Blog/ Website of Note-- April Pulley Sayre

Today's blog of interest actually is a website.

April Pulley Sayre is a naturalist who writes about -- you guessed it -- various forms found in nature. Her latest post on her website is all about how she came to write Rah Rah Radishes, a Vegetable Chant.

She has done a variety of 'Chant' books -- Bird, Bird, Bird, and Ant, Ant, Ant, and Trout, Trout, Trout, plus what seems to be thousands of other nature picture books.

Although it's an older book, her Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! has been reissued and is racking up the awards,

And her Vulture View is a Theodor Geisel Honor Book.

Some of her books have been placed in the picture book section of the library, while others are in the nonfiction area. Go Figure. (and those of you who have been reading this blog a while will recognize her name -- I've reviewed several of her books here for Nonfiction Monday.)

If you love books about nature, go/ read/ enjoy.

-wo

Nonfiction Monday -- Meet the Howlers!

Meet the Howlers! by April Pulley Sayre. Illustrated by Woody Miller. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 2010. Available now.

I have to say that every book by April Pulley Sayre is a delight and this is no exception.


Meet the howlers!
Living life on the go.
Meet the Howlers! who-hoo-hoo!
Ah-Uh-Oh!
(I probably would have put a couple of more exclamation marks after that last howl, just because I have heard Howler monkeys howl and the noise seems to echo everywhere.)

The double page spread continues, in smaller typeface, with facts about this howl -- only males can do it and they can be heard a mile away.

Each page uses this technique. Adults can simply read the rhythmic phrases to preschool children, treating this like a picture book story. Or adults and early readers can include the informational part before they turn the page. (Two types of books for the price of one.)

Because the monkeys spend most of their time in the treetop canopy, the illustrator has made the background for each illustration multi-shades of green, with an occasional glimpse of tree trunk or sky. Nicely done. It keeps your eyes focused on the Howler family's life.

The last pages have a map showing the monkey's range in Central America including parts of Mexico and Colombia and Ecuador. Another page has more nonfiction facts about howler monkeys.

This is what the publisher says about this book:
Meet the bad boys (and girls) of the primate world. Playful, poetic text and vibrant art introduce young readers to howler monkeys. Extra facts within the text give readers the low-down on these loud, sloppy, and rude rain forest dwellers.
This book is good for your brain because:
Habitats, Poetry, Emergent Reader, Life Science

And there you have it. Another fun presentation of animal life by the marvelous April Pulley Sayre.
You can read more about how this naturalist researches her books by reading the I.N.K (Interesting Nonfiction for Kids) blog. (click on the link) The blog is run by a group of nonfiction writers and April posts once a month.

More Nonfiction Monday can be found at the SimplyScience Blog.
Enjoy.
-wendieO

Create a Scene

Sometimes when I'm talking to new writers about how to create a more interesting manuscript, I ask them Where is their person now? What are they doing? Where do they live?
Describe.
Describe the actual landscape around your person. If they live in Pittsburgh, then where are they? Are they walking on the flat meadow by the river? Or are they climbing a steep hill to get where they are going?

In other words -- describe the scene so that the reader can also 'see' it.

Just recently I read April Pulley Sayre's post on I.N.K. -- Interesting Nonfiction for Kids. where she talks about teaching a class of children how to describe scenes. Since I've never taught writing to children, I thought her technique might be useful someday.
-wendieO