Booktalks – Page 11 – Booktalking #kidlit

The White House for Kids

The White House for Kids: A History of a Home, Office, and National Symbol, with 21 Activities
by Katherine L. House (Author)

Booktalk: Have you ever wondered what it’s like to live and work in the most important house in the country, or what it’s like to grow up there?

Kids can:

* Build a model White House

* Design an official china pattern

* Play key passages of “Hail to the Chief”

* Practice signing a bill the way presidents do

* Make White House fruit punch

* Play an aerobic game designed for President Hoover

* And much more

Snippet:
The White House itself has six levels if you count its two-story subbasement. It boasts 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, and 12 chimneys. The president and his family live mainly on the top two floors. Only family members, invited guests, and employees have the privilege of seeing those floors.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

The LEGO Neighborhood Book: Build Your Own Town!

The LEGO Neighborhood Book: Build Your Own Town!
by Brian Lyles (Author) and Jason Lyles (Author)

Booktalk: Snap together a few houses, shops, and apartment buildings to create your own neighborhood! (Complete, step-by-step instructions for four multistory buildings and dozens of inspiring ideas to use in your own models!)

Snippet:

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

Find Spot!

Find Spot!
by Stacey Previn (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: Can you spot the spots hidden in this die-cut picture book?

Snippet:
Spot crows.
Spot wakes.
Spot fries.
Spot bakes.

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by These 4 Corners.

Did You Know That I Love You?

Did You Know That I Love You?
by Christa Pierce (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: Bird sweetly expresses her love to Fox…

Snippet:
Did you know that I love you?
Who me?

Pink & Green Is the New Black

Pink & Green Is the New Black
by Lisa Greenwald (Author)

Booktalk: Lucy Desberg is in eighth grade, and she’s determined to make this year perfect. Over the course of the year, though, her talents for makeup and problem-solving will be put to the test.

Snippet: My homework is done so I go upstairs to check my e-mail.

But as soon as I sign in, I see I there’s nothing new. I had hoped that Yamir would get in touch, but both my phone and e-mail are as I left them this morning.

Football (Fantastic Sports Facts)

Football (Fantastic Sports Facts)
by Michael Hurley (Author)

Booktalk: Discover some of the most fascinating and unusual facts about the sport.

Snippet:
Fun Fact
The Super Bowl was nearly named “The Big One.”

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Rain Forest Colors

Rain Forest Colors
by Janet Lawler (Author) and Tim Laman (Photographer)

Booktalk: Yellow spiders! Blue butterflies! Green lizards! See creatures of the rain forest in 10 basic colors.

Snippet: Did you know? A tree kangaroo can safely jump down from more than fifty feet (15m) up in a tree?

Brown tree kangaroo photograph by Tim Laman

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

Larry Gets Lost in Washington, DC

Larry Gets Lost in Washington, DC
by John Skewes (Author, Illustrator), Andrew Fox (Author)

Booktalk: When Larry gets separated from the family by the scent of a yummy treat, he searches DC for his owner Pete. Along the way, Larry discovers the city’s greatest landmarks and learns about the city’s—and the nation’s—history. Larry makes friends along the way, but will he find Pete and be reunited with the family?

Snippet:
Such a big, fancy yard,
With a house painted white.
Would he find his friend here?
Larry hoped that he might.

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by A Teaching Life .

I Wish I Had. . .

I Wish I Had. . .
by Giovanna Zoboli (Author), Simona Mulazzani (Illustrator)

Booktalk: In this lyrical book, a child describes the skill and the beauty possessed by various animals…

Snippet:
I wish I had the eyes of a blackbird
to see every blade of grass
growing in the meadow.

The Reluctant Time Traveller

The Reluctant Time Traveller
by Janis MacKay (Author)

Booktalk: If Saul and Agnes don’t do something their den will be destroyed. But the title deeds that could save it were lost in 1914. Good job they know the secret of time travel! Still, is travelling back in time to a world on the verge of war really a good idea? When Agnes disappears Saul has no choice — he can’t let her go to the past on her own. 100 years before their own time, Saul and Agnes meet a brother and sister, servants at a big house where a sinister visitor is expected. Together the new friends try to uncover the mystery but Saul and Agnes know time is running out.

Snippet: I had been here before — in the future. Playing hide and seek. It had only been yesterday for me, I think, but already time was feeling too messy to be sure. I shuddered, thinking how the house was ruin then, with craggy bits still standing — like this room. Different time, same place.