Pale Male: Citizen Hawk of New York City by Janet Schulman, illustrated by Meilo So

Pale Male: Citizen Hawk of New York City by Janet Schulman, illustrated by Meilo So

Reviewed by Erica Moore

What would you do if your neighbors destroyed your home of nine years? Well thankfully Pale Male had many fans and friends to protest for him.

Pale Male is New York City’s famous red-tailed hawk who came to Central Park when he was very young and stayed. He and a mate built a nest atop an apartment building across from the park. This was the first time people witnessed a red-tailed hawk nest on a building. Pale Male would raise more than 20 chicks in nine years in the nest on 5th Avenue.

In 2004 the building owners removed the nest thanks to the Bush Administration’s weakening of environmental protections. This set off an international outcry accompanied by local New Yorkers protesting. Pale Male’s nest was soon restored.

The story of Pale Male is inspiring--something wild adapts and survives in an urban environment. The writing is smooth and full of information as it unfolds. This is an easy book to share with kids. There is factual information as well as a great story with tension, drama and a perfect resolution. This should inspire new bird watchers. I know it made me get my backyard birding books out of the kitchen drawer and look up the birds at the feeders with my kids.

The illustrations by Meilo So are beautiful. The reader is given a hawk’s eye view as most of the pictures are from a hawk’s perspective as he flies around the park and buildings. The water colors capture the movement of the hawks. I love the picture of the babies leaving the nest and landing nearby. The end papers are the red tails of the hawks, and even the dust jacket has a hawk in flight wrapped around the book with a stick in his beak ready to rebuild that nest.

There have been several picture books about Pale Male since his nest was taken down, and this is my favorite. Pale Male: Citizen Hawk of New York City has received many starred reviews and is sure to show up on recommended book lists.



What Other Bloggers are Saying:

Chicken Spaghetti: "The ensuing bird-related goings-on make an exciting picture book, and young readers have a fine avian protagonist to cheer for." (read more...)

Fort Lee Children's Room Blog: "I recommend Pale Male for all ages because it is a story anyone can appreciate and it may just inspire you to learn more about this great animal." (read more...)

Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast: "I have one word for you: Endpapers. Man, I wish I had them to show you here. They’re sublime: Pale Male’s auburn hawk feathers, all spread-out and larger-than-life atop a bit of blue sky. Gorgeous, I tell ya. Thank you, Meilo So, for that moment of beauty." (read more...)

Texas Trifles: "Though I already knew about the New York City hawk's story, this book turns it charmingly into an avian adventure with a heartwarming ending." (read more...)

More Info:

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (March 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375845585
• ISBN-13: 978-0375845581
• Source: Review copy from publisher
  

Visit Picture Book of the Day for more Nonfiction Monday delights!

Bread Comes to Life by George Levenson, photography by Shmuel Thaler

Bread Comes to Life: A Garden of Wheat and a Loaf to Eat by George Levenson, photography by Shmuel Thaler

Reviewed by Lisa Stanger

Do you think it’s time,
For Non-fiction books to rhyme?


Told in rhyme, this nonfiction book aimed at children aged 4-7 tells the story of bread, from sowing wheat to slicing a finished loaf. Author George Levenson brings his film making experience to this project and the result is cinematic page spreads with a concise description of the process of producing bread. A DVD and teaching kit is also available and clearly the major market for this title is an educational one. The uncluttered and striking visuals make this book an invaluable addition to a unit about baking, bread or agriculture. There is a website with teaching activities here.

The rhyme in this book may make it easier for a teacher to read aloud (always a bonus for a nonfiction title), but I think the sometimes awkward nature of it detracts from the strong visual elements and the usefulness of the information :

“Stack up piles of sun-dried stalks,
Rub them in a threshing box.
It’s the simple, old-time miller’s craft
Of separating wheat from chaff.”

This book would be useful with a wide range of children as a general overview of bread production, though older children may not warm to the text where the text will not be perceived as “talking down” to them. A good resource for classes that could have been a great book with a different take on the text.

(The book was originally released in 2004 and is now being reissued in paperback.)

More Info:

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Tricycle Press; Reprint edition (October 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582462739
• ISBN-13: 978-1582462738
• Source: Review copy from publisher
  

How Many Ways Can You Catch a Fly? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you've probably picked up on the fact that I'm a fan of Steve Jenkins and Robin Page. Why? Because I think they do an amazing job of making nonfiction interesting and engaging and presenting fun and interesting facts. I also think they make an effort to keep their content fresh. I always know that when I pick up one of their books that I'm going to learn lots of new information about animals.

Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed with their newest book, published today, How Many Ways Can You Catch a Fly?.

This book presents a number of challenges animals face along with their unique methods for solving the problem. For example, one challenge is digging holes. Readers are presented with the question, "How many ways can you dig a hole?" When you turn the page, there is a two-page spread showing how different animals dig holes. There is an aardvark making burrows with his front legs and claws, a Mexican burrowing toad digging into mud with its feet, a red rock urchin wearing away rock or coral with its teeth, and more.

Other challenges presented in the book include catching flies, snaring fish, hatching eggs, using leaves, and eating clams. At the end of the book, readers can learn even more about each animal featured.

Accompanying the fact-filled text are Jenkins' customary colorful paper collage illustrations. I never fail to be amazed at how he captures so many details and facial expressions with the collages.


This is a book that I highly recommend to children who are interested in animals, and it would make an excellent cross-curricular resource for science, geography, social studies, and language arts lessons. It may also inspire young readers to come up with creative ways of solving their own problems after seeing how the animals in book do it.

Visit Steve Jenkins' website to learn more about his work and to learn how he makes his books.


More Information:

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; 1 edition (October 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 061896634X
• ISBN-13: 978-0618966349
• Source: Review copy from publisher
  

Visit Picture Book of the Day for more Nonfiction Monday selections.

Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story

Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story by Janet Halfmann, illustrated by Duane Smith

Continuing with this week's theme of nonfiction children's books for classrooms, today, I'm bringing you a biography of a hero about whom I'd never heard until I read Betsy Bird's review at Fuse #8. So, when I saw this book sitting on the "new nonfiction for kids" shelf at my library last week, I immediately picked it up.

The book tells the story of Robert Smalls, who was born a slave in 1839 on a South Carolina plantation. All his life, he dreamed of freedom. When his daughter, Elizabeth was born in 1858, he worked out a deal with his master to buy his wife's and daughter's freedom for $800 even though he would remain a slave. It would take a long time, but when the Civil War begins and Robert becomes a wheelman on a Confederate steamer, he devises a plan to escape, knowing that if he's caught, he, his entire family, and every other slave on the steamer would be killed. The rest of the book focuses on Smalls' daring escape that will leave readers on the edge of their seats. The back of the book includes an afterword with more information about Smalls, including a photograph, as well as a list of sources.

I really love Lee & Low's books because they choose to publish books that tell the stories of virtually unknown heroes and role models. I've been impressed with every one of their biographies that I've read: A Song for Cambodia (my review), Louis Sockalexis: Native American Baseball Pioneer (my review), Hiromi's Hands (my review), Surfer of the Century: The Life of Duke Kahanamoku (my review).


Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story is no exception. From the moment I opened the book, I was drawn into Smalls' story, and by the time, I got to the escape, I was tense and nervous and almost afraid to turn the page. What if he got caught? What if his wife and children were killed?

On my first read, I was so entranced with the story that I didn't even look at Duane Smith's oil paint impressionistic illustrations, and as I looked at the book a second time, I have to say that they really aren't my favorite. Don't get me wrong. They're not bad; it's just that I couldn't really tell what the story was about by just looking at the illustrations. They merely accompanied the story rather than tell it.

Image courtesy of Lee & Low

That aside, the story is fascinating, and I think children will truly admire Robert Smalls' courage and tenacity. They'll also appreciate learning about a Civil War hero they may have never heard of, and I'm sure teachers will also find this refreshing.

Classroom Recommendations:

• This would go nicely with units on biography, the Civil War, African American history, heroes, slavery, US history, and more
  
• While it's a true account, the story itself is an excellent example of building excitement and tension and developing conflict and could be used in a writers' workshop or creative writing class
  

More info:

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Lee & Low Books (April 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600602320
• ISBN-13: 978-1600602320
• Source of book: Local Library

You can also purchase this book and all others mentioned in this post directly from
Lee & Low's website.

What Other Bloggers are Saying:
Fuse #8: "As it happens, the story of Smalls' escape and bravery is particularly ideal for a picture book. There's danger and suspense and a clear-cut hero involved. Now all that remains is for someone to write a full-length biography of the man for kids." (read more...)

