Nonfiction Monday: NatGeo : Rare by Joel Sartore

I am going to try to get back to my blogging ways so here is the return of Nonfiction Monday.

What Did I Pick Up: National Geographic Rare: Portraits of America's Endangered Species by Joel Sartore. It is definitely worth checking out his website. He's included some images that are not in the book.

What Caught My Eye: It's a pretty striking cover. Black background with a wolf that looks like it's cowering from someone or something. Plus, I wanted to see some of America's endangered species since I think I have only heard about 3 or 4.

Why I Didn't Put It Down: The images are really amazing and beautiful. Also, the chapters are labeled by how many of each animal or plant exists since last count. It really does make the book even more powerful when you know that only 1,000 of a certain organism is believed to be in existence. Also there is a chapter that is simple a "?". No one know if it is extinct already or if there are any in the wild at all. It made me sad reading it but there is a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel with the animals that are slowing rising in numbers in the wild.

Who Would I Recommend This To: Any animal lover and photo enthusiast. It really is a beautiful and sad book that reminds us that we are not the only creatures on this planet and that we have to take care of everyone - plants, animals, each other.

Nonfiction Mondays - Julius Caesar by Ellen Galford

I am finally back and trying to keep up with the Nonfiction Monday posts. It's been a very crazy and busy 2 months...But I digress so back to nonfiction mondays and today's host is over at Check It Out blog. Thanks for hosting Check It Out!!!

Today's selection is Julius Caesar: The Boy Who Conquered An Empire by Ellen Galford. Washington D.C. : National Georgraphic, 2007. ISBN: 978-1-4263-0065-3.

What Caught My Eye: Our 9th graders have a history project and one of the thesis statements they receive is on Julius Caesar so I am always on the lookout for good middle school level Roman/Greek/Medieval/Islamic/Viking history books, especially biographies.

Why I Didn't Put It Down: It was 64 pages of Julius Caesar and I liked that they actually explored what his life might have been like as a boy growing up in Roman times. They delve a bit into his teenage years as well. In exploring his childhood, Ellen Galford was able to also include information about the different classes, slavery and life in the military. Also, being that it is a National Geographic publication, it is full of wonderful color images of sculpture, close-ups of reliefs that are part of major architectural monuments (e.g. Trajan's Column), frescos and other artifacts from the time.

Who Would I Recommend This Book To: It would probably be good for an advanced reader in 5th grade up to 7th grade. Even a 9th grader would find this useful to get quick background, timeline information on Roman history, Julius Caesar and events and individuals associated with his life.

Nonfiction Mondays: The Forbidden Schoolhouse by Suzanne Jurmain

This Nonfiction Monday selection is The Forbidden School House: the true and dramatic story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students by Suzanne Jurmain. Houghton Mifflin, 2005.

What Caught My Eye: I wanted to read something in honor of Women's History Month and also I have been thinking a lot about race and racism lately and also wanted to read something for last month's Black History Month. This actually also touched on my interest in the history of education in this country as well and so I found this lying on the shelf. (See browsing the shelves is still a good idea folks!)

Why I Didn't Put It Down: Despite, the awful, bordering on atrocious, editing job *cringe*, I thought this was a very fascinating book. Prudence Crandall, against all the hate, threats to her self and her students, stood up for what she believed and opened up a school for girls of color. It was in Canterbury, Connecticut and was very prestigious boarding school for girls at a time when girls were not supposed to be educated at all. Prudence Crandall took it a step further by making her school an all "colored" girls school. She knew that in order for things to improve people needed to be educated and she took it upon herself to be the woman to fight for these girls rights. The amount of attacks she and her students experienced, the fact that she was arrested and stood on trial by breaking the Connecticut Black Law, really makes her an amazing educator. I was taken aback by how, in away, these are still issues that students face today in the public education system.
It is also wonderful to note that after have to close her school, an abusive marriage and having to leave her own town, years and years later, the state of Connecticut issued an apology to Ms. Crandall. She also has become the Heroine of the State. And she even remained positive, optimistic and an activist up to her death in 1890.

Who Would I Recommend This To: Great for Black History Month and Women's History Month displays or discussions, someone interested in the history of education. Also, just a student who wants to read a great nonfiction book (despite the typos - there wasn't a lot but it was noticeable).

