Booktalks – Page 26 – Booktalking #kidlit

What’s in the Pond, Dear Dragon?

What’s in the Pond, Dear Dragon?
by Margaret Hillert (Author) and David Schimmell (Illustrator)

Booktalk: What will the boy and his toy dragon see in the pond? Beginning reader

Snippet: WOW!
Look at that big turtle in the sand.

On the Move: Mass Migrations

On the Move: Mass Migrations
by Scotti Cohn (Author) and Susan Detwiler (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Imagine seeing hundreds of the same type of animal gathered at the same place at the same time! Right here in North America, many animals gather in huge numbers at predictable times and locations. Not all migrations are tied to seasonal food changes, some are tied to life cycles. Certain birds, reptiles, mammals, amphibians, fish, and even insects migrate during spring, summer, fall, or winter. Travel along with them as you learn about what puts these animals On the Move.

Snippet: Spring swoops onto the prairie on a brisk, bold breeze. A warbling, trumpeting, chirping noise gets louder and louder. Soon hundreds of thousands of sandhill cranes fill the sky. They’re on the move!

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Can You See Me?

Can You See Me?
by Ted Lewin (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: With simple text and lush watercolor illustrations, Caldecott Honor winner Ted Lewin invites readers to explore animal camouflage in the rain forest in this beginning reader.

Snippet:
I’m a bird.
Can you see me?

On the last page of the book, the bird appears in a small circle with the label, TOUCAN.

Little White Rabbit

Little White Rabbit (Board Book)
by Kevin Henkes (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: Little white rabbit hops along, exploring and wondering. What would it be like to be as tall as a tree? Or as still as a rock? Or green, like the bright spring world around him? It’s wonderful to wonder about many things and exciting to explore the world—but true happiness is knowing where you belong and who loves you best of all.

Snippet: When he hopped through the high grass,
he wondered what it would be like to be green.

Easter Bunny on the Loose!: A Seek and Solve Mystery!

Easter Bunny on the Loose!: A Seek and Solve Mystery!
by Wendy Wax (Author) and Dave Garbot (Illustrator)

Booktalk: The Easter Bunny can’t wait to hippity-hop his way to deliver all the Easter eggs this year! The only problem is . . . there are no eggs! Some-bunny has taken the Easter Bunny’s golden egg, and without the golden egg, Easter is on HOLD. Can you sort through all of the possible suspects hopping about Easterville and find the culprit who stole the golden egg?

Snippet: Emergency in Easterville! One of these suspects stole the Easter Bunny’s Golden Egg! The Easter Bunny is on the lookout for clues that the egg-snatcher left behind. It’s up to you to figure out who did it.

Sorting Through Spring

Sorting Through Spring (Math in Nature)
by Lizann Flatt (Author) and Ashley Barron (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Numbers, patterns, shapes — and much more! — can be found by observing everyday plants and animals.

Snippet:
Would prairie chickens practice their moves so they match?
Woo-woo flap, stampity stomp-stamp.

Can you perform this pattern?

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Build It

What keeps a bridge from falling down? Help K-5 students answer this essential question (and meet the Common Core State Standards) with the Teaching STEM lesson plans for this mentor text: Build It! by Tammy Enz (GRL Q / G740L)

Unit Summary: Students will examine the essential question, “What keeps a bridge from falling down?” In groups, students will search for and locate information related to the four major kinds of bridge supports— beams, arches, trusses, and suspension. They will complete a graphic organizer to explain how each of the four supports work to hold up bridges. Then they will use toothpicks or Popsicle sticks to practice forming arches or trusses and use that knowledge to plan and draw a design for a bridge of their own for their group.

The Library Activity begins on page 130. The Collaborative Teacher Activity is on page 132.

Extension Activities(sample)

1. Have the students do an interactive bridge building activity from PBS.

2. Investigate a cantilever bridge support and compare it with the BATS supports.

3. After reading the book, have the students write a short description of the main idea of the book. Use the phrase, “I am a engineer.. I know that _________.”

You can find more Teaching STEM lesson plans on the Teaching STEM blog

Bedtime for Chickies

Bedtime for Chickies
by Janee Trasler (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: Cheep cheep cheep! What does it take to get little Chickies to sleep? Meet the Chickies in their very first padded board book!

Snippet:
cheep cheep cheep
We can’t sleep.
We’re thirsty.

Hear the book sung in this 1:18 Bedtime for Chickies book trailer.

**Janee is one of my former students!**

The Emerald Tablet: The Forgotten Worlds

The Emerald Tablet: The Forgotten Worlds
by PJ Hoover (Author)

Booktalk: Benjamin is different from other kids—he can read minds and use telekinesis. But it isn’t until he’s sent to summer school on a hidden, underwater continent that he learns the truth. It turns out, Benjamin isn’t really human at all—and the powers he thought made him special, just make him normal. But then the mysterious Emerald Tablet chooses him as its champion and he’s thrust into a mission to save the world.

Snippet: When they arrived in the back of the store, Benjamin could make out Heidi’s voice coming from the front room.

“Are you sure the Moonstone is a more powerful telemagnifier than the Rainbow Boji Stones?” she asked.

“Oh, much more powerful,” Morpheus replied. “Have you tested your telepathic abilities in the chambers yet?”

Peek-a-Boo Bunny

Peek-a-Boo Bunny
by Holly Surplice (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: Bunny is having such a wonderfully exciting time during his forest game of hide-and-seek that he manages to miss most of his friends’ hiding places. Can you find them?

Snippet:
Bunny,
Bunny,
don’t you peek…

Bunny, Bunny, hide and seek!