It’s All True! Series by High Noon Books

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NF PB 2014

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

It's All True!

About the Series:  These 15 books focus on grades 4 through 8 content but are focused on students with lower reading levels. They contain high-interest nonfiction topics like Earth and Space, Living Things, History, Technology, and Careers, and highlight content areas outside of English/language arts.

Ricki’s Review and Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: As a former high school teacher, I know the struggle to match kids with great books. Oftentimes, struggling readers cannot find books that match their reading abilities and interests. For instance, a student may find books with grade-level topics to be interesting, but the texts are simply too challenging. This series is great because the books contain middle school topics but are written at lower elementary school reading levels. They are carefully crafted with attention to vocabulary and sentence structure to support readers.

I enjoyed We Made It by Lisa Benjamin. It was composed of five chapters about manmade structures: the International Space Station, the Great Pyramid, the Lincoln Cathedral, Skyscrapers, the Three Gorges Dam, and the Eden Project. I learned a lot, and I suspect future engineers will enjoy learning about these structures. Teachers could explore interdisciplinary connections by integrating other content areas, like science and social studies. High Noon Books rates this book one star, which means it is designed to be at a first grade reading level.

Robots by Allison Lassieur was at a higher reading level, ranked grade three (three stars) by High Noon Books. I immediately noticed a difference from We Made It. While both books are the same number of pages, the sentences in Robots were closer together, and the book was longer. Additionally, the book contained complex sentence structures. Robots explores a lot of interesting aspects about…you guessed it, robots! Dancing robots, robots that keep us safe, firefighting robots, ancient robots, and robots of the future are just a few of the topics of this text. I am saving this book because if my son enjoys robotics when he is a bit older, he will definitely love this overview. I think teachers could have a guest speaker come in and discuss real-life applications of robots. Or, students could research robots that are used in their community.

Kellee’s Review and Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: I am the reading coach at my school and have worked with struggling readers for for the last few years. One of the struggles that struggling readers have, as Ricki stated, is finding a book that is at their interest level but also at their reading level. It’s All True! is trying to remedy that by having informational nonfiction texts at a middle grade interest level, but at a reading level that these students can reach. It reminds me of fiction series like Bluford, but with specific purposes for instruction. I could see these texts being used in a small group setting when teachers differentiating for their students.

I read two different books in the “Living Things” series: This is Huge by Lisa Benjamin (1 star) and Healers and Killers by Allison Lassieur (3 stars). Both included very specific information about the topics they were focusing on: This is Huge was about large animals over time; Healers and Killers was about plants and animals that can kill or heal us. The information in both seemed to be on grade level (middle school); however, the “three star” book had more text per page, tougher vocabulary, and more complex sentence structures.

Teacher Materials for Each Level: 

http://www.highnoonbooks.com/pdfs/Its_All_True_TG_Level1_v4.pdf
http://www.highnoonbooks.com/pdfs/Its_All_True_TG_Level2_v4.pdf
http://www.highnoonbooks.com/pdfs/ItsAllTrueTGLevel3_V5c.pdf

More Information

http://www.HighNoonBooks.com
http://www.highnoonbooks.com/HNB/realnonfiction-hnb.tpl

Sample Chapter: 

Weird Science, Chapter One
(2 star text)

Read This If You Love: How it Works series by various, Informational nonfiction by Jen Green, Informational nonfiction by Seymour Simon

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**Thank you to Steve at High Noon Books for providing these books for review**

Blog Tour, Review, and Author Q&A!: Bramble and Maggie Series by Jessie Haas

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Bramble and Maggie: Horse Meets Girl
Published March 27th, 2012 by Candlewick Press
Bramble and Maggie: Give and Take
Published April 23, 2013 by Candlewick Press
Bramble and Maggie: Spooky Season
Published August 12th, 2014 by Candlewick Press
Author: Jessie Haas
Illustrator: Alison Friend

Bramble and Maggie: Horse Meets Girl Goodreads Summary: Come along for a spirited ride as Bramble – a horse with interesting “little ways”- and her devoted girl, Maggie, make their debut in this inviting early reader.

Maggie wants a pony to ride and take care of, and to prepare she’s been reading a big book on horse care. Meanwhile, Bramble is bored with giving riding lessons and walking in circles. She’s looking for just the right person to take her away from her routine. Is it a perfect match? Maggie loves Bramble as soon as she sees her, but there are some things Bramble has to be sure of. Will Maggie let Bramble venture into new places? Will she protect Bramble from strange objects in the yard? Will she, most importantly, know when Bramble needs her undivided attention? This charming and funny early reader is an ideal match for young animal lovers and anyone who has ever longed for a friend who truly understands.