Nonfiction Mondays: Extreme Scientists by Donna M. Jackson

Sorry this is a late. We were so busy yesterday that I did not have a chance to write a post for Nonfiction Monday on Monday. Tons of 9th grade history students running around the library, kids finishing up pamphlets, lots of questions to answer about bibliography citations, and of course, controlling and preventing our students from taking over the labs with March Madness mayhem!!!

Today's selection is Extreme Scientists: Exploring Nature's Mysteries from Perilous Places by Donna M. Jackson

What Caught My Eye: I have really enjoyed the last book I read, The Frog Scientist, from the Scientists in the Field series published by Houghton Mifflin, and saw that we had this at the public library's New Books shelf and picked it up. Plus I am part of Generation X so you know, if it says "extreme" I have to read it. Just kidding!

Why I Didn't Put It Down: This book was a great introduction to some really dangerous and exciting careers in science. There are 3 types of scientists Jackson covers (1) a hurricane hunter (pilot) (2) a cave (land and sea) exploring microbiologist and (3) a tree canopy exploring, tree scaling botanist. It is filled with color photographs of the scientists, the environments they study and their equipment. It also contains a great glossary of words for the 3 disciplines and some helpful links and bibliography in the end.

Who Would I Recommend This To: Anyone interested in reading about science. Kids, adults, teens...if you just want to gain a little insight into what these people do this book is definitely worth picking up.

Nonfiction Mondays: Life in the Boreal Forest by Brenda Z Guiberson

Happy Nonfiction Monday!! I'm happy to host this week's Nonfiction Monday! so..thank you for stopping by! Don't forget to check out all the great reviews linked below.

What Caught My Eye: I liked this painting by Gennady Spirin who illustrates this wonderful book, Life in the Boreal Forest by Brenda Z. Guiberson. The bobcat going after the ermine just made me want to pick it up.

Why I Didn't Put It Down: This a really fun read-alound book. As Guiberson goes through a year in a boreal forest, she includes sounds like "plish! plosh!" for a loon diving into a lake and "swoosh!" for when an owl snaps up it's prey. The paintings have a lot of things going happening but in a silent, minimal way. For example, on the owl painting, there is a great horned owl in the foreground, the forest is covered with snow and in the background is the river with a white rabbit listening for danger. Farther back is an image of a lone moose walking through the quiet forest. You just want to keep reading and looking at all the images to see what happens next in the forest.

Who Would I Recommend This To: It is filled with interesting facts about the boreal forest, like there are over 200 species of birds that migrate to the boreal forest and that it grows acrous Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia and Russia. Kids would love having this read to them and will enjoying looking at the paintings. Also, kids having to write about the boreal forest for their 2nd or 3rd grade class.

Nonfiction Monday: How Robots Work by Tony Hyland

Happy Nonfiction Monday!!! Today's host is Simply Science, go visit to see the round-up and stick around to read the great science-related posts!!! Thanks Simply Science Blog!!!

Today's read is How Robots Work by Tony Hyland, who is an Australian childrens book author and you can also follow him on Twitter (@TonyHylandwrite). It's pretty neat following authors on twitter..I also follow @neilgaiman and a couple of others... How Robots Work is part of a 6 book series from MacMillan Library called Robots and Robotics - a couple of the titles that I would be interested in reading : Space Robots and High Risk Robots.

What Caught My Eye: If you know me, you know I love robots!!! Love them!!! Look at my Flickr stream - ROBOTS!

Why I Didn't Put It Down: This book is filled with color photographs of all sorts of robots - humanoid robots, industrial robots, space robots and you cannot help but want to read about how they work. There are helpful captions and sidebars and it will keep a kid engaged through the 32 pages. It was interesting to read about the types of multi-legged robots that are used to scale walls and robots that can smell and robots that can built things. Fun and interesting facts fill the pages and kids who are interested in robots and robotics will really find it a great read.

Who Would I Recommend This To: To those kids who love building things and taking things apart. Also, if you are interested in robots and robotics, it is just fun getting a little information about what is happening out there in the field - who knew robots could smell!?!?!

Nonfiction Monday: The Ancient Persians by Virginia Schomp

We have been having trouble access different parts of Google so I could not post this on Monday. I know I am hosting next week too so I will have do all this on Sunday night and hopefully, I can get the Mr. Linky widget so that links can be posted rather quickly...

