STALACTITE AND STALAGMITE BY DREW BRECKMEYER; ALL ABOUT U.S. BY MATT LAMOTHE AND JENNY VOLVOVSKI
Jeopardy champion James Holzhauer credits children’s books with giving him the breadth of knowledge needed to win game after game. While I’m no trivia expert, I do appreciate a quality nonfiction children’s book. And if the illustrations are also incredible? That’s even better.
As a hat tip to James Holzhauer, Jeopardy, and our dear colleague and trivia expert Linda Cannon, I would like to highlight a few of my favorite narrative nonfiction books. These are all books that my family enjoyed for the story, the illustrations, and the things we learned.
Stalactite and Stalagmite by Drew Beckmeyer is categorized as a picture book, but it also teaches readers about geography and cave formations. The eponymous characters experience the most human of emotions: loneliness, a need for companionship, grief, and joy. We witness the two friends lament the passing of time and wonder when they will see each other again. And then, one day, many years later, they finally meet. It’s easy to see ourselves in their situation. We all have likely had to be apart from someone we love.
Except Stalactite and Stalagmite are literally growths in a cave. And the passing of time they lament encompasses several epochs and the introduction of lizards, the extinction of dinosaurs, and more. Although this book is more narrative than fact, readers will learn how stalagmites and stalactites form and change over time. The book is written entirely in dialogue, with different characters appearing in different colors, making Stalactite and Stalagmite an excellent readaloud. This book will likely spark interest in cave formations. If that’s the case, I know a library with some really great cave books. Beckmeyer’s book, with its cartoon-like illustrations, is also a great standalone story for young readers.
All About U.S. by Matt Lamothe and Jenny Volvovski, is more of a straightforward nonfiction title than Stalactite and Stalagmite, but it’s no less engaging. The authors of this book interviewed 50 kids from every state in the United States. Each half-page features a child’s story below a watercolor painting of their house. Typically, the child and their family are depicted playing or gathering in their yard or outside their home. The write-ups about each child are short but manage to capture the child’s personality through quotes from the child and their parents, as well as descriptions of their home and their favorite activities. All About U.S. is one to savor; my family has been reading about two kids every night. My son has read about kids like him, who love math and sports. He’s also read about kids leading remarkably different lives than him, like Sati, who goes to forest school in Maine and Jade, who shows cattle in West Virginia. It is as exciting to read about kids with similar interests or attributes as it is to read about kids with different interests living in places we have never been.
The book is also organized exceptionally well. The kids appear by region of the United States, and, as noted in the book, by the order in which the sun sets in their state. Additional material includes survey information noting the breakdown of various statistics: gender, types of homes, family structure, and much more. The end of the book also includes headshots of the featured children. All About U.S. is one to own or, at the very least, to keep for the entire three-week checkout period. Young readers will want to spend time with this one, poring over details and getting to know each child. This book is a unique way to learn about human geography and to gain empathy for and insight into people who are different from us. Happy reading, and good luck on your next Daily Double.
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