Eyeopeners II: Children's Books to Answer Children's Questions About the World Around Them

A guide for parents, librarians, and teachers combines information and advice on evaluating and using nonfiction books in a reading program, with an annotated list of more than eight hundred books

This revised, updated edition of Eyeopeners (published in 1988 and covering more than 500 titles) describes more than 800 nonfiction titles for preschool through middle school. The books are arranged by topic. Many section headings have been dropped from the first edition. New headings added to the present edition include "AIDS," "Ancient Egypt," "Chess," "Ecology," and "Weather." With fewer categories and more titles in this edition, the author explains she "opted for depth over breadth." Bibliographic information includes approximate age appeal, and number of pages. The ISBN is not given. Most titles were published from 1990 to 1995. The brief annotations not only describe what the books are about, but also offer stimulating ideas for their use. Some titles have added tips for interactive book-based activities. In the 1988 edition these were prefaced by a pointing finger; in the new edition they are headed by a pair of eyeglasses.

The introductory chapters, directed to teachers, librarians, and parents, have been rewritten in part but cover basically the same information on why and how to use nonfiction as in the first edition. The first edition contained black-and-white photographs; the new one has simple line drawings. A bibliography of adult sources (books and periodicals) on nonfiction materials is followed by a "Key to Publishers" and the "Quick-Link Index," which is designed to find books linked by subject matter--even when the subject is not obvious from the title. The volume concludes with an index of authors, illustrators, and titles.

This stimulating, informative book about creatively using nonfiction is an easy-to-use reference for adults working with children.