Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday - Timeless Thomas

Author/Illustrator: Gene Barretta
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (July 17, 2012)
Audience: Grades 2nd to 5th
Source: Personal Copy
Nonfiction * Biographical * Inventors

Description from GoodReads:
What do record players, batteries, and movie cameras have in common?
All these devices were created by the man known as The Wizard of Menlo Park: Thomas Edison.

Edison is most famous for inventing the incandescent lightbulb, but at his landmark laboratories in Menlo Park & West Orange, New Jersey, he also developed many other staples of modern technology.  Despite many failures, Edison persevered. And good for that, because it would be very difficult to go through a day without using one of his life-changing inventions. In this enlightening book, Gene Barretta enters the laboratories of one of America’s most important inventors.

My thoughts on this book:
I discovered Gene Barretta's books (Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin; Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo da Vinci) a few months ago.  I loved his way of making information about famous inventors/thinkers very accessible and fun for young readers.  When I went in search of more information about Gene Barretta and his books, I discovered that a new book would be out soon.  I have been eagerly anticipating Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our Lives and it didn't disappoint.

Barretta's latest book focuses on the life and inventions of Thomas Edison.  After a short introduction to Edison, Barretta begins by comparing "Present Day" activities such as recording sound or the photocopier and compares them to "Edison's Lab" and how some of Edison's inventions or ideas were forerunners to what we often take for granted.  There are over 15 examples of how Edison's inventions were instrumental in the development of the many common day items that are essential to us today.  Each of these items are presented in very readable text accompanied by bright, cartoon-like illustrations that add to the enjoyment of the story.

At the end of the book, Barretta provides the reader with short bios for 20 of Edison's Employees.  Additionally, there are some trivia facts and a bibliography that will hopefully encourage readers to learn more about Thomas Edison. Overall, this is an enjoyable look at Thomas Edison that will hopefully inspire children to not only try to succeed with taking risks but also model Edison's philosophy that failure is just as important to learning as getting it right.

I would encourage teachers and librarians to make a set of Barretta's books available in the classroom or school library.  I have a feeling that a lot of children will enjoy checking them out.  Look for Timeless Thomas at your local school or public library, and when purchasing books, consider supporting your local independent bookstore.

For more information on Gene Barretta: website | blog | facebook | twitter

  Don't forget to link up your nonfiction picture book reviews here:

Nonfiction Picture Book Releases - May - July 2012

The Nonfiction Detectives and I are hosting a Non-Fiction Picture Book Challenge.  My goal has been to kick off the month with the new nonfiction picture book release titles.  As I was going through books that I have found, I added titles from May and June that I had not previously posted.  Additionally, I am looking for more July titles.  I am quite certain that there are more nonfiction picture books being release than the one I have noted.  

May 8, 2012
Suriya Swims! The True Story of How an Orangutan Learned to Swim by Bhagavan Antle; Thea Feldman; Illustrated by Barry Bland

May 15, 2012
Big Cats: In Search of Lions, Leopards, Cheetahs, and Tigers by Steve Bloom

May 22, 2012
Bon Apetit! The Delicious Life of Julia Child by Jessie Hartland

How Things Work in the House by Lisa Campbell Ernst

Robin, Where are You? by Harriet Ziefert; Illustrated by Noah Woods

June 1, 2012
George Bellows: Painter with a Punch! by Robert Burleigh; Illustrated by George Bellows

June 12, 2012
I, Galileo by Bonnie Christensen

June 19, 2012
Martin de Porres: The Rose in the Dessert by Gary D. Schmidt; Illustrated by David Diaz

July 17, 2012
Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our Lives by Gene Barretta

The links for the above books will take you directly to the IndieBound.org book page for purchasing information, unless otherwise noted.  Please note, I do not make anything off these links or profit in anyway from posting the links.   I know that I am still searching for May releases and will likely do a Part II update. If you know of a book that should be included in this list, please include the title and author in the comments section and I will update the list. 

Feel free to link your nonfiction picture book reviews to the Mr. Linky below.  

