Panda Kindergarten (Nonfiction Monday)

Welcome to Nonfiction Monday at The Book Nosher! I am so pleased to be hosting (for the first time). Bloggers, please leave your information and links in the comments below. I will periodically update your links over the course of the day. My own post about Panda Kindergarten will follow below, or you can click here.

Nonfiction Monday Roundup:

1. Sarah at I Need Chocolate Reviewed Flamingos by Jean Malone. Click here .

2. Jen at Jean Little Books has a couple of how-to books. Click here.

3. At Lori Calabrese Writes!, she reviews In Her Hands: The Story of Sculptor Augusta Savage

4. 100 Scope Notes has a review of Under the Snow by Melissa Stewart: http://100scopenotes.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/nonfiction-monday-under-the-snow-by-melissa-stewart/

5. Abby (the) Librarian is posting about her favorite nonfiction titles for the young reader on your holiday gift giving list!
http://abbylibrarian.blogspot.com/2009/11/twelve-days-of-giving-my-favorite.html

6. Over at The LibrariYAn Alicia has reviewed two biographies of Charles Darwin: http://librariyan.blogspot.com/2009/11/nonfiction-monday-double-dose-of-darwin.html

7. Shirley at SimplyScience has Waiting for Winter.
http://simplyscience.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/waiting-for-winter/

8. This week at the Wild About Nature blog, we are featuring a review of Steve Van Zandt's River Song.
http://wildaboutnaturewriters.blogspot.com/2009/11/nonfiction-monday-river-song.html

9. Amanda at A Patchwork of Books has a review up of The Story of Snow:
http://apatchworkofbooks.blogspot.com/2009/11/non-fiction-monday-time-for-snow.html

10. At Bookends, they have reviewed The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth by Kathleen Krull: http://bookends.booklistonline.com/

11. At The Happy Nappy Bookseller, Doret reviewed Jim Thorpe Original All American by Joeseph Bruchac
http://thehappynappybookseller.blogspot.com/2009/11/jim-thorpe-original-all-american-joseph.html

12. At Miss Rumphius Effect, Tricia reviews Bob Barner's book DINOSAURS ROAR, BUTTERFLIES SOAR!.
http://missrumphiuseffect.blogspot.com/2009/11/nonfiction-monday-dinosaurs-roar.html

13. Kelly Fineman is in with a review of Star Wars LEGOS: The Visual Dictionary.
http://kellyrfineman.livejournal.com/501694.html


14. The Cat and the Fiddle has a blend of non-fiction and fantasy: some math lessons (one based on a William Steig book):
http://michellemarkel.blogspot.com/

15. At Pink Me, Paula steps into the often-underappreciated 400's with a review
of Ursula Dubosarsky's The Word Snoop.
http://pinkme.typepad.com/pink-me/2009/11/the-word-snoop-by-ursula-dubosarsky-review.html

16. At 3T News and Reviews they have some old and new favorites to recommend for Christmas gifts. http://3tnar.blogspot.com/2009/11/nonfiction-monday-and-christmas.html

17. Easter at Owl in the Library reviewed a guide to poetry writing for
kids: http://owlinthelibrary.typepad.com/owl-in-the-library/2009/11/nonfiction-monday-immersed-in-verse.html

18. Wendie Old at Wendie's Wanderings added her mite to the many reviews of
-- Nubs, the True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle.
http://wendieold.blogspot.com/2009/11/nonfiction-monday-nubs-true-story-of.html

19. Charlotte from Charlotte's Library reviewed Pick Me Up, from DK http://charlotteslibrary.blogspot.com/2009/11/pick-me-up-book-of-non-fiction-goodness.html

20. Jen at Biblio File has three books about the Civil Rights Movement.
http://www.jenrothschild.com/2009/11/nonfiction-monday-civil-rights.html

21. And finally from Mama Librarian comes this review about Honk, Honk Goose Click here

Panda Kindergarten

Written by: Joanne Ryder
Photos by: Katherine Feng
Recommended Ages: 4-8

Warning! The photos in Panda Kindergarten are almost too cute to believe. There are close-ups and action shots capturing panda cubs at their most natural (and most adorable). This is a wonderful book to read to your young animal lover.

Panda Kindergarten introduces us to sixteen young panda cubs born at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda at the Wolong Nature Preserve. The book explains that pandas often have twins, but a mother is only able to care for one cub at a time. So there is a nursery to care and protect the other twin. What's particularly interesting about this project is that the people at the center swap the cubs back and forth, so that the twin gets care from the nursery helpers, as well as time with their mother. There are some amazing close-ups of very young pandas; they are blind and only weigh four ounces when they are born (about the size of a stick of butter).

Once the pandas are old enough to leave their mothers and the nursery, they are let out together into their own "panda playground." Here they learn to play together and climb and swing. They stay together in the panda kindergarten for about a year. After that, some will stay in the Wolong Nature Preserve and have cubs of their own, while others are chosen to leave and go live in the bamboo forests nearby. The skills they learn as cubs at Wolong enables them to survive in the wild.

The text is simple and inviting, perfect for a four to six year old. It's kind of hard to resist a sentence that reads: "An ever-so-big mother panda carries her ever-so tiny baby, holding it firmly but tenderly." But what will draw kids in the most are the spectacular photographs. Whether you see a tiny newborn nuzzling on the chest of her mother, or her twin being fed out of a bottle, you cannot help but be amazed by these delightful animals.

BookNosher Activity: Panda Kindergarten is a great introduction to younger children about endangered animals. It also begins the conversation about what we, as humans, can do to help. Here are a few good websites that provide more information about endangered animals:

World Wildlife Fund: You can learn more about the Giant Panda and other endangered animals at this comprehensive website. The panda has been their mascot since 1961. You can even symbolically adopt a panda or other endangered animal (a great idea for a holiday gift).

Earth's Endangered Creatures: More information about the panda, including a fascinating video of Giant Pandas in the wild.

National Geographic Kids: Great website with lots to do for kids.