Nancy Brashear and Carolyn Angus As we have done in previous years, we considered the diversity of reading interests of children and young adults and the identification of outstanding trade books with curriculum connections our priorities in looking back at the bounty of nonfiction published in 2024. Here are our best-of-the-year picks of informational books, poetry, and folklore. ![]() Amazing Immortals: A Guide to Gods and Goddesses Around the World. Dinah Williams. (2024). Abrams. Williams introduces readers to more than 80 deities in this expansive volume of mythological lore that is beautifully illustrated by 17 artists from around the world. Entries cover the special powers, adventures, and family trees of the gods and goddesses along with “Fun Fact” and “In Modern Times” sidebars. (further reading, notes about the author and the artists, bibliography, index) (Gr 6 Up) ![]() Black Girl You Are Atlas. Renée Watson. Illus. by Ekua Holmes. (2024). Kokila. “Black girl you are Atlas. The way no one expected you to be the fulfillment of prophecy. But it is you, always, who holds the world up.” In this poignant, semiautobiographical collection of 38 poetic entries, Watson explores issues of sisterhood, gender, race, and class through the reflections of a maturing Black girl, Renée, accentuated by Holmes’ vibrant mixed-media collage artwork. (Gr 6 Up) ![]() Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos. Nathalie Alonso. Illus. by Rudy Gutierrez. (2024). Calkins Creek. Sports journalist Alonso tells the story of how Spanish-speaking Afro-Puerto Rican Roberto Clemente (1934-1972) persevered through racial discrimination after joining the Major Leagues at the age of 19. Playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates for 18 seasons, Clemente won numerous awards and gained recognition as one of the greatest baseball players of all time. (author’s note, photographs, glossary, timeline, bibliography, illustrator’s note) (PreK Up) ![]() Clever Crow. Chris Butterworth. Illus. by Olivia Lomenech Gill. (2024). Candlewick. Butterworth’s accessible text and Gill’s stunning realistic illustrations invite readers to learn about the characteristics and behavior of crows. Most of the more than 100 species of crows are plain birds. They are not “fancy fliers.” They caw rather than sing. They are intelligent and playful. Eighteen members of the crow family are shown on the back endpaper; their eggs are pictured on the front endpaper. (more about crows, index) (PreK-Gr 2) ![]() A Deathly Compendium of Poisonous Plants: Wicked Weeds and Sinister Seeds. Rebecca E. Hirsch. Illus. by Eugenia Nobati. (2024). Zest. This fascinating guide, illustrated with botanical drawings and photographs, includes historical anecdotes and scientific information about 22 poisonous plants from aconite to white snakeroot and one “fighting fungus,” ergot. Hirsch offers a cautionary word to the wise in the prologue and ends with a reminder that “plants deserve a healthy dose of respect.” (glossary, source notes, bibliography, further information, index) (Gr 9-12) ![]() The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II. Candace Fleming. (2024). Scholastic Focus. Fleming tells the intriguing story of ten young women who worked on around-the-clock shifts at Bletchley Park intercepting German radio transmissions, breaking ciphers, and cracking codes to provide critical information to the British government and military about Nazi plans during World War II. (author’s note, bibliography, source notes, index) (Gr 6 Up) ![]() Evidence!: How Dr. John Snow Solved the Mystery of Cholera. Deborah Hopkinson. Illus. by Nik Henderson. (2024). Knopf. During the 1854 cholera epidemic in London, Dr. John Snow (1813-1858) proves that the disease is water-borne, not air-borne. When he traces the outbreak to the Broad Street community water pump shared by everyone who became infected, Snow removes the pump handle and saves lives by stopping the spread of cholera. (notes on Broad Street pump, Dr. Snow, and infectious diseases; resources) (PreK Up) ![]() The Evolution of an Idea (Discovering Life’s Story #2). Joy Hakim. (2024). MITeen. After beginning with the development of classification systems of living organisms by Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) and Georges-Louis Leclerc, the Comte