March 2015 – Booktalking #kidlit

Lola Plants a Garden

Lola Plants a Garden
by Anna McQuinn (Author) and Rosalind Beardshaw (Illustrator)

Booktalk: After Lola reads a book of garden poems, she wants to plant some flowers. She gets books from the library and chooses her plants. Then Lola and her mommy buy the seeds, make the garden, and mark the rows. Now it’s time to wait. . . .

Snippet:
Lola loves her book of garden poems.
Her favorite poem
is the one about Mary Mary.

Pure Grit: How American World War II Nurses Survived Battle and Prison Camp in the Pacific

Pure Grit: How American World War II Nurses Survived Battle and Prison Camp in the Pacific
by Mary Cronk Farrell (Author)

Booktalk: In the early 1940s, young women enlisted for peacetime duty as U.S. Army nurses. But when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 blasted the United States into World War II, 101 American Army and Navy nurses serving in the Philippines were suddenly treating wounded and dying soldiers while bombs exploded all around them.

Snippet: When Ethel cruised into Manila Bay in July 1940, much of the world roiled with conflict. Germany had crushed most of Europe by using a new war tactic called blitzkrieg, where troops, tanks, and airplanes all attacked at once. Now Nazi leader Adolf Hitler prepared to blitzkrieg England. On the Far East, Japan was on the march. The previous month Britain had ordered the evacuation of all British women and children from Hong Kong, fearing Japan would capture the city. The only democratic powers left in the world were the United States and Great Britain.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Discovery Book: A Beginner’s Guide to Building and Programming Robots

The LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Discovery Book: A Beginner’s Guide to Building and Programming Robots
by Laurens Valk (Author)

Booktalk: Begin with the basics as you build and program a simple robot to experiment with motors, sensors, and EV3 programming. Then you’ll move on to a series of increasingly sophisticated robots that will show you how to work with advanced programming techniques like data wires, variables, and custom-made programming blocks. You’ll also learn essential building techniques like how to use beams, gears, and connector blocks effectively in your own designs. More than 150 building and programming challenges throughout encourage you to think creatively and apply what you’ve learned to invent your own robots.

Master the possibilities of the EV3 set as you build and program:
*The EXPLOR3R, a wheeled vehicle that uses sensors to navigate around a room and follow lines
*The FORMULA EV3 RACE CAR, a streamlined remote-controlled race car
*ANTY, a six-legged walking creature that adapts its behavior to its surroundings
*SK3TCHBOT, a robot that lets you play games on the EV3 screen
*The SNATCH3R, a robotic arm that can autonomously find, grab, lift, and move the infrared beacon
*LAVA R3X, a humanoid robot that walks and talks

See the book trailer.

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

The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations: Holiday Poems for the Whole Year in English and Spanish

The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations: Holiday Poems for the Whole Year in English and Spanish
Compiled by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong (Author)

Booktalk: Celebrate all year long with The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations—156 poems in English and SPANISH ideal for preK – grade 6. Here is an snippet from Spring by Jane Lichtenberger Patton …

Snippet:
The earth’s in bloom,
new life’s begun.
Spring’s finally sprung . . . at last!

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by Check it Out.

Ferry Tail

Ferry Tail
by Katharine Kenah (Author) and Nicole Wong (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Walter the ferry dog loved to greet cars as they came on board each morning. Fetching the captain’s newspaper and tasting the cook’s bacon were Walter’s other important jobs. Cupcake the Cat was just about the only thing Walter disliked about being a ferry dog. One rainy day the waves were rough and no one was paying much attention to Walter. Even worse, Cupcakes was poking him with her paw and playing tricks as Walter was being blamed. He decided it was time to leave the ferry!

Snippet:
One gray day the weather matched Walter’s mood. He was tired of rough waves and rainy decks. The passengers were staying inside to keep warm. They were talking, reading, working, and eating. No one seemed to need his help.

My Heart Is Laughing

My Heart Is Laughing
by Rose Lagercrantz (Author) and Eva Eriksson (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Dani’s been trying her best to stay happy ever since her best friend Ella moved away. But some girls are cruel to her . . It would all be okay if only Ella would move back.

Snippet:
“Dani, Dani,” sighed the teacher, who had overheard the conversation. “Ella is not coming back.”
“You never know,” mumbled Dani.
She was not one to give up hope, even when everything seemed hopeless.

Rad American Women A-Z

Rad American Women A-Z
Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries Who Shaped Our History . . . and Our Future!
by Kate Schatz (Author) and Miriam Klein Stahlby (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Like all A-Z books, this one illustrates the alphabet—but instead of “A is for Apple”, A is for Angela—as in Angela Davis, the iconic political activist. B is for Billie Jean King, who shattered the glass ceiling of sports; C is for Carol Burnett, who defied assumptions about women in comedy; D is for Dolores Huerta, who organized farmworkers; and E is for Ella Baker, who mentored Dr. Martin Luther King and helped shape the Civil Rights Movement.

Snippet:

B is for Billie Jean

Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King was 12 years old when she had her first tennis lesson, and she knew right away that she wanted to play tennis for the rest of her life.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Animal Helpers: Aquariums

Animal Helpers: Aquariums
by Jennifer Keats Curtis (Author)

Booktalk: Follow this behind-the-scenes photographic journal as it leads you into the wondrous world of aquariums and the animal helpers who work there.

Snippet: You won’t need a snorkel and mask in here! In an aquarium, you can trek through millions of gallons of fresh and salt water, but you won’t get wet.

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

Over on a Mountain: Somewhere in the World

Over on a Mountain: Somewhere in the World
by Marianne Berkes (Author) and Jill Dubin (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Discover twenty cool animals, ten great mountain ranges, and seven continents all in one story! And do it in the age-old style of children the world over – by clapping, counting, singing, and acting like . . . Well, animals! What fun!

Snippet:
Over on a mountain
Where leaves and berries thrive,
Lived a shy mother gorilla
and her little babies five.

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by Reading to the Core.

P. Zonka Lays An Egg

P. Zonka Lays An Egg
by Julie Paschkis (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: Extraordinary hen P. Zonka spends her time taking in the beauty around her: the shiny green of the grass, the buttery yellows of the dandelions, the deep blue of the sky. The other hens can’t understand why she never lays eggs like they do. Finally, P. Zonka gives in and lays an egg. To everyone’s delight, she produces a wondrous egg that contains all the colors and designs that she has stored in her creative imagination.

Snippet:
All of the other chicken laid eggs regularly.

All of them except P. Zonka.