Meet FIRE CHIEF: The True and Lucky Life of a Turtle

 Stories can come from endless sources- cloud shapes, playing with pets, personal drama, or a fertile imagination. Nonfiction content, especially narrative nonfiction, begins somewhere and sometime long before anything goes to press. It might be sparked by an encounter with some surprising information. Or it can begin with an "I wonder" question, a casual observation, or with a keen interest and investigation of facts that somehow involves a path to a picture book.

CLARION BOOKS, 2025

Author Sy Montgomery's nonfiction books have long been favorites of mine, because they have captured the attention and curiosity of so many students of many ages. A picture book authored by Montgomery will always be on my to-read list. That's why I waited patiently on library hold to get a chance to read THE TRUE AND LUCKY LIFE OF A TURTLE, written by Sy Montgomery and illustrated by Matt Patterson. With the kind of luck and support FIRE CHIEF has had in his already long life, he could still be chugging along when everyone reading here is a grandparent, or even a great-grandparent.  He is currently estimated to be about sixty years old, still a young adult in turtle lifespans when all goes well.

Yes, that means that FIRE CHIEF's projected lifespan will be greater than any human's. That presents a challenge to tell his story in a way that spans his longevity while making his present and past feel immediate and important. But that challenge was met and exceeded by this creative team. (More about the author and illustrator below.)

The accuracy of illustrations, from birth through early development and throughout his story, allows curious readers to experience the vulnerability of a just-hatched turtle trying to follow instincts and survive. Author notes make it clear that the discussions of early egg/hatchling depictions are conjecture, based on knowledge of turtles and the geography in which Fire Chief lives.

Using these assumptions to suggest this turtle's early life allows readers to invest in and marvel at survival and its determination to reach a small pond. To do so, it crossed a dirt road near a fire station and makes its way to its next home. There it continued to face threats across years of slow growth and learning. Over the course of a human generations, the local community of firefighters and their families observed a sizable turtle sunning on a log. 

They dubbed him FIRE CHIEF.

They and their families enjoyed his company, including observations of his annual road-crossing return to a larger pond, better suited for winter hibernation in the deep mud. Across years of time the families and firefighters grew older, as Fire Chief did. As the community did. And as the road grew, was paved, as traffic increased, as the crossing became more dangerous. 

Okay- that's all I will say. 

Just remember the title- this is a turtle with a LUCKY life. 

And know that the two talented folks who created and share this TRUE story of a REAL turtle with the actual name FIRE CHIEF came to know about this turtle and its story directly. They are neighbors who both volunteer with a turtle-rescue organization that plays a role in Fire Chief's life (okay, spoiler). The author and illustrator collaborated on two earlier turtle books based on their many years of expertise and education on the topic of turtles. FIRE CHIEF's life and story launched this book, and the factual content is indisputable. Resources and credentials, including back notes, photos, and backstory provide entertainment and education on their own.

The magnificence of this book (and I chose that descriptor intentionally) is in the success of showcasing FIRE CHIEF as an individual, and as an individual with a specific life, a survivor of its species, as a lived and living example despite the many ways in which nature restricts their survival, and as human development/encroachment on habitat does. It also reveals practical ways in which human attention and intervention can contribute to survival, during crisis and also proactively/preventively. 

Through it all, FIRE CHIEF shines through not as a caricature or cartoon, nor as a mascot or pet. This creature has dignity and value. As such, he serves as a reminder to us to take closer looks at all living things, to avoid mindless damage or development. To seek balance and respect in our choices.

On a side note, I actively link to the authors and illustrators of each book featured in posts, hoping that readers here might check out more about them and their other works. In this case, do yourself a favor and click on the links to Montgomery and Patterson.Their websites are an education in a range of topics and will offer links to their other books as well. 

WOODY'S WORDS: Remember WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS?

 The author of that timeless novel for young readers was Woodrow Wilson Rawls, the "Woody" in the title of this picture book. WOODY'S WORDS: Woodrow Wilson Rawls and WHERE THE RED FERN RED FERN GROWS is a biography of the author, but also a celebration of the power of reading and writing. Actually, the focus is on a boy-grown-to-man and his drive to tell stories. Reading books changed his young life, and he vowed, "I don't care how long it takes me or what I have to do. Someday I will write a book, and it will have a dog in it." That powerful quotation appears on the title page in this picture book written by Lisa Rogers and illustrated by Susan Reagan. 

CALKINS CREEK BOOKS, 2025

I can hardly imagine that anyone raised in this country has not read (or heard aloud, or watched on film) WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS. It is, indeed, a book, and it does, most certainly, center on a dog ands a boy. Woody's ancestors were Cherokee, and he grew up on family land assigned to those ancestors when they were relocated from their own territories. 

His education was at his mother's knee, and not only in simple reading and writing and arithmetic. When she first read a novel aloud to him, (The Call of the Wild) it transformed his sense of purpose. The simple and accessible narrative text  in this biography reveals Woody's deep engagement in rereading that book and then in writing and rewriting the world as he lived it, even when his available tools were limited to scratching words into soft mud with the point of a stick. For anyone who says it takes time and patience to become the kind of writer and storyteller who can win hearts, they could have been speaking about Woody.

Woody grew up in hard times and spent many young (and later) years bumming from town to town, from jail cell to jail cell, suffering from a lack of food or money but never lacking a good heart. No matter where or in what conditions he found himself, the stories moved through his mind and onto the page, even when those pages were soiled paper bags. He kept his attempts for many years, until he met and married.

He was so ashamed of what he considered his poor efforts that he burned all of the saved writings rather than show them to the woman he loved. After eventually confessing his need and desire to write a book, Sophie worked with him, correcting spelling and polishing some sentences. That finally-ready manuscript became a book, and he wanted people to read it. In his folksy, plain-spoken way, he visited schools and libraries and met readers where they were. Once he talked about his youth and his effort (over forty years) to produce a story of a boy, his dog, and life in the country, readers sought out his book and joined him in the story.

