January 2012 – Page 2 – Booktalking #kidlit

100 Day

My Book of the Week

100 Day by Anastasia Suen
Math easy reader

A class of kindergarten children celebrate the 100th day of school.

Copyright: 2011
Guided Reading level: C
Intervention Level: 4
DRA Level: 3
Paperback: 8 pages
Publisher: Bebop Books

Book Activities:

Use these 100 Day Lesson Plans and Printables.

Make your own 100 Days of School book.

Use these 100 Day with your class.

Also available in Spanish

_____________________________________________________________________

Picture Book of the Day

A New Year’s Reunion
by Li Qiong Yu (Author) and Zhu Chen Liang (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Little Maomao s father works in faraway places and comes home just once a year, for Chinese New Year. At first Maomao barely recognizes him…

Snippet: Papa bries a coin in one of the balls and says, “Whoever finds the ball with the coin will have good luck.”
_____________________________________________________________________

Chapter Book of the Day

Tempest: A Novel
by Julie Cross (Author)
352 pages

Booktalk: The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps– it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future. Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.

Snippet:
The first time I jumped was about eight months ago, during my first semester of college. I was sitting in the middle of a French poetry class. I nodded off for a few minutes and woke up to a cold breeze and a door slamming me in the face. I was standing in front of my dorm. Before I even had a chance to panic, I was right back in class again.

BONUS! See the video!

[youtube=http://youtu.be/sidaeJl0qOE]
_____________________________________________________________________

Literary Links

Reading Comprehension Strategies (via @rourkebooks)

YA novel readers clash with publishing establishment (via guardian.co.uk)
_____________________________________________________________________

My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Nonfiction Monday

Chapter Book of the Day

Sitting for Equal Service: Lunch Counter Sit-Ins, United States, 1960s (Civil Rights Struggles Around the World)
by Melody Herr (Author)
160 pages

Booktalk: On February 1, 1960, four black college students sat down at the whites-only lunch counter in a Woolworth’s department store in Greensboro, North Carolina. The young men knew the waitress couldn’t take their order because of the store’s segregationist policies. But the young men hadn’t come to eat–they had come to make a peaceful stand for equality.

Snippet: On August 28, 1963, more than more than two hundred fifty thousand protestors joined the March on Washington. They met at the Lincoln Memorial, a landmark symbol of freedom. John Lewis, the chairman of SNCC, was one of the many civil rights leaders who addressed the crowd. That day Dr. King gave the most famous speech of his life, “I have a dream.”

Rememberthe dream!

[youtube=http://youtu.be/smEqnnklfYs]
_____________________________________________________________________

Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday

This week’s Nonfiction Monday Round-up host is The Swimmer Writer

_____________________________________________________________________

My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Friday Reads

Picture Book of the Day

The Mangrove Tree: Planting Trees to Feed Families
by Susan L. Roth (Author, Illustrator) and Cindy Trumbore (Author)

Booktalk: For a long time, the people of Hargigo, a village in the tiny African country of Eritrea, were living without enough food for themselves and their animals. The families were hungry, and their goats and sheep were hungry too. Then along came a scientist, Dr. Gordon Sato, who helped change their lives for the better. And it all started with some special trees.

Snippet:
These are the trees,
Mangrove trees,
That were planted by the sea.

BONUS! Read an interview with the book’s creators!
_____________________________________________________________________

Poetry Friday

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by A Teaching Life

_____________________________________________________________________

Chapter Book of the Day

Infections, Infestations, and Diseases
by Shirley Smith Duke (Author)
48 pages

Booktalk: It’s that time of year again, cold and flu season. Are you staying well? Learn how in this book on communicable diseases.

Snippet: Infections and diseases are spread in several ways. They are spread through touch, air or water, food animal bites, or insects. Sneezing or coughing sprays germs into the air.
_____________________________________________________________________

STEM Friday

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

This week’s STEM Friday Round-up is hosted by Capstone Connect.

____________________________________________________________________

Nonfiction Monday on January 16, 2012

Nonfiction Monday is coming!

The Nonfiction Monday Round-up on January 16, 2012

is at The Swimmer Writer.

_____________________________________________________________________

My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Young Readers

Picture Book of the Day

Bedtime

Booktalk: A simple bedtime board book for babies…

Snippet:

It’s bedtime for Baby Bear.

First he puts on his pajamas.

_____________________________________________________________________

Chapter Book of the Day

Nikki and Deja: Election Madness

by Karen English (Author) and Laura Freeman (Illustrator)

112 pages

Booktalk: When the students in Nikki and Deja’s class find out that their school is going to hold its first-ever election for student body president, some kids are more excited than others. But none is as excited as Deja, who figures she’s a shoo-in for the third grade nomination. Deja decides that Nikki will be her campaign manager, of course, and puts her to work right away. But will Deja’s tendency to rush into things and boss people around alienate her best friend when she needs her most, and spoil her chances of becoming president of Carver Elementary?

Snippet: Nikki turns toward Deja then, and her lip quivers as she says loudly, “Be quiet, Deja. Quit bossing me around. You’re not the boss of me!”

_____________________________________________________________________

School Visit at John Paul II High School

Thanks for a great day, Cardinals!

Special thanks to Media Specialists Gracelyn Shea and Linda Berger!

_____________________________________________________________________

STEM Friday on January 13, 2012

STEM Friday is coming! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

The STEM Friday Round-up on January 13, 2012

is at Capstone Connect.

_____________________________________________________________________

Literary Links

Love children’s and YA poetry? Join the new Poetry Ambassadors listserv!

_____________________________________________________________________

My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Great Books

Picture Book of the Day

The Day Tiger Rose Said Goodbye
by Jane Yolen (Author) and Jim LaMarche (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Tiger Rose has lived a long cat’s life, so she says goodbye to one and all before she dies. (A gentle look at death from the pet’s point of view.)

Snippet:
“It is time,” Tiger Rose said to the jay,
to the butterflies,
to Rowf, deep in his doggy dream.
_____________________________________________________________________

Chapter Book of the Day

Tiger’s Voyage
by Colleen Houck (Author)
560 pages

Booktalk: In this third volume of the Tiger’s Curse, eighteen-year-old Kelsey must embark on a third voyage. She must find the goddess Durga’s sacred pearl necklace and free her beloved Ren from both the tiger’s curse and his sudden amnesia.

Snippet: It had been more than a month since we had rescued Ren from Lokesh’s Baiga camp and three weeks since my terrible birthday party–and life was purgatory.Even though I gave him my journal and used up all the flour baking double-chocolate peanut-butter cookies, Ren still had no memory of me. We were reunited, but we weren’t together.
_____________________________________________________________________

CYBILS Early Chapter Book Finalists

The new CYBILS Early Chapter Book Finalists are…

Clementine and the Family Meeting
by Sara Pennypacker (Author) and Marla Frazee (Illustrator)
What will Clementine do about the new baby? Early chapter book (176 pages)

Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus!
by Atinuke (Author) and Lauren Tobia (Illustrator)
Anna Hibiscus leaves her home in Africa to to visit her grandmother in Canada for Christmas. Early chapter book (109 pages)

Just Grace and the Double Surprise
by Charise Mericle Harper (Author, Illustrator)
Grace and her best friend in the whole world, Mimi, have two big surprises. Early chapter book (176 pages)

Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie
by Julie Sternberg (Author) and Matthew Cordell (Illustrator)
Eleanor’s beloved babysitter, Bibi, has to move away and things just aren’t the same without her. Early chapter book (128 pages)

The Trouble with Chickens: A J.J. Tully Mystery
by Doreen Cronin (Author) and Kevin Cornell (Illustrator)
Can J.J. Tully, a a former search-and rescue dog, find the missing chickens? Early chapter book (128 pages)
_____________________________________________________________________

Literary Links

Another Makeover for B&N: Spinoff of Nook, sale of Sterling would return company to its roots (via @publisherswkly)

Tips from @ReadingRockets: Building Your Child’s Vocabulary (via @jensbookpage)
_____________________________________________________________________

My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Golden Dragon Parade

My Book of the Week

Golden Dragon Parade by Anastasia Suen
Holiday easy reader

Chinese New Year is here.
Come along to the Golden Dragon Parade.

