Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Nonfiction Wednesday



 
  Join Alyson and others at Kid Lit Frenzy for a nonfiction picture book bonanza each week!
 
 
I love birds, and this week's books were all about them - even one human who could transform into a swan!
 
A Chicken Followed Me Home!: Questions and Answers about a Familiar Fowl
 
 
 
I want a chicken to follow me home! The very first two-page spread made me laugh. Such a great expression on the chicken's face! I raised chickens in 4-H when I was a young girl and have always loved them. This book has all kinds of great facts about the familiar fowl and would make a great gift for a first-time 4-Her who was interested in raising chickens. Robin Page's illustrations are fantastic!                  
 
Woodpecker Wham!
 
 
 
My backyard deck is surrounded by woods on all sides, so I can hear woodpeckers excavating their homes and/or drilling for food. I put out suet for them because they're one of my favorite kinds of birds to see. Steve Jenkins' illustrations capture the bright colors and beautiful markings of various types of woodpeckers while Sayre's poetic lines capture their behavior.
 
 
 
 
 
Beautifully illustrated, Stewart gives information about various birds and their habitats while also explaining how people have contributed to destroying the habitats. Fortunately, she also explains how people are fixing the problem. I'd love to have a framed print of the cardinal page!
 
Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova
 
 
 
        
I can feel Anna Pavlova's AND Laurel Snyder's passion for dance leap off each gorgeous page. Beautiful language and ethereal illustrations (the swan one gives me chills)combine to make this picture book biography a treasure. Read Laurel Snyder's Nerdy Book Club post about this book here.
 

5 comments:

  1. I love all of these books! A Chicken Followed Me Home was organized in such a fun way.
    I featured Swan today too. I love it a bit more each time I read it.

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  2. I looked up the Place for Birds, & see that there are others like it, A Place for Frogs, etc. They look like good additions to a library, Holly. Swan is a must read, but I still haven't seen it. Someday! Thanks!

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  3. That book about Anna Pavlova looks stunning! I have a few dance-crazed young patrons who I'm sure would be spellbound by this beautiful book. I adore picture book biographies, especially those that treat the illustrations as meaningful and expressive extensions of the text, rather than just filler.

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  4. Great theme and the creative way to include the books, lol. Swan is definitely a book getting much praise.

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  5. So very wonderful Holly! I love how they all connect to this theme :-) I also can't wait to read Swan. I get shivers just thinking about it!

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