#nf10for10 - Around My House With Daughters

Good morning everyone.  The snow started melting yesterday, the sky was blue, the sun was out and smiles returned.  No matter what kind of weather you are dealing with today, I hope you find smiles within the awesome amount of nonfiction sharing there is bound to be today.  

While co-hosting #pb10for10 for a few years now, I always find it interesting when people can pull together collections with an interesting spin.  The other day I was pondering my #nf10for10 ideas.  I looked at my list from last year and said, yes those are still some of my favorites but maybe I need to do something different.  My readers can find those books from last year.  There is a lot of information and reading about getting guys to read.  I began to think about girl readers.  What do girl readers need?  What do girl readers gravitate towards?  I have three daughters and reading nonfiction has always been something I've tried to include in their reading diet.  However, as they have grown and read on their own and make their own reading choices, nonfiction is not on their plate.  I wandered around our house and picked 10 favorite nonfiction books we have loved and used over the years.  We all need nonfiction reading!

1.  Lifetimes, The beautiful way to explain death to children by Bryan Ellonie and Robert Ingpen is a must have for everyone I know and don't know.  A beautiful picture book describing life with various things in nature from shells, to trees, to plants, to fish, to butterflies and yes to people.  If  were to tell you to buy just one nonfiction book this year, this is it!  Just read this very small excerpt.  "All around us, everywhere, beginnings and endings are going on all the time.  With living in between."

2.  Rabbits, Rabbits, and More Rabbits by Gail Gibbons is filled with information for when you might be pet shopping, convincing your parents, and anticipating your very own rabbit.  Gail Gibbons always does a nice job of illustrating her information and using nonfiction features to highlight information.  Warning, this book did bring home a Dutch Bunny that is 7 years old and still with us.

3.  Loons, Diving Birds of the North by Donna Love was the perfect book to pick up while vacationing on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.  Loons are fascinating creatures to watch and listen for.  They migrate to fresh water lakes and spend their winters on the ocean.

4.  Diggers and Dump Trucks is an Eye Openers book by Little Simon.  Yes, we had diggers and dump trucks to play with when the girls were little.  While we built our house, our oldest and only daughter at the time loved to roam the neighborhood and climb the machinery that was locked up for the night.  This book has just enough information about each piece of equipment with close ups of specific parts of the vehicle.

5.  Garden Birds by National Geographic is part of their my first pocket guide series.  We do own several within this series.  A small hand sized guide filled with information.  Each bird receives a two page spread where the reader uses a map to learn where to find the species, what to look for, and learn an interesting field note.

6.  Zoo in the Sky by Jacquelin Mitton has come on many trips with us to a cottage on the lake.  Beautiful illustrations of the actual creature is shown to the reader with foil stars at the exact location for what you would see at night if it were a constellation.  Each constellation shared also has a bit of a constellation story/history for the reader to enjoy.  This is a great book for discovering the mystery of stars and their organization.

7.  Click! by Gail Gibbons is the perfect book for anyone who enjoys using a camera.  It is filled with camera knowledge and how to use tips.  Now that the girls are a bit older and technology has changed greatly this might be a better history book about cameras.  It mentions film, negatives, and rewind lever.  I wonder if Gail has done a current camera book or would consider doing one.

8.  A Rainbow of Animals by Melissa Stewart is so fun because the reader learns about unique animals based on their color.  The book is organized the colors of the rainbow.  In my favorite color section, you learn about the Leaf-Mimic Katydid, Masked Puddle Frog, Yellow Crowned Parrot, Green Anole Lizard, Diamond Leatherjacket Fish, Brown Throated Three Toed Sloth, Mallard Duck, and Emerald Tree Boa.

Beautiful pictures with a tidbit of information to peak a girl's interest.

9.   Beachcombing, exploring the seashore by Jim Arnosky is a great book to pack and explore the beach environment with.  Diagrams, labels, and information help the reader learn more about shells, crabs, shark teeth and more.

10.  Dirt on Their Skirts by Doreen Rappaport and Lyndall Callan is a story about the young women who won the world championship.  The Rockford Peaches vs. Racine Belles for the first ever women's baseball league.  Yes, if you've seen the movie, A League of Their Own then this story will be familiar to you.  The characters are not real players from the game but the facts about the game are accurate.  This is a wonderful book to show girls they can do anything they set their mind and the power of being a female athlete.

Thank you for stopping by and joining our #nf10for10 fun.  I know it's busy time of year for everyone.  Remember, All posts will need to be linked at Write at the Edge.  Then Cathy and I will move them into a jog resource during the week of the event.  With school going on, this part of the project will take a bit of time.  Thanks for your patience in advance!