Goldstone has created an amazing array of images in support of his imaginative ideas. Here's an excerpt of ideas from the middle of the book.

Flip 100. (46) Flip a coin 100 times. How many times will it land heads up?

Clip 100. (47) Clip together 100 paper clips.

Clap 100. (48) Clap 100 times.

Tip 100. (49) Line up 100 dominoes and then tip them over.

The activities recommended by Goldstone can be easily carried out at home or in the classroom. They don't require fancy or expensive materials, will keeps kids engaged, and will provide a springboard for brainstorming additional activities involving 100.

This one is going straight to the top of the the thematic book list for the 100th day of school. Strongly recommended.

Book: 100 Ways to Celebrate 100 Days
Author/Illustrator: Bruce Goldstone
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Publication Date: August 2010
Pages: 48 pages
Grades: K-3
ISBN: 978-0805089974

Source of Book: ARC picked up at the ALA Conference in June.

In the states where the school year often begins after Labor Day, the 100th day generally falls close to Valentine's Day (snow days not withstanding), so you've got plenty of time to prepare. Here are some additional resources that will help you plan for the 100th day of school. 

• Mathwire.com 100th Day of School Activities
• Complete the Wacky Wish poem (If I could have 100/of anything at all/ ...)
• Songs and Poems for the 100th Day of School
• Celebrate the 100th Day of School (Scholastic)
• Celebrate the 100th Day in 100 Ways

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. Hosting this week are Three Turtles and Their Pet Librarian. Do take some time to check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

Nonfiction Monday - Arctic Reading

It's been quite hot out, so the reading I'm doing with my son has taken a chilly turn. Here is a trio of books that examines life in the harsh Arctic wilderness.

Arctic Lights, Arctic Nights, written by Debbie S. Miller and illustrated by Jon Van Zyle - The city of Fairbanks, Alaska lies one hundred and fifteen miles south of the Arctic Circle. This book provides seasonal descriptions of the changing hours of light and temperatures in Fairbanks from one summer solstice to the next. Across the top of each page readers will find the date, total number of hours and minutes of daylight, times for sunrise and sunset, and average high and low temperatures. The text examines everything from the migration of birds and caribou to the hibernation of bears, all placed within the context of the lengthening and shortening of days. Animals referenced in the text include the moose, snowshoe hare, grizzly bear, ground squirrel, sandhill crane, caribou, wolf, raven, and trumpeter swan. The text ends with a glossary that explains phenomena like "blinks," "diamond dust," and "sun dogs."

Ice Bears, written by Brenda Guiberson and illustrated by Ilya Spirin - Beautifully written and illustrated, this story begins in December with the birth of two polar bear cubs and follows them through the year. Readers learn how they grow, develop, and learn to survive in a complex ecosystem. The ice is a central focus here, and readers will come to see the threat to the bears as the climate warms and the ice melts. The back matter explains a bit more about threats to the Arctic and includes a list of websites for environmental organizations. (You can learn more about this book by reading my review.)

Being Caribou: Five Months on Foot with a Caribou Herd, written by Karsten Heuer - Read that title again and let two words sink in--ON FOOT. This is an adaptation of Heuer’s adult title that describes the five months he and his wife spent following the migration of more than 100,000 Grant’s caribou to their breeding ground in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). In describing the difficulties they (humans) faced, Heuer also provides readers with an intimate view of this seasonal trek from the perspective of the caribou. While journeying thousands of kilometers, the caribou must cross mountain slopes and thawing rivers while surviving blizzards and the constant threat of predators. Accompanied by photographs of the migration, this is an amazing story that helps readers to understand the delicate Arctic ecosystem.

If you are interested in learning more about the Arctic and Arctic wildlife, check out these resources.

• Defenders of Wildlife has a series of wildlife and habitat fact sheets.
• Polar Bears International has an extensive page of polar bear facts.
• The National Geographic Society has information on polar bears at creature feature.
• Canadian Geographic has some information on caribou.
• The Arctic Studies Center answers some frequently asked questions about the arctic.
• The Arctic Wildlife Portfolio at the Arctic Studies Center has a wealth of information on birds, as well as land and sea mammals.
• Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears is an online magazine for K-5 teachers integrating science, literacy and the polar regions.
• NOAA has an Arctic theme page with a gallery of Arctic images.

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. Hosting this week is Lori at Lori Calabrese Writes. Do take some time to check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

Nonfiction Monday - Mathematical Reading

I picked up a bunch of books at my local independent bookstore recently, several of which I can't wait to put to use in my math classes this summer.

