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I don’t get enough non-fiction in my diet. If left to my own devices I’d probably end up solely devouring fiction titles that involve melodrama, dark humor, mild magic, and sentient cheese. That said, I am consistently grateful that National Geographic Kids has the wherewithal to pull me up out of my comfort zone, and to plop me into the potentially frightening world of facts and figures. It isn’t frightening, of course. Quite the opposite. And so the other day I sat down with Jeff Reynolds of National Geographic to see what they have on the table, and what they’re excited about.
Summer/Fall 2010
A little bit of summer before we plunge into fall, eh? And what more appropriate title than Summer’s Bloodiest Days: The Battle of Gettysburg as Told from All Sides by Jenifer Weber? Here you have a book that does something that I’m a little shocked other folks haven’t picked up on yet. Seems to me that if you have a bunch of old Civil War era photographs lying about, the natural thing to do with them would be to give the little buggers speech balloons ala Monty Python. That’s what Weber has done here, along the usual artifact inserts, and interesting facts. Apparently this is the first in a series of other Civil War battles, each told from a variety of sides. Something to keep an eye out for, then.
If your children’s room is anything like mine then big tall books can be the bane of your existence. One library I worked in had its own Oversized section, slowly gathering cobwebs and mothballs for all that people visited it. One book that was always criminally huge was the National Geographic World Atlas for Young Explorers. Bloody gigantic, that thing is! Apparently someone noticed and made some adjustments. Shrunk down to “backpack size” (a pretty good designation) the new National Geographic Kids World Atlas has updated information and will apparently fit on your shelves better. Sweet.
The term “user-generated content” generally causes a range of personal opinions. For some it’s a derogatory term. For others, praiseworthy. In the case of Weird but True! 2: 300 Outrageous Facts, it’s just a description for what you’ll find inside. National Geographic’s kid magazine solicited its readers for facts and those tidbits then were then duly entered into this book. Everything from “There’s a one in a trillion chance that a piece of space junk will land on your house today” to “Chickens see daylight 45 minutes before humans do.” I’ve always liked the format of these books. Plus, you need to have something on hand when the fortieth kid comes up to you asking for your Guinness Book of World Records titles and they’re all checked out. To pays to be prepared.
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6 Comments on Librarian Preview: National Geographic (Fall 2010/Spring 2011), last added: 7/29/2010
Reviews that originally appeared in the 
April 2006 issue of the now-gone The Edge of the Forest.
George vs. George: The American Revolution As Seen from Both Sides
By Rosalyn Schanzer
Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books (October 1, 2004)
ISBN: 0792273494
George Washington, Spymaster: How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War
By Thomas B. Allen
Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books (January 1, 2004)
ISBN: 0792251261
Originally appeared at The Edge of the Forest.
The American Revolution is brought to life in two books that use a similar device. On the surface, both George v. George and George Washington, Spymaster are about George Washington; but both are about more than the man.
George v. George compares the two most visible people on each side of the war, both named George: the American George Washington and the English King George III. Schanzer initially focuses on these two individuals, but then expands to compare the American and British views on everything from politics to methods of war. The approach results in a balanced view of the American Revolution, explaining such things as the structure of Colonial government and taxation. Particularly impressive to this American is how Schanzer conveys how the British viewed the American guerilla warfare as dishonorable.
In any conflict, there are two sides to a story. Books that show historical events from one side, painting the other as "them" and "wrong," can lead a child to wonder at how stupid those "others" were to not agree with "us." Schanzer, by providing balance in the arguments, is not looking to persuade the reader to agree with either George; rather, by providing the point of view of the "other," she allows the reader to see the war from a different point of view. This is about understanding another's position.
The color illustrations are reminiscent of 18th century political cartoons; so while original to the text, they convey a time period appropriate feel. At the same time, there is a modern, kid-friendly feel.
As the title indicates, George Washington, Spymaster, uses George Washington to highlight the value of information in war. This isn't a book about the life of George
If Stones Could Speak: Unlocking The Secrets of Stonehenge. Marc Aronson. 2010. March 2010. National Geographic. 64 pages.
Stonehenge, Near Salisbury, England.
It is a typical September day in western England--we had heavy rain yesterday, and the sky is still slate gray, but when the clouds break there are sudden moments of clear sunlight. I keep noticing the changing light because I am dashing to stay out of the way of a Japanese film crew. They are following the archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson as he leads them around Stonehenge--the mysterious circle of stones that was built on Salisbury Plain 4,500 years ago and is now a World Heritage site.
