From: Pamela Turner <pstrst>
Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2006 09:01:23 -0700

I was interested to see Joyce Sidman's post about the "Scientists in the Field" series--I wrote "Gorilla Doctors," and am at work on another
"Scientist in the Field" title. I don't generally think of "Scientists in the Field" titles as picture books, given that they are usually twice the page length and 4-6 times the word count of a typical picture book. But on reflection it is an excellent way of describing them.

I think the "Scientist in the Field" format works because the visuals draw the reader in and help to break up the text, making it look less imposing. The story line hopefully carries the reader through the text. I love writing for the series because if you have a compelling central subject you can tie in some fairly sophisticated topics. In the first book in the series (The Snake Scientist), Sy Montgomery looked at chemical analysis and pheromones. Gorilla Doctors sneaks in epidemiology and conservation medicine; and the book I am doing now (The Frog Scientist) covers experimental design and endocrine disruption. As a writer, it's fun and interesting to bring those kinds of concepts alive for this age group.

The "Scientist in the Field" format seems to be popular in nonfiction. Although not published by Houghton Mifflin, "Secrets of a Civil War Submarine" looked to me like it could have been subtitled "Historians in the Field"!

Pam Turner

----- Original Message ----- From: <4joyces at mchsi.com> To: <ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu> Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2006 5:04 PM Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] nonfiction picture books for older readers


>I love Houghton Mifflin's series "Scientists in the Field" which are full
>of
> interesting tales and great role models for older readers, particularly:
>
> GORILLA DOCTORS: SAVING THE ENDANGERED APES, by Pamela S. Turner
> THE TARANTULA SCIENTIST, by Sy Montgomery (a Sibert Honor Book)
> SECRETS OF SOUND: STUDYING THE CALLS AND SONGS OF WHALES, ELEPHANTS, AND
> BIRDS,
> by April Pulley Sayre;
> and another title by Sy Montgomery (that's not in this series): THE
> MAN-EATING
> TIGERS OF THE SUNDARBANS
>
>
> Joyce Sidman
>
>
>
>>
>> Nonfiction picture books work especially well with older readers.
>>
>> OLYMPIA: WARRIOR ATHLETES OF ANCIENT GREECE
>> THE ROMAN ARMY: THE LEGENDARY SOLDIERS WHO CREATED AN EMPIRE
>>
>> Written by Dyan Blacklock and illustrated by David Kennett. These
>> dovetail nicely with the sixth grade curriculum, but would probably
>> interest even older students.
>>
>> THE COD'S TALE
>> THE STORY OF SALT
>>
>> Written by Mark Kurlansky and illustrated by S.D. Schindler. These
>> world histories with an economic theme, superbly reduced from
>> Kurlansky's adult bestsellers, lend themselves to many uses across the
>> curriculum
>>
>> LIFE ON EARTH: THE STORY OF EVOLUTION
>> ACTUAL SIZE
>>
>> Written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins. I could list another handful
>> of books by this author but these are just a couple. Yes, they're very
>> accessible to much younger children, but older readers are fascinated,
>> too, and they pick up more of the information in the captions and back
>> matter.
>>
>> And finally, several award winners from this past year work really well
>> with older readers
>>
>> SHOW WAY by Jacqueline Woodson
>> SONG OF THE WATER BOATMAN by Joyce Sidman
>> ROSA by Nikki Giovanni
>> ZEN SHORTS by Jon Muth
>>
>> Jonathan
>>
>>
>>
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Received on Wed 20 Sep 2006 11:01:23 AM CDT