The account of Woody and Sophie and their eventual success is both heartwarming and inspiring. Back matter provides more details, as well as photographs of  moments before and after his book became an all-time success.  His next book, SUMMER OF THE MONKEYS, also featured a boy and his dog. Both books sold millions of copies.  Multiple pages of resources and research references attest to the depth of story-searching by Rogers. The illustrator's colors, sweeps of landscape, and suggestions of struggle have captured an authentic sense of rural life in the era and the yearning within a boy/man who had  something to say. It was clear with every word and image that Woody felt inadequate as a writer, but never gave up on his dream to share his stories in a way that made them last. 

Rogers wrote a dedication that hints at how moved she was by the storytelling drive of Rawls: 

"For those who have stories to tell and the librarians who celebrate them" then named several important librarians from her own life.

The structure of this narrative and account of Rawls's life holds no surprises, but the direct and simple language and sequential revelations of his persistence and outreach are best suited to this simple and plainspoken man. It mirrors the steady pace of his personal journey and the glowing satisfaction of his eventual success. 

WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS has been a part of my literary life, but now Woody brings me back to reread it and to wonder at his determination and at the satisfaction he was finally able to achieve. 

A LINE CAN GO ANYWHERE... Come along with Ruth Asawa

 Ruth Asawa is a remarkable American artist, worthy of remembering her name and eliciting examples of her work. If you are already familiar with her, I believe you will adore this account of her life and work for young readers.  If she and her work are unfamiliar to you, this book is even more important to read.

I am a wish-I-could-be-artist who admires and sings the praises of the talents of actual  artists, especially when they are celebrated in picture books. (Put the word ARTIST in the search bar on the right to find any of the many posts I've shared about other artists in the past.) Rarely have I met a child who didn't LOVE to make art, if left undirected or judged. But I have met MANY, across preschool to adult ages, who have precluded even trying to make art by self-assessing that they "aren't good". Others feel that art is only "one thing", whether that is drawing or painting or making identical copies of some image presented to them. Or that art requires a studio or specific materials. If you know anyone (including yourself) who shares those views, this book is a passport to rediscovery of your own creativity and self-expression.

To resist that destructive impulse to limit and turn away from creative impulses or efforts requires a willingness to trust our inner selves, a willingness to give voice to our inner impulses. Ruth Asawa had such a drive, and her inner impulses were wide-ranging, leading to creating work that now hangs or is otherwise displayed in museums. Many of her pieces have been sold for eye-popping amounts. Asawa's art expressions involved two-and three- dimensional images and materials not readily associated with art and she is credited with opening the art world to expand acceptance of, welcoming of, innovative materials and creative insights. 

This variation and expansion of expression began as a child, and her drive weathered injustice and deprivation. She benefited from rare opportunities to learn from masterful artists. That's quite a journey to portray in a picture book, but the lines that marked Asawa's creative life became the thread that pulls readers through this book. 

ROARING BROOK PRESS, 2025

A LINE CAN GO ANYWHERE: The Brilliant, Resilient Life of  Artist Ruth Asawa is a biography written by CAROLINE McALISTER and illustrated by JAMIE GREEN. The author launches the reader into Ruth's life at a young age as this American-born daughter of Japanese immigrants noticed her world before the Second World War. 

Readers enter Ruth's life through her perceptions and fascinations with lines and patterns, as revealed in wagon tracks, agricultural and natural  movements on the land, and geometric waves of horizons and river beds. The beauty and rhythms of what she saw in vegetables, bean strings, calligraphy class. Even the stripes on the American flag spoke to her, called to her, inspired her to mimic and elaborate on the lines and movements in her world. 

You may have guessed by now that she and her family, along with more than a hundred thousand others, would intersect tragically with the unjust incarceration and isolation of Japanese Americans after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. I was unaware of that aspect of her background, but reading this explains as much about her eventual trajectory in the art world as anything.

It was her incarceration that limited access to materials but led to interactions with artistic mentors whose careers were halted by movement to the camps. Ruth's awareness of figurative lines were not restricted to straight segments and angles, but frequently incorporated spools and loops, waves and curves, symmetry and asymmetry.applying  traditional skills and techniques to unconventional but  available materials. Crocheting with wire and weaving metals resulted in works that instantly intrigue even though they are utterly original and unprecedented. 

Throughout her life, Asawa heard many nay-saying voices (choose between family life and artistic life) but heeded her own path. She married and raised six children while keeping her art production original and powerfully unique. (To view a brief video of her art, try this YOUTUBE clip.)

Once achieving success, she could have used the most expensive or traditional materials, but she chose to incorporate what was at hand, what suited her inner intent, what contributed to the total impact of her work. Her quote below captures that impulse:

QUOTE credit: Ruth Asawa

Illustrations allow readers to connect with Ruth throughout her ages and stages, while hinting at many of the extended voices and drives which led her to such acclaim. She called the disruptions of her family and childhood "interrupted lines", which are suggested throughout the illustrations, as are other visual details that can find echoes in her masterpieces. 

You'll do yourself a favor to read and explore this picture book biography. It includes back matter that extends information about Asawa's life and art. Both the main text and that added information combine with remarkable illustrations to submerge readers into a life worth learning about. 

JUST ONE OAK: A Nonfiction Treasure

An oak tree is a world unto itself. 

Although it isn't. 

A mature oak is interconnected with everything else, from the animals who use it as residence or food source or more, to the carbon dioxide and oxygen exchange that is so essential to every other life form, including us, to the microbial and fungal lives interacting underground. From the simplicity of  "I think that I shall never see... a poem lovely as a tree" to the nearly overwhelming complexity of that one tree could be a jarring journey if not treated masterfully.

Mastery is exactly what happens in JUST ONE OAK: What a Single Tree Can Be.

