Fact Friday: Art of Protest: Creating, Discovering, and Activating Art for Your Revolution by De Nichols

Image: Candlewick Press

Art of Protest: Creating, Discovering, and Activating Art for Your Revolution by De Nichols. Illustrated by Diana Dagadita, Molly Mendoza, Olivia Twist, Saddo, and Diego Becas. 80 p. Big Picture Press/ Candlewick Press, November, 2021. 9781536223255. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Fact Friday features Art of Protest: Creating, Discovering, and Activating Art for Your Revolution by De Nichols. The author calls herself an "artivist," meaning she uses her art to protest injustice. This short volume is part-memoir, part history of protest art and part how-to and sure to inspire budding "artivists." She collaborated with other artists on this colorful and compelling book. Protest art can take many forms from posters to performance art, from song to dance. Short biographies of notable artists are sprinkled throughout. Informational literature at its finest. 

Fact Friday: Oceanarium by Loveday Trinick. Illustrated by Teagan White

Image: Candlewick Press

Oceanarium: Welcome to the Museum by Loveday Trinick and illustrated by Teagan White. 112 p/ Big Picture Press/ Candlewick Press, April, 2022. 9781536223811. Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.

Happy Friday! Fact Friday features Oceanarium: Welcome to the Museum by Loveday Trinick and illustrated by Teagan White. This entry in the oversized "Welcome to the Museum" series focuses on the wonder of water, specifically the ocean. The predominant feature of Earth as viewed from space is water. Though there are names for the various oceans, there really is only one ocean and it supports most life on Earth, even inland inhabitants. 

Instead of chapters, the book is divided into galleries after a Preface and the Entrance, where readers are welcomed to a carefully curated, well-organized overview of ocean life from oceanic zones, depicted on a beautiful double-page spread in the Entrance, through plankton, mollusks, fish, mammals, birds and more. 

As with other books in this fascinating series, the recto pages feature intriguing specimen illustrations. The verso pages give an overview and a key to the plate with scientific names, measurements and interesting facts. It's a great book for aspiring oceanographers or environmental stewards to browse and appreciate the oceans we all so depend upon.

Fact Friday: The Stardust That Made Us: a Visual Exploration of Chemistry, Atoms, Elements and the Universe by Colin Stuart

Image: Candlewick Press

The Stardust That Made Us: a Visual Exploration of Chemistry, Atoms, Elements and the Universe by Colin Stuart. Illustrated by  Ximo Abadia. 80 p. Big Picture Press/ Candlewick Press, March 2022. 9781536223835. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Fact Friday features a book I wish I had in school, The Stardust That Made Us: a Visual Exploration of Chemistry, Atoms, Elements and the Universe by Colin Stuart. Maybe I would understand it. It's oversized and vibrantly illustrated, but more importantly, the text is easy to follow and fascinating. The author is a British astronomer who speaks and writes on the topic. 

How can we be made of stardust? What a mind-blowing idea! The author uses the analogy of a cookbook full of recipes, and the fact that lots of different dishes can be made from similar ingredients. The ingredients in nature are the elements. Readers learn vocabulary, chemistry, the Big Bang theory, how to navigate the Periodic Table, important physicists, how the elements were named and how we interact with them in real life.

There is no index or other back matter. The Table of Contents should help researchers locate information, but this volume lends itself more to browsing and contemplating. That's not a bad thing. The Stardust That Made Us is a worthy addition to any library or science class. 

Fact Friday: Fungarium curated by Katie Scott and Ester Gaya

Happy Friday! We made it! It's sharply colder, but the sun is shining and the weekend promises to be fine.

Image: Candlewick Press

Fungarium curated by Katie Scott and Ester Gaya. Welcome to the Museum series. 80 p. Big Picture Press/ Candlewick Press, April, 2021. 9781536217094. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Fact Friday features Fungarium curated by Katie Scott and Ester Gaya. This gorgeous, over-size volume is part of the Welcome to the Museum series and it is not to be missed. Fungi fans will feast on the facts about fungal diversity and biology and linger over the exquisitely drawn specimens. Not a fungi fan? You might become a budding mycologist after spending some time with this book. At the very least, you'll learn more about the fungus among us.

Fungarium is a terrific addition to the STEM library. While the text veers a tad technical at times, there is plenty of fascinating information that is well-organized and appealingly laid out. The illustrations are captivating and beg to be lingered over. At my school, fifth graders do a fun unit on classification in science and I can see this book being a big hit.