Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: Joey The Story of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Rooted in Justice

With just under 3 weeks until election day and voting already happening in 40 states, I am taking a moment to share two new picture book biographies about the Democratic Presidential Nominee and the Vice Presidential Nominee.

Joey: The Story of Joe Biden by Jill Biden, Kathleen Krull, Illustrated by Amy June Bates (Simon & Schuster, June 30, 2020)

Though I have known the name Joe Biden for years, I realized that I knew only part of his life, mostly the last 30 years.

In this recent picture book about the democratic nominee, I enjoyed learning about his childhood and what incidents helped to shape his values and character.

Jill Biden and Kathleen Krull focus primarily on Joe Biden’s childhood and teen years until his election to the Senate. The timeline fills in some of the details that the authors chose to leave out. Bateman’s illustrative style captures Biden’s childhood.

Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice by Nikki Grimes, Illustrated by Laura Freeman (Simon & Schuster, August 25, 2020)

Kamala Harris is my senator and would have been my first choice for president, so I was thrilled when Biden selected her as his running mate. Together I think they make a powerful team.

Nikki Grimes does a beautiful job with telling the story of Harris’s childhood and what led her to become a Senator. Though I felt like I knew a lot about Harris’s life, I enjoyed how Grimes selected certain aspects and events to highlight what shaped and influenced Harris.

The timeline at the end of the book provides readers with additional facts about Kamala.

Look for both of these books at your local independent bookstores.

Don’t forget to link up your nonfiction reviews…

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: Who Gives a Poop? Surprising Science From One End to the Other

Who Gives a Poop? Surprising Science From One End to the Other?
by Heather L. Montgomery, Illustrated by Iris Gottlieb
Bloomsbury Children’s Books (September 8, 2020)
Nonfiction * Science * Zoology
Audience: Ages 10-14 years old
IndieBound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads:
This uniquely crafted narrative nonfiction invites readers to follow the author into science labs, forests, hospitals, and landfills, as the author asks: Who uses poo?

Poop is disgusting, but it's also packed with potential. One scientist spent months training a dog to track dung to better understand elephant birthing patterns. Another discovered that mastodon poop years ago is the reason we enjoy pumpkin pie today. And every week, some folks deliver their own poop to medical facilities, where it is swirled, separated, and shipped off to a hospital to be transplanted into another human. There's even a train full of human poop sludge that's stuck without a home in Alabama.

This irreverent and engaging book shows that poop isn't just waste-and that dealing with it responsibly is our duty.

Quick thoughts on this book…
When I was a classroom teacher, I had a pet rabbit. Cleaning up rabbit poo was never a fun task. I now have two cats and one of my least favorite tasks is cleaning out their litter box. Honestly, I have never been excited about poop or scat. Though I will say, I would rather change a baby’s messy diaper than clean up vomit.

Unlike my total lack of fascination with animal excrement, Montgomery’s new book, WHO GIVES A POOP? SURPRISING SCIENCE FROM ONE END TO THE OTHER , celebrates the discoveries found in the matter left behind by animals.

As I dove into the book, I was drawn to the footnotes on the bottom of the page. Montgomery writes with a strong sense of voice that mirrors who she is in person. Enthusiasm and energy jump from the page and her fascination with her subject matter makes the reader stop to read those footnotes before moving on in case that a lack of reading those tidbits of information would cause you to miss a special surprise.

From chapter to chapter, Montgomery takes readers on an adventure comprised of questions, puzzle, scientists, and more. Each chapter exploring how feces can be used to explore the health of an ecosystem and the animals living in that system or why scientists study poop and how we learn about even our own gut health from feces. Once I started reading, I found I couldn’t put the book down.

The end of the book contains an author note and a fabulous chapter by chapter list of sources. If the sources in the book are not enough, check out the 23 pages of sources here.

For some additional resources:

Check out Heather’s website here.

Heather reads the first chapter of Who Gives a Poop.

