Monday, April 22, 2013

Review: Deadly and Dangerous series

We are excited to be hosting this week's Nonfiction Monday!



This is a weekly gathering of book bloggers sharing their reviews of great new nonfiction books. Make sure you visit each of them, and take a look around while you are there - I often find a new favorite blog to add to my feed on Mondays!

Bloggers, just add the link to your post to the comments (we do things the od-fashioned way here), and I will add them as the day progresses - keep in mind I am in the southwest, so your 8AM may be my "come ON, kids, we have to GO!"

Our review for the day:

I hate to stereotype, and refer to 'boy books' and 'girl books', but, let's face it - as librarians, we are often hit with stressed-out parents trying to find something their reluctant ten-year-old son will actually, willingly, read.
 
These are some serious boy books.
 
Deadliest Adorable Animals
978-146-770-5981
 
Okay, I am now afraid to pet... ANYTHING. A platypus has a poisonous stinger on it's foot? Really??? And, that sweet little slow loris?
 
 
Run away! Run away!
 
These are definitely not aimed at small children. Besides the graphic nature of some of the descriptions, statements such as "a giraffe's life pretty much sucks" plant these firmly in the upper-elementary, middle school age range.
 
That said, the deliberately shocking text does include a good deal of actual information, and even - hey, an acrostic poem describing how a weasel rips apart its prey! So, you know, you can feed your artistic side as well. Maybe.
 
Deadly Danger Zones
978-146-770-6001
 
This volume starts off with predictable dangers, like volcanoes and sharks, but then it moves on to others I had never heard of. The Alnwick Poison Garden? I like plants, but...a hole in Turkmenistan that has been burning for as long as I've been alive? Definitely more interesting than another trip to see the relatives (sorry, relatives).
 
The series also includes the titles Deadly Bloody Battles, Deadly Hard-Hitting Sports, Deadly High-Risk Jobs, and Deadly Venomous Animals. Sensationalized? Yes, but not to the point of total inaccuracy. These will surely be a hit with the age range mentioned, as well as adults who can't help picking them up and get hooked!
 
Thank-you to Lerner for the review copies!

***

Around the internet today we have:

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address at NC Teacher Stuff
 
 
Sports Illustrated Kids Full Count at Prose and Kahn
 
 
The audiobook Growing Up in Coal Country at Shelf-employed
 
 
It's Our Garden at The Nonfiction Detectives
 
 
 
A four-for-one at a Teaching Life
 
 
World War II: A Visual History of the World's Darkest Days at The Children's War
 
 
Holy Spokes! a Biking Bible for Everyone at Anastasia Suen's Booktalking #kidlit
 
 
Make a Splash! at Jean Little Library
 
 
 
Dolphin Baby at Perogies & Gyoza (a blog name that always makes me hungry)
 
 
A Place for Turtles at Geo Librarian
 
 
Titanic: Voices from the Disaster at Abby the Librarian, WITH the description of an entire related science program!
 
 
Brave Girl on Kid Lit About Politics
 
Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909
 
Moonbird at Challenging the Bookworm
 
Moonbird
 
 
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16 comments:

  1. Jeff BargerApril 22, 2013 at 4:02 AM

    It would be very difficult to pass up a title like Deadly Adorable Animals. At NC Teacher Stuff, I have posted about a terrific re-release titled Lincoln's Gettysburg Address:

    http://ncteacherstuff.blogspot.com/2013/04/nonfiction-monday-lincolns-gettysburg.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. proseandkahnApril 22, 2013 at 4:48 AM

    Thanks for hosting. My fifth graders would absolutely eat the books you feature right up. Thanks for the heads up. At Proseandkahn, I feature a baseball miscellany from Sports Illustrated Kids. http://proseandkahn.blogspot.com/2013/04/non-fiction-monday-sports-illustrated.html

    brenda (proseandkahn)

    ReplyDelete
  3. shelf-employedApril 22, 2013 at 4:55 AM

    Good morning and thanks for hosting! Today at Shelf-employed, I'm featuring an audiobook review of Susan Campbell Bartoletti's, Growing Up in Coal County. I highly recommend it. http://shelf-employed.blogspot.com/2013/04/growing-up-in-coal-country-audiobook.html I'm not sure what to think of your offering today. Kids will love them, I'm sure, but "a giraffe's life pretty much sucks"? Certainly an interesting take on animals and nature!