Copyright: 2011
Guided Reading level: B
Intervention Level: 2
DRA Level: 2
Paperback: 16 pages
Publisher: Bebop Books

Book Activities:

Welcome in the Year of the Dragon on January 23rd with stories and games.

Enjoy these Chinese New Year crafts, puzzles and games.

Make a Chinese New Year Dragon.

Use these Golden Dragon Parade lesson plans with your class.

Also available in Spanish

_____________________________________________________________________

Picture Book of the Day

The Very Fairy Princess
by Julie Andrews (Author), Emma Walton Hamilton (Author) and Christine Davenier (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Her friends and family may not believe in fairies, but Geraldine knows, deep down, that she is a VERY fairy princess. From morning to night, Gerry does everything that fairy princesses do…

Snippet: The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is put on my crown.
_____________________________________________________________________

Chapter Book of the Day

Calvin Coconut: Kung Fooey
by Graham Salisbury (Author) and Jacqueline Rogers (Illustrator)
144 pages

Booktalk: Calvin Coconut’s fourth grade class meets Benni Obi, a weird and likable new kid. Benny brags about knowing kung fu, wears mirrored sunglasses, eats worms, crickets, and chocolate-covered scorpions, and says all the wrong things to bully Tito. Uh-oh. Meanwhile, the neighborhood kids and pets clear the road—Calvin’s babysitter Stella is learning how to drive. She’s got a lead foot.

Snippet:
Before lunch at school that day, right in the middle of our silent reading time, in Mr. Purdy’s class, this new kid walked in with Mrs. Leonard, the principal.
I looked up.
Whoa!
I stopped breathing.
The whole class did.
The new kid looked us over, his eyes scrunched.
_____________________________________________________________________

Literary Links

Study: Children Prefer eBooks (but remember less with “enhanced” ebooks) (via @eBookNewser)

Peskin to Head FSG Books for Young Readers (via @publisherswkly)
_____________________________________________________________________

My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Nonfiction Monday

Picture Book of the Day

When Anju Loved Being an Elephant
by Wendy Henrichs (Author) and John Butler (Illustrator)

Booktalk: After fifty years of working in the circus and then the zoo, Anju the elephant is on the way to a new home…

Snippet: She first came to America as a wee calf of only five years, bought and sold as a circus elephant.

BONUS! Download the teacher’s guide!
_____________________________________________________________________

Chapter Book of the Day

Off to Class: Incredible and Unusual Schools Around the World
by Susan Hughes (Author)
64 pages

Booktalk: Did you know that there are schools in caves, and on boats and on train platforms? There’s a whole world of unusual schools out there! See inside 23 schools on five different continents…

Snippet: After seeing many of his friends and family members in Bangladesh miss out on an education, an architect named Muhammed Rezwan decided he was not going to let the floods stop any more children from getting to school. He figured that the best way to beat the rising waters is to rise with them–on a boat.
_____________________________________________________________________

Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday

This week’s Nonfiction Monday Round-up host is Great Kid Books

_____________________________________________________________________

Nonfiction Book Blast 2012

Susan Stockdale booktalks Fabulous Fishes on the Nonfiction Book Blast blog today…

Save the date! June 23, 2012 Nonfiction Book Blast 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

_____________________________________________________________________

Literary Links

Buerkle to Join Kingfisher (via @publisherswkly)
_____________________________________________________________________

My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Friday Reads

Picture Book of the Day

Do You Have a Dog?

by Eileen Spinelli (Author) and Geraldo Valrio (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Do you have a dog? Famous people owned dogs, too!

Snippet:

Admiral Richard Byrd had a dog-

Iggy-who kept Byrd warm,

a comfort in Antarctic storm.

Through blizzard, ice and wild weather

the two holed up, good friends together.

_____________________________________________________________________

Chapter Book of the Day

Be Fit, Be Strong, Be You? (Be The Boss Of Your Body)

by Rebecca Kajander C.P.N.P. M.P.H. (Author) and Timothy Culbert M.D. (Author)

96 pages

Booktalk: Do you want to feel fit and strong-inside and out? Learn how in this book for tweens written by a pediatrician and an award-winning nurse practitioner.

Snippet:

What Does Your Body Need?

