The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe by Theodore Gray, Photographs by Theodore Gray and Nick Mann

Plutonium is illegal to buy anywhere in the United States, but some Americans carry it inside their pacemaker batteries.  Bananas are radioactive, but only slightly more so that many other things we consume.  Gray mixes fascinating tidbits like these with narrative descriptions of each element’s properties and finds a way to inject the end of each page with a bit of suspense sprinkled with humor.   The two-page spreads dedicated to each element are preceded by Gray’s introduction to the periodic table.  Gray’s writing is remarkable science writing on its own, but the accompanying photographs illustrating both the element being described and some of its uses with captions is a winning formula for readers who may not think they like to read about chemistry.   Backmatter includes a narrative walk through the names of elements 101 to 118 on the table and is followed by an author’s note on the joys of element collecting, an image of the author,  a bibliography, acknowledgements, and an index.  All patrons may enjoy browsing and reading the images within; students reading at upper elementary/middle school levels and beyond may enjoy the text, and science teachers may reach for this in designing lessons to familiarize students with the variety of elements on Earth.  Highly recommended for every school library collection serving middle school and high school readers.—Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Gray, Theodore and Nick Mann.  The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe.  New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2009.  Print.

100 Suns by Michael Light

How many times did the United States test atomic bombs?  Where did they test them?  What did the explosions look like?  As Passages’ Living Environment curriculum gets underway and students consider the atom, librarians may supplement instruction with this stunning and disturbing pictorial documenting the testing of nuclear bombs first on the mainland and subsequently on unlucky islands.  Author Michael Light keeps the text to a bare minimum for much of the book, allowing the reader’s curiosity to be piqued and then extended as the images of explosions pile up.  The backmatter reveals Light’s well-researched captions as well as a powerfully succinct timeline of the progression of the development of atomic bombs and key events of World War II.  Notes on stockpiling highlight the escalation of the arms race between the U.S. and the former U.S.S.R.  Struggling readers will appreciate the chance to access the text via the reading of images, and more sophisticated readers may enjoy the initial mystery of the buried captions and will find much to chew on once the backmatter is uncovered. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Light, Michael.  100 Suns.  New York: Knopf, 2003.  Print.

Click here for an interview with Michael Light on 100 Suns which was published in afterimage's July/August 2005 issue.

The New Earth From Above: 365 Days by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

This rectangular pictorial seeks to bring immediate attention to the plight of the earth and its peoples through 365 fascinating and gorgeous aerial photographs of a wide variety of ecosystems around the world.  Originally presented as an international travelling photo exhibition, this dense volume shrinks the exhibition into a compact, portable portal for readers everywhere.

The New Earth is broken into twelve chapters corresponding to the twelve months of the year, and each chapter begins with a three-page essay by a different French author.  These contributors cover topics like climate change, biodiversity, renewable energy, abolishing poverty, and fair trade.  Students will be interested in seeing a garden greening a desert, olive groves, rice fields and frozen forests.  Each full-page photograph is accompanied by one paragraph of text explaining the image  and connecting it to the environmental and/or social context and threats alluded to in the visual.  The text is supplemented by a map detail with a “you are here” marker, providing geographical context, as well as the latitude and longitude address for the location.  Social Studies teachers planning lessons on map skills or preparing students for initial phases of inquiry brainstorming may find this book to be of use.  This text will likely appeal to browsers and reluctant readers.  Backmatter contains an index of countries, acknowledgements, and an overview of goodplanet.org.  --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Arthus-Bertrand, Yann.  The New Earth From Above 365 Days.  New York: Abrams, 2009.

