Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: Astronauts-Aquanauts: How Space Science and Sea Interact

Astronauts-Aquanauts: How Space Science and Sea Interact
by Jennifer Swanson; Forward by Fabien Cousteau and Kathryn D. Sullivan
National Geographic for Kids (January 9, 2018)
Nonfiction * Science & Nature * Discoveries
Audience: Ages 9 to 12
Indiebound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads: 
Journey from the deepest trenches in the oceans to the farthest humans have ventured into space and learn what it takes to explore the extremes. You might just be surprised by how similar the domains of ASTRONAUTS and AQUANAUTS really are.

Space and the ocean. If you don't think they go together, think again! Both deep-sea and space explorers have to worry about pressure, temperature, climate, and most importantly, how to survive in a remote and hostile environment. Join us on an amazing journey as we go up in space with astronauts and dive deep down in the ocean with aquanauts to explore the far-off places of our planet and the solar system.

With a strong tie into STEM topics--such as making connections, making comparisons, and recognizing patterns across content areas--readers will discover the amazing science and incredible innovations that allow humans (and sometimes only machines) to survive in these harsh environments.

Quick thoughts about the book:
Have you ever thought about how astronauts are similar to aquanauts? We have all heard about astronauts but I honestly have never thought about those who explore the sea as being aquanauts. When I looked up the word, I discovered that it has been in use since the 1880's. Hmmm...I guess I haven't been reading the right books all these years. However, isn't this part of why you love reading nonfiction so that you can learn new things? I know it is certainly one of my reasons for reading so many fabulous books.

I love learning new things and Jennifer Swanson's newest book provides readers with a looks at the similarities and differences of exploring space and sea. The book looks extensively at the environments of space and the deep sea and how both astronauts and aquanauts have to have extensive training, special suits, and understand how these unique environments will affect their bodies. Readers learn how buoyancy and gravity along with pressure are significant factors in exploring space and the deep sea. I appreciated the clear explanations and examples used to explain these concepts. I also realized that I had developed misconceptions of what a "lack of gravity" in space really meant. 

Swanson also includes activities that you can try at home to learn more about some of the concepts discussed in the book. At the end of the book, readers get to "meet" real astronauts and aquanauts through several mini-bios. 

As typical in books published by National Geographic, the book is filled with fabulous photographs, lots of definitions, extra facts and additional resources. For teachers looking for a book which uses a comparison/contrast text structure to share with students, this one is a good example to include in your classroom library. 

Look for Astronauts-Aquanauts: How Space Science and Sea Science Interact at your local indie bookstore or community library. 

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews...

The Underneath by Kathy Appelt - 10th Anniversary Celebration & Giveaway

The Underneath
by Kathy Appelt; Illustrations by David Small
Atheneum Books for Young Readers (Original Publication Date: May 2008,
10th Anniversary Edition, May 2018)
Fiction * Survival * Animals
Audience: Ages 10 to 14
Indiebound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads: 
A calico cat, about to have kittens, hears the lonely howl of a chained-up hound deep in the backwaters of the bayou. She dares to find him in the forest, and the hound dares to befriend this cat, this feline, this creature he is supposed to hate. They are an unlikely pair, about to become an unlikely family. Ranger urges the cat to hide underneath the porch, to raise her kittens there because Gar-Face, the man living inside the house, will surely use them as alligator bait should he find them. But they are safe in the Underneath...as long as they stay in the Underneath.

Kittens, however, are notoriously curious creatures. And one kitten's one moment of curiosity sets off a chain of events that is astonishing, remarkable, and enormous in its meaning. For everyone who loves Sounder, Shiloh, and The Yearling, for everyone who loves the haunting beauty of writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Flannery O'Connor, and Carson McCullers, Kathi Appelt spins a harrowing yet keenly sweet tale about the power of love — and its opposite, hate — the fragility of happiness and the importance of making good on your promises.

Thoughts about this book: 
I vividly remember when I first read this book. Some books I remember reading but do not recall a lot about them. Other books, I remember the emotional feeling that the book produced in me as I read it, even when I can't remember anything about the book. Other books stay with you. They haunt you and leave strong emotions and vivid images of the book. The Underneath was the latter. Even nine years later, it still haunts me and I can still recall so much of the book.