Somebody went to a great effort very long ago to shape these stones and then lift them into place. But unlike the Egyptians who were raising their great pyramids at the exact same time, the builders did not know how to write. All they left behind was this beautiful circle of stone. And so we walk around it, snapping photos, and wonder, What are you telling us, stones? What did you mean to those who put you here? We want the stones to speak. We sense that if we could only understand them, we would be able to reach back in time. We would be in the world of Ancient Britain.
This one just fascinated me! I loved learning more about Stonehenge. About the various theories people--mainly archaeologists--have come up with. About how this place has fascinated so many for so long. I loved reading about the new insights, the new discoveries made just recently.
This one had everything I look for in a nonfiction. The writing was engaging. It was full of information. And the photos and illustrations were great!
© Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
By Jill Esbaum, National Geographic School Publishing 2010
By Jill Esbaum, National Geographic School Publishing 2009
By Jill Esbaum, National Geographic School Publishing 2009
Today we bring you another installment of Youth Media Movers and Shakers. We've culled through industry publications looking for the recent executive placements we think you should know about. If you have executive news that you want us to highlight... Read the rest of this post
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By:
Lizzy Burns,
on 11/9/2009
Blog:
A Chair, A Fireplace and A Tea Cozy
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Mayflower 1620 A New Look At A Pilgrim Voyage by Plimoth Plantation with Peter Arenstram, John Kemp and Catherine O'Neill Grace; Photographs by Sisse Brimberg and Cotton Coulson. National Geographic. Library copy.
The Plot: A look at the myths and legends of the Mayflower voyage and founding of Plymouth. Full of gorgeous photos from some of the sailing done by the Mayflower II.
The Good: How do you bring to life a time in the past that existed before photography, let alone color photography? By well done recreations, including the ones done by the Plimoth Plantation organization that are based not on wish fulfilment, myths, or legends, but on research. And the actual journey wasn't redone in the new ship; but the Mayflower II has traveled up and down the East Coast of the US.
This book is full of interesting details, and always sticks to the facts. It explains, simply, that "history is complicated. People sailed on the Mayflower for different reasons." A list of provisions is included, but it's clearly noted that the list is from a 1629 ship making a similar voyage with a similar number of passengers and mariners. It sorts myths from reality; and yes, it clearly states that the corn was stolen. The chronology starts 4,000 to 1,000 years before 1620.
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, as I've mentioned before in My 2006 Thanksgiving Post. I like the turkey; I like the history. But even with a favorite, one has to acknowledge its faults and consider the whole picture; the bigger picture; and what it means to people besides me.
So, must-reads for keeping attitudes and teaching about Thanksgiving real are American Indian Perspectives on Thanksgiving (10/2009) from Debbie Reese (aka the blog American Indians in Children's Literature); American Indian Perspectives on Thanksgiving, PDF, from National Museum of the American Indian (link from Reese); for use year round, Teacher and Librarian Resources for Children's and YA Books with Native Themes from Cynthia Leitich Smith; and Native Youth Literature widget from JacketFlap; thanks to Cynthia Leitich Smith for reminding me of this widget, which is on my sidebar for the month of November.
Nonfiction Monday is at Abby (the) Librarian.
Mothers & Children. National Geographic. 2009. Copy supplied by publisher. Non Fiction. Available from publisher, as well as from sites like Amazon.
Photographs from around the world of mothers and children.
It's a small book; I was expecting something like that Sisters
book from the 1990s, big and oversized and only fitting on the coffee table.
This is a smaller book; more intimate, less showy, easier to hold, to look at together, to share. The photos are of mothers and children, small and grown, from around the world and different times. Credits give the location of the photograph and the name of the photographer; by omitting the names of the people in the photos, and by not saying anything about them, the people -- despite age, race, ethnicity -- become every person. A photo album for all of us.
My favorites? It has changed each time I look at this book. First time, it was the sleeping baby in a background of red fabric (Shenyang, Manchuria); then it was the upside-down children, laughing, parents legs in the background, holding the kids upside down (Red Lodge, Montana). When I read it again, for this post, it changed to the parent saying farewell to their son, a soldier, in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Non Fiction Monday: at Tales From The Rushmore Kid
Links: (interesting to read the ones that are photography blogs!)
My Twitter Review
Portals & KM review
Epic Edits Weblog review
Meditations On A Moment review
blogs of photographers review
© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Every Human Has Rights: A Photographic Declaration for Kids is one of the books that come along that I can honestly recommend to everyone. Children, parents, libraries, etc. will all benefit from having this National Geographic book on their shelves, as it provides beautiful photographs and loads of great, diverse information to learn from.
