Making Nonfiction From Scratch by Ralph Fletcher

Making Nonfiction From Scratch
by Ralph Fletcher
Stenhouse, available late November 2015

When I got the Stenhouse Publishers Newslink email last week (sign up now if you don't get them -- they always contain juicy tidbits) and saw that Ralph Fletcher has a new book coming out soon...AND Stenhouse is offering a free online preview of the entire text...AND we are just starting our unit of study on nonfiction writing...well, it felt like the universe was aligning.

There's so much to love about this new book. Of particular note:

Chapter One -- fun parable, then check out those headings -- minilessons, here we come!
Chapter Three -- interview with Louise Borden
Chapter Six -- NF read aloud
Chapter Eleven, page 94 -- what a final draft could look like

If you preorder this book by Wednesday of this week with the code NLDH, you'll get $10 off. What are you waiting for? I know you'll want your own copy to mark up and flag with stickies!

In honor of this book and our unit of study on nonfiction writing, tomorrow and Wednesday I'll have two more nonfiction posts.

HOW TO SWALLOW A PIG-a new book by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

I love Steve Jenkins and Robin Page so I didn't really even have to open this new book (How to Swallow A Pig: Step By Step Advice from the Animal Kingdom) by this pair before I decided we needed it for our classroom.  I don't have one book by Jenkins that I don't find fascinating (and I think I have them all!).  He is not only brilliant in the way that he shares information so that kids understand it but his organization and design for each book is amazing to me. I remember reading his book Down, Down, Down: A Story to the Bottom of the Sea and being intrigued by how he got the idea to focus and organize a book by going further and further below sea level to see what was there.

I am just as intrigued with this book. It's actually a How-To book which I find rather amusing.  Each two-page spread teaches the reader how to do something that animals can do.  The introduction to the book is great. Jenkins says, "So, you want to learn how to swallow a pig. You've come to the right place. Follow these step-by-step instructions, and soon you'll acquire the dining skills of a large snake..."  He goes on to tell readers that there are other great skills to learn too.

Each 2 page spread focuses on a skill that readers can learn-For example, "Crack a Nut Like a Crow" and "Spin a Web Like a Spider" are two of my favorites.  Jenkins takes a step by step look at how these things are accomplished and breaks them down into a set of how-to directions.  Such a creative way to share this information.

I learned a great deal reading this book I think kids will enjoy the format (and as always, the art too!).  It is a book that can be read from cover to cover. But it is also one that can be used in pieces--each two-page spread stands alone so each can be studied and discussed separately too. A good one for nonfiction book talks I think!

Photos Framed

Photos Framed: A Fresh Look at the World's Most Memorable Photographs
by Ruth Thomson
Candlewick Press, 2014
review copy provided by the publisher

"When photography began, it was an elaborate, expensive, time-consuming, elite activity, using heavy, cumbersome equipment. Today, taking photographs can be instant, cheap, and accessible to anyone. Despite the enormous changes in photographic equipment and technology since the nineteenth century, the purposes of photography have remained essentially the same, whether immortalizing, exploring, documenting, revealing, or showing us what we can't see with the naked eye." -- from the introduction of Photos Framed

It's amazing, isn't it, that in less than 200 years, photography has become a universal art form? Children can take photographs before they have learned to hold a crayon. I think I can confidently say that every student in my class has taken a photograph. And because of that, I can't wait to share this book with them and dig into the history of photography and the art of photography.

Photos Framed is divided into four sections: Portrait photography, Nature photography, Photography as art, and Documentary photography. Each of the sections features examples from the 18th through the 21st Centuries. And each of the photographs is explored in the same ways: there is a section of text describing and discussing the photograph, a section that tells about the photographer, three questions ("Photo thoughts") for the reader/viewer to consider, a sidebar ("Blow Up") that features one tiny bit of the photo and a question to consider, and another sidebar ("Zoom In") that helps the viewer to consider the photo as a whole. Finally, there is a quote from the photographer that accompanies the photo.

I'm thrilled to see that there are multiple copies of this book available in our metro library system. I am imagining a whole-class study of this book in the first weeks of school which would lay the groundwork for students to build a photographic/visual portfolio alongside their digital portfolio/notebook (folder in their Google drive) and their pencil/paper writer's note/sketchbook.