    ReplyDelete
  4. nonfictiondetectivesApril 22, 2013 at 5:21 AM

    Thanks for hosting Nonfiction Monday. Today on The Nonfiction Detectives blog we have a review of It's Our Garden.
    http://www.nonfictiondetectives.com/2013/04/its-our-garden-by-george-ancona.html

    Thanks,
    Louise and Cathy

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ms. YinglingApril 22, 2013 at 5:51 AM

    No nonfiction up at my blog today; just MMGM titles-- Strike Three, You're Dead and a retro read, Henry Reed's Think Tank. And I LOVED Ungifted. You're right about the danger!

    ReplyDelete
  6. TaraApril 22, 2013 at 6:43 AM

    Thanks for hosting today! I have three books on various topics at A Teaching Life...including one about Lincoln!
    http://tmsteach.blogspot.com/2013/04/its-monday-and-heres-what-im-reading_22.html#comment-form

    ReplyDelete
  7. AlexApril 22, 2013 at 6:54 AM

    Hi and thanks for hosting Nonfiction Monday this week. I have a book that is a visual history of World War II this week especially designed for young readers who want to know about it. It is called
    World War II: a visual history of the world's darkest days by Sean Callery
    at
    http://thechildrenswar.blogspot.com/2013/04/world-war-ii-visual-history-of-worlds.html

    ReplyDelete
  8. JenniferApril 22, 2013 at 7:20 AM

    Since the amount of rain we are getting here will soon qualify us to live underwater, I have reviewed Make a Splash a kid's guide to protecting our oceans, lakes, rivers, etc. http://jeanlittlelibrary.blogspot.com/2013/04/nonfiction-monday-make-splash-kids.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anastasia SuenApril 22, 2013 at 7:29 AM

    Thanks for hosting! At Booktalking we're celebrating Earth Day with Holy Spokes!: A Biking Bible for Everyone by Rob Coppolillo http://asuen.com/blog/holy-spokes-a-biking-bible-for-everyone/

    ReplyDelete
  10. PerogyoApril 22, 2013 at 8:44 AM

    Oh no, I love those cute little loris faces!

    We too are celebrating Earth Day with Dolphin Baby.
    http://www.perogiesandgyoza.com/2013/04/dolphin-baby.html

    ReplyDelete
  11. Geo LibrarianApril 22, 2013 at 9:46 AM

    For Earth Day, I'm highlighting a book about turtles and protecting them: A Place for Turtles by Melissa Stewart.

    http://geolibrarian.blogspot.com/2013/04/nonfiction-monday-place-for-turtles-by.html

    ReplyDelete
  12. AbbyApril 22, 2013 at 9:53 AM

    Thanks for hosting! At Abby the Librarian I'm posting about the book Titanic: Voices from the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson and how I used it in a science program at the library!

    http://www.abbythelibrarian.com/2013/04/what-sank-titanic.html

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousApril 22, 2013 at 10:41 AM

    Thanks for hosting. On Kid Lit About Politics I reviewed Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909. The URL is http://kidlitaboutpolitics.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/brave-girl-clara-and-the-shirtwaist-makers-strike-of-1909/

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousApril 22, 2013 at 12:00 PM

    I've reviewed Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95 by Phillip Hoose over at Challenging the Bookworm. Thanks for hosting!

    http://challengingthebookworm.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/moonbird/

    ReplyDelete
  15. Janet S.April 22, 2013 at 12:45 PM

    Thanks for hosting.
    My selection is "Almost astronauts: 13 women who dared to dream" written by Tanya Lee Stone.

    ReplyDelete
  16. GatheringBooksApril 23, 2013 at 1:18 AM

    Hi, I'm sorry for sharing this link quite late. I actually have my post up early yesterday but was unable to find the perfect timing to share this with you. I have a nonfiction review of Edward Gorey as based on interviews done on him as seen in the book "Ascending Peculiarity." Here's the link: http://gatheringbooks.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/edward-gorey/

    ReplyDelete

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