Non-Fiction PB Wed. - Two New!

              Come visit Alyson Beecher at Kid Lit Frenzy for Non-Fiction Picture Book Wednesday!  It's great to see the varied books that others share! 

           Two biographies this time, both inspiring in their life's work! First, I'd like to tell you that I posted yesterday about Non-fiction for older students. Would love to hear ideas for more books if you would like. I've started a list!

A Home for Mr. Emerson - written by Barbara Kerley and illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham

               With both front and back endpapers filled with quotes from Ralph Waldo Emerson, Barbara Kerley begins this story for children of this important man in our literature. I really didn't know anything about his life except that he lived in Concord, and made his living through lectures and his writing. This book shares the man who loved his home and his community, of his wife and children, and a little bit of how his fame grew. Tragedy struck when he found his home on fire, and throngs of townspeople rushed to save his books and papers, the beautiful treasures in his home. There is a moment that is special, telling about his sorrow for the loss, going to Europe to recuperate, but discovering that home was really where he needed to be. 




The illustrations are rather whimsical, some realistic, but others enlarging the page's concept in the art. For example, when it told of his diving into his collection of books after a nature walk with children, the picture shows him really diving into what are life-sized books. Children will giggle at these pages-just delightful.

         Mr. Emerson lived a life that he "built" and inspired others to do the same. There is a page at the back that offers ideas for conversation with students from three different pieces of advice he gave. Also, there is more information to enjoy about his life, and an extensive bibliography. It's a great resource for studying Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Spic-And-Span: Lillian Gilbreth's Wonder Kitchen - written by Mnica Kulling and illustrated by David Parkins

               Do you remember Cheaper By The Dozen by Frank Gilbreth? I have fond memories of reading it aloud with my children, and have shared it often with students. This is a picture book about the mother of that family, the one who had all those children, lost her husband to a heart attack, and carried on as an industrial engineer, an inventor, a psychologist, an author and a professor! I know the story, and was always inspired that she continued her and her husband's work in "efficiency", but didn't know that she re-designed workplaces, like offices and the kitchen! Or that she designed the electric mixer and compartments in refrigerators! Her work was demonstrated at the World's Fair in 1933. The book says, "she always kept the worker in mind".  It's an inspiring story, but in addition, I wonder if it could spark interest in ideas for students changing the way they might do things, too.  

            
What's Next - a few more NF books from the library, and DON'T FORGET Cathy Mere of Reflect and Refine: Building a Learning Community and Mandy Robek of Enjoy and Embrace Learning are getting ready for August 10th, their annual sharing of #PB10for10, 10 "must have" picture books for the classroom. See all about it here!