The Brainstorm Plus: Brainstorm 313: Fiction/Nonfiction Books to Read Together Vol. 3

For this week’s Brainstorm I have some fiction/nonfiction pairs that complement each other and make the reading experience of both books better. Some of these nonfiction books reveal the backstory of the fiction title, or they backup the science or folklore or other things included. If you'd like to check out other fiction/nonfiction pairings you can see my first volume here, and second one here. Click on each title below to see my full review and any content notes/trigger warnings for that book.

Disaster Days by Rebecca Behrens & The Big One: the Cascadia Earthquakes and the Science of Saving Lives (Scientists in the Field) by Elizabeth Rusch

Two books on earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest. The nonfiction one talks about how this area gets less frequent but more severe earthquakes and why. The fiction book imagines what might happen if another earthquake hit the region.

Fiction: Hannah lives in an idyllic remote community on Pelling island near Seattle. After school she heads over to one of her two neighbor's houses to babysit the Matlock kids while their mom goes to an art show in the city. Hannah is a little nervous as it is only her 2nd time babysitting ever. Just a little while after Ms. Matlock leaves, and Hannah is in the middle of a texting argument with her supposed best friend, a major earthquake hits. The Cascades never get earthquakes, or so Hannah thought. But they are definitely in the middle of one and its aftershocks now. Can Hannah and the two elementary-age Matlock kids survive on their own in their isolated community till help comes?

Nonfiction: Though it lies along a major fault line in the Earth's crust the Pacific Northwest has a much lower frequency of earthquakes than other areas lying along the Ring of Fire. Scientists were curious as to why, and so they started doing some research. Rusch takes readers to meet some of the scientists and learn what they've uncovered. The research has led them to the conclusion that because of the type of fault line, the region experiences massive earthquakes every couple hundred years instead of yearly littler ones. Which begs the question of when the next one will hit. Learn about what the science has uncovered, how, and how to prepare for future quakes.

Target Readers:
Earthquake Studiers, Disaster Story Fans, Survival Story Fans, Middle Grade Readers

The Field by Baptiste Paul, ill. by Jacqueline Alcántara & G is for Golazo: the Ultimate Soccer Alphabet by James Littlejohn, ill. by Matthew Shipley

2 books for young soccer fans/players.

Fiction: Some children meet in the field to play some futbol. They shoo off the cows and don't mind a little rain, and play until all their moms call the game. The words are simple, mixing a little Creole and English.

Nonfiction: An alphabet book of soccer terms, slang, player nicknames, and famous moves. Each page highlights a different famous player or players from around the world.

Target Readers:
Soccer Fans, Soccer Players, Sports Fans, Picture Book Readers

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey & Mr McCloskey's Marvellous Mallards: the Making of Make Way for Ducklings by Emma Bland Smith, ill. by Becca Stadtlander

A classic picture book and a nonfiction picture book biography that gives some background on the making of that book.

Fiction: The classic picture book about a family of ducks in Boston.

Nonfiction: Emma Bland Smith shares the lengths Robert McCloskey went to to make sure the ducks in Make Way for Ducklings were just right. (P.S. The notes in the back of the book from McCloskey's daughter and the author are super interesting reads.)

Target Readers:
Duck Lovers, Baby Animal Story Fans, Art Lovers, Modern Classics Fans, Award Winner Readers, Creative Process Story Fans, Behind the Scenes Story Fans, Picture Book Readers

Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone (The Entomological Tales of Augustus T. Percival, #1) by Dene Low, ill. by Jen Corace & The Dictionary of Difficult Words by Jane Solomon, ill. by Louise Lockhart

A humorous British mystery with a vocabulary to impress any English teacher and an entertaining illustrated dictionary to help you understand those words you may have never ever seen before.

Fiction: A delightfully witty romp through early 1900s England with spunky Petronella, her hilarious Uncle, and her faithful friends who help her solve the mystery that comes to her door.

Nonfiction: An illustrated dictionary of words that you are likely to come across in books and poems from 100+ years ago that are still popular, as well as in science books, mythology, history, the SAT, and other very random places. This is a fantastic resource not only for the curious kid or adult, but also for those reading classic literature, high schoolers studying for the SAT, those aiming to build their vocabulary, and general word lovers.

Target Readers:
Vocabulary Builders, Mystery Fans, Historical Fiction Fans, Linguistics Fans, Quirky Book Fans, Middle Grade/YA Readers

To Kill a Mockingbird the graphic novel by Harper Lee, adapted by Fred Fordham & Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep

Read Harper Lee’s classic (or the excellent graphic novel adaptation) and then find out about the story behind Harper Lee’s writing and why she published so few books during her lifetime (and the curious history of Go Set a Watchman).

