Education – Page 6 – Booktalking #kidlit

Nonfiction Monday

Picture Book of the Day

How Did That Get In My Lunchbox?: The Story of Food
by Chris Butterworth (Author) and Lucia Gaggiotti (Illustrator)

Booktalk: The best part of a young child’s day is often opening a lunchbox and diving in. But how did all that delicious food get there? Who made the bread for the sandwich? What about the cheese inside? Who plucked the fruit? And where did the chocolate in that cookie get its start?

Snippet:

Chocolate starts off as a bean–well, lots of beans, which grow in pods an a cocoa tree.

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Chapter Book of the Day

Too Old for This, Too Young for That!: Your Survival Guide for the Middle School Years
by Harriet S. Mosatche Ph.D. (Author) and Karen Unger M.A. (Author)
192 pages

Booktalk: Middle school can be tough. Physical and emotional changes may cause you to feel unsure of yourself. Relationships can get complicated. And more to do at school might require major adjustments. The middle school years can begin to seems like one long roller coaster ride.

Snippet: Why is middle school so different from elementary school? Because basically everything has changed. Not only do you have more teachers, subjects, homework, projects, and tests, but you might also have a homeroom, a locker, more clubs and activities, and other new things to handle.

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Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday

This week’s Nonfiction Monday Round-up host is Tales from the Rushmore Kid

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Literary Link

My new book Road Work Ahead (Viking) is on tour at Fiction Notes today!

New blog on #edresearch & #innovation, written by @RobertSlavin (via @educationweek)

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My NEW picture book Road Work Ahead is here!
Copyright © 2011 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

I Can Read Carnival, Eat and Play

Picture Book of the Day

Welcome to the September 2011 I Can Read: A Carnival for New Readers

Join us for this monthly meme that celebrates easy readers and illustrated chapter books to encourage kids working to become successful readers.

Around the middle of each month, we’ll collect reviews of easy readers and/or short chapter books. Each host picks a 3 to 5-day window where visitors leave links to favorite easy readers and illustrated chapter books, offer tips or ideas about reading with new readers, or personal stories with memories or experiences with the kids in your life.

Don’t have a post that fits those criteria this month? Not a problem, your review can be from the previous year. So in September 2011, feel free to pull a post going back to September 2010! To learn more about Easy Readers and Early Chapter books, click this link.

Please leave your links in the comments and I will add the to the roundup from September 13-15. (If you have not commented on this blog before, your comment will need to be approved. Thanks!)

And now for my easy reader, yes on this picture book blog! Holiday House has a new picture book series for emerging readers, called I Like to Read Books. These books are for kindergarten and early first grade reading levels. This one is Level E.

Boy, Bird, and Dog (I Like to Read)

by David McPhail (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: Boy and Bird can go up to the tree house, but Dog cannot. Boy has an idea…

Snippet:

Boy went up.

He pulled the rope.

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Chapter Book of the Day

The Water Seeker

by Kimberly Willis Holt (Author)

310 pages

Booktalk: What would you do if you knew you had a special gift–a sixth sense–that was passed down from one generation to the next?

Snippet: “When I was a boy, my pa dowsed to earn extra money when we had a lean year. And when he put the branch in my hands for the first time, I felt a burning inside me because I had that gift, too. Just be thankful I didn’t hand that gift down to you.”

Amos figured it was probably best not to tell his father it was too late.

BONUS! See the video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pBhfoUJwU0]

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My Book of the Week

Look what just came out from Chronicle! I had fun creating the activities for this Eat and Play kit…

Little ones will devour the fun served up in this totable set of 40 place mats, 24 plate sheets, and fork, knife, and spoon crayons. At a restaurant or at the kitchen table, kids will have a blast playing games, drawing their favorite foods, and writing notes to the chef.

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Literary Link

Scholastic & Ruckus Media to target out-of-print kids’ books with new transmedia imprint (via @galleycat)

Need some guidance on implementing the common core #standards? Download our free spotlight (via @educationweek)

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My NEW book is here!

Read and Write Sports: Readers Theatre and Writing Activities for Grades 3-8

Young Readers

Picture Book of the Day

Trains!
by Charles Reasoner (Author)

Booktalk: See what the busy train does all day in this board book.

Snippet:
ALL ABOARD!!!
I’ve got a big busy day ahead
and need to be on time.

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Chapter Book of the Day

Piper Reed Gets a Job
by Kimberly Willis Holt (Author) and Christine Davenier (Illustrator)
160 pages

Booktalk: Piper Reed and her fellow Gypsy Club members are in need of a clubhouse. Raising money to buy one proves a challenge. Piper, being the resourceful fifth grader that she is, launches her own party-planning business and gets her first job throwing young Brady’s birthday celebration. But things don’t go as expected…

Snippet: Beep! Beep! Six thirty. I turned off the alarm, threw off my covers, and popped out of bed. My insides did flip-flops. There was something exciting about the first day of school.

