Informational Books

Informational Books

Sweet, M. (2011). Balloons over Broadway: The true story of the puppeteer of Macy's parade. New York: Houghton.

From the time Tony Sarg was a little boy, he knew he wanted to make puppets. He loved to find ways to make things move and would experiment until he found a way to get his inventions to move. As he got older, word spread about his puppets and he was hired by R. H. Macy's department store. They wanted him to build a puppet parade. As the years went by the parade got bigger and bigger and so did his puppets until they became the balloons we see today at the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.

Balloons over Broadway is an excellent book about the history or the Macy's Thanksgiving parade. It gives an accurate timeline of how Tony Sarg developed his puppets and moved onto the big blimp-like balloons seen at the parade. Sweet did her research by finding sources to read and interview to find out about puppetry and balloon design, which she lists at the back of the book.

  

Bishop, N. (2007). Spiders. New York: Scholastic.

Spiders are one of the longest living and most successful predators alive. They can be as big as a page in a book. All spiders have two parts to their body and 8 legs which sets them apart from insects. Most spiders have eight eyes but can't see very well, so they rely on their senses. Nice Bishop's book Spiders  is filled with all types of facts about spiders and includes up-close, magnified pictures.

Spiders and every other Nic Bishop book is an accurate resource using incredible photographs. Bishop takes his own pictures for his books and for Spiders, he used several of his own spiders to document  rare events such as molting, jumping, and egg –laying. He has a doctorate degree in biological sciences and uses his knowledge and travels to provide factual information to the reader.

Bragg, G. (2011). How they croaked: The awful end of the awfully famous. New York:     Walker.

In the days before medicine and real medical training, people would get sick and die gruesome deaths. How They Croaked is a fun, gross-filled list of how nineteen famous people died, such as George Washington, who died of a sore in his mouth, or James A. Garfield, who died from having dirty fingers poked inside his gunshot wound.

How they Croaked is written in a fun way to share about the deaths of  famous people. It begins with an introduction to warn the reader about how gruesome some of the deaths were.  The chapters are organized chronologically by the year each person died, but  a reader can jump around and read the people they are interested in. Each chapter begins with a bit of information about each person. It includes who they were, where and when they were born, as well as, where and when they died.  At the conclusion of each chapter  there are facts and information pertaining to their lives, the time period and tidbits about their illness.

 Nelson, K. (2008). We are the ship. New York: Hyperion.

Nelson uses a generic baseball player to tell the tale of the struggles of the Negro League Baseball. It highlights the key players and events throughout the history of negro baseball from the 1920's through World War II, and to when Branch Rickey signed on Jackie Robinson to the major leagues.

We Are the Ship shows the struggle of African Americans to achieve equality in America’s favorite game by sequencing the story over the history of baseball. By organizing the information in chronological order, naming each chapter an inning, the reader can better understand the struggles and sacrifices made to play the game they loved.

Ottaviani, J., & Wicks. M. (2013). Primates. New York: First Second.

Three women were selected to study different types of primates because it was believed that women were calmer and could get closer. These three ladies: Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Birute Galdikas dedicated their lives and made new discovers that opened doors for other generations of female scientists.

Primates has a bright, attractive cover that catch the reader’s eye and interest. The graphic design communicates the information about the three women effectively making it an enjoyable story rather than just about book about facts.

Harris, R. (2014). It's so amazing. Boston: Candlewick.

It’s So Amazing is the perfect go-to informational book that helps answer the tough questions that children ask about where babies come from and questions about their bodies. It is filled with factual yet child-friendly pictures and information.

It’s So Amazing is a great example of the use of design in an informational book. The cartoon illustrations, and cartoon characters help share the information about the subject of the “birds and the bees”.  The bright colors and the small grouping of text makes it attractive and inviting for readers. This books helps communicate the often difficult topic and answers questions children may have clearly and accurately.

Giovanni, N. (2005). Rosa. New York: Holt.

When Rosa Parks gets off work early, little did she know that she would start a revolution.  In 1955, Rosa sat down in the neutral section of the bus one afternoon and refused to get up. Word quickly spread when Rosa was arrested. Groups banned together and made posters telling people to stop riding the bus in support of Rosa. After almost a year of walking in all types of weather, their efforts paid off and the Supreme Court ruled segregation on buses to be illegal.

Style is what makes informational books read like literature rather than just giving information. The book Rosa reads like a short story.  The style of the book spikes the reader’s curiosity and encourages them to further their reading about the civil rights movement.

McDonell, P. (2011). Me...Jane. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Me... Jane is the tale of a young Jane Goodall and her love of being outside. Her curiosity leads her to explore and learn all about the animals and nature in her backyard. She dreams of living in Africa among the animals. She falls asleep to wake up to realize her dreams came true.

The book  Me…Jane  is an unique twist of a bibliography about Jane Goodall. It is told from a narrator’s point of view about a little girl’s dreams of living in Africa and helping animals and those dreams became true. At the end, it includes information about Jane and her accomplishments, as well as, a message from her. This simple book sparks the curiosity of its readers and entices more reading about Jane and her love of animals.

Bartoletti, S. (2005). Hitler Youth. New York: Scholastic.

Hitler Youth is an informational book that tells how the Nazi youth of Germany were persuaded, then required to participate in the Hitler Youth groups. Several were die-hard believers, willing to die for Germany and Hitler, while others began to question their lack of rights and rebelled. The youth were the backbone of the Third Reich and the war. After the conclusion of the war, many were tried and forced to face what atrocities they were a part of.

Hitler Youth shares how the youth of Germany helped strengthen and rise Hitler to power. Bartoletti spent two years researching archives, reading books, interviewing both Hitler youth and Jews, as well as touring Europe to get an accurate account of the events and feelings during this time and how it came to be.