When I first picked this book up, it was months after it had been recognized as a National Book Award Finalist and a Newbery Honor. I was getting back into extensively reading children's literature. I read it for a book club. Honestly, I had a very strong and somewhat negative reaction to the book. Initially, the book made me uncomfortable. It made me think. I questioned whether it was appropriate for children. 

Over the years, I have kept reading books and talking with teachers and librarians all over the country and my thoughts about books for children evolved. I read other books by Kathi Appelt and found that I grew to appreciate and understand her writing style. And despite how much I enjoyed her other books, The Underneath continued to be the book that stayed with me. It makes me think like no other book ever had. As a result, my feelings about this book did an about face.

As I revisited The Underneath for this 10th Anniversary post, I realize how much I have grown as a reader and as a teacher because of the books that I have read. Over the years, I have learned that children can often handle really challenging topics and heavy emotions. And I have learned that you shouldn't underestimate children's ability to grapple complex concepts. For all of this, I am thankful to Kathi Appelt and her beautiful book, The Underneath, and how it changed me as a reader. 

If you haven't yet read, The Underneath, I hope you will pick up a copy of the book and give it a read.

For the 10th anniversary, check out the new book trailer created by Kathi's son and daughter-in-law at BoTra Productions: 

Look for a copy of The Underneath at your local indie bookstore or public library!

About the author: Kathi Appelt is the New York Times best-selling author of more than forty books for children and young adults. Her first novel, The Underneath, was a National Book Award Finalist and a Newbery Honor Book. It also received the PEN USA Award. Her other novels include The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp, a National Book Award finalist, and Maybe a Fox, one of the Bank Street Books Best Children’s Books of the Year. In addition to writing, Ms. Appelt is on the faculty in the Masters of Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lives in College Station, Texas. To learn more, and to find curriculum materials and activity pages, visit her website at kathiappelt.com.

GIVEAWAY!
Fifteen lucky winners will receive an autographed paperback copy of The Underneath. In addition, one Grand Prize winner will win a classroom set of 20 copies of the book PLUS a 30-40 minute Skype visit for her/his school, classroom, or library with award-winning author Kathi Appelt. Enter here!

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: Teacher Appreciation Week!

First, I want to thank all of my teacher and librarian friends for all you do for children each and every day! I am thankful for all of the ways that you have challenged me to grow over the years. I hope that those that live near you have been able to share a special gift of appreciation or a hug to celebrate how wonderful you are.

Next, due to the end of the year craziness, I am taking the week off from blogging! The Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge will be back next week! Until then, check out My 5 Fave Expository Nonfiction Post on Melissa Stewart's Celebrate Science Blog. 

Artwork by Sarah S. Brannen ©2017

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews...

Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: Interview with Carlyn Beccia

They Lost Their Heads: What Happened to Washington's Teeth,
Einstein's Brain, and Other Famous Body Parts
by Carlyn Beccia
Bloomsbury (April 3, 2018)
Nonfiction * Biography * Historical
Audience: Ages 10-14+
Indiebound | WorldCat

Thank you Carlyn for stopping by Kid Lit Frenzy and answering a few questions about your new book, THEY LOST THEIR HEADS. 

Kid Lit Frenzy: What prompted your interest in history and particularly the middle ages? (Ren Faire? Raucous Royals? I Feel Better? - I see a pattern)

Carlyn Beccia: Yes, there is definitely a pattern there. I obviously have a dark sense of humor so it is probably natural to be drawn to the most ‘nasty, brutish, and short’ time period in history. Studying the pre-modern era really can give you a new appreciation for a hot bath and a bed without fleas.  

KLF: Can you share with readers a little bit about your research process for THEY LOST THEIR HEADS, and what is your favorite chapter in the book? 

CB: Ah yes, my research process is nasty, brutish and definitely NOT short. I started with a lot of secondary sources for this one to first get a strong sense of who this person was before they croaked. Then I moved on to primary sources – many of the body parts are still in museums and collections. And I always am a big snoop when it comes to letters. For example, I got a really good sense of the turmoil in van Gogh’s life leading up to the ear incident by reading his brother, Theo’s letters.