Writing that last convoluted sentence made me realize that there just about isn't such a thing as a plain and simple Writer's Notebook anymore. All of these digital and non-digital spaces need to be developed to provide students with opportunities to capture and hold creations of all kinds at all stages of the process.  Maybe it really is time to stop calling it Writers' Workshop and call it Composing Workshop.

Hmm...the wheels are turning...

New Nonfiction Books Perfect for 3rd Grade

I've had to really add lots of easier nonfiction to my 3rd grade classroom library.  I realized so much of what I have requires lots of experience with nonfiction text.  But I am thrilled to find lots of great nonfiction and my 3rd graders are reading more nonfiction than ever.  It is tricky to find nonfiction perfect for 3rd grade--it has to be interesting enough for 8 year olds but it needs to be accessible. I have seen nonfiction really turn some of my kids into readers this year because I've been so intentional about the nonfiction section of our classroom library.

Scholastic Discover More series is one that I have come to LOVE LOVE LOVE this year.  There are three different "levels" to this series but the difference isn't so obvious to kids. The easier books in this series are 32 pages long and they are great for primary readers.  The topics are interesting and I have several kids who have read all 8 books in this part of the series. Definitely one of my favorite nonfiction series as it is packed but the text level is doable for kids who have trouble finding engaging nonfiction.

I've mentioned before how much I love Brad Meltzer's picture book I am Rosa Parks this week--not sure how I missed it when it was released. My kids love this series and this one is as good as the others. I love the way that Rosa tells her own story and how much readers can learn about the civil rights movement from this book. This series continues to impress me--just wish they were coming out faster!

The last nonfiction book I picked up recently was Kali's Story by Jennifer Keats Curtis. It is a simple story with very accessible text. I am glad to add as many shorter, easier texts as I can because I believe volume matters and kids are more willing to read a book that seems doable for them, when nonfiction is new.  Kali's Story is the story of a baby polar bear who was rescued after his mother died. It is a story my kids will love and one that might lead them to other books with similar rescue stories.  The photos are adorable and they will draw kids in immediately.

So glad I committed to reading more nonfiction in 2015.  I am already a bit behind but just knowing I set a goal has me reading more than I would have otherwise.  You can head over to Kidlit Frenzy for the Nonfiction Wednesday round up!

I Am Jackie Robinson by Brad Meltzer

I'm so glad I decided to participate in the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge hosted at Kidlit Frenzy.  It is a great reminder to keep up with my nonfiction reading in 2015!

The newish picture book biography series, "Ordinary People Change the World" by Brad Meltzer's a perfect nonfiction series for elementary students.  We have the first few books in our classroom and I've noticed that several kids are picking them up on their own to read during independent reading time.  They are great stories and are very accessible to young children.

These books look simpler than they are.  I read the newest title, I Am Jackie Robinson this weekend and realized how packed the book is.  The focus of the story and the theme of all of the books is one about heroes.  So the story focuses on the things Jackie Robinson did to change the world.  The stories is an engaging one for kids and the illustrations make them books that kids will pick up even without our nudging.

From a nonfiction reading standpoint, I plan to use these books to teach lots of mini lessons.  The page layouts, the ways the talking bubbles share details that go beyond the main text, the timeline at the end of the book, and other features all make these books a new favorite nonfiction series for me.

I love this new edition and am looking forward to the next book in the series--I Am Lucille Ball coming in July.

This short clip tells a bit more about the series:

NF Book Challenge #1: When Lunch Fights Back: Wickedly Clever Animal Defenses

I have been trying to keep up with good nonfiction for kids. So this year, I decided to try to participate in Alyson Beecher's Nonfiction Challenge. I certainly won't be able to read the number of NF books that she does, but my hope is 52 nonfiction books or one each week in 2015.

This week, after seeing it on the CYBILS Finalists for NF list, I decided it was time I read WHEN LUNCH FIGHTS BACK. I've seen lots of buzz about this book but hadn't sat down to read it.  And I'm glad I did.

