Anastasia Suen – Page 46 – Booktalking #kidlit

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.

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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!”

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School Visit at John Paul II High School

Thanks for a great day, Cardinals!

Special thanks to Media Specialists Gracelyn Shea and Linda Berger!

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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.

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Literary Links

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

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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.
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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.
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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)
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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)
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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

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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.
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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.
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Literary Links

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

Peskin to Head FSG Books for Young Readers (via @publisherswkly)
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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!
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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.
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Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday

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

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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.

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Literary Links

Buerkle to Join Kingfisher (via @publisherswkly)
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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.

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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.

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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.

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Poetry Friday

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

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Nonfiction Monday on January 9, 2012

Nonfiction Monday is coming!

The Nonfiction Monday Round-up on January 9, 2012

is at Great Kid Books.

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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
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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.
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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.

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Literary Links

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

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

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

Reading is like oxygen (via The Globe and Mail)
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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Reading, Reading, Reading…

Picture Book of the Day

How to Hug
by Maryann MacDonald (Author) and Jana Christy (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Hugs can be tricky! But you can learn how to hug. Follow the directions in this book…

Snippet:
Neve hug anyone who’s angry.
It can take time to get over it,
so just be patient.
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Chapter Book of the Day

The Poisoned House
by Michael Ford (Author)
328 pages

Booktalk: Life can be cruel for a servant girl in 1850s London. Fifteen-year-old Abi is a scullery maid in Greave Hall, an elegant but troubled hoursehold. As an otherworldly presence makes itself known, a deadly secret is revealed–a secret that will shatter everything Abi Knows.
gat will shatter everytihg that Abi knows.

Snippet: The struts and beams of the new station at Charing Cross rose in the darkeness behind. I ran across a square. It was New Year’s Day in the year of Our Lord 1855 and on the ground lay the remnants of the previous night’s celebration: bunting, bones of fish and fowl and rotting fruit aplenty.
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My Book of the Week

Face-Off by Anastasia Suen (writing as Jake Maddox)
A hockey novel

Kyle wants to be a great hockey player, just like his brother, Caleb. Unfortunately, Kyle spends a lot of time sitting on the bench. The only way he’ll ever catch up to his brother’s goal total is if the coach lets him play more, and if his teammates begin to accept him. If Kyle can get his head in the game when he is on the ice, he might have a chance at scoring some major points for the team.

Guided Reading level: M
Lexile Level: 470L
ATOS Level: 3.2
AR Quiz Number: 109966
Library Binding / Paperback: 72 pages
Publisher: Stone Arch Books

Book Activities:

Explore the Science of Hockey.

Find the words in this hockey word search.

Make your own Hockey Word Search.

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Online Writing Workshops

The NEW Children’s Chapter Books Workshop is Jan 4-Feb 22, 2012.

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Literary Links

Six Reasons Your Child Needs Pretend Play (via @imaginationsoup)
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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Nonfiction Monday

Picture Book of the Day

Weird but True Weather (Weird But True Science)
by Carmen Bredeson (Author)

Booktalk: Snow donuts? Dust devils? Clouds that look like flying saucers? Can this really be true? Find out in this easy-to-read information book.

Snippet:
Rain: This water fell on the dinosaurs!
Rain falls on you. Rain fell on the dinosaurs. It might be the same rain. Water on Earth is used over and over. It is called the water cycle.
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Chapter Book of the Day

Don’t Behave Like You Live in a Cave (Laugh & Learn)
by Elizabeth Verdick (Author) and Steve Mark (Illustrator)
128 pages

Booktalk: Full-color cartoons and humorous, kid-friendly text teach kids how to make smarter choices about how they behave at home and at school so they stay out of trouble, feel good about themselves and their choices, and get along better with family, friends, and teachers.

Snippet: This book isn’t about turning you into a “perfect” person, a goody-goody, the teacher’s pet, or some kind of robot-kid. Instead, it can help you take a look at how you act and how other people react. Do your actions help you–or do they hurt you?
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Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday

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

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Nonfiction Book Blast 2012

12 for 2012
by Anastasia Suen, panel moderator

Happy New Year, everyone! It’s time to introduce the Nonfiction Book Blast panel for 2012…

Beginning next Monday, these twelve nonfiction authors will be sharing booktalks and activities for your classroom and library. On Nonfiction Monday through the winter and the spring, they will take you behind the scenes of their new books. Each author will share twice, so this series will last from January 9th to June 18th. On the first day of summer, the big event arrives…

The American Library Association will hold its 2012 Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA from June 21–26. I’m happy to say that ALSC has invited Nonfiction Book Blast: Booktalks and Activities for Your Library to be on the program again this year!

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

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Literary Links

Join the Marvelous Middle Grade Read-a-thon-January 2, 2012-January 8, 2012
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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Friday Reads

Picture Book of the Day

It’s Almost Time
by Debbie Bernstein (Author) and Sarah Chalek (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Two friends make their way through a clock-filled house, counting down, ready for all the different clock sounds to mark the hour. Cover your ears; it’s going to be noisy!

Snippet:
Tick-tick-tock.
It’s almost time.
The gears are winding,
getting ready to chime.
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Chapter Book of the Day

Planet Earth: What Planet Are You On? (Basher Science)
by Dan Gilpin (Author), Simon Basher (Author, Illustrator)
128 pages

Booktalk: A handy intro to earth science, with a new concept after each page turn.

Snippet: It’s a wide, wild world out there. Planet Earth is filled to the bursting point with Rivers, Mountain Ranges, Weather systems, Climate zones, Ocean Currents, Biomes, and all kinds of what-have-yous. There’s so much to understand about our planet that the mind boggles.
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STEM Friday

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

This week’s STEM Friday Round-up is hosted by Red Phoenix Books.

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Poetry Friday

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by The Drift Record

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Nonfiction Monday on January 2, 2012

Nonfiction Monday is coming!

The Nonfiction Monday Round-up on January 2, 2012

is at The Nonfiction Detectives.

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Happy New Year! See you in 2012!

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My NEW picture book is Road Work Ahead (Viking)