Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday 7.08.15

#nfpb2015

I am excited to join Alyson Beecher and other friends in this weekly challenge.  Finding great nonfiction picture books isn't a challenge anymore, there are so many wonderful books to be read now!  The challenge is sharing them with as many people as possible so they can find this wealth of literature to share with our young readers.  Thanks to Aly for starting this weekly link-up and thanks to all who join in!  See all of the posts at kidlitfrenzy.


A few weeks ago I wrote about the "Boy Were We Wrong" series by Kathleen Kudlinski here.  Yesterday was the book birthday for the newest book in her series, Boy Were We Wrong About the Weather.  

Boy, Were We Wrong About the Weather!

I was thrilled to have Kathleen send me an early copy of her book.  Written in the same format as the other books in her series, where a series of misconceptions are introduced and new learning is shown.

I think this series is perfect for sharing when starting a new unit on the topic.  How perfect to start a chart and have students write down everything they think they know about the topic.  After sharing the book, there will probably be a few ideas that need to be changed, and you can show how even scientists have to change their thinking.

Even more so than the other two titles in this series, I think students will really enjoy Weather because it's a topic that many of them have more background knowledge and first hand experience about. Kudlinski discusses what affects the weather.  We used to think there were four elements - a mix of earth, air, wind and fire.  I bet a lot of students would agree with that.  These are commonly known elements.  But, Kudlinski goes on to explain there is more than that, there is the sun, mountains, volcanoes, and cities that affect weather! 

I like that this book even explains where some of the terminology comes from.  For example, the word 'hurricane' came from when Spanish explorers sailed across the Atlantic and encountered the worst storms they have ever seen.  The Tai'no Indians told them the storms were the work of their storm god, Huracan.  Kudlinski goes on to explain how now we know what hurricanes are, how they are made, and how to use modern equipment to be able to predict when a hurricane is going to occur and to warm people.

The third book in the series was illustrated by Sebastia' Serra.  The illustrations are colorful and will appeal to young readers.

Ms. Kudlinski was kind enough to send me the F&G of the next book in the series, Boy, Were We Wrong About the Human Body, coming out October 20, 2015.  The first pages alone are going to hook a lot of readers!  

I hope you look out for all of the books in this series.  They are wonderful to read and explore.

6 comments:

  1. These really do sound good, Michele. I like your idea of taking a topic & looking for prior learning (assumptions sometimes) then showing the book & sharing how scientists even must change their knowledge with new discoveries. Great lesson idea!

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  2. This looks great! I will need to look for this series.

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  3. Hmmm....I haven't heard of this. Off to look it up. Thanks for sharing it.

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  4. This is a new series for us. We love finding nonfiction series - Thank you

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  5. Count me in as well with not hearing about this but being intrigued! Thanks for sharing.

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  6. Sounds like there's a good blend of fun facts and adventure! Thank you for sharing this with us. :)

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