Nonfiction Wednesday

I'm excited that Alyson Beecher, at Kid Lit Frenzy, is continuing her Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge for the third year in a row.

 

 

Lester Laminack frequently posts reminders about the devastation bullying can cause.  Many of his works and talks are on building character in children so they can choose kind.  This morning, he posted this image:

 

 

 I thought this was befitting of my first nonfiction post of February.  This month we celebrate Black History Month, or National African American History Month.

I didn't really plan this, but my nonfiction books this week celebrate African American performance artists.

 

 

Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker by Patricia Hruby Powell, illustrated by Christian Robinson

2014-book, african-american, biography, civil-rights, creative-nonfiction, creativity, dance, intermediate-kids-book, music, nonfiction, nonfiction-challenge-2014, performance-art, picture-book-long,  song, text-style-and-shape         This is no ordinary biography! Powell and Robinson have created a work of art about a brilliant, eccentric, talented Josephine Baker. Words and illustrations combine to embody the energy and vitality of this gifted performer. I had no idea Baker was a stunt pilot, civil rights activist, Red Cross worker, French spy, and Nazi resister as well as a talented performer. She was a mother of 12 adopted multi-cultural children, married and divorced several times, and "danced her way out of the slums to...more This is no ordinary biography! Powell and Robinson have created a work of art about a brilliant, eccentric, talented Josephine Baker. Words and illustrations combine to embody the energy and vitality of this gifted performer. I had no idea Baker was a stunt pilot, civil rights activist, Red Cross worker, French spy, and Nazi resister as well as a talented performer. She was a mother of 12 adopted multi-cultural children, married and divorced several times, and "danced her way out of the slums to eventually become the richest Negro woman in the world, only to lose her fortune and her home due to her characteristic generosity and flamboyance." Amazing.   Check out these creations by Christian Robinson!

 

 

What is Music? from Christian Robinson on Vimeo.

And be sure to go to Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast blog to read more about him at this post.

 

 

Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream For Me by Daniel Beaty, illustrated by Bryan Collier

 

2013-book, award-winner, emotions, family, leaving-a-legacy, loss, memoir, mentor-mentee, multicultural, nonfiction, nonfiction-challenge-2014, picture-book, poetry, theme, voice     This adaptation of Daniel Beaty's performance poem is gorgeous. Bryan Collier was the perfect illustrator for it. Beaty's words are so powerful and raw, and with the rich, meaningful illustrations, the theme comes alive. This book visually shows us his sorrow and hope. I love the author and illustrator notes at the end. It definitely deserved The Coretta Scott King Illustrator Book Award!! I am SOOOO excited to meet Bryan Collier at the Dublin Literacy Conference in a couple weeks.   I LOVED the nonfiction I read this week.  What nonfiction are YOU reading?