BEACHLANE BOOKS, 2026

It is written by Maria Gianferrari and illustrated by Diana Sudyka. The magnificence of the oak in this story plays the role of honoring all oaks. That parallels the magnificence of this nonfiction picture book with contents of such an extensive topic but such a poetic presence. The facts about this symbolic tree are specific and important, graceful and inspiring. The illustrations have a similarly expansive blend of beauty and details. 

This impressive treatment of a seemingly familiar but bottomless topic is managed by combining the main text in larger, friendly font, with smaller text shadowing the creatures and structures within the image, while more small print appeared in informational insets on various spreads. 

This approach offers a range of science and nature facts with a magical realism that makes the content understandable and intriguing. Shifting perspectives from close-up to distant, from above ground to underground, from leaf to trunk, readers remain focused on that OAK, but in fresh and informative ways. The illustrations allow younger readers to recognize and connect with other picture books about trees and woods and animals, but  the sidebars and image labels invite further reading or returns to these pages over and over. 

Back matter provides resources, additional detailed content, and diagrams. There, too, I admired the masterful decisions about what to remove from the main text, what to include in the expanded materials. This is a great example of a picture book that offers something for everyone at every age, while never losing the celebratory awe conveyed in learning more about ONE OAK TREE.

The first home I owned was built at the edge of an oak wood. I moved in during the winter and welcomed the coming of spring. Because the oaks were now my neighbors, I longed to see them leaf out and show new life. Instead, those oaks were the last of all the plants in the woodland to show any indicators of greenery. I feared that the woods were dead, that a strong storm would bring them crashing down on my new roof. 

Eventually, though, I saw that patience pays off, and the noble oaks were verdant and vibrant, that the related lives shown in this picture book abounded among my oak neighbors, and that those oaks would outlast me and my house. My respect for and love of oak trees and all that they foster in our natural world exploded, and continues to grow. This book allows readers to share that experience and respect. 

MUD TO THE RESCUE! Nonfiction At Its MUDDIEST!

WEB OF LIFE BOOKS, 2025

Take a "down and dirty" look at a delightful and informative new nonfiction picture book. This is a little book with a jumbo title. It presents a seriously important but basic concept in the subtitle:  MUD TO THE RESCUE: How Animals Use Mud To Thrive and Survive. This recent book is written by Tanya Konerman and illustrated by Melanie Cataldo. The boisterous cover illustration suggests a use of mud that we've likely all clicked on as elephants  rollick and romp in mud. 

It's not all fun and games, as this lyrically written, fact-packed book shares with even the youngest audiences. The illustrations range from lively (as the cover) to sleepy (as in hibernating critters) to lounging, as both elephants and hippos are shown to do in those irresistible reels. The text and images reveal that the function of mud ranges from comical to life-saving, with little splashes of informative facts on most pages: 

"Biting bugs are bothersome... ouch!

A nice layer of mud blocks pests and parasites that itch or make elephants and hippos sick."

Mud's role in animal lives (and survival and reproduction) includes being the essential material for nesting (not only for birds!), for home building, for dietary supplement and digestion, and more. These simply-stated nuggets of animal info are kid-sized, in main text and in the "bonus blotch" insets  offered throughout. Back matter provides a simple two-page spread that names each animal discussed followed by a few sentences describing the ways that mud plays an essential role in the lives each creature.

In our part of the world this is the rainy season and plenty of places are getting more rain than they's like, or worse. Even so, after reading this book I'll be looking at mud puddles with a smile from now on. 

THE GALLAUDET ELEVEN: The Story of NASA's Deaf Bioastronauts

Little Brown, & Company, 2026

  I first learned about the remarkable GALLAUDET ELEVEN several years ago when Gallaudet University mounted a fantastic display of their achievements, DEAF DIFFERENCE + SPACE SURVIVAL. If this review or anything about the program catches your curiosity, I urge you to click that  title above and learn more from the wealth of videos, articles, and other resources about these fantastic young contributors to essential space research.

That's what I did at the time when  news was breaking about the G-11 program from fifty years earlier. After watching, reading, and researching more about the program, I contacted two of the original ELEVEN who were active and eager to share the hidden history they had carved. 

During the ensuing years I corresponded and worked with Harry (Sonny) Larson and David Myers, two of the three members of the team who were still alive more than half century after their work ended. Once our manuscript for a picture book was ready to submit, another author had been doing the same research and beat my submissions to a contract. These things happen. Kerry O'Malley Cerra is a multi-award-winning children's author who also happens to be deaf. Her picture book about these unsung heroes released last month. THE GALLAUDET ELEVEN: The Story of NASA's DEAF Bioastronauts is written by Cerra and illustrated by Kristina Gehrmann. 

Cerra's approach launches by indicating the excitement and appeal of early space exploration, including students at Gallaudet College (now University).Those students faced disappointment when it became clear that their deafness would eliminate them from applying  as astronauts.Several pages reveal space race pressures, the dangers of motion sickness, and the need for  understanding and treating motion sickness in anyone attempting to travel in space.  The NASA doctor working on this problem visited Gallaudet College to recruit and test  volunteers for immunity from this effect. Some (not all) Deaf people have damage to the vestibular system in their inner ear. This allows them to experience movement without dizziness or nausea. Eleven men qualified and became decade-long volunteers to undergo tests that would-be astronauts would also take, serving as the baseline goal for tolerating the movement without sickness. 

Spinning, swinging, bouncing, zero-gravity, and living in a rotating room involved measuring eye movements, blood work, and comparing accuracy and speed in operating manual devices. All eleven young men had other jobs and often participated during vacations or by taking time away from work and family. Their days were long and exhausting, with complications that none of the NASA crew used ASL, American Sign  Language. But they committed to serving their country and this important program. They continued for more than a decade while America's first manned flights led to the Apollo moon program and the eventually moon landings and exploration. With the current ARTEMIS Moon program well underway, foundational data from  original G-11 studies, along with the medications and adaptations those tests led to, remain the basis for safety for today's astronauts.