Check out this interview with Heather L. Montgomery:

And during this time of #stayhomestaysafe, consider supporting your local indie bookstores . If you are in the Pasadena (CA) area consider supporting your local indie bookstore, VROMANS.

Don’t forget to link up your nonfiction reviews…

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: September New Release Part II

Last week I posted about 15 new releases, and then I kept finding more and more titles that had just come out and I decided to do a Part II post. Here are 10 nonfiction titles that just came out this month. Hope you have your library card ready to start requesting more books.

If you missed the previous posts, you will find them here: 2020 Preview | January/February Post | March Post | April Post | May Post | June Post | July Post | September Part I

Beatrix Potter, Scientist by Lindsay H. Metcalf, Illustrated by Junyi Wu (Albert Whitman, September 1, 2020)

Blink! by Doe Boyle, Illustrated by Adele Leyris (Albert Whitman, September 1, 2020)

Dragonfly by Aimee M. Bissonette, Illustrated by Catherine Pearson (Albert Whitman, September 1, 2020)

Flying Paintings: The Zhou Brothers: A Story of Revolution and Art by Amy Alznaur, Illustrated by ShaZuo Zhou & DaHuang Zhou (Candlewick, September 1, 2020)

Grow: Secrets of Our DNA by Nicola Davies, Illustrated by Emily Sutton (Candlewick, September 1, 2020)

Heartbeat by Doe Boyle, Illustrated by Danil Long (Albert Whitman, September 1, 2020)

Slow Down: 50 Mindful Moments in Nature by Rachel Williams, Illustrated by Freya Hartas (Harry N. Abrams, September 1, 2020)

Digging for Words: José Alberto Gutiérrez and the Library He Built by Angela Burke Kunkel, Illustrated by Paola Escobar (Schwartz & Wade, September 8, 2020)

Marjory Saved the Everglades: The Story of Marjory Stoneman Douglas by Sandra Neil Wallace, Illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon (Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman, September 22, 2020)

No Voice Too Small by Lindsay H. Metcalf (co-editor), Keila V. Dawson (co-editor), Jeanette Bradley (co-editor and illustrator) (Charlesbridge, September 22, 2020)

Don’t forget to link up your nonfiction reviews…

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: New Releases August & September

During this pandemic, I feel like I have lost track of all new releases. Unlike most years, I have also had trouble finding what books are being released. If you are like me and need some assistance in keeping track of new releases, I hope this post and the links to previous posts will be helpful. Also, if you know of the release dates for other books that I have missed, please pop them into the comments.

If you missed the previous posts, you will find them here: 2020 Preview | January/February Post | March Post | April Post | May Post | June Post | July Post

Spring 2020

Equality’s Call: The Story of Voting Rights in America by Deborah Diesen, Illustrated by Magdalena Mora ((Beach Lane Books, February 2020)

Harlem Grown: How One Big Idea Transformed a Neighborhood by Tony Hillery, Illustrated by Jessie Hartland (Simon & Schuster, May 2020)

The Screaming Hairy Armadillo and 76 Other Animals with Weird, Wild Names by Matthew Murrie, Steve Murrie, Illustrated by Julie Benbassat (Workman Publishing, June 9, 2020)

Joey! The Story of Joe Biden by Jill Biden, Kathleen Krull, Illustrated by Amy June Bates (Simon & Schuster, June 30, 2020)

Shirley Chisholm is a Verb! by Veronica Chambers, Illustrated by Rachelle Baker (Dial Books, July 28, 2020)

August 2020

The Very Oldest Pear Tree by Nancy L. Sanders, Illustrated by Yasmin Imamura (Albert Whitman Company, August 1, 2020)

Thanks to Frances Perkins: Fighter for Workers’ Rights by Deborah Hopkinson, Illustrated by Kristy Caldwell (Peachtree Publishing, August 1, 2020)

Finish the Fight! by Veronica Chambers and the Staff of the New York Times (Versify, August 18, 2020)

The Polio Pioneer: Dr. Jonas Salk and the Polio Vaccine by Linda Elovitz Marshall, Illustrated by Lisa Anchin (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, August 18, 2020)

Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice by Nikki Grimes, Illustrated by Laura Freeman (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, August 25, 2020)

Respect: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul by Carole Boston Weatherford, Illustrated by Frank Morrison (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, August 25, 2020)

September 2020

The Teachers March! by Sandra Neil Wallace, Rich Wallace, Illustrated by Charly Palmer (Calkins Creek, September 8, 2020)

Who Gives a Poop?: Surprising Science From One End to the Other by Heather L. Montgomery, Illustrated by Iris Gottlieb (Bloomsbury, September 8, 2020)

Stay Curious! A Brief History of Stephen Hawking by Kathleen Krull, Paul Brewer, Illustrated by Boris Kulikov (Crown Books for Young Readers, September 22, 2020)

Above the Rim: How Elgin Baylor Changed Basketball by Jen Bryant, Illustrated by Frank Morrison (Abrams Books for Young Readers, October 6, 2020)

Don’t forget to link up your nonfiction reviews…

Don’t forget to link up your nonfiction reviews…

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: Above the Rim How Elgin Baylor Changed Basketball

Above the Rim: How Elgin Baylor Changed Basketball
by Jen Bryan, Illustrated by Frank Morrison
Abrams Books for Young Readers (October 6, 2020)
Nonfiction * Autobiography * Basketball
Audience: Ages 7 to 11
IndieBound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads: The story of Elgin Baylor, basketball icon and civil rights advocate, from an all-star team

Hall-of-famer Elgin Baylor was one of basketball’s all-time-greatest players—an innovative athlete, team player, and quiet force for change. One of the first professional African-American players, he inspired others on and off the court. But when traveling for away games, many hotels and restaurants turned Elgin away because he was black. One night, Elgin had enough and staged a one-man protest that captured the attention of the press, the public, and the NBA.

Above the Rim is a poetic, exquisitely illustrated telling of the life of an underrecognized athlete and a celebration of standing up for what is right.

Quick thoughts about the book:
Okay, I have a confession to make. I have only watched one full length professional basketball game and it was a WNBA game and I can’t tell you who the L.A. Sparks played that day. When I would take my nephew to his basketball games at the “Y”, I would compare it to a bunch of puppy dogs falling all over each other as they chased a ball. I still don’t understand why people watch basketball. A bunch of people run down the court bouncing and passing a ball and they score. Then back up the court to do the same thing.

For all of my lack of interest in basketball, I was drawn to the cover of Above the Rim: How Elgin Baylor Changed Basketball by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Frank Morrison. It just calls to you to pick it up and read it.

Since I already confessed my lack of knowledge of basketball, I know you won’t be surprised that I knew nothing about Elgin Baylor. However, by the end of the book, my admiration for Baylor, his sport and his civil rights advocacy grew exponentially.

In a recent Facebook post, I mentioned that I know picture books can take years to come out, but sometimes the timing seems planned. Just a few days before I read Above the Rim, the NBA and WNBA led a protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake by refusing to play. Several NBA teams have offered up their venues as safe socially distance places for voting in November. The NBA is also partnering with Yale researchers to create an effective, rapid test for COVID-19.

I am not surprised that Elgin Baylor protested how he was treated compared to his white teammates. Bryant does a masterful job of placing Baylor into the timeline of the 1950’s and 1960’s Civil Rights Movement with images and references of Rosa Parks, the Little Rock 9, and the Woolworth lunch counter sit-in. Bryant’s poetic writing brings refrains that act as a chorus to a song. All of this is paired with Morrison’s dynamic paintings.

The end pages include an author’s note, recommendations for further reading, a timeline of important events. This is one picture book biography that you won’t want to miss.

Elgin Baylor - Most Underrated Player in NBA History

Check out Jen Bryant’s webpage about Above the Rim, here. For more information about illustrator, Frank Morrison, click here.

Above the Rim is available for preorder here.

Don’t forget to link up your nonfiction reviews…