First Shapes in Buildings, written by Penny Ann Lane - Using photographs of architectural sites, Lane introduces readers to a range of two- and three-dimensional shapes and prods them to consider how and why the sites were built that way. I'm thrilled that this one uses such creative forms to highlight the shapes. Readers will find sites from around the world including Stonehenge (UK), the Temple of Anon at Karnak (Egypt), the Ka'bah in Makkah (Saudi Arabia), St. Peter's Piazza in Rome (Italy), the Imperial Villa of Katsura in Kyoto (Japan), the Masjid-in shah Mosque in Isfahan (Iran) and others. Each double-page spread includes a full-page photo of an architectural site and a facing page with a simple illustration of the shape being featured and text that explains the related aspect of the structure. Here is a sample of the text from the cylinder page. The photograph shows a row of columns from the Temple of Anon at Karnak.

These huge cylinders look like tree trunks.
The people who built this temple believed that walking
through this forest of columns would remind them
of their journey to the next life.

How would you feel if you walked through
all these massive cylinders?

I loved the way this text read and looked. The text and illustrations are clear, crisp and bright. Students will love finding the shapes in the 12 illustrations. It ends with a photographic glossary that identifies each building and its location in the world. This book will be the perfect resource for introducing a lesson on shapes in the environment and a terrific jumping off point for kids creating their own shape books using photos of architectural sites, either famous or local.

For Good Measure: The Ways We Say How Much, How Far, How Heavy, How Big, How Old, written by Ken Robbins - Since we here in the US still cling to the customary system of measurement, teachers must be familiar with it and the metric system when teaching measurement. When I teach HOW to teach this topic I like to throw in a good bit of history and focus on nonstandard measurement. My students actually use their bodies to measure to get a feel for hands, fathoms, cubits and other "antiquated" measures. (Oh, how I wish they were!). Ken Robbins has just made my job of introducing these concepts a whole lot easier with his new book. Here's how it begins.

Certain words and phrases that we use to describe things are just not very specific: "lots," "scads," and "many," for instance, or pairs of opposites like "far" and "near," "big" and "small," "light" and "heavy," "new and "old." With words like that it's hard to know exactly what somebody means. Sometimes it doesn't matter so much, but when it does matter, we need standards of measurement that we can compare things to—units we can all agree on.

Each measurement in the book is accompanied by a photographic reference, a description of how the unit is measured and, if available, a bit of historical background. The text opens with measures of length and distance and includes the foot, span, hand, cubit, yard, fathom, mile (and pace), furlong, rod, league, and light-year. If these sound familiar, it is because we still use these terms! Horses are measured in hands, races run in furlongs, fabric cut in yards. After distance comes area, then weights, liquid measures, dry capacities and time. This book is chock full of information that is highlighted by lush illustrations, largely of Robbins making.

I do see one weakness with this title and that is the lack of back matter. Once the section on time ends, the last page of the book shows an image of the Earth with a measure of its diameter. I would have liked additional resources, a bibliography, or some list of references to show where this wealth of information came from. Don't get me wrong, I loved the book, it just ended with me wanting and needing a bit more.

Growing Patterns: Fibonacci Numbers in Nature, written by Sarah Campbell with photographs by Sarah Campbell and Richard Campbell - This one begins with a series of photographs of flowers with different numbers of petals. The number of petals on the flowers—1, 2, 3, 5, and 8—are used to introduce the Fibonacci sequence and how the pattern is created. After looking at a few more flower species with numbers of petals in the Fibonacci sequence, Campbell shares other examples that include the spirals seen in pine cones, sunflowers, pineapples, and the nautilus shell. The text finishes with this encouragement.

Not all numbers in nature are Fibonacci numbers. A dogwood has 4 petals, and an amaryllis has 6. A garden snail and the fiddlehead on the fern are spirals, but they don't have the same shape as the nautilus. The next time you are outside, take a close look at the plants and animals. See if you can find Fibonacci numbers, spirals, or some other pattern. The are growing all around.

Campbell's book ends with a page of additional information on Fibonacci numbers and a helpful glossary.

Though not topically connected, what ties these three books together are their superb illustrations and clearly written texts. I recommend them all as terrific resources for integrating literacy and the study of math.

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. Hosting this week is Carol at Rasco From RIF. Do take some time to check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.