Not unlike HIDDEN FIGURES (Black women who made the calculations that assured safety for these flights), the efforts of the GALLAUDET ELEVEN remained unknown to all but a few until the exhibition was finally presented more than fifty years later. Now this new picture book makes the men and their contributions known to generations old and new. More details are found in back matter, along with an introductory letter provided by Barry before his death. I'm excited to say that the book launch was at Gallaudet University and both David Myer and Harry Larson attended and signed stacks of books for their new-found fans. Our goal all along was to document their program efforts in ways that could find readers of any age.

I hope you'll find and read this new book and become as much a fan of these bioastronauts as I am. This was never a "secret" program, but was an underreported aspect of a very glamorous program. Let's all celebrate the men who quietly and generously dedicated themselves to the program because they had, as Harry says, "The difference they needed."

WHO IS SINGING?

When an important and delightful nonfiction picture book released some years back, I was invited to write a blurb. It was an honor to do so, and this is what I said:

"The author's winning pattern of question/response page-turns combines delightfully with readable bird calls and colorful images, inviting young nature-lovers to listen, observe, and gain confidence in the outdoors. This appealing introduction to familiar bird song patterns and habits offers a sort of 'first book of birding'."

 That's why I was so pleased to learn that this book is being re-released in a larger format, high quality picture book that continues to sing to me.  WHO IS SINGING? is written by nature-focused Janet Halfmann  and illustrated by Chrissy Chabot with crisp, simple images and coloration that are particularly useful for younger audiences at the first stages of bird observation and identification. This new offering is  a sort of "first field guide" for little ones with little hands, big ears, and enormous curiosity about the world. 

Belle Isle Books, 2026

In the northern hemisphere we are in prime season for bird song, with feathered songsters declaring territories, imprinting hatchlings with species pattern calls, and just singing in celebration of  the start and end  of a day. 

Recent studies document the correlation (nearing proof of causation) that increasing screen time with little ones actually rewires their brains, developing a few areas while failing to develop many more crucial patterns of seeing, hearing, and thinking. Yes, screens and their contents are interactive and colorful, but so is nature. Halfmann's informative, well-written, and interactive birdcall/bird-spotting book is an active, outdoor alternative that kids will welcome. 

Here's a link to my full original review. Some of  my initial praise follows and it all remains true:

Halfmann limits her choices to some of the most familiar birds in the midwest (and much of the country), each of which still has large populations that can be found in urban, suburban, and rural locations. She also provides a winning pattern of question/response for page turns. The opening question includes a "readable" translation of familiar birdsong, followed by a page turn that depicts the bird interacting within typical habitat, including food/prey, diurnal/nocturnal settings, and some typical behaviors. 

Interior images used with permission.

Halfmann's text patterns will also have young ones reading along and chiming in as each turn begins with the phrase, "Take a bow... " then repeats the bird's name. Those few lines incorporate the visual content regarding habitat, food, and species patterns.

As is typical in many of Halfmann's nature-focused titles, back matter includes useful learning content and ideas for activities. In this case, the content mentions the ways these "worded" songs were selected, that other wordings exist, and suggests ideas about creating our own versions of recognizable birdsong. It's easy to hear some of thesbirdsonge on YouTube. Just search for BIRDSONG. Share this delightful book with little ones, then take them, and yourselves, out into the wide world and LISTEN!"

StarBright Books, 2010

As with Janet's many other titles, study guides and teaching activities  are available on her website. It's also worth noting that her books are "keepers" in terms of sustained popularity and appeal to young audiences across time. Books like GOOD NIGHT LITTLE SEA OTTER (published in multiple languages) and others have landed on state favorites lists year after year. A great benefit of WHO IS SINGING is the range of familiar and widely distributed birds that are featured, and the accessibility of their songs for imitation. Young folks across the country will find birds they recognize and be able to succeed at interacting with them in song. That's a real-world, screen-free activity that never becomes boring and could lead to endless questions and investigations as readers grow into nature-lovers. 

In a recent conversation with an illustrator I was bemoaning my own lack of art skills. Their comment reminded me of this book. I'm paraphrasing here, but the gist is this: 

Every kid loves to draw, even if they don't think they are good at it. They just want to do it, and the more they do, the better they become. It works for adults, too. Those who develop an interest in birds are likely to find appeal in making sketches and field notes for themselves. An adult version of that is THE BACKYARD BIRD CHRONICLES, written and illustrated by AMY TAN. (Yes, THAT Amy Tan!)

On a sad side note, North American birds are struggling to survive, with some estimated population drops in the range of 50% reduction in only the last few years. Some of this is due to habitat loss and climate changes, but some is due to a highly contagious infection that spreads easily through bird-feeding stations. My longtime advice to provide a feeding station is now guarded, adding a note to check with your local parks and wildlife services to see if yours is an area that is discouraging feeders for the coming season. This book provides a super opportunity to still engage young learners to engage with birds in an interactive way while learning about our responsibility to be informed and helpful in maintaining and restoring their populations. We can't and won't protect creatures about whom we know nothing. 

Ready for SOMETHING SPECTACULAR?

 When it comes to picture books about ROCKS, there are many to choose from. Several of those are high on my list of recommendations. I've reviewed several, from classics to newer releases, like THIS, THIS, and THIS. It's not difficult to encounter a kid (or grown kid) who is a fan of rocks. Some scout out specialty rocks (geodes, river rocks, mica rocks, and more). SOMETHING SPECTACULAR: A Rocks's Journey, written by Carmela LaVigna Coyle and illustrated by Carly Allen-Fletcher, provides an origin story for one example of a specialty kind of "found" rock: nature-formed heart-shaped rocks. This vibrant and dramatic account of the transformation of matter spans millions of years and reveals a seemingly dry nonfiction topic through colorful, action-packed, time-travel, a revelation for readers of any age. 

