Non-Fiction Wednesday

In my effort to read more non-fiction to my second graders and find more non-fiction to add to my classroom library I am re-committing to participating in Kid Lit Frenzy's non-fiction challenge.  So be sure to click on over to see what everyone else is reading in the non-fiction picture book world.  Thanks to Alyson Beecher (@alybee930)  for always giving me more books to add to my TBR list!

Ocean Sunlight: How Tiny Plants Feed the Seas by Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm

The book explains the role of sunlight in Earth's food chain, with particular emphasis on plankton, the tiny microscopic plants and animals that provide food for the oceans animals and also produce half of Earth's oxygen. The text, told from the point of view of the Sun, is beautiful and has a lyrical quality. The illustrations are spectacular - I loved how Molly Bang illustration helped my students visualize the plankton multiplying. I read this book to my class recently and they loved it too. In fact, many had connections later as they found other books with similar topics like food chains and plankton. Sometimes non-fiction picture books are full of glorious pictures but miss the mark with the information piece - either dumbing down concepts or leaving the reader confused. but this book really delivers on the information by using proper vocabulary and explaining the concepts in such a meaningful way.

You may be aware of many of Molly Bang's Caldecott books, like When Sophie Gets angry - Really really Angry, but you should also check out her science books. You can see a list of Molly Bang's science books at her website. I can't wait to read them.

Stinging Scorpions by Natalie Lunis

Full of amazing up-close photographs of these scary little creatures, this informational book should be very popular in my classroom. I love that there is lots of features that will help my students successfully read non-fiction including headings, labels and a glossary. The text includes many vivid and gross parts that will appeal to many young readers, including the section titled "Tearing into a Meal".  I was so excited to discover this great series of non-fiction books called No Backbone! The World of Invertebrates published by Bearport Publishing. There are 6 books in the series that are perfect independent reads for my second graders. I think the publisher even has guiding reading levels for many of their books. I can't wait to add this collection to my class library.  They are all hardcover I think, so a bit more costly.  But we all know how paperbacks wear out so quickly.  Does Santa come in March?

Have you read any good non-fiction?
What non-fiction do your students like to read?