Category: Children’s Nonfiction Review

Words to My Life’s Song

by Ashley Bryan
with photographs by Bill Meguinness

Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2009. 58 pages.
Review written September 23, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

What a beautiful book!

At the library, we don’t hold onto a lot of nonfiction books that are 17 years old. They are usually out of date and getting worn. So I was surprised when someone flagged this book as something we needed more copies of – and that it was listed as Essential for library collections in the Wilson Core data base we use to check things like that. Once I decided they were right, and we probably should get more copies, I was also surprised that the book is still in print. I am familiar with some of Ashley Bryan’s books, so I decided I needed to take a look at this one, too.

In this book, Ashley Bryan tells the story of his life, and how he grew up making art. On the lefthand pages, he walks the reader through the island in Maine where he makes his home now (well, in 2009), with photographs of the beautiful surroundings. On the righthand pages, he tells about how he got his start and then progressed as an artist. Plenty of photographs for that, too.

This isn’t a strict division – the book is beautifully designed with lots of variety. Often there are full spreads of artwork, and sometimes the present and past switch sides or one takes up more space than the other.

The result is that this book is inspiring to read and gorgeous to gaze through. His work encompassed many different styles during his life, and we see the whole range in this book, as well as the story of how he started that type of art. Between the bright colors in his art and the beautiful photos of ocean and flowers on the island, this book is full of bright beauty.

The way he finishes the main text encapsulates his work:

I love encouraging children and adults to make art almost as much as I love making art myself. Teaching art began early for me. I was in my teens when the church I attended gave me the room and materials for art classes, saying, “You have a talent. Share your gifts with others.”

And I have tried to do so ever since!

Please check this book out of the library, so we won’t be tempted to discard it for lack of interest! There are some new copies waiting for you.

ashleybryancenter.org

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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The Music Inside Us

Yo-Yo Ma and His Gifts to the World

written by James Howe
illustrated by Jack Wong

Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2025. 48 pages.
Review written March 24, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

The Music Inside Us is a picture book biography of cellist Yo-Yo Ma, which makes it a wonderful book even if it were an ordinary one.

Yo-Yo Ma began playing the cello as a four-year-old in Paris. The book shows him playfully enjoying music even as a small child. His family moved to New York City when he was seven and got him world-class teachers. He and his sister performed for large audiences even when they were very young.

But this book is special because it goes deeper. It talks about his quest to learn technique to make his cello sing. It talks about his questions of identity as a teen when he wondered if he was really meant to be a cellist.

In college, Yo-Yo studied anthropology and discovered that every group of people in the world makes music.

Yo-Yo decided that he would spend his life not only performing for others,
but learning from others about their musical traditions
and finding ways to bring cultures together through the music they make.

The book shows him connecting with people from all over the world, as well as with children.

I like the way the book finishes up with questions for the reader:

We are all born with gifts inside us,
our own music inside us.

And we can all ask the same kinds of questions
Yo-Yo Ma has never stopped asking.

Who am I?
Who are we?

How can we use the gifts inside us
to bring people harmony and joy
and make the world a better place
because we have been here?

jameshowe.com
jackwong.ca
abramsbooks.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Mary Morland in the Time of Dinosaur Discovery

written by Jane Kurtz
illustrated by Giselle Potter

Beach Lane Books, 2026. 48 pages.
Review written September 18, 2026, from a book sent to me by the publisher.
Starred Review

Mary Morland in the Time of Dinosaur Discovery is a picture book biography of a woman scientist who didn’t get much credit in her time. It’s told in a conversational style.

Mary Morland was born in a time of ribbons and lace, when small girls were seen as dainty, delicate decorations to make a room pretty.

Did she perch on her chair like a prim little miss?

Well, what would you do if the whole world was waiting outside?

Mary tromped around, exploring.

Wouldn’t you?

We learn how after Mary’s mother died, she went to live with a scientist and journaled about his collection of fossils and shells and went to discover her own. She sent specimens and drawings to a famous scientist, impressed him, and started a correspondence.

Then she met and married a man also interested in fossils. She did drawings for him, organized his collections, and helped with his work.

Did William say, “I am so fortunate that my wife is not a cork brain”?
Did he say, “Let us make sure your name is on these papers so the world will know your part?”
Did he say, “Without you, my dear, my work would be a shemozzle”?

No.
No, he did not.

In those days, women couldn’t vote, couldn’t own property, couldn’t go to college.
Mary did important work for science, but she worked in the shadows.

The Author’s Note at the back explains that it’s mostly through the writings of two of her children that we know how much Mary contributed to the work that her husband got credit for. This book shines light on those contributions in a way that children can understand and enjoy.

I think my favorite spread is about Mary’s housekeeping. (It pictures nine children – I would have liked details in the back matter, but I did get the idea.)

Mary chose to be in charge of a household of chaos.
Every room was stuffed with science books and papers and dusty rocks. One time, she said, she tried to clean things up.

Never again.

If you tiptoed down the hall, past cages full of snakes and green frogs, would you see an elegant and neat dining room?

Not at all.

Is that a pony running around the table with three of Mary’s laughing children on its back?

Yes. Yes, it is.

janekurtz.com
gisellepotter.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Rewriting the Rules

How Dr. Kathleen Friel Created New Possibilities for Brain Research and Disability

by Danna Zeiger
illustrated by Josée Bisaillon

Millbrook Press, 2025. 36 pages.
Review written August 19, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

Rewriting the Rules is a picture book biography of a scientist I’d never heard of – Dr. Kathleen Friel, who has cerebral palsy.

One of my friends has a child with cerebral palsy, so I’ve seen for myself how children with cerebral palsy are underestimated. It does depend on where in their brain the damage exists, but in general trouble walking and speaking does not mean the person has trouble thinking.

This book covers the many challenges Kathleen faced as a child with cerebral palsy, including a doctor who told her parents to put her in an institution. (They found a better doctor.)

It was harder for Kathleen to do some simple things like buttoning her clothes and cutting up food. This author frames her finding ways to do these things as rewriting the rules.

In high school, science became Kathleen’s favorite subject. Her teachers showed her that scientists found new solutions to problems, and she knew she wanted to do the same.

After all, she’d always been rewriting the rules.

The book goes on to explain Kathleen’s doctoral work on monkeys with brain damage doing training to create new brain connections.

After getting her PhD, Dr. Friel runs a lab that helps children with cerebral palsy find treatment to help their brains make new connections. And she models all that a person with cerebral palsy can achieve.

The author of this book was a scientist before she became an author – and was mentored by Dr. Friel, so her love and admiration shines in the text.

This picture book biography of a distinguished scientist teaches kids about cerebral palsy in a way they can understand, framed in the story of a person who overcame tremendous challenges – and helps others do the same.

Kathleen and her research are paving the way for people with cerebral palsy and other disabilities
to be heard,
to find their own approaches,
and to rewrite the rules.

dannazeiger.com
joseebisaillon.com

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Nonfiction/rewriting_the_rules.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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