Beginning with a foreword from Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Founder of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative, this slim non-fiction volume introduces the reader to the world of humans rights. Each page has beautiful photographs, along with a specific right each human has, accompanied unique poetry, done by children around the world. The last few pages include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and an index. A lot of stuff, but it makes this title SO GOOD.
At times the photos and poems are heartbreaking, as in the poem "Trapped," which is accompanied by the photo of a boy with his head in his hands and right #7: "Everyone has the right to be treated equally before the law." At the same time you have wonderful glimpses of hope, as shown with the right #15: "You have the right to belong to a country." Accompanying that is an uplifting poem by an eleven year old and beautiful photos of smiling children, each holding their country's flag.
National Geographic produces photo books like no other I've seen and the impact the poems make is magnificent. Unfortunately, the main focus is of injustice, making the book somewhat unsuitable for the younger crowd, however I can still recommend it to their parents as a tool to teach their children what is right for all.
Overall, a beautiful book worthy of awards. I loved it.
For more information, or to purchase, click on the above book cover to link to Amazon.
Every Human Has Rights: A Photographic Declaration for Kids
National Geographic
48pages
Middle Grade
National Geographic Children's Books
November 2008
ISBN: 9781426305115
I'm a particular fan of American history in that I'm particular about the parts I like. It isn't an ideological divide as much as it is that there are certain periods that appeal to me for some reason. I'm fond of the colonialists and the American Revolution, but for the stories of the smaller moments and not the battles. I also have a soft spot for the socialist movement of the 1930's and
By: David Elzey,
on 2/22/2008
Blog:
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Anthony Shugaar
(The International Spy Museum)
National Geographic 2006
I spotted this on the non-fiction shelf in my local library teen room and thought "Yeah, that's a book a teen boy would pick up." Being a few decades removed I can still tap into my inner teen boy. I picked it up without a seconds worth of hesitation.
But what a disappointment.
It's a smartly designed book, very
For Nonfiction Monday, here's a look at the National Geographic Investigates Series. I reviewed one book in this series, Ancient Egypt: Archaeology Unlocks the Secrets of Egypt's Past by Jill Rubalcaba; Janice Kamrin, Consultant, and now here is a look at two other titles in the series. Copies supplied by Raab Associates.
Ancient Inca: Archaeology Unlocks the Secrets of Inca's Past by Beth Gruber; Johan Reinhard, Consultant
Ancient Greece: Archaeology Unlocks the Secret's of Greece's Past by Marni McGee, Michael Shanks, Consultant
It's About: This series explains archaeology, the process, the finds, how there is always something new to be discovered or a new interpretation to be made. I like the photos; I like the time lines; I love the resources. And I like how there is something unique about each book.
The Good:
For the Inca book: Mummies! Love mummies. And I also liked learning more about Gupis -- the knots in colored string to record calendar and keep track of livestock "without anyone who can read the stories tied into the colorful strings, understanding the ancient Inca is a lot like solving a mystery."
I was also intrigued by how people with an interest in this -- people like me -- may be contributing to the destruction of archaeological sites, grave robbing, and the simple physical impact of the people visiting the sites. This has led to such virtual tours as the 2005-2006 Machu Picchu Display at the Yale University's Peabody Museum of Natural History.
For the Greece book: I loved the description of an archaeology site being like a crime scene. (I like crime shows and books, in addition to history books; I guess this shows the two have more in common than I thought.)
It's amazing to think of the discoveries still being made, as well as interpretations to be refined and changed. This also included the issue of ownership of ancient artifacts such as the Elgin Marbles.
The book also featured my favorite artifact that makes history real: the cup of Euripides. WOW.
A general note about nonfiction:
One of the reasons I like nonfiction, and so look forward to the sharing of books via Nonfiction Mondays, is there is so much great nonfiction out there. Schools can only teach so much in a given day; so having nonfiction books available to learn more or learn more in depth is great.
Hip hip horray!!!!!
The School Library Journal reviewed our book "The Months" (Sara Coleridge author, Me illustrator) and, drumroll, they really like the book (and had very nice things to say about my art work)!! I am so over the moon!Here is the review (exerpted from the School Library Journal web site)!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------COLERIDGE, Sara. The Months: Fun with Friends All Year 'Round! illus. by Kathy Weller. unpaged. CIP. Lobster, dist. by Univ. of Toronto. 2007. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-1-897073-67-4. LC C2007-901572-7.
