Tuesday, January 25, 2022

2 New Leveled Reader Biographies from Natgeo Kids~Kamala Harris and Stacey Abrams

I am a huge fan of informational books from National Geographic for Kids. More importantly, kids love them! Check out these two new titles. 

Kamala Harris
by Tonya K. Grant
Published Jan. 4 2022
Natgeo Kids
Paperback
32 Pages
Grades 2-4

Goodreads Summary
Explore one of the most powerful and highest-ranking female figures in American history with this biography of Vice President Kamala Harris in this Level 2 reader.
On January 20, 2021, Kamala Harris made history. That day, she became the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American to be elected as Vice President of the United States. Young readers will learn about Harris’s childhood, her early career, and her journey that led to winning the vice presidency. This early reader also explores how Harris devoted her life to helping others, from serving as the Attorney General of California, to being elected as a U.S. Senator, to working alongside President Joe Biden on the campaign trail and in the White House.

The level 2 text provides accessible, yet wide-ranging information for independent readers. Explore Harris’s life, achievements, and the challenges she faced along the way to becoming a barrier-breaking leader and an inspiration to young people everywhere.

by Melissa H. Mwai
Published Jan. 4 2022
Natgeo Kids
Paperback
32 Pages
Grades 2-4

Goodreads Summary
Learn about the voting rights advocate and politician Stacey Abrams and her groundbreaking achievements in this appealing Level 2 reader. Young readers will find out about Abram’s childhood and her early career as a city attorney and as minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives. The reader also explores her run in Georgia as the first Black woman to be nominated by a major party for governor, and how losing
that race inspired her to devote her life to making elections and the voting process more equitable for everyone.

The level 2 text provides accessible, yet wide-ranging information for independent readers. Explore Abrams’s life, achievements, and the challenges she faced along the way to leading the fight against voter suppression and becoming a champion for change.


My Thoughts
Often the information in nonfiction texts can seem out of reach for many students. The books can be jam-packed with information presented with dense text and they can be hard for young readers to understand. These two books from Natgeo are incredibly accessible and engaging with interesting facts, sparse text, enlarged font and text features that help readers understand the information. 
Vocabulary is highlighted with bold print and pop-out definitions. The glossaries contain photographs to accompany the definitions adding visual support for readers. 
The fun Quiz Whiz section helps solidify and review information presented in the books. 
Be sure to add these books to your home, school or classroom library. 


Here is more information about this series:
(from Goodreads)
Key features include:
*Expert-vetted text appropriate for ages 5 to 8
*Engaging and brilliant historical images sourced by National Geographic
*Fun approach to high-interest biographies

About the series: This high-interest, educationally-vetted readers series features magnificent National Geographic images accompanied by text written by experienced, skilled children’s book authors. Each reader includes a glossary and interactive features in which kids get to use what they’ve learned in the book. Level 1 readers reinforce the content of the book with a kinesthetic learning activity. Level 2 readers feature slightly higher-level text and additional vocabulary words. Level 3 readers have more layers of information to challenge more proficient readers. For emerging readers, the Pre-reader level introduces vocabulary and concepts, and the Co-reader level provides a collaborative reading experience.

Praise for National Geographic Readers:

“Reliable in format and solid in execution, this series works well to introduce children of varying
levels of reading comfort to nonfiction and research formats.”
—Maggie Reagan, Booklist

Complete your collection with these popular National Geographic Biography Readers:

National Geographic Readers: Kamala Harris (Level 2)
National Geographic Readers: Harriet Tubman (Level 2)
National Geographic Readers: Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Level 3)
National Geographic Readers: Barack Obama (Level 2)