Sports Illustrated Basketball’s Greatest

“In the clutch, who would you rather have with the ball, Magic Johnson or Larry Bird?”  Sports Illustrated’s Basketball’s Greatest is another pictorial with dramatic and artistic photographs of the most famous men in basketball, filling the void left by books like DK’s Basketball’s Best Shots when they go out of print.  Yes, only men.  To their credit, this edition includes the editors’ notes on how they created the rankings and lists the writers and editors whose opinions counted on page ten.  Back matter includes full lists of all nominees for each category.  Less sophisticated readers will appreciate the treasury of photographs, most in full-color, in this oversized coffee table book.  More sophisticated readers will enjoy the articles authored by some of the most famous and most prolific Sports Illustrated writers.  All basketball lovers will find much to discuss, similar to Sports Illustrated’s Kids’ edition on this same topic.  The two make an interesting comparison:  what do publishers do differently when they are trying to sell a book for a younger audience and why?  Perfect for media units and scaffolding the common core’s emphasis on analyzing nonfiction text for audience. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Skyen, Bill. (Editor).  Sports Illustrated Basketball’s Greatest.  New York: Time Home Entertainment, 2014.

Slam Dunk! The Top 10 Lists of Everything in Basketball by Sports Illustrated Kids

Greatest basketball player of all time...well, let’s just say that SIK’s pick won’t surprise you and this book is full of rankings that will inspire controversy among readers passionate about basketball.  The large format size emphasizes the full-color photos, sure to appeal to social readers and browsers, as well as serious fans and players.  Foregoing an introduction in favor of jumping right into “Top 10 Greatest Players,” this volume encompasses thirty-two lists, some spread out over several pages, and including topics such as “coolest jerseys,” “teams,” “trades,” and “WNBA players,”... What’s that?  You can’t believe that women don’t show up until page thirty-four and none are among the “greatest players?”  Me neither.  This book will be popular anyway.  Fodder for discussion on multiple fronts.--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Sports Illustrated Kids.  Slam Dunk!  Top 10 Lists of Everything In Basketball.  New York: Time Hope Entertainment, 2014.

Above Hallowed Ground: A photographic record of September 11, 2001 by photographers of the New York Police Department

For young people who were not born yet or may have been newly born, and for older readers who want to remember or enrich their memory, Above Hallowed Ground is a serviceable pictorial which begins with crisp NYPD photographs of September 11th, 2001 and ends with the site of Ground Zero, cleared in April, 2002.  This coffee-table sized volume is punctuated by images of details and memorials and well-captioned throughout.  An introduction paints the event in the most dramatic of terms and leaves the full-color images to tell the rest of the story.  A useful text to visit during a national day of remembrance. For additional topical texts reviewed in this blog, readers may want to view The 9/11 Report and One Nation --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Before I Die by Candy Chang

What do you want to do before you die?  

Candy Chang contextualizes this question in New Orleans after the storm, the wake of tremendous personal loss, and the Stoics’ suggestion that to contemplate death is to restore perspective and make life meaningful. Chang introduces her book with this context, and then goes on to describe her project to paint an abandoned house in her neighborhood with chalkboard paint and stencil it with a grid of the sentence, “Before I die I want to ________________.”  Anyone walking by could pick up a piece of chalk, reflect on their lives, and share their personal aspirations in public.  This book shares highlights via text and photographs of Chang’s New Orleans installation, and then goes on to show images and quotes as the community art installation found new life in new environs.  Artists and community members in Jerusalem, Germany, South Africa, Thailand, and more created similar projects to similar effect.  The book also includes “remixes,” stats, and directions for making this kind of wall project.  This book can inspire students to talk about public art, to think about the questions worth asking, and to reflect on what they hope to accomplish, as well as evoke responses to the aspirations from around the world contained within the covers. The design of the book uses pulled quotes against solid color rectangles alongside colorful images of text, rendering it accessible for emerging readers as well as their more sophisticated peers.  Recommended for independent reading, inquiry, and art educators. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Chang, Candy.  Before I Die.  New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2013.  Print.