de Buffon (1707-1788), Hakim covers the scientific discoveries of how living organisms adapt and change over time and how traits are passed from generation to generation made by Charles Darwin (1809-1882), Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913), Gregor Mendel (1822-1884), and others. (further reading, source notes, bibliography, index) (Gr 9-12) ![]() Folk Stories and Tall Tales: A Treasury of Traditional Stories from Across North America. Claire Cock-Starkey. Illus. by Zanna Goldhawk. (2024). Kane Miller. This beautifully illustrated collection of folklore is organized into six chapters: “Origin Stories,” “Animal Stories,” “Nature Stories,” “Tricksters,” “Folk Heroes,” and “Tall Tales.” Each chapter includes a two-page introduction to the type of storytelling and five stories shared by groups of people from across the North American continent. (glossary) (PreK Up) ![]() The Great Wolf Rescue: Saving the Red Wolves (Sandra Markle’s Science Discoveries). Sandra Markle. (2024). Millbrook. Markle covers the work of the North American Red Wolf Recovery Program (established in 1973) to save red wolves. Captive breeding programs in zoos and wildlife refuges and pup fostering with red wolf moms in the wild have been successful in reintroducing the once endangered species to the wild. (author’s note, “Did You Know?” facts, glossary, source notes, resources, index) (Gr 3 Up) ![]() Guts for Glory: The Story of Civil War Soldier Rosetta Wakeman. Joanna Lapati. (2024). Eerdmans. This stunning picture book biography tells the story of Sarah Rosetta Wakeman (1843-1864) who, disguised as a man, volunteered for the Union Army’s newly formed 153rd New York Regiment as Lyons Wakeman. (author’s note, more about Wakeman and the Civil War, timeline, excerpts from Wakeman’s letters, glossary of items in a Civil War soldier’s pack pictured on the endpapers) (Gr 3 Up) ![]() Home (Spectacular STEAM for Curious Readers). Isabelle Simler. Trans. by Vineet Lal. (2024). Eerdmans. Simler takes readers on a worldwide tour of the homes of a diverse group of 27 native animals from the weaver ant to the Sumatran orangutan. Stunning double spreads feature colorful digital images of the animals and their dwellings and information-packed poems told from their points of view. (originally published in French; notes on the animals, glossary, resources) (PreK Up) ![]() My Antarctica: True Adventures in the Land of Mummified Seals, Space Robots, and So Much More. G. Neri. Illus. by Corban Wilkin. (2024). Candlewick. Neri’s engaging field guide to Antarctica, “the most extreme place on Earth,” is a record presented in the form of a scrapbook filled with captioned color photographs, cartoons, maps, diagrams, and interest-catching lists of his adventures while based at McMurdo Station with scientists and support staff. (author’s note, “Antarctica,” sources, index) (PreK Up) ![]() The Observologist: A Handbook for Mounting Very Small Scientific Expeditions. Giselle Clarkson. (2024). Gecko. The Observologist is an intriguing handbook for curious readers on how to find tiny animals, plants, and fungi and notice interesting details in the world around them. An introduction on observology, the study of looking, is followed by sections of sketchbook-like drawings and facts about four perfect places for mounting mini scientific expeditions: a damp corner, pavement, a weedy patch, and behind the curtains. (index) (Gr 3 Up) ![]() One Long Line: Marching Caterpillars and the Scientists Who Followed Them (Discovery Chronicles). Loree Griffin Burns. Illus. by Jamie Green. (2024). MIT Kids. Jean-Henri Fabre (1823-1915) concluded that pine processionary caterpillars are born with the instinct either to lead or follow. A century later, Terrence Fitzgerald (b. 1941) studied tent caterpillars, which don’t march in orderly lines but still arrive together at their destination, and came to a different conclusion about the behavior of “marching caterpillars.” (glossary, further reading, source notes, bibliography) (Gr 3 Up) ![]() A Planet Is a Poem. Amanda West Lewis. Illus. by Oliver Averill. (2024). Kids Can. Lewis’ creative exploration of poetry and astronomy includes 14 poems in different poetic forms. For example, “O Sol! O Helios!” is a sonnet to the Sun, and “What’s in a Name?” is an acrostic poem for Neptune. The