Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
As with many of the Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out series books, Franklyn M. Branley’s Down Comes the Rain, illustrated by James Graham Hale (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Stage 2, Harper Collins, 1963/1997), interests the child reader by giving examples of simple things for children to do and try throughout. For example, it suggests activities such as dipping one’s fingers in water,
Did a Dinosaur Drink This Water? by Robert D. Wells (Albert Whitman & Company, 2006) discusses water in all of its forms, connecting the water dinosaurs drank to the water that brings us nutrients. Using the need for water for everything on Earth (from plants to animals to ourselves), he captures the essence of the
I did not know the large variety of living things that live in the Alaska tundra near glaciers until I read Who Lives Near a Glacier?: Alaska Animals in the Wild by Susi Gregg Fowler (Little Bigfoot, 2022). Gorgeous up-close paintings and child-friendly poetry capture this animal variety, from dragonflies to seals to ice worms.
The first line of All the Water in the World by George Ella Lyon and Katherine Tillotson (Atheneum for Young Readers, 2011) is so classic I find myself thinking about it, long after I finish reading this early introduction to the water cycle: “All the water in the world is all the water in the
I love retellings of traditional stories because I can often recognize familiar characters and storylines, but sometimes these stereotypes from our childhood are drastically turned on their heads. This is the case in Red: The (Fairly) True Tale of Red Riding Hood, by Liesl Shurtliff (Yearling, 2017). While we think we know the story of
My daughter studied Medieval and early modern history recently, and then last year my kindergartner and I studied places around the world. I so enjoy finding amazing picture books about the things we’re learning about, so I really enjoyed finding the historical fiction picture book Therese Makes a Tapestry by Alexandra S.D. Hinrichs, illustrated by
I love the unique style of Tomie dePaola, and I was so sad to hear that this iconic children’s illustrator passed away this year. I read Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie dePaola (Holiday House, 1992) two years when my daughter and I were learning Medieval history. In this biographic picture book, dePaola writes
This Raindrop Has a Billion Stories to Tell by Linda Ragsdale, illustrated by Srimalie Bassani (Flowerpot Press, 2020). As the title indicates, This Raindrop covers the maybes of a raindrop’s history. The text and illustrations capture just a part of this raindrop’s range, including the fur of a mammoth to the end of a paddle.
The Snowflake: A Water Cycle Story by Neil Waldman (Millbrook Press, 2003). Over the course of a year, a single snowflake embarks on a unique journey, and Waldman’s book gives its story month-by-month. Through the journey, readers learn about water sinking into the Earth, water emerging in a mountain spring, water used for irrigation pipes,
When Cloud Became a Cloud by Rob Hodgson (Rise X Penguin Workshop, 2021). With very short chapters and simple-to-read text, Hodgson’s masterpiece about the water cycle manages to teach as well as entertain. It reads like a simple story, and even the illustrations seem friendly and childlike. Yet in his sparse text and deceptively simple
In Let’s Investigate with Nate: The Water Cycle by Nate Bell, illustrated by Wes Hargis (HarperCollins, 2017), the science museum doesn’t open until 10, but four lucky children get to come early and explore with the scientist Nate. Told through word bubbles, typed science journal pages, explanatory text, and miscellaneous labels on illustrations, the story
Follow the Water from Brook to Ocean by Arthur Dorros (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out, Stage 2, HarperCollins Children’s Books, 1991) emphasizes the collection and movement of water. It names and explains underground water systems, springs, brooks, rivers, and water’s power to carve through rocks to create canyons. Water’s interaction with Earth creates waterfalls, causes floods, and is dammed
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