To maintain a healthy body, mind, and spirit, your diet should contain all of these important nutrients:

Proteins: These are the “building blocks” of the body, and they’re necessary for growth and for building body structures like muscle.

_____________________________________________________________________

STEM Friday

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

This week’s STEM Friday Round-up is hosted by rovingfiddlehead kidlit.

____________________________________________________________________

Poetry Friday

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by Teaching Authors

_____________________________________________________________________

Nonfiction Monday on January 9, 2012

Nonfiction Monday is coming!

The Nonfiction Monday Round-up on January 9, 2012

is at Great Kid Books.

_____________________________________________________________________

My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Young Readers

Picture Book of the Day

Bouncy Baby

Booktalk: A fun book for baby play! Under each flap is something for baby to do…

Snippet:

Bouncy baby
Bouncy lap

(Lift the flap and see…)

Little baby
Likes to
clap clap clap
_____________________________________________________________________

Chapter Book of the Day

The Sign of the Black Rock (Three Thieves)
by Scott Chantler (Author, Illustrator)
112 pages

Booktalk: In this comic, Dessa, Topper and Fisk continue their search for Greyfalcon in hopes that he will lead them to Dessa’s brother. But a terrible storm drives the three thieves off the road. Drenched, they take shelter at the Black Rock Inn–only to come face to face with their pursuer, Captain Drake.

Snippet:

QUINN: They tried robbing the royal treasury. It’s all anyone’s talking about on the east shore. Guess the news hasn’t reached here yet.
TULLY: Until now. Heh.
_____________________________________________________________________

STEM Friday on January 6, 2012

STEM Friday is coming! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

The STEM Friday Round-up on January 6, 2012

is at rovingfiddlehead kidlit.

_____________________________________________________________________

Literary Links

10 bold predictions for book publishing in 2012 (via @drydenbks)

Love children’s and YA poetry? Join the new Poetry Ambassadors listserv!
_____________________________________________________________________

My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Great Books

Picture Book of the Day

The Vole Brothers
by Roslyn Schwartz (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: In this easy-to-read picture book comic the Vole Brothers are always hungry…so hungry they are ready to eat a cat. And then…

Snippet:
VOLE BROTHERS: Mmmmmm.
THE CAT: SNIFF SNIFF

VOLE BROTHERS: Something smells good.
VOLE BROTHERS: RiP RiP RiP RiP
_____________________________________________________________________

Chapter Book of the Day

Lilly and the Pirates
by Phyllis Root (Author) and Rob Shepperson (Illustrator)
116 pages

Booktalk: A sighting of the rare frangipani fruit fly sends Lilly’s scientist parents off in search of the fabled Shipwreck Islands. Lilly awaits their return at the home of her great-uncle Ernest, the chief librarian of Mundelaine, a town that seems to have more than its share of piratical-looking characters lurking about. When news comes that her parents’ ship has wrecked, she must overcome her fear of the sea, find the hidden island, and outsmart a bunch of treasure-hungry pirates to save the day.

Snippet: Lilly reached for her worry book, always at her side, ready for her to scribble down any worries she might think of. If Lilly worried enough about all of the things that could go wrong, if she wrote her worries down in her worry book, the bad things she worried about might not happen.
_____________________________________________________________________

CYBILS Easy Reader Finalists

The new CYBILS Easy Reader Finalists were just announced!

Aggie Gets Lost
by Lori Ries (Author) and Frank W. Dormer (Illustrator)
Ben throws the ball too far and his dog Aggie gets lost! Easy reader with 3 chapters

Dodsworth in Rome
by Tim Egan (Author, Illustrator)
Dodsworth and his misbehaving duck visit Rome. Easy reader with 4 chapters

Frog and Friends
by Eve Bunting (Author) and Josee Masse (Illustrator)
Frog likes things to stay the same, but that’s not how it goes in these 3 short stories. Easy reader with 3 chapters

I Broke My Trunk!
by Mo Willems (Author, Illustrator)
Uh-oh! Elephant broke his trunk, and now he has a CRAZY story to tell Piggie. Easy reader
_____________________________________________________________________

Literary Links

Walter Dean Myers named third National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature!

Reading is like oxygen (via The Globe and Mail)
_____________________________________________________________________

My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)