Bramble and Maggie: Give and Take Goodreads Summary: Maggie and her mischievous horse, Bramble, are back for another spirited romp through the ins and outs of friendship.

Maggie loves introducing her new horse, Bramble, to the neighborhood, the beach, and the backyard. Bramble has fun too, once she is cajoled into participating by a well-timed carrot or two. But when Maggie has to go to school, Bramble is bored and lonely and gets into some trouble with Mr. Dingle next door. A misbehaving hen and a midnight visitor finally help to turn Bramble into a good neighbor. This charming and funny early reader flows at just the right pace for kids who are learning that others don’t always do exactly what you want, but that friends find a way to give and take.

Bramble and Maggie: Spooky Season Goodreads Summary: Bramble, a persnickety but lovable horse, and Maggie, her patient owner, build an even stronger friendship as they brave the surprises of autumn.

In their third adventure, Bramble and Maggie explore a new season together — fall! Leaves crunch underfoot. Acorns ping off rooftops. It all makes Bramble feel wonderfully spooky. But Bramble’s frisky-pretend-scary gait makes Maggie jumpy, and soon Bramble really is nervous. There are alarming new sights and sounds everywhere, like Mr. Dingle’s scarecrow. When Maggie takes a fall, will she want to get back in the saddle? And when Halloween comes, can Maggie trust Bramble to brave the tricks and lead them both safely to the treats?

Kellee’s Review: There is a very specific time in a kid’s life where they are ready to begin reading longer books, but not ready to tackle chapter books yet. This is where Bramble and Maggie fits. These early chapter books will are perfect texts to help lead kids to longer chapter books. The work well for their targeted age level in that they never speak down to readers and have excellently paced stories that hold readers’ attention and will help them feel successful.  On top of all this, the Bramble and Maggie stories are just so sweet! I love all the different adventures they go on and the lessons they learn like overcoming fear, conquering loneliness, and gaining responsibility. Readers will adore these books. 

Ricki’s Review: Kellee hit the nail on the head. As I was reading, I thought to myself, “Why didn’t I have these books available to me when I was transitioning to chapter books?” I remember being devastated that my books no longer had pictures in them, and I resisted the longer texts for this reason. This series is engaging, educative, and fun! The words repeat in ways that will help students learn the vocabulary, particularly the more difficult words that relate to horses. Each book delivers a strong message, and the bond between Bramble and Maggie is one which will connect with readers. When I think about these books, I will always remember Maggie dragging her sleeping bag to the stable to sleep beside Bramble. I can’t wait to share these books with my pre-service elementary school teachers. They will have a special place in classrooms.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Readers would be wise to explore how Haas develops theme in these texts. Each individual book has a different theme, and the content beautifully incorporates the messages. These books would be great models for students to learn about implicit versus explicit themes.

Discussion Questions: What lessons has Maggie learned since she has gotten Bramble? What lessons has Bramble learned since he’s met Maggie?; How has Bramble changed since he went to live with Maggie?; In what ways does the author show the bond of friendship throughout the books?

We Flagged: “Bramble lowered her head. Maggie gave her a carrot, and Bramble took it. She let Maggie put on the bridle. This was better. Give and take” (p. 9 of Bramble and Maggie: Give and Take)

Read This If You Loved: The Franklin School Friends series by Claudia Mills, The Pony Mysteries series by Jeanne Betancourt, and The Pony Scout series by Catherine Hapka

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Q & A with Jessie Haas

What inspired you to write this series? What inspired you to write about a horse?

I was inspired by two things in writing the Bramble and Maggie books. First, I had a story rejected by Candlewick, but with a request attached. The editor had girls who loved horses and horse books and had read some of mine and they noticed that they were always checked out of the public library. So Candlewick asked if I would like to write a couple of books for beginning readers.

At the time I had just gotten a new horse, Robin. She has a somewhat prickly personality, which I think inspired Bramble’s name, and the way horses and people mesh with each other was on my mind. Of course, I knew my version of events, but I’m always aware that horses have their own points of view, so the story would need to be told from both Bramble’s and Maggie’s perspectives.

What was it like to work with an illustrator? What does the process look like?

Like most authors, I don’t actually “work with” the illustrator. The editor and I work until we have a solid draft. Then the text is sent to the illustrator and she sends sketches. When the editor and I see them, it becomes obvious where we need to add or drop words (usually drop) to make space on the page. A lot of times, the art is telling the story already, and that makes some of the words unnecessary.

Alison Friend lives in England, so we did have one big change she needed to make in the first book. The wonderful picture at the beginning of Chapter Two, with Maggie and her family in the car, had the steering wheel on the right, as in British cars. I must admit, it took me a few times looking at the pictures to spot that. The pencil sketches are always funny and energetic, but the magic happens when Alison begins to paint, and it is always tremendously exciting to see the finished pages. And I got to see the original art for Spooky Season, which was thrilling. I think Spooky Season is one of the most beautiful books I have ever had published.

How do you envision your texts being taught in classrooms? Do you have any suggestions for our viewers who are teachers?

I’m usually stumped by that question. Now, though, I have a great new curriculum guide (it’s a free download on my website) I love some of the ideas there. Spooky Season, the newest book, explores the theme of fear—how we pretend to be afraid (for fun), how we scare ourselves (for fun), and how we sometimes get really scared—and that’s not fun! Bramble is truly afraid of some Halloween decorations like Mr. Dingle’s scarecrow—until she finds out it’s good to eat

Maggie runs into the situation every horseman faces sooner or later. You fall off, and you know you’re supposed to get right back on, or the fear will grow and you might not be able to. That’s easier said than done, of course. But Bramble takes care of Maggie the way good horses do, and Maggie has the experience that I remember from my own life as my very first time confronting and overcoming fear. These are great discussions to have around Halloween.

For Give and Take, the discussion is more about a truly basic issue in children’s—indeed, everyone’s—lives: power. Bramble feels that no one should be the boss all of the time. There should be some give and take. As well as story sequencing discussions, this is a chance for children to talk about—and draw—a time in their own lives when they learned to share, and give a little.

And Horse Meets Girl has a wonderful activity where children are encouraged to imagine, describe and draw their ideal pet. I also love the idea of Maggie needing a babysitter for Bramble, which could be a springboard for kids writing their own stories. The curriculum guide was created for me by Blue Slip Media, working with an educational consultant who’s also an elementary school teacher, and it’s keyed to Common Core curriculum standards—so it’s educationally sound as well as fun.

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Jessie Haas has always loved horses and has written more than thirty books, most of them about horses, including the first two books ab out Bramble and Maggie. She says, “Horses love pretending to be scared, just like us, and fall is the perfect season for that. Why do they call it fall?” Jessie Haas lives in Vermont with her husband, writer Michael J. Daley; her horse; two cats; a dog; and a hen. For more information, and to download a free curriculum guide, visit her website: http://www.jessiehaas.com/.

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**Thank you to Barbara at Blue Slip Media and Jessie Haas for having us as part of the blog tour!**

Captain Underpants Series by Dav Pilkey

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Captain Underpants series
Author: Dav Pilkey
#1: Adventures of Captain Underpants published September 1st, 1997 by Scholastic, Inc.
#11: Captain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo Toilet 2000 published August 26th, 2014 by Scholastic Inc.

Goodreads Summary #1: Pilkey plays with words and pictures, providing great entertainment. The story is immediately engaging – two fourth-grade boys who write comic books and love to pull pranks find themselves in big trouble. Mean Mr. Krupp, their principal, videotapes George and Harold setting up their stunts and threatens to expose them. The boys’ luck changes when they send for a 3-D Hypno-Ring and hypnotize Krupp, turning him into Captain Underpants, their own superhero creation.

Goodreads Summary #11: When the Incredible Robo-Plunger defeated the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, George and Harold thought their toilet troubles were over. Unfortunately, their porcelain problems were only beginning . . . Just when you thought it was safe to flush . . . The Turbo Toilet 2000 strikes back! The carnivorous commode known for devouring everything in its path has built up a real appetite . . . for REVENGE! Join Captain Underpants for another epic showdown of Wedgie Power vs. Potty Power as our tighty-whitey-wearing superhero GOES TO ELEVEN!