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Literary Links

Today is International Literacy Day. Here are some ways to participate via @Life_Literacy + @owlkids

Education Dept. Unveils Resources Page for Teaching 9/11 via @educationweek

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My NEW book is here!
Read and Write Sports: Readers Theatre and Writing Activities for Grades 3-8
Copyright © 2011 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Great Books

Picture Book of the Day

The Little Little Girl with the Big Big Voice
by Kristen Balouch (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: One loud little girl is on the hunt for a friend. She searches the jungle high and low, but her BIG voice scares all the animals away! Now what?

Snippet:
There was a little, little girl…
with a big, big voice.

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Chapter Book of the Day

It’s the First Day of School…Forever!
by R.L. Stine (Author)
192 pages

Booktalk: On the first day of school, Artie falls out of his bed and hits his head. Hard. He tells his mom he’s dizzy and she says:

“You’re just worried about your first day in a new school.”

On the second day of school, Artie falls out of bed and hits his head. Hard. He tells his mom he’s dizzy and she says:

“You’re just worried about your first day in a new school.”

Huh? Today is just like the day before. Can Artie find a way to change it, before it’s the first day of school…forever?

Snippet: I was so happy to get out of that basement. I ran all the way back to Ms. McVie’s class, holding heavy textbooks in my arms.

The rest of the morning, I kept thinking about Mr. Blister and everything I had seen down there. It was all strange and frightening–not like a normal school basement.

BONUS! See the video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVMbRygchlQ]

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5 Great Books About School

Miss Mingo and the First Day of School
by Jamie Harper (Author, Illustrator)
Miss Mingo has all kinds of students in her new class. Picture book

Pencil Talk
by Anastasia Suen (Author) and Susie Lee Jin (Illustrator)
These easy reader poems about school are also available in Spanish.

Pinkalicious: School Rules!
by Victoria Kann (Author, Illustrator)
Pinkalicious brings her imaginary unicorn friend to school. Level 1 easy reader

Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes
by Eric Litwin (Author) and James Dean (Illustrator)
Pete the Cat is rocking in his school shoes…all round the school. Picture book

Wow! School!
by Robert Neubecker (Author, Illustrator)
It’s Izzy’s first day of school. Picture book

BONUS! See the Pete the Cat’s video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUVgSWsyIE8]

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Literary Links

2011 Cybils Call for Judges

Literature connections for teaching the events of September 11

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My NEW book is here!
Read and Write Sports: Readers Theatre and Writing Activities for Grades 3-8
Copyright © 2011 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Board Books and a Body Switch!

Picture Book of the Day

Big and Little
by Ana Martín Larrañaga (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: 4 board books in a boxed set with an animal baby and a parent featured in each rhyming story. In Fun on the Farm, it’s Mommy Hen and Baby Chick…

Snippet:
Then in the yard
we stroll around.
We make a noisy
clucking sound.

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Chapter Book of the Day

Bye for Now: A Wishers Story
by Kathleen Churchyard (Author)
272 pages

Booktalk: After Robin’s eleventh birthday turns into an escalating disaster, she wishes to be someone else–and wakes up as Fiona, an eleven-year-old girl from London with an amazing life: she’s gorgeous, with glamorous parents, and she’s the star of a major theatrical production. Why would Fiona have wished herself out of her own body?

Snippet:
The horrible birthday began with a black eye.

SMACK. Dizziness. Pain. Through her other eye, Robin looked to see what she’d hit–a head of white-blonde hair–Sophie.

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Literary Links

Time to write your picture book this fall? Intensive Picture Book Workshop Sept 7-Oct 26 (online)

3rd Annual Random Acts of Publicity Week is September 6-8, 2011

Books for Launching the School Year (and Ideas for Using Them with Students)

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My NEW book is here!
Read and Write Sports: Readers Theatre and Writing Activities for Grades 3-8
Copyright © 2011 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Nonfiction Monday

Picture Book of the Day

On-The-Go Schwarmas: And Other Middle-Eastern Dishes (Kids Dish)
by Nick Fauchald (Author) and Ronnie Rooney (Illustrator)

Booktalk: From popping pepper hummus to tasty tabbouleh, these kid friendly Middle Eastern dishes will bring everyone to the table.

Snippet: Hummus comes from the Arabic word for chickpeas, the main ingredient in this popular Middle-Eastern dip and spread.

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Chapter Book of the Day

Labor Day (American Celebrations)
by Lynn Hamilton (Author)

Booktalk: Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September, but why do we celebrate it? Find out in this book…

Snippet: On Tuesday, September 5, 1882, the first Labor Day celebrations were held in New York City. About 10,000 workers marched in the parade. They carried signs that read, “Eight Hours for Work: Eight Hours for Rest; Eight Hours for Recreation!”

