Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday - Community Helpers - 3.09.16

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.

Whose Hands Are These? A Community Helper Guessing Book

written by Miranda Paul

illustrated by Luciana Navarro Powell

published by Millbrook Press

Miranda Paul has such a clever way with words and making nonfiction enjoyable!  With Water is Water, her lyrical verses that subtly give information about the water cycle, with additional information in the back matter, was such an enjoyable 2015 book.  In her newest, Whose Hands Are These? she makes another nonfiction book that will be loved by young readers.  This is a fantastic book for primary classrooms and libraries.

A clever riddle is on the right side of the page.  The riddle is written in rhyme which will help young readers when making a guess of the occupation.  On the back side of the page is the answer.  I love the diverse characters and occupations Paul has chosen.  With community helpers like farmers, police officers, scientists, potters, news reporters, architects, and referees, young children are exposed to current community helpers that are interesting and varied.  I also appreciate the diverse characters.  There are male and female workers shown, which is especially important on some of the pages with occupations that can be stereotypical, such as mechanic, architect, police officer, and even teachers.  There is also different ethnic backgrounds shown.  Even disabilities are depicted - on the potter page it looks like the character has either a hearing aid or cochlear implant.  I like that the book stays true to its audience and includes a child on many of the pages.  The end pages also have additional information about each occupation.

With beautiful illustrations from Luciana Navarro Powell, she brings to life each vocation and adds little details that could further classroom discussions.  I love the inclusion of hands throughout the book.   On each riddle page, instead of showing the community helper, you see the worker's hands doing a variety of things that are including in their job.  There are also tools that are pertinent to that job - adding this to a discussion is a wonderful way to expand vocabulary!

                

The book trailer is a must-see!

This is a wonderful book to add to classrooms and libraries.  I hope you found a reason to pick it up!