This Librarian's Quick Picks: Glow

Glow: Animals With Their Own Nightlights
by W. H. Beck
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Dec. 15, 2015)
Informational Picture Book

Summary:

Why be afraid of the dark when there is so much to see? Whether it's used to hunt, hide, find a friend, or escape an enemy, bioluminescence--the ability to glow--is a unique adaptation in nature. In this fun and fascinating nonfiction picture book, join world-renowned photographers and biologists on their close encounters with the curious creatures that make their own light.


Why You'll Love It:

•  Set against black backdrops, the photographs are often hauntingly beautiful, and closing pages note the creatures' habitats, actual size, and binomial nomenclature.
• The cover photograph of a bizarre, long-toothed fish with a personal flashlight quickly catches the eye -- this book is sure to capture-and hold-readers' attention.
• This overview is an effective jumping-off point for younger readers; for those interested in learning more, extensive back matter provides more detailed information on the animals discussed, as well as a bibliography. 

Who Should Read It:

Great for 1st-4th grade -- introduce the concept of bioluminescence with one of these video clips.

What Else You Should Read:

•  See What a Seal Can Do by Chris Butterworth
• Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes by Nicola Davies
• Bats: Biggest! Littlest! by Sandra Markle

This Librarian's Quick Picks: I'm Trying to Love Spiders

I'm Trying to Love Spiders
by Bethany Barton
Viking Books (July 7, 2015)
Nonfiction picture book

Summary:

I'm Trying to Love Spiders will help you see these amazing arachnids in a whole new light, from their awesomely excessive eight eyes, to the seventy-five pounds of bugs a spider can eat in a single year! And you're sure to feel better knowing you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than being fatally bit by a spider. 

Why You'll Love It:

• This is humorous nonfiction at its best! An unseen arachnophobe relates a series of fascinating facts about spiders  as she attempts to talk herself out of her fear after she encounters one.
• Solid material on spiders is cleverly woven into the narrative, and fun facts about different spider varieties are incorporated into the endpapers.
• Big, black brushstrokes give the illustrations and text the impact of still-wet pages, as if they'd just been completed.

Who Should Read It:

Great for K-2 as far as read alouds go, but I can see using this even in upper elementary as a mentor text for nonfiction writing.

What Else You Should Read:

• I, Fly: The Buzz About Flies and How Awesome They Are by Bridget Heos
• Behold the Beautiful Dung Beetle by Cheryl Bardoe 
• Aaaarrgghh! Spider! by Lydia Monks

This Librarian's Quick Picks: Koala Hospital

Koala Hospital
by Suzi Eszterhas
Owlkids, October 13, 2015
Nonfiction

Summary:

Koala Hospital features a koala rescue center in Australia. It shows why koalas are in danger, how they come to be in the sanctuary, and the process of healing and rehabilitating koalas for return to the wild. Koala Hospital also focuses on the people who work at the rescue center and how they aid the animals. 

Why You'll Love It:

• Topic-specific spreads make it easy for kids to dip in and out of the book, but they will likely read it from cover to cover. Interesting facts are incorporated throughout, even in the back matter. For example, koalas are one of the few mammals besides primates that have fingerprints; and “the word 'koala’ comes from an old Aboriginal word meaning 'no drink.’” (Koalas get moisture from their meals of eucalyptus leaves. While the leaves are poisonous to most animals, “koalas have a special digestive system that can break down the toxins”—though they sleep eighteen hours a day to recover from this hard work!)
• Readers will enjoy learning about how hospital staff and volunteers care for the animals. For instance, a laundry basket creates a small space “like a nest that keeps koalas contained while making them feel safe,” and “a healthy joey will go to a human foster mother and live in her house full time.”
• The cute marsupials practically pop off the page. Each spread features at least two photos, one of which usually fills a full page or bleeds across the gutter. Many are close-ups, while others show koalas in the hospital setting, with their foster mothers, or in their natural environment. Some especially endearing images include a joey dribbling milk during a feeding, a koala cuddling with a stuffed likeness of itself, and a marsupial snoozing high among tree branches.

Who Should Read It:

Great for grades 2-5...and here's the koala hospital's website!

What Else You Should Read:

• Nic Bishop Marsupials by Nic Bishop
• Dolphins of Shark Bay by Pamela S. Turner
• Can We Save the Tiger? by Martin Jenkins

This Librarian's Quick Picks: Woodpecker Wham!

Woodpecker Wham!
by April Pulley Sayre
illustrated by Steve Jenkins
Henry Holt (May 12, 2015)
Informational Picture Book

Summary:

Enter woodpecker world and get a bird's eye view of everyday life: hiding from hawks, feeding hungry chicks, and drilling holes to build homes. Woodpeckers are nature's home builders, creating holes that many other animals live in when the woodpeckers move on.

Why You'll Love It:

•  As well as being a great scientific text, the language lends itself naturally to a lesson on onomatopoeia or action words. “Wedge it. Sledge it. / Wham by wham. / Clear those chips. / SLAM, SLAM, SLAM!”
•  Six pages of additional information about woodpeckers add new and interesting details about anatomy, behaviors, and the ways in which people can observe and protect these birds.
• Jenkins' signature cut-and-torn-paper illustrations are vibrant and colorful; a perfect match for the bouncing text.
• Although the text is spare, don't be fooled: Youngsters will learn lots here. Readers learn how these birds forage, build shelter and nests, avoid predators, and instruct their young, among other topics. 

Who Should Read It:

Great for PreK - grade 3.

What Else You Should Read: 

• Egg: Nature's Perfect Package by Steve Jenkins
• Raindrops Roll by April Pulley Sayre
• Bird Talk: What Birds Are Saying and Why by Lita Judge

This Librarian's Quick Picks: The Octopus Scientists

The Octopus Scientists: Exploring the Mind of a Mollusk
by Sy Mongomery
illustrations by Keith Ellenbogen
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (May 26, 2015)
Narrative Nonfiction

Summary:

Explores the octopus, discussing how it changes colors, how their behavior can reveal the health of the worlds oceans, and more, as well as the work of scientists to learn more about it. 
 
Why You'll Love It:

• The text includes tantalizing tidbits and facts. For example, did you know that an octopus can “pour” itself through a hole the size of a thimble, drill through seashells with its tongue, squirt ink, and paralyze its prey with venom?
• The photographs are stunning and engaging, making the reader feel they're right there with the colorful marine life.
• Author Montgomery doesn't sugarcoat the very hands-on research process involved in writing this book. She describes how physically uncomfortable some of the experiences were and how sometimes long hours of research can yield little results.  

Who Should Read It:

Great for grades 5-up...and here's an interview with author Sy Montgomery featured on Time for Kids.

What Else You Should Read: 

• Sea Turtle Scientist by Stephen R. Swinburne
• The Dolphins of Shark Bay by Pamela S. Turner
• Giant Pacific Octopus by Leon Gray