April 2014 – Page 2 – Booktalking #kidlit

Easter Bunny on the Loose!: A Seek and Solve Mystery!

Easter Bunny on the Loose!: A Seek and Solve Mystery!
by Wendy Wax (Author) and Dave Garbot (Illustrator)

Booktalk: The Easter Bunny can’t wait to hippity-hop his way to deliver all the Easter eggs this year! The only problem is . . . there are no eggs! Some-bunny has taken the Easter Bunny’s golden egg, and without the golden egg, Easter is on HOLD. Can you sort through all of the possible suspects hopping about Easterville and find the culprit who stole the golden egg?

Snippet: Emergency in Easterville! One of these suspects stole the Easter Bunny’s Golden Egg! The Easter Bunny is on the lookout for clues that the egg-snatcher left behind. It’s up to you to figure out who did it.

Sorting Through Spring

Sorting Through Spring (Math in Nature)
by Lizann Flatt (Author) and Ashley Barron (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Numbers, patterns, shapes — and much more! — can be found by observing everyday plants and animals.

Snippet:
Would prairie chickens practice their moves so they match?
Woo-woo flap, stampity stomp-stamp.

Can you perform this pattern?

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Build It

What keeps a bridge from falling down? Help K-5 students answer this essential question (and meet the Common Core State Standards) with the Teaching STEM lesson plans for this mentor text: Build It! by Tammy Enz (GRL Q / G740L)

Unit Summary: Students will examine the essential question, “What keeps a bridge from falling down?” In groups, students will search for and locate information related to the four major kinds of bridge supports— beams, arches, trusses, and suspension. They will complete a graphic organizer to explain how each of the four supports work to hold up bridges. Then they will use toothpicks or Popsicle sticks to practice forming arches or trusses and use that knowledge to plan and draw a design for a bridge of their own for their group.

The Library Activity begins on page 130. The Collaborative Teacher Activity is on page 132.

Extension Activities(sample)

1. Have the students do an interactive bridge building activity from PBS.

2. Investigate a cantilever bridge support and compare it with the BATS supports.

3. After reading the book, have the students write a short description of the main idea of the book. Use the phrase, “I am a engineer.. I know that _________.”

You can find more Teaching STEM lesson plans on the Teaching STEM blog

Bedtime for Chickies

Bedtime for Chickies
by Janee Trasler (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: Cheep cheep cheep! What does it take to get little Chickies to sleep? Meet the Chickies in their very first padded board book!

Snippet:
cheep cheep cheep
We can’t sleep.
We’re thirsty.

Hear the book sung in this 1:18 Bedtime for Chickies book trailer.

**Janee is one of my former students!**

The Emerald Tablet: The Forgotten Worlds

The Emerald Tablet: The Forgotten Worlds
by PJ Hoover (Author)

Booktalk: Benjamin is different from other kids—he can read minds and use telekinesis. But it isn’t until he’s sent to summer school on a hidden, underwater continent that he learns the truth. It turns out, Benjamin isn’t really human at all—and the powers he thought made him special, just make him normal. But then the mysterious Emerald Tablet chooses him as its champion and he’s thrust into a mission to save the world.

Snippet: When they arrived in the back of the store, Benjamin could make out Heidi’s voice coming from the front room.

“Are you sure the Moonstone is a more powerful telemagnifier than the Rainbow Boji Stones?” she asked.

“Oh, much more powerful,” Morpheus replied. “Have you tested your telepathic abilities in the chambers yet?”

Peek-a-Boo Bunny

Peek-a-Boo Bunny
by Holly Surplice (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: Bunny is having such a wonderfully exciting time during his forest game of hide-and-seek that he manages to miss most of his friends’ hiding places. Can you find them?

Snippet:
Bunny,
Bunny,
don’t you peek…

Bunny, Bunny, hide and seek!

What’s in the Garden?

What’s in the Garden?
by Marianne Berkes (Author) and Cris Arbo (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Good food doesn’t begin on a store shelf with a box. It comes from a garden bursting with life, color, sounds, smells, sunshine, moisture, birds, and bees! Healthy food becomes much more interesting when children know where they come from. So what’s in the garden? Kids will find a variety fruits and vegetables, and a tasty, kid-friendly recipe for each one to start a lifetime of good eating.

Snippet:
Delicious, nutritious, what could it be?
In spring there are blossoms all over the tree,
Red, green, or yellow, with fruit that is round.
If you don’t pick it, it plops to the ground.

TURN THE PAGE to see a recipe for making applesauce!

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Multimedia Artist and Animator

How can technology be used to create art? Help K-5 students answer this essential question (and meet the Common Core State Standards) with the Teaching STEM lesson plans for this mentor text: Multimedia Artist and Animator by Matt Mullins (ATOS 4.9 690L)

Unit Summary: Students will examine the essential question, “How can technology be used to create art?” They will work as individuals or in pairs to explore using an image as their canvas and adding features that will become animated after completing their creation to their satisfaction. They will explain their choices by discussing them and then writing about them on a graphic organizer. They will then relate this activity to a job using art or animation. The students or pairs will save their work for the librarian to print.

The Library Activity begins on page 104. The Collaborative Teacher Activity is on page 106.

Extension Activities (sample)

1. Turn the art they created into a four comic panel and include text to go with it.

2. Have the students design a book cover that they might like their favorite book to have in place of the current one.

3. After reading the book, have the students write a short description of the main idea of the book. Use the phrase, “I am a technology specialist. I know that _________.”

You can find more Teaching STEM lesson plans on the Teaching STEM blog

Words with Wings

Words with Wings
by Nikki Grimes (Author)

Booktalk: Gabby’s world is filled with daydreams. However, what began as an escape from her parents’ arguments has now taken over her life. But with the help of a new teacher, Gabby the dreamer might just become Gabby the writer, and words that carried her away might allow her to soar. (Verse novel)

Snippet:
Dad is a dreamer
and Mom is a maker.
I’ve been thinking,
maybe
I can be
both.

Pony Scouts: Blue Ribbon Day

Pony Scouts: Blue Ribbon Day
by Catherine Hapka (Author) and Anne Kennedy (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Meg, Jill, and Amy are thrilled to be going to the county fair. They get to help Jill’s mom prepare the ponies for the driving class competition. (Level 2 beginning reader)

Snippet:
The horse barn was busy.
“That’s the smallest pony
I’ve ever seen!” Med cried.
“Her name is Bubbles,”
a woman said with a smile.
“She’s so cute!” Jill said.