What! Five Decades!!

By Jan Pease

One of the most mind-boggling things that took place this summer was the celebration of the 50^th anniversary of Apollo 11, the historic flight that landed two Americans on the moon. Can you  imagine that it’s been that long?  In celebration of this event, the library added two children’s books to the collection.  The first book, “Destination Moon, the Remarkable and Improbable Voyage of Apollo 11” by Richard Maurer, looks at the famous launch with fresh eyes.  When I read about all of the events that took place before they touched down, I wonder how they survived.                                                                                                                                                                                             

The Astronaut Who Painted the Moon,” was written by Dean Robbins.  This interesting book is about Alan Bean, an unusual astronaut who was also an artist.  A member of Apollo 12, he was the fourth man to walk on the moon.  He took many pictures, unique because of his artistic point of view.  When he returned to Earth, he began to paint.  This book includes images of his work, which may also be seen online at www.alanbeangallery.com.   Mr. Bean passed away May 26, 2018 at the age of 86.

 

How do you teach a young child to be kind?  Yes, as the famous poem by Dorothy Law Nolte PhD says, “Children Learn What They Live.”  We think children know what we mean when we say, “be kind.”  But do they?  “Be Kind: You Can Make the World a Happier Place! 125 Kind Things to Say and Do,” by Naomi Shulman, is the book we all need.  This book has more than 100 concrete ideas that will be a springboard for talking about this problem and could help change lives, one at a time.

“Depression: Your Questions Answered,” by Romeo Vitelli, is a small book that also tackles a big problem.  The Center for Disease Control and National Institute of Mental Health websites both have outstanding resources available online at no cost.  But they present almost too much information.  This little book by Romeo Vitelli provides an accessible start to understanding depression, and illness shared by 13.3% of the the U.S. population ages 12 to 17.

Two more books are worth mentioning while thinking about new nonfiction books.  One is “Animals Up Close,” by the staff at DK (formerly known as Dorling Kindersley).  The title itself says it all: “Animals Up Close:  Animals as you’ve never seen before!  This book uses the classic DK approach to photography, carried to an extreme close-up.

Finally, we have “Dinosaurs by the Numbers,” part of Steve Jenkins’  “By the Numbers” series.  He  calls this series “infographics readers.” They have a lot of pictures and charts and not much text, perfect for those kids who say like Sergeant Friday, “The facts, ma’am, just the facts.” 

Check out an interesting nonfiction book at Litchfield library!