Learning doesn't stop when school's out

Everyone loves a good story, just as everyone loves to understand the world around them. Excellent nonfiction books combine a brisk, engaging true story with lots of visual stimuli to capture young minds from start to finish.

Today's reviewed books are great examples of nonfiction that are guaranteed to inform and entertain. And who knows? They might just be the kind of book that spurs a lifelong interest or career!

Books to Borrow

The following book is available at many public libraries.

"The Whale Scientists: Solving the Mystery of Whale Strandings" by Fran Hodgkins, photos and illustrations — various credits, Houghton Mifflin, 64 pages

Read aloud: age 9 and older

Read yourself: age 9 — 10 and older

Whales were once hunted so aggressively that these majestic animals almost vanished completely from the Earth until humans learned to study whales rather than kill them. Science has taken us far in helping to understand whales, but one mystery that is still remains to be solved is whale strandings.

Why would the world's largest mammal do something that would most likely cause it to die? Are whale strandings caused by man-made noises in the ocean from sonar? Is the weather to blame? Is it pollution? Why do more whale strandings occur in New Zealand and Cape Cod than any other place on Earth? Scientists are trying to find the answers.

Complete with vivid photographs and diagrams, a glossary of terms and an index, this fascinating, fast-paced book will capture readers and perhaps act as the catalyst for future marine biologists.

Librarian's Choice

Library: Butte County Library — Gridley Branch, 299 Spruce St., Gridley

Library Director: Derek Wolfgram

Branch Librarian: Cynthia Pustejovsky

Choices this week: "Abraham Lincoln" by Ingri D'Aulaire & Edgar Parin; "What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?" by Jean Fritz; "Mr. Wizard's Supermarket Science" by Don Herbert

Books to Buy

The following books are available at your favorite bookstores.

"If Stones Could Speak: Unlocking the Secrets of Stonehenge" by Marc Aronson with Mike Parker Pearson and the Riverside Project, National Geographic, 2010, 64 pages, $17.95 hardcover

Read aloud: age 9 and older

Read yourself: age 10 — 11 and older

"This book is about questioning what others believe to be true, not accepting ideas just because famous people say they are right ... how a new idea, a new way of thinking, can go from being dismissed to capturing the attention of the world."

Such is the case with this fascinating book about Stonehenge. Archaeology at its best, author Marc Aronson in cooperation with archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson and the Riverside Project make clear that what we've been taught to think about Stonehenge — the why and the how — isn't completely correct. Instead, this 4,500-year-old circle of stone was erected as one-half of a pair of circles marking the lands of the living and the dead.

Brilliantly and thoroughly researched and documented and loaded with fascinating photographs throughout, this selection delivers in every regard. As the author summarizes, "... it is about putting aside what you think you know, what has been passed along, and being willing to trust what you yourself see and to test it rigorously." What an excellent life philosophy in every regard, both in scientific and self-discovery.

"Peter Kent's City Across Time: From the Stone Age to the Distant Future" written and illustrated by Peter Kent, Kingfisher, 2010, 48 pages, $16.99 hardcover

Read aloud: age 9 and older

Read yourself: age 10 — 11 and older

There are many very old cities in the world where people have been living on the same site for thousands of years. In those places, most of the buildings we see today have been built over the structures of the past. Why did this happen and how? "Peter Kent's City Across Time" gives readers a fascinating look into how these places have evolved over time.

As visually interesting to look at as it is to read, this book is both informative and ignites the imagination.

Kendal A. Rautzhan writes and lectures on children's literature. She can be reached at kendal@sunlink.net .