Tuesday, March 11, 2014

New nonfiction for children


The year 2013 saw the release of several great children's books, including a handful selected for the 2014 Great Lakes Great Books list, recently released by the Michigan Reading Association. These two are favorites:

He didn’t speak until he was three. He was a disruption to his class. And he didn’t like to wear socks with his shoes. Read about how one boy's curiosity changed science forever in On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne. This endearing story chronicles the life of the most famed scientist of the 20th century in a fresh and fun way. The light colored backgrounds reinforce Einstein as the creator of the theory of relativity, but offer text and a story young readers can relate to. Einstein was simply a man who asked questions, again and again, dreaming about the possibilities of the universe. What child doesn’t do the same?

All aboard! “Clang-Clang! Clang-Clang! Hissssssss. Huff, huff, huff!” Jump
on the iron horse for an adventure.  Winner of the 2014 Caldecott Award, Locomotive by Brian Floca offers stunning illustrations of a family moving cross country from Omaha, Nebraska to Sacramento, California on a steam locomotive. Hear the sounds, smell the smells as Floca paints the plains, deserts and mountains of the U.S. interior with his words and drawings. Chocked full of facts on the mode of transportation that connected the country for the first time, this non-fiction book will appeal to train aficionados and all audiences that enjoy a good trip.

~Jeni

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