The book is longer and more intense than I anticipated.  I think grades 4-7 are probably about right for it. It seems like a good match for readers who love the Scientist in the Field series.  There is lots to like about this book.   First of all, the premise of animal defenses is a good one and this one frames it in a unique way. Each chapter focuses on a way that an animal might defend itself. Then it goes into a story about an animal being attacked and using that defense. Following the story and photos, there is a section for each that gives us "The Science Behind the Story" and explains what is happening.  In most of these segments, there are quotes from or information about a scientist who studies the particular animal.   I love the combination of these components.

As I was reading, I realized what a great writing mentor this could be. There are different types of informational writing in each section and that comparison would make for an interesting mini lesson. The language and craft of the actual stories of animal defense are incredible and writers can learn lots from studying these short pieces of text.

In my quest to know more nonfiction authors, I realized I didn't recognize the author' name--Rebecca L. Johnson. But when I checked out her website, I realized that I do know some of her work and it is fabulous. She definitely writes for an older elementary/middle school audience. I will definitely keep my eye on her books from now on.

Reading History

Last week, the historian in my house was hustling to finish his current read so that he could begin a book about World War I on June 28, the date 100 years ago when Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated and the domino effect of events leading to the declaration of World War I began.

I was between books as well, so I dove into

World War I for Kids: A History with 21 Activities (For Kids series)
by R. Kent Rasmussen
Chicago Review Press, 2014
review copy provided by the publisher

Just about everything I know about WWI, I learned by reading the graphic novel from the Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales series, TREATIES, TRENCHES, MUD, AND BLOOD. In many ways, I liked World War I for kids better.

Hale's book is more of a sequential story of the war, whereas WWI for Kids is more topical. I personally like the topical approach.

Rasmussen begins with a very clear introduction that focuses on WWI as "the most important turning point of the 20th century." He makes the point that "Change is the essence of history..." and suggests that the reader not focus so much on particular battles or on who won or lost the war, but on "what events were truly significant, why they happened as they did, and how they were connected with one another." He also encourages close attention to maps when studying the war. "It is impossible to understand any war without knowing something about its geography." I can imagine reading aloud this entire introduction both as a book hook and because Rasmussen does such a succinct job teaching the reader how to read and learn about history.

I had a hard time with the first two chapters (The Road to War and Stalemate on the Western Front) and chapter 4 (Other Fronts), but the ones that were organized around topics rather than politics and chronologies were fascinating to me. I learned about the horrors of Trench Warfare, the changes of technology in The Weapons of War, The War at Sea and the development of submarines, The War in the Air and the development of airplanes, and the role of animals in Animals Go To War. It was fascinating to learn about how and when the US become involved (Enter the United States), but I lost some of my reading stamina in the chapters The Home Fronts, Ending the Fighting, and Beyond the Armistice. One of the things that kept me going throughout the book were the archival photographs, the maps, and the sidebar information and stories. I think it will be important to share with young readers who are just beginning to tackle longer nonfiction that these variations in preference and stamina are normal.

I imagine that this book, and its companion World War II for Kids: A History with 21 Activities (For Kids series)will be very popular in my 5th grade classroom.

Picture Book Surprises, part 3: Poetry Friday

Dear Wandering Wildebeest: And Other Poems from the Water Hole
by Irene Latham
illustrated by Anna Wadham
Millbrook Press, August 1. 2014
review copy provided by the publisher

What a surprise to visit an African Water Hole with Irene Latham!

The fifteen poems in this picture book introduce us to the importance of the water hole to the African grassland ecosystem. Each poem is accompanied by a short bit of nonfiction text that tells more about the water hole or the animal featured in the poem.

Working alone or in small groups, I can imagine students using this book (and others like it that combine poetry and nonfiction) as a mentor text for their own writing about an ecosystem, their neighborhood, or the cultures they are studying in social studies.

The other two rhyming/poetry books in this week's Picture Book Surprises series:

Picture Book Surprise #1 -- THE GREAT BIG GREEN by Peggy Gifford

Picture Book Surprise #2 -- JOY IN MUDVILLE by Bob Raczka


Jone has the Poetry Friday roundup this week at Check it Out.

Poetry Friday Roundup host/hostesses are still needed in July, August, November and December. Sign up here.