MUDDY BOOTS BOOKS, 2022

The research behind this rock-journey is evident, but is served up in a user-friendly, minimalist style through illustrations, text, and book design. Beginning with the cover, our eye  centers on a non-specific young person, someone fully enthralled with the magic in their open hands. The encircling images appear nearly surreal, of an uncertain period and location. It's the perfect launchpad for an astonishing, ethereal journey.

And yet, open the cover to the endpapers which reveal childlike, crayon-drawn figures. Whose story is this, the rock's or the child's? Then one more turn to the title page features a space-view image of planet Earth more than 300 million years ago, when the planet was a watery home to a single land mass, Pangea, which was evidently geologically active (volcanoes and landmass shifts) as well as spawning plant life.

We're not yet  entering the the narrative as one more page turns, providing publication information and a dedication. Those are wallpapered, corner to corner, with textured swatches and swirls of fiery color and movement. Illustrator Allen-Fletcher has notable works that range from adult to space science to science fiction and fantasy for youth. In the dramatic contrasts within these pages she demonsttrates her range and intentionality. The approach not only sets the stage for a 300,000 million year old geologic transition, but allows each successive stage to also shift across millennia, certain that those floating those end paper, childlike images will anchor to such a nearly timeless tale. The transitions are highly effective, and young readers (even those who can't yet comprehend such large numbers or spans of time) will hold both the story of an imagined child and a chunk of planet Earth that survives throughout time to become a discovery in a field.  It is absolutely brilliant, in my opinion.

That, though, was inspired by what I consider a brilliant narrative to set those parallel journeys in place. A sample of the opening establishes a repetitive pattern for pages:

 (Small heart icon) "272 years before she found it... (small font, color, at top left of page)

(Main text) It began beneath the bottom of a forgotten sea, as part of something spectacular."

Each turn launches a wide spread with an introductory phrase shifting time in millions then thousands of years, referencing time markers and events in the child's day, such as "before she at breakfast"  in relation to those incomparably enormous shifts in geologic time. The illustrations reveal how the planet's forces were impacting the matter that gradually becomes a rock, then is ruptured, rolled, washed, and buried by the forces of nature over time. The time references are both informative and helpful in comparing other long-passage periods that are sometimes confused or merged, such as dinosaurs and buffaloes roaming the earth. The concluding discovery of a heart-shaped rock in a field flips the cover perspective from the viewer's eyes to that of the child, capturing the wonder of it all, now illuminated by awareness of its theoretical journey. 

A special treat is the realization on the closing endpapers. The childlike drawings are discoverable as a map of her own day's travel, providing images to connect to each time-marker throughout her search day (breakfast through to discovery). Whether launching readers onto lifelong heart-rock searches or introducing geologic eras for an adolescent science lesson,  or even as mentor text for generating comparative timelines, this book truly is SPECTACULAR!

Who's Afraid of BUGS? Not THE SPIDER LADY, Nan Songer!

"Nonfiction" is easy to extol as needed information, but in our times of TIK-TOK, Substack, YouTube, and Reddit, posts voiced by unvetted sources, not to mention traditional media outlets, once reliable sources, are diminishingly trustworthy. They now present "truth" but materials are produced by downsized-overworked-nonspecialized  staff and AI generators, both equally doubtful. I've come to believe that the most reliable truths, ones I can trust, come not even from my own eyes, since AI plays a role in so many distortions and outright misrepresentations. What I turn to are works from well-vetted publishing groups for youth (ages 0-20), ones who willingly claim the label NONFICTION. Even adult works in those categories too often reflect agendas and intentions toward what is or is not included or emphasized. In works for nonfiction for  youth, the guards are still at the gates and  turrets. Material is scrutinized to prevent distortions, half-truths, and even an excess of flourish or creativity that could confuse young audiences. 

This branch of the publishing industry, on the creative, production, and marketing sides, have gone so far as to identify works as "informational fiction" or ":creative nonfiction", offering readers a full understanding that the factual content can and will be identified even if told in imaginative ways. These works (including direct nonfiction) go so far as to incorporate back matter to expand and validate the facts shared, to offer suitable  resources for curious investigators, and to clarify aspects that may have been used for storytelling purposes only. I challenge all purveyors of "information" from any of the outlets noted above to step up with comparable assurances of the TRUTHS they offer to readers.  (Bottom line following this rant? READ MORE NONFICTION for kids!)

 

CALKINS CREEK, 2025

In both text and illustration, some nonfiction picture books take original twists on familiar people or topics, but others capture attention by introducing new individuals, discoveries, burgeoning fields of study, and so much more, all of which can capture attention just as well as digital media while providing validity and references to learn even more. THE SPIDER : Nan Songer and Her Arachnid Army is written by Penny Parker Klostermann and illustrated by Anne Lambelet. This unsung hero story would be remarkable even if it didn't involve a major aspect of winning World War II. 

But it does.

It begins as an intriguing and colorful account of Nan Songer's unique childhood as the eager mentee of an expert female neighbor-entomologist then moves through Nan's emerging sense of nature and its appreciation. Rather than focus on displaying or dissecting amazing bugs, she was fascinated by their behavior. Studying that meant keeping them alive. The hearts of many wannabe scientists will resonate at the spreads showing how Nan transformed her bedroom into a living insect zoo.  (Parents may cringe, but it's worth sticking with this unfolding story.)

As WWII loomed, Nan encountered a need from the armed forces-  for precision spiderweb threads to use as crosshairs in many kinds of munitions.I learned so much about Nan but also about spiders in this bio-profile-career story. (That's despite my academic respect for spiders with no willingness to become roommates with them!) Among the most amazing new information is that aiming crosshairs needed to be from spider web threads because they're not susceptible to heat or cold or moisture, making the marksman's aim reliably accurate. Who knew? I certainly didn't. And I certainly didn't know how spider thread could be collected without taking it from the web! Silk thread, yes: soaking silkworm cocoons allows easy unthreading and re-spooling. But spider web threads? You won't believe it!

But you should. And you will, because it is so well told and visualized. And documented.

