Summer Reading – Day 28! Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday with Linda Glaser

It is Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday and I’m happy to be participating in this weekly celebration of information books.  Today I am highlighting books by Nonfiction author – Linda Glaser.  Her books are  interesting and visually appealing.  I noticed that she has many different illustrators accompanying her different books.  She uses simple text and concepts suitable for a younger audience but also includes a question and answer guide at the end of each book with additional information about her subjects.

Sometimes a search for one book leads to a surprising discovery of another.  Yesterday, while searching for something completely different, I found myself drawn to the cover of a book.  There was something very appealing about the title and the calm, soft greeny-blue hues of the illustration on the cover.  Not a Buzz to Be Found by Linda Glaser begins with a question: Where do insects go in winter?  Now any book that starts with a question has my attention – and this one kept my attention.  The text is simple, the illustrations are beautiful – and I learned how 12 different insects survive the winter. I loved how she included some unusual bugs like Mourning Cloak Butterflies or Common Pondhawk Dragonfly.  My favorite pages showed what was happening under the layers of frozen snow or pond (T-T connection with Kate Messner’s Over and Under the Snow)

This led me on a search for other books by Linda Glaser.  I discovered that she has written MANY nonfiction books for children, some of which I was already familiar with.  Here are some highlights from her collections.

SEASONS   I have a slight obsession with the changing of the seasons and I’m drawn to any book that highlights this remarkable, natural cycle.
These four books by Linda Glaser describe the characteristics of each season – from the weather, to daily activities, to the changes in nature.  The cut out paper illustrations by Susan Swan are bright and colorful and reminded me a lot of Barbara Reid’s work.

BACKYARD CRITTERS:

Here are some books from Linda Glaser’s collection on creatures that can be found in and around your back yard.  These books would be wonderful to use in a science lesson and wonderful resources for the “Knew-New Connection”  strategy.

THE ENVIRONMENT:
Before composting was “hip”, Linda Glaser wrote Compost! Growing Gardens From Your Garbage.  She weaves the reasons for composting through a charming narrative about a girl and her family who use their resources wisely.  In her more recent book, Garbage Helps Our Garden Grow, Linda Glaser asks: What can you do to help the environment? Make less garbage. How can you do that? Compost!  She explains the why’s and how’s of composting as we, once again, follow a family as they create a compost in their back yard.

Our Big Home is Linda Glaser’s beautifully illustrated poem about the concept of the co-existence of humans with other living things. The sky, sun, moon, rain and air are shared by all the people, plants, and animals on the planet Earth.  This book is a wonderfully simple introduction to ecology and the importance of taking care of the earth.  The illustrations are incredibly detailed – you could spend hours just looking at them!

I hope you found a few new titles to add to your nonfiction collection and perhaps got to know a new nonfiction author.   For more great Nonfiction lists, check out Kid Lit Frenzy.