This weekend I went to Toadstool Bookstore and found some interesting nonfiction picture books.  Some of them I had read about and some of them were totally new to me.  They made me think of the poem we share called Happy Thought by Robert Louis Stevenson

The world is so full of a number of things,

I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.

The world surely is full of amazing and wonderful things.  There is so much to learn and think about.  The first book I wanted to share is World Food Alphabet by Chris Caldicott.  It fits with our school celebration of Food Day this coming Thursday perfectly.  The author begins by saying that food is an important of life for everyone everywhere in the world.  Having what we need to stay healthy can be more of a challenge for some than it is for others.  Through gorgeous photographs and short, clear paragraphs readers learn about different ways of eating, gathering and preparing foods around the world.  The book is a visual feast.

Below are a two of my favorite pages.  Enjoy.

 

Another books that I think you’ll have fun exploring is Lifetime  – the amazing numbers in animals lives by Lola M. Schafer.  This book shows how many time one particular behavior is typically performed in an animals lifetime.  Of course there are differences, but is it generally true that a caribou will grow and shed their antler ten times. In one lifetime a woodpecker will likely drill thirty different roosting holes in the woods and a rattlesnake will add forty beads to it rattle.  I never thought about those kinds of things enough to find the answers to my wonderings.  I’m so glad that Ms. Schafer did because now I am wondering about a lot more things and how often they occur in a lifetime.  Fun.

 

 

Nicola Davies is a zoologist as well as an author.  She has written so many interesting books like Surprising Sharks, What’s Eating You? – parasites, the inside story or One Tiny Turtle. They are full of rich and interesting information, along with a great story.  When I saw Dolphin Baby I knew it would have to join the classroom collection.  Listen to this lead:

Tail first, head last, Dolphin POPS out into the blue.

He’s creased and crinkled from being curled inside his mother.

His tail flukes are floppy from being folded for so long.

He’s all brand-new, but right away, he swims up…up…up…

Even if you think you know lots about dolphins already, I think you’ll learn some more interesting details and facts of how dolphins grow into adults.

The most different book – well at least most different for our classroom – is Locomotive by Brian Floca.  It is perfect for our history lovers.  The book explains how the coming of railroads opened up the west and all about how the railroads worked.  It explains about the steam engines and how the trains were able to move safely across the country.  Did you know that each section of rail is held in place by ten spikes and that each spike was pounded into the ground with three strong strikes?  Did you know they could sprinkle sand on the track when the wheels slipped and needed something for traction?  Did you know they had to use two locomotive to pull the trains over the steep mountains like the Sierra Nevada range?   And if you think the information is amazing what until you have a chance to study the illustrations.  There is so much to see and take in.

Imagine all you can learn from these four books and imagine all you’ll be wondering when you finish reading them.  What will you want to find out about next?