Nan Songer's long "hobby" meant she worked with live spiders regularly, overcame any worries about Black Widow spiders producing the most ideal threads, and so much much more. That background made her the ideal innovator for acquiring and providing threads of exacting specifications in quantities, reliably, without injuring the spiders who served our country so well. I wondered (and learned) if those same threads would  have any signifcant purposes after the war ended. The story is woven as effectively and with as much complexity as actual spider webs. Both the story and the webs have strength, purpose, and jaw-dropping intricacies. Don't miss the back matter for added details and insights. 

And could we all try holding reportedly "true" stories and images to the same high standard as we achieve in nonfiction for children. At a minimum, indicating when and how much AI is involved in images and reports? Deepest thanks to all who write, illustrate, proofread, crosscheck, and validate the contents so that young readers can actually trust such work.

IT'S PRESIDENT'S DAY: Celebrate with REVOLUTIONARY FRIENDS

What better day than PRESIDENTS' DAY to turn the spotlight on a nonfiction picture book, REVOLUTIONARY FRIENDS: General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette, written by Selene Castrovilla and illustrated by Drazen Kozjan.

CALKINS CREEK, 2013

 This is a distinctly appealing account of the Washington/Lafayette relationship we've all heard about, if only in HAMILTON. This nonfiction picture book has a deeply touching heart. Lafyette is often portrayed as a young, flamboyant, even cavalier Frenchman (of minor royalty) whose attention to the American Revolutionary War seems more youthful bravado than commitment to a cause.

At least that's the way I have viewed him. In this case, we see Lafayette and Washington in the full relationship that arose between them, that of a mentor/father/son with and deep true affection. Washington's national stature was the earned success of a non-nobleman, a general, then a president. He was a generation older, stood a head taller, and exuded the solemnity and stability that counterbalanced the zeal and exuberance of young Layfayette. 

This account makes clear that Lafayette's idealism was deep-seated and spanned the Atlantic to embrace both continents. He viewed himself as fully French and yet devoted himself and risked his life (repeatedly) to support the cause of the rebellious colonies.

I'm a fan of the text, including the brief and well-chosen inserts from Lafayettte's own writing. The illustrations range from formal introductions and settings to tense moments of war and treatment of threatening injuries. While revealing the formality of a bygone time and military roles, portrays of their contacts, expressions, and postures reinforced their mutual respect thoroughly. 

The back matter provides the remaining stories that readers (at least this one) longed to discover, as well as life-line timelines for each. It's a worthy addition to what seems a well-worn era, and one that humanizes the costs to emotions and personal commitments to a high-minded cause- Democracy.

This is firm reminder of the force of big ideas, adherence to principles, and dedicated friendships. It would be accessible for younger readers but is especially valuable for use with older readers in integration with social studies and history. The material opens discussions about where borders and b outcries lie in relation to deep-seated principles. It also presents a wealth of enlivened scenes for considering the relaunching of democracy in a modern (at the time) society that had for centuries been configured on monarchies, power, and wealth. Highly recommended.

GO TELL IT; How JAMES BALDWIN Became a Writer

 I hope you read my post a few days ago, HERE. If so, did the underlying message come through? We are at a time in our nation's history when the effort to lie about truth and deny who we are and how we got to be here is openly admitted and promoted. This practice of denial and redirection has existed throughout our history, but now it is openly touted and enforced illegally. We who are not subject to suppression (that is, NOT people of color) must do more than feel empathy and offer sympathy. Being an ally is not enough. We must openly advocate, even when that endangers us. That is what "using our privilege" means. That did not save Pretti or Good and that means we who have felt "safe" must acknowledge that we have more in common with vulnerable folks than we previously admitted. That's why my approach here is to no longer just write "about books" and those who create them. My commentary going forward will not always relate to current events, but will do so more often and more directly.

Little, Brown, and Company, 2025

GO TELL IT: How james Baldwin Became a Writer is written by Quartez Harris with art by Gordon C. James. Named a Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Honor book by the American Library Association, this biographic approach to Baldwin merits special attention. 

Why Baldwin? He's a well-known figure today to say the least, but biographic accounts for young readers can be challenging. The ways to convey facts varies from relating cradle-to-grave, or polarizing life events, or poetic/thematic text to capture the spirit of the subject, or childhood-only events, or focusing on pivotal career events and accomplishments.

Author Harris has chosen a distinctive approach that, I imagine, Baldwin would have embraced. The focus is on Baldwin's lifelong love of words, his recognition of the magical power of words to convey not only information but emotion and imagination. Words "clung to him like glitter", Harris writes. That line is only one example of the care given to create text that Baldwin might have written about himself. The author begins with that line and at the point in life at which Baldwin's reading life began. The earliest pages reveal the many responsibilities he fulfilled within his large family with few resources. With a loving mother and a demanding stepfather. 

James immersed himself in reading but also sought and absorbed the language and color and LIFE of his Harlem neighborhood. A reference to his vulnerability as a boy of color among White authorities is portrayed in powerful words and images, with realism but not exaggeration or excess. Facts are facts. Baldwin reacted with anger, an anger that drove him to write.

His writing, his words, creativity, and imagination healed James, to a degree. It empowered him to speak out at his step-father's pulpit while still a boy. To spread a message of love and brotherhood, in contrast to the messages of condemnation and darkness that filled the church. His oratory, the reception of the congregation, and later his labor in many jobs provided the confidence and earnings to move forward. 

This biography reveals the critical years in Baldwin's life in which he found his voice through books, local life, pain, acceptance, and finding an outlet for his intelligence and heart. The telling of those years is precise and compelling. Illustrations by inoperable artist Gordon C. James pair with that text to reveal the depth and richness of life inn that time and place. Baldwin is often known for his big eyes and wide grin, for the intensity of his gaze and the mindfulness of his words. All of that is captured on the page in ways that make him no less an icon that adult readers will recognize, but as a developing boy and early adult whose identity and independence were nurtured and tempered by both love and pain. His humanity shines through from the start. The final spread features his debut novel, GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN and credits him with revealing Black urban life in untold ways. Back matter adds further content and the work as a whole is a prompt to read more of Baldwin's work. This is one of those picture books that its ideal for younger audiences but also serves teen readers before launching a study of his works. 

