Question of the Day: Nonfiction for Kids

Today I am fishing for book recommendations.  We have a nice collection of fictional picture books for Pearl and Carrie. Our collection leans toward imaginary adventures and talking animals.  We'd like to add some books for the summer that are either nonfiction or simply more realistic stories.  But they should be beautiful and well written, of course!

Pearl (age 3) likes dinosaurs, cars, trains, storytelling, and nature.  Carrie (age 1.5)  likes babies, animals, and life-skills such as cooking, cleaning, getting dressed, and gardening.

Three books that we already own that illustrate what I have in mind might be Flotsam by David Wiesner or Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert or The Paperboy by Dav Pilkey.  If you have suggestions for our summer reading list, please let us know.

Comments

[eliaday]

One book we had a lot of fun reading was Lakas and the Makibaka Hotel which is based on the real-life story of a community resisting gentrification in San Francisco.

http://www.amazon.com/Lakas-Makibaka-Hotel-Si-ang/dp/0892392134/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/105-1910301-0624401?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180537123&sr=8-2

And a constant favorite of ours is Bee-bim Bop!" if you're looking for a fun cooking-related book.

http://www.amazon.com/Bee-bim-Bop-Linda-Sue-Park/dp/0618265112/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-1910301-0624401?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180537234&sr=1-1

I always struggle with finding diversity in the representation of families in books... how do you deal with this?

[Sarah]

I highly reccomend the books about Owen and Mzee, non-fiction animal friends extraordinaire:

http://www.womenandchildrenfirst.com/NASApp/store/Search;jsessionid=abcJcAVYd7lyrg9tfzElr

(sorry for the lack of real official linking).

The writing isn't fantastic, but the story is a) true and b) amazing. They are about an orphaned baby hippo who was befriended by an old tortoise, even though reptiles are not supposed to be biologically able to make friends. I'm not even kidding. The first time I read one I got all emotional and just felt warmly towards all the world.

[mandm]

Try almost anything written and/or illustrated by Steve Jenkins for Pearl. Start with something like Prehistoric Actual Size, then the others like Actual Size, What Do You Do with a Tail Like This, and more. I great one he illustrated is called Birdsongs. I forget the author on that, but use Amazon or the library search engine with that title and Jenkins - you'll find it. Right now we're heavily into insects and ocean life. M's favorite heavy rotation is one on the life cycle of the ladybug, withe beautiful illustrations. That one isn't listed on his reading list, but I think some of the Jenkins books are.

Happy hunting and share the good things you find!

Mel

[mandm]

Me again! I just found this link which highlights some of the Jenkins books. They're all excellent and if you like those Lois Ehlert illustration, you'll likely find these appealing, as well.

http://www.childrenslit.com/f_stevejenkins.html

Mel

[Dana]

Eric Carle's A House for Hermit Crab might fit the bill. It's technically fiction, told from the perspective of said crab, but it's really meant to convey true facts about the crab's life--not over-anthropomorphized as with some books. The illustrations, too, are among his best, IMHO.

[cake]

one that i bet carrie would like is _Busy Penguins_
http://www.amazon.com/Busy-Penguins-John-Schindel/dp/1582460167/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-3900434-2708848?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180629388&sr=1-1
it is a board book of photographs of penguins doing various things. cosmo likes it.
this other one may still be a bit old for even pearl, but i love it so much, i wanted to share it. it is called _Chicken Sunday_
http://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Sunday-Patricia-Polacco/dp/0698116151
and it is a true story from the author's life. it is beautifully illustrated, and the story makes me cry every time i read it.

[miah]

i saw this book at somebody's house and keep meaning to get soemtime. very cool.

http://www.kanemiller.com/book.asp?sku=279 (called, In Front of the Ant)

[Heather]

I just thought of one I loved as a kid and i remember being coveted at the library: The Jolly Postman which has letters a postman delivers to the three bears from goldilocks etc. It's more for Pearl's age probably but definitely very cute.

http://www.amazon.com/Jolly-Postman-Allan-Ahlberg/dp/0316126446

[Clare]

Hi

We loved Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson (Author) and Axel Schaffer (Illus) and Diary of a Wombat by Julia French when Thomas was 3 and 4 at our place.

[SeaBird]

So dangerous to ask me for book recommendations :) Here are a few off the boys' bookshelves: The Life Cycles series (beans, potatoes, oak trees, tulips) by Melanie Mitchell; the What's Inside series (trucks, boats, insects, planes, my body, etc.); The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Barbara Kerley, and the I Spy series (especially Treasure Hunt).

[Library Lady]

Try books by Nancy Tafuri for your 1 1/2 year old--things like "Have You Seen My Duckling?" and "Who's Counting?" Beautifully realistic looking animals, very simple stories. Toddlers love them.

Jim Arnosky is another one to check for. He does books such as "Raccoons and Ripe Corn" and "Come Out Muskrats", which have wonderful naturalistic watercolors and simple fact based stories. He also does the "Crinkleroot" series such as "Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Trees", which are a little bit older in their reading level, but are still in your older one's range. Have fun!