Using the Encyclopedia

Flickr Creative Commons photo by Rishabh Mishra,
and no, the ones we're using aren't this old!

On our whirlwind tour of the 50 Nifty, my students are using the encyclopedia to do some quick research on states as we travel region by region.

Encyclopedia the BOOK, not Encyclopedia dot com.

It was quite funny the day I launched them. They had chosen their state and they ran to the cart and grabbed a volume.

"How do you turn this on?"
"Hey, this book only has words that start with G!"

I had to hold my tongue carefully in reply to the first (I wanted to use the punchline from It's a Book), and I was incredulous when I heard the second. Their lack of knowledge about the way the encyclopedia works started with the fact that each volume contains a letter or few letters-worth of information!

Needless to say, we had an unplanned minilesson right there and then on the layout of the set, and then another on the structure of the articles on the states.

As we travel region by region and students repeat the research (landforms, economy, native people, settlers), every single day I have conversations with students reminding them to read the graphics, read the captions of pictures, use the bold headings as clues about what information is being presented, skim and scan for key words.

This is good stuff.

The thing I like the very most about the encyclopedia is that you can't just ask it the question and wait for it to give you what it thinks you'll want for an answer.

The thing I like second most about the encyclopedia relates to the first: you have to turn actual pages. The text sits still.

Also, when you use the encyclopedia, you don't have to wait for it to turn on, you don't have to log in, and slow Internet never concerns you.

And whether they believe it or not, everything they are learning about reading a book-encyclopedia article will make them a better reader of online articles.

Three cheers for the unsung hero -- the ENCYCLOPEDIA!

Nonfiction: Writing Great Leads

We are finishing up a unit of study on nonfiction writing.  In the midst of our study, it became clear that my students needed help learning to write well-crafted introductions.  As 3rd graders, they don't yet have much experience with this so many of their drafts began with sentences such as "I am going to tell you about..."  So I started to share some great nonfiction leads and we studied those. But it wasn't until I discovered the introductions in the National Geographic Kids Everything books that things started to fall into place.  

I have purchased several National Geographic Kids Everything (National Geographic Kids Everything Rocks and Minerals: Dazzling gems of photos and info that will rock your world) books this year. They are really well done and all focus on topics kids love.  The text is challenging but accessible and they immediately draw kids in.  So, as I was looking for good leads to share with kids, I pulled on from the shelf to see what type of intros they had as I hadn't paid much attention before.  Well, I was thrilled with what I read. The lead in every single one of these books is incredible!

For example, here is the lead to the book about Rocks and Minerals.  Take a minute to read it.

A pretty solid introduction into the topic.  Clear and well crafted. And then it ends with a little humor.  As we read on, we realized that each and every introduction does a little content-specific wordplay in the introduction as a way to transition into the story.

Over 2 days, we studied 6 introductions from this series and kids played with all they were learning. These were the perfect pieces to study and they helped kids really understand that a lead was not necessarily a first sentence, that it needed to be organized and set up the piece, and that it could use humor to do so. 

I have to say, I didn't really expect to use this series as mentors for writing but these intros are amazing.   haven't discovered many other introductions for my 3rd graders to study, that are as strong as these.  

A Melissa Stewart Week

One of my goals this year was to find more nonfiction authors and series that I knew and loved.  I realized that there were so many fiction series and authors I knew and loved, but that was not true of nonfiction. I tend to talk to my students about nonfiction differently than I talk about fiction. I tend to talk topic and rarely know the author. I also hadn't realized how important nonfiction series books could be for upper elementary readers.  So I knew I needed to find more of those.

This week, I realized just how much I love Melissa Stewart.  I knew that I liked her and her name was one I knew as a nonfiction writer, but until this week I had no idea just how many amazing nonfiction books she has written for upper elementary students.

Here is how it happened.  I have a student who loves sharks, dolphins and ocean creatures. I am always looking for new books for him and I happened upon Shark or Dolphin?: How Do You Know? (Which Animal Is Which?) I am trying to add books that are meant to be read cover to cover and this one looked perfect.  I noticed that it was by Melissa Stewart so I figured it must be good. I ordered the book and noticed there were lots of other books in the series. I decided I'd check it out before I ordered the others. Well, the book arrived and it is amazing.  Each page compares a feature of sharks and dolphins and tells how they are different. The text is accessible and the book is packed with information. Even for readers who know lots about sharks and dolphins, my bet is that there is something new in this book! This is definitely a series that belongs in elementary classrooms so I ordered a few more.