It's NONFICTION MONDAY!!!! Get more nonfiction choices at Picture Book of the Day.

I See a Kookaburra! by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

I See a Kookaburra!: Discovering Animal Habitats Around the World by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page (Houghton Mifflin, 2005)

Parents, teachers, and homeschool parents, here is a great resource for animal lovers and for lessons covering geography, ecosystems, species, habitats, colors, adjectives, and much much more. The superstar husband and wife team, Steve Jenkins and Robin Page, introduce children to interesting information about animals and their habitats around the world in a very fun hide-and-seek format.

The book covers animals in six different habitats:

• Desert (American Southwest)
  
• Tide Pool (southern coast of England)
• Jungle (Amazon River basin of South America)
• Savanna (central Africa)
• Forest (eastern Australia)
• Pond (American Midwest)

Jenkins and Page introduce each habitat with a spread of eight animals hiding in the flora of the habitat illustrated with Jenkins' familiar cut and torn paper collages.

For example, on the page that covers the desert, we see a kit fox's nose and ears hiding behind a cactus, the rattle of a diamondback rattlesnake poking up behind a rock, the legs and eyes of a trapdoor spider peeking out of its tunnel in the ground, and more. Here, the only text on the page is, "In the desert I see... This desert is in the American Southwest.

When you flip the page, all of the flora has disappeared, and you see where all eight animals were hiding on the previous page. Beside each animal is a short passage that completes the "In the desert I see..." sentence. For example, "...a sharp-eyed kit fox leaving its burrow," "...an angry diamondback rattlesnake buzzing a warning," "...a trapdoor spider waiting patiently in its tunnel."

As an added surprise, somewhere in each habitat is an ant because as the authors explain in the book's introduction, "they live almost everywhere on earth."

The back of the book includes a longer paragraph about each animal featured in the book and more information about the habitat in which they live.

I'm a huge fan of Page and Jenkins because they really do make nonfiction and learning fun, and I See a Kookaburra!: Discovering Animal Habitats Around the World is no exception. The interactive hide-and-seek element engages children and encourages them to turn the page and find out where the animals are hiding. Without even realizing it, they're learning and having fun at the same time.

While some of the critics have said that the disproportionate sizes of the animals may confuse kids, I think kids are smart enough to see that these are just depictions of animals. They know that a jaguar is bigger than an iguana and won't mind that the animals are not drawn to scale. I often think adults don't give kids enough credit when I see comments like these.

As I mentioned earlier, the teaching possibilities are endless and can be used across curricula. If you're looking for interesting and engaging nonfiction, you can't go wrong with Jenkins and Page.




What other bloggers are saying:

Fossil Hill Book Blog: "This dynamic, captivating book encourages critical thinking and influences readers to take a closer look at the world around them." (read more...)

awwilcox: "I believe this book would be an excellent choice for a study on ecosystems, animals, camouflaging, and habitats." (read more...)

Betzen Book Reviews: "The colorful double-page spread design of cut and torn paper collage creates attractive, but accurate renditions of the habitats and animals discussed." (read more...)


More Information:

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; 1 edition (May 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618507647
• ISBN-13: 978-0618507641
• Source of book: Library
  

Nonfiction Book Review: Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau

Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau by Jennifer Berne, illustrated by Eric Puybaret
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Chronicle Books (April 23, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0811860639
ISBN-13: 978-0811860635
Source of book: Review copy from publisher

"Bubbles rising
through the silence of the sea.
Silvery beads of breath
from a man
deep, deep down
in a strange and shimmering ocean land
of swaying plants and fantastic creatures.
A manfish
swimming, diving
into the unknown.
Exploring underwater worlds
No one had ever seen
and no one could ever have imagined."

This is how Jennifer Berne's story of Jacques Cousteau begins. The words, black and curving on a palette of dark blue/green start out large at the top of the page and get smaller and smaller as they go down the page, underneath the sea, and like fish, curve and swim toward the manfish on the next page in scuba gear at the bottom of the ocean. A sea of fish and seaweed swim around him as bubbles rise to the top of the page.

On the next page, the story begins with a young Jacques fascinated with the water and dreaming that someday he would be able to breathe under water. It tells of his fascination with machines and movies, the childhood movies he made, and how this fascination continued as he grew. Then one day a friend gave him a pair of goggles, and for the first time, he could see the magical world that was beneath the sea. The story continues by chronicling Jacques' quest to breathe underwater, his invention of the aqualung, and ultimately achieving his dream. Not only did he achieve his dream, but through his underwater films, he introduced the world to the beautiful and mysterious underwater world and helped inspire others to save the ocean's wildlife from pollution.

