Notable Kid's Non-Fiction

Is the Guitar For You? by Elaine Landau

The guitar is one of the coolest, most popular instruments around

rocers Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen are legendary for their 

guitar-playing skills.  The guitar is also a main instrument in country,

blues, jazz, and classical music.  But is the guitar the right instrument

for you?  Or would a different choice be better?  Hear what professional

guitarists like about their instrument, and learn what skills a good guitarist

needs.  Discover whether the guitar is your best choice for making music.

Climbing Lincoln's Steps by Suzanne Slade

The marble steps of our capital's Lincoln Memorial have

witnessed key moments in African American history.  Denied a place in 

Constitution Hall because she was black, Marian Anderson sang instead at

the Memorial in 1939.  On Lincoln's steps in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 

gave his stirring "I Have a Dream" speech that so inspired a nation.  and

in 2009, the first African American president and his family made a

pilgrimage to this spot.

Suzanne Slade's powerful text and Colin Bootman's stunning paintings

interweave these important events with the story of black Americans' journey toward equality.

Energy Island by Allan Drummond

The island of Samso in Denmark was once a very ordinary

place, and the people who lived there were ordinary, too. In fact,

the only thing that made Samso unusual at all was that it was very, very, windy.

then the ordinary citizens of the ordinary island decided to do something

extraordinary: they drastically reduced their carbon emissions and became 

almost completely energy-independent.  And they did it all with the help of the wind!

This inspiring true story proves that, with a big idea and a lot of hard work,

anyone can make a huge step toward energy conservation.

The Taxing Case of the Cows by Iris Van Rynbach and  Pegi Deitz Shea

The Revolutionary War was over, but one of the

battles raged on.  Women hadn't won the right to vote,

even on matters that affected them directly.  In 1869,

Abby and Julia Smith of Glastonbury, Connecticut, were

unfairly taxed on their property.  They surprised the town

government by refusing to pay, since they hadn't had a voice

in the decision.  in response, the tax collector took away their

beloved Alderney cows - but not for long.

The little-known true story of the Smith sisters and their cows

is a fresh and funny chapter in the history of women's suffrage.