Nonfiction Picture Book Releases - September 2012





The Nonfiction Detectives and I are hosting a Non-Fiction Picture Book Challenge.  My goal has been to kick off the month with the new nonfiction picture book release titles.  Here are the September titles that I have found so far, but I know there are more.  Please share with me titles that you have found.


September 4, 2012

Monsieur Marceau by Leada Schubert; Illustrated by Gerard DuBois

September 11, 2012


Annie and Helen by Deborah Hopkinson; Illustrated by Raúl Colón

September 18, 2012


Island: A Story of the Galápagos by Jason Chin

September 26, 2012


Unusual Creatures: A Mostly Accurate Account of Some of Earth's Strangest Animals by Michael Hearst; Illustrated by Jelmer Noordeman

The links for the above books will take you directly to the IndieBound.org book page for purchasing information, unless otherwise noted.  Please note, I do not make anything off these links or profit in anyway from posting the links.   I know that I am still searching for September releases and will likely do an update later in the month. If you know of a book that should be included in this list, please include the title and author in the comments section and I will update the list. 

Feel free to link your nonfiction picture book reviews to the Mr. Linky below.   

Some of my favorite things (or should I say favorite Graphic Novels)

September seems to have become the time of the year when some of my favorite graphic novelists celebrate book releases.  Here are a few that have either just been released or will be released in the next couple of weeks.  


Drama by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic Graphix, September 1, 2012)

Check out the official book trailer for Drama:





Amulet Vol 5:  Prince of the Elves  by Kazu Kibuishi (Scholastic Graphix, September 1, 2012)


Legends of Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke (First Second, September 4, 2012)

Check out the official book trailer of Legends of Zita the Spacegirl:




Lunch Lady #8: Lunch Lady and the Picture Book Peril by Jarrett J. Kroscozka (Random House, September 11, 2012)


Squish #4: Captain Disaster by Jenni and Matt Holm (Random House, Septempber 25, 2012)

It's Monday! What are you reading? From Picture Books to YA (38)

It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey. Jen & Kellee from Teach Mentor Texts have adapted this to focus on Picture Books to Young Adult Books.

It seems that I am going to have a few more slow reading weeks until the new school year settles in. 

Here are a couple of highlights from the past week:


Olivia and the Fairy Princesses by Ian Falconer - Fans of Olivia is going to love this latest story. 


Glamorous Glasses by Barbara Newman - One cousin needs glasses but doesn't want to wear them.  The other cousin wishes she had glasses.  Kind of fun to see what happens when they trade.  Great ending too.


I Like Old Clothes by Mary Ann Hoberman, Illustrated by Patrice Barton - This one is just a wonderful story.  A great way of looking at old clothes. 


Robot Zombie Frankenstein by Annette Simon - Fun, quirky, and brightly colored. 


 All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome by Kathy Hoopmann - Brilliant way of looking at Asperger Syndrome accompanied by the pictures of cats and cat behavior. 

So what are you reading this week?

I am currently reading..


Capture the Flag by Kate Messner 


The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Ivy & Bean Day Blog-a-Bration Week 3

And the count down to the 1st Annual International Ivy & Bean Day continues.  This week Chronicle Books is giving away a copy of Ivy & Bean Book 3: Break the Fossil Record to one lucky winner and a set of mini-note cards to 3 other winners. Click here to check out the Ivy & Bean official page.


World Record books have a way of drawing kids in.  Bean and her fellow second graders can't help but be thoroughly fascinated by all the different ways that people have ended up in the Book of World Records that Bean's teacher lends to her.  After several of Ivy & Bean's classmates state that they want to break some of the world records, Ivy begin concocting her own plan to break a world record.  Of course, in true Ivy & Bean fashion, it is filled with a few hilarious failed attempts including a broken dish when trying to break a record for fastest dishwashing to being banned to the outdoors after screaming so loud in an attempt to break one of Bean's sister's glass figurines.  Inspired by a book Ivy is reading about a women paleontologist, the two girls set out to discover dinosaur bones in Bean's back yard.  In true Ivy & Bean spirit, the girls do find bones but breaking a world record may come in a completely different manner in the end.

So does anyone have an interesting story about a student(s) who attempted to break a world record after reading World Record book? Love to hear your own story in the comments section.

Other Bloggers celebrating Ivy & Bean Blog-a-Bration:

                     Media Darlings                                  
                     There's A Book                                  
                    In the Pages                                      
                      The O.W.L.                                         
                  Coquette Maman                            
                   Ruth Ayres Writes                           
Watch. Connect. Read.
                 One Page to the Next                    
                 Van Meter Library Voice               
               The Family That Reads Together
                Roundtable Reviews for Kids      
                 Sharpread                                    
                                                               The Children's Book Review        

This week's giveaway will run from August 30th to September 1st.  Don't forget to enter the giveaway by filling in the form at the bottom of the page.

The Winners of this week's giveaways will be entered into the Grand Prize Giveaway.  Thanks Chronicle Books for this great prize pack:


A complete set of Ivy and Bean hardcover books signed by Annie Barrows 

1 set of Ivy and Bean Paper Dolls 

1 Ivy and Bean Button Factory 

1 Ivy and Bean READ Poster signed by Annie Barrows 

Set of Ivy and Bean Silly Bandz · Set of Ivy and Bean stickers 

AND – a super-secret really cool prize we’re working on (stay tuned!)

Nonfiction Picture Book Wedesday - A Rock is Lively

Author: Dianna Hutts Aston
Illustrator: Sylvia Long
Publisher: Chronicle Books (August 29, 2012)
Source: Copy for Review
Independent Reading Level: Grades 3 to 5
Read Aloud Level: Grades 1 to 3
Nonfiction * Science * Rocks/Minerals

Description from GoodReads:
From the award-winning creators of An Egg Is Quiet, A Seed Is Sleepy, and A Butterfly Is Patient comes a gorgeous and informative introduction to the fascinating world of rocks. From dazzling blue lapis lazuli to volcanic snowflake obsidian, an incredible variety of rocks are showcased in all their splendor. Poetic in voice and elegant in design, this book introduces an array of facts, making it equally perfect for classroom sharing and family reading.

My thoughts on this book:
As soon as I saw the cover for A Rock is Lively, I knew I had to read this book.  Aside for the fact that it is just as beautifully illustrated and formatted as the other books in this series, I knew the text would be engaging and informative.  Sure enough, it lived up to my expectations.


Right from the first page, the illustrations nearly pop off the page, and Aston has drawn readers in with her comparison of rock composition to the batter or ingredients for cookies.


One by one, Aston takes readers through various aspects and features of rocks from the age of rocks to their size.

The above picture captures how sand is composed of tiny grains of rocks.


Aston also explores how rocks can be useful, or creative, or energetic.  The book if filled with special facts and information that are made easily accessible for young readers.


A Rock is Lively is a beautiful addition to the series created by Aston and Long.  Each of their books should have a place in a classroom or school library.

Don't forget to look for A Rock is Lively at your school or public library or pick up a copy at your local independent bookstore.

Thanks to Chronicle Books, I have a copy of A Rock is Lively for giveaway.  The giveaway will from from August 29th to September 4th.



Don't forget to link up your nonfiction book reviews here: