NONFICTION MONDAY

Welcome to Telling Kids the Truth. I am delighted to be hosting Nonfiction Monday, so, if you'd like to join in, please leave your name, your link, and a description of your post in the comment section below. I'll add links throughout the day, so check back later for a full list.

I will start us off with a review of MERMAID QUEEN written by Shana Corey and illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham. It is a 2009 title from Scholastic, but it is a recent addition to the children’s biography section at the Middleport Free Library, so I snapped it up.

In this book, I found a lovely colorful biography of an equally colorful woman named Annette Kellerman who swam to fame in the early 1900s. I love stories of women and men who changed history even for a moment. Most of their names fade into the fabric of life, but every once in a while a writer like Shana Corey recognizes the bravery and boldness of the story and polishes it until it shines.

Mermaid Queen shines as it tells the story of a feeble girl who grew up in an Australian household filled with music and dance. To make her legs stronger, Kellerman learned to swim, not the most fashionable sport of the time. But she made it her life, creating the first water ballet. She traveled to England and America dazzling her audiences with high dives and underwater dances, and shocking them with her daring bare-legged bathing suits. Single-handedly, Kellerman altered swimwear fashion from heavy woolen pantaloons to sleeker swim-friendly bodysuits. She was also ahead of her time promoting a healthy diet of fruits and veggies and vigorous exercise for women. She would have fit right in with Jillian on Biggest Loser.

The text is spare yet lively and active, and the design of the pages swoop and swirl. Mermaid Queen can easily be an enjoyable read at bedtime, but can be so much more with the addition of Corey’s author’s notes that detail Kellerman’s struggles and successes. Another title to put on my list of books I wish I had thought of.

Check out these posts:
At Books for Learning discusses The Honey Bee’s Hive: A Thriving City and some other bee picture books.
http://books4learning.blogspot.com/2011/04/picture-books-science-bees.html


Shelf-employed reviews Jean Fritz's book, Alexander Hamilton: The Outsider.
http://shelf-employed.blogspot.com/2011/04/alexander-hamilton-outsider.html


Rasco from RIF has written about Chris Barton's intriguing new book CAN I SEE YOUR I.D.? True Stories of False Identities. There is a P. S. with a message from Chris about autographed copies of the book.
http://bit.ly/dYEKbn

Prose and kahn can be found at http://proseandkahn.livejournal.com/214969.html.  I read The Far-Out Guide to Icy Dwarf Planets.


Amanda at Patchwork of Books is talking about Into the Unknown by Stewart Ross... an awesome look into exploration for middle grades.
http://apatchworkofbooks.blogspot.com/2011/04/non-fiction-monday-into-unknown.html


Karen at Literate Lives has a post about a new book, Energy Island, a story about how a community came together to find and use renewable energy sources, can be found at Literate Lives:
http://literatelives.blogspot.com/2011/04/nonfiction-monday-energy-island.html


Read about Sugar Changed the World. http://thehappynappybookseller.blogspot.com/2011/04/sugar-changed-world-marc-aronson-marina.html
I always enjoying finding out who we have to thank for things we take for granted, like light weight swimsuit. And Jillian would love Kellerman


Angela Craft at Bookish Blather said -- I'll add in my thanks for hosting today! Sounds like an excellent book, and I think the subject would have gotten along with the subject of my review for the day. At Bookish Blather I review Amelia Lost by Candace Fleming http://bookishblather.blogspot.com/2011/04/nonfiction-monday-review-amelia-lost-by.html


The Wild About Nature Writers said -- It's another giveaway at Wild About Nature blog! This week, enter to win your own copy of The Robins in Your Backyard by Nancy Carol Willis.
http://wildaboutnaturewriters.blogspot.com/2011/04/nonfiction-monday-robins-in-your.html


maclibrary said... Thanks for hosting. I love The Mermaid Queen. Here's mine, a peak at a new book to be out in May: http://maclibrary.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/nonfiction-monday-when-bob-met-woody/


rlgibson said... For this week between Earth Day and Arbor Day, check out Redwoods at:
http://bookmuse.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/redwoods/    Happy reading!


For National Poetry Month Jennifer has a poetry/nonfiction title
http://jeanlittlelibrary.blogspot.com/2011/04/nonfiction-monday-birds-of-feather-by.html

Jeanne Walker Harvey says True Tales & A Cherry on Top features just such a picture book biography about two English brothers who were innovative photographers and avid birdwatchers. They created the first nature book entirely illustrated with photographs.
http://jeannewalkerharvey.blogspot.com/2011/04/in-belly-of-ox.html


Looks like a wonderful line-up already this morning. Can't wait to check these posts.
Wrapped In Foil has Kurt Cyrus' vibrant picture book The Voyage of Turtle Rex at http://blog.wrappedinfoil.com/2011/04/the-voyage-of-turtle-rex/

A great library non-fiction find - Owen and Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship. This is a story about the unusual friendship between a baby hippo and a 130-year-old turtle.
http://childliterature.blogspot.com/2011/04/owen-mzee-true-story-of-remarkable.html


Heidi Grange said...

Geo Librarian reviews National Geographic Kids Everything Sharks at http://geolibrarian.blogspot.com/2011/04/nonfiction-monday-everything-sharks.html.

SimplyScience today has Planting the Wild Garden by Kathryn O. Galbraith. http://simplyscience.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/planting-the-wild-garden/


Nonfiction Book Blast has Prairie Storms by Darcy Pattison, who also wrote the post. http://nonfictionbookblast.wordpress.com/


Lynn Rutan and Cindy Dobrez said... At Bookends we are reviewing Albert Marrin's Flesh & Blood So Cheap: The Triangle Fire and Its Legacy. Thanks for hosting.

Lori Calabrese said... Mermaid Queen sounds like an interesting book! Thanks for sharing!
At Lori Calabrese Writes!, I review Start it Up: The Complete Teen Business Guide to Turning Your Passions into Pay


Anastasia Suen has Raggin' Jazzin' Rockin': A History of American Musical Instrument Makers by Susan VanHecke at Chapter Book of the Day http://wp.me/p1fHyF-4j  and The Human Body: Lift the Flap and Learn by Pascale Hedelin (Author) and Robert Barborini (Illustrator) at Picture Book of the Day http://wp.me/pWySC-cm