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday (13)

As part of the Non-Fiction Picture Book Challenge 2012 (Twitter: #nfpb2012), my goal is to read and review as many of the new non-fiction picture books that are released this year.  Wednesdays will be my primary day to post the reviews.


I just realized that today is the last Wednesday of the month.  Where did April go?  Seriously!!!  It is time for a giveaway.  And it is also National Poetry Month.  So I might be stretching this a bit to fit a poetry book into a nonfiction review, but I'll share why below.   My nonfiction giveaway of the month will be a copy of Douglas Florian's unBEElievables.  You have until Wednesday, May 2, 2012 to enter the contest.  It is open to international participants. 

Author/Illustrator:  Douglas Florian
Publisher:  Beach Lane Books (March 2012)
Number of Pages: 32
Source: Personal Copy
Audience: K-5
Poetry * Bees * Nonfiction

Description from the publisher's page:
The buzz is big for Douglas Florian’s new poetry collection about the unBEElieveably unique lives of honeybees—and the vital role they play in our ecosystem. Come inside the honeycomb—a busy, buzzy, bee-filled home—and learn about the unexpected wonders of these tiny insects’ lifestyles, families, and communities. In fourteen funny, fact-filled honeybee poems and paintings, Douglas Florian explores the natural history of these often-unappreciated critters, revealing them to be a totally cool—and totally important—part of our ecosystem. Indeed, these buzzy bugs have been in the spotlight lately as wild bee populations are dwindling, honey prices are rising, and beekeeping has become a popular hobby. 

My thoughts on this book:
When I first saw this book, I fell in love with it.  My initial thought was how cool to mix poetry and nonfiction in the same book. Florian has a brilliant concept within the pages of this book.  There are 14 poems about bees (bees, bee anatomy, queen bees, types of bees, and more), and they are all very accessible for children (or for those adults who are still trying to figure out poetry).  Though I really enjoyed the poetry, I was impressed with how each poem was accompanied by a corresponding "bee fact" about the same topic as the poem.  There was even a few further reading suggestions at the end.

This is certainly one of those books that can be used with various grade levels and also in different parts of a curriculum.  I love books that I can keep referring to all through the year and not just for a specific unit or feature in a month.  I also like things that I can share with more than one grade level and allows for multi-age projects.  Additionally, Florian's illustrations had this great "kid" feel to them which gave me ideas of how to combine both art and poetry into a lesson for the students.

If you want a chance to check out this book, don't forget to enter the giveaway (no reviews necessary but you do need to fill out the form.) 

Also, if you are participating in the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge, link up a recent review. 





Don't forget to add a link to your own nonfiction picture book reviews from this past week. Thanks for participating in the challenge.

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday (11)

As part of the Non-Fiction Picture Book Challenge 2012 (Twitter: #nfpb2012), my goal is to read and review as many of the new non-fiction picture books that are released this year.  Wednesdays will be my primary day to post the reviews.

This weeks, Nonfiction Picture Books seem to be centered around a nature theme - beetles, frogs, and crocodiles.  Lots of fun reading for the boys in your class and those girls who would rather be chasing the frogs in the pond than kissing one in a play.

Frogs! Strange and Wonderful
Author: Laurence Pringle
Illustrator: Meryl Henderson
Publisher: Boyd Mill Press (April 1, 2012)
Audience: Ages 8 to 11

Interested in frogs? In this picture book geared for 2nd or 3rd grade and up, author Laurence Pringle looks at frogs, their behavior, habitats, life cycle, etc. Lots of text in a much more traditional nonfiction book format.  As schools move towards Common Core Standards and seek to incorporate more nonfiction texts to the curriculum, teachers will be interested in books just like this.  The illustrations provided quite a bit of detail and helped to highlight the text.

