May 2020 - Page 7 of 11 - Anastasia Suen

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Mario and the Hole in the Sky: How a Chemist Saved Our Planet
by Elizabeth Rusch (Author) and Teresa Martinez (Illustrator)

Booktalk: The true story of how a scientist saved the planet from environmental disaster.

Mexican American Mario Molina is a modern-day hero who helped solve the ozone crisis of the 1980s. Growing up in Mexico City, Mario was a curious boy who studied hidden worlds through a microscope. As a young man in California, he discovered that CFCs, used in millions of refrigerators and spray cans, were tearing a hole in the earth’s protective ozone layer. Mario knew the world had to be warned–and quickly. Today Mario is a Nobel laureate and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His inspiring story gives hope in the fight against global warming.

Step 1. Read aloud
Listen to the author’s read-aloud video.

Step 2. Think aloud
Talk about the book. Have you ever been ignored or misunderstood when you tried to explain something important? What happened the last time you tried to solve a big problem?

Step 3. Write it down
Write your own story about solving a big problem.

Hear the illustrator read the book in Spanish.

See a list of Families Write posts.
Need help guiding your young writer?
Use these age-appropriate writer’s workshop tips.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

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The Story That Cannot Be Told
by J. Kasper Kramer (Author)

Booktalk: Ileana has always collected stories. Some are about the past, before the leader of her country tore down her home to make room for his golden palace; back when families had enough food, and the hot water worked on more than just Saturday nights. Others are folktales like the one she was named for, which her father used to tell her at bedtime. But some stories can get you in trouble, like the dangerous one criticizing Romania’s Communist government that Uncle Andrei published–right before he went missing.

Snippet: For as long as I’d had the Great Tome–which was basically all my life–I’d rarely let anyone read from it but me. I collected stories in class, at the store, off the TV. I changed them to suit how I felt, most often rewriting the endings. But when I decided to share what I created, I was careful in choosing which tale and how to tell it. There were things I wouldn’t read in front of my parents. There were words I would use during the day but not at night.

Month: May 2020

Families Write with Mario and the Hole in the Sky

The Story That Cannot Be Told