New Juv Arrivals: Shipbuilding, Leeches, and adorable crafted worlds

Got some new arrivals today, and some interesting ones in the batch!

The Shipbuilders
Colonial People Series, by Cavendish Square
Ann Heinrichs
ISBN: 9780761400059
(entire series possibly useful for Mill Story)
nonfiction: colonial life, colonial trades, historical work and crafts

Really in-depth overview (for a juvenile book) of the shipbuilding process from a lot of different angles.  Covers the reasons behind colonial shipyards developing, to the various craftsmen (usually men) involved in the processes, to detailed descriptions of some of the processes (sawyering, rope-making, and sail-making were highlighted), to implications of the trade on the Revolutionary War, to developments in ironsides and steam ships, to modern replica and recreation work.

Lovely illustrations and modern photographs of re-created ships.  The use of photos instead of old line drawings for the majority of the illustrations really makes the concept more lively and clear; a very good choice.

Includes a glossary of terms, a resources page, and a comprehensive index of terms, subjects, and illustrations.



Leeches Eat Blood!
Disgusting Animal Dinners Series, by PowerKids Press
Miriam Coleman
ISBN: 9781477728819
nonfiction: life science, "eww, gross" subjects

So, did you know that leeches and worms were in the same family?  I didn't.  Other nifty leech facts - the big sucker is actually their head, but it's only there to keep the leech attached.  Their actual mouth is in the small sucker on their rear.  Ok, eww.  Factual, freaky, and matter of fact about these repulsive and fascinating little creatures, and even a nice coda about their modern use in science due to their nifty anti-coagulant spit.  Have to say, having done both, I'd rather a medicinal leech than a medicinal mosquito!  At least the leeches don't leave nasty itchy spots.  There is a delicate balance maintained between presenting information and glorying in the eww gross a leech impulse, and I'm impressed by that.



Hank Finds an Egg
Creator, Rebecca Dudley
ISBN: 9781441311580
Wordless picture book: scenes entirely created, posed, and sequenced by the creator.

This is an adorable book.  A plushy little anthropomorphic animal (looks like a cross between a teddy bear and a monkey) is wandering an old-growth forest and finds an egg beneath a tree.  It immediately spots the nest above, and spends an afternoon trying to return the egg, but failing (basket isn't high enough, neither are the stumps gathered, neither is the ladder constructed) and it camps overnight with the egg until morning, when the parent of the egg arrives to make the delivery much easier.  Immediately afterwards, the hatchlings emerge, providing new friends for our sweet protagonist.  The jacket flap and the title indicate that our little friend is named Hank, but without that info, the stuffed cutie (and the feathered parent and subsequent hatchlings) could be anyone or any gender.