Informational Books For Kids You Don’t Know Very Well
We’re coming down to the wire for seasonal gift giving.Continuing my series about books you can recommend, and give with confidence, we turn to kids who like books about real subjects.
For Kids Who Want to Know About Real People
Viva Frida, Yuyi Morales, Tim O’Meara, (Roaring Brook Press), Ages 4 to 8, Grades P to 3Morales’s stunning mixed media art captures Khalo’s life and spirit.The following video explores the creation of the illustrations.The Pilot and the Little Prince, Peter Sís, (Macmillan/FSG), Ages 5 to 8, Grades K to 3This sophisticated picture book biography explores the life of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.Sis talks about his inspiration in the video below:
The Right Word, Jen Bryant, Melissa Sweet, (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers), Ages 7 to 18
From the award-winning creators of A River of Words, the life of Peter Mark Roget the creator of Roget’s Thesaurus is expressed through language and collage.A masterpiece.
For Kids Who Like Trucks
Giant Vehicles, Ron Green, illus.by Stephen Biesty, (Candlewick/Templar), Ages 6 and upRemember last year’s Caldecott winner Locomotive by Brian Floca?Here is a book for a little younger crowd displaying lift-the -flap cross sections of vehicles from jumbo jets, to trains to spectacular rockets to the everyday dump trucks.
For Kids Who Are Wild About Animals
Born in the Wild: Baby Mammals and Their Parents, Lita Judge, (Roaring Brook), Ages 6 and upSimple language shares facts about animal families with delicious watercolor and pencil naturalist illustrations (take a look at several here)Chasing Cheetahs: The race to Save Africa’s Fastest Cats, Sy Montgomery, photographs by Nic Bishop, (HMH), Ages 9 and upThe Sibert Award winning author and illustrator for Kakapo Rescue explores a species on the edge of extinction.
Animalium, Jenny Broom, Katie Scott, (Candlewick/Big Picture Press), Ages 8 to 12Number one on my wish list is this oversized lushly illustrated book that is modeled on a turn of the last century natural history museum.One can imagine a family sprawled out on the carpet for hours, poring over tiny details of the fact-filled pages.