Nonfiction Monday: Happy Anniversary!

Welcome to Nonfiction Monday and our One-Year Anniversary Giveaway! This is our way of saying thank you for following our blog, commenting and helping to spread the word over this last year.
Three winners will receive a copy of one of the following nature related picture books:

Paws, Claws, Hands and Feet by Kimberly M. Hutmacher
In Arctic Waters by Laura Crawford
Marsh Music by Marianne Berkes

Enter times three:
1. Leave a Comment on this post.
2. Scroll down the right side of the screen to where it says Fans of Wild About Nature and become a Follower of our blog.
3. Post a blog entry of your own directing your readers to our contest. Leave a link to your post in the Comments section of this post.
*Be sure to leave your email or a link to your email in your comment, so that we are able to notify you if you should happen to win.

This contest will run from Monday, February 1, 2010 thru Saturday, February 13, 2010. On Valentines Day, Sunday, February 14, 2010 we will randomly draw our three winners and notify them via email. Winners will need to respond with their mailing addresses by Saturday, February 20, 2010. Any winners who do not respond with their mailing addresses by Saturday, February 20, 2010, will be disqualified.

Dear readers thank you for all you have done to help grow our blog and share our passion for the written word and nature. We are grateful to each and every one of you!

And now, without further ado, we present this week’s Nonfiction Monday Round-Up. If you have a post that you would like us to add to the Round-Up, please leave a link to it in the Comments. We’ll be checking in throughout the day and adding more links.

Heidi Bee Roemer reviewed Counting in the Oceans by Frederick L. McKissack Jr and Lisa Beringer McKissack.

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.Robin reviewed Redwoods by Jason Chin over at The Booknosher blog.

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. In Need of Chocolate blog has written up an annotated list of the prehistory books they are using for homeschooling.

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. Mandy is ceebrating with Groundhog Day by Gail Gibbons at Enjoy and Embrace Learning blog.

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. Share the treasures of Yellowstone with your children. Great Kid Books reviews Yellowstone Moran, by Lita Judge, and The Wolves Are Back, by Jean Craig George.

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. Natalie posted a review of Sojourner Truth's Step-Stomp Stride by Andrea Davis Pinkney at This Purple Crayon blog.

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. Anastasia Suen talks about the six traits of writing and the book Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson at Picture Book of the Day blog.

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. Abby (the) Librarian, has a review of The Champ: The Story of Muhammad Ali by Tanya Bolden.

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. Shirley has a review of A Desert Food Chain at SimplyScience.

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. Bookends Blog is celebrating fun with nature and poetry in a post about A Whiff of Pine, a Scent of Skunk: A Forest of Poems by Deborah Ruddell.

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.For Nonfiction Monday, Lori Calabrese Writes! reviews Skin: The Bare Facts by Lori Bergamotto.

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. Mama Librarian reviews Eleanor, Quiet No More by Doreen Rappaport.

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. Roberta was inspired by Little Black Ant on Park Street at Wrapped in Foil blog.

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. Pink Me blog reviewed The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound: A Birder's Journal by Sallie Wolf.

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. Shelf-Employeed blog takes a look at books about Hurricane Katrina.

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. Becky, from Zero to Eight blog shares a review of Open the Door to Liberty by Anne Rockwell.

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. Becky's Book Reviews has a review of Almost Astronauts by Tanya Lee Stone.

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. Jen Posted a review of Which Way to the Wild West!

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. Jennifer at Jean Little Library has reviewed Liberty or Death by Margaret Blair.

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. Kelly has posted a review of 14 Cows for America.

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. Anna posted about "Doomed Queens" by Kris Waldherr at Lost Between the Pages blog.

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. Moms Inspire Learning blog just started a series relating to Chinese New Year, and wrote about 4 different related nonfiction picture books today.

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. Jeannine Atkins wrote about Sanctuaries and The Secret World of Walter Anderson, a lovely picture book about art and nature.

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. MacLibrary blog is reviewing : Minty by Alan Schroeder.

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. Amanda has a review up of Sojourner Truth's Step-Stomp Stride at A Patchwork of Books.

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. Sally Apokedak, at Whispers of Dawn, posted a review of a newly released picture book for middle-graders---Birmingham Sunday, by Larry Dane Brimner.

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. Prose and Kahn blog has a review of Never Smile at a Monkey by Steve Jenkins.

