Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter, illustrated by Matt Phelan.

Two veteran authors take their years of writing, their know-how, and their energy and offer it happily to new authors, both young and old.  What could have been a dry subject is definitely not in their hands.  Simply starting the book will have you hooked and make you wonder why you never wrote that book that you know you have inside you.  Mazer and Potter take on all of your excuses, throw in some great advice, and really inspire you to go for it!  Written with lots of humor, this book has I Dare You sections to get you started, funny stories of both failure and success, and offers a refreshing look at the process of writing.

There are so many parts to love in this book.  It has real information about subjects like metaphors, perspective, setting, and plot.  At the same time it is light-hearted and very personal.  Mazer and Potter have created an invitation to join them in both the success and failure of writing.  Their personal stories make the book a pleasure to read, carrying the information easily to readers.  Once you start reading, you will find it reads as easily as one of their novels, which is rare in a nonfiction book on the writing process! 

Phelan’s art suits the writing well with its organic and natural feel.  The illustrations and the fact that the chapters are broken into small bite-sized pieces contribute to the welcoming feel of the entire book.

Highly recommended, I see this as the ideal book to share with writing classes, to encourage young authors, and to hand to adults who want to start writing for children.  Not only will it offer those adults the tools they need to write, it will also show them exactly what a great book for children should be.

Appropriate for ages 10-14.  (I had to pry it out of my 13-year-old son’s hands to get to finish it.  And only by promising not to touch his bookmark!)

Reviewed from Advanced Reader Copy received from author.

Here Comes the Garbage Barge! by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Red Nose Studio

This is the true story of what happened in 1987 when the town of Islip had 3,168 tons of garbage that they had no room for.  So it was placed on a barge to be taken to North Carolina.  Captain Duffy St. Pierre used his small tugboat to pull the barge down to North Carolina, but it wasn’t that simple.  North Carolina refused to take the garbage!  Captain Duffy was then sent to New Orleans.  Nope, they didn’t want it either.  Mexico?  No.  Belize?  No.  Texas?  No.  Florida? No.  The garbage was getting older, smellier and more horrid by the day.  Finally Brooklyn agreed to take the garbage and incinerate it.  It was 162 days after the barge first set out. 

This book could have been a dry look at recycling, garbage and waste, but it definitely is not.  Instead Winter and Red Nose Studio have created a book filled with humor and character that tells the garbage story with more style than the facts could have offered.  Winter’s writing is ideal for reading aloud.  There are plenty of accents, lots of exclamations that fill the book with energy and fun.  Red Nose Studio’s art is three-dimensional, witty and filled with found objects.  His art is humorous, detailed and a delight to look at.  It is a testament to Winters’ writing that it is a great match to this art. 

A perfect book for Earth Day or any eco-friendly event, this book will get children thinking about how many pounds of garbage they create and exactly what happens to it.  Even if it’s not headed for a garbage barge.  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Check out the video below of the making of the art for the book:

Reviewed from copy received from Random House.

Older Than the Stars by Karen C. Fox, illustrated by Nancy Davis

Celebrate the age of your atoms with this dynamic nonfiction picture book.  Starting with the lines:

You are older than the dinosaurs.

Older than the earth.

Older than the sun and all the planets.

You are older than the stars.

You are as old as the universe itself.

Through a traditional folktale format of cumulative rhyming lines, this book can be read in several ways.  The rhymes serve as a structure for the book, but the real pleasure is in the scientific facts that are presented with flair and an eagerness that make them fun to read.  Young readers will learn about the Big Bang, how stars were created, and how our planet and humans came about.  The book ends with a colorful timeline and a glossary of terms.

Fox’s rhyming is catchy and sound.  Her scientific information is interesting and a pleasure to read.  Featuring strong colors, deep contrasts and vivid design, Davis’ illustrations are dynamic.  They have a timeless feel that is very appropriate for the subject, yet they are definitely modern in feel as well. 

A great nonfiction picture book on a subject that will intrigue young readers, this picture book will not sit still on shelves for long.  Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham

At age 13, Susy, the daughter of Mark Twain, was annoyed that people writing biographies of her father got things wrong.  So she decided to write her own biography of her famous father because she truly knew him.  At first Susy’s biography was a secret but soon her parents had discovered her book and her father helped by offering quotes at opportune moments.  In her biography, Susy told of her father’s childhood, his public side and his private life.  She documented his finer qualities and also his lesser ones.  She also wrote about his writing practice and how her mother cleaned up the racier passages.  This is a biography that shows us Twain as a family man and father as well as an author.

Kerley’s biography of Twain is immensely readable and inviting.  She has incorporated passages from Susy’s biography in an inventive way.  They are placed in inserts that look like small books on each page.  Readers will be delighted by the passages and the insights they offer.  Fotheringham’s illustrations are a creative mix of vintage and modern.  Done digitally, they have a warmth and strong graphic quality. 

Highly recommended, this is a great biographical picture book for elementary-aged students.  It is also ideal to share with children who want to be writers since it shows not only Twain’s process but gives readers a young writer to model themselves after as well.  Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by Kiss the Book, Sommer Reading, and Young Readers.

You can read about Barbara Kerley’s own writing process for this book at INK.

