Archive for the ‘Juvenile Non-Fiction’ Category

You Wouldn’t Want to Be A Roman Gladiator!

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

gladiatorWatch out…as a barbarian fighting against the Romans you are about to be captured, sold as a slave and trained to become a roman gladiator. This theme is just one of many excellent historical books in the “You Wouldn’t Want to” series.

You Wouldn’t want to Be a Roman Gladiator! Gory things you’d rather not know, by John Malam revels in the darker side of life in ancient times. The reader is on center stage as he or she gets a tour through life during a grimmer time in history. Illustrations, captions, and sidebars leave no doubt that you simply wouldn’t want to be there.

The book is not bloody, but it definitely shows what happened (men in stocks and chains, swords, etc.). The characters are cartoonish, but very realistic.

The book details the life of a gladiator that is captured as a slave in battle in Gaul. We follow him to his sale in the market and what kind of jobs he might have been sent to (in the mines, as a galley slave, on the farm, etc.). The slave is sent to gladiator school and we learn about their training, what they ate, as well as the different types of gladiators and how they were punished. We learn about different types of gladiator fights and how gladiator fights were generally organized. Details include rules governing gladiators and how slaves were treated.

It manages to be entertaining and educational at the same time. For instance, did you know that you would have to eat barley grains and roasted beans for dinner and ash for dessert? Another handy hint from the book, “Try to stay alive until midday. Then you’ll have a chance for a rest when you’ll be able to watch pairs of criminals fight to the death.”

Some other books to check out in the series that go nicely with a study of Rome include, You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Roman Soldier!: Barbarians You’d Rather Not Meet and You Wouldn’t Want to Be in Alexander the Great’s Army!: Miles You‘d Rather Not March.

GENRE: Juvenile Non-Fiction

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Go, Go America

Friday, November 13th, 2009

gogoamericaThe Farley family station wagon is packed and ready for an old-fashioned road trip in Dan Yaccarino’s book, Go, Go America.

The story begins in Maine and winds, page by colorful page, down the Eastern seaboard and across America.  Mom reads the maps, ask directions, and settles all the backseat arguments. Dad can’t wait to hit the road! Unfortunately, he’s not the greatest driver in the world and has a lousy sense of direction. Freddie, knows lots of interesting facts about the United States and is eager to share his knowledge, even if no one wants to hear it; and his sister, Fran, would prefer to be biking, hiking, or skiing cross-country rather than riding in a car. Fido, the family pet thinks they are going to the park.

All the graphics in this over-sized non-fiction picture book, have a very retro 1950’s feel about them.

Funny outdated state laws such as Atlanta’s where it is illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole to weird tourist attractions like the West Virginia’s road kill cook-off, keep young travelers turning page after page to learn more.

The book goes beyond just displaying obvious facts but answers zany trivia such as Iowa is home to the crookedest street in the world and which state hosts the International Rotten Sneaker Contest (Vermont if you were curious).  Thanks to this book I now know that in Indiana it is illegal to enter a movie theater or public transport within four hours of eating garlic and that Albert Einstein’s brain is preserved in New Jersey, at Princeton.

The concluding pages in the book list the states in alphabetical order and give their capitals, dates of statehood, rank in entering the Union, area, bird, flower, insect, tree, motto, and nickname.

Check this book out for your next road trip or when your fifth graders’ prepare for their state reports.

GENRE: Non Fiction

Link here for a Lesson plan

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Posted in Juvenile Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction |

What Do You Do When Something Wants To Eat You?

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

eatyouUsing cut-paper collage illustrations, author Steve Jenkins explores the many fascinating and unique defense mechanisms creatures use to escape from danger in his non-fiction picture book, What Do You Do When Something Wants To Eat You?

The book presents the reader with the question of what would they do if something wanted to eat them. Walk on water? Stick out your tongue? Hide or play dead? Animals in the wild use all kinds of methods to protect themselves from their enemies.

Predators are depicted in pursuit of prey on each right-hand side of the spread and with a flip of the page uncovers the clever escape mechanism employed by the would-be victim,

The Basilisk Lizard, for example, narrowly escapes the heron by running across the water’s surface. This unique talent has earned it the nickname “Jesus Christ Lizard” in South America. Other animals featured in this selection are the bombardier beetle, the puffer fish, the blue-tongued skink, and the pangolin to name a few.

This book is a fascinating look at the diversity of nature and survival skills that have developed to help animals defend themselves.

Teachers will find this book useful for introducing animal units focusing on their defenses and the terms that go along with the subject and is a great choice for a storytime! Very appropriate for ages 7 and up, but better suited to fourth grade if read independently by students.

GENRE: Juvenile Non-Fiction

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