poems are set on gatefold flaps of Averill’s impressionistic double-spread illustrations. Opening the flaps reveals scientific facts as well as information about the chosen poetic form. (writing activity, glossary, sources) (Gr 3 Up) ![]() Poemhood: Our Black Revival. Amber McBride, Taylor Byas, & Erica Martin (Eds.). (2024). HarperTeen. This anthology explores the history, folklore, and diversity of the Black experience through the contributions of Black poets “who are now ancestors” (James Baldwin, Gwendolyn Brooks, Lucille Clifton, Langston Hughes, Etheridge Knight, Audre Lorde, Claude McKay, and Phillis Wheatley) and 27 modern poets. Each poem is accompanied by an outro, a brief closing section written by the editors about the poem. (biographical notes) (Gr 9-12) ![]() Represent: The Unfinished Fight for the Vote. Michael Eric Dyson & Marc Favreau. (2024). Little, Brown. Represent tells the story of the ongoing fight for “people power” in the United States. Dyson and Favreau’s informative, well-researched account chronicles the battle for equality of representation that comes with the right to vote, which began with the American Revolution and continues to the present day. (“People-Power Ideas,” “What You Can Do,” timeline, bibliography, source notes, index) (Gr 9-12) ![]() Spirit Sleuths: How Magicians and Detectives Exposed the Ghost Hoaxes. Gail Jarrow. (2024). Calkins Creek. During the rise of Spiritualism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many people turned to mediums, psychics, and fortunetellers seeking connections with their dead loved ones. Jarrow’s engrossing narrative tells how “super sleuths” such as magician Harry Houdini (1874-1926) and private detective Rose Mackenberg (1892-1968) exposed the supposedly “mystical feats” of spiritualists as hoaxes. (timeline, glossary, “More to Explore,” author’s note, source notes, bibliography, index) (Gr 6 Up) ![]() Stealing Little Moon: The Legacy of the American Indian Boarding Schools. Dan SaSuWeh Jones. (2024). Scholastic Focus. Jones, a member of the Ponca Tribe, chronicles his family’s experiences with Chilocco Indian Agricultural School during its operation as an American Indian boarding school in Oklahoma for more than 100 years. Little Moon was four when she was taken from home and placed in Chilocco after its opening in 1864. Jones was on the maintenance crew when the institution closed in 1980. (bibliography) (Gr 3 Up) ![]() The Unlikely Hero: The Story of Wolf 8 (Young Readers’ Edition) (Chronicles of the Yellowstone Wolves #1). Rick McIntyre & David A. Poulsen. (2024). Greystone Kids. McIntyre and Poulsen’s narration, with informational insets by National Park Service Ranger McIntyre, begins with the 1995 reintroduction of wolf packs including Wolf 8’s family to Yellowstone National Park and ends with Wolf 8’s death. An afterword by Ojibwe John Potter tells an origin story of the wolf. (Gr 3 Up) ![]() Unlocking the Universe: The Cosmic Discoveries of the Webb Space Telescope. Suzanne Slade. (2024). Charlesbridge. Unlocking the Universe introduces readers to the world’s most powerful telescope. Designed by a team of scientists beginning in 1989, the Webb was launched from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana on December 25, 2021. NASA began releasing awe-inspiring images of the Webb’s spectacular discoveries in July 2022. (author’s note, diagram of the Webb’s light-detecting instruments, information about NASA’s four earlier “great observatories,” resources, bibliography) (Gr 3 Up) ![]() Virus Hunters: How Science Protects People When Outbreaks and Pandemics Strike. Amy Cherrix. (2024). Harper. This scientific exploration focuses on the discoveries of “disease detectives” (nowadays trained as epidemiologists) who identified viruses and addressed outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics of viral diseases including hantavirus, cholera, influenza, smallpox, HIV/Aids, and Covid-19. In the epilogue, Cherrix considers how the solving of such clinical mysteries gives hope to the survival of humankind. (bibliography, endnotes) (Gr 6 Up) ![]() Water: Discovering the Precious Resource All Around Us (Spectacular STEAM for Curious Readers). Olga Fadeeva. Trans. by Lena Traer. (2024). Eerdmans. “How much water is there on earth?” In Fadeeva’s exploration of the