Reviews of books that are not Centipede Dragon-centric!

I've totally gotten myself so far off sequence that I am double booking booking this week's post. If any of you follow my AYC Illustration and design posts, I featured 2 of the 5 science books for kids that Science Friday reviewed on Sept. 11, 2015. I will re-post them here to this page, because after all, they are children's books!
The first book, Summer Birds, features a little known, unofficial female scientist who was the first to observe that butterflies do not spontaneously generate from mud. She further documented her findings in beautiful illustrations, thus making her also a scientific illustrator! Oh, and did I mention she was born in 1647, so just imagine the true significance of what this meant!
The illustrations that accompany this story exude a traditional, folk-like feel. But the bold black backgrounds coupled with daring and inventive layouts, echo the personality of the subject herself. My favorite description of her is the quote included in this collage from this book.
Though a picture book, a wonderful “Historical Note” is included for that all important 2nd audience to enjoy. Even if you're not into bugs, pick this one up, and suggest it as a reading list item at your local elementary school!

The 2nd book is by Elin Kelsey, a Ph.D. in environmental science education, who created this book as a jump-off point for teachers, providing lesson plans that integrate the common core standards of learning with activities centering on the statements made in this book.
The artwork is NOT the typical illustrations you'd expect in a picture book. Rather, they are photographs of elaborate, multimedia dioramas that frankly blow this book far and away from others.
This book is an ode to how we are intricately connected to the fabric of the Earth. Through its framework we follow particles from the big bang through to the arrival of our existence on Earth, meandering along poetic stanzas that weave scientific facts into the explanation of the singularity of the our planet's ecosystem.
But the innovative beauty of the artwork makes this book special. I fervently wished they had published this book in pop-up form.

Thanks for all these continued interruptions. Hope you check these books out!