Nonfiction Monday: Cousins of Clouds

We would like to thank the Orland Park Public Library for providing this book for review.

Cousins of Clouds: Elephant Poems
by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer
illustrated by Sean Addy and Megan Halsey
32 pages, ages 4-8
Clarion, 2011

Elephants are fascinating and intelligent creatures. If you don’t think so, just read Cousins of Clouds and you’ll surely be convinced. Zimmer uses a delightful variety of poetry forms—tanka, sonnet, free verse, poetry riddle, parody, list poem, and others—to celebrate this magnificent mammal. A haiku notes that the elephant’s super-sized, flapping ears serve as an “air conditioner”. An unrhymed poem describes the complexities of the elephant’s trunk by comparing it to a “finger, fork, arm, nose, straw, megaphone, telescope, and rope.”(Did you know that this amazing appendage contains forty thousand muscles?!) A mask poem reveals an elephant’s euphoria as it wallows in a muddy pool to cool its skin. Other pachyderm poems explore the creature’s playful nature, how they communicate, family bonds, emotions, memory, and intelligence. Full-page mixed media collages compliment the text.

But that’s not all. The sobering problems elephants face in today’s world, such as poaching, starvation, restricted migration movement, and abuse while in captivity, are also addressed. Sidebars paired with eloquent poems expand on some of the solutions that have proven successful: enforcing laws to stop poaching, zoo guidelines requiring more humane treatment, funding for elephant rescue, recruiting out-of-work elephants into the tourism industry, and even elephant orphanages, hospitals, and retirement communities! To learn more about pachyderms and poetry, take advantage of this downloadable Teacher’s Page:
http://www.tracievaughnzimmer.com/COUSINS_files/Cousins_Clouds_Guide.pdf
—Review by Heidi Bee Roemer


Tracie Vaughn Zimmer teaches English and writes children's books in the Ohio town where she grew up. She has six books for children: they include poetry, historical fiction and novels in verse. Her books have won many awards and starred reviews.  Tracie also presents to teachers and librarians around the country. Her advice to young readers: Just write. A lot. Don't worry about publication either. That's a whole other mess to figure out and what's important for now is that you fall in love with writing itself. And most importantly: Read, read and re-read. —Interview by Laura Crawford


This post is part of the Nonfiction Monday Round-Up hosted this week by Lori Calabrese Writes! blog.

Nonfiction Monday: Interview with Author Deborah Ruddell

Tell us a little about yourself.
I'm a late-bloomer. I've been an art teacher, a volunteer, a mom, a freelance graphic designer, and an editor/designer for a school district community relations department. I didn't start writing seriously until my younger child finished college, 13 years ago. Since then -- to my amazement -- I've published three books for kids: TODAY AT THE BLUEBIRD CAFE (Simon & Schuster/McElderry, 2007); A WHIFF OF PINE, A HINT OF SKUNK (Simon & Schuster/McElderry, 2009); and WHO SAID COO? (Simon & Schuster/Beach Lane Books, 2010).

Where do your ideas come from?
My best ideas come in through the back door, when I'm busy doing other things -- walking in the woods, reading, overhearing a conversation, working in my garden, driving my car.

What do you consider the hardest part about writing?
Self doubt ... the pesky inner critic! Pushing through all that and just getting something down on paper is my biggest challenge.

What is the strangest fact you have learned?
I do a lot of research for my nature-themed poetry collections, but for some reason I'm never really drawn to the "strange" facts. So here's a fact that's not all that strange, but presented me with a vivid, funny image: A badger, with it's massive shoulder muscles and fierce claws, can dig faster than a human with a shovel. Even before I read that fact, I pretty much knew that I would lose to any self-respecting badger in a digging contest. I haven't used this information in a poem yet, but the image has stuck with me for several years, so it may show up someday.

Tell us about your latest work.
Last year, I realized a long-held dream, when I was paired with my twin sister, Robin Luebs, for WHO SAID COO? (a picture book about a pig in pajamas). Robin is a wonderful painter with two other books to her credit. Finally, we got to work together!

Is there anything else you would like to add?
I have to give a shout-out to SCBWI. Without it, I wouldn't have a book. I feel so lucky to be part of the children's book world!
Interviewed by Laura Crawford.

This post is part of the Nonfiction Monday Round-Up hosted this week by Check It Out blog.

Nonfiction Monday: Saving Samantha

Saving Samantha: A True Story
by Robbyn Smith van Frankenhuyzen
illustrated by Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen
48 pages, ages 4 to 10
Sleeping Bear Press, 2004

Here’s another heartwarming true-life animal rescue story written and illustrated by the the van Frankenhyzen husband-and-wife team. Robbyn, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, discovers an injured fox pup in a trap, brings it home, and names it Samantha. Robbyn’s journal entries and narrative text record the pup’s path to recovery. As Sam grows stronger, she interacts with other members of her adopted family in amusing ways; cavorting in the field with Miles, the gentle family dog, dodging Igor, the cranky rooster, chasing the chickens and terrorizing the barnyard cats. Life on the farm suits Sam for a while, but eventually, just as Robbyn had hoped, Sam is drawn back to the wild to begin a family of her own. Glowing paintings in rich, warm tones bring each rural vignette scene to life. As youngsters read Samantha’s story, they’ll also learn about the red fox’s natural habitat and life cycle. The final “Fox Facts” page offers additional information sure to please curious animal lovers.