Favorite chapter - You know that is like choosing between children….or at least, your children’s body parts.

No, seriously, my favorite parts of the book are actually the sidebars. I am a big trivia buff so I really enjoyed uncovering all these interesting factoids about what happened to peoples’ bits.

But my favorite story – l'inconnue de la Seine. I still get freaked out by her image! She looks like she is just about to open her eyes.

I'nconnue de la Seine death mask

For readers who are not familiar with this image….In Paris in the late 1800’s, an unknown girl was fished from the River Seine and taken to the Paris morgue. The pathologist there was so taken with her beauty that he made a death mask of her face. He apparently did just a great job that her death mask was reproduced over and over until it would have been hard to find any European home without it hanging in the drawing room. She became known as l'inconnue de la Seine – the unknown woman from the Seine.

Flash forward to the late 1950s when Austrian doctor Peter Safar was trying to develop the first CPR standards. He needed a doll so others could practice and learn his techniques for saving lives. So, he enlisted the help of toy maker, Asmund Laerdal. Laerdal used the death mask of l'inconnue de la Seine for his model which we know today as Resusci Annie.

Her nameless face became the face of the most popular CPR doll today - Resusci
Annie.

So everyone who has ever taken CPR has kissed this unknown girl. I think it is a story that really shows how life and death come full circle. The face of death is now the face of the doll used to save lives. I love creepy parallels!

KLF: This is the kind of book that is easy to book talk. Kids love these kind of fascinating facts. I was wondering what are a few of your favorite questions from children?
 
CB: Thanks! Whenever I do school visits, I always insist that I sit down to lunch with the kids
because I think you get far more intimate questions in a smaller group. One question that I have been asked a few times is if my own children inspire some of the themes in my books. I always feel the kids who ask these questions are the empaths of the world. They are not asking questions about personal rewards (every author gets the how much money you make question) but instead are trying to see the author through the lens of their relationships with others. These kids are the old souls of our world because they are understanding their relationships with others will change their path in life.

And to answer that question, I get far too many ideas from my 8 and 10-year old and I vet every chapter off of them before sending to my editor. They really should get paid.

KLF: Can you share about any future projects you are working on?

CB: I get frustrated talking about future projects because It takes me a few years to finish a book because of the research and amount of illustrations. This one took five! I really wish I could work faster.

My next book release is one that I have worked on for the past few years and I am finally finishing up. It is a book about the science behind monsters (title pending). It essentially uses monster lore as a platform for scientific exploration. For example, if a vampire was to try to drain your blood….where should he/she bite? And if you became a zombie, what body parts have the highest caloric content? Should you maybe skip the brains? Or my favorite, if Godzilla did attack, how could one survive the nuclear fallout? This book combines folklore, physics, chemistry, biology and a lot of cutting edge science…..all in many, many infographics. I hated science as a kid so I am determined to make some of the concepts I once found so boring irresistible to readers. I promise
genetics is far more interesting when explored from the werewolf’s perspective….

About the author: 
Carlyn Beccia children's book have won numerous awards including the Golden Kite Honor recipient for picture book illustration, the International Reading Association's Children's and Young Adult Book Award and the Cybil Award for Non-fiction picture book. Beccia teaches digital painting throughout the United States and is author of the best selling, Digital Painting for the Complete Beginner. She paints with 'digital oil brushes' to create a unique and deeply textured art. She enjoys giving live demonstrations of how art is created on the computer and encourages kids to experiment with the digital medium.

Artwork by Sarah S. Brannen ©2017

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews...

Love, Penelope Book Trailer & Interview with Joanne Rocklin

Love, Penelope
by Joanne Rocklin; Illustrated Lucy Knisley
Amulet Books (March 20, 2018)
Fiction * Social Themes * Siblings
Audience: Grades 4 to 7
Indiebound | WorldCat
 

Kid Lit Frenzy: The book consists of letters from (almost) 11-year-old Penny to her sibling in utero. Why did you choose this form for the novel?

Joanne Rocklin: Penny is overjoyed that she will be a big sister and takes her role very seriously. Even though the baby won’t be born for another eight months, the fact of “You’s” existence is very real to Penny, so she decides to describe the world to You right away. 