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. Wendie Old is featuring her own book about Groundhog Day at Wendie's Wanderings blog.

Nonfiction Monday: Counting in the Oceans

Counting in the Oceans, (Counting in the Biomes Series)

by Fredrick L. McKissack, Jr and Lisa Beringer McKissack.
Ages 4-8, 32 pages,
Enslow Publishers, Inc., 2009

Reviewed by Heidi Bee Roemer.

Bio by Laura Crawford.

Book Source: We would like to thank Enslow Publishers, Inc. for donating a copy of this book for review.

Learning about the ocean biome and a few of its fascinating inhabitants is as easy as 1-2-3! Counting in the Oceans is presented in a fun question-and-answer format. Each page poses a question prompting readers to study the accompanying full-page color photo for the answer. Some questions simply ask readers to count the number of creatures they see in the picture: How many whales? How many scallops? How many sharks?

Other questions zero in on a particular characteristic of a creature. For example: How many claws does a crab have? How many flippers does a sea lion have? Look closely! While counting from one to ten, children will learn that a crab has two claws, the orange clownfish has three stripes, a sea lion has four flippers, a starfish has five arms, an octopus has eight legs, and a stingray has ten gills. Text also includes a scientific tidbit or two about each creature, and notes which ocean(s) they inhabit.

Counting in the Oceans, one of eight books in the Counting in the Biome series, features easy-to-read, large-size text opposite full-color sea-life photos. Introduction and back matter contain additional information about the ocean biome, a map, "Words to Know," plus helpful book and internet resources. If you’re looking for a fun educational book about oceans and ocean-life to share with a young child, this is a book you can count on!

The husband-and-wife writing team of Frederick and Patricia McKissack have been writing for over 20 years. In the early 1980 they quit their jobs and followed their dream of writing for children. He had been a civil engineer and construction worker, and she had been a high school teacher ad book editor...and now they have over 100 books published! Many of their titles focus on the history and biographies of important African Americans. Frederick prefers doing the research while Patricia does the writing when creating a new book. Frederick and Patricia live in St. Louis, Missouri.

This post is part of the Nonfiction Monday Round-Up hosted this week by us! Click here to read the rest of this week's posts and to enter our Anniversary Giveaway!

Nonfiction Monday: Zoo in the Sky

Zoo in the Sky: A Book of Animal Constellations

Written by Jacqueline Mitton

Illustrated by Christina Balit

National Geographic Society, 2006

Reviewed by Kim Hutmacher

Book Source: This book was borrowed from Lincoln Library for review.

It wasn't until we moved to the country four and a half years ago that I truly began to appreciate the beauty and awe of the night sky. Never before had I seen so many stars. This picture book introduces the animal shapes that make up the constellations. We learn the back story of each constellation, and star maps help us to identify each one.

We are introduced to the The Great Bear who pads her way around the North Pole of the sky, The Scorpion and the nasty sting in his tail, The Bull charging head down, horns thrust forward, and many more.

Mitton's storytelling and Balit's bold illustrations bring this mystical zoo to life.

Extend the book with these links to constellation lesson plans and activities:

http://cas.sdss.org/dr5/en/proj/teachers/kids/constellation/lesson.asp

http://www.lessonplanspage.com/ScienceLAMakeYourOwnConstellationMyth5.htm#

http://www.lessonplanspage.com/ScienceLAMakeYourOwnConstellationMyth5.htm#

http://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/lesson_plans/science/astronomy/

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

Nonfiction Monday: Under the Snow

Under the Snow

Written by Melissa Stewart

Illustrated by Constance R. Bergum

Peachtree, 2009

Reviewed by Kim Hutmacher

Book Source: This book was borrowed from Lincoln Library for review.

When snow blankets our backyards, we might spend our days sledding, skating and making snow angels, but do we ever really think about what's going on underneath the snow? In this book, Stewart introduces us to the world that lies beneath the snow in fields, forests, ponds and wetlands.

Under the snow in a field we might find a pack of ladybugs in a gap in a stone wall. Under the snow in a forest we see a wood frog nestled in leaves on the forest floor. Under the snow on a pond we find a carp resting quietly on the muddy bottom. Under the snow in a wetland we see a beaver family huddled together inside of a cozy log.

