Jean Little Library: Nonfiction Monday: New Bearport titles

I am excited to show off some new additions to some of Bearport's fun and informative nonfiction series today. I purchased Wild Baby Animals for our easy reader collection last year and they've been a huge hit and I'm so thrilled they've done a new series to go along. This one is Water Babies! These books are a little smaller than the traditional easy reader size, a nice small square that sits easily in the hands. Affordable, library binding, like all Bearport's titles.

The sample title I received was Manatee Calves. Simple vocabulary, large type, engaging photographs, and additional information will make this series as popular as the previous one and I can't wait to buy it! I'm not crazy about the captions for the photographs, but some people seem to like them.

Next, there's a new addition to the Plant-Ology series, Meat-Eating Plants: Toothless Wonders. The Plant-Ology series has a wide variety of titles featuring everything from poison to pollination, but this particular title will probably have the most popular appeal. I was surprised to learn that Venus Fly Traps are only native to one specific area along the US coast - I had always thought they were from the jungle. There's a lot of different meat-eating plants featured in this book and it's a good introduction. There are also science experiments and vocabulary included.

Lastly, there's a new title in the long-running and popular series Dog Heroes. We own a couple of these and they're quite popular, although I usually have to display them, otherwise only the kids looking for dog breed books see them. Dewey, you are not friends with browsing. Anyhow, I was really interested by Surf Dog Miracles. I had never heard of surfing dogs before, but apparently it's quite a popular sport with competitions, judging, and they raise a lot of money for charity. The book mentions specifically that only dogs who really enjoy it participate and I was a little surprised that there isn't any controversy about having animals participate in this, but apparently the owners are really careful to only use animals that enjoy the sport and it's very safe. I did double-check online, but you can generally trust Bearport to be unbiased, as in their Baghdad Pups where they talk about both sides of the arguments.

Verdict: I'd highly recommend Water Babies for your easy reader or nonfiction collection. I'd also say you should have at least some of the Dog Heroes series, kids love these true animal stories and they're very well-researched and informational. Plant-Ology would depend on whether you need more titles on these specific topics, but they're a good choice if you do. I will definitely be purchasing the Water Babies series and maybe some more Dog Heroes.