science, history, and other topics related to water, more than 25 questions are pursued with fact-filled responses overlaid on illustrations created with acrylic paint dripped and diluted with water. The book concludes with the thought-provoking question, “How can we protect our planet’s water?” (originally published in Russian) (Gr 3 Up) ![]() Wildlife Crossings: Protecting Animal Pathways Around the World. Catherine Barr. Illus. by Christiane Engel. (2024). Candlewick. After introducing the Earth’s ancient crisscrossing paths “made by 8.7 million species searching for food, water, mates, and safe places to breed,” Barr considers how seven animals from around the world (elephants, hedgehogs, birds, gibbons, fish, bears, and cougars) need these links to nature, which have been disrupted by humans, for survival along with efforts of scientists and citizen scientists to protect these pathways. (PreK Up) Nancy Brashear is Professor Emeritus of English at Azusa Pacific University, in Azusa, California. Carolyn Angus is former Director of the George G. Stone Center for Children’s Books, Claremont Graduate University, in Claremont, California.
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Lynette Smith and Carolyn Angus The picture book biographies reviewed in this column introduce readers of all ages to creative individuals who have made notable contributions in the visual, literary, and performing arts. The books are good choices for reading aloud to spark interest and encourage discussion in classrooms, libraries, and homes as well as for independent reading. ![]() Bea Breaks Barriers!: How Florence Beatrice Price’s Music Triumphed Over Prejudice. Caitlin DeLems. Illus. by Tonya Engels. (2024). Calkins Creek. Growing up in Little Rock, Arkansas, Bea, who loved all types of music, gave her first piano recital at age four, excelled at school, and broke barriers. After graduation, she headed north with dreams of becoming a composer. Bea, one of two Black students at Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music, graduated with honors. She returned to Arkansas to teach in Black colleges, married, and moved to Chicago. Tonya Engels’ acrylic-and-oil paintings beautifully set the scene for Caitlin DeLems’ picture book biography of Florence Beatrice Price (1887-1953), who created many musical compositions including a symphony performed in 1933 at the Chicago World’s Fair and an arrangement of the traditional spiritual “My Soul’s Been Anchored in de Lord,” which was sung by contralto Marion Anderson on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, but was largely overlooked until after her death. Back matter includes author’s and illustrator’s notes, a musical glossary, a timeline, archival photographs, a list of artists during the time period, and a bibliography. (PreK Up) —LS ![]() Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem: The Vision of Photographer Roy DeCarava. Gary Golio. Illus. by E. B. Lewis. (2024). Calkins Creek. “It doesn’t have to be pretty to be true, but if it’s true, it’s beautiful. Truth is beautiful.” Gary Golio’s present-tense narrative with numerous quotes and E. B. Lewis’ expressive watercolor illustrations introduce readers to Black photographer Roy DeCarava (1919-2009), who gained worldwide recognition for his work. While working for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1940s, DeCarava has his 35mm camera in hand as he moves through Harlem taking pictures of people walking through the neighborhood, lounging on their stoops, and playing in the street. Life does not pass Roy unnoticed; Roy and his camera see beauty everywhere in Harlem. Back matter includes an extensive author’s note, a timeline, archival photographs, a bibliography with sources of quotes cited, and a list of museums featuring DeCarava’s photographs. (PreK Up) —LS ![]() Extraordinary Magic: The Storytelling Life of Virginia Hamilton. Nina Crews. (2024). Christy Ottaviano. Nina Crews’ picture book biography of Virginia Hamilton (1934-2002), a compilation of 16 free verse poems and collage-style digital illustrations, focuses on her childhood. Growing up on her family’s farm in Ohio, Ginny, who was named for the state of Virginia, where her Grandfather Levi was born into slavery, was free to be a dreamer, a wanderer, and her own unique self. She believed words held extraordinary magic and loved listening to her family’s stories. When she was nine, she decided to become a writer and filled “The Notebook” with stories of her family’s love, losses, rage, and dreams. At 24, she moved to New York City. Her first book, Zeely, was published in 1967, and she won the Newbery Medal in 1975 for her novel M. C. Higgins, the Great. The back matter for this inspiring story of “the extraordinary magic” of Virginia Hamilton includes a bibliography, a selected list of Hamilton’s books, an author’s note, a timeline, and archival photographs. (PreK Up) —LS ![]() The Fastest Drummer: Clap Your Hands for Viola Smith! Dean Robbins. Illus. by Susanna Chapman. (2024). Candlewick. Viola was the youngest of the Smith sisters to join the family jazz band. Her introductory efforts on the drums were offbeat and terrible. However, she had fun, and as she practiced hard her drumming became “bolder, flashier, and faster.” She toured the Midwest with her sisters until the family band broke up. Although it was considered unladylike to play jazz, Viola started her own women’s band, The Coquettes. She built her own drum kit and with her group became famous. Viola, who continued working as a percussionist and enjoyed playing different kinds of music until the age of 107, opened doors for other women instrumentalists and is recognized as one of the greatest drummers of all time. Susanna Chapman’s retro, mixed media illustrations for Dean Robbin’s energetic biography of Viola Smith (1912-2020) clearly depict the jazz musician and her bold, fast, flashy technique. Back matter includes an author’s note, a glossary of musical terms related to jazz, and resources. (PreK Up) —LS ![]() Jimmy’s Rhythm & Blues: The Extraordinary Life of James Baldwin. Michelle Meadows. Illus. by Jamiel Law. (2024). Harper. Powerful words and images tell the story of James “Jimmy” Baldwin (1924-1987), who grew up in Harlem loving stories and finding joy in music, books, and family. As a Black, gay man, however, Jimmy was familiar with the blues and dreamed of an equitable world filled with love. He used his powerful voice to write The Fire Next Time (1963), essays on racism, and to speak up for racial equality during Civil Rights demonstrations. The poetic style of Michelle Meadows’ text, coupled with Jamiel Law’s expressive illustrations, chronicles Jimmy’s life from a small shy boy who kids picked on, to becoming preacher as a teenager, to eventually returning to writing and creating a body of work that led to his recognition as one of the most influential literary figures of the 20th century. Back matter includes an author’s note, a list of Baldwin’s books, a timeline, and sources. (PreK Up) —LS ![]() A Mind of Her Own: The Story of Mystery Writer Agatha Christie. Robyn McGrath. Illus. by Liz Wong. (2024). Beach Lane. This picture book biography tells the fascinating story of Agatha Christie (1890-1976), from her childhood as a curious, imaginative girl to her recognition as “the Queen of Crime.” Although young Agatha has a mind full of stories, she struggles to get her ideas down on paper, teachers reject her efforts, and she stops writing. However, with a mind filled with possibilities following work as a nurse in a hospital caring for wounded World War I soldiers, Agatha accepts her sister Madge’s challenge to write a detective story. After years of putting together the puzzle pieces of solving a crime—Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?—in her head, writing, submitting, and persevering rejections, her manuscript is accepted and, as is shown in an illustration of Agatha happily reading a copy of her first published detective story, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920), she is a published author. Back matter includes “More about Agatha Christie,” author’s and illustrator’s notes, a list of mystery vocabulary, and a bibliography) (PreK Up) —CA ![]() Signs of Hope: The Revolutionary Art of Sister Corita Kent. Mara Rockliff. Illus. by Melissa Sweet. (2024). Abrams. Sister Corita Kent changed the lives of young people by using unique and creative methods to teach students in her messy, noisy classroom and, in the 1960s, transformed the art world with messages of love, hope, peace, and justice amid splashes of color and ad slogans. Her perspective was that “work is play, imagination means adventure, and there is no line between life and art.” Mara Rockliff’s lively text peppered with quotes and Melissa Sweet’s mixed-media collage illustrations entice the reader to join Sister Corita’s students in observing art in the ordinary by looking closely and carefully at the world a little at a time. Sister Corita was small in stature, but her artwork was “big and loud.” The back matter for this picture book biography of Corita Kent (1918-1986), known as the “Pop Art nun,” includes author’s and illustrator’s notes, a timeline, sources of quotations, and resources. (PreK Up) —LS ![]() A Song for August: The Inspiring Life of Playwright August Wilson. Sally Denmead. Illus. by Alleanna Harris. (2024). Levine Querido. A Song for August is a picture book tribute to Black American August Wilson (1945-2005), who is recognized as one of the greatest American playwrights. Growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August loved words and learned to read at the age of four, but he hated school where he was bullied. When a teacher did not believe that he had written his paper about Napoleon Bonaparte, he tore it up, walked out, and started going to the public library rather than to school. He learned everything about the Black experience that he could from reading books by Black authors and by listening to records including those of blues singer Bessie Smith. He also studied paintings by Black artists and took notes on conversations he overhead in his neighborhood. Wilson wrote his first full-length play, Jittney, in 1977, and went on to write a play about Black Americans for each decade of the 20th century. Back matter includes notes on Wilson’s Century Cycle and an author’s note. (PreK Up) —CA ![]() Whirligigs: The Wonderous Windmills of Vollis Simpson’s Imagination. Carole Boston Weatherford. Illus. by Edwin Fotheringham. (2024). Calkins Creek. The whimsical illustrations in this picture book biography take readers on a spinning journey into the life of Vollis Simpson (1919-2013). One of 12 children growing up on a farm in North Carolina, Vollis was tinkering and fixing things before he could read. “If you don’t try something, he figured, you don’t learn anything.” While in the army air corps during World War II, he built a wind-powered washing machine out of salvaged airplane parts and a motorcycle from a bike. After leaving the army, Vollis ran a machine-repair shop and house-moving business in his hometown of Lucama, North Carolina. Later, after he was injured, his life changed. Bored with watching television, he began building windmill-like sculptures on the family farm, and his passion for creating things from metal scraps resulted in a colorful spinning field of windmills. Back matter contains an author’s note and photographs of Simpson’s wonderous windmills. (PreK Up) —LS ![]() The Wire Zoo: How Elizabeth Berrien Learned to Turn Wire into Amazing Art. Natasha Wing. Illus. by Joanie Stone. (2024). Paula Wiseman. Young Elizabeth loved animals and attempted to draw pictures of them as she saw them in her mind with beautiful energy lines moving across their bodies, but her portraits were always just scribbles. She tried other art forms with no success until Mr. Corran, the instructor in an experimental sculpture class, encouraged her to “think of things in terms of problem solving.” When he gave Elizabeth a roll of thin wire, she twisted and bent it into the shape of a cat, and with continued experimentation, she began creating three-dimensional wire sculptures of animals. The back matter of this picture book biography of Elizabeth Berrien (b. 1950), the “Godmother of Wire,” includes more about the “wire zoo” of animals she continues to create that are exhibited worldwide and photographs. (PreK Up) —CA Lynette Smith is a member of the Contributing Faculty of Walden University’s Richard W. Riley College of Education and Leadership. Carolyn Angus is former Director of the George G. Stone Center for Children’s Books, Claremont Graduate University, in Claremont, California.
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AuthorsThese reviews are submitted by members of the International Literacy Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG). Archives
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