Stewart's text introduces these habitats and educates us about several of the animals that inhabit each. Bergum's watercolors enable us to see their worlds beneath the snow as clearly as we see the world in our own backyards.

Here is a link to a reader's theater activity for this book on the Peachtree website.

This book is part of the Nonfiction Monday Round-Up hosted this week by Wendie's Wanderings blog.

Nonfiction Monday: Animals Winter Sleep

THE ANIMALS’ WINTER SLEEP (paperback)
By Lynda Graham-Barber
Ages 2 – 5, 24 pages

Reviewed by Heidi Bee Roemer

Bio by Laura Crawford

We would like to thank Birdsong Books for donating a copy of this book for review.

Brrr! It’s a cold, snowy winter night. Thirteen familiar northern animals are looking for a warm and cozy place to sleep. But where? Easy-to-read, melodic, rhymed text paired with soft-colored pencil illustrations give young readers the chance to peek into the special sleeping places—nests, dens, burrows, caves, and lodges—of various birds and mammals. Snowshoe hare snuggles in a hollow log, squirrel wraps himself in a treetop nest, and beaver sleeps in a dome made of mud. Some animals sleep alone, while others curl up with family members. The final story page assures readers that not only are all the animals dozing comfortably, but the human family is also contentedly snuggled in for the night.
Young animal-lovers will be intrigued by the often-surprising animals facts located at the back of the book. The porcupine has about 30,000 sharp quills on its body. Foxes not only eat mice, but fruit, corn, and berries, as well. The messy porcupine sleeps in its "bathroom," and the black bear doesn’t eat or go to the bathroom all winter long! A final black and white line-drawn illustration depicts the woodland scene and invites readers to locate all the animals’ sleeping spots. Useful as an introduction to animal adaptation, this charming book is also a good choice for boys and girls eager to hear a comforting read-aloud bedtime story. A great nonfiction-fiction combo, I give The Animals’ Winter Sleep an enthusiastic thumbs up!

Lynda Graham- Barber has loved books since she was a little girl, and spent hours reading, writing and exploring nature in western Pennysylvania. While in high school she shelved books at the local library and discovered the nature writing of Henry David Thoreau, among others. After earning degrees in English and French, she moved to New York and held various editorial positions with New York publishing houses and eventually pursued a career in freelance writing. After moving to Vermont, she her husband built a cabin and she continues to be inspired by nature. Lynda began as an instructor with the Institute of Children's Literature in 1994. She currently visits schools to teach students about animal behavior discussed in her book, The Animals' Winter Sleep.

This post is part of the Nonfiction Monday Round-Up hosted this week by All About Children's books blog.

Comment Challenge 2010

Mother Reader is hosting Comment Challenge 2010. The goal is to comment on five different blogs everyday for 21 days. This will give you the opportunity to discover new and interesting blogs and hopefully drive some new traffic to your own blog. Click here and scroll down to her January 8th post to read all about it and sign-up!

Nonfiction Monday: Planet Earth

What's So Special About Planet Earth? by Robert Wells
32 pages, ages 7-9
Albert Whitman & Company (2009)

Reviewed by Heidi Bee Roemer

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

Is planet Earth really the best place to live? Let’s find out! Please board the spacecraft to tour the other seven planets in our solar system. On this imaginary trip you’ll be accompanied by two children and their dog as they try to determine what other planet might comfortably support human life. The first stop is Mercury. But its lack of oxygen and extreme temperatures rule it out as a possible home for humans. Air on Venus is poisonous. Mars has little water, and it is frozen deep under the surface. Cartoonish, acrylic-and-pen images combine with simple text to reveal that Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are also quickly eliminated for various reasons. As your space tour ends, you and the characters in this story will have gained a new perspective of our solar system. The message is clear: only one planet has the perfect balance of an abundant water supply, oxygenated air, and temperate climates. Can you guess which one?
Humorous illustrations partnered with intriguing facts make for fun, yet educational read. A brief sidebar accompanies each featured planet, noting the planet’s size, its distance from the sun, orbit time in Earth years, and number of moons. The final pages of the book zero in on planet Earth, its marvelous water cycle and the many ways man has polluted Earth. Happily, the book offers many simple actions that even young children can do to help take care of our planet and keep it healthy. An excellent resource for science studies, What's So Special about Planet Earth? is listed on Publishers Weekly’s Best Children’s Books of 2009.

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