Wednesday, June 4, 2014

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.
 


Here are some nonfiction picture books I read this week:
 

The Cosmobiography of Sun Ra: The Sound of Joy Is Enlightening
 
 
 
 
 
Chris Raschka's illustrations in this biography of jazz musician Herman P. "Sonny" Blount (a.k.a. Sun Ra) captures the colorful and energetic otherworldliness of his story. I love that Raschka chose to tell the musician's story as if he came from Saturn, just like he said he did.
 
Galapagos George
 
 
 
 
 
 
This beautifully illustrated book takes a look at evolution and adaptation to explain how tortoises ended up on the Galapagos Islands and evolved so differently. It's so sad that the last descendant of Giantess George, Lonesome George, died in 2012 and was the last of his kind. It's also sad that Jean Craighead George passed away within weeks of him. She was the last of her kind, too. We will miss her gift of writing.
 
Mysterious Patterns: Finding Fractals in Nature
 
 
 
 
I can think of several of my students who love math and would love this book. What a fascinating look at how fractals occur in nature. When I read things like this I am always amazed at how creative God is.
 
What nonfiction have YOU read this week?
 
 
 

4 comments:

  1. I loved Galapagos George. Jean C. George's books truly were one of a kind, I'll miss them! I thought that book would be great for animal adaptations. I just got Mysterious Patterns from the library, can't wait to dig into it! Enjoy the rest of your week :)

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  2. What fun. The fractals book would be helpful given the Frozen soundtrack putting that word on the lips of many students. :)

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  3. I've heard about the first two, Holly, but not the Fractals one. I know that some students at school do study them, so this will be a great book for the library. Thanks!

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  4. Such beautifully illustrated books you have here. Looking forward to finding Galapagos George. :) Sun Ra is already on my radar and would definitely add this to my list of PBBs :)

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