Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes by Nicola Davies

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This book about-yes, microbes- was so beautiful and charming! I didn't think that noun and those adjectives would ever be placed side by side, but Nicola Davies book, Tiny Creatures, is just as fun to look at as informational to read. This non-fiction storybook is playful and colorful, and quite factual with a little bit of witticism thrown in. That's a darn fine combination for a topic that is of the science-y nature (and I have to admit, not my favorite topic to read about). My kids loved this book, and wanted me to read it multiple times. 

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I do not have the best memory for elementary science, but I am a big enthusiast of well-illustrated and concise children's books on the topic, and this book is just that. The pictures are quite pleasant and are deifnitely cut from a Victorian-yet-folksy stone, which brings out bright yet somewhat muted or matte colors, without drawing away from the well done writing. 

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Of course the best part about sharing this book with the kids was the learning, of which this picture and words share some of what amazed them--that microbes are on our food, in our stomachs, and in our water all the time. A beautiful book for the science-loving child in your life, and enjoyable for adults, as well. Now, I need to look up what other books this author and also the illustrator, Emily Sutton, have done and put them on hold lickety-split!

Summer Birds The Butterflies of Maria Merian

I loved this picture book that we found at the library, Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian by Margarita Engle. It is a true story, a picturebook biography about a woman who lived centuries ago and was one of the first true naturalists. She discovered that caterpillars turn into butterflies, as it was common belief at the time that butterflies and caterpillars were two separate types of insects.

The pictures are stunning, and have that a botany-for-kids feel (like if these posters were made for kids), and perfectly align with the narrative. I had never heard of Maria Merien before but when looking her up on Wikipedia, I found that she illustrated her first botany book at age 28; quite impressive for the 17th century and being female.

This is a wonderful companion book for science and nature lovers, studies in female scientists and game-changers, and just an all-around beautiful picture book. I see a butterfly project in your future!

Usborne's Big Book of Papercraft!

It's no surprise I love Usborne books (I even sold them for a time!), and this is one of the DIY books that they are so well known for. The Big Book of Papercraft is a book I found for Ani at the library. She loves doing any sort of craft, and Usborne's DIY books are so easy for quite a range of ages. There are pictures for each step, detailed notes for the readers, and a great example on each two page spread to give you an idea.

Ani looked through the entire book a few times before comitting to a few she really wanted to make. I didn't necessarily take photos of all of those, I took photos of some of the ones *I* would want to do. The crafts are really quite varied in this book, and I can really see this book being a part of an art library for many ages and stages for a family. Those types of books make great gifts. Wink!

A few of the projects involve weaving of some sort, and even give instruction for many different styles of weaving, as you can see above. I especially love the zig-zag look on the right-hand side, halfway down the page. I've never seen that before in a papercraft book!

This project is of course, of a cityscape, but it's also a project that could be so multifaceted, and all just with tearing paper to different shapes and sizes, and using your imagination to 'fill in the blanks'. You could easily do this project with any landscape, and fill in 'the missing pieces' of the picture. It's so open-ended. I also see this project as being really fun to make super-sized, and creating puppets (on a popsicle stick or wooden spoon?) and having a puppet show.

This craft is of a collage. It's hard to see by the photos, but aside from paper, there are all sorts of goodies in this collage including googly eyes, fur, beads, glue, string, feathers, etc. I see this project as a great first step in having kids create their own cards for family members and friends. Wouldn't this giraffe scene be fun on the front cover of a hand-written note? I loved collage as a kid and so maybe I'm a bit biased, but the college projects in this book are so well done, and really give great instructions for more if the child is older and wants to get a bit more detailed. 

Ani of course loving her craft time, this time focusing on weaving through a star of David. We renewed this book from the library for another three weeks, so I know we'll have another craft project or two to complete before we have to give it back.  The options really are endless with this DIY book and just give the child a place to start. Check it out!