What Caught My Eye: I was just curious about the Ancient Persians. Also, it's an interesting cover and made wonder, "Who is that?" He looks very regal.

Why I Didn't Put It Down: The Ancient Persians by Virginia Schomp is part of a series called Myths of the World published by Marshall Cavendish. I really like books published by Marshall Cavendish and this one does not disappoint. Schomp's writing is very accessible and engaging. The book is filled with colorful images from the time period illustrating the different individuals and myths she focuses on. For example, on the chapter titled "Mythical Creatures," Schomp retells the tale of Rostam, a hero, and his horse, the image accompanying this chapter is a painting of Rostam riding his horse as they overcome a man ready to shoot an arrow at the horse and rider. She also included sections called "The Early Persians Speak" that features translated sections from texts from the period, like the Shahnamen, or "Book of Kings," which is the national epic story from Iran. Schomp also included a wonderful glossary that goes more into depth of the texts she refers to and a "Find Out More" section that contains a bibliography, website links and added notes.

Who Would I Recommend This To: People interested history, especially ancient times. Also those curious about the Persians.

Nonfiction Monday: "Muckrackers" by Ann Bausum

Nonfiction Monday is hosted by The Art of Irreverence! Thanks for hosting. Also, there is now a Nonfiction Monday list-serv!! Hurray!

Happy President's Day! Or officially Washington's Birthday Holiday! There was a short story about this fact on the local news...

This monday, I picked up Ann Bausum book titled Muckrackers from National Geographic.

Muckraker - one who seeks to expose corruption

of businesses or government to the public.

The term originates from writers of the Progressive movement

What Caught My Eye: The giant M in the center from an old typewriter. The word "Muckrakers" on top of that. The subtitle "How Ida Tarbell, Upton Sinclair, and Lincoln Steffens Helped Expose Scandal, Inspire Reform, and Invent Investigative Journalism." Who were these people? What the heck is a muckraker?

Why I didn't Put It Down: This book is just filled with interesting facts about this beginning of investigative journalism. Ann Bausum writes a very engaging story of how these individuals caused social reform by writing about things in a way that exposed the corruption, injustice and horrors of powers going unchecked but never let their readers become complacent with what was happening in their government, on the streets, or to the food they were consuming. It is filled with photos of the journalists, images of the old magazines they wrote for, as well as images of the subjects these journalists were writing about.

Bausum quotes Ray Stannard Baker (1906)-

The journalist is a true servant of democracy.

The best journalist of today occupies the exact

place of the prophets of old:

he cries out the truth and calls for reform.

It was interesting reading given how media outlets, in America at least, are more about ratings then they are about news. Overall, this is a great book about these important individuals who lead the way in writing about things that people were too afraid to say anything about and made me hopeful that maybe one of the kids who picks it up will want to write for the greater good.

Who Would I Recommend This To: This is for a middle schooler. A student interested in journalism or history.

Nonfiction Monday: The Raucous Royals by Carlyn Beccia

Happy Nonfiction Monday! This week's host blog is Great Kids Books, if you're on Blogger you should follow this blog run by another fellow independent school librarian, Mary Ann Scheuer!! (I wonder if I'll see her at AISL this year?) And now back to our regularly scheduled program.

This weekend I picked up one The Raucous Royals by Carlyn Beccia (Houghton Mifflin Co., 2008). It also has this pretty entertaining website too! Carlyn Beccia is an author and artist and has a couple of pretty cool blogs. I'm enjoying The Ballyhoo one where she talking about digital painting.

What Caught My Eye: Check out that cover! Mary Queen of Scots trying to remove the crown off a disapproving Queen Elizabeth!! The royal red background and detailed gold border. Plus the subtitle which states "Test Your Royal Wits: Crack Codes, Solve Mysteries, and Deduce which Royal Rumors are True!" just makes you want to pick it up.

Why I didn't Put It Down: The layout of this book makes it a face-paced and highly entertaining. It's hijinxs and shenanigans vivaciously illustrated using amazing colors and stylized so you need to keep turning the pages until you are done. On pages 60 and 61, Beccia also has the research process for kids to follow (and you know how I love the research process!!!!). I love tip number 5:

Ask for help. Don't be afraid to ask your local librarian,

teacher, or parent for help. But after you get pointed in the

right direction, do your own research instead of relying on

the viewpoints of others. Your job is to examine all sides

and come to your own conclusion.