In the opening note I urge reader to find ways to openly support Black History Month (and beyond). One suggestion is to flood libraries with requests for BALDWIN  titles, to purchase his books, if you are able, and to read them. His voice and eloquence will naturally lead to recommending them to others and encouraging discussions of ways his issues have changed in history, as well as the current events now unfolding. Take the lead. 

Yo-Yo Ma: A Gift For Music

Last week I shared notes about a charmingly imaginative picture book starring a scullery-maid ferret and her love of jazz. If you missed it, click HERE. It's a lively fantasy but encompasses some essential truths about the transformative power of music.

THE MUSIC INSIDE US; Yo-Yo Ma and His Gifts to the World is written by James Howe and illustrated by Jack Wong. (Side note, James Howe was the co-author for the timelessly popular and fanciful  BUNNICULA, along with its series, spin-offs, and television programs.) In contrast, this biographic profile is vividly and lovingly realistic. 

ABRAM BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS.2025.

It's never too early to try new things, nor too late. Howe took up cello lessons in sixth grade and gave it up not long after. More than fifty years after that, inspired by several performances by Yo-Yo Ma, Howe returned to the cello. I learned this in the author note, along with more insights from Howe and Wong. The core of their individual back matter notes reveals that they attempted to capture the brilliance of the cello and music produced, superb in every way, but both found the man behind the cello was the important element in each impressive performance and image. 

This is a chronological account of Ma and his lifelong pursuit of music and its purpose. Born into a musically gifted family, surrounded by opportunities to learn and develop his rare talent, Yo-Yo was seen as a prodigy, performing as a child at levels few adults could achieve. I was enthralled with the ways he was fully a child: bouncing like a frog, teasing his sister, mouth agape in the canyons of New York City streets. His aptitude with the cello was transformed into musical magic by his intense connection to his inner voice itself, making the strings sing for the music he felt in his heart.

Encounters with various "greats" over time contributed to and encouraged his development, but so did his college anthropology courses on human societies, his teen music camps with peers, his appearances with muppets and children across many media and global locations. The soft-edged and richly-hued illustrations tap into the everyday fellow that Ma was throughout these various experiences. 

Entirely by chance I had viewed an interview with Ma on a talk show the night before reading this book. In that conversation he was continuing to explore his lifelong question: What is the purpose of music?  

He said this: Music is what's inside us, what makes us human. Not everyone's talent may be to perform music, but everyone does have talent, and that is their music. He values being human first, then being a musician, then being a cellist, even though that last is how he is best known. 

He challenges us all: What can we do with our music, our gifts, to make the future better for everyone?

The timeline in back matter combines with the author and illustrator notes to fill in  further details and invite readers to read more, to listen to Yo-Yo Ma's performances, and to accept the challenge to use their now gifts. After watching that interview and then reading this book, my pre-existing condition (a deep-seated appreciate for Yo-Yo Ma and his music) was furthered. I spent time before writing this to listen to several of his performances, from classical to Sesame Street, and will do so even more often than before. With his central message in mind, the tone in his strings sounded more lyrical than ever. Try for yourself.

IN THE DESERT: Poetry on the Prowl

CANDLEWICK PRESS,  2025

Mid-winter is when some of us snowbound folks travel to warmer spaces, including  Southwest deserts. The poems and creatures featured in IN THE DESERT are residents of the SARAHA Desert, but most of the creatures portrayed have relatives in deserts across the globe. The opening poem is titled THE SAHARA. Its brief lines offer details describing the harshness and minimal biology at first sight, with the last line reassuring that "Here, there is life".

Author DAVID ELLIOTT and illustrator GORDY WRIGHT combine their talents in this large-format, expansive landscape layout to immerse readers/little audiences in experiences they might otherwise never have. The seemingly simple poems invite repetition, while the images portray both scientifically accurate details and even spark emotional responses. The sound of the poems as read aloud incorporate delightful rhythms and rhyme while indicating the endlessly threatening patterns of food chains, venoms, and unnoticed threats.

There is no soft-pedaling of reality and the consequences of ignorance. But there is also a celebratory tone for a family of baboons practicing their "alphabet" of squeals and screeches, of migratory herds, and of an adorably familiar looking SAND CAT who is more than  she appears.Some animals portrayed are familiar (dung beetles and crocodiles) while others are less so (the addax and oryx). Back matter offers a double spread that names each featured animal with short informative text. This is a themed poetry collection, but as a work of nonfiction, I had also hoped for a page of further resources, related books, or at least a brief bibliography of sources. The publisher and creators have standing as reliable sources, but we've reached an era of unreliable sources (social media, AI, and more)  so that a short addition in back pages would have added to the value of this selection. 

If you can't  plan a mid-winter, warm weather getaway, a book like this that lands you in the heart of a desert could be very welcome. Just watch your step and fingers as you move through this remarkable habitat!

A Compelling CARBON Story: From Bam! to Burp!

 For anyone unfamiliar with Melissa Stewart, I urge you to check out some of my past posts HERE, HERE, HERE and click her name to check her website and her other amazing nonfiction books. Among those who read nonfiction picture books, she is an icon of excellence. For those who write (and teach with) nonfiction picture books, she is a generous and highly inspiring guide to the many aspects and uses and purposes of these materials. The back matter in each of her books make for informative and expansive reading, too, including diagrams, definitions, further examples, guides to inquiry, and usually an author note. All of these are rendered with appealing language and with colorful illustrations that serve as kid-magnets for further exploration. 