K-Gr 2—A colorful rendition of Coleridge's 1834 poem. It begins, "January brings/the snow,/Makes our feet/and fingers glow." Each month appears on a spread depicting modern children participating in seasonal activities. Rhyming couplets are written in large, clear text in a color column on one side of one page. Bright watercolor illustrations cover the remainder of the spread with a portion of each scene exuberantly overlapping into the text column. Weller's contemporary style aptly captures active youngsters at play. Her whimsical illustrations provide lightness and humor that simultaneously contrast and highlight the Victorian text. A few of the verses may need to be explained to today's children. For example, "May brings/flocks of pretty lambs,/Skipping by their/fleecy dams." In addition, some illustrations present a more contemporary interpretation of the text. In "Warm/September brings/the fruit,/Sportsmen then/begin to shoot," the traditional apple trees laden with ripe fruit are shown, but the sportsmen are children shooting goals in a field hockey game. Picture books describing the months of the year are always popular, especially with teachers. However, libraries that already own Nancy Raines Day's A Kitten's Year (HarperCollins, 2000), Crescent Dragonwagon's Alligators and Others All Year Long (S & S, 1993), Maurice Sendak's Chicken Soup with Rice (HarperCollins, 1962), and Alice Provensen and Martin Provensen's The Year at Maple Hill Farm (S & S, 2001) may consider The Months an additional purchase.—Carole Phillips, Greenacres Elementary School, Scarsdale, NY
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thank you so much SLJ. I am extremely appreciative that you saw fit to review our book, and I am SO glad you like my work!!!
"The Magic Rabbit" by Annette LeBlanc Cate
Check this out...Ten years ago, I worked at
Tom Snyder Productions as an illustrator/animator. The project I was working on was called
Fizz and Martina Math Adventures, a classroom-education CD-ROM series for math. My team worked in close proximity to the animators for the TV show
Dr. Katz. For a period of time, the F&M team didn't have a cohesive space to work in together, so the other F&M animator and I shared workspace with the Dr. Katz folks. We all got to know each other, day-to-day work-wise, very well. One of those people was Dr. Katz's art director, Annette LeBlanc Cate. In the time I worked at TSP, I found Annette to be an affable and extremely genuine person. Great leadership qualities but SO down-to-earth, really, really talented but totally not a show-off (AT ALLLL). Simply put, Annette ROCKED. (I wished she were MY boss!) Over the years, I have occasionally wondered what Annette was up to (and wished I had her email address!)
"Curious George Goes To Wordsworth" Bookstore in Harvard Square
An inside spread, "The Magic Rabbit"
So, what a FABULOUS surprise I got today while strolling through my favorite children's bookstore
Curious George. ("YES!" I thought! I had successfully resisted making a purchase!) ...Until, just as I was heading out the door, I looked down, and lo and behold, I saw my old Dr. Katz friend Annette's new first children's book "
The Magic Rabbit" peering up at me from the bottom of the first standing book rack, facing the entrance of the store!!! Oh my gosh, I was SO thrilled to see this. I, of course, did the stop - stare - grab - look, but quickly preempted the look-through and instead swiftly brought it to the register! I KNEW it would be something special!! I am so thrilled for Annette's wonderful success and I look forward to reading her new book!! (I even got a signed copy - how fun!)
I have not read it yet because I really need to carve out a time to absorb it without distractions. But I have flipped through it, and the art is nothing short of spectacular. Of course I'd expect nothing less!! When I asked, I was so surprised to hear that the book came out several months ago. Don't know how I missed it for so long!! :) Annette wrote AND illustrated this book, and it is her first. Published by
Candlewick Press. Big congratulations to Annette!
My autographed copy of "The Magic Rabbit"!
So fun! We are having a "CYBER-PARTY" over at Picture Book Junkies blog to celebrate the launch of our Janee Trasler's charming and adorable new book, Ghost Gets Dressed!! Please come on over and join in if you like (or just come and lurk about... and see who ends up wearing the lampshade! :) )
Here is my own copy, which I picked up at one of my favorite local children's bookstores Curious George Goes To Wordsworth. They had it in their big, fancy Halloween display!! What a treat it was to come upon it there!!
Here is the signage at
the bookstore. It's an adorable store - I will need to take a photo of the entire storefront.
The Months is reviewed by CM Magazine: Canadian Review of Materials
For anyone unfamiliar with CM (I was, until now), CM is the Canadian Review of Materials magazine. It's focus is on book reviews, media reviews, news, and author profiles of interest to teachers, librarians, parents and kids.
Here's the review!!!!! http://www.umanitoba.ca/outreach/cm/vol14/no4/themonths.html
What an honor it is - I have been interviewed for Design Inspiration interviews!!
