The World of Coral Reefs is by Erin Spencer and illustrated by Alexandria Neonakis with an expected publishing date of March 29, 2022 from Storey Publishing.
The illustrations are vibrantly drawn and colored. At first a small part of me was disappointed to not see real coral reef photography, but as I continued turning pages I just fell in love with the illustrations. The colors and lighting are so well done of the spreads of animals. There are several informative illustrations too of maps, levels, close ups, internal looks, and more. The book begins with a table of contents and then jumps into it’s opening section on Rainforests of the Sea. The sections listed in the table of contents are covered in two page spreads in the book, and then it goes onto the next topic. Much of the ordering of these sections makes a lot of sense like starting with their importance, the major reef, what it is, and closing with some of the changes the reefs are up against. But some of the topics in the middle do not have a clear logic to their organization. Some of the later sections give readers ideas for helping out with conservation such as using a reusable bag and avoiding plastic straws when possible.
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100 Things to Know About Inventions is by Clive Gifford and illustrated by Yiffy Gu. This title was published by Happy Yak, a children’s imprint of Quarto, this fall on September 21, 2021 and is geared towards ages six through twelve. I viewed an ARC eBook copy from NetGalley. The book opens with a full list of contents of the inventions to be covered. I love how the introduction mentions that “some inventions come in a sudden flash of inspiration, while others take many years of struggle to make them work. Many inventions do not succeed, but when they do they have the potential to transform the way many people live.” June Almeida, Virus Detective!: The Woman Who Discovered the First Human Coronavirus is a non-fiction picture book by Suzanne Slade and illustrated by Elisa Paganelli. It was released on March 15, 2021 by Sleeping Bear Press. The publisher lists the book as being at a second grade reading level and of interest to grades one through four. There’s a special thanks of note before the store begins to Dr. Joyce Almeida, who is June Almeida’s daughter, it says she supported “this project by vetting the text and sketches, answering questions, providing primary sources, science papers, and photos, as well as intimate insights about her mother.” Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre is a non-fiction picture book written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Floyd Cooper that was released on February 2, 2021 from Carolrhoda Books, an imprint of Lerner Books. Lerner places the book at a fourth grade reading level and recommends the book for grades third through sixth. The book is already being lauded with recognition on the longlist for the National Book Award, a Kirkus Prize finalist, a Boston Globe-Horn Honor Book, and designated a “must-have” from Booklist (https://lernerbooks.com/shop/show/20776). Lerner also had this video on the page as well as Youtube with a chance to hear from the author and illustrator.
The first few pages set up the setting to explain what first drew people and Black people to the Tulsa and Greenwood area and the segregation that existed there. It goes on to go into detail with examples of the flourishing Black Wall Street with the homes, businesses, and featured spots for several pages. “But in 1921, not everyone in Tulsa was pleased with these signs of Black wealth—undeniable proof that African Americans could achieve just as much, if not more than, whites.” Here the tone changes to the terrible events that happened in Tulsa and tells of the unfolding of those events in chronological order. The text explains how in an elevator ride a seventeen-year-old white elevator operator accused a nineteen-year-old Black shoeshine man of assault, how white folks encouraged others to “nab” him and Black men rushed down to prevent a possible lynching. There were thirty Black men and two thousand white men, several armed, that gathered May 31, 1921, by the jail. After the white men were not able to get the arrested man, they “stormed into Greenwood, looting and burnings homes and businesses,” “blocked firefighters from putting out the blazes,” and families fled. The following pages cover more of the aftermath and share that an investigation that launched seventy-five years later uncovered that police and city officials had worked with the mob to destroy Greenwood. The closing page shows Tulsa’s Reconciliation Park and says, “It is a place to realize the responsibility we all have to reject hatred and violence and to instead choose hope.” The author’s and illustrator’s notes at the back go into more facts about the events and personal connections to Tulsa. Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera written by Candace Fleming and illustrated by Eric Rohmann was released February 4, 2020 by Neal Porter Books. This book won the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal and was an honor book for the Orbis Pictus award in 2021. These are the two most prestigious awards for youth non-fiction. The publisher recommends the book for ages six to nine.
Apis’s story starts from the very first page before a title or copyright page can get in her way with “One summer morning deep in the nest.” The story has very detailed illustrations that try to portray what the bees look like in a realistic and approachable manner. Once Apis (Apis mellifera is the scientific name for honeybees, and our protagonist is called Apis throughout the book) is out of her cell, we see the title page, and then dive back into the story. The story is told in free verse lines of poetry. As she develops and grows the text takes us through her different jobs and keeps asking if she’ll be flying, a question many students would likely wonder too, but she goes through several initial jobs and days before getting to flying. Who is Kamala Harris? by Kirsten Anderson and illustrated by Manuel Gutiérrez is part of the Who HQ series of books that cover who was, what was, where is, etc. The title was published by Penguin Workshop on January 19, 2021. Penguin Randomhouse recommends the book for ages 8-12.
While the Who HQ books are wildly popular in elementary buildings, I have learned that their popularity does not stop when students leave to head to middle school. I have 5th and 6th graders who want to read them for facts or enjoyment, and I have 7th and 8th graders who check them out with a gleam of nostalgia in their eyes. I had recently been considering ordering more of these books for my biography section, and then I stumbled across this recent title of Who Is Kamala Harris? in my local public library. I was intrigued, because 1) I had never read one of the Who Is/Was titles and 2) she’s the first female vice president. While all of these posts are to focus on non-fiction titles for youth, I have decided I am going to focus on new and upcoming titles. I started reading NetGalley ARCs after the pandemic in effort to try to get my reading grove that I had lost in the height of things back. So some will be from there and others will be new non-fiction books I find from my local public library. So most for now will have a 2021 publishing year, with perhaps a few 2020 or 2022.
Astronomy Activity Book for Kids by Aurora Lipper and illustrated by Victoria Stebleva will be published by Penguin Random House on September 14, 2021. The publisher recommends the book for ages 5 to 7. In the “Reach for the Stars!” introduction one line that stands out to me is, “In this book, you’ll get to be an astronomer, too.” I think there is great value in getting children to see themselves as scientists (or mathematicians, writers, historians, artists, readers, and so forth). It builds confidence and opens future doors of possibilities in their minds. The intro goes on to explain that the reader will explore solar system objects, learn about constellations, and discover star clusters and nebulae while completing activities along the way. This is followed by a page that says “I’m an astronomer!” with spots for the reader to fill in the blanks. Who is a Scientist? By Laura Gehl will be published on October 5, 2021 by Lerner Publishing Group. The book is a second grade reading level (740 Lexile) and is recommended by the publisher for preschool to third graders.
This book shares about the range of scientists and that the reader meets fourteen scientists to find out about their work and what they enjoy doing outside of their work. The first page of each scientist shows them doing something they enjoy (I.e. painting, dancing) while stating their name and what they’re a scientist of underneath. The second page of each I'm enrolled in a graduate level course entitled "Seminar on Literature for Youth Informational Reading & Nonfiction Focus." I will be posting non-fiction book blogs here this semester. Stay tuned for more!
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