My Review and Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Ever since I started teaching I have had Captain Underpants fans in my classroom. Readers (especially boys though, like all books, it is not exclusive) love these books. When I started teaching intensive reading, my students loved that I read so much but were astonished that I had never read a Captain Underpants book. So, during the summer of 2012, I read the entire series that was out at the time.  And suprsingly, I am happy I did. I enjoyed the books so much, and I found many different ways that I could use in the series in classroom. As I read I not only enjoyed the stories (well most of them; the booger one was quite gross), but I kept notes on different ways each book could be a mentor text.  I know that students already love the books so I would love to be able to use them in the classroom. I think that part of what makes Pilkey’s humor work is that he never talks down to his reader. The humor is intelligent and witty, and he makes sure to have his books be as entertaining as possible to keep the reader’s attention.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Some of my favorite things that are addressed in the series are spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and puns. The spelling is not directly addressed; however, Harold and George misspell a lot of words and it would be good to use to talk about phonics and spelling.  Also, each book begins with an anagram which is great word play.  The grammar is sporadic only showing up in some books, but the vocabulary is in all of them.  Some vocabulary I found was billowing, narratively convenient, fizzled, improbability, jubilant, mock, scurried, and merciless and that is just in book 3! Also the puns in each book are really quite clever (check out p. 34 in #11 and any of the flip-o-ramas to see what I mean). Each book also has some great alliteration (#11, p. 29, 27, 208)- each title alone has alliteration in them. There are also allusions and onomatopoeias!

Additionally, I love the set up of the novels. They are a great mix of novel, graphic novel, comics, and picture books. It is a great transition between picture books and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I especially like the flip-o-ramas. They are unique to the Captain Underpants books and I think it puts a great interactive and kinesthetic feel to the books.

One thing I do not understand is why these books are challenged. Yes, they have some potty humor. Yes, the adults aren’t the best representation of teachers. Yes, it is silly. But they are harmless and actually have some really great qualities to them.

Discussion Questions: In the first Captain Underpants, Harold and George brainstorm a superhero including his name and then create a comic based on their superhero. With a partner, brainstorm a name for a superhero and then complete a story to go along with your superhero. To expand it even more, complete a comic for your superhero.; In #11 novel, time travel plays a large part of in the plot. What event could you go back in time to try to change?; In some of the Captain Underpants books, there are grammar, convention, and spelling mistakes. Why do you think Dav Pilkey makes the choice to use incorrect grammar? What mistakes idd you find?; In #11, Harold and George end up being cloned (kind of). What would you do if there were two of you?

We Flagged (#11): 

Read These If You Loved: Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney, Big Nate series by Lincoln Peirce, Charlie Joe Jackson series by Tommy Greenwald, The Adventures of Ook & Gluk and Super Diaper Baby series by Dav Pilkey, Lunch Lady series by Jarrett Krosoczka, Frankie Pickle series by Eric Wight, Knights of the Lunch Table series by Frank Cammuso 

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The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

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The Most Magnificent Thing
Author: Ashley Spires
Published April 1, 2014 by Kids Can Press

Goodreads Summary: Award-winning author and illustrator Ashley Spires has created a charming picture book about an unnamed girl and her very best friend, who happens to be a dog. The girl has a wonderful idea. “She is going to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing! She knows just how it will look. She knows just how it will work. All she has to do is make it, and she makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!” But making her magnificent thing is anything but easy, and the girl tries and fails, repeatedly. Eventually, the girl gets really, really mad. She is so mad, in fact, that she quits. But after her dog convinces her to take a walk, she comes back to her project with renewed enthusiasm and manages to get it just right. For the early grades’ exploration of character education, this funny book offers a perfect example of the rewards of perseverance and creativity. The girl’s frustration and anger are vividly depicted in the detailed art, and the story offers good options for dealing honestly with these feelings, while at the same time reassuring children that it’s okay to make mistakes. The clever use of verbs in groups of threes is both fun and functional, offering opportunities for wonderful vocabulary enrichment. The girl doesn’t just “make” her magnificent thing — she “tinkers and hammers and measures,” she “smoothes and wrenches and fiddles,” she “twists and tweaks and fastens.” These precise action words are likely to fire up the imaginations of youngsters eager to create their own inventions and is a great tie-in to learning about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

My Review: Ashley Spires did an amazing job with this book. Her illustrations seem so simple, but really there is so much detail in each one. Amazing digital art. Also, Girl is a character after my own heart as a mom and a teacher. We need more kids like her. Kids who explore, invent, play outside, imagine, etc. I hope my son is like her.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: The summary says a lot for me. This is a book that promotes innovation, imagination, perseverance, and experimenting. All things that are so important for kids to have and too often they are not nurtured. Innovation: Girl wants to make something new and magnificent. Imagination: Some of the odd items she makes actually do have a purpose, you just have to use your imagination. Perseverance: Girl almost gives up, but begins to realize that what she made may be exactly what she wanted to make in the first place. Experimenting: She tries to make so many different things for a variety of purposes. All of these themes could be discussed while reading the book with kids.  The book also has amazing vocabulary, many of which are shared in the summary. A great way to discuss synonyms, descriptive language, and imagery.

