This is the last week to register for Research for Reading Month (ReFoReMo). It’s your chance to spend the month diving into great picture book mentor texts and see how they polish your own writing. I’m excited for it! Details at
This inspiring book tells the story of how an eighteenth century slave used the legal system to gain freedom for herself and many others. The narrative uses the word “owned” in many different contexts to explore the ideas of freedom and slavery: we read about people owning property, owning slaves, […]
Too bad I didn’t read this book until after President’s Day. For one thing, in it, the President of the United States Never. Wears. Clothes. Not once. The story is a tall tale, slightly reminiscent of King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub, but I was impressed by all the good nonfiction research […]
Maps! Great set of nonfiction picture books. I especially love the suggestions of more books by the same authors. My reading list just grew! Some nonfiction titles are in there. Just in time for President’s Day Nonfiction for preschoolers (and a website packed with fun activities besides!) And teachers who know fourth graders are definitely not too […]
In this video about Ivan The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla , Katherine Applegate talks about why she wrote a nonfiction picture book version of her Newbery-winning novel. This is my original post about the book, where I wonder about that very thing.
Every carnival has one now, but the first Ferris Wheel was an engineering marvel. Barbara Lowell tells the story of its invention in a straightforward way: George Ferris was an engineer who had big ideas. he turned his big ideas into bridges made of steel. Bridges that crossed high over rivers. Bridges that were strong […]
I was fascinated by the structure of this story. The first half of the book seems to be a natural history of peregrine falcons. We see a pair return to their nest, watch the male display for the female, and see them hunt. We see the mother lay a clutch of eggs. Then, suddenly, there […]
The story of Nikola Tesla’s life told here is pretty engrossing and the illustrations are good, but the back matter is fantastic! There’s an essay showing ways Tesla was ahead of his time, a bit about the rivalry between Edison and Tesla, and “Scientific Notes” giving scientific explanations for concepts mentioned in the book. All […]
“Every September the great white sharks return to San Francisco. Their hunting grounds, the Farallon Islands, are just thirty miles from the city. While their 800,000 human neighbors dine on steak, salad, and sandwiches, the white sharks hunt for their favorite meal.” This opening catapults us into the hunt. And what are those great white […]