The Man With the Violin by Kathy Stinson and Dusan Petricic

Perhaps some of you might remember when a very famous violinist participated in a social study for the Washington Post? Joshua Bell, one of the best violinists in the world performed one of the hardest violin pieces ever in a DC transit system entryway for a day, and barely anyone stopped to listen, except a handful of people. Most of them were kids! This picture book is a retelling of that story. 

A very short youtube clip can be seen HERE of Bell and his violin piece. Something fun to do after you read The Man With the Violin by Kathy Stinson and Dusan Petricic would be to listen to the piece and see how the illustrator interpreted the scratchy scales and melodramatic, flowing parts of the song. The illustrations caught my eye as I was browsing through this book at the library, and I didn't even know it was a true story until we read it in full.

I remember reading about this years ago in the news, and thought what a fun tribute to the sweet children who wanted to listen to this beautiful art coming from Bell's bow. The theme being that children, although can not articulately tell high art from play doh, they do know when art is inspiring them to keep looking, keep listening, or keep 'figuring'. This is a great title and one I think can be used well in the class or at home for exploring how art makes more art!

The Blessing Cup by Patricia Polacco

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Happy Thanksgiving to our American readers! Today, instead of sharing a story about the Pilgrims, Native North Americans, or the very first Thanksgiving, I wanted to review a story that is all about gratitude. That's what this lovely holiday celebrates--thankfulness. The Blessing Cup by Patricia Polacco is the perfect picture book in the gratitude department. 

This book is the true story of the author's grandma Anna, when she was a little girl living in a Jewish community in Russia. Her family is content; money is tight but they have each other, and they have their community. Anna's mother's prized possession is a beautiful tea set that is worth a small fortune, given to her as a wedding gift. A prayerful tradition of thankfulness to God, and to each other for their simple life is offered up each night when the family shares tea together. 

When the Jews are expelled from Russia, Anna and her family must find refuge elsewhere, her father becomes sick. They find a doctor who is kind to them, lets the family stay in his house and nurses the father back to health. That's all I can tell you about this children's picture-book memoir without giving  the ending away. It's a beautiful story, both in illustration with black and white pencil drawings with small wisps of color, and in words.

 This book will give you a heaping dose of gratitude, and perhaps a lump in your throat towards the end. I highly recommend reading The Blessing Cup over Thanksgiving weekend, counting your own blessings, and being with those you love. 

Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg

I don't borrow or review too many board books these days because my kids are getting older. My youngest is 5 1/2 and my oldest just turned 7. If I come across a beautifully illustrated board book that is out-facing on a library bookshelf that piques my interest, I might pick it up, but more than likely, I'll place it back where it was because my kids don't want to read board books anymore. 

I saw Beautiful Oops! on the shelf, and I quickly dumped it in my bag, hoping I wasn't dashing a two-year-old's dreams by snatching it away before the colors grabbed their attention. This book is so fetching, that the librarian who was standing nearby the self-checkout we use, that she couldn't help but comment on how fun this book was, and how she had to stop what she was doing earlier in the week to go through it herself before returning to work. 

That is the mark of a wonderful book!

Saltzberg has created a little board book big on texture and surprise. Inside almost every two-page spread, he uses texture or a technique (ex. mixed media typography) to teach children that spots, stains, or 'oops!'(es) can start as messes, and end up as art. Each page has a clever surprise within it including rips, folds, holes, flaps, and crumpled paper. My daughter, who still loves her "That's Not My..." Usborne touchy-feely series baby books, loves this book. She is constantly going through Beautiful Oops! Here's a board book for all ages. View the entire book with vocals on youtube HERE. 

Queen Victoria's Bathing Machine by Gloria Whelan

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With a beautiful cover like this, how can you not pick it up? This book struck me first with the lovely illustration, second by the historical nature of the story. I knew from the title our family was in for  a rich lesson, and more than a little humor, as well. This storybook did not disappoint. I loved it.

