Chapter Book of the Day – Page 7

Park Scientists: Gila Monsters, Geysers, and Grizzly Bears in America’s Own Backyard

Park Scientists: Gila Monsters, Geysers, and Grizzly Bears in America’s Own Backyard (Scientists in the Field Series)
by Mary Kay Carson (Author) and Tom Uhlman (Illustrator)

Booktalk: America’s National Parks are protected places and have become living museums for as many as 270 million visitors per year! In addition, researchers are able to perform long term studies of a wide number of subjects from salamanders the size of thumbnails to gigantic geothermal geysers. These parks are natural laboratories for scientists.

Snippet: Taking care of the parks in the responsibility of the National Park Service. NPS depends on scientists to study the best ways to preserve and protect the landscapes and life forms under its care. Park scientists track numbers of bears, eagles, and sequoia trees. They monitor volcanoes, measure glaciers, and look after caves. Scientists in parks collect weather information, restore habitats, and oversee animal populations.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Manga Classics: Les Miserables

Manga Classics: Les Miserables
by Victor Hugo (Author), Stacy King (Editor), and SunNeko Lee (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Adapted for stage and screen, loved by millions, Victor Hugo’s classic novel of love & tragedy during the French Revolution now appears in a new manga adaptation of Les Miserables. (So read from right to left…)

Snippet:

Preview the first chapter.

Reporting Under Fire: 16 Daring Women War Correspondents and Photojournalists

Reporting Under Fire: 16 Daring Women War Correspondents and Photojournalists
by Kerrie Logan Hollihan (Author)

Booktalk: A profile of 16 courageous women journalists who risked their lives to bring back scoops from the front lines. Without exception, these war correspondents share a singular ambition: to answer an inner call driving them to witness war firsthand, and to share what they learn via words or images.

Snippet: Peggy [Hull] may have dressed to fit in, but the fact was that any girl reporter would cause a ruckus among thousands of soldiers. Even General Pershing knew her name. Peggy had ridden out to meet the general as he led his soldiers back from Mexico, and their picture ran the next day in the Morning Times. Pershing was not pleased to see himself upstaged by Peggy, whose place in the photo made it seem as if she had led the parade.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

The Young World

The Young World
by Chris Weitz (Author)

Booktalk: Welcome to New York, a city ruled by teens.

After a mysterious Sickness wipes out the rest of the population, the young survivors assemble into tightly run tribes. Jefferson, the reluctant leader of the Washington Square tribe, and Donna, the girl he’s secretly in love with, have carved out a precarious existence among the chaos. But when another tribe member discovers a clue that may hold the cure to the Sickness, five teens set out on a life-altering road trip to save humankind.

The tribe exchanges gunfire with enemy gangs, escapes cults and militias, braves the wilds of the subway and Central Park…and discovers truths they could never have imagined.

Snippet:
We did a whole lot of corpse-burning back in the day. Cleansing by fire, Wash called it. Said some dudes called the Zoroastrians used to do it. Yes, I spelled that right. I may not be all SAT-wordy like Wash and Jeff, but no way are they gonna lord it over me, knowing bonus words and shit.

Cleansing by fire! Those were some good times. Douse a bandanna in Chanel No. 5, put on some sassy pink North Face gloves, and heave ho! Make a big pile of bodies and try not to use too much gasoline and try not to lose the lunch you didn’t have enough of.

Not enough hands or time to get rid of all the bodies, though. And they’re still out there, millions of them, slowly turning to mulch, pulsing with maggots. It has been a banner year for carrion eaters.

Shelter

Shelter
by Patricia H. Aust (Author)

Booktalk: Miguel’s dad is at it again—physically abusing his mom and sister and terrorizing Miguel for no good reason. But when Miguel’s mom and sister, who have been whispering to one another for some time, decide to stand up to the abuse and decide to move to a women’s shelter, Miguel’s life begins to take turns he never expected. After the family moves out, it isn’t long before Miguel’s dad promises to change his ways before once again becoming abusive; leaving Miguel to summon the courage to stand up to the man he thought he loved.

