Nonfiction Wednesday

  Join Alyson and others at Kid Lit Frenzy for a nonfiction picture book bonanza each week!

 

 

I'm Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton

 

2015-book, creative-nonfiction, fears, humor, nature, nonfiction, nonfictionchallenge2015, picture-book, science   So cute and funny! Bethany Barton chooses a humorous way to teach us about one of our not-so-popular animals - spiders!! I love the illustrations - some of my favorites are the family reunion and scarecrow spiders. My daughter, Katie, needs to read this. Maybe she won't be so scared of them after laughing at this book. I saw this book on several Picture Book 10 for 10 posts this week! I enjoyed the end pages covered with various spiders and their descriptions.     In Mary's Garden by Tina Kugler and Carson Kugler   2015-book, art, biography, creativity, mock-sibert-2016, nonfiction, nonfictionchallenge2015, picture-book

 

 

 

 

I love picture book biographies about artists and writers, and this one is no exception. What an interesting person Mary Nohl was! She defied gender stereotypes even when she was young when she took industrial arts instead of cooking classes (her model airplane won first prize). Her love of building things spilled over into her art - sculptures she made from objects found on the Wisconsin lakeshore. I loved how Tina Kugler wove Mary's dogs, Sassafras and Basil, into the story. The author's note I love picture book biographies about artists and writers, and this one is no exception. What an interesting person Mary Nohl was! She defied gender stereotypes even when she was young when she took industrial arts instead of cooking classes (her model airplane won first prize). Her love of building things spilled over into her art - sculptures she made from objects found on the Wisconsin lakeshore. I loved how Tina Kugler wove Mary's dogs, Sassafras and Basil, into the story. The author's note says that her art is no longer found at her cottage home - it was removed because of her neighbors complaining about the onlookers. Now it's displayed at the John Michael Kohler Art Center in Sheboyghan, WI. I'd love to see it! She may have been eccentric and controversial (some even called her a witch), but she sure was fascinating!     Wild Ideas: Let Nature Inspire Your Thinking by Elin Kelsey, art by Soyeon Kim     2015-book, animals, creativity, curiosity, nature, nonfiction, nonfictionchallenge2015, problem-solving, science, thinking-philosophy       Nature is full of examples of animals solving problems, learning, and being creative. Author Elin Kelsey urges children to look around and see what ideas they can get from nature. Strong verbs such as "procrastinate", "calculate", and "innovate" describe what animals do. I LOVE the 3-D dioramas that decorate the pages - beautiful! Check out the website for more about this book!