Discussion Questions: Why did the girl never give up?; What are some of the words that the author uses to help you “see” and “hear” what the girl is doing?; Which of her inventions was your favorite? And what other ways could you use some of them?; Girl plans out her invention. What steps did she take to plan? What else could she have done?

We Flagged: “This is a regular girl and her best friend in the whole wide world. They do all kinds of things together. They race. They eat. They explore. They relax. She makes things. He unmakes things. One day, the girl has a wonderful idea. She is going to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing!”  (p. 6-7)

Book Trailer: 

Fun With The Author: 

Read This If You Loved: The Invisible Boy by Tracy Ludwig, The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds, Noisy Paint Box by Barb Rosenstock, Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers, Matilda by Roald Dahl, Journey by Aaron Becker

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**Thank you to Kids Can Press and Netgalley for providing a copy for review**

Frank! by Connah Brecon

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Frank!
Author: Connah Brecon
Published: September 30, 2014 by Running Press Kids

Publisher Summary: Frank is a bear who is always late. He has very good reasons, like the morning he found himself challenged to a charity dance-off, or the time he had to rescue a family of bunnies from a huge, smelly ogre. Frank’s teacher is not impressed—until a giant zombie lizard king attacks the school, and the friends he made on his diversions help him find a way to save the day.

Half the fun of this book is in the details: the watch repair shop signs that reflect Frank’s tardiness, the growing reactions of each of Frank’s classmates, the three pigeons that follow Frank through the story. Brecon’s crisp characters layered with crayon-like lines creates a bold, kinetic style. This hip, zany story about tall tales and the importance of community will appeal to children and parents with a penchant for the unpredictable.

Ricki’s Review: The illustrations of this book are whimsical and fun. Kids will surely be inspired to want to create their own artwork. This is a fun story that will leave classrooms of students in giggles. Brecon’s imagination shines. This text incorporates some great details and will allow for fantastic conversations in classrooms about responsibility.

Kellee’s Review: Like Ricki said, the illustrations were so wonderful! They are really what moves this text to the next level although Frank himself is just such an eccentric character also. The book does take a crazy, fun twist in the middle which will definitely keep kids’ attention. I do love the theme of helping out that shines throughout the book. This is an important theme to discuss with kids, and this book doesn’t make it boring while discussing it.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: Frank gives a variety of clever reasons for being late. Kids might imagining bizarre, silly reasons for being late and hang these pictures around the room. Responsibility is a very important lesson for young children, and I can imagine teachers and students referencing Frank’s story whenever a student doesn’t act responsibly.

Discussion Questions: Why is Frank always late? What is an excuse?; What does it mean to be responsible?; When is the best time to hold dance parties?

We Flagged: “It wasn’t that Frank was rude or unreliable. Nor was he a dawdler or a meanderer. He just liked to help out.” (p. 2-3)

Book Trailer: 

Read This If You Loved: Stuck by Oliver Jeffers, I Want my Hat Back by Jon Klassen, Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina, The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle

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Hairy, Scary, Ordinary; To Root, to Toot, to Parachute; & A Mink, a Fink, a Skating Rink by Brian P. Cleary

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NF PB 2014

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

adjective verb noun

Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What Is an Adjective? 
Published September 1st, 2001 by Carolrhoda Books

To Root, to Toot, to Parachute: What Is a Verb? 
Published April 1st, 2001 by Carolrhoda Books

A Mink, a Rink, a Skating Rink: What Is a Noun?
Published September 1st, 1999 by Lerner Publishing Group

Author: Brian P. Cleary
Illustrator: Jenya Prosmitsky

Hairy, Scary, Ordinary Goodreads Summary: Simple, rhyming text and colorful cartoon cats help children expand their vocabularies and gain an appreciation for the rhythm of language in this lighthearted book of rhyming verse. Adjectives like frilly, silly, polka-dotted, fizzy, and spunky are printed in color, and all the words will tickle you pink!

To Root, to Toot, to Parachute Goodreads Summary: What is a verb? It’s easier to show than explain! In this fun and animated introduction to grammer, rhyming verse is used to creatively clarify the concept of verbs. Chock-full of colorful, lively examples, the playful rhymes and illustrations of comical cartoon cats combine to hightlight key words in the sentences. Verbs like toss and tumble, jump and jam, jog and juggle, jig and leap are printed in color for easy identification.

A Mink, a Fink, a Skating Rink Goodreads Summary: “Words are Categorical” is a series which explores some of the basic principles of English grammar in a fun way. The books each deal with a different part of language, using playful and ingenious rhymes to make them easy to remember. In “What is a Noun?” children are introduced to one of the essential building blocks of the English language. It includes sections on both common and proper nouns. The nouns are highlighted in color to make them easy to identify.

My Review and Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Teaching parts of speech is one of the hardest things to teach students, and it is even harder to teach them in a fun and interesting way. These books make it so that both of these things are possible. I like that each of the books focuses on only one part of speech instead of trying to teach multiple grammatical concepts thus making the chance of mastery much more likely. I also found the rhyming and silliness of the books just so endearing, and it would definitely help with the knowledge sticking.

Discussion Questions: What is a noun/adjective/verb? What are some examples? What are some nouns/adjectives/verbs that rhyme with each other?

We Flagged: 
Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: “Adjectives are words like hair, scary, cool, and ordinary. They describe like tan and tall, funny, frisky, smooth and small.”

To Root, to Toot, to Parachute: “Whether you scale a wall or a fish, make a design on a cup or a dish, take out the garbage, or sharpen your knife—verbs are a part of your everyday life.”

A Mink, a Fink, a Skating Rink: “Hill is a noun. Mill is a noun. Even Uncle Phil is a noun.”

Read This If You Loved: Eat, Shoots, and Leaves, Twenty-Odd Ducks, & The Girl’s Like Spaghetti by Lynne Truss, Other Words are CATegorical books by Brian Leary, Basher Basics: Grammar by Simon Basher, and other grammar books

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Baseball Is… by Louise Borden

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NF PB 2014

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

baseball

Baseball Is…
Author: Louise Borden
Illustrator: Raul Colon
Published February 18th, 2014 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

Goodreads Summary: The ultimate celebration of an all-American sport, this picture book captures the joy and the history of baseball;and knocks it out of the park!

Don’t wait for Opening Day to start your baseball season! Crack open Baseball Is…; and revel in the fun of this all-American game! Perfect for the stats-counting superfan and the brand-new little leaguer,Baseball Is…; captures the spirit of this cherished pastime, honoring its legendary past, and eagerly anticipating the future of the sport that is stitched into our history.

My Review: I am a huge baseball fan, have been for over 24 years now, so I am a sucker for baseball books. This one is special though. It captures the beauty of the baseball stadiums around the country, the intricacies of the sport, and the amazing history that baseball holds. I also love the choice of telling baseball’s story in verse. It made it rhythmic like the sport.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This book is a wonderful mentor text for free verse. The poetry is very rhythmic, but has  no rhyme. The book also has some amazing vocabulary: craftsman, poise, spectators, finesse, etc. It captures the sport through imagery: “the crack of the bat,” “slow stride of the manager,” “groans or boos,” etc.

On top of the poetic aspects of the book, you can learn so much about baseball and history from the book. It discusses greats like Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson. Also talks about the Negro and Women’s Leagues. All parts of history in general, not just baseball.

Discussion Questions: How did Jackie Robinson change the game?; Why was their a Women’s League?; What sounds would you hear at a baseball game?

We Flagged: 
“Baseball is our game…
the sport of America.
Its stories are stitched
through our nation’s history.
Its teams and its heroes
we carry in our heart.” (p. 1-2)

Read This If You LovedBarbed Wire Baseball by Marissa Moss, Chin Music by Lee Edelstein, Something to Prove: The Great Satchel Paige vs. Rookie Joe DiMaggio by Robert Skead, Brothers at Bat: The True Story of an Amazing All-Brother Baseball Team by Audrey Vernick, Silent Star: The Story of Deaf Major Leaguer William Hoy by Bill Wise, The Legend of the Curse of the Bambino by Dan Shaughnessy

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