Queen Victoria's dilemma-- thick petticoats, hot summer temperatures, and traditions of the monarchy-- combines into a playful and educational storyline, written in verse. Children from ages 3-12 could really enjoy this story, which is hard to achieve in a picture book. Young ones tack onto rhyme and meter, and the older crowd will be fascinated by this true story of invention, and royalty from another time and place. 

The illustrations are done by Nancy Carpenter, and I'm already going to track down all of her other illustrated books, because Bathing Machine is just beautiful. It has a somber and muted palette, with very scritch-scratchy pen drawing with watercolor atop. It truly is modern with Victorian overtones. The illustrations are synced well with the storyline, and captures the playful and inventive spirit of the story.

Learn about the historical bathing machine, created in 1846 by Victoria's husband Prince Albert in the back of the book, see a photograph of the machine, on display in England, and gather info for more study on the websites and further bibliography provided. Truly a crown jewel on the shelf! 

Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade by Melissa Sweet

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I often get book recommendations on my facebook page, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to find another great children's book at my local library. This recommendation, Balloons Over Broadway, is from our very own Maria. She knows my son loves and is drawn to anything 'mechanical' in nature, and this book captured his attention and imagination. Thanks, Maria! This book did not disappoint. 

I knew I'd love this book from the cover because true-stories always inspire me, and there aren't that many by way of children's titles. When I opened up the hard cover, I was immediately in love. Ever since I was a kid I have had a love with multimedia illustrations. This book is chock-full of them, and the artwork meshes wonderfully with the subject matter. I hope the artist, Melissa Sweet, gets another Caldecott Honor or Medal for this brilliant piece of work. 

Balloons Over Broadway is the true story of a puppeteer named Tony Sarg who created simple machines to finish chores, marionettes to give children and adults alike joy and wonder, and finally, puppets with mechanical underbellies including cogs, gears, and pulleys. He became well known for his artistry and was given an opportunity of a lifetime: to create a "Wondertown" for Macy's department store in New York City. The book doesn't mention if the infamous Macy's Christmas window displays were already in demand, or if Sarg was the first creator of the magical scenes, but his Wondertown was decked out with puppets and storybook characters that mechanically moved. 

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To let Sweet tell us the story in her own words, "[But] Macy's had an even bigger job in store for Tony. Many of the people working at Macy's were immigrants, and as the holidays approached, they missed their own holiday traditions of music and dancing in the streets. Macy's agreed to put on a parade for their employees, and they hired Tony to help." 

The story continues of Tony's trial and error with balloon size and material, filler, and mechanical workings, finally settling on the floats we know today in the annual Macy's Parade! Within the story are photographs of metal tools, toys, fabric scraps, buttons; illustrations on graph paper as Tony worked out the math, puppet stills, (like above), and bits and bops that make books like this so darn interesting to look through. Well done, Ms. Sweet. Balloons Over Broadway is simply fantastic.

Dancers of the World by Aurelia Hardy

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All of us parents and caregivers have world views we'd like to pass on to the children in our lives, and books are a wonderful way to bridge the gap. One I'd like to pass along to my own kids is a global view of cultures--there are so many places I'd love to travel, show, and share alongside my children. People of the world and their customs are something I love to learn about myself; celebrate, and honor when the opportunity arises. This sturdy book, that I first picked up for my ballet-loving daughter, has truly been shared between her and I. 

Dancers of the World by Aurelia Hardy is a large, hardcover book with beautiful illustrations, and flaps that depict dancers from five different continents, and it has done a wonderful job of showing a global view of something my daughter is herself interested in. We've read about one dancer per day, and that has been a great introduction to the specific type of dance, and the country of origin. 

This book has been labeled non-fiction because although each dancing girl has a small storyline, there is no plot, and the purpose is to learn about different dances all over the world. I particularly love the illustrations because although they show the girls themselves as a bit too barbie-esque for my taste, they truly infer - by color palette, tone, and the use of the flaps - what the country, climate, and custom each dancer is a part of. 