A few days later, the book Feathers: Not Just for Flying arrived from Amazon. I forgot that I had preordered it when I read a review for it online.  (I don't often preorder books but this one sounded too good to miss and I was afraid I would forget about it.)  WOW! What an amazing read. Again, Melissa Stewart organizes the information in a way that is accessible, yet packed with information. The book goes through the many uses for feathers--who knew? She gives specific examples for each way feathers are used and the illustrations by Sarah S. Brannen are a perfect match.   I hadn't paid attention to the author when I preordered the book, so when I saw that it was Melissa Stewart, I noticed a little pattern.

The next day, my Scholastic Book Club order arrived. My students didn't order this month but there were a few things I wanted for the classroom. One item I purchased was a set National Geographic Readers set with books like National Geographic Readers: Dolphins. They seemed like a good addition in terms of topic and accessibility and I've been so impressed with everything National Geographic lately that I added them to my order.  What a surprise that every book in the pack was by Melissa Stewart? (and that I noticed!)

Finally, my kids have been reading lots of books in our "Birds" basket.  We have a bird watching area at our school that we are starting to help out with so they've been very interested in anything birds. I have a decent collection of books in this category as it goes well with our science too.  As I was straightening up the basket, I noticed A Place for Birds, a newer book in the basket and noticed that it was again by Melissa Stewart!  Browsing online this week, I realized that this too is part of a series--the A Place For series.  I will definitely have to check more of these books out.

And today, as I was writing, I popped online to see if there were possibly any more great titles I was missing by Melissa Stewart and it seems there is a Good Question Series (How Does a Seed Sprout?: And Other Questions About Plants (Good Question!) that looks like another perfect series for this age.

Finally, I visited Melissa Stewart's website today so that I could link it for this post and again I was floored. Not only does she have a great website with great information. But she has videos that share her revision timeline, video minilesson and more. Her website is a treat in itself. I am trying so hard to do a better job of nonfiction craft minilessons in writing and I am so happy to have discovered these videos!

Really, Melissa Stewart's work is amazing and even though I knew it before, I didn't realize how many things she had that are incredible. Because she has different illustrators and because some of her books use photos while others use illustrations, it isn't obvious to a reader like me that she is the author. I am so glad that these Melissa Stewart events happened so I could finally see her entire body of work and make the connections. This experience made me realize again how little attention I've paid to nonfiction authors' names as I read and share nonfiction with my students.  So glad to see that is changing. Melissa Stewart is definitely one of my favorite authors for nonfiction in elementary classrooms!

Stamina in Nonfiction Reading

Locomotive
by Brian Floca
Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books, (September 3, 2013)

Review copy from the public library, but I have a feeling I'll be buying this one!

Don't you hate it when the perfect book for one of your social studies standards comes out the year after they change your standards? ARGH!

I struggled to find ways to make the Transcontinental Railroad accessible to urban 5th graders, most of whom had never traveled out of the state, let alone across the country by any means of transportation, and who had never seen a train, let alone a steam engine, up close.

Well, just because the Transcontinental Railroad is no longer in our social studies standards doesn't mean I can't use this book as a part of our nonfiction unit.

One of my goals for my students in this unit is that they will build stamina for reading longer and longer nonfiction. One of my goals for read aloud this year is that I'll actually DO what I've said I would do for years now -- integrate nonfiction read alouds.

This is the perfect book to support both goals.

We will study the endpapers -- the maps in the front and the diagram of a steam engine in the back -- using the document camera. 

The poetic text filled with the sounds of the train will draw us in and keep us going. 

We will read the notes in the back (even though there are a lot of small words on the page), maybe even doing a close reading to fuel a discussion of cause/effect, compare/contrast, and "what next?" (another goal for this nonfiction unit is that my students will find topics and authors that lead them from one nonfiction book to the next).

Here's a great video on the history of steam trains to watch before or after reading the book:

Thankful For the Public Library!

