Nonfiction Monday: Around One Log

We we would like to thank Dawn Publications for providing a copy of this book for review.

Around One Log: Chipmunks,
Spiders, and Creepy Insiders
Written by Anthony D. Fredericks
Illustrated by Jennifer DiRubbio
Dawn Publications, 2011

Several years after a large old tree tumbles to the ground and rots, is the tree really dead? Author Anthony D. Fredericks gives readers a tour of this special habitat. Along the way, they'll see roly-polies and daddy long legs creeping here and there, while crickets and beetles dash about. Readers will see an entire community at work in the remains of this old tree. Rhyming text, supported by field notes and "fantastic facts" bring this story to life and will have readers yearning to examine that old log in their own back yard. This is the sixth book in this habitat series by Fredericks. Other titles include Under One Rock and In One Tide Pool. All of the books in the series were beautifully illustrated by Jennifer DiRubbio.
Reviewed by Kimberly Hutmacher

This post is part of the Nonfiction Monday Round-Up hosted this week by Apple With Many Seeds blog.

Nonfiction Monday: Interview with Author Phyllis Perry

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF.
I grew up in a small gold mining town in northern California.  I attended the University of California at Berkeley, where I met my husband, David. I worked for a number of years in the field of education as a teacher, director of talented and gifted education, and as an elementary school principal. We now have two daughters, and four grandchildren.
Two of the grandchildren are right here in Boulder, Colorado and we get to see them often.  One granddaughter lives in Australia, and our grandson is in Xi'an China on a Fulbright working on his dissertation.

WHERE DO YOUR IDEAS FOR NONFICTION COME FROM?
I enjoy animals and spending time on trails in the woods and parks. I've written about many animals that interest me and children.  When my granddaughter moved to Australia, I was reading about that country and got interested in the many poisonous
creatures off the Great Barrier Reef. Then I wrote, FIELD GUIDE TO OCEAN ANIMALS about eight of these creatures.

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER THE HARDEST PART ABOUT WRITING?
I enjoy writing fiction as well as nonfiction. Both pacing and voice pose challenges. How to put in enough detail to make it interesting and real but not slow down the pace of the story.  How to combine description, dialogue, and internal thoughts to make the book a page-turner.

WHAT IS THE STRANGEST FACT YOU HAVE LEARNED?
The deadliest of all creatures, measured by how many people an ounce of its venom would kill. and how quickly, would be the sea wasp. Once stung, a human dies in 30 seconds to 4 minutes. An ounce of its venom wold be enough to kill 60 people.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR LATEST WORK.
My newest children's books is PANDA'S EARTHQUAKE ESCAPE (Sylvan Dell). It tells about the real earthquakes that hit the Wolong Panda Reserve in 2008, killing people and knocking down walls so that several pandas escaped for a few days. The books tells the story of what might have happened to LiLing and her cub, Tengfei on the days they were lost and on their own. I was proud when it won the Mom's Choice Gold Award.

Also just out is STICKS AND STONES, 39 FUN AND SIMPLE GAMES FROM AROUND THE WORLD (Red Chair Press.) For each game, there are interesting facts about the country and directions for playing the games which require no equipments except sticks and stones!

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO ADD?
My newest adult books is SPEAKING ILL OF THE DEAD; JERKS IN COLORADO HISTORY. I enjoy writing about the history and national parks in Colorado for
both children and adults.

Interviewed by Laura Crawford

Nonfiction Monday: Compost Stew

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

Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth
by Mary McKenna Siddals
Illus, by Ashley Wolff
32 pages, ages 4-8
Tricycle Press, 2011

How do you turn kitchen scraps and yard waste into rich compost for your garden? Making your own compost is as easy as one, two, three—or, rather, A, B, C. This jubilant recipe-in-rhyme contains an alphabetical list of ingredients: “Apples cores, Bananas, bruised, Coffee grounds with filters used…” As children of different cultural backgrounds pitch in to make the robust compost stew, the playful gauche and collage illustrations—made from bits of yarn, ribbons, textured paper, tea bags, and string—further support the idea of recycling odds and ends. Illustrations also denote seasonal activities: in spring a curly red-headed girl clad in sandals and a short-sleeved dress tends to young shoots in the garden. A summertime scene shows an African American boy cutting grass. In autumn, a child is pictured in a pumpkin field, and in one winter scene, readers see an Asian girl recycling her Christmas tree. On the final page titled, “Chef’s Note,” the author shares do’s, don’ts, plus additional tips for first-time composters. Are you ready to concoct your own earth-friendly compost pile? It’s easy! If you have a heap of “…grass clipping, hair snippings, (and) an insect or two,” you’ll know just what to do: “Add it to the pot and let it all rot into Compost Stew!” For related activities, teaching resources, and lesson plans, go to www.siddals.com/compost-stew.html
—Review by Heidi Bee Roemer