I hope this author and illustrator team up again for a series in this cultural vein. This book is a great example of 'secret learning', when it's so fun to engage the topic, kids don't even know they're learning. My daughter has not forgot to bring it to me every day for another section to read, and has taken it to bed with her almost every evening since it's been in our home. 

For the child who loves to move their body, this book is worth exploring and perhaps investigating further-with music selections, you tube videos, and an in-home dance party! 

The Inside Outside Book of Libraries by Roxie Munro

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It should be no secret that voracious readers love their local library. This book, The Inside-Outside Book of Libraries by Roxie Munro shows the child different libraries around the United States. This non-fiction, picture book is a collection of various types of libraries, what state and city they are in, and gives a description of why that library is a necessity to its patrons. 

I really enjoyed reading this to my children. I learned a lot about a few of the libraries I'd never heard of before, including the Andrew Heiskell Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, which is in New York City. This spread included a passage in brail, which my children enjoyed learning about.  

I also loved seeing a tool library (yes, you read that right!) called The Tool Lending Library in California. My husband and I had thought of this idea a few years ago and wanted it to be a home/garden co-op, but other than a few members, it never got off the ground. I now know there are actually these types of places in existence, where you can borrow any type of tool for 3 days before returning it. 

The illustrations in this book, by Julie Cummins, are detailed and muted in color. There are two two-page spreads describing and showing each library. The first spread is about the outside of the library, while the second is what the library looks like on the inside (hence the title). As an avid library enthusiast, I am a fan of any kind of library: small and specialized or large and unique. I would happily recommend this book to others, especially in mid-April, when National Library Week is celebrated. Happy reading!

Summer Non-Fiction Reading: Dianna Hutts Aston & Sylvia Long series

I had to put all of these on hold. I couldn't even wait a few weeks in between each, I had to see all of them within the same week or two time period so I could soak up the beauty found in each page of Sylvia Long's amazing watercolor creations, and Dianna Hutts Aston's written word series of nonfiction picture books. I first heard about the newest of the four, A Rock is Lively (see below), that came out late August last year from the Imagine Childhood blog. The blog is a favorite of mine that has beautiful photos of 'nature walks' all around the world, gorgeously curated book lists for little ones, and their pride--the toy store Imagine Childhood, that sells quality toys, tools, books, and materials for children to truly create a love of nature and the wild outdoors. 

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A Rock is Lively appeared on one of their book lists and I had to find that book at the library. The front cover illustrations alone were so intriguing that when I realized there were others like it, I right away told my co-founder Maria on her facebook page! I knew she'd also love to share these with her daughter. Right away I put all of them on my library hold list and went through each one intentionally with my kids. The illustrations are bar none by Sylvia Long. There are few books where all in the series are as meticulously illustrated, with added interesting layouts and factual snippets falling all across the page fluidly by Aston.

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Each of these books are put together with a non-fiction topic in which scientific and aesthetic quality is discovered throughout the pages. At the beginning and end of each book, where the usual 'blank page' is, there are illustrations of 'before' and 'after', if it applies. For example, in A Butterfly is Patient, the before picture is filled with little colorful caterpillars of every size, shape, and name, and the after, of course, being the same as butterflies. Many of the illustrated butterflies I have never even heard of nor seen, and one just has to marvel at the design and beauty on each one. 

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These four books hold a great quality found in children's books--inspiration. I can see many, many projects blossom from these pages, including side-walk chalk or watercolor activities, nature notebooks and field guides drawn up from children, one's own caterpillar-chrysalis-butterfly keeping project, photography snapping, and documentary watching. As a homeschooler, I am often on the lookout for books that provide just that- a starting point to where the child's interest can spurt and fizzle outward into a long, continuous learning experience or project. These beautiful books are just that!