Tag: nonfiction picture book

cover of What Fish Are Saying: Strange Sounds in the Ocean shows an underwater scene with fish, shellfish, and sea plants
Posted in PB, So Many Good Books

What Fish Are Saying

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Perfect Picture Book Friday

What Fish Are Saying: Strange Sounds in the Ocean (Sourcebooks, 2025) by Kirsten Pendreigh and illustrated by Katie Melrose shows how “It’s NOISY down below” in an amusing way.

Written in rhyme, this picture book shares the sounds from fish and shellfish, and how they are made, including farts! Some of my favorite sounds explored are: cluck, whoop, boop, and bark. Makes me want to be able to listen in.

Isn’t it great that nonfiction can be fun? And the illustrations are lovely.

Read about the author here and see her books here.

Read about the illustrator here and see some of her work here.

cover of Hawk Mother Returns
Posted in Nonfiction, PB, So Many Good Books

Hawk Mother Returns: A Story of Interspecies Adoption

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Perfect Picture Book Friday

Hawk Mother Returns: A Story of Interspecies Adoption (Web of Life Children’s Books, 2024) by Kara Hagedorn and Marlo Garnsworthy is an incredible true story of a hawk raising babies that aren’t her own.

Kara, the wildlife rehabilitator who takes care of the red-tailed hawk Sunshine, was asked if the hawk might raise two hawk eggs from a nest rescued from a cut down tree. She says yes. But unexpectedly, one of the chicks has already hatched. Will Sunshine accept the chick and the other egg?

The text is accompanied by photographs of Kara, Sunshine, and the eggs and chicks. Contributing Photographers are Glenn Forbes, Kara Hagedorn, Eva Vigil.

This book is a sequel to Hawk Mother: The Story of a Red-tailed Hawk Who Hatched Chickens. Kara says, “When I adopted Sunshine, I made a serious commitment to care for her knowing that hawks can live for over 30 years in captivity. I’m guessing she was around three years old when I adopted her because she had the red tail of an adult but the pale-yellow eyes of a juvenile.” They have lived together for twenty years.

Learn about Marlo here. (Kara’s website does not exist anymore.)

cover of A Little Bit of Dinosaur
Posted in Nonfiction, PB, So Many Good Books

A Little Bit of Dinosaur

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Perfect Picture Book Friday

Here’s a heads up on a hilarious book that just came out: A Little Bit of Dinosaur (Mims House, 2021) by Darcy Pattison and Elleen Hutcheson, and illustrated by John Joven. I love how it’s not what I expected from the cover.

Did you know you have a bit of dinosaur in you? And it’s your mother’s fault?

How could one not read this story after that? The funny illustrations add to the humor of this nonfiction picture book.

Read about both authors and the illustrator here and find more information about dinosaurs, too. Check out John’s portfolio here.