The Exact Location of Home

The Exact Location of Home
by Kate Messner (Author)

Booktalk: Kirby “Zig” Zigonski lives for the world of simple circuits, light bulbs, buzzers, and motors. Electronics are, after all, much more predictable than most people–especially his father, who he hasn’t seen in over a year. When his dad’s latest visit is canceled with no explanation and his mom seems to be hiding something, Zig turns to his best friend Gianna and a new gizmo–a garage sale GPS unit–for help. Convinced that his dad is leaving clues around town to explain his absence, Zig sets out to find him. Following one clue after another, logging mile after mile, Zig soon discovers that people aren’t always what they seem . . . and sometimes, there’s more than one set of coordinates for home.

Snippet: As soon as Mom leaves for her shift at the diner, I open the door to her room. The laundry is half-folded on the bed, and the papers and envelopes from downstairs are sticking out from under the towels. I sit down and shuffle the pile. She must have Dad’s new phone number here somewhere.

Copyright © 2018 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Dazzle Ships

Dazzle Ships: World War I and the Art of Confusion
by Chris Barton (Author) and‎ Victo Ngai (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Desperate to protect ships from German torpedo attacks, British lieutenant-commander Norman Wilkinson proposed what became known as dazzle. These stunning patterns and colors were meant to confuse the enemy about a ship’s speed and direction. By the end of the war, more than four thousand ships had been painted with these mesmerizing designs.

Snippet:

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

Copyright © 2018 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.