The first thing you notice when you walk into my room is the books -- six shelves there (with tubs across the tops of all of them), a homemade cinderblock and plank shelf there, two tall ones there, two short ones under the chalk tray there, the one behind the small table that serves as my desk...books are everywhere.

And yet, as I worked on the details of how I would approach the nonfiction unit we were set to start this week, the details about what other kinds of learning I was going to aim for beyond the standards that guided our planning, I realized I didn't have enough nonfiction books.

Praise be for the ability to place reserves online!

Praise be for TWO library cards -- a citizen card plus an educator card!

I have 17 different volumes in the Scientists in the Field series checked out. I want to explore with my students what kind of stamina it takes to read longer nonfiction. (No, these aren't the only longer nonfiction choices they'll have, but what a great place to start, eh?)

I have 22 books by Steve Jenkins checked out. These books support a range of readers. And they are already noticing what I hoped they would -- the very narrow and creative topic choices Jenkins makes. I want him to be a mentor for their topic selection when we get deeper into the writing portion of this unit.

I have 9 books by Don Brown checked out (this is his newest ...with a name like Don Brown, it's hard to do an author search on Amazon!). He's coming to the Dublin Literacy Conference in February! He writes more literary nonfiction, without the internal text features we often see in nonfiction and with more of a story arc as the structure. He has great "stepping stone" books that might get a reader interested in a topic that they will explore further. This is another sub-goal I have for this nonfiction unit.

(If it feels like I'm stopping this post without fully explaining everything -- like I did with my word study choice time post yesterday -- blame #nerdlution. This is my 30 minutes to write and if I don't stop now, I won't get showered and a lunch made and to school on time! At least this one is better edited than yesterday's [I hope]. I'm planning to update the word study choice post with information that answers some of the questions in the comments. What else are you wondering about our nonfiction study?)

CYBILS: Picture Book Biographies

I love being part of the CYBILS! It is always so wonderful to learn about and read so many books in a single category.  This year, I am part of the Elementary and Middle Grade Nonfiction Committee. I have loved discovering new books and am excited to share some on the blog.  Today, I want to share two new-to-me picture book biographies.

The thing I love about recent picture book biographies is that so many of them tell the stories of people whose impact has been lost or forgotten somehow. Or their impact has certainly not been written in a way that is accessible to children. These two are new picture book biographies that will give readers info as well as maybe spark some new interest connected with the difference each person made in the world.

When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop by Laban Carrick Hill is the story of DJ Kool Herc and how he became a DJ.  The story begins with his childhood and how his love of music impacted all that he did.  DJ Kool Herc was responsible for extending breaks so listeners had more time to dance  (break-dancers).  His DJ-ing was quite the party and made people everywhere happy.  The author's note and timeline in the back add more interesting info to the story and the author's journey toward writing this story.

There are so many great books about the ways in which women in history changed the ideas around what was expected of them. Flying Solo: How Ruth Elder Soared into America's Heart by Julie Cummins is one of those books.  This is the story of Ruth Elder, a woman who was determined to become the "female Lindbergh" and to fly across the Atlantic.  She spent much of her life showing that women could be pilots and we learn about things like the 1929 all women's cross-country air race in which Ruth participated.  I love these stories that show determined people showing what is possible and changing perceptions throughout history. 

CYBILS: Nonfiction Picture Books

I love being part of the CYBILS! It is always so wonderful to learn about and read so many books in a single category.  This year, I am part of the Elementary and Middle Grade Nonfiction Committee. I have loved discovering new books and am excited to share some on the blog.

It's Our Garden: From Seeds to Harvest in a School Garden by George Ancona is one I am so glad to have discovered.  A few years ago, I created a list of books to go along with the idea of community garden and I have only found a few more since then.  This new book is one that kids will love because they will see themselves in the book.  The book is told in narrative and follows the chronology of one New Mexico elementary school's community garden.  The book begins with one person's dream of a garden and takes us through lots of ideas, stages, learning and work.  It is clear that George Ancona spent lots of time in this school, learning about how the community garden is integrated into the school community.  The gorgeous photos not only capture the content of the information, but they also capture the joy and energy of the project.

