Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday - Women's History Month - Women Who Made a Contribution to the Arts - 3.18.20


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.


It's Women's History Month so today I'm celebrating women who have made a contribution to the arts!


Mary Blair's Unique Flair by Amy Novesky
Mary Blair's Unique Flair: The Girl Who Became One of the Disney Legends
written by Amy Novesky
illustrated by Brittney Lee
I have long admired Mary Blair's work at Disney.  I also remember the books she illustrated in the Little Golden Books series.  Mary Blair had such a unique style, it's often easy to recognize her work.  The book delves just a bit deeper into her background, letting the reader know where some of her inspiration came from.  I particularly enjoyed Lee's illustrations.  They are definitely reminiscent of Blair's work which made it equally fun to view.

Dancing Hands by Margarita Engle
Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln
written by Margarita Engle
illustrated by Rafael López
Beautifully illustrated story about a young piano virtuoso.  I loved seeing the brilliantly colored illustrations of Teresa's home and the way she felt when playing the piano that starkly contrasted the muted tones when depicting the scenes of the Civil War.  
This story gives us background on Teresa, but also details the point in her life when she played piano for President Lincoln. 
I was surprised to only see a historical note at the end of the book and no mention of sources.  In this age of information and fact verifying, I think it is very important to have backmatter.

A is for Audra by John Robert Allman
A is for Audra: Broadway's Leading Ladies from A to Z
written by John Robert Allman
illustrated by Peter Emmerich
I'm not sure the mass appeal of this book for young readers but for anyone who loves musicals, this is the book to read!  I really enjoyed seeing how many performers I was familiar with.


Yay for the arts!

2 comments:

  1. a picture is worth a thousand words. You book is very attractive and getting a few reviews on usabookreviewers.com can really take your book to the next level. I am good with interior design for a book, would love to help out for free !

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  2. I have still not read these, Michele. Thanks for sharing. Dancing Hands is on the list already! The others are new to me.

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