Picture Book Roundup - Nonfiction Monday

It's Nonfiction Monday again (where did the week go?).    It's also spring and baseball season.  With those in mind, I'll highlight two books that feature America and her national pastime.

• Bates, Katherine Lee. 2013. America the Beautiful: Together We Stand. New York: Scholastic.

With illustrations by a group of stellar artists (including Yuyi Morales, Bryan Collier and Mary GrandPré) and appropriate margin quotes from selected US presidents, this is a large and beautiful picture book rendition of one of America's favorite songs, "America the Beautiful." Rounded out with a collection of useful facts about the nation and its system of government, this is a "must-have" book.

• Tavares, Matt. 2013. Becoming Babe Ruth. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

Baseball, the Babe, and Matt Tavares - if that's not a triple play, I don't know what is!  Matt Tavares' reverence for the sport of baseball shines through in this inspirational and entertaining third-person bio, focusing on the earlier years of one of baseball's greatest players.  Get an inside glance at the author's website. An Author's Note, Stats, and Bibliography are included. For young and old alike.

And on a baseball-related note, my family went to see 42: The True Story of an American Legend on Friday.  A great movie - not just for baseball fans!  I highly recommend it.  Watch the trailer here.

That's the best of America.  Here's the downside - it's April 15th - tax day.  Although we can only wish that we could print our own money, kids may enjoy this video of how the government does it.

 

Today's Nonfiction Monday roundup is at NC Teacher Stuff. Stop by.