Pedal It!: How Bicycles are Changing the World (Footprints) by Michelle Mulder is another book I'm happy to have recently discovered.  The book is a short chapter book (46 pages) about the history and impact of bicycles in our world.  The beginning of the book shares some important history in the invention timeline of the bicycles. The photos and artifacts bring these events to life for kids.  (The short news article about a woman wearing bloomers on a bicycle being warned of arrest was quite telling:-)  The rest of the book goes on to tell how and why bicycles are so important today and how they are used for different purposes in different places. Again, photos are an important way that this book shares information with readers. This book is packed with interesting information about bicycles and there are many possibilities for it in the classroom.

And what kid wouldn't like Toilet: How It Works (My Readers. Level 4)?   (I didn't realize that David

Macaulay has a series of these including one on castles, jet plane, and eyes.) This is a simple explanation of the way a toilet works.  The book helps readers make sense of how the toilet work through the use of words, illustrations and diagrams.  The book takes us from the meal we eat to the end of the cycle when the water is cleaned in a large tank.  An interesting read and a complex idea told in a way that young readers can grasp!

2 New Favorite Nonfiction Authors

This summer, I did a Choice Literacy workshop for teachers around Nonfiction. I spoke in the morning and Andrea Smith spoke in the afternoon.  It was a great day of learning as I always learn so much from Andrea. But the big surprise was the books.  I have been on the lookout for better nonfiction for years and I love my collection lately.  I brought crates and crates of books for my part of the presentation.  Andrea also brought crates and crates for her part of the presentation.  The room was filled with amazing nonfiction for children.  And here's the thing, there was almost NO overlap in the books I brought and the books Andrea brought.  We each had a great collection of DIFFERENT books!  Needless to say, it was an expensive afternoon of amazon ordering but I discovered some great new books.

Now, well into the school year, I've realized I have 2 new nonfiction authors thanks to this workshop.

Suzi Eszterhas is an author I discovered while I was getting ready for the workshop months earlier. I don't know where I read about or saw her newish series EYE ON THE WILD (Eye on the Wild: Lion)  but I fell in love immediately.  This series currently has about 6 books--each about a different animal in the wild. Each book begins when the animal is a baby and takes it through adulthood.  The text is narrative and very well written. There is enough on the page for my 3rd graders, but not so much to make it overwhelming. And Eszterhas's photos are amazing. I checked out her website as I am a new fan and loved learning about her other work. The part of her website that was most fascinating was the section on tours and workshops. I would NEVER want to go on any adventure that observes animals in the wild, but I love that she does and that we get to learn from her brilliance!  Two more books in this series are due out in 2014 and I am very happy about that!  And I definitely want to go back and check out her past work in Ranger Rick and Time Magazine! Love finding a new favorite author.

The other author was one I discovered from Andrea at the workshop.  I knew Markle from The Case of Sandra Markle was an author I didn't know as an author--I had a few of her books but had never really looked at them together to see what Sandra Markle was about. Well, what a happy discovery!  Sandra writes great nonfiction books for kids around a variety of science topics. The thing is, all of her books have different illustrators/photographers, so it is hard to notice that they are all by this wonderful author. Go through your classroom or school library and I bet you have lots by this author.  I love her work because she really makes things more interesting and very accessible to children. Her take and focus on big topics narrows things down so kids can really understand.  Her language is beautiful and can be used in any minilesson on craft.  I currently love her Animal Predators series.  Owls in this series is one a few of my students have loved.
the Vanishing Tree Frog but hadn't paid attention to how many other books she wrote that I loved! 

Moving Beyond "Interesting Facts"

I have noticed over the past few years that one of the most popular books in our nonfiction library is Weird but True! 5: 300 Outrageous Facts by National Geographic kids.  It is a book filled with 300 weird facts and kids become totally immersed, wanting to share lots of things they discover. I can see the fascination with these books and I love that they get kids reading nonfiction, but I have noticed that more and more nonfiction books for kids are merely lists of disconnected facts with accompanying photos.  Kids who are drawn to books like this are also drawn to books like Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Books which invite skimming and scanning for interesting facts.  After spending 4 years as an elementary librarian, I saw the impact of being stuck in this kind of reading as students skimmed and scanned and often had misinterpretations because they were merely looking for "cool facts". These books might be a great starting point but if our kids stick with reading only these kinds of nonfiction books, they probably won't grow as nonfiction readers.