Snippet: In one way, it’s good we won’t be home for a few days. It’s always hard for me when Dad hurts Mom and she has to hide her injuries. Lie to her boss and friends.

But this is worse. One look at her face and Ellie’s leg and anyone would know something’s wrong. They’ll pity us, think we’re freaks. Maybe even call the cops or the State.

What was Dad thinking?

Mom pulls into a paved driveway. “Is this the shelter?” Ellie asks.

Mr Strike Out

Mr. Strike Out by Anastasia Suen (writing as Jake Maddox)

A baseball novel

David Gray is notorious in his baseball league, notorious for striking out, both as a pitcher and a batter. He spends so much time practicing his pitching, he has never honed his batting skills. After learning about the great Babe Ruth, David becomes determined to be a better all-around player, which means he’ll have to learn how to bat. With some help from a teammate, David hopes to never hear the words “Mr. Strike Out” again.

Copyright: 2007
Guided Reading level: J
Lexile Level: 380L
ATOS Level: 2.7
AR Quiz Number: 109968
Library Binding / Paperback: 72 pages
Publisher: Stone Arch Books

Book Activities:

Play Math Baseball (If your answer is correct, you will get a hit!)

Explore the Science of Baseball. Test your baseball reaction time, learn how to throw a curveball and how to find the “sweet spot” on a bat.

At Teachers Corner, you can print baseball journal pages, and create your own baseball crossword, word search or word scramble pages.

Find out what happened Today in Baseball History.

The Technology of Baseball

The Technology of Baseball (High-Tech Sports)
by Thomas K. Adamson (Author),

Booktalk: Take me out to the ballgame or just watch the game from your phone! From motion capture technology to software such as GameChanger and PitchTrax, the tech world has become a regular part of Americas national pastime.

Snippet: Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants pitches with motion capture sensors attached to his body. The sensors provide data that will help Lincecum’s delivery look more realistic than a video game.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Just So, Brianna

Just So, Brianna by Anastasia Suen
All-Star Cheerleaders (Book #3)

Ages 5-9
ATOS Level: 2.6
Lexile Level: 300L
AR Quiz Number: 153277
96 pages
Publisher: Kane Miller

Booktalk: Brianna wants everything to be perfect, and that includes her cheer moves. She practices and practices, and even then, sometimes not everything is “just so.”

Snippet:
“Really?” said Victoria. “The baby can fly?” She looked down at Brianna as if she didn’t believe it.

Brianna looked over at Victoria. I’ll show you what I can do.

Hazel Mitchell did a great job with the illustrations in this chapter book series. You can find activities for each book and see the entire squad at the All-Star Cheerleaders webpage…

If It Rains Pancakes: Haiku and Lantern Poems

If It Rains Pancakes: Haiku and Lantern Poems (Poetry Adventures)
by Brian P. Cleary (Author) and Andy Rowland (Illustrator)

Booktalk: What is a haiku? It sounds like a sneeze. And isn’t a lantern a light source? Actually, they are two types of ancient Japanese poetry. See how each form works– and how these little poems can contain big surprises! (And when you’ve finished reading, you can try your hand at writing your own haiku and lanterns!) Here is a lantern poem…

Snippet:

Slush—
gulping
icy treat.
Getting brain freeze.
Whoa.

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by Buffy’s Blog.

Quinny & Hopper

Quinny & Hopper
by Adriana Brad Schanen (Author) and Greg Swearingen (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Quinny has a lot to say. Hopper gets to the point.

Quinny has one speed: very, very, extra-very fast. Hopper proceeds with caution.

Quinny has big ideas. Hopper has smart solutions.

Quinny and Hopper couldn’t be more different. They are an unstoppable team.

But when summer ends, things suddenly aren’t the same.

Snippet: “Quinny Bumble, get down from there!” calls Mom from the sidewalk.

The good news is, in eight years I’ll be old enough to drive this thing.

The grumpy news is, today we’re moving.

We = me + Mom + Dad + Pee-U Piper + icky-sticky-screamy Cleo + 147 boxes of all our stuff.

Good-bye New York City. Hello, some other place in the middle of nowhere that we have to go live for Mom’s new job.