CHARLESBRIDGE, 2025

That sets a high bar, for Stewart, her various illustrators and publishers, too. She does not disappoint, and that's especially true in the case of FROM BAM! TO BURP! A Carbon Atom's Never-Ending Journey Through Space and Time and YOU! The little Carbon atom with big eyes is the star of a very active and time-spanning story, one that is the result of a student's question during an author visit in 2016. (Reading author notes and  illustrator notes can reveal so MANY rich insights like that one!)

Melissa's career in nonfiction means she has the answers to nearly anything that might be asked. Often, that is. But in this case a third-grader's curiosity about a stated fact left her wondering about the answers. Carbon is, of course, the building block of life on our planet., With its team of two OXYGEN atoms, CO2, is pictured appealingly by illustrator Marta Álvarez Miguéns, and CARBON stars on every page, as it should. 

Stewart's scientific statement was that we are all made of carbon atoms, and those same atoms could have been part of a dinosaur living on the other side of Earth 150 million years ago! The How? Where? When? inquiry from that curious young listener left Melissa wondering, too. That resulted in this action-packed, fast-moving, jaw-dropping story the role of CARBON in life as we know it. 

The end papers hint that CARBON can hide among many molecules, and the first spreads make sure that even quite young readers/learners can picture the variety of ways those carbon molecules move throughout time and space. Without tracing here the amazing arrival and journeys of carbon atoms on our planet step by step, I can't resist mentioning that about 4.5 billion years ago, "Old Earth" was smacked (BAM!) by another planet. That led to CARBON becoming part of our planet while the remnants of that early crashing planet coalesced into what we now know as our moon! That alone is a massive story that is effectively told in two spreads, grounding the story of Earth's layers and eventual evolution. The combination of a CARBON atom with two oxygen atoms makes it possible for CO2 to travel the global wind ways, for plants to develop photosynthesis, for dinosaurs to eat those carbon-filled leaves, and on through page-turning times and places and pancakes. That kids eat! And anyone who has ever burped knows that the next step in a CO2 journey could well be a burp! 

The entire story makes such clear sense that I raced through it to find and absorb the connections and impacts of the never-ending story of CARBON. Then, I immediately went back through the book again, examining the bright and expanding illustrations and digesting the clarity of CARBON's role in life. That has been an abstract nugget of science info for many decades of my life, but this gem of a book truly made that fact come alive. 

Stewart also offers back pages of more "Wonders", such as the ones posed by that curious kiddo during an author talk. That is followed by facing pages with a text descriptor and a scientific drawing of the CARBON CYCLE, and a page of excellent resources to discover more and to confirm that this remarkable story is accurate and verifiable. The author note is accompanied by an illustrator note, indicating that her collaboration with Stewart made her efforts more effective and successful. 

As I said above, each new offering Stewart releases meets and exceeds the standards of the best of the best in nonfiction picture books. This is one whose origin story is a powerhouse to share with kids. Stories, including nonfiction ones, begin with curiosity and questions! What a fine example of taking that inquiry to research and then write. Priceless. 

SCRATCHING the SURFACE: EXPLORING the EARTH'S LAYERS

Capstone Editions, 2025

Anyone who has been reading her for a while will realize how much I enjoy and admire nonfiction picture books. That's especially true for ones that offer depth and detail without forgetting the primary audience... young kids. The best among them appeal and inform the adults who may be reading the books to or with the little ones, and that's exactly the case for SCRATCHING THE SURFACE: EXPLORING THE EARTH'S LAYERS, written by Kate Allen Fox and Illustrated by Erin Brown.

I was very impressed and excited about the approach to text for such a potentially overwhelming or oversimplified topic. Before I pursue those thoughts, just take a careful look at that fantastic cover art (which wraps around to the back of the jacket as well. (I checked, and the hard case has the full cover art as well, which I applaud.) The details there, and on endpapers, are a portal to a scientific adventure inside th.e Earth

The illustrations are both vibrant and cartoonish in an easy to understand way, but also reflect the verifiable facts revealed in this entertaining text. The images indulge every kid's (or former kid's) desire to dig a hole through the Earth, to dig up diamonds or dinosaur bones, to find new answers to old questions. The layers shown in the cover image and endpapers deal with the crust of the Earth, but then the text leads readers deeper and deeper, with clarification about what we potentially can and can't reach by digging, and why that is. 

From fishing worms near the surface to the deepest fish fossils from the oldest seabeds, a whole world (OUR whole world) is revealed. Throughout, the pair of friends (diverse and delightful) center the story, bringing narrative back to their perspectives and awarenesses of the surface geology. Some diagrams and labels are inserted as well as data-rich sidebar text boxes, along with occasional speech-bubble-ish questions from kid-perspectives. These are all overlaid on double-page spreads, allowing both the expansiveness of the art and the particularity of the text to shine.

The illustrations work in tandem with terrific text, each enhancing and expanding the other. The main narration is presented in short segments of three to six lines in eye-friendly font. Those inserted questions or "wonders" are ones that a child on a lap might readily ask, simply and directly. Those lead the content forward as complex concepts unfold gradually and clearly. Small sidebars provide related technology content in paragraphs, in that parallel-text way that allows readers to read along with the main text in a first pass, or come back after the earlier reading, or turn back to particular pages later to locate details when needed. 

Science itself  takes center stage in kid-friendly ways, with a seismologist (female scientist of color, yay!) analyzing incoming data while the layers beneath the crust seem to twist and shift under her feet. Potential for those opening kid-characters shows them growing a bit older near the conclusion, participating in further exploration and realizing what is rarely pointed out in books at this level:

There are always more questions, since we've ONLY SCRATCHED THE SURFACE! 

or, as I often said when teaching science- This is what we know SO FAR!

The author note briefly expands on the idea of geologic studies in past, present, and the potential future, followed by a simple chart of the SCIENTIFIC METHOD, a glossary, and suggested further readings. 

Every bit of this book is mind-expanding and engaging, inviting teachers, librarians, and families to add it to their shelves and enjoy often. For more books on rocks and Earth stories, check HERE, HERE, HERE.