Through this biography, children are inspired to dream big. The author's note at the end of the book says that Jacques always said, "Il faut aller voir," roughly translated to mean, "We must go and see for ourselves," which she says is "a wonderful way to start just about anything." The book also helps children develop a respect for the earth and its creatures.

But what do I love most about this book? Eric Puybaret's magnificent, breathtaking illustrations. Rendered in acrylic paint on linen, the dark blues and greens make you feel like you're swimming in the ocean with Jacques. As he goes lower and lower into the ocean, the colors get darker and darker, a blue/black at the deepest points. My only criticism is that when the palette is dark, the black words may be a little difficult to read.

The curvy lines of Jaques body models the same curviness of the fish, making him truly look like a manfish. I could almost hear the deafening silence of the ocean, Jacques' breathing, and the bubbling sounds created from the aqualung as I read through the book.

But perhaps the most wonderful illustration is the one here, which, depicted on the screen here, actually does not do the book justice. You have to turn the book around so that it's vertical and open up a centerfold to reveal Jaques and his friends starting out at the top of the ocean and swimming down to the bottom, revealing new fish and other sea creatures along the way.

"On the bottom, they found pink ghost crabs, with eyes
on long stalks, buried so deep in the
sand they looked like a garden of
eyes. And flute fish--with heads like horses
and bodies the shape of tubes--
sticking out of rocky openings,
like pencils in a cup. "

This is nonfiction at its finest. Give it to your science lovers, your ocean lovers, your nonfiction lovers, your picture book lovers. I give it my highest recommendation.

*All images used with permission of Chronicle Books.

For more great nonfiction recommendations, visit the Nonfiction Monday Roundup at Anastasia Suen's Picture Book of the Day.

As Good as Anybody by Richard Michelson; illustrated by Raul Colón

As Good as Anybody by Richard Michelson; illustrated by Raul Colón
Genre: Nonfiction Picture Book
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (May 13, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0375833358
ISBN-13: 978-0375833359
Source of book: Review Copy from Publisher

In this biographical picture book, we learn the stories of two people from very different backgrounds, but who both struggled for equality. One is an American boy named Martin, the son of a minister who is angry when he sees “Whites Only” signs everywhere in his community. The other is a Polish boy named Abraham Joshua Heschel, the son of a rabbi who follows in his father’s footsteps. When he’s a young man, he’s kicked out of his German university because he’s Jewish and is angry when he sees “No Jews Allowed” signs everywhere.

Abraham goes to America in hopes for a better life, but when he arrives, the country is in the throes of the Civil Rights Movement. He hears of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the boy we met in the beginning, who is now a man, and joins him in the Selma Freedom March.

Raul Colón's rich pencil and water color illustrations complement the books serious and deferential tone. He explains his palette choices in the jacket flap. The illustration of Abraham's boat arriving in the choppy waters of Ellis Island with the Statue of Liberty standing tall is particularly stunning, and the final illustration of King and Heschel provides a sense of hope.

This is the inspirational story of two powerful men who joined forces to bring change to the world. A must-read for every child, and a must-have for every classroom.

Resources for teachers and parents:

• Online Readers Guide
• Online Teachers Guide (you have to download the PDF on the site)

What Other Bloggers Are Saying:

Julie M. Prince at Young Adult Books Central: "I absolutely love the way this book illustrates how important it is for people to continue the march—-to recognize and speak out when they see injustice." (Read more...)

Young Readers: "It's also the story of how two men from two different backgrounds came together in the mid-sixties for a worthy cause. The text by Richard Michelson is simple and straight forward." (read more...)

Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast: "It’s a powerful, stirring tribute to two of America’s most prominent civil rights leaders and to justice and equality." (read more...)

Do you have a review of As Good As Anybody? Leave a comment with your link, and I'll post it here.

Visit Picture Book of the Day for more Nonfiction Book Reviews!

A Song for Cambodia by Michelle Lord, illustrated by Shino Arihara

Reading level: Grades 4 and up
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Lee & Low Books (March 30, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1600601391
ISBN-13: 978-1600601392
Source of book: Review copy from publisher



Every now and then, I come across a story of survival that is truly amazing and defeats all odds. Arn Chorn-Pond's story as told in A Song for Cambodia written by Michelle Lord and illustrated by Shino Arihara is one of them.

