Round is another neat "concept book" from Joyce Sidman, similar to her Swirl by Swirl book about spirals in nature (see my review here).

Here we explore the concept of "round," from planets and the moon to berries, eggs, and other things that grow. The text is poetic and is written from the first-person perspective of an observant child. It's really fun to think about just how many different contexts this shape appears in. In the text and in an informational page at the end, we also get to explore other concepts that contribute to circles and spheres: gravity, growth, weight, etc.

It's amazing how one simple shape can guide us from tiny things to the enormous and distant, as well as from young to old. I really enjoyed the scope of this book, expressed with such simplicity.

Scrounged From: Our local library

Format: Hardcover
Author: Joyce Sidman
Illustrator: Taeeun Yu
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None

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Archaeologists Dig for Clues provides an engaging and informative look at how archaeologists work, as a few schoolchildren work with an archaeologist named Sofie to look for artifacts in the remains of an Archaic-era settlement.

I like how this book makes archaeology look exciting, but also focuses on the scientific processes involved -- writing things down, looking for even the tiniest artifacts (most finds don't seem all that glamorous, and consist largely of ancient people's garbage!), and keeping track of where items are found. But when they put all the pieces together, they can infer quite a bit about how people might have lived, and even how their settlement may have been structured.

Scrounged From: Homeschool Classifieds (Sonlight Core B)

Format: Paperback
Author/Illustrator: Kate Duke
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None

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I love the bold and detailed (and very green!) illustrations in Nature All Around: Trees. This nonfiction book (hopefully the start of a series?) provides lots of basic information about trees -- from the differences between deciduous and evergreens, to pollination, photosynthesis, classification, as well as a look at how trees change over the course of the four seasons.

In addition to providing general information, this book gives some tips on exploring and appreciating the incredible variety of trees in the world, and the many different ways they help us and the environment by cleaning the air, and providing fruit, shade, and shelter for animals.

It's not too information-heavy, but would be too wordy for preschool-age children (though a glossary is provided at the end for words like cambium, stomata, cotyledon, etc.).

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author: Pamela Hickman
Illustrator: Carolyn Gavin
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None

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Prehistoric Actual Size is a really neat book that highlights several extinct species from long ago, including some dinosaurs, but also other kinds of animals such as a giant millipede, a terrifying-looking horned rodent, and a "terror bird," among others. Since dinosaurs tend to get most of the attention in the prehistoric world, it's nice to see a variety of creatures here.

The illustrations show each creature as their actual size, as the title indicates, which is easy for some, but for others means only small parts of them actually fit in the book, such as teeth or a claw. It's a fairly large-sized book, but it also includes a fold-out page to give a bit more room to a few creatures.

Scrounged From: A used book sale

Format: Hardcover
Author/Illustrator: Steve Jenkins 
Pages: 36
Content Advisory: None

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Dictionary of Dinosaurs is a really neat collection that lists all the dinosaurs discovered up to this point. Length, diet, and when/where the animal lived are provided for each dinosaur, as well as a name pronounciation guide (very helpful!) and the meaning of the name, some of which are very interesting. I learned that there is a dinosaur whose name was inspired by Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky poem (borogovia)!

On each page, a dinosaur or two (but not all of them) are highlighted with a color picture, a blurb of information, and a silhouetted picture comparing the dinosaur's size to that of a human. Most of the more well-known dinosaurs (tyrannosaurus, stegosaurus) are highlighted this way. Since marine reptiles and flying reptiles are no longer considered "dinosaurs" (something that apparently happened between when I was a kid and when I had kids old enough to like dinosaurs), they are unfortunately not included in this book.

In the beginning of the book is some general information about time periods, fossils, etc., but I found this statement interesting: 

"New information about dinosaurs is being discovered all the time. Dinosaurs often change name, or their dates change once more information is found out about them. This means it's a very exciting field to get into and learn about. You could even discover or name the next dinosaur one day!"

In other places, the book notes that certain dinosaurs may not actually be separate species, but scientists made the best guess they could based on the evidence. I really like the way this portrays science as an ongoing effort rather than a static collection of information. 

As is obvious from the title, this isn't likely the kind of book you'd want to sit down and read all in one sitting, but it's a great reference for dinosaur-loving kids, full of colorful pictures and current information -- for now!

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author: Matthew G. Baron
Illustrator: Dieter Braun
Pages: 184
Content Advisory: None

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