I know that the jump from WEIRD BUT TRUE to The Snake Scientist (Scientists in the Field Series) isn't going to happen without some transition. I also know that our young readers don't have as much experience with nonfiction as they do with fiction. So, it's our job to put quality nonfiction--booksbthat move them as readers--in our classrooms.   I have a great collection of nonfiction but as I watched my students over the last few weeks, I realized I don't have much that will help my WEIRD BUT TRUE readers transition to more complex books. The jump from WEIRD BUT TRUE to other nonfiction books in the classroom seems to be a bit too big.

See, this always happens. My husband doesn't quite understand. But, no matter how many books I begin the year with, there are gaps. There are kids who need different books than those I have. So again, I am on the lookout to fill those gaps. Right now, I am on the lookout for books that might be an easy transition to get these readers reading a bit more than isolated facts.  I know they are not going to go for a book with too much text so I have to be purposeful in the books I suggest. This week I found two at Cover to Cover that I am hopeful will engage a few of these fact readers.

101 Animal Babies by Melvin and Gilda is not a book I'd normally pick up because it looks similar to WEIRD BUT TRUE. It is a Scholastic book that looks like lots that are out there. But when I opened this one, it looked perfect for a few reasons.  Each page features a baby animal with 2 photos of the animal.  Accompanying each set of photos is a 9-10 line paragraph about the animal. The font is big and fun enough so as not to be alarming and the text is not so long that it will intimidate readers.  Kids will find very cool facts within the text but the facts are embedded in a paragraph. And the paragraphs are all related in that they are all about animal babies. So lots of natural comparing/contrasting of facts will happen.  This book does not need to be read cover to cover which is another plus for kids transitioning to longer, more complex nonfiction.  I also thought this would be a great intro to the ZOOBORNS blog and might invite some online reading as well.

The other book I picked up (thanks to Beth at Cover to Cover) was Bone Collection: Animals by Rob Colson. The cover of this book will invite readers in as lots of cool skeletons sit on an old journal-type cover.  Each  two-page spread in this book focuses on an animal but the pages work together in that one page focuses on a skeleton and the next page shows a similar animal (not in skeleton form) and how other similar species compare to the featured skeleton.  Each page is filled with short paragraphs of text. Some pages also include photos, notes, labels, etc.  A table of contents and index allow kids to jump in where they want so they don't need to read this book cover to cover. However, the introduction lets the reader know that the book is set up to see similarities and differences between animals and then moves us to the human skeleton where we can see how much we have in common with other animals.  So this book has lots of ways for readers to enter--they can look for cool facts by reading the short pieces on a page or they can put info together by reading a few consecutive pages. Lots of opportunities to push a little further as nonfiction readers.

I'll continue to share more of these transitional nonfiction books as I find them! I'd love to hear about titles that I can add to my collection so let me know if you know of any.

A Place For Turtles

A Place for Turtles
by Melissa Stewart
illustrated by Higgins Bond
Peachtree, 2013
review copy provided by the pubisher

There is so much to love about this book.

From the moment you open the cover, there is information. The endpapers have maps of a dozen North American turtles and their ranges.

The main text, across the top of a gorgeous two-page illustration, is brief and accessible.

On the first spread, we are given the thesis of the book. The structure of the text is identifiably problem/solution or cause/effect: "Turtles make our world a better place. But sometimes people do things that make it hard for them to live and gro. If we work together to help these special creatures, there will always be a place for turtles."

The main text of very spread gives the main idea of one human-caused problem and its solution. In the sidebar information, the problem is explained in more detail (including more information about the affected species of turtle) as well as what humans are doing to rectify the problems they've caused for the turtles.

We are getting ready to start nonfiction writing and research in my 5th grade language arts classes. Every topic won't lend itself to a cause/effect structure, but this will be the book I use as a mentor text for that structure.

On a side note...how did I miss this series, A Place For...? Stewart and Bond have books about bats, butterflies, frogs, and birds. I'm off to the library to check them out, and then perhaps to the bookstore!