In the Belly of an Ox: the Unexpected Photographic Adventures of Richard and Cherry Kearton by Rebecca Bond

Two brothers, Richard and Cherry Kearton, grew up in the hills of Yorkshire and spent much of their time outside exploring.  When they both moved to London, they missed the countryside, so they visited it whenever they could.  One visit, Cherry brought his new camera and took a picture of a bird’s nest.  An idea was born!  The brothers decided to take pictures of birds nests using a variety of blinds, disguises and props, including a large bull to hide inside.  It took them three years and 30,000 miles of travel across Britain to make their book.  British Birds’ Nests was published in 1895.  It was the first nature book to be illustrated entirely with photographs. 

This is really the story of two brothers who were willing to work hard, invent their own solutions, and follow their personal dreams.  It is a story of being yourself and finding your own way in life and not listening to what “should” be done.  Make sure to look at the end of the book where you can see some of their photographs.  One is a heart-stopping photo of both brothers high in a tree with a ladder. 

Bond’s text here sets just the right mood.  She and the readers revel in the inventiveness of the brothers and their enthusiasm and hers shine.  Her illustrations have a wonderful vintage feel.  The watercolor landscapes evoke the region nicely and the brothers come through as vibrant characters.

A great piece of picture-book nonfiction, this title is one that should be shared.  It’s a great piece to start conversations about what children are really dreaming of, what their special gifts are, and what they may become someday.  And it just might get indoor children moving outside to take their own pictures and climb their own trees.  What could be better?!  Appropriate for ages 5-8.

Reviewed from library copy.

Under the Snow by Melissa Stewart, illustrated by Constance R. Bergum

After our blizzard on Wednesday, this book seems like a very appropriate choice as we dig ourselves out of 14 inches of snow.

Find out what animals and insects are hidden under the snow as they try to survive the winter.  Ladybugs packed into a gap in a stone wall and  butterflies that are active in the winter may surprise readers.  The cozy burrow of a chipmunk and the sleeping woodchuck deep underground will charm.  Then readers get to look below the ice on the pond to turtles, fish, frogs and newts to see the different ways they act in winter. 

Stewart keeps her explanations of the animals simple and straightforward enough to use with preschoolers.  I would have liked to have seen an appendix with more information on the animals themselves.  Bergum’s watercolor illustrations capture the animals and their natural surroundings with great skill.  They offer close-ups when they are needed and still manage to evoke the larger environment of field, forest and pond. 

A very nice scientific look at animals in winter, this will be welcome in preschool classrooms or for winter story times looking for nonfiction that is very readable.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Also reviewed by 100 Scope Notes.

YALSA has released the names of the five finalists for the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for young adults (ages 12-18).

Almost Astronauts by Tanya Lee Stone

Charles and Emma by Deborah Heiligman

Claudette Colvin by Phillip Hoose

The Great and Only Barnum by Candace Fleming

Written in Bone by Sally M. Walker

The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder by Mark Cassino with Jon Nelson, PhD.

This book covers snow from the way it begins with a tiny speck and how it turns into a snow crystal.  Filled with delightful details like the types of things that form the tiny specks in the atmosphere. (It could be sea salt or plant leaf bacteria!) The book is a mix of drawings and snowflake photographs which works well.  The images of the crystals are stunning and will have readers poring over the pages and discussing their favorites.  The book talks about the different types of snowflakes, whether they are unique, and how you too can study their structure.

Snow is such an amazing weather phenomenon all on its own (or at least that is what I am repeating over and over again to myself as a winter storm bears down on Wisconsin.)  This book will mix well with fiction books about snow and winter, though it is one that children will want to hold and look closely at. 

Ideal for units on snowflakes and just for the pleasure of snow itself, this book has a place in all libraries.  Appropriate for ages 4-9.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by A Patchwork of Books.

Never Smile at a Monkey by Steve Jenkins

Jenkins of the amazing paper art illustrations returns with a book dedicated to animals that may not seem dangerous.  The problem is, you do have to know the tricks of how to avoid danger with them.  Some of the animals in the book are surprisingly dangerous.  The cone shell will make you never look at sea shells the same way again.  Then you have the obviously dangerous animals like the spitting cobra and you get tips to deal with an encounter with them.  Turning each page is a delight as you get a surprise each time and then the treat of wondering what in the world the danger could be.  Great fun.

Jenkins is best known for his art.  Here it is as gorgeous as one has come to expect.  He manages to create tangible fur from paper, eyes that really seem to see, and somehow loses that flat paper feel of most collage.  One forgets it is art and starts to think of it as photography.  Jenkins also excels at writing informational paragraphs about the animals.  They are short, fascinating and here they are filled with adventure too. 

Highly recommended, this book belongs on all public and school library shelves.  A great science picture book with a great hook, this book is appropriate for ages 6-10.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by A Year of Reading, TheBookNosher, A Patchwork of Books, and Fuse #8.

Apples for Everyone by Jill Esbaum
Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie by Jill Esbaum

Celebrate the fall season with this pair of book from National Geographic Kids.  Both book have simple text just right for beginning readers combined with vivid photographs.  In Apples, readers follow apples from blossom to harvest to different uses.  Mouths will be watering at the caramel apples, applesauce and cider.  In Pumpkin, readers get to see the pumpkins grow on the vine, turn orange, and be made into pies, jack-o-lanterns, and even boats.  Yes, boats.  The photographs feature children of different ethnicities, which is wonderful to see in nonfiction titles.

Esbaum’s photographs steal the show here with their crisp focus, bright colors and interesting compositions.  But her text is not to be ignored.  Her words add context and detailed information that make the photographs even more interesting.

Perfect to expand your fall seasonal shelves, these books come paperback bound so buy a bushel.

Reviewed from copies received from publisher.

Also reviewed by The Well-Read Child.