By Jan Pease
Do you remember the nonfiction section of the children’s
library when you were young? Wholesome
biographies, books about how to generate electricity from a potato, or
interesting animals from far away, illustrated in black and white drawings,
with plain covers? Well, we have some
new nonfiction books that are something else.
Perhaps the most beautiful book is The Usborne Book of Famous Paintings by Rosie Dickins. Philip Hopman created drawings that help
us understand the 35 paintings, which are reproduced in
gorgeous full color. Each painting has tidbits of information that tell us more. Really looking at works of art is a skill
that I lack, so I enjoyed skimming through this lovely book.
Pure Grit, by
Mary Cronk Farrell, is another remarkable nonfiction book. Ms. Farrell tells the story of Navy nurses
who came under attack when the Japanese invaded and conquered the Philippines.
The nurses continued to care for patients even when their hospitals were
moved into the jungle or underground in tunnels. Eventually the nurses who were not able to
evacuate were imprisoned as prisoners of war in horrific conditions. The story of their survival is even more
remarkable because they all survived to come home. I highly recommend this book.
The Jesus Storybook
Bible, stories from the Bible written by Sally Lloyd Jones, is another
beautiful book produced by the Usborne company. The stories are simplified enough to be
child-friendly. David Suchet narrated
the three CDs that accompany the book.
So many children love stories about trains that I had to
add The Big Book of Big Trains, by
Megan Cullis. This is a large book with
four foldouts that show trains in all their glory. Bits of information are included, but it’s
the illustrations that really stand out.
The popularity of Rick Riordan’s series, “Percy Jackson
and the Olympians” and the “Heroes of Olympus”
has caused a rise in the number of requests for books about Roman and
Greek mythology. Greek Myths and Legends, by Cheryl Evans
and Dr. Anne Millard, is a compact volume that is full of information about the
major gods and goddesses. A
section at the end of the book, “Who’s Who in the Greek myths,” gives a
short explanation of gods, goddesses, demigods, and heroes and how they are related to each
other. 
In August the world will commemorate the 100th
anniversary of the beginning of the First World War. The
Story of the First World War, by Paul Dowswell, gives a child-sized
explanation of the first war to be called a World War. So
much of our world changed at the time of the great war. I remember my grandmother, who was born in
1901, talking about not traveling alone, not learning how to drive, and
slapping a boy who gave her a buggy ride and got too fresh. She didn’t talk about the greater changes in
the world, such as the redrawing of the map of Europe, the United States
becoming a major world power, and the rights that women began to receive
throughout the world as many countries granted women the right to vote.
These great nonfiction books are waiting for you at the
Litchfield library – see you there!
