Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday - animal books, part 1 - 4.03.19

Wednesdays I join Alyson Beecher from kidlitfrenzy and other

#kidlit bloggers to share wonderful nonfiction picture books.

The intention of today's blog post is to give professionals that work in the
education field new nonfiction reading material and ideas to use 

with students to promote a love of reading nonfiction materials.

Oh my, my nonfiction stacks have gotten OUT OF CONTROL!  I really need to read and post.  I'm hoping to have a month worth of new(er) nonfiction to share with you in the upcoming weeks.  Be sure to check back on Wednesdays, here's what's coming:
1.  books for little foodies! 
2.  picture book biographies featuring men
3.  picture book biographies featuring women, part 1
4.  picture book biographies featuring women, part 2
5.  celebrating baseball - Yogi Berra blog tour
6.  animal nonfiction books, part 1
7.  animal nonfiction books, part 2
8.  the world around us, part 1
9.  the world around us, part 2


I love finding new animal books because they have so much kid appeal.  Kids are drawn to animals whether they are cute and cuddly or disgusting and awe inspiring!  Here are some new books you may want to check out for those readers!



Do Frogs Drink Hot Chocolate? How Animals Keep Warm
written by Etta Kaner
illustrated by John Martz
This is a book I found in the Scholastic Book Orders and I was pleasantly surprised after reading it.  It's organized in a question/answer format always asking readers if they think an animal stays warm by doing something crazy.  Some are easy to figure out but others are tricky yet very interesting - did you know squirrels curl up under blankets?!  Okay, the blanket is their tail, but they still use it around their bodies to keep warm!  The only thing missing from this book is any backmatter.  I'm always leery of nonfiction when it doesn't cite sources.


Borrowing Bunnies: A Surprising True Tale of Fostering Rabbits
by Cynthia Lord
You may know Cynthia Lord because of her amazing kidlit books.  However, she has another amazing side!  She's a foster mom to.... rabbits!  This book is her true adventure of fostering rabbits.  Just like with dogs, when you foster rabbits you are giving the rabbits lots of love and security to get them ready for new forever homes.  
This was a really neat story and one kids will love to read.  And the photographs and illustrations are pretty fun too!


The Secret Life of the Little Brown Bat
written by Laurence Pringle
illustrated by Kate Garchinsky
A narrative story about one little brown bat, Pringle details what daily life is like for one little guy, Otis.  Readers find out what a brown bat eats, how they sleep and predators to stay away from.  Pringle structures the story in chronological order so readers even see the changes a bat goes through from being a young bat to an adult bat.
Featuring gorgeous illustrations by Kate Garchinsky, this is a wonderful addition to "The Secret Life of...." series from Pringle.


Pup 681: A Sea Otter Rescue Story
written by Jean Reidy 
illustrated by Ashley Crowley
Reidy has given us a story, a story about a rescue of a young sea otter and what could have happened as the pup grew in her new home at an aquarium.  The story is loosely based on the real Pup 681, who was found in California and then brought to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.  (and here's where I feel bad because I live in the Chicago suburbs and I'm not even familiar with this story!)  
As explained in the author's notes, parts of the story are real, parts are fictionalized.  I'm wondering where this book will be catalogued in libraries - fiction or non.  I think readers will really enjoy this story - it's a feel good, animal rescue story.  This would be a great book for teachers/librarians to use to talk to readers about being discriminatory in their reading and understanding of what is real information and what is the made up part.


Weird Animals
by Mary Kay Carson
Oh, kids are going to love this book!  Fans of Jess Keating's World of Weird Animals series will gobble this one up.  Each page has a very interesting picture of a very unique creature!  I think I said "ew" on most pages but then gobbled up the fascinating information as to why the animal has such unique features.  Some are for protection, some help the animal do something, some, supposedly, make them more attractive to mates :)  Readers follow arrows and captions to gain new info and each page has a sidebar that gives some other basic facts.  The author concentrated on the why - why does the animal have such unique features?  I think readers will really like learning about them!


Definitely some new animal books to add to your collection!  Stop by the next two weeks for more animal fun!