Check it out, if you get a minny:
http://wwwdiinterviews.com
Hope you enjoy!!
Amazon is finally shipping the book out! :)
Mine shipped today (I just *had* to order my own first book from Amazon, naturally :) ) after a technical glitch in Amazon's system prevented orders being sent for a couple of weeks. I am SO glad to have this glitch worked out!! If you ordered, but have been waiting, please check your order status! It may be shipping now!! :)
Thanks again, for all of your support, to everyone (or ANYone!!) reading here! I truly, truly appreciate it!!!
XO
I have some pretty exciting news, folks - - I'm part of a new illustrators' collective called the Scribble Guild!! The SG consists of this fabulous, creative and talented bunch: Andi Butler (aka Mrs. B), Jacob Souva (Two Fish Illustration), David Sones (Pickledog), Valerie Walsh (ValgalArt) and yours truly! It's a pretty swanky site - frankly, it blows me away, it is so gorgeous (Jacob's handiwork) !! We have our own SG blog, and it's just a fun site to visit (I, for one, can't seem to stop visiting, ha ha). Please check it out, enjoy, and check back often.
:)
Now that I have my fabulous new scanner, I am facing the hearty task of scanning all of the original artwork from my upcoming book The Months (just for my own purposes, archiving and promotional). To show you some of the artwork without really "showing" any of the artwork (wink, wink), and in honor of the talented Von Glitschka's new (and, no doubt, great - - I'll tell you all about it once I get my copy) book release Crumble, Crackle, Burn, I decided to make a quick little texture swatch collage from The Months' art.
I'd really love to share the artwork (and believe me, it hurts me that I can't share it with you yet, honest) but it's under wraps for right now, so this is the closest I can get! At some point soon I will be working on the promotional web site. I'm gearing up for that immersion. I am going to do the site in Flash, so that will be a fun "first" for me since I've never built a site in Flash before.
Scott Franson's wonderful new book Un-Brella has it's own movie trailer! That's right, it's a little animated trailer to promote Un-Brella - a great idea!! And, it is beautiful! Check it out here.
A little bit of summer before we plunge into fall, eh? And what more appropriate title than Summer’s Bloodiest Days: The Battle of Gettysburg as Told from All Sides by Jenifer Weber? Here you have a book that does something that I’m a little shocked other folks haven’t picked up on yet. Seems to me that if you have a bunch of old Civil War era photographs lying about, the natural thing to do with them would be to give the little buggers speech balloons ala Monty Python. That’s what Weber has done here, along the usual artifact inserts, and interesting facts. Apparently this is the first in a series of other Civil War battles, each told from a variety of sides. Something to keep an eye out for, then.
The term “user-generated content” generally causes a range of personal opinions. For some it’s a derogatory term. For others, praiseworthy. In the case of Weird but True! 2: 300 Outrageous Facts, it’s just a description for what you’ll find inside. National Geographic’s kid magazine solicited its readers for facts and those tidbits then were then duly entered into this book. Everything from “There’s a one in a trillion chance that a piece of space junk will land on your house today” to “Chickens see daylight 45 minutes before humans do.” I’ve always liked the format of these books. Plus, you need to have something on hand when the fortieth kid comes up to you asking for your Guinness Book of World Records titles and they’re all checked out. To pays to be prepared.
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Beth F said, on 11/9/2009 5:59:00 AM
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by John Schu and Homework Dog, Tess Alfonsin. Tess Alfonsin said: http://tinyurl.com/23eor48 WOW. Some informational text GEMS here. Thx Betsy! [...]
i hope UNRAVELING FREEDOM turns out to be as awesome as it looks. i think th best way to bring up topics in current events is through parallels in history, and a book like should be welcome in showing kids how war tends to bring out the worst in those who use it as an excuse to abridge freedoms. in advance of reading it, i say ‘well done, nat geo.’
Love, love, love NG books for children.
Baker and Taylor has a cover image for Wheels of Change; of course, it may change, but I like it (and it sounds like a great book).
There is a 7-year-old kid at my library who is legendary for one day wandering up and down the aisles repeating ‘Who wouldn’t want to learn about the Civil War?!’ over and over. It’s his main obsession, and the new series that starts with the Gettysburg book is going to make his life! Thanks for the heads up.
And you know it’s not just your gaping mummy – a bunch of these books have open mouths on the cover. I guess teeth stop traffic – I’ll have to keep my eyes on that. Can’t wait to see Human Footprint. Thanks for the preview Betsy!
Thanks for the preview, Betsy! I always find myself opening up B&T’s website and adding books to my order when I read your preview posts… even when I’m at home…….