Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
The nonfiction picture book Rooting for Plants by Janice N. Harrington and illustrated by Theodore Taylor III (Calkins Creek, August 2023) tells the story of, as the subtitle states, “The Unstoppable Charles S. Parker, Black Botanist and Collector.” This unknown-to-me Black scientist provided many insights into plants and fungi over the course of his lifetime,
The Girl Who Heard the Music by Marni Fogelson and Mahani Teave, illustrated by Maria Alvarez Miguens (Sourcebooks Explore, April 2023) tells the true story of Mahani Teave, who grew up to be a fantastic world-traveling pianist, only to return to her home island to see the mountains of trash remaining from the tourists. It
We’re entering an era where the beginning of COVID-19 is actually a part of history, which feels incredibly weird to me. Nevertheless, it’s clear that the world’s success in overcoming the dangerous beginning stages of the virus was in motion long before the virus showed up. In Never Give Up by Debbie Dadey, illustrated by
The middle-grade volume Native Americans in History by Jimmy Beason (Rockridge Press, 2021) shares the powerful stories of Native American leaders, artists, activists and athletes from history and today. The ninety-page volume is easily readable and nicely formatted for either reference or a straight readthrough. The fifteen people discussed receive about 5 pages of text
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Couldn’t Drive? by Dan Gutman (Norton Young Readers, 2022) is a part of the Wait! What? series by the creator of the popular My Weird School series (and a number of other fun middle-grade books). In this kid-friendly middle-grade biography, two kids, named appropriately Paige and Turner, teach the reader all about
Breaking Through the Clouds: The Sometimes Turbulent Life of Meteorologist Joanne Simpson by Sandra Nickel, illustrated by Helena Perez Garcia (Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2022) teaches readers about an unknown young woman who went into a unique STEM field in the mid-1900s, this time the study of meteorology. Her interest in clouds began even
For the Right to Learn by Rebecca Langston-George (Capstone, September 2015) is a picture book biography of Malala Yousafzai that gives younger readers a background of just what she was able to accomplish. I’ve said before that her story is inspiring, and I think this book did a great job of also making it accessible to young
Martin and Mahalia: His Words, Her Song by Andrea Davis Pinkney and illustrated by Brian Pinkney (Little, Brown, August 2013) is a poetic biography of the two influential civil rights individuals who together shared a message during the March on Washington in 1963. Brian Pinkney’s illustrations are sweeping and colorful, bringing the reader in to
One series I’ve been reading over the past two months are books from the Childhood of Famous Americans series. I found them to be a mixed series. Some of the books are fabulous, while others are a slog. For the most part, each book in the Childhood of Famous Americans series has 15 chapters. The
I am falling in love with biographies for young adults. I love how in less than 300 pages, I get a (partial) picture of some historical figures I’ve always wanted to study, but that I’ve never studied because of lack of time to delve in a full-length biography for adults. Charles and Emma: The Darwins’
I wonder if my recent news about my upcoming arrival prompted me to notice this book on the New Books shelf. Possibly. Baby Monkey is a GIRL! and I’m delighted and excited that Raisin will have a little sister. At any rate, when I saw the biography of the two foremost proponents of women’s rights
In honor of yesterday’s American Independence Day holiday, I bring you a light-hearted collection of anecdotes and facts about the United States Presidents. At just over 100 pages and geared toward young readers, it’s just the right length for adult or child alike who is looking for brief sketches of each one of the presidents
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