Be a history detective...not a rumor spreader.

Fantastic!!! She also includes a great bibliography so if your students just need a quick introduction to certain historical figures, they could start here and then check out the bibliography to branch out from or to just get a picture of the number of resources researchers look at when creating a book, paper, article, movie, or podcast, etc. You also get a nice sense of the different time periods in Europe as well.

Who Would I Recommend This To: It would be great for a elementary and/or middle school collection. I was continuing my theme from last week with Doomed Queens post and needed to learn more about those "raucous royals" so those interested in all those crazy rumours would probably just find this a pretty enjoyable read.

P.S. If you are wondering if I cracked any codes or how I did on figuring out which rumours were true or false..I'm not telling! :)

Nonfiction Mondays: "Doomed Queens" by Kris Waldherr

Happy Nonfiction Monday! It looks like it's Wild About Nature blog's anniversary and they are having a giveaway as well as hosting the Nonfiction Monday Roundup. You can read about interesting nonfiction books to add to your collections as well as maybe win a book! Now you have to go and visit Wild About Nature.

This weekend I read Doomed Queens:Royal Women who met bad ends, from Cleopatra to Princess Di by Kris Waldherr, who is the author and illustrator of the amazing read. You can read her blog here. Doomed Queens was published in 2008 from Broadway Books.

What Caught My Eye: My friend, Marci Washington, who's a painter, had a series she painted of severed heads and this book cover reminded me of them. Also, "Doomed Queens" just really made me want to pick this up. Why? Do these women ever get a break? And sometimes you just want to get straight to the chase on how these women met their end.

Why I didn't put it down: This reads like collection of obituaries for Queens which reminded me of another book I really liked called The Dead Beat by Marilyn Johnson (who's also got a book coming our about libraries that comes out tomorrow!!!). I also loved Waldherr's illustrations, choice of quotes, sidebars and legend for how these monarchs died. It is actually filled with a number of primary source quotes if you have students who need those for a project. For example, Waldherr highlights quotes from the queens and titles them "Out of the Mouths of Babes" for Boudicca she quotes "It is not as a woman descended from noble ancestry, but as one of the people that I am avenging lost freedom, my scourged body, the outraged chastity of my daughters...This is a womean's resolve. As for men, they may live and be slaves." These asides will make a reader more want to learn more about Boudicca or any other monarch to learn about what had happened to her and her family as well as what was happening in that time period.

It was really fascinating read and I did not want to put it down. The sections on each queen are about 2-3 pages long. Waldherr covers as many queens as possible from Europe to China to India. One of the strange facts I picked up was the last person to commit sati (suttee), which is when a widow commits suicide to join her dead husband (read about it on that link because I am NOT doing it justice with my layperson's definition), was in 1987!!!! Now it's outlawed but 1987 was not that long ago. Another great thing about this book were the "cautionary morals" at the end like "have an exit strategy" or "an emperor's loyalty is to his heirs, not his empress." Honestly, it kept me wanting to read more.

Who Would I Recommend This To: It is good for middle schoolers, high schoolers and adults who like a little bit of gossip to go with their history reading. Someone who just wants a quick read about doomed queens.

Nonfiction Monday: "Escape: The Story of the Great Houdini" by Sid Fleischman

Happy Nonfiction Monday! Today's host is Playing By The Book and there are a lot of books to go check out at the round up so stop by there to see if anything catches your eye.

At the library, I created a biography display and decided that this was the perfect opportunity to read Sid Fleischman's Escape: the story of the great Houdini published in 2006 from Greenwillow Books.

What Caught My Eye: What a great illustration on the cover! . The famous Harry Houdini attempting to escape from a tank of water upside down!!! I also loved the font used for the title.

Why I finished it: Well, honestly, I did not really finish this one. Sid Fleischman injects some of his humor in it that I did not find all that funny. I actually thought it was a little too much like he was trying to hard to entertain the kid who would pick it up. The information about Harry Houdini was very interesting and the photos were great to show Houdini's transformation. But at times, he also added those "funny" anecdotes in the captions and I thought it was unnecessary. The last couple of chapters I skimmed through. Some of the things I learned is that Houdini was a lot more popular in Europe than America and that he did not really consider America his home; he married the love of his life rather quickly (2 weeks!); he collected all books and flyers related to magicians and gifted it to the the Library of Congress; that his entire life is still a bit of a mystery.

