5 Best Photography Books Published in 2015

from Father Figure: Exploring Alternate Notions of Black Fatherhood. Image by Zun Lee.

Lee, Zun. (2014). Father Figure: Exploring Alternate Notions of Black Fatherhood. Foreword by Teju Cole. Italy:  EBS.
Published in September 2014 by EBS. 124 pages


Father Figure - Exploring Alternate Notions of Black Fatherhood from Zun Lee on Vimeo.
Video of images can be found
here.
Lee debunks the stereotype of absent, deadbeat black fathers in this poignant study.

Seascape by Hiroshi Sugimoto

Seascape by Hiroshi Sugimoto

Mita, Munesuke. (2015). Hiroshi Sugimoto: Seascapes. Bologna, Italy: Damiani.
Seascapes by Hiroshi Suhimoto.
Published 10.27.15 by Damiani. 272 pages.

Seascapes by the master.

‘Haunting’: Merkel’s junkyard from Regine Petersen’s Find a Fallen Star. Photograph: Regine Petersen 

Petersen, Regine. (2015). Find a Fallen Star. Berlin, Germany: Kehrer.

3 hardcover books in slipcase, published in 2015 by Kehrer. 144 pages

"Regine Petersen uses the stories of meteorite falls as a background for her narratives; a rock crashing through the roof of an Alabama home in the 1950's and hitting a woman, a group of children recovering a meteorite in their village in post-war Germany, and a more recent event in India involving two Rajasthani nomads. Petersen visited the places and the eyewitnesses and delved into their stories, expanding her photographic observations with found documents and interviews." (from here.)

Saville, Lynn. (2015). Lynn Saville: Dark City.  Bologna, Italy: Damiani.

Published September 29, 2015 by Damiani, 128 pages.

A study of vacant urban spaces with images made at dawn and twilight.

from The Erasure Trilogy. 

Sheikh, Fazal. (2015). The Erasure Trilogy. Göttingen, Germany: Steidl.

Short-listed for the Paris Photo-Aperture Foundation Photobook Awards 2015.

Published September 29, 2105 by Steidel. 438 pages

The Erasure Trilogy explores the anguish caused by the loss of memory—by forgetting, amnesia or suppression—and the resulting human desire to preserve memory, all seen through the prism of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." (from here)

Here Comes Autumn: New K-2 Books To Read Aloud

Bell, Lisa. (2015). Autumn: Leaves Fall from the Trees! (My First Science Songs). Illustrated by Emily Brooks. North Mankato, MN: Cantata Learning.
This is both an informational text and a song book. A song book with music included.

Chernesky, Felicia Sanzari. (2015). From Apple Trees to Cider, Please! Illustrated by Julia Patton. Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman & Company.
A frolicking rhyme explains how apple cider is made.

Detlefsen, Lisl H. (2015). Time for Cranberries. Illustrated by Jed Henry. New York: Roaring Brook Press.
Harvest time! A boy, Sam, is finally old enough to help his parents harvest cranberries.  Explains the process. Recipes included.

Duval, Kathy. (2015). A Bear's Year. Illustrated by Gerry Turley. New York:  Schwartz & Wade.
A book about the changing seasons.

Hayes, Karel. (2015). The Autumn Visitors. Lanham, MD: Down East Books.
A bear family enjoys a New England autumn. The fourth in a series of books about the bears.

Miller, Pat Zietlow. (2015). Sharing the Bread: An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving Story. Illustrated by Jill McElmurry. New York: Schwartz & Wade.
Told through rhythmic and rhyming text, this story chronicles the making of a Thanksgiving feast by an extended family.

from Ask Me

Waber, Bernard. (2015). Ask Me. Illustrated by Suzy Lee. Boston, MA: HMH Books.
A young girl and her father talk as they go for a walk in fall.

Yee, Wong Herert. (2015). My Autumn Book. New York: Henry Holt.
A little girl creates an autumn book so she can remember the changes come winter. Rhyme. Figurative Language. 

K-4 Books about Women Scientists & Mathematicians: 2015 - 2016

from Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor.

Burleigh, Robert. (2016). Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor. Illustrated by Raúl Colón. New York: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books.
I have enjoyed many other books that Burleigh and Colón created.  The two bring us a picture book biography is of Marie Tharp who is credited with mapping the Atlantic Ocean floor. This title will be released 1.12.16.

