RAR # 103: Excellent Nonfiction Picture Books, Gail Gibbons
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, you’ll hear:
- 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!
Click the play button below:
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
Links from this episode:
Quotes to remember:
“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 …”
Books by Gail Gibbons:
(All links are affiliate links.)
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
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.
Can’t believe I never heard of her before! Looking forward to exploring Gail Gibbon’s books with my kiddos in the future :)
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
I love Gail Gibbons books. The best part is that my kids love them just as much!
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 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.
We LOVE Gail Gibbons and use her to go along with our homeschool science whenever we can!