Who Would You Recommend This To: A kid (middle schooler) interested in Harry Houdini.

Nonfiction Mondays: "Who Was First?" By Russell Freedman

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!!! I hope, people are out braving this weather in L.A. Here are the events happening in L.A. and around L.A. If you can't head to the Kingdom Day Parade, you can watch it on Channel 7.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program...Nonfiction Mondays!!!

Shelf-employed reviewed Russell Freedman's Who Was First? Discovering the Americas (audio version) last week on the Round-Up at Whispers at Dawn and I picked this up as well. I thought I would have time to read another one but grades are due in a week!

This is a great look at who discovered the Americas and is also perfect for middle schools. Freedman starts by mentioning old legends and tales about the Americas before Columbus, the one we all know about. He then writes about Christopher Columbus and works backward exploring China's history with exploration and their famous seafarer Sin-Bao (Admiral Zheng He). He delves into the Vikings discovery of parts of Canada with a chapter devoted to Leif the Lucky. Then moves to those who were already in the Americas. This book is filled with amazing map reproductions, like the Waldseemuller map of 1507, images from archeological digs, and archival images. He also mentions important historians and archeologists, like Anne Stine and Helge Ingstad, who discovered the Viking settlement in L'Anse aux Meadows in Canada and Gavin Menzies, who studies Chinese explorers and was also viewed as a somewhat questionable source at times. This is such a fascinating book and is filled with so much information! It made me want to visit all these different sites he mentions to see gigantic statues in Guatemala or the L'Anse aux Meadows. Freedman also writes a little bit on the new technological tools being used to determine the age of pieces discovered. I highly recommend this book - it's got everything - history, drama, adventure, new technology - if you don't have this in your library, you should certainly order it.

Book Drops: Nonfiction Monday - "The Story Behind Toilets"

Happy Nonfiction Monday!! There are lots of great books to read about on Sally Apokedak's Whispers of Dawn blog to check out what people have read for today's Nonfiction Monday.

This week I grabbed the newly acquired "The Story Behind Toilets" by Elizabeth Raum. It is part of the True Stories series from Heinemann-Raintree. The 12 book series is geared towards 3-5 grade and covers things like oil, salt, chocolate, diamonds and more. The 32 page book is filled with color photos, a timeline, a glossary, great little sidebars and even a section called "Find Out More" that contains books, websites, and even places to visit in a child's town. Raum has filled this book with a lot of fun facts as well, like the reason people refer to the toilet as a "crapper" is because, in 1884, Thomas Crapper, an English plumber, improved the toilet and during World War I, U.S. soldiers stationed in England started calling them "crappers." There are lots of diagrams and illustrations showing how toilets have evolved over time as well. Who knew that learning about toilets could be so entertaining. Definitely a great one to add to the collection.

Book Drops: Nonfiction Monday

My first Nonfiction Monday post of the year. To check out more selections, visit the Picture Book of the Day blog. I joined this group at the end of the year and now I'm hooked. I have actually found really great stuff for the middle school and the public library that I work at. Also, I'm finding more blogs to read and more interesting folks (librarians and others) to interact with. Pretty neat how this circle keeps on growing.

Today, I am featuring 2 books:

1. Liana Romulo's My First Book of Tagalog Words published in 2006 by Tuttle Publishing. I found this while helping one of my patron's who was looking for the Pokemon Handbook. It is illusrated by Jaime Laurel. My First Book of Tagalog Words is cute and fun introduction to Tagalog. The words Romulo features are some that are regularly spoken in most Filipino households. The illustrations are bright and colorful and convey the short verses that Romulo used to describe each word. There were a couple of letters, like X and Z, that do nore really have Tagalog words so she was kind of stretching it there but I think, little kids would love still love this book.
2. Ken Robbins' Food For Thought: the stories behind the things we eat published 2009 from Roaring Brook Press. If you have read this blog and my other one, you know, I really like to read a lot about food. So, in keeping with my little obsession, I decided to read this selection for Nonfiction Mondays as well. Robbins' explores the history, myths, jokes and other facts that are associated with some of our favorite foods - apples, oranges, potatoes, tomatoes, grapes, bananas, mushrooms, corn, and pomegranates. It is almost like a kid's version of Michael Pollan's The Botany of Desire. Robbins' presents the facts and stories in a lighthearted and fun approach, so as not to turn children away from wanted to learn more about where their food comes from. For example, he writes about the game "hot potatoe" and then talks about the potatoe famine and next tempers it with the different names the potatoe is known by. Robbins does try to include a lot of information and at times it jumps from one face to the next fact but overall, it is a great read about those different I listed earlier. Hopefully, it will make children more interested in the food they are eating.
   

