[Nonfiction Wednesday] Crime Scenes in Micro – A CSI-ish Nonfiction PictureBook

Myra here.

We are delighted to join the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge 2015 hosted by Alyson Beecher @ Kid Lit Frenzy. We would also be linking our nonfiction choices with our reading themes throughout the year, as well as reading challenges that we have pledged to join this year.

Our reading theme for November – December: The Butler Did It! MysteREADventure!

I was very amazed to find an entire nonfiction section in our library devoted to just these kinds of books. Here is another CSI-ish title that fits our current reading theme to a T.

Zoom In On… Crime Scenes

Written by: Richard Spilsbury
Published by: Wayland Hachette Children’s Books, 2012
Borrowed from the Jurong West Public Library. Book photos taken by me.

If you are a huge fan of the TV series CSI or even Bones, this is the perfect book to introduce a variety of “squint”-related sleuthing techniques to solve crime to young readers. The book begins by providing information about the “scale of things” as modern technology now allows investigators to zoom in on tiny particles to as much as a million times using scanning electron microscopes. It goes on to discuss the significance of fingerprints in identifying potential persons-of-interest (or criminal suspects – see below):

This entire book highlights the tools used by forensic scientists – from hair to dead skin cells that can provide helpful information to solve an ongoing case – apparently “people shed 30,000-40,000 skin cells per minute, and 75-90% of the dust around us is actually dead skin cells.”

The entire format is inviting and dynamic – with information capped in easy, readable, concise text that reluctant readers would naturally gravitate towards. Add to that gory images such as the one below and I am sure it will be a fairly popular reading material:

The book also comes with a Glossary of Terms as well as further reference materials that more involved readers can explore. It will also be good to discuss whether these kinds of investigative tools are available in countries, say, outside of the US. This would allow a vibrant discussion in terms of the disparity in using such hi-tech gadgets across developing and more developed countries – and what its implications are when it comes to solving crimes.

#nfpb2015 Challenge Update: 69 (25)