Predator: Life and Death in the African Bush by Mark C. Ross and David Reesor

“Who would win in a fight? A lion or a tiger?” I can’t tell you how many times students have asked me some variant of that question - cheetah and lion, hyena and leopard, anything and a crocodile - the pairings are endless and the discussion endlessly fascinating.  Predator is a natural companion to these conversations - its full color photographs with informative captions invite further investigation.  But Predator is not all style and no substance.  Written by a wildlife biologist, the book is split into five main sections, each covering one large African predator.  The prose covers each animal’s biology, behavior, development, and habitat and is engaging and informative without being overly scientific.  Still, Predator is a text for confident readers.  Backmatter includes a bibliography and index.  Predator is a compelling book for browsing and is well-suited for inquiry, though some pictures are not for the faint of heart. --Regan Schwartz

Ross, Mark and David Reesor. Predator: Life and Death in the African Bush. New York: Abrams, 2007. Print.

Hubble: Imaging Space and Time by David Devorkin and Robert W. Smith

This large-format, stunning collection of full-color enhanced images from the Hubble telescope is perfect for those students who are fascinated by the natural world.  When my inquisitive students turn their wondering gaze to the sky, I’m ready with Hubble: Imaging Space and Time.  While the text is dense and somewhat inaccessible, it does not affect the book’s appeal.  Nearly every page contains large, detailed photos captured by the Hubble telescope, including planets, stars, nebulae, star clusters, galaxies, black holes, and galaxy clusters - rendered in fascinating detail with informative captions.  There are billions of galaxies in the universe, each with billions of stars - and Hubble: Imaging Space and Time is a fantastic introduction to them. Front matter includes a table of contents and foreword by Neil deGrasse Tyson and John Grunsfeld and back matter includes an index, endnotes, suggested reading, and about the authors. --Regan Schwartz

Devorkin, David and Robert W. Smith. Hubble: Imaging Space and Time. Washington D.C.: National Geographic, 2011. Print.

So Cute You Could Die!: puppies, kitties, bunnies galore! by Jennie Summers

Life can be stressful and unpleasant and sometimes you need to take a moment to relax and remember the wonder of the world around you.  So Cute You Could Die seems tailor-made to the task.  It is 256 wordless pages of adorable, cuddly animals mugging for the camera.  The ultimate stress-free read, So Cute You Could Die is an absorbing book, sure to spark interest and conversation and almost guaranteed to turn bad moods around.  

So Cute You Could Die is a great book for engaging reluctant readers in the library.  It has proven popular with boys and girls alike, and has prompted some serious discussions, from dog breeding and fighting, to wildlife conservation and general wonderings about the intricacies of the animal kingdom. --Regan Schwartz

Summers, Jennie. So Cute You Could Die!: Puppies, Kitties, Bunnies Galore! Philadelphia: Quirk Books, 2007. Print.

The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss by Claire Nouvian

Have you ever seen a googly-eyed glass squid, aka Teuthowenia pellucida? A vampire squid? A glowing sucker octopus? Passages students haven’t either, and although seeing is believing, the photographs in The Deep are often so surprising that many viewers react by insisting they’re not real. Truly the last frontier on Earth, “With an average depth of 3800 meters, the oceans offer 99% of the space where life can develop . . . A staggering thought.” And while humans have sought to dissect and document every species they can get their hands on, thousands and thousands of organisms slip through scientists’ grasp because they inhabit depths rarely accessed. This gorgeous coffee-table sized book collects over 200 incredible photographs of these beings in their bioluminescent splendor and offers the reader a view of their dark and glowing world with basic facts, narrative captions, sophisticated essays, and an understated marker on the side of each page to indicate the depths at which each organism has been spotted. Readers will be be entranced, disbelieving, and full of questions. A perfect text to instigate inquiry, as well as a handy authentic and sophisticated text for teaching features of pictorials. Includes numbers of interest pertaining to the deep sea (pg 246), a one-page glossary, a one-page index, a one-page bibliography, and credits.

Nouvian, Claire Ed. The Deep. Chicago: The University of Chicago, 2007.