Nonfiction Monday - Born to Be Giants

I have a nine year old son who is crazy about dinosaurs and has a stack of books to prove it. Did he really need another title to add his library? After reading and rereading Born to Be Giants: How Baby Dinosaurs Grew to Rule the World, the answer is an unequivocal YES!

The baby T-Rex hatching on the cover under the watchful of eye of its mother,made we want to open the book. The huge taloned feet pictured beside a hatching oviraptor on the title page immediately had me wondering how an animal so large could care for an offspring so much smaller in size. Born to Be Giants: How Baby Dinosaurs Grew to Rule the World, written and illustrated by Lita Judge, not only answers this question, but explores how dinosaurs hatched from eggs grew and survived to become some of the largest creatures that ever walked the earth.

Judge has broken new ground with this book, taking evidence discovered by paleontologists and using that information to hypothesize how dinosaurs may have behaved. Judge also distinguishes her work from others by describing dinosaurs by making comparisons to living animals. Here's an excerpt that shows just how deftly she combines these two approaches.

Some plant-eating dinosaurs kept their nests safe by grouping into large colonies. Over a thousand fossilized nests of HYPACROSAURUS, a duck-billed dinosaur, were found in one area!

Penguins, pelicans, and many seabirds gather at huge nesting sites today. The nests are clustered with just enough space to fit babies and adults. The parents work together, alerting each other if a predator comes near.

There are many comparisons to modern-day birds here, and given the view that some species of dinosaurs may have evolved to become today's birds, these are reasonable comparisons to draw.

Judge doesn't shy away from difficult vocabulary in the text, using words like altricial and precocial. However, readers are supported in understanding these words through simple, explanatory sentences, as well as the inclusion of a glossary. Here's an example.

Most bird species today are altricial. Their babies are helpless when they hatch, with wobbly, undeveloped legs and weak necks. The hatchlings must stay in the nest until they grow stronger and older. It is likely that Maiasaura were altricial—like robins today.

Eight species of dinosaur are explored in the book. Early on readers are introduced to Argentinosaurus, a dinosaur that likely weighed as much as 17 elephants. Imagine for a moment just how large this dinosaur must have been. Now juxtapose this with the knowledge that the largest dinosaur eggs ever found were only 18 inches long. As Judge tells readers, "These mothers probably couldn't protect their tiny babies without trampling them underfoot." Judge continues:

A herd of Argentinosaurus was an earth-shaking, bone crushing stampede of feet. Their tiny babies probably hid under forest cover. Hungry, meat-eating dinosaurs stalked them for a bite-sized meal. Huge crocodiles ate them. Even little mammals ate them. The babies were hungry all the time and had to find their next meal without becoming one! Only a few survived.

Dinosaurs may have been giants, but surviving to adulthood was no easy task.

The text leaves readers much to ponder while also providing a wealth of factual information. There are some brief notes in the back matter about each of the dinosaur species, including pronunciation (always important with dinosaur names), approximate size, location of fossils, and period of appearance.

The watercolor illustrations do a fine job of portraying scale. They also give a clear sense of what these dinosaurs may have looked like, what their coloration may have been, and how their nests may have been constructed. Kudos to Judge for making even ferocious meat-eating babies look appealing. Don't believe me? Check out the illustration of the Troodon hatchlings being fed by a parent (near the end of the book). I wouldn't call them cute, not with those serrated teeth and scraggly feathers, but they are a bit endearing.

This title is a must-have for classrooms and school libraries. Science teachers tackling the nature of science, scientific method, survival of the fittest, animal behavior and more will find this one a gem. Additional resources can be found at the author's web site where there is a page devoted to the book. On it you'll find preliminary and working sketches of the illustrations, dinosaur coloring pages, and photos from the author's dinosaur digs with the Royal Tyrell Museum.

Well written, handsomely illustrated, and thoughtfully organized, Born to Be Giants offers a fresh perspective on a topic kids can't seem to get enough of. After several readings my son said, "Don't you wish we could meet some REAL baby dinosaurs?" No, actually, I don't, but I was thoroughly satisfied with the introduction provided by Judge. You will be too. Highly recommended.

Book: Born to Be Giants: How Baby Dinosaurs Grew to Rule the World
Author/Illustrator: Lita Judge
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Publication Date: April 2010
Pages: 48 pages
Grades: 3-6
ISBN: 978-1596434431

Source of Book: Personal copy published from Amazon.

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. Hosting this week is Anastasia Suen at Picture Book of the Day. Do take some time to check out all the great posts highlighting nonfiction this week.