Book picks similar to
Spiders by Seymour Simon


non-fiction
picture-books
kid
nonfiction

Your Fantastic Elastic Brain: Stretch It, Shape It


JoAnn Deak - 2010
    JoAnn Deak offers a fun and engaging introduction to the anatomy and functions of the brain that will empower each young reader to S-T-R-E-T-C-H and grow their fantastic, elastic brain!Looking for award-winning picture books for curious kids? Your Fantastic Elastic Brain is the perfect fit. Dr. Deak shares information in ways that are accessible for parents, teachers, and children alike. Delightful illustrations with accurate details foster motivation to learn and grow in new ways. This book is an excellent companion to Beautiful Oops, The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes, I Can't Do That YET, The Most Magnificent Thing, and Bubble Gum Brain.Awards for Your Fantastic Elastic Brain:The Mom's Choice Gold AwardThe Moonbeam Gold Award for Non-Fiction Picture BookThe Pewter Gold Ink Award for Distinguished PrintingThe Parent's Choice Silver Award for Interior Design, Children's/Young AdultThe Nautilus Silver Award for Children's Non-FictionThe IBPA Benjamin Franklin Silver Winner for Interior Design, Children's/Young AdultNext Generation Indie Award Finalist for Children's/Juvenile NonfictionPraise for Your Fantastic Elastic Brain:"Dr. Deak has done a masterful job of creating a book for children, parents, and teachers to learn about the human brain together. The information is accessible and understandable, with illustrations that are engaging, fun, and alive! This is great reading material for everyone and will elicit many expressions of 'Now I get it!' from the adults!"—Fretta Reitzes, Director, Goldman Center, 92nd Street Y"Your Fantastic Elastic Brain is a wonderful, engaging book for parents and teachers to read with young children. It presents accurate information about the brain and how it relates to our lives…fostering motivation to learn and grow, consistent with our programs and research led by Carol Dweck, PhD."—Eduardo Briceño, Co-Founder & CEO, Mindset Works"Dr. Deak writes in a clear and interesting way about the complexity of the human brain, enhancing the knowledge of teachers and students. This book is a real contribution to the field of education in the twenty-first century."—Joyce S. Pickering, Hum.D., Executive Director Emerita, Shelton School & Evaluation Center

Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla


Katherine Applegate - 2014
    Brian Karas present the extraordinary real story of a special gorilla.Captured as a baby, Ivan was brought to a Tacoma, Washington, mall to attract shoppers. Gradually, public pressure built until a better way of life for Ivan was found at Zoo Atlanta. From the Congo to America, and from a local business attraction to a national symbol of animal welfare, Ivan the Shopping Mall Gorilla traveled an astonishing distance in miles and in impact.This is his true story and includes photographs of Ivan in the back matter.

Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator


Sarah C. Campbell - 2008
    This true tale of horror begins in the leaf litter beside a quaint porch in Jackson, Mississippi. The wolfsnail is on the prowl. Big, strong, and fast (for a snail), the wolfsnail has a taste for meat. In some areas, it is called the cannibal snail. It has earned the name. Soon, the predator finds the slime trail of a smaller snail and follows the path toward its prey. When the chase ends and the dramatic feast is done, nothing remains of the smaller snail but an empty shell. This photographic story, a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book, of a day in the life of a wolfsnail offers a unique and dramatic introduction to the food chain. Young readers will be fascinated by this little-known predator and the impact it has had on habitats where it does not belong.

Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman


Marc Tyler Nobleman - 2008
    Both boys escaped into the worlds of science fiction and pulp magazine adventure tales. Jerry wrote stories, and Joe illustrated them. In 1934, they created a superhero who was everything they were not. It was four more years before they convinced a publisher to take a chance on their Man of Steel in a new format—the comic book. The author includes a provocative afterword about Jerry and Joe’s long struggle with DC Comics when they realized they had made a mistake in selling all rights to Superman for a mere $130!Marc Tyler Nobleman’s text captures the excitement of Jerry and Joe’s triumph, and the energetic illustrations by Ross MacDonald, the author-artist of Another Perfect Day, are a perfect complement to the time, the place, and the two young visionaries.

Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France


Mara Rockliff - 2014
    Mesmer’s mysterious powers in a whimsical look at a true moment in history.The day Ben Franklin first set foot in Paris, France, he found the city all abuzz. Everyone was talking about something new. Remarkable. Thrilling. Strange. Something called Science!But soon the straightforward American inventor Benjamin Franklin is upstaged by a compelling and enigmatic figure: Dr. Mesmer. In elaborately staged shows, Mesmer, wearing a fancy coat of purple silk and carrying an iron wand, convinces the people of Paris that he controls a magic force that can make water taste like a hundred different things, cure illness, and control thoughts! But Ben Franklin is not convinced. Will his practical approach of observing, hypothesizing, and testing get to the bottom of the mysterious Mesmer’s tricks? A rip-roaring, lavishly illustrated peek into a fascinating moment in history shows the development and practice of the scientific method—and reveals the amazing power of the human mind.

If Sharks Disappeared


Lily Williams - 2017
    They can be big, like a whale, tiny, like a shrimp, and even scary, like a shark.Even though sharks can be scary, we need them to keep the oceans healthy. Unfortunately, due to overfishing, many shark species are in danger of extinction, and that can cause big problems in the oceans and even on land.What would happen if this continued and sharks disappeared completely?Artist Lily Williams explores how the disappearance would affect other animals across the whole planet in this clever book about the importance of keeping sharks, and our oceans, healthy.

Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei


Peter Sís - 1996
    Galileo Galilei was just such a man--a genius--and the first to turn the telescope to the skies to map the heavens. In doing so, he offered objective evidence that the earth was not the fixed center of the universe but that it and all the other planets revolved around the sun. Galileo kept careful notes and made beautiful drawings of all that he observed. Through his telescope he brought the starts down to earth for everyone to see.By changing the way people saw the galaxy, Galileo was also changing the way they saw themselves and their place in the universe. This was very exciting, but to some to some it was deeply disturbing. Galileo has upset the harmonious view of heaven and earth that had been accepted since ancient times. He had turned the world upside down.In this amazing new book, Peter Sís employs the artist's lens to give us an extraordinary view of the life of Galileo Galilei. Sís tells his story in language as simple as a fairy tale, in pictures as rich and tightly woven as a tapestry, and in Galileo's own words, written more than 350 years ago and still resonant with truth. This title has Common Core connections.Starry Messenger is a 1997 Caldecott Honor Book.

Skulls!


Blair Thornburgh - 2019
    So what’s the big deal about them? Well, every head of every person you’ve ever seen has a skull inside. And that includes YOU!

The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins


Barbara Kerley - 2001
    A man of pure determination, he created the first life-size models of dinosaurs! This brilliant book is a fantastic nod to the genius of one man, and a glimpse into the beginning of an important era.As a boy in England, Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins always wanted to be an artist. His passion led him to animals, and soon he was drawing and painting them with fervor. This eventually led to his true calling -- creating models of dinosaurs as they actually must have looked when they roamed the earth! With the help of scientist Richard Owen, he checked the fossil remains of dinosaurs against living animals and constructed a gigantic model. Among the first to witness his creation were Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, who reacted with pure amazement.In order to impress England's leading scientists with his work, Waterhouse Hawkins staged a lavish New Year's Eve dinner party and hosted the gala inside the body of his model! He also wanted the public to learn about the dinosaurs and their history, so he built smaller models, illustrated books, and lectured on the subject. His fame spread to the United States, and he was invited to New York, where he began to create model dinosaurs for a proposed Paleozoic Museum in Central Park. However, a corrupt politician put an end to the project, and vandals later broke into Waterhouse Hawkins's workshop and destroyed his models. Though distraught, he moved on to Princeton, where he built skeletons and created paintings about life on earth in the age of the dinosaurs. Eventually, Waterhouse Hawkins returned to England and continued his work, some of which can still be seen in Crystal Palace Park.Writer Barbara Kerley and illustrator Brian Selznick have weaved a spirited account of this largely forgotten man. Plenty of textual detail, research, and a good dose of wonderment make Kerley's narrative a delightful experience. And the awesome illustrations, which combine Waterhouse Hawkins's own grandeur with Selznick's talent for the bold and the beautiful, made the pages come to life. The fusion of scientific allure and sensational images is a stroke of brilliance. This phenomenal book stands as true testament to the devotion and power of an individual -- it would have made Waterhouse Hawkins proud. (Amy Barkat)

What If You Had Animal Teeth!?


Sandra Markle - 2012
    If you had a beaver's, you'd have orange teeth! And if you had a naked mole rat's set of teeth, you could move each one separately, like chopsticks! The animal kingdom has lots of cool teeth, but yours are pretty awesome, too!

Step Gently Out


Helen Frost - 2012
    In simple, evocative language, Helen Frost offers a hint at the many tiny creatures around us. And in astonishing close-up photographs, Rick Lieder captures the glint of a katydid's eye, the glow of a firefly, and many more living wonders just awaiting discovery. Fascinating facts about all the creatures pictured may be found at the end.

Ant Cities


Arthur Dorros - 1987
    Let's-Read-And-Find-Out is the winner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Science Books & Films Prize for Outstanding Science Series.Supports the Common Core Learning Standards and Next Generation Science Standards.

One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale


Demi - 1997
    A reward of one grain of rice doubles day by day into millions of grains of rice when a selfish raja is outwitted by a clever village girl.

Monarch Butterfly


Gail Gibbons - 1989
    Follow the transformation from a tiny white egg laid on a leaf to a brilliantly colored butterfly in this kid-friendly introduction to metamorphosis. With detailed, bright watercolors, Gail Gibbons illustrates the life cycle of the monarch butterfly, stage by stage, as it grows, changes, and takes flight.With clear, labeled diagrams and simple text that defines and reinforces important vocabulary, Monarch Butterfly introduces key concepts of insect anatomy and behavior. And of course, the unique migration of the monarch-- which can range up to four thousand miles-- is covered, with descriptions of how the insects travel, and how people in their path celebrate the occasion.This classic look at butterflies also includes directions on raising your own monarch at home, and a page of fun facts about these colorful butterflies.

The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot July 25, 1909


Alice Provensen - 1983
    "This book...recounts the persistence of a Frenchman, Louis Bleriot, to build a flying machine to cross the English Channel....  The text is succinct, caption-like in its directness and brevity....The paintings...add the necessary testure and tone to this marriage.  This is vintage Provensen" – School Library Journal