Nonfiction Monday

We are excited to be hosting this week's Nonfiction Monday, a round-up of blog posts about great nonfiction books for kids! To add yours, just post the link in the comments area, and we'll get it up as soon as possible!

This week we have been reviewing books currently on sale at our Scholastic Book Fair, so we thought we'd combine the two:

Just what every young boy (or girl) needs: advice and how-tos on making noises with body parts, or using a shirt-egg-slingshot! In fact, we just gave this as a gift to a young man, bookmarking the pages we liked best with $1 bills.
 
The first volume of this 'encyclopedia' is already in our collection, and has been fairly popular, despite its Dewey classification in the no-man's land of "indoor amusements". Librarians know; there are certain sections of nonfiction that get used so often, everyone has the Dewey numbers memorized (quick, where are dinosaurs? You didn't even have to think about it, did you?) Then there are the areas that have great books, but seem to grow cobwebs (i.e. the entire first half of the 300's, unless it's Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday).
 
So, we book talk, we have special displays, we put them on recommended reading lists. That brings us to our challenge for Nonfiction Monday: if the book you are reviewing just wasn't flying off the shelves, what would you suggest to draw attention to it? It doesn't have to be anything complicated or involving movie stars and world records. We have had an easel with chart paper up all summer, inviting people to suggest free or cheap activities to answer the "I'm bored" complaints. When we type up the final compilation, we will include book titles like this one at the end.
 
So, what do you think? Help out some librarians who have had their brains fried by summer reading! And don't forget to check out the links to everyone else's blogs!


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Angela at Bookish Blather is first up this morning with a review of Hungry by Crystal Renn (and, Angela, when we say "first up", we mean, whatever time zone you are in, that is still way too early to be up!)

Charlotte at Charlotte's Library (who was also awake before us) has Do Not Open: an Encyclopedia of the World's Best-Kept Secrets by DK.

Jennifer at the Jean Little Library has The Smart Aleck's Guide to American History by Adam Selzer. We are sensing a theme of boy-friendly books today.

Laura has a book I've been wanting to read, Saving the Baghdad Zoo, as well as some great ideas in her comment that we are totally going to borrow.

Abby the Librarian has Kindergarten Day: USA and China by Trish Marx and Ellen B. Sinsei, to get us ready for the start of school (two more weeks here!), and another great advertising idea.

Coming to us live from the School Library Journal, A Fuse #8 Production has Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring

The Fourth Musketeer has No Easy Way: the Story of Ted Williams and the Last .400 Season, fourth installment in her Boys of Summer series.

Time to check our links then open up the library (oh, yeah, our actual job). More great reviews to come!

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Check out Face to Face with Manatees at Bookends (we SO want a manatee playmate, but our tank is just a bit too small.)

Escape! The Story of the Great Houdini at proseandkahn (love that blog title!)

Pop! the Invention of Bubblegumon Carrie's Comfy Cozy Reading Nook, complete with a link to help you make your own bubble gum.

Drive over to NC Teacher Stuff for Dump Trucks

We could have used a copy of Ocean Soup this summer. Cute pictures, and Shirley at SimplyScience includes some fun activities.

Wild About Nature has Animal Baths: Wild and Wonderful Ways Animals Get Clean, another one that would have been great this summer (isn't that the way it always happens?!) Oh, and they have largely the same page setup/colors that we do, so you know they have good taste.

Learn How Baseball Managers Use Math at All About the Books.

Read aboutSummer Birds: the Butterflies of Maria Merianat Picture Book of the Day. (We won't tell you how we like to 'study' butterflies. And caterpillars. Yum.)

We have to ask Wendie at Wendie's Wanderings: does Lots of Spots include any turtles? We love Ehlert's illustrations!