Buzzeo, Toni. (2015). Passion for Elephants: The Real Life Adventure of Field Scientist Cynthia Moss. Illustrated by Holly Berry. New York: Dial Books. (32 pp.)
A picture book biography of Cynthia Moss, an elephant expert. This title will be released 9.15.15.

McCully, Emily Arnold. (2016). Marvelous Mattie: How Margaret E. Knight Became an Inventor. New York: Square Fish.
Originally released in 2006, this biography of inventor Mattie Knight, dubbed The Lady Edison, is being reissued in paperback format. This title will be released in paperback on 1.19.16.

Stanley, Diane. (2016). Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science: The First Computer Programmer. Illustrated by Jessie Hartland. New York: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books.
Another picture book biography of Ada Lovelace--19th century mathematician and computer programmer. This title will be released 5.3.16.

Van Vleet, Carmella  and Dr. Kathy Sullivan. (2016). To the Stars! The First American Woman to Walk in Space.  Illustrated by Nicole Wong. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge. (40 pp.)
A picture book biography of Kathy Sullivan, a NASA astronaut. This title will be released 1.6.16.

Wallmark, Laurie. (2015). Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine. Illustrated by April Chu. Berkeley, CA: Creston Books. (40 pp.)
A picture book biography about Lord Byron's daughter, Ada--a19th century mathematician who wrote the world's first computer program. This title will be released 10.13.15.

Let's Imagine: 5 Picture Books of Wonder

from The Wonder

Hanson, Faye. (2015).  The Wonder. London, UK: Templar.

A boy, distracted with head full of wonder, walks through life day dreaming.  He wonders “what the crossing guard’s sign would taste like" among other things. He's told: Get your head out of the clouds. No day dreaming. Pay attention...  Encouraged by his art teacher, he realizes that he can use his imagination to make art. Then the shift happens in the text from sepia colored images to color. This is a début picture book.

from The Wonder

Kuefler, Joseph. (2015). Beyond the Pond. New York:  Balzer + Bray.

A curious boy, bored at home, decides to explore the pond. Ernest D's adventure leads him well beyond the limits of a bit of water. This is a début picture book.

from Beyond the Pond

from Pool

Lee, JiHyeon. (2015). Pool. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.
A boy, a girl, a crowded pool and a bit of imagination is all it takes to transform the mundane into something decidedly different. Wordless wonder.  This is a début picture book.

from Float

Miyares, Daniel. (2015). Float. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
A wordless tale of what happens when a boy, a folded piece of paper and a puddle meet.

from The Whisper

Zagarenski, Pamela. (2015). The Whisper. Boston: HMH.
“You can imagine the words…the stories….There are never any rules…imagining just is.”

7 Recent YA Books You MUST Read

from Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices. 

de Fombelle, Timothée. (2014). Vango: Between Sky and Earth. Translated by Sarah Ardizzone. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. Set against the backdrop of the rise of the Nazi Party (1934-1935), 19-year-old Vango Romano is accused of killing a priest which sets him on the run. Who is Vango remains a central and compelling question in this novel. 432 pp.  (12 and older)

Charleyboy, Lisa and Mary Beth Leatherdale (Eds.). (2014). Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices. Buffalo, NY: Annick Press. 
An amazing collection of written and visual texts. Oh my. This is my favorite book of the lot. Artful. 128 pp. (HS and older)

Cokal, Susann. (2013). Kingdom of Little Wounds. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. (Printz Honor book 2014) Fantasy novel/dark fairy tale that explores power. For the older end of YA and adults. 554 pp.

Hemphill, Stephanie. (2013). Wicked Girls: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials. New York: Balzer + Bray.
Novel in verse told from the perspective of the "afflicted" girls who fake their symptoms in Salem in 1692 leading to the killing of would-be witches. (Grade 9+)

Isaacson, Philip M. (2015). A Short Walk Around the Pyramids & Through the World of Art. Ember. 
Nonfiction title that focuses on various definitions of art. A useful guide. (Grade 7+)

Niven, Jennifer. (2015). All the Bright Places. New York: Knopf Books for Young Readers. 
The novel opens with this question by the novel's subject, Violet: Is it a good day to die? Angsty. Poignant teen romance.

Walton, Leslye. (2014). The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.
Beautifully written story about an unusual girl, Ava  who has been born with a pair of wings. First time author, Leslye Walton was a A 2015 William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist.