April 2015 – Booktalking #kidlit

Go, Pea, Go!

Go, Pea, Go!
by Joe Moshier and Chris Sonnenburg

Booktalk: Yes, it’s a book about potty training! And when your child is in that stage of life, a book like this can be very helpful. (Notice the end of the yellow road on the back cover below? Enough said.)

Pea Junior has to go, go, go, go! The end feels so far away, but with his family and friends cheering him on, Pea knows he can make it and go number one!

A potty chart, a sheet of stickers, and the lyrics and music notation for the “Go, Pea, Go!” song are included to make an easy, all-in-one, go-to book for parents to help ease the pressure of the race to the Pea Bowl.

Snippet:
This is Pea Junior,
but he can’t say hello.

It’s time for the race
and he must…

Go! Go! Go! GO!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This contest will run from 4/22 to 5/4 @ 12 AM EST. We will give away ONE prize pack that includes a pea plush, pea beach ball, pea tote bag, pea hair clips, stickers, and a copy of the book. THREE people will win a pack including a pea beach ball, pea postcards, stickers, and a copy of the book. FIVE runners up will receive a copy of the book and stickers. Winners will be contacted by email and must notify us within 48 hours of the notification email with address and acceptance. Please note that winners can be from the US only.

GO, PEA, GO! Blog Tour

4/22 A Girl and a Boy

4/23 Stacking Books

4/24 Geo Librarian

4/25 Art, Books, Coffee

4/27 Coffee for the Brain

4/28 Mrs. Brown Loves Bookworms

4/29 Unpacking the POWER of Picture Books

4/30 Booktalking #kidlit

5/1 Unleashing Readers

The Curious Cat Spy Club

The Curious Cat Spy Club
by Linda Joy Singleton (Author)

Booktalk: No one at school knows that Kelsey, Becca, and Leo are secretly friends. They have nothing in common–until they rescue three kittens and form a club to help animals through volunteering, spying, and solving mysteries. In the first book of this series, Kelsey helps catch a runaway zorse (horse + zebra) with the help of another girl from school named Becca. The two are walking home when they happen upon a litter of kittens trapped in a dumpster and Leo Polanski is the only person around who can help get them out. The three unlikely friends decide to work together to help solve animal crimes with their secret club!

Snippet: I turn to run fast and far from this creepy alley but I only get a few feet before I stop again. I clearly hear mewing. Not just one mew but a chorus of shrilled, scared mews–trapped inside the dumpster.
Kittens.

One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia

One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia
by Miranda Paul (Author) and Elizabeth Zunon (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Plastic bags are cheap and easy to use. But what happens when a bag breaks or is no longer needed? In Njau, Gambia, people simply dropped the bags and went on their way. One plastic bag became two. Then ten. Then a hundred. The bags accumulated in ugly heaps alongside roads. Water pooled in them, bringing mosquitoes and disease. Some bags were burned, leaving behind a terrible smell. Some were buried, but they strangled gardens. They killed livestock that tried to eat them. Something had to change.

Snippet: Isatou pauses. She and Peggy have an idea. But will their friends this it is crazy? Will the idea even work?
Nervously, she explains her plan.
One friend agrees to help.
Then two.
Then five!
The women cut the bags into strips and roll them into spools of plastic thread. Before long, they teach themselves how to crochet with this thread.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Wild Ideas: Let Nature Inspire Your Thinking

Wild Ideas: Let Nature Inspire Your Thinking
by Elin Kelsey (Author) and Soyeon Kim (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Look deep into the forests, skies, and oceans to explore how animals solve problems . . .

Snippet:
Problems are like sticker burrs.
They poke.
They prick.
They nag.

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

Juna’s Jar

Juna’s Jar
by Jane Bahk (Author) and Felicia Hoshino (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Juna and her best friend, Hector, have many adventures together, and they love to collect things in empty kimchi jars. Then one day, Hector unexpectedly moves away without having a chance to say good-bye.

Snippet: Juan was very sad. When she got home, her big brother, Minho, tried to cheer her up. He took Juna to Mr. Lee’s pet shop and bought her a small fish.

Juna watched the fish swim in her jar.

My Bike

My Bike
by Byron Barton (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: After Tom describes all the parts of his bike, he rides the bike to work . . . at the circus!

Snippet:
I ride
my bicycle
to work.

Dance Divas: Showstopper

Dance Divas: Showstopper
by Sheryl Berk (Author)

Booktalk: Anya is just getting used to being the newest member of the Dance Divas when her parents want her to move back home to L.A. to study dance “more seriously,” which means she may have to say goodbye to Divas forever. The timing couldn’t be worse. City Feet is back with a vengeance at the Smooth Moves Competition in Las Vegas. Without Anya, Miss Toni has to reshuffle the entire group number at the last minute (good thing it’s called “Deck of Cards”!). Meanwhile, mean Justine has a few tricks up her sleeve: her group dance is a magic act that promises to make all the competition disappear! Who will win? And what will happen to Anya?

Snippet:
“We’re in L.A. and you and your mother are in New Jersey. It’s not a good situation for any of us,” her father said, raising his voice. “We hoped you would be able to see and understand that.”

The Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks
by Mark Stewart (Author)

Booktalk: It’s that time again! Who will win this year’s Stanley Cup? Read about your favorite hockey team in the Team Spirit series. Here is a snippet from The Chicago Blackhawks.

Snippet: There are many ways to win a championship in the National Hockey League (NHL). Some teams depend on superstars to carry them to victory. Others overwhelm opponents with wave after wave of hardworking skaters. Then there are the unexpected champions–the teams that make fans scratch their heads and wonder: How did they do that?

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Steampunk LEGO

Steampunk LEGO
by Guy Himber (Author)

Booktalk: Grab your brass goggles and join fictional explorer Sir Herbert Jobson as he travels the world cataloguing its technological wonders for Queen Victoria.

Snippet:

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

An Ambush of Tigers: A Wild Gathering of Collective Nouns

An Ambush of Tigers: A Wild Gathering of Collective Nouns
by Betsy R. Rosenthal (Author) and Jago (Illustrator)

Booktalk: A fun-filled romp through the animal kingdom introduces collective nouns for animals through wordplay (one of the three stages of poetry appreciation).

Snippet:
Do you ever wonder
what animals do
when they gather in groups
of more than two?

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by Life on the Deckle Edge.