Nonfiction Picks

Spring Story Time starts up the week of February 24, but until then, we'll be updating the blog with some recommended reading lists.  Be sure to keep your eyes peeled: if you see a blue asterisk next to a suggested book, that means that that title is a patron favorite! Would you like to suggest a book for our recommended reading lists?  Just shoot us an email in the Youth Department!  We'd love to hear from you!

Check out these recommended nonfiction books, now on the shelves at Ozark Regional Library!

Cover images and summaries from Goodreads.

Martin and Mahalia: His Words, Her Song by Andrea Davis Pinkney- On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and his strong voice and powerful message were joined and lifted in song by world-renowned gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. It was a moment that changed the course of history and is imprinted in minds forever. Told through Andrea Davis Pinkney's poetic prose and Brian Pinkney's evocative illustration, the stories of these two powerful voices and lives are told side-by-side -- as they would one day walk- following the journey from their youth to a culmination at this historical event when they united as one and inspiring kids to find their own voices and speak up for what is right.

Scaly Spotted Feathered Frilled by Catherine Thimmesh- No human being has ever seen a triceratops or velociraptor or even the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex. They left behind only their impressive bones. So how can scientists know what color dinosaurs were? Or if their flesh was scaly or feathered? Could that fierce T.rex have been born with spots? In a first for young readers, the Sibert medalist Catherine Thimmesh introduces the incredible talents of the paleoartist, whose work reanimates gone-but-never-forgotten dinosaurs in giant full-color paintings that are as strikingly beautiful as they aim to be scientifically accurate, down to the smallest detail. Follow a paleoartist through the scientific process of ascertaining the appearance of various dinosaurs from millions of years ago to learn how science, art, and imagination combine to bring us face-to-face with the past.

Eye: How It Works by David Macaulay and Sheila Keenan- How can you see that your shirt is on inside out? How do you see the soccer ball coming right at you? How do you know which players are on your team? It all starts with light--and with the amazing human eye. With his unique blend of informative text and illustration, David Macaulay shows how this extraordinary organ works to capture light and send signals to our brains. Joining Castle, Jet Plane, and Toilet, here's another illuminating nonfiction story for newly independent readers.
  

Keep reading!

Shaen