Book Drops: Nonfiction Mondays "Emily Post's Table Manners for Kids" (rated 4 stars)

Emily Post's Table Manners for Kids

by Cindy Post Senning

It's Nonfiction Mondays! For the round up, please visit SimplyScience Blog, who is hosting this week. Also, I cannot put my nonfiction mondays label because I'm dog sitting and I don't think it's appropriate to download stuff on other people's computers. But I'll use the computer...

Anyway, this week I'm featuring, Emily Post's Table Manners for Kids. I never was formally trained proper table manners as a kid, there are some things that just seem common sense but as a kid, I grew up using a spoon and fork to eat or learning to eat with my hands. For the longest time, I thought that was normal, well, it was normal in the Philippines and other Filipino households I hung out in. So, it was interesting reading this book on table manners.

It was a very informative and entertaining read that is geared towards 5th grade to middle schoolers and contains equally amusing illustrations. One of tips is how to properly pierce a cherry tomato and the illustration shows someone who’s bit into a tomato and accidentally squirts the person seated next to him. As an adult, I still learned some things, like how to properly eat soup in public. I honestly had no idea that you scoop away from yourself. Also, who can keep straight the proper location of all those utensils, cups, salad plates, etc. Well, now I can because the Posts’ lay it out very nicely and easily. Definitely a great book for children and adults!

See more about Emily Post's Table Manners for Kids

Book Drops: Nonfiction Mondays - "The Frog Scientist"

This week's Nonfiction Monday host is In Need of Chocolate Blog. Check out the weekly round-up to see if there are any new books you might want to add to your collections.

This week I'm featuring The Frog Scientist, by Pamela S. Turner, which is part of the Scientists in the Field series. The featured scientist is Professor Tyrone Hayes from UC Berkeley who studies the affects of pesticides on frog populations. Filled with large color photos, Turner follows Hayes and his students as they collect samples from the field and work in the labs. She also explains the scientific process from posing a hypothesis to conducting experiements to prove or disprove that hypothesis. Another added bonus is the brief biography about Professor Hayes and the look inside his personal and professional life as well as a glimpse into the lives of his research students. The book also included wonderful color photographs of various frogs, website links, an educator's link, and a wonderful bibliography. It is geared more towards 5-7 graders and could inspire children to study the different sciences.

Book Drops: NONFICTION MONDAYS

Picture Book of the Day started the Nonfiction Mondays feature and I thought I would join in the fun.

You can check out Rasco from RIF's blog for the Nonfiction Mondays roundup for Monday, December 7.

These books are available at the Burbank Public Library. It's the holidays and maybe you need some ideas for gifts and these two caught my eye. The first one is Do It Yourself Projects! series : Make Your Own Books. It is a great introduction to kids who are crafty. There are very simple projects and it also stresses recycling and reusing materials. 24 pages with 8 projects and a short history about books. Also filled with wonderful color images and step-by-step instructions. It also includes side boxes with great facts about felt, reed paper, etc.

The second book is from the Money Matters: A Kid's Guide to Money Series. This book is A Kid's Guide to Stock Market Investing. It is a set but we only had this one when I was wandering the shelves. Honestly, I wish my parents had this set when I was a kid and I'm only writing about 1 of the books. It is 47 pages and starts with a story about a boy who gets stocks from his grandmother. There is some history about stock exchange as well as current issues, like the foreclosure crisis. It includes a glossary of terms as well as a brief example of how to break down those stock listings in the paper. It also includes a short homework assignment where kids pick their favorite commodity and follow the stock for a month to see how well it does. It has links to websites and other books and online sources for students to use if they are interested in becoming a stockmarket investing.

Both books are engaging and are even great for teens or adults.