Booktalk: Dirt bike racers don’t let anything stand in their way as they blaze to the finish line. Tight turns, steep hills, or huge jumps these riders brave them all. Take a look at dirt bikes, how they work, and the races they compete in.
Snippet: Dirt bikes are built to handle high jumps and sharp turns. Made to be lightweight, a dirt bike changes direction easily. Strong suspensions help riders tackle bumps and jumps. Knobby tires help grip loose dirt.
Booktalk: Will’s family is moving to Australia, and he’s worried he’ll miss his friends from his old class. But Wendy has an idea! They’ll build a class website so they can keep in touch. They’ll write news stories, add hyperlinks, and even upload photos. What news will Wendy and Will share?
Snippet:
Will and Wendy were ready to post news on the website. “Remember what Mrs. Gold told us,” Wendy reminded Will. “We shouldn’t write things on the Internet that aren’t safe for a stranger to read.
“No addresses or full names either,” agreed Will. “And Mrs. Gold or another adult should read what we write before we post it.”
It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
Apocalypse Bow Wow
by James Proimos III (Author) and James Proimos Jr. (Illustrator)
Booktalk: Brownie and Apollo are two dogs living in bliss with a big, comfy couch to laze on. But unbeknownst to them and seemingly overnight, the world has turned to utter chaos. What they do know is their owners are MIA, they are starting to get on each other’s nerves, and it’s dinner time. What has happened? Who will feed them? What if their people are gone for good?!
With bellies rumbling, Brownie and Apollo decide to set out into the wide world, where they discover other pets and stray animals who have been left behind. But not everyone is man’s best friend. It’s a dog-eat-dog world now! With the help of a friendly neighborhood police dog and a small but mighty side-kick tick, Apollo and Brownie must figure out how to survive these dark times and locate their ultimate goal: dinner!
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.
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.”
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?
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)
Booktalk: Realistic and practical advice about how teens can live an eco-conscious life, right now. They can take action by themselves, with their family, or as part of a school or community group.
Snippet: What’s in it for me?
By promoting and protecting nature, you can make the places where you live, study, and socialize more pleasant. You could help your family save money by reducing energy bills. If you can help reduce costs significantly, your parent or caregiver might reward you!
It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
Booktalk: In the early 1940s, young women enlisted for peacetime duty as U.S. Army nurses. But when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 blasted the United States into World War II, 101 American Army and Navy nurses serving in the Philippines were suddenly treating wounded and dying soldiers while bombs exploded all around them.
Snippet: When Ethel cruised into Manila Bay in July 1940, much of the world roiled with conflict. Germany had crushed most of Europe by using a new war tactic called blitzkrieg, where troops, tanks, and airplanes all attacked at once. Now Nazi leader Adolf Hitler prepared to blitzkrieg England. On the Far East, Japan was on the march. The previous month Britain had ordered the evacuation of all British women and children from Hong Kong, fearing Japan would capture the city. The only democratic powers left in the world were the United States and Great Britain.
Booktalk: Begin with the basics as you build and program a simple robot to experiment with motors, sensors, and EV3 programming. Then you’ll move on to a series of increasingly sophisticated robots that will show you how to work with advanced programming techniques like data wires, variables, and custom-made programming blocks. You’ll also learn essential building techniques like how to use beams, gears, and connector blocks effectively in your own designs. More than 150 building and programming challenges throughout encourage you to think creatively and apply what you’ve learned to invent your own robots.
Master the possibilities of the EV3 set as you build and program:
*The EXPLOR3R, a wheeled vehicle that uses sensors to navigate around a room and follow lines
*The FORMULA EV3 RACE CAR, a streamlined remote-controlled race car
*ANTY, a six-legged walking creature that adapts its behavior to its surroundings
*SK3TCHBOT, a robot that lets you play games on the EV3 screen
*The SNATCH3R, a robotic arm that can autonomously find, grab, lift, and move the infrared beacon
*LAVA R3X, a humanoid robot that walks and talks
