Read Aloud Thursday: Non-fiction Cybils

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last post, I gave my thoughts on the Cybils fiction picture books shortlist. We’ve also been enjoying books from the Cybils non-fiction picture book list. As with the fiction list, the Cybils challenge has been a great way to sample some of the best in children’s literature.

Bring on the Birds by Susan Stockdale is a simple introduction to birds for the very young. The bright colors, realistic bold illustrations and rhyming text all work together to make a enjoyable read. At the end of the book, Stockdale includes brief thumbnail sketches identifying each bird and giving a bit of information on them. We really enjoyed this one the first time we read it and both David and Ruth have requested it over and over again since I checked it out again a few weeks ago.

Thunder Birds by Jim Arnosky is also a book about birds, but on a whole different level. I don’t think there’s anyone who does nature books for children better than Jim Arnosky and he’s created another masterpiece here with this book about birds of prey. I liked that the text is more personal in nature than some of his other books, with stories about birdwatching trips he and his wife have taken. The book includes absolutely gorgeous life size fold out pages of some of the birds. I haven’t had a chance to share it with my boys but both are fascinated by birds of prey and I anticipate that they will love it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Planting a Wild Garden by Kathryn Galbraith is a lovely book that shows all the different ways that seeds are distributed in the wild. On first glance it’s a relatively simple concept but on looking at it further there is a lot of information packed into relatively few words. The pencil and watercolor illustrations and the feel of the paper itself give the reader the feeling of reading a nature journal.

All the Water in the World by George Ella Lyon and Katherine Tillotson is a brightly illustrated look at the water cycle. I liked that the illustrations themselves look like flowing water and reflect the text. However, I felt like the actual information was somewhat slim especially compared to the other books on the shortlist. I don’t think any of my kids actually learned anything new about the water cycle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can We Save the Tiger? by Martin Jenkins is an outstanding book. It looks at endangered animals and the different reasons why animals become endangered. I really liked that Jenkins addresses that these aren’t simple problems with simple solutions. The text is somewhat wordy but written in an engaging style and accompanied by incredible realistic illustrations by Vicky White. All three of my kids enjoyed this one at different levels. Ruth loved the pictures of the animals. John, my science guy, loved all the facts. And David, who doesn’t always like non-fiction, enjoyed the pictures and the way that Jenkins turns the discussion of endangered animals into something of a story.

I Feel Better with a Frog in My Throat by Carlyn Beccia is my pick to win this category. I reviewed this fascinating and funny look at weird but true medicine through history here. I probably am biased towards this book just because of the topic. How could I not pick the book that makes gross and bizarre medical cures accessible to kids as young as my five year old David (who begged to have this book read over and over)? I also loved the illustrations and the multiple choice quiz format. But I think I would also pick it as the winner because it’s really unusual as well as being really well done. I can’t think of another book like it for this age group.

The only book on the shortlist I haven’t been able to get my hands on is The Case of the Vanishing Golden Frogs by Sandra Markle. Our library has it but there are several people ahead of me on the hold list. We’ve read and enjoyed many other science books by Markle so I have high hopes that this one will also be excellent.

At this point, I pick I Feel Better with a Frog in My Throat as the winner with Thunder Birds and Can We Save the Tiger? being close seconds.

And as always, stop by Hope is the Word for more Read Aloud Thursday!

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