If you enjoy this book, check out Robbyn’s newest title, Itsy Bitsy & Teeny Weeny, the true-life tale of an unlikely friendship between a lamb and an orphaned fawn. Are you interested in visiting the Frankenhuyzen’s family farm? See details at: http://my.voyager.net/~robbyn/pages/artist/edprog.htm#day_with_Robbyn
—Review by Heidi Bee Roemer

Robbyn Smith van Frankenhuyzen has always been an animal lover. As a child, she brought orphaned animals to her home and cared for them. As an adult, people bring them to her. After attending Michigan State University and studying to be an animal technician, she now creates books on the subject. When working in a clinic, she met her husband Gijsbert. Part of their process is journaling, and they often share its value with children and adults. They both create books for Sleeping Bear Press.—Bio by Laura Crawford  

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

Nonfiction Monday: Interview with April Pulley Sayre

Interview with April Pulley Sayre

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF:

I am a fulltime children's book author. I've written about 60 published books, mostly nonfiction about nature and animals. I was born and raised in South Carolina and now live in the Midwest.

WHERE DO YOUR IDEAS FOR NONFICTION COME FROM?

My ideas come from my everyday life, which consists of reading about science and nature, traveling to see wild creatures and habitats, and gardening for wildlife and vegetables.

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER THE HARDEST PART ABOUT WRITING?

The hardest part of writing as a career is not losing your real life while you are busy creating. It's easy to be a workaholic when you love your work. Hours pass and I come up from the haze of being enthused about what is on paper and computer. Fortunately, my husband and my friends are very understanding. They know I become totally obsessed with my work and then pop up like a woodchuck from its burrow. Then suddenly, I'm ready to relax. "Okay, where is everybody, let's play!"

WHAT IS THE STRANGEST FACT YOU HAVE LEARNED?

Some rainforest flower mites hitch rides from flower to rain forest flower by dashing up hummingbird bills when the birds visit the blooms. The mites then ride inside the hummingbirds' nostrils. When they reach another flower, they can dash down and hop into their new flower home. Yeah, I know an awful lot of gross facts kids love.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR LATEST WORK.

Rah, Rah, Radishes: a Vegetable Chant, which was just released, sprouted in 2006 when I was watching a little show by Jamie Oliver on BBC. It was called "School Dinners," I believe. Anyway, he interviewed kids and found they did not know the names of vegetables. That saddened me. I had to do something. After all, how can kids, many of whom are struggling with obesity, move toward healthy foods like vegetables if the words and shapes in the produce aisle are foreign to them? I decided to write a chant, a rollicking piece full of the juicy joy of vegetable names, so kids could easily learn them. I visited my local farmer's market and photographed their produce to illustrate the book. It's a book full of color, shape, rhythm, and rhyme. I'm excited about it. I'm a true veggie fan. Currently, I'm working on photographing the sequel, about fruit, called Go, Go, Grapes.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO ADD?

Well, my passion, other than nature, is nonfiction voice. I love experimenting with the possibilities in expository and narrative nonfiction. It's a great time to be a nonfiction writer. So many terrific writers and editors are pushing the edge of what can be done in children's nonfiction publishing. I think parents who have not read nonfiction in a while should plop down in the nonfiction section of the library and just browse and read a loud. Pull out some books. I think they'll be amazed at what's being done in this field.

Interviewed by Laura Crawford

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

Nonfiction Monday: Honk, Honk, Goose! Canada Geese Start a Family

We would like to thank Henry Holt and Company for providing this book for review.

Honk, Honk, Goose!
Canada Geese Start a Family
by April Pulley Sayre
Illustrations by Huy Voun Lee
32 pages, ages 4 to 8
Henry Holt, 2009

Honk! Honk! A male Canadian goose is doing what he does best—fending off intruders as he and his mate tend to seven precious eggs. The female’s job is to warm and turn the eggs, while protecting the nest is a task the male takes very seriously. A hungry raccoon in search of an easy meal is no match for the vigilant father. Honk! Honk! Hiss! Too late! The frightened bandit runs away, but one luckless egg lies broken in the scuffle.

Geared for emergent readers, Sayre combines simple vocabulary with delicious devices of sound. The result is an informative and delightful read-aloud. “Crack! Crick! Peep!” Six chicks hatch. Later, the downy goslings slip into the pond where they “dabble, dip, paddle, pluck, pull (and feed) on plants.” Readers get a true-to-life glimpse into the drama the adult geese face as they raise and protect their wobbly-legged chicks. Bright cut-paper collage illustrations present a backdrop of the geese’s habitat—textured green grass, blue water, and seamless sky, while the foreground captures the family engaged in various activities—feeding, strolling, swimming, and snuggling. And, as always, there’s father goose standing guard, keeping an eye out for danger. Hiss! Final pages explain the bird’s life cycle in more detail, the difference between migrating and resident geese, and a call to readers to become active bird-watchers and scientific observers. To learn more about this award-winning nonfiction author and her books, visit http://www.aprilsayre.com/
–Review by Heidi Bee Roemer

Stop by next week to read our interview with author, April Pulley Sayre.

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