Fiction: A graphic novel adaptation of Harper Lee's classic story about a brother and sister growing up in the South, coming to understand social class and racial prejudice, how people jump to conclusions, the expectations and pressures of a community, and the injustices that even a fine upstanding lawyer like their father can only put a dent in.

Nonfiction: In a small town in Alabama, relatives of Rev. Willie Maxwell started dying at a rather alarming rate. The police knew he was collecting insurance money on all of them, but they were struggling to find evidence. Eventually a relative of one of the deceased shot Willie Maxwell in front of hundreds of witnesses. Cep relates biographies of both of those men, the string of deaths leading up to Maxwell's own demise, and a bio of the lawyer who defended both Maxwell and his shooter in court at different times. The book then turns to look at Harper Lee, her writing and work with childhood friend Truman Capote on In Cold Blood as his research assistant, and then how she did serious research on the Maxwell story and trial, and what happened to Lee and that book she obviously spent years working on.

Target Readers:
Harper Lee Fans, American South History Studiers, Historical Fiction Fans, True Crime Fans, Behind the Scenes Story Fans, Graphic Novel Adaptation Fans, Modern Classic Fans, YA/Adult Readers

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky (Tristan Strong, #1) by Kwame Mbalia & Ain’t Nothin’ But a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry by Scott Reynolds Nelson with Marc Aronson

Read a fiction book that includes tall tale hero John Henry as well as other tall tale, American South folklore characters, and African mythology and a nonfiction book about the research to find the real historical man who inspired the John Henry tall tale.

Fiction: Tristan Strong was just trying to keep the strange living doll thing from stealing the only thing he has left from his best friend when he accidentally lets loose a haint and tears a whole between realms. He finds himself in Alke where stories are powerful, John Henry and Brer Fox are gods, and the land is being overwhelmed with dark forces stealing people away. Even though he didn't purposefully come to Alke, the hole is somewhat his fault and he needs to help fix it. Whether he wants to or not. But he'll have to confront things about himself, mobilize various forces who are reluctant to cooperate, and find the bravery to stand up to the darkness. This series tackles some heavier topics, like slavery and oppression and grief, but in creative and thought-provoking ways.

Nonfiction: Nelson shares how he was researching the men who worked on the railroad, and that led him to start looking for the real John Henry. There were enough details consistent throughout the various version of the song that suggested people were singing about a real man. He shares about his research process and what he eventually uncovered about a man who worked the railroad named John Henry. A fascinating read that is just as much about the process of historical research and how to dig for information from the past as it is about John Henry.

Target Readers:
Tall Tale Fans, Mythological Fiction Fans, Black Folklore/Legend Fans, Black History Studiers/Fans, Origin Story Fans, Thought-Provoking Story Fans, Research Method Studiers, Middle Grade/YA Readers

Sisters of Shadow and Light (Sisters of Shadow and Light, #1) by Sara B. Larson & The Griffin and the Dinosaur: How Adrienne Mayor Discovered a Fascinating Link Between Myth and Science by Marc Aronson with Adrienne Mayor, ill. by Chris Muller

My last pair involves griffins in fantasy and a book about chasing down where griffin legends originated.

Fiction: Zuhra and Inara have grown up their whole lives in the citadel of the Paladins with only their mother and faithful helper Sami. Zuhra barely remembers their Paladin father, who disappeared from the citadel the night Inara was born. His departure has turned their mother into a hard, cold woman. She has forbidden the girls to explore the citadel or learn anything about Paladin ways. Inara has the eyes of a Paladin, but most of them time they lose her to what she calls "the roar." It makes her unable to communicate and hardly able to function. The only time she can talk and act like a normal person comes if Zuhra can coax her to heal one of her plants. And the reason it is just the 4 of them in the citadel is the enormous hedge that surrounds the citadel, keeping them in and everyone else out. Until the day it lets through a wandering Paladin scholar, a young man, setting off a chain of events that will change all of their lives forever. (And bring griffins!)

Nonfiction: Adrienne Mayor grew up in a family of storytellers. Often those stories were inspired by artifacts or things found in nature. When she eventually went to spend some time studying ancient art in Greece, Adrienne realized that the stories of griffins weren't like fantasy stories, they were more like something inspired by a real object, like the stories her family used to tell. So she started to do more extensive research into griffins in art and what things ancients might have seen that would inspire stories about such creatures. Her research led her to fossils, and tracing down the griffin lore to match with a fossil that matched the first griffin mythology quite well.