Non-fiction reading, poetry and a poem

I'm posting at Alyson Beecher's blog, Kid-Lit Frenzy for Non-Fiction Picture Book Wednesday. It's great that she's hosting people who want to share more non-fiction!  Tweet at #nfpb2014.   

books teach us

page by page they show

how to live a life

              Linda Baie ©All Rights Reserved

Firefly July A Year of Very Short Poems – selected by Paul B. Janeczko

and illustrated by Melissa Sweet

           This is a beautiful book of poems that will fill the year with pleasurable descriptions from poets past and poets present. You’ll find  a “Water-Lily” from Ralph Fletcher, “My petals enfold stamens of gold. . .” and “Sandpipers” by April Halprin Wayland, “. . . hemming the ocean.” There is the feeling of fall by Liz Rosenberg, “. . . fall came tumbling in. . .” and finally “A welcome mat of moonlight . . .” by Jim Harrison and Ted Kooser.  Don’t miss the rest of these, and thirty-two more! Plus, Melissa Sweet’s illustrations can be as mesmerizing as the poems’ words.  It’s a beautiful new anthology to add to your collections.

Plant A Pocket of Prairie - written by Phyllis Root, illus. by Betsy Bowen

             I enjoyed this book, and since I live on the edge of the prairie, in Denver, and have taken classes about the prairie habitat, and studied it with students, I wish it had been available years ago. Much of the back matter is about Minnesota prairie, but most applies to my area too. The basic story of the habitat’s flora and fauna is explained simply, with examples and gorgeous watercolor illustrations add to the information. Two things are emphasized, that there are still prairie habitats growing, just not as vast as they used to be years ago, so one can search those out to observe prairie places. And the other emphasis is to plant a prairie in your backyard, plants that will welcome the fauna. The book is worth adding to a library if you plan to study habitats, and especially the prairie.

What Do You Do With An Idea? - written by Kobi Yamada, illus. by Mae Besom

                I don’t know if one can consider this non-fiction, but it should be! A little boy has an idea, worries over it, rejects it, but the idea won’t let go. Finally, accepting, amazing things happen. The story is supportive of everyone who has an idea, but is shy of sharing it, wary of being made fun of. It will create terrific support for creativity, opening up to new ideas.

SPECIAL NOTE: For anyone who finds that they cannot hear someone's SoundCloud, it's because you've updated Safari to 7.0.3, & it is rejecting the sound.  Those below 7 can hear just fine. 

r. Here's SoundCloud's solution: http://help.soundcloud.com/customer/portal/articles/1464535-why-can-t-i-hear-tracks-using-safari-  Other browsers seem to work fine.