March 2015 – Page 2 – Booktalking #kidlit

Last-But-Not-Least Lola and the Wild Chicken

Last-But-Not-Least Lola and the Wild Chicken
by Christine Pakkala (Author) and Paul Hoppe (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Lola has patched things up with frenemy Amanda Anderson, but it’s not happily ever after for these two best friends, at least not yet. Lola doesn’t want to share Amanda, especially not with Jessie, who seems to be around . . . all the time. Can there be more than two best friends? And what does a wild chicken have to do with anything? (Hint: The answer involves a class trip to a farm.)

Snippet:
“I remember that field trip,” Jack says. “The teacher brings back a big bag of chicken poop to class.”
Grandma purses her red lips tight.
I shake my head. “I don’t believe you.”

From Bulb to Tulip

From Bulb to Tulip (Start to Finish)
by Lisa Owings (Author)

Booktalk: How do onion-shaped tulip bulbs become the beautiful blooms in your garden? Follow each step in the process—from planting the bulbs to caring for the flowers—and see it for yourself!

Snippet:
In spring, the tulips sprout.

The tulips sprout when the weather gets warm enough in the spring. Green leaves emerge from the pointy tips of the bulbs. They slowly push up through the soil.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

The Secret Galaxy

The Secret Galaxy
by Fran Hodgkins (Author) and Mike Taylor (Illustrator)

Booktalk: The Milky Way tells its own story in this book (with fact sidebars) for stargazers.

Snippet:
I whirl in a spiral with my starry arms trailing.
You and Earth and your sun and solar system
are on one arm, but don’t worry.
Gravity holds everything together.
No stars get left behind.

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

Water Can Be . . .

Water Can Be . . .
by Laura Purdie Salas (Author) and Violeta Dabija (Illustrator)

Booktalk: This poetic exploration of water throughout the year begins (right now!) with spring . . .

Snippet:
Water is water–
it’s puddle, pond, sea.
When springtime comes splashing,
the water flows free.

See the book trailer.

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by Robyn Campbell.

Stanley the Farmer

Stanley the Farmer
by William Bee (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: It’s going to be a busy day down on Stanley’s Farm! From plowing the field, to planting the seeds, to harvesting the wheat, Stanley has a lot to do. Luckily, his friends Shamus and Little Woo come to help him.

Snippet: The first thing to do is plow the field so Stanley can plant some wheat. He pulls the green plow with his red tractor.

See the book trailer.

Dance of the Banished

Dance of the Banished
by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (Author)

Booktalk: Ali and Zeynep are young and in love. But the Anatolian teenagers are caught in circumstances that threaten to separate them forever. While Ali has found passage to Canada, war breaks out in 1914; he is declared an enemy alien. Unable to convince his captors that he is a refugee from an oppressive regime, he is thrown in an internment camp, where he must count himself lucky to have a roof over his head and food to eat. Meanwhile, left behind in a country plunged into war and revolution, Zeynep is determined to stay alive—despite the impossible odds—and find a way to save her Christian Armenian neighbors from the horrors of the Armenian Genocide. But if she succeeds, will Zeynep still find a way to cross a continent and an ocean to find Ali again? And if she does, will he still be waiting for her?

Snippet: May 1, 1915
Soldiers went door-to-door today, searching Christian houses for weapons and any bit of paper that proves a person is a traitor. I was terrified that they would find this journal. I haven’t said anything against the government, but even talking about starving soldiers might be considered treason.

The Final Four: All about College Basketball’s Biggest Event

The Final Four: All about College Basketball’s Biggest Event
by Mary E. Schulte (Author)

Booktalk: Each year in March, college basketball teams hope to be part of one of the biggest sports events in the country. The NCAA tournament starts with 68 teams and is gradually reduced to the Final Four. But just one of them will become the national NCAA champion!

Snippet:
March Madness
Every year millions of basketball fans look forward to March Madness. Broadcaster Brent Musberger first used the phrase “March Madness” while covering the 1982 NCAA tournament, and the nickname stuck.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!