Your Amazing Skin from Outside In (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2018) by Joanne Settel, PhD, and illustrated by Bonnie Timmons is a fun factual book about skin and why it does all the good and weird things it does.
The book is told in rhyme which flows well and is matched by humorous illustrations. Kids (and adults) can learn why they get pimples and goosebumps, sunburns, their skin color, and a lot more.
I think my favorite page of text is the one discussing layers and layers of skin and how they are shed. A portion of it says,
“These cells are tiny, small, and thin.
You’ll never see them leave your skin.
But actually, they’re everywhere.
They make the dust that fills the air.”
*Shudder*
I love so many of the illustrations, it’s hard to pick one, but the spread with someone who is green is especially fun.
There are bonus facts about animal skin too.
Dr. Settle has written other science books for children. Read more about her and her other books here.
Read about author/illustrator Bonnie Timmons here–I can see why she was selected to do this book just from her bio.
Each time I pick this book up, I find myself smiling.
Author: Susan Uhlig
If you can quit, then quit. If you can’t quit, you’re a writer.
If you can quit
As a storyteller, your job is to present your characters with compelling problems and create even more compelling ways to solve those problems.
As a storyteller your job
Somewhere Among
Somewhere Among (A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book, 2016) by Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu is such a good book. It’s told in verse and the sparse language works so well.
Ema has a Japanese father and an American mother. Usually, she gets to spend the end of the summer in California with her mom and Grandpa Bob and Nana. But this year, her mother is expecting a baby and needs rest, so beginning in June, she and Ema will stay with Jiichan and Obaachan in western Tokyo. And it’s not going to be easy–especially with Papa working so far away. Then shortly after school starts, the whole world changes with the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.
Listen to Ema herself:
At home
with Mom and Papa
I am
between
two cultures
two languages
two time zones
every day.
Everywhere I go
here or there
I am different.
Doesn’t that just pull your heartstrings?
Read about the author and her family here.
A Big Mooncake for Little Star
Perfect Picture Book Friday
A Big Mooncake for Little Star (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2018) by Grace Lin is such a lovely book. It reads like a legend that has been passed down generation after generation.
Little Star’s mama bakes her a Big Mooncake and lays it onto the night sky to cool. Little Star promises not to touch it until Mama says she can. But . . . in the middle of the night, all Little Star can think of is the Mooncake. She thinks Mama won’t notice if she takes a tiny nibble. Then the next night she remembers how sweet and tasty that one bite was. And the next night, and the night after that . . .
Little Star is adorable. I like the repetition in the story. I love the bright art on a black background. I love the ending. The book is sweet and tasty! Read the dust jacket where Grace talks about what inspired this story–it’s very cool.
Grace Lin is an award winning author. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a Newbery Honor book. All Grace’s books are books for the child she was who didn’t have books that represented her. You can hear more about the author/illustrator in this touching Ted Talk here.