Me...Jane

 (Image from Amazon)

Title: Me...Jane
Author: Patrick McDonnell
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Copyright Date: 2011
Age Range: 2-7 years old
Lexile Level: 740

Summary:

This is a narrative nonfiction book about Jane Goodall as a young girl. It introduces readers to the first 'chimp' in her life, her stuffed animal Jubilee. It also describes Jane's love of nature and animals and how she would read books about animals and study them in her backyard, with Jubilee. She dreamed of visiting Africa and being able to help animals...eventually her dream came true and her work with animals is well known all over the world. Children will admire Jane Goodall after reading about her.

Audience: 

This is a great book for a younger audience of 2-7 year olds. Any child who loves animals should be aware of Jane Goodall and all that she has accomplished through her studies of chimps. Readers who love animals are sure to love this book about a fellow animal lover. This book will show readers that their dreams are possible if they work hard and are dedicated to their passions. This is a great read-aloud for younger children, I especially think children would like the illustrations in this book.

 (Images from http://news.janegoodall.org)

Read alikes:

The Watcher: Jane Goodall's Life with the Chimps by: Jeanette Winter
Readers who enjoyed reading about Jane Goodall will like this book about her too.

The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever by: H. Joseph Hopkins
This book would be enjoyed by readers who like Jane's perseverance and her love of science.

Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World by: Laurie Lawlor
This book is also about a great female scientist, so readers will like to learn about Rachel Carson and all she has done for science.

The Barefoot Book of Children

 (Image from Amazon)

Title: The Barefoot Book of Children
Author: Tessa Strickland and Kate DePalma
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Copyright Date: 2016
Age Range: 5-8 years old
Lexile Level: Not Found

Summary: 
 
This book teaches children about the differences between the children of the world. It shows it's readers that the world is a very diverse place and that we should be accepting of everyone who lives here. The first part of the book can be used as a read aloud book for storytimes in libraries and classrooms. The illustrations are very bright and colorful and the book is over-sized, so the audience will be able to see the pages clearly. The last few pages of this book are more informative and there are sections for each part of the book that was discussed, but in more detail. This gives a more in depth look at the world's different faiths, languages, food, etc. Examples from pages inside the book shown below.

 (Images from barefootbooks.com and globetrottinkids.com)

Audience:

This book is great for children of all ages and genders. I think it is very informative and will help children understand that there are a lot of other children in the world that may look different than them or live differently than they do, but that they should be accepting of these differences.

Read alikes:

This is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from Around the World by: Matt Lamothe
This book follows the lives of seven different children from around the world. The countries discussed are: Italy, Japan, Iran, India, Peru, Uganda and Russia. I think these are very diverse choices that children would learn a lot of new information from.

Same, Same but Different by: Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
This book is about two pen pals, one that lives in America and one that lives in India. They have similar interests, but there worlds look different.

Barefoot Books World Atlas by: Nick Crane
This book is by the same publishing company and it is an atlas of the world. It is divided by geographic region and allows children to learn more about the world and the environment of different regions.

Creature Features: 25 Animals Explain Why They Look the Way They Do

(Image from Amazon)

Title: Creature Features: 25 Animals Explain Why They Look the Way They Do

Author: Steve Jenkins

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Copyright Date: 2014

Age Range: 4-7 years old

Lexile Level: 650

Summary: 

This book is all about animals. Each page features a different, uniquely illustrated, animal who is asked a question about their features. The animal then replies why they look the way they look to the audience. This allows children to have fun while learning, which is a great feature for a nonfiction book to have.  

                        

(Images from Pinterest and JuniorLibraryGuild)

Great read aloud features:

• This book would be a great read aloud book to a group of preschoolers or kindergartners at a library or school. The reader can use funny voices for the animals to keep the children entertained and amused throughout the storytime.
• It will introduce children to new animals they may never have heard of: barirusa, red fan parrot, axolotl, etc.  
• The illustrations are bright, colorful and unique.
• The reader will be able to ask the audience why they think the animals do the things they do…you might get some creative and funny responses from the children!

Audience: 

Boys and girls who love animals will love this book. They will be able to learn fun and exciting facts about animals and they will be able to enjoy reading the book with different voices for each animal in the book. If being read to, the reader can entertain them with the different voices.

Read alikes:

Actual Size by: Steve Jenkins

This incredible book by the same author allows children to get an up close examination of the animals included in the book. Children will be able to compare their hand to the hand of a gorilla or their head to the head of an Alaskan brown bear.

Living Color by: Steve Jenkins

This is another book by Jenkins, and will allow children to learn their colors and the different types of animals with those colors. The illustrations are very bright and clear and children will be able clearly see them even in a large group.

Born in the Wild: Baby Mammals and Their Parents by: Lita Judge

This book will be enjoyed by children who like animals and they will be able to see and learn new facts about the baby animals of the world.

Website: 

The following website describes author, Steve Jenkins, process for making this book. It is very interesting, he discusses: concept, research, sketches, text, illustrations, designs, production and the final book. http://www.stevejenkinsbooks.com/creaturefeatures/

Women Who Dared: 52 Stories of Fearless Daredevils, Adventurers & Rebels

(Image from Amazon)

Title: Women Who Dared: 52 Stories of Fearless Daredevils, Adventurers and Rebels

Author: Linda Skeers

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Copyright Date: 2017

Age Range: 8-14 years old

Lexile Level: Not found

Summary: 

This book provides short summaries of 52 brave women throughout history and throughout the world. Each woman is described briefly, yet thoroughly through text, brightly illustrated and their birth year, death year, place of birth and their nickname or what they were famous for are all highlighted on the page. The history of these brave and fearless women will encourage children to accomplish their goals with fearlessness.

(Image from booktopia.com)

Audience: 

I think young tween/teenage girls will particularly find this book fun and exciting, however young boys who think women can be brave and fearless too will enjoy this book just as much! History lovers will enjoy this book as well.

Read alikes:

Rad American Women A-Z: Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries who Shaped Our History...and Our Future! By: Kate Schatz

This book is very similar to Women Who Dared, each women depicted in illustrations and text, however each letter of the alphabet is represented by a woman in this book.

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls By: Elena Favilli

This book depicts each women by illustration and through text as well. Each illustration is drawn by one of sixty different artists. The text is set up so parents or children can read about one woman per night.

Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by: Rachel Ignotofsky

This book describes the incredible women in the science field and all that they have accomplished throughout their careers. This book is illustrated as well.

Final comment:

I love all of the recent publications about strong female women from our history!!!