During the cold Canada winters, Mary McKenna Siddals loves to cuddle up with a blanket and read books. Picture books are her favorite (to both read and write!) As the author of Compost Stew, she says ‘Composting is nature’s way of recycling, so what starts out as trash is turned into treasure – a dark and crumbly, rich and sweet, delicious treat for the Earth.’ She has written dozens of articles, stories and poems in a variety of magazines over the years.  —Interview by Laura Crawford

Interested in other books on the subject of composting? Be sure to read these reviews, too!

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

Nonfiction Monday: Interview with Carole Gerber

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF.
After a brief career teaching high school and middle school English, I went to grad school and earned an M.A. in journalism (all expenses paid on an assistantship.) I then spent 20+ years writing magazine articles, ad copy, speeches – you name it – before taking freelance jobs writing more than 100 elementary reading and science educational texts. This reawakened my interest in writing my own books, especially my desire to write in verse, which dates back to my high school creative writing class.

WHERE DO YOUR IDEAS FOR NONFICTION COME FROM?
Sometimes they come from poems I’ve written and set aside as not yet ready for rejection (ha, ha!). I then immerse myself in research before beginning to write. For example, Charlesbridge has published two of my books about trees told in verse: Leaf Jumpers and Winter Trees. Both were commended by the National Science Teachers Association and Winter Trees was named outstanding K-6 trade book by the Children’s Book Council in 2008. My third book in the series, Spring Blossoms, will be published in 2012. I will soon begin working on a summer book to complete the series. (Title ideas anyone?!) More often, I get my ideas by constantly reading what other authors are writing. I got the idea for Little Red Bat after reading a picture book about a tiny South American bat. I thought, “Hmmm, why not find a cute, amazing bat that lives in most parts of the U.S.?” Brown bats are well known, so I discounted them. Red bats are all over the place (mistaken for birds) and they do unusual things.

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER THE HARDEST PART ABOUT WRITING?
The hardest part is actually finding my “lead.” (Remember, I was trained as a journalist). I love the research but must know when to set it aside and start writing – and discarding - my first verse or prose page. Doing a full “first draft” has never worked for me. As a poet, I want perfect rhyme and meter, every line to flow and every verse to lead seamlessly into the next. I have learned not to beat myself up when I don’t find the flow. Instead, I set it aside and either work on another piece of writing or go outside and find true peace by working in my flower garden.

WHAT IS THE STRANGEST FACT YOU HAVE LEARNED?
In researching Little Red Bat, I learned that when little red bats are ready to give birth, they work with gravity by hanging by one wing (instead of by one foot). When their baby emerges, they catch it with their other wing. (I must add that learning about nature makes me feel incredibly humble about being a “mere” human! Despite our large brains, we are kind of a ho-hum species.)


TELL US ABOUT YOUR LATEST WORK.
I have five new books coming out between now and 2015 (so far away – wah!). They are: Annie Jump Cannon, Astronomer (Pelican, fall 2011); Spring Blossoms (Charlesbridge, 2012); Seeds, Bees, Butterflies and More: Nature Poems for Two Voices (Holt, 2013); A Band of Babies (HarperCollins, 2015); and Tuck-In Time (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, pub date to be determined). Except for the picture book biography of Annie Cannon, all are told in verse. Right now I am working on a story about gorillas told in verse. And yesterday I finally wrote an acceptable lead. Hooray!

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE?
Be your own tough editor and revise, revise, revise. Expect rejection and take constructive criticism to heart. The executive editor at HarperCollins said she liked the peppy verse in A Band of Babies and noted that she’d take another look if I could come up with “more of a story arc.” I looked at the manuscript in a new light, invented a main character, added some new action verses and sent it back to her within a week. She accepted it right away without requiring further revision. She commented that she was amazed that a writer acted upon her suggestion. (Huh?) So, if an editor offers you the unexpected gift of asking for a revision, jump at the opportunity. Interviewed by Laura Crawford

This post is part of the Nonfiction Monday Round-Up hosted this week by 100 Scope Notes blog.