Arn had a happy childhood full of music, love, and laughter in his small Cambodian village until Khmer Rouge soldiers invaded his village in 1975 and tore his family apart. A brief history of Khmer Rouge's invasion on Cambodia in the 1970's is included in the foreward. Led by Pol Pot, the intent was to turn Cambodia into a communist country, but the Khmer Rouge used violence and terror in their attempt and ultimately killed 1.7 million men, women, and children during their 4 year reign.

Arn Chorn-Pond was one of the lucky children who survived, but it was not an easy feat. When he was separated from his family, we was sent to a children's work camp. With no shoes and little to eat, Arn was forced to work in the rice paddies. When the soldiers asked for volunteers to join a musical group, Arn volunteered and learned to play the khim, a wooden string instrument. He luckily had a talent for this instrument which ended up saving his life in the camp. Without giving too much away, Arn managed to escape the camp, and through even more adversity, ended up surviving and was adopted by a missionary who brought him to the United States.

The afterword tells how Arn used his good fortune to give back to Cambodia and help rebuild and bring music back to a war-torn country.

Without going into graphic details, Michelle Lord tells the true story of the horrors Arn and many other Cambodians faced. Ms. Lord masterfully tells the story in a way that is appropriate for and not condescending to children, yet she doesn't sugar coat the facts. We see Arn and his mother tearfully clinging to each other as the soldiers invade their village; we see children being led into a forest to be killed; we see Arn struggle with adapting to a new culture and experience nightmares and sadness for the loss of his family. The reader is left with no doubt that something terrible has happened.

Shino Arihara's gouache illustrations are mostly done in muted earth tones, depicting the dark and sad tone of the story. We see brighter colors at the beginning of the story before the invasion and again at the end when Arn plays music in his new home.

At the back of the book is a photograph of Arn Chorn-Pond, smiling and standing in front of a house he's building in Cambodia, and a comprehensive list of sources demonstrates the thorough research Michelle Lord conducted to write Arn's story.

A Song for Cambodia is a touching and inspirational story full of discussion opportunities, making it an excellent addition to a child's home library or a social studies classroom.


Visit the Nonfiction Monday roundup at Picture Book at the Day.


If you have a review of A Song for Cambodia, leave a comment with your link, and I'll post it here.

Guess What Is Growing Inside This Egg written and illustrated by Mia Posada

Guess What Is Growing Inside This Egg by Mia Posada

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Library Binding: 32 pages
Publisher: Millbrook Press (December 22, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0822561921
ISBN-13: 978-0822561927
Source of book: Copy from publisher


This beautiful nonfiction book for younger children begins with an interior spread of the bottom of a white feathery animal with black talons sitting on a big egg along with this text:

This egg sits snuggly on its father's feet.
He warms it with his body's heat.
Under his feathered belly, it's cozy and warm,
Safe from the icy Antartic storm.

Can you guess what is growing inside this egg?

When you flip the page, you get the answer: an adorable baby penguin covered in gray down is sitting between its father's feet, the father proudly looking down at it. Readers then learn more factual information about the baby penguin and its parents.

The book continues in the same pattern, revealing baby alligators, ducklings, spiders, and more. At the end of the book are white life-sized shapes representing the actual size and shape of the different eggs featured in the book. In addition, a two-page spread details the 28-day incubation of a duck, with simple descriptions and diagrams that are easy for children to understand. We also learn the incubation period for the other animals in the book.

Mia Posada's detailed and expressive water color collages are enchanting and provide visual clues to help children guess the animals that are growing inside the eggs.

The rhyming verse and guessing game will keep kids entertained, and even younger children who can't quite grasp the content will love the illustrations. My little girl just pets and pets the baby sea turtles and the big, fuzzy spider egg sac. For all you teachers out there, this would be a fun choice for a science unit, and it's interactivity makes it a great book for story time.


What Other Bloggers Are Saying:

Books Together: "It's an especially good choice for reading aloud to kids of different ages!" Read more...

The Miss Rumphius Effect: "This is another great book for looking different animals that lay eggs." Read more...


If you have a review of Guess What Is Growing Inside This Egg, leave a comment with your link, and I'll post it here!