Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge 2016 is a weekly celebration of imaginative children’s nonfiction materials hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy.
Elise Gravel is back with another entry in her so-gross-it’s-cute Disgusting Critters series! Having looked at such icky critters as slugs, flies, spiders, worms and head lice, this newest critter doesn’t really seam all that disgusting by comparison! It’s time for the common toad to get the Disgusting Critters treatment, and once again Gravel blends interesting facts with silly illustrations to create a very kid-friendly nonfiction entry-level graphic novel.
I’ve used this series twice with my Early Readers’ Book Clubs at the library, and plan to use them again in the future. I love being able to give the kids some choice in what they read, while still creating that traditional book club atmosphere where everyone talks about the same book. In our last meeting we created little books about our different animals, which allowed the kids to take on the role of expert and teach their friends all about the different disgusting critters.
The Disgusting Critters series is so much fun because it introduces kids to the idea that nonfiction can actually be read for enjoyment and recreation, and that fun and educational need not be mutually exclusive. Informational texts can be cartoony, silly, light-hearted, and still informational.
Elise Gravel is Canadian, too, which makes the whole thing even better. 🙂
That series looks so fun. What is it about gross that draws kids right in?!?
I’ve been gently trying to push my 8 year old towards some nonfiction. He’s picked out some cookbooks, a few joke books, and a biography or two. His little sister recently picked out a biography of Albert Einstein all on her own!
This series is really fun, it’s very cartoony and silly, which I think helps draw kids in. And thankfully it’s not really all that gross, despite the “disgusting critters” title, which makes me happy 😉 How exciting that your kids are starting to explore nonfiction! There are so many amazing picture book biographies available right now, with such inspiring stories and fantastic illustrations.
I liked Bridget Heos’ I Fly, but I hadn’t realized there were more nonfiction books that dealt in such a light-hearted way with their topic. I’m so glad to know about this series!
This was popular during our Educator Night. She just came out with a new picture book.