Every Wednesday I join Alyson Beecher from kidlitfrenzy and other
kidlit bloggers to share wonderful nonfiction picture books.
The intention of today's blog is to give educational professionals
new nonfiction reading material and ideas to use
with students to promote a love of reading nonfiction materials.
"...together we live on this Earth that we share."
from...
This Is the Earth
written by Diane Z. Shore and Jessica Alexander
illustrated by Wendall Minor
This Is the Earth
written by Diane Z. Shore and Jessica Alexander
illustrated by Wendall Minor
Whether you celebrate Earth Day in April or every day, this is a wonderful book to share.
The organization of the book is fantastic. It starts out by showing the natural part of our land. It shows animals that live on Earth - on the land, in the oceans and in the sky. The text of the book transitions smoothly into the next section where it shows the history of the United States. Depicting different regions, such as the southwest and the plains, it goes on to show advancements Americans made with trains, steamers transporting goods, and the first flight, going right into present time, showing skyscrapers, cities and busy commuters. However, going into the present time, we also see that all of our advancements have made an impact on our Earth. The text and illustrations show landfills, pipes dumping waste into the sea, smoke in the sky, pollution, tearing down natural resources and global warming. Finally, the author and illustrator talk about ways we could save the environment by giving back, protecting the land and animals and using reusable goods.
At the back of the book there is an important note from the illustrator. He talks about the significance of Earth Day. It comes from when Apollo 8 astronauts took a picture of Earth from space, people started realizing how fragile Earth really is. From this photo, the idea of Earth Day was eventually sprung. An illustration of the photograph is included as the end pages of the book.
This is a great book to add to your library or classroom collection. Share it with young readers!
At the back of the book there is an important note from the illustrator. He talks about the significance of Earth Day. It comes from when Apollo 8 astronauts took a picture of Earth from space, people started realizing how fragile Earth really is. From this photo, the idea of Earth Day was eventually sprung. An illustration of the photograph is included as the end pages of the book.
This is a great book to add to your library or classroom collection. Share it with young readers!
* please note I'm stretching the genre of the text just a little bit - I believe it's classified as fiction, but with wonderful real facts, I know it's a great book to inspire conversations about what is happening to our Earth.
I'm interested by unusual structures in nonfiction (and nonfiction-ish) books. This sounds like a great example of that.
ReplyDeleteWow, this sounds wonderful, Michele. My granddaughter Ingrid asks so many questions about America, and other places, but for the young, it still is hard to understand. I'll try to find this for her. Thanks!
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