The Kids' Department Drops Some Knowledge

Working in the Kids Department has a major benefit that I never expected: my knowledge of small (sometimes quite useless) facts has increased exponentially, because of the efficiency of picture books as knowledge distributors and my near-inability to hold a book without opening it. If you want to know a small but good amount about nearly any subject, flipping through a well-written kids' nonfiction book is a great way to get just that. I once aced a pop quiz in an American History course because I had just read a concise definition of "social darwinism" in the preface to a reprinted edition of Little Black Sambo.

To demonstrate, here are some things I learned while browsing today (when I should have been shelving faster), which I will now use to be more interesting at parties:

1. What a shark's heart and "gill filaments" look like. The heart is tiny; the gill filaments are freaky and lobed. (See Uncover a Shark, by David George Gordon)


2. That bubble gum is pink simply because that's the only dye the inventor had around at the time. (See Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum, by Meghan McCarthy)

3. What analogous colors are- colors next to each other on the color wheel. They supposedly look good together. (See A Book About Color: A Clear and Simple Guide for Young Artists by Mark Gonyea)


4. That you can communicate effectively with your dog with just your eyes. I'm not a dog owner, so I couldn't figure that out for myself. (See How to Talk to Your Dog, by Jean Craighead George, illustrated by Sue Truesdell)

5. The first woman to hold a Cabinet position got it in 1933. She was Frances Perkins, FDR's Labor Secretary. (See Ladies First: 40 Daring American Women Who Were Second to None, by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel)


Now someone tell me something they learned from a kid's book this week. If you don't have anything, I think it's time to come over to our section and browse. Go!

-Anna in Kids

P.S. I have already learned something new today just by telling a coworker I was posting this. Did you know that mama sharks have TWO UTERI? And that the plural of uterus is uteri? Thanks go to Insiders: Sharks, by Beverly McMillan and John A. Musick, and to Caitlin, who knows a lot about sharks and shark books.

Cool Books for Women's History Month

Here are some great recommendations from Anna in our Kids' Department:

Read These Books! (Children's Dept. Edition)

It's Women's History Month, and it's time to recommend all those books that just weren't quite right for some other occasion. It's an excuse to pull out a biography of a famous woman at random and put it on display somewhere. I love all the ______ History Months, because it reminds us to fill up display cases with books that don't always get attention, mostly because great nonfiction is often just sitting around waiting for someone browsing for something to write a report on, or a teacher with a specific lesson plan. This month, come look at the following awesome, inspiring, totally-worth-owning titles:

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, by Phillip Hoose

If you haven't read this every-award-it-could-win-winner yet, you must. Somehow Claudette's story wasn't part of my history education, and I wish it had been. She's an inspiration to teen activists (and the rest of us) everywhere.

I'll Pass for Your Comrade: Women Soldiers in the Civil War, by Anita Silvey

Okay, so I haven't read this because I just discovered it on the shelf (yes, we discover things we've never seen here, too) but someone has got to come down and get this! I'm a sucker for books about women in history cross-dresssing to get ahead, and this looks like an awesome one.

Independent Dames: What You Never Knew About the Women and Girls of the American Revolution, by Laurie Halse Anderson, illustrated by Matt Faulkner

This is a picture book, so it'll work for five- to seven-year-olds, but the info is great even for older kids. Did you ever hear of “Mom” Rinker, who sat on a cliff and pretended to knit socks all day, but was really passing secret messages to American soldiers by rolling her ball of yarn down the cliff as they waited below? Or Sybil Ludington, who, at sixteen, rode forty miles to alert Americans of a British attack (the book reminds us that old Paul Revere only rode sixteen miles)?

Indie Girl: From Starting a Band to Launching a Fashion Company, Nine Ways to Turn Your Creative Talent into Reality, by Arne Johnson & Karen Macklin

Just a great book to give to your young adult who's itching to make, do, or be something new. Includes zines, slams, and most everything else you'd want to know how to put together.

My Little Red Book, by Rachel Kauder-Nalebuff

We looooove this book. Really, really, buy-multiple-copies-for-ourselves love this o

ne. It's a compilation of stories about getting your first period, told by women young and old. Is there one about running from Nazis? Yes, there is. How many people mention Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret? Probably a dozen. We all sat around recommending favorites to each other the other day, and it was a bonding experience for sure.

As always, if you have your own favorites, leave them in the comments!