What to Expect When You're Expecting Hatchlings: A Guide for Crocodilian Parents (And Curious Kids)
Author: Bridget Heos
Illustrator: Stephane Jorisch
Publisher: Millbrook Press (April 1, 2012)
Audience: Ages 7 to 10

Where as the book on Frogs! was done in a more traditional nonfiction format, Heos uses a more interactive and fun format in her book of What to Expect When You're Expecting Hatchlings.  I haven't read the previous book in the series, but since they stand alone it isn't necessary. I loved the smart Q & A approach to talking about crocidilian parents and their hatchlings.  It made the book very readable and increased the chance of young readers staying with the text.  The colorful illustrations just accentuated the humor that was woven into the text. This would be great for kids who might be less enthusiastic to be reading non-fiction text.

The Beetle Book
Author/Illustrator: Steve Jenkins
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (April 3, 2012)
Audience: Ages 7 to 10

It must be spring. It seems my recent selection of new picture books have a running theme of insects and this one is no different. Steve Jenkins is amazing. His books are fascinating, and if you haven't read any of his other books, you should.  This isn't a text heavy book.  Instead, the book is filled with great illustrations and lots of little snippets of facts about beetles.  I probably learned more than I ever wanted to about beetles but it was a fascinating read.


Don't forget to add a link to your own nonfiction picture book reviews from this past week. Thanks for participating in the challenge.

Book Review: How Many Jelly Beans?

Author: Andrea Menotti
Illustrator: Yancy Labatt
Publisher: Chronicle Books (February 29, 2012)
Source: Book for Review
Audience: Elementary
Nonfiction * Math * Picture Book

Description from Chronicle Books:
How many jelly beans are enough? How many are too many? Aiden and Emma can’t decide. Is 10 enough? How about 1,000? That’s a lot of jelly beans. But eaten over a whole year, it’s only two or three a day. This giant picture book offers kids a fun and easy way to understand large numbers. Starting with 10, each page shows more and more colorful candies, leading up to a giant fold-out surprise—ONE MILLION JELLY BEANS! With bright illustrations and an irresistible extra-large format, How Many Jelly Beans? makes learning about big numbers absolutely scrumptious! 

When this book arrived from the publisher, it was in a huge box.  I assumed it contained several books until I opened it up and realized that this book was larger than the typical picture book and required a larger than normal box.  The brightly colored jelly beans and black & white illustrations drew me in immediately.  I had to read this one.  Since receiving it, I have read it several times and enjoyed it every single time.  I even read this one aloud to a group of teacher/librarians recently who also loved it.  We couldn't stop plotting about ways to use this book with children.

The story kicks off with Emma being asked "how many jelly beans would you like?" She starts off with a conservative 10.  The corresponding illustration shows 10 realistically sized jelly beans in all colors.  Emma's younger brother, Aiden, though isn't as hesitant and asks for 20 jelly beans.  Quickly the number goes up 25, 50, 75, 500, 1000.  The two children eventually try to figure out how many jelly beans per day you would need to eat to consume 1000 in a year.  Even Murphy the dog finds a way to get into the action.  As the number of jelly beans goes up, the size of the jelly beans goes down.  The book ends with a surprise pull-out to represent 1,000,000 jelly beans.

This is a fabulous book.  It has it all - great concept, engaging illustrations, and well executed.  The size of the book may be a challenge on a shelf and the pull out at the end may be a bit difficult for younger children to re-fold (think how hard it is to refold a map properly).  However, this book needs to be used with children.  I can see a child reading it and calling others over to "check this out".  I can also see teachers using it with groups of children to discuss number sense.

Andrea Menotti and Chronicle Books have a winner on their hands.  I am so excited about this book that I am giving away the copy I received (it is in perfect condition - I was careful in looking at it).  And I plan on picking up several copies for the school library and for a personal copy at my local indie bookstore.

Rules for the Giveaway:
1. Though comments are very much appreciated, please do not enter any personal information in the comments section (including your email, website, etc.).  If you do enter personal information, you comment will not be posted.

2.  You must complete the Entry Form to officially enter the contest.

3.  The Contest runs from 12:00 a.m. Pacific Time on March 15, 2012 to 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on March 22, 2012.

4.  You must be 13 or older to participate in this contest.

5.  If you are selected as a winner, I will notify you by e-mail.  If you do not respond within 48 hours, I will select a new winner.

6.  US residents ONLY for this contest.