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Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday

This week’s Nonfiction Monday Round-up is at Capstone Connect

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September 2011 Online Workshops

I begin new workshops on the first Wednesday of the month.
The September 2011 workshops will begin on Wednesday, September 7th.

Which workshop is best for you?

New to children’s books?
Learn about the different types of children’s books in the Children’s Book Genres Workshop.

Ready to write?
Write and edit your book in the Intensive Picture Book Workshop or the Children’s Novels Workshop.

An online workshop does not have a physical meeting place or classroom hours. You will have 8 weeks to complete the 6 lessons in this online workshop. Turn your lessons in as you complete them, the next day…or on the due date two weeks later.

The September workshop dates are September 7-October 26.

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The August 2011 Carnival Of Children’s Literature

The August 2011 Carnival Of Children’s Literature is online at Great Kid Books.

A special thanks to our host, Mary Ann! Bring your tambourines and join the fun!
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Literary Link

@educationweek: Putting the Common Standards Into Practice Webinar Tues, Aug. 30, 2 p.m. EDT

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Great Books

Picture Book of the Day

Wild Alphabet: An A to Zoo Pop-up Book
by Dan Green (Author) and Julia Frohlich (Designer)

Booktalk: An A-Z of the fiercest, friendliest, and fastest animals in the world. From antelopes to zebras, discover fascinating facts about your favorite animals with the help of amazing pop-ups and moving parts.

Snippet:
Xantus:
I’m a bird with a sweet tooth.
I flit from flower to flower,
slurping up nectar.
I’m super
speedy— my wings beat
so fast you can hardly see them!

BONUS! See the video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6jwVngeM6M]

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Chapter Book of the Day

The Buddy Files: The Case of the Mixed-Up Mutts (Book 2)
by Dori Hillestad Butler (Author) and Jeremy Tugeau (Illustrator)
128 pages

Booktalk: Buddy has been adopted from the P-O-U-N-D by Connor and his mom, but he is still searching for his first family and his beloved Kayla. He hopes to solve that mystery soon, but right now he’s got another urgent case–two dogs, Muffin and Jazzy, have been switched!

Snippet:
Obedience is a big word. It means humans learning to say what they mean.

Some humans are easier to train than others.

I don’t mean to brag, but Connor and his mom are the best trained humans in the class.

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5 Great Labor Day Books

A Day in the Life of a Firefighter
by Heather Adamson (Author)
See a fire fighter at work in this easy reader.

Career Day
by Anne Rockwell (Author) and Lizzy Rockwell (Illustrator)
Family members visit class to talk about their jobs. Picture book

Labor Day
by Carmen Bredeson (Author)
Learn how and why we celebrate Labor Day. Easy reader

Labor Day
by Mari C. Schuh (Author)
This easy reader explains the origins of Labor Day.

Whose Tools Are These?: A Look at Tools Workers Use – Big, Sharp, and Smooth
by Sharon Katz Cooper (Author) and Amy Bailey Muehlenhardt (Illustrator)
A picture book of tools!

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Literary Links

NaNoWriMo Writer Lands 6-Figure Deal After 30 Rejections – GalleyCat

From Education Week Teacher: Teaching Now: The 10-Year Lesson Plan

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Fabulous Finds

Picture Book of the Day

Shoes for Me!
by Sue Fliess (Author) and Mike Laughead (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Hippo needs new shoes, but there are so many choices. Will Hippo find the perfect pair?

Snippet:
Dress shoes, play shoes, wall to wall,
Watch me as I try them all!
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Chapter Book of the Day

Enclave
by Ann Aguirre (Author)
272 pages

Booktalk: In Deuce’s world, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years. By that point, each unnamed ‘brat’ has trained into one of three groups-Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms. Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember.

As a Huntress, her purpose is clear–to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks. She’s worked toward this goal her whole life, and nothing’s going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade. When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce’s troubles are just beginning.

Snippet: I was born during the second holocaust. People had told us legends of a time when human beings lived longer. I thought they were just stories. Nobody even lived to see forty in my world. Today was my birthday. Each one added a layer of fear, and this year, it was worse. I lived in an enclave in which our oldest had seen twenty-five years. His face was withered, and his fingers shook when he attempted the smallest tasks. Some whispered it would be a kindness to kill him, but they meant they didn’t want to see their futures written in his skin.

BONUS! See the video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTPv-h9psMU]

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My Book of the Week

Pencil Talk and Other School Poems by Anastasia Suen
Easy reader

Paperback: 24 pages
Guided Reading: H
Intervention: 14
DRA: 14
Publisher: Bebop Books

A simple school day is a lot more fun when you add a little poetry! Follow along for a fresh look at spelling tests, recess, music class and more, in this spirited collection of school day poems.

This book is also available in Spanish.