TWO ANIMAL BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS

A new book by two of my favorite Colorado authors? I'm definitely in!

MY FIRST DAY by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page is a collection of interesting facts about how more than 20 animals spend their first day. The Darwin Frog spends its first days inside a special pouch in the father's throat. The wood duck jumps out of its nest in a tree, falls a long way, then paddles after its mother. A baby sea otter dozes on its mama's belly while she floats in the waves. A california sea lion calls back and forth to its mama until she and the mama can recognize each other's voices and she won't get lost. A Mexican free tailed bat's mother recognizes its call and scent from millions other bats. The baby manatee's mama lifts it to the surface for its first breath, but within an hour it's swimming and breathing on its own.

Of course, the reader falls in love with Jenkins signature collage illustrations. Three pages of endnotes have tiny thumbnails and five or six more facts about each animal.

Thinking this would be a perfect sibling gift for a family with a new baby!

And then another favorite author/illustrator, has a gorgeous new book for the just-beginning-to-actually-read-the actual text set. WHAT AM I? WHERE AM I? is a riddle book. Each section of the book begins with a circular picture of part of an animal and the question, "What am I?" The reader makes a guess, then turns the page to see a two-page spread of the full animal, with the text, "I am a ________. Where am I?"  The reader turns the page again and sees, "I am in a ________."

A great nonfiction text for beginning readers. Classic detailed, watercolor Lewin illustrations. Great introduction to habitat vocabulary (grassland, tundra, forest). Another sure winner!

FROG SONG

FROG SONG is a magical, musical, melodic, tribute to frogs.

"Frogs have a song for trees, bogs, burrows, and logs. When frogs have enough moisture to keep gooey eggs, squirmy tadpoles, and hoppity adults from drying out they can sing almost anywhere. CROAK! RIBBIT! BZZT! PLONK! BRACK! THRUM-RUM!"

After that introduction, each two page spread focuses on a different and unusual frog from all over the world.

"In Chile, the Darwin's frog sings in the beech forest. Chirp-Chweet! The male guards 30 eggs in the damp leaves for three weeks. When the tadpoles wiggle, he scoops them into his mouth. SLURP! They slither into his vocal sacs, where he keeps them safe and moist for seven weeks. Then he gives a big yawn and little froglets pop out. "

I could see kids poring over this book with an atlas or globe right beside them.

I'm not even sure where to begin to talk  about Gennady Spirin's illustrations. They are so lifelike and detailed you almost feel like you are looking at photographs. I wonder if Spiring might do illustrations for scientific journals. And I'm not at all surprised to have seen this book on more than one Mock Caldecott list. Think it's definitely a contender.

A two page spread in the back gives a photo, range, size, and a quick fact about each frog. Another page describes "Frogs in Trouble."

FROG SONG could be used in a unit on animals, or adaptation, or protecting the earth. It could be used in a nonfiction study of  text structure. Or in writing for voice.

Or it could simply be read and reread and enjoyed, because it's wonderful!

THREE BOOKS ABOUT BASEBALL

I know it's not baseball season, but  I have three baseball books at the top of my CYBILS stack today, so baseball it is. The first, BARBED WIRE BASEBALL, is about the Japanese Interment Camps during World War Two, so it kind of fits with Veteran's Day, right?

Kenichi "Zeni" Zenimura grew up in Hawaii. Although his parents wanted him to be a doctor or a lawyer, Zeni knew, from a very early age, that he wanted to play baseball. Zeni grew up, moved to California, and played baseball in the Fresno Nisei and Fresno Twilight Leagues. He even played in exhibition games against greats like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

In 1941, after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Zeni and his family were sent to an interment camp in Gila Bend, Arizona. Circumstances were bleak and it would have been easy to give up. Zeni refused to let his circumstances define him, however, instead choosing to build a baseball field and organizing 32 teams into three divisions, which played every day. 

This book would be terrific in a unit on World War Two, Japanese Americans, or perseverance. It would also be a perfect companion for one of my favorite historical picture books, BASEBALL SAVED US.  End notes include biographical information about Zeni, as well as author and illustrator's notes. 

Another book that could easily be used in a Social Studies class is Jonah Winters' and Terry Widener's YOU NEVER HEARD OF WILLIE MAYS. Mays, as most people know, was one of the first African Americans to play with the New York Giants. Winters' biography captures Mays' childhood in Birmingham, his years in the Negro League, and then his ascent to the majors, where he was Rookie of the Year, and is famous for a play known as "The Catch" in 1954. Embedded ticket-shaped insets throughout the book feature important baseball-related information. The holographic cover will grab kids' attention, but it doesn't begin to compare with Widener's gorgeous illustrations throughout the book. Endnotes include a glossary, and information about where the authors got their statistics.

BECOMING BABE RUTH is a biography by one of my favorite picture book authors and illustrators, Matt Tavares. The story begins in 1902, when George Herman Ruth's father, disgusted with his naughty and delinquent seven-year-old son, sends him to Saint Mary's Industrial School for Boys, There, Babe Ruth meets Father Matthias, a baseball playing priest, who guides and mentors young Ruth, and shapes him into a world class baseball player. This biography captures important details about Ruth's baseball career, but also includes lots of information about his lifelong relationship with Father Matthias and the Saint Mary's industrial school. Author's notes include pitching and hitting statistics.

FOURTH DOWN AND INCHES: CONCUSSIONS AND FOOTBALL'S MAKE OR BREAK MOMENT

 My boys love, love, love them some football.

I love watching them and love the joy that it brings them. At the same time, football scares me a lot.

I try hard to be philosophical- football keeps them busy and out of trouble,  they could get hurt walking across the street, if they die they will at least die doing something that they love.

And it's still really hard to watch, knowing the potential for injuries.

I have to tell you that my fears weren't lessened any by reading FOURTH DOWN AND INCHES: CONCUSSIONS AND FOOTBALL'S MAKE-OR-BREAK MOMENT.  This middle grade chapter book is chock full of information about concussions, and it's so, so scary to me as a mom. Author Carla Killough McClafferty has compiled a whooooole bunch of information, from a variety of sources, including doctors and professional football players, and most of it is pretty darn scary. Did you know, for instance, that a starter who plays in both high school and college will receive over 8000 hits during those 8 years? That repeated hits can lead to an irreversible brain condition called Chronic Traumatic Encephaolopathy? Or that retired NFL players are four times more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's or ALS than people in the general population? Or that the the second highest number of concussions occur in girls' soccer and wrestling is third???

I know FOURTH DOWN AND INCHES would not cause my football-loving guys to stop playing.  At the same time, maybe it would encourage them to be a little more careful, a little less likely to rush back onto the field after getting their "bells rung?" At least it would make them more aware of the possible long-term effects. This is definitely a book that I'd love to see in every middle and high school classroom!

And I know what book I'm giving my boys for Christmas!