My Favorite Machines (series) written by Colleen Ruck

It's #nfpb2014 Wednesday. Check out the link to discover many more irresistible information books.

A number of years ago I discovered Nell Duke, and her research on the importance of information books for younger readers. Her work at that time was just starting to show that merely providing access to information books for learners from Kindergarten on up, could have significant impact on children's reading and writing. Her hope was that introducing readers to the language of information at an earlier age would play a large role in eliminating what is known in education circles as the "grade 3/4 slump."




Ever since then I have kept my eyes open for quality titles to add to our collection. When I found this series, I knew I had hit pay dirt. The proof is that there is a certain group of younger readers who love me for bringing these into the library: especially those little folk who love all things technical. Sometimes I have a hard time getting them back so others can read them.

Each page contains only a few sentences of text and has a glossy photograph. Some of these images have a caption and others are labeled. Even if those younger readers can't read the text yet, they love looking at these pictures!  
Each book in the series contains those basic necessities; a table of contents, an index, a glossary and websites. The website I checked out from the Diggers title was a bit overwhelming but the kenkenkiki one did have more detailed information and some videos of machines at work.

Check out this spread from the motorcycle book that shows pictures of different bikes across time.

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