Nonfiction Monday: River Song

River Song
Written by Steve Van Zandt
Illustrated by Katherine Zecca
Ages 4-8 32 Pages
Dawn Publications, 2007
Reviewed by Kim Hutmacher
Bio by Laura Crawford

Book Source: We would like to thank Dawn Publications for donating a copy of this book for review.

Rivers make beautiful music. According to River Song, it sounds something like this: Blurp ah pa-shoosh rumbly pound, A white rapid river makes a wonderful sound. Introducing the water cycle to young readers, the book begins:

It happened one day on the mountain so high,
A river was born from out of the sky.
The rain and the snow came falling down
And started to run as they hit the ground.

Along the cycle, or journey, we meet some of the plants and animals that call the river and its surrounding area home, from the orange-speckled tiger lily to the kingfisher to the black bear and more. We experience the breathtaking sites and sounds of their habitat. The story ends with the cycle beginning anew:

The water in the sea rises up to the sky
And the wind blows a cloud to the mountain so high.
The rain and the snow come falling down
And flow to the river as they hit the ground.

The back matter includes more information about rivers and the life they support. The author, Steve Van Zandt, wrote this book as a folk song with his band, the Banana Slug String Band. This book includes a CD of the band performing the song. Katherine Zecca’s realistic illustrations and Van Zandt’s lyrics bring young readers to the river’s edge.

Steve VanZandt is the program manager of the San Mateo Outdoor Education Program where his nature name is ‘Solar Steve.’ He is a former elementary teacher, a musician and the author of River Song. As a member of the band Banana Slug String Band, he performs with other environmental educators, interpreters and teachers. Their performances foster "positive attitudes about the environment, promote music appreciation, build self esteem in children, honor creativity, support the arts in education and spark in people a joyful sense of wonder." Visit their website at www.bananaslugstringband.com.

This post is part of the Nonfiction Monday Round-Up hosted this week by The Book Nosher blog.

Nonfiction Monday: How Many Ways Can You Catch A Fly?

How Many Ways Can You Catch a Fly?
By Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
Ages 4- 8, 32 pages
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2008

Reviewed by Heidi Bee Roemer

Book Source: This book was borrowed from the Orland Park Public Library for review.

Living in the wild presents creatures with a wide variety of challenges, particularly finding food, shelter, and caring for their young. Using a question-and-answer format, this delightful nature book complimented by colorful paper collage images, provides astounding insights on animal survival and adaptation. As the titles suggests, readers will discover how various animals catch a fly, plus, how to snare a fish, use a leaf, hatch an egg, dig a hole, and eat a clam. In response to each question, six animals and their clever problem-solving solutions are noted across double pages spreads. To snag a fly, the assassin bug spears it with its poisonous “beak,” the lightening-fast loris grabs it with his hands, the net-casting spider drops a web over its victim, the trout leaps out of the water, and the chameleon uses his extra-sticky, super-long tongue to snag the hapless insect. Wow!

Amazing animal facts found both in the engaging text and detailed cut-and-torn paper artwork are sure to pique readers’ interest. Several end pages offer additional fun facts and information. When it comes to intriguing, visual, kid-friendly nature books for children, Jenkins and Page, a husband and wife team, have their own menagerie of titles. Readers who enjoy the “wow factor” of How Many Ways Can You Catch a Fly? will surely want to read the companion book, What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?

This review is part of the Nonfiction Monday Round-Up hosted this week by Practically Paradise blog.

Nonfiction Monday: Up, Up and Away

Up, Up, and Away
By Ginger Wadsworth
Charlesbridge, 2009
Reviewed by Kim Hutmacher

Bio written by Laura Crawford

Book Source: We would like to thank Charlesbridge for donating this book for review.

This book covers a year in the life of a female garden spider, from the moment she leaves the sac as a spiderling until her own life ends and her very own spiderlings leave their sac. We learn right away how difficult and dangerous life can be for new spiders. From the struggle to be free of the sac, to trying to avoid being the lunch of a lizard, a bluebird or one of her own brothers or sisters, this spiderling is tough and smart and ready for all of the adventures that this next year will bring.

Up, up and away, she is finally able to float away on her silky zip line with the help of a breeze. She lands atop a sturdy fence post and decides that this is indeed the perfect place to call home. She spends her spring and summer building beautiful webs and growing big and strong from all of the insects that she lunches on. In the fall, spider mates and as winter draws near, she lays her eggs one by one. She wraps her eggs safe and snug inside a silken sac. Of course, as all spider mommies do, our friend Spider dies after this. But, reminiscent of Charlotte’s Web, Spider’s babies hatch in late winter and break free of the sac in early spring. Up, up and away, each spiderling begins their own new adventure.
The language of this book is lovely, but simple enough for early readers. Click here to watch the book trailer for Up, Up and Away.
Whenever Ginger Wadsworth travels to the mountains, oceans, deserts or across the prairie, she takes her camera and binoculars with her. Always on the lookout for birds, spiders, fish and plants, this is where she gathers information and inspiration for her picture books. In addition to writing about animals and nature, Ginger has published several biographies about people who have improved environmental awareness. When she’s not writing, she is active with PAWS, an organization which pairs therapy dogs with children and the elderly.
This post is part of this week’s Nonfiction Monday Round-Up hosted this week by Tales from the Rushmore Kid.

Nonfiction Monday: Pumpkin Circle

Pumpkin Circle
Written by George Levenson, Photgraphs by Shmuel Thaler
Ages 4-8; 40 pages
Tricycle Press, 2004

Reviewed by Heidi Bee Roemer

Book Source: This book was borrowed from the Orland Park Public Library.

Nestled inside the pumpkin’s squishy orange middle is the secret to its life cycle—seeds! The amazing transformation from small seed to garden giant is artistically conveyed through dazzling full-color photographs. Early images show how a planted seed grows roots and sprouts baby leaves. Over the course of a summer, time-lapsed snapshots follow the plants’ growth. Delicate tendrils, massive green leaves, feathery buds, and magnificent golden blossoms fill the pages, until, at last, the first baseball-sized globe appears! Rhymed text describes the pumpkin’s progress. "A hundred days of weather. / A hundred days of care. / Pumpkins climbing up the fence. / Pumpkins everywhere!"
But that’s not the end of the story! Come fall, pumpkins are harvested and some are carved for Halloween. And as the jack-o-lanterns age, they slowly decompose—and you guessed it!— they provide a fertile new place for seeds to sprout. The closing lines underscore this important point: "We can be sure of this: It’s a circle without end. / It’s pumpkin seeds to pumpkins, / to pumpkin seeds again!"
If you feel inspired to plant a seed and watch grow, the final page offers instructions on how to do just that. Available in Spanish and English, hardcover and paperback, Pumpkin Circle is based on an award-winning, 20 minute video. For a video preview, ordering information, classroom activities, a recipe, and related links, visit http://www.pumpkincircle.com/.

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday Round-Up posted this week at Abby the Librarian.

Nonfiction Monday: Music in the Marsh

Marsh Morning
By Marianne Berkes
Millbrook Press, 2003
Marsh Music
By Marianne Berkes
Millbrook Press, 2000
Reviewed by Kimberly Hutmacher
Book Source: We would like to thank Millbrook Press for donating both of these books for review.

We learn in both of these books that if it is music you want, the perfect place to be is in a marsh. Blackbirds, sparrows, wrens and more contribute their individual songs to the ultimate in outdoor concerts in Marsh Morning. From the blackbird’s o-ka-lee to the ha-oo-oo of the laughing loon, this book is a wonderful tool to introduce mother nature’s music.

What birds give to daytime in the marsh, frogs give to the night. Told in romping verse, maestro frog begins the show. We hear the chorus, woodwinds, strings, horns and percussion. Along the way, readers are introduced to a variety of frogs and the sounds they make.

The back matter of both books includes a glossary of vocabulary terms and supporting facts about the birds and frogs featured in the texts. This symphony of music is both educational and beautiful.

To learn more about the author, Marianne Berkes, read an interview Laura Crawford did with her earlier this year.

This post is part of the Nonfiction Monday Round-up hosted this week at Books Together blog.