Booktalks – Page 29 – Booktalking #kidlit

Founding Mothers: Remembering the Ladies

Founding Mothers: Remembering the Ladies
by Cokie Roberts (Author) and Diane Goode (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Details gleaned from letters, private journals, lists, and ledgers tell the story of the female patriots of the American Revolution.

Snippet:
ELIZA LUCAS PINCKNEY
Eliza Lucas was only sixteen years old when her father went off to fight for England against Spain and left her in charge of three plantations in South Carolina.

March is Women’s History Month.
For more great titles, follow the KidLit Celebrates Women’s History Month blog.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Rivers

Rivers
by Claire Llewellyn (Author)

Booktalk: Beginning readers can learn all about rivers in this level 4 reader.

Snippet:
The flowing river
The place where a river starts is called the source. From the source, a river flows downhill on its journey to the sea. The path the river takes is called its course.

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

Opposites

Opposites
by Ingrid & Dieter Schubert (Authors & Illustrators)

Booktalk: One word per page as opposites face off. (The image on the cover is “crazy” — the facing page is “normal”)

Snippet:

Down

Robot Rumpus

Robot Rumpus
by Sean Taylor (Author) and Ross Collins (Illustrator)

Booktalk: When a young girl’s parents go out for the evening, they think they’ve left their daughter in safe hands with robots designed to get her to bed! There’s Cook-bot to make great spaghetti for dinner, Clean-bot to do the washing-up, Wash-bot for bath time, and even Book-bot for a bedtime story. What could possibly go wrong?

Snippet:
Wash-bot ran a bath.
It said, “YOU WILL BE SPIC AND SPAN.”
I got my bath toys down off the shelf.
But that’s when the rumpus began.

The Spelling Bee Before Recess

The Spelling Bee Before Recess
by Deborah Lee Rose (Author) and Carey Armstrong-Ellis (Illustrator)

Booktalk: It’s right before recess, and the annual school spelling bee is down to just three spellers. Who will win?

Snippet:
The students were squirming
but none made a sound,
as the spelling bee entered
its championship round.

Under the Freedom Tree

Under the Freedom Tree
by Susan VanHecke (Author) and London Ladd (Illustrator)

Booktalk: One night in 1861, three escaped slaves made their way from the Confederate line to a Union-held fort. The runaways were declared “contraband of war” and granted protection. As word spread, thousands of runaway slaves poured into the fort, seeking their freedom.

Snippet:
1861
May moon
gleams
bright as
Colonel’s buttons.

Three slip out unseen.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Computer Games Designer

Computer Games Designer
by Mark Featherstone (Author)

Booktalk: People young and old love playing computer games, but what goes into making them? From simple games created by one person, to big blockbusters made by a huge team, there is an amazing range of games. Find out whats involved in developing computer games, the tools and skills you need, and the difficulties of managing a complex process.

Snippet:
What does a games programmer do?
Programming is all about breaking everything down into smaller and more easily understandable parts. A program is like a machine: it is built out of many interlocking pieces. When you look at the whole problem, you cannot even begin to understand how you might tackle it, but if you look at just one small piece, it becomes easier.

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

Flora and the Flamingo

Flora and the Flamingo
by Molly Idle (Author)

Booktalk: In this innovative wordless picture book with interactive flaps, Flora and her graceful flamingo friend explore the trials and joys of friendship through an elaborate synchronized dance. A 2014 Caldecott Honor Book

Snippet: See the pages turn and the flaps lift in this Flora and the Flamingo book trailer

Tulip Loves Rex

Tulip Loves Rex
by Alyssa Satin Capucilli (Author) and Sarah Massini (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Tulip loves to dance, and every night, she makes a wish. When will it come true?

Snippet:
And in the evening, when she sent her wish-upon-the-stars,
it was always the very same wish, off with a bent and a sway.
It seemed the very best way.
Tulip loved to dance.

Love Is in the Air

Love Is in the Air
by Jonathan Fenske (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: A lonely balloon falls in love with a lively kite in this level 2 beginning reader.

Snippet:
The cake was gone.
The boys and girls were home.
But Balloon was still tied
to the table.