I love writing in first person for the middle grades, and have done it in diary/letter form before. It is an age of increased introspection, an intense pondering of identity, and a growing desire to examine one’s place in the world, which the form allows. There are also many opportunities for humor (both conscious and unconscious) as my narrator expresses observations that are innocent, open, and sometimes erroneous. 

The form of the novel is also a “metaphor” for Penny’s own development -the birth of her discovery of life’s surprises and complexities.

KLF: What is the significance of the date June 26, 2015 listed at the end of the book trailer?

JR: That is the date that the U.S. Supreme Court voted to end the ban of same-sex marriage across the nation.

KLF: The trailer says that Penny is “not Ohlone by DNA, but... Ohlone by love.” What can you share about Penny’s adopted Ohlone family?

JR: Penny’s mama, Sammy, is not her biological mother. She adopted Penny when Penny was a toddler. Sammy’s mother is Ohlone, and Sammy’s Native American heritage is a big part of Sammy’s identity. To feel as close to Sammy and Sammy’s family as she can, Penny reads and learns about the Ohlone culture throughout the story. She shares what she has learned in the letters to her unborn sibling. 

Elementary school students in California study the Ohlone, who have lived in the areas where Penny lives for thousands and thousands of years. But Penny acquires an even deeper appreciation of their ongoing struggles to save their heritage and sacred areas. And she  connects with the Ohlone’s deep love for the earth and all of nature, as well as with the beauty and significance of their artifacts. Penny also discovers that, long ago, the Ohlone may even have invented basketball! 

KLF: As a children’s book creator in Oakland, California, do you, like Penny, find the “Golden State Warriors are the greatest team in the NBA. On the planet - probably”?

JR: Yes. And, of course, it has nothing to do with living in Oakland, California. They just are.

KLF: How do Penny’s friends make her a bigger, better person?

JR: Penny thought she knew about tolerance, empathy and forgiveness, but sometimes important words are just plain old words until your friends teach you what they really mean in real life. Gabby, and Hazel, and Kenny, and Penny’s Secret Impossible Love all have their own stories, and Penny writes them down in her letters. 

“Dear You,” Penny writes. “So much has happened this year. Or does it just seem like a lot happened because I wrote it down? Mr. Chen calls that a RHETORICAL QUESTION. A question without an answer. No, there is an answer. A lot happened. And I wrote it down. Love, Penelope.”

And as Penny writes it all down, she grows. Just like the baby inside Mama.   

KLF: Banana slugs or goats?

JR: As Penny says, banana slugs are easy to draw, but very hard to love. Especially when compared to goats. Penny and I agree that bright yellow slimy slow-moving unfriendly garden  banana slugs are not huggable. Goats are huggable. And in Penny’s world, goats keep secrets and give very good advice, just when you need it.

KLF: Your starred review in Booklist called Love, Penelope a “joyous testament to our complicated world.” How do you find joy in this complicated world?

JR: Penny and I find joy in family, 
friends, 
community
dogs
cats
nature, (ok, even banana slugs, which are SO amusing to look at!)

Wait, there’s more!  
Food! Food from all around the world! 
Books! 
Singing! 

And then there’s that joy that comes from honing the wondrous superpower of empathy--when you really learn to understand someone else’s point of view and can actually feel your mind and heart grow bigger and bigger. 

And of course, there’s the joy of love, which is what it’s all about. Nothing beats it.

Check out the book trailer for Love, Penelope:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Joanne Rocklin is the author of many other award-winning novels for children, including The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook (Golden Kite Award), One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street (California Library Association Beatty Award), and Fleabrain Loves Franny (Bank Street College of Education’s Best Children’s Books of the Year) all from Amulet Books.  Look for her at JoanneRocklin.com.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR: Lucy Knisley, who provided the spot illustrations for Love, Penelope, is a critically acclaimed comic creator and author of the graphic memoirs French Milk, Relish, An Age of License: A Travelogue, Displacement: A Travelogue, and Something New.  Look for her at LucyKnisley.com

Thank you to Kirsten Cappy & The Curious City for the guest posting with this fabulous interview with Joanne Rocklin. If you don't know about The Curious City or Curious City DPW, check out these great resources.