I’m willing to bet that you are familiar with Gail Gibbons’s work. Not only is she incredibly prolific, she is just one of those authors who becomes our go-to when it comes to learning with our kids.
Gail Gibbons is the author of more than 170 books for kids. Primarily a non-fiction author, her signature style includes engaging illustrations and carefully researched topics.
In this episode we’re talking about:
- why Gail loves making non-fiction for kids
- how she manages to fit such big topics between just 29 pages of a children’s book
- Gail’s newest book (out today!) which she is especially passionate about!
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Listener Guide
Use the time stamps below to skip to any part of the podcast:
- 1:58 Meet Gail Gibbons
- 4:29 Creating non-fiction
- 7:45 Choosing topics
- 17:19 Fitting BIG topics into 29 pages
- 22:03 Gail’s newest book
- 24:04 Gail’s influences as a child
- 25:47 What’s next
- 27:12 Let the kids speak
Want the transcript?
Download the transcript from this episode
of the Read-Aloud Revival podcast
Want the transcript?
Download the transcript from this episode
of the Read-Aloud Revival podcast
Links from this episode:
- Gail’s site
- Get the FREE booklist and more – go to readaloudrevial.com or text BOOKS to 345345
- Get an invitation for RAR Membership
A few quotes from Gail from this episode:
“When I started researching children’s books, I noticed non-fiction was pretty darn boring. It was black and white stick figures or photo essays. I went to a publisher and I pulled out slides from my television background and she said, ‘Can you match up your art work with non-fiction?’ and I said, ‘Why not?’”
“I have to do research and just let my head do some work on it, sort of on a subconscious level …”
“As a kid I was curious about stuff all the time and I thought it was sort of funny when I did Clocks and How They Go, because I remember as a kid I took a clock a part because I wanted to see how it worked …”
(Download the transcript above for more quotes and pull-outs.)
Just a few books by Gail Gibbons:
(All links are Amazon affiliate links.)
Tell me– which Gail Gibbons books are your family’s favorites?
We LOVE Gail Gibbons and use her to go along with our homeschool science whenever we can!
I have actually never heard of her and I’m so glad to have found out about her books! Thanks for introducing me to a new author/illustrator! Bonus that my library has many of her books.
wow…this is a great list and I often just don’t think about going to the non-fiction section for the children! Wow…great list!
I love Gail Gibbons books. The best part is that my kids love them just as much!
I kept looking for a comprehensive list of Gibbons’ books so I could pull from it throughout the year on topics we cover in nature study. . .
This is still not up-to-date to reflect her newest titles, but it’s a science guide and on page 4 is a list that is broken into some science categories. Thought it may be helpful:
http://www.gailgibbons.com/pdf/explore_1008.pdf
Can’t believe I never heard of her before! Looking forward to exploring Gail Gibbon’s books with my kiddos in the future :)
I *love* Gail Gibbons’ books! And yes, I still use them with my (older) kids as well. They’ve been on our shelves and in our library bag for 9 years, at least! I’m always excited when I come across one that is new to me.
Does anyone have a complete list of Gail Gibbon’s books? I’d like to keep it as a quick resource in my planning binder. Seems like she has a book relating to every subject.
Someone already listed a link. Here is again: http://www.gailgibbons.com/pdf/explore_1008.pdf