Easy Readers – Page 3 – Booktalking #kidlit

Batman versus Man-Bat

Batman versus Man-Bat (Batman Classic)
by J. E. Bright (Author), Steven E. Gordon (Illustrator) and Eric A. Gordon (Illustrator)

Booktalk: When a half-man, half-bat creature attacks Gotham City, the police think Batman has gone mad. To clear his name, Batman has to defeat the fiendish foe. (Level 2 beginning reader)

Snippet:
It was a moonless night.
Two Gotham City police officers
shouted in shock as a giant bat
landed on their patrol car.
The olice officers ran for safety.
One radioed Commissioner Gordon.
“Batman just smashed our car!”
he yelled into his walkie talkie.

5 Great Books About Spring

Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa: Spring Babies
by Erica Silverman (Author) and Betsy Lewin (Illustrator)
New babies are born on the ranch. (See the video!) Easy reader with 5 chapters

How Do You Know It’s Spring?
by Allan Fowler
Learn the facts in this Rookie Read About Science easy reader.

Poppleton In Spring
by Cynthia Rylant (Author) and Mark Teague (Illustrator)
See how Poppleton welcomes spring. Easy reader with 3 chapters

Spring Is Here!: A Story About Seeds
by Joan Holub (Author) and Will Terry (Illustrator)
The Ant Hill kids plant their own garden. Pre-Level 1 easy reader

Spring Showers
by Samantha Brooke (Adapter) and Mike Giles (Illustrator)
It’s spring in Gabba Land, and that means spring showers. Pre-Level 1 easy reader

Zig and Wikki in The Cow

Zig and Wikki in The Cow
by Nadja Spiegelman (Author) and Trade Loeffler (Illustrator)

Booktalk: When alien pals Zig and Wikki lose their spaceship on Earth, their friendship is definitely in trouble. In order to get home, they must travel underground and through a cow, picking up fun facts about ecology (and picking fights) along the way. This funny science-based easy-reader comic is packed with fast-paced adventure and facts about poop: what more could a young reader want?

Snippet:

WIKKI: And how do you know it’s him?

ZIG: I’d recognize that cute face anywhere.

(close up of a fly’s face)

WIKKI: For someone who’s so cute, he sure looks like he’s eating POOP.

ZIG: REALLY? That can’t be good for him.

Swimming

Swimming (Sports for Sprouts)
by Tracy N. Maurer (Author)

Booktalk: See what happens when you take swimming lessons in this simple book for beginning readers…

Snippet: We swim in a pool.

Francis Scott Key’s Star-Spangled Banner

Francis Scott Key’s Star-Spangled Banner
by Monica Kulling (Author) and Richard Walz (Illustrator)

Booktalk: What’s the true story behind “The Star-Spangled Banner”? Find out in this Level 3 easy reader biography. (Happy Flag Day!)

Snippet:

Francis Scott Key
loved writing poems.
He wrote them
on horseback.
He wrote them
late at night.

Once Francis
even wrote a poem
after a battle.
It became
America’s national anthem.

Block Party

Block Party by Anastasia Suen
A Bebop Easy Reader

Reading level: Guided Reading™: E DRA: 6 Reading Recovery®: 7
Paperback: 16 pages
Publisher: Bebop Books

Join two friends, Tanya and Rosa, as they ride in a patriotic bike parade through their neighborhood and end up at fun-filled block party.

Fiesta de barrio

Also available in Spanish as Fiesta de barrio.

Activities:

Host your own block party.

Have a block party for kids.

Use these Block Party book lesson plans.

Great Books

Picture Book of the Day

I Will Try
by Marilyn Janovitz (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: Ella is in awe of Jan, the star of her gymnastics class. Jan can spin and leap on the balance beam. Can Ella? (This I Like to Read picture book is also a Level D easy reader! It has one short line of text on each page.)

Snippet:
I pack my bag.

TURN THE PAGE

“Time to go,” says Dad.

“Have fun,” says Mom.
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Chapter Book of the Day

Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip
by Jordan Sonnenblick (Author)
304 pages

Booktalk: Meet Peter Friedman, high school freshman. Talented photographer. Former baseball star. When a freakish injury ends his pitching career, Peter has some major things to figure out. Is there life after sports? Why has his grandfather suddenly given him thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment? And is it his imagination, or is the super-hot star of the girls’ swim team flirting with him, right in front of the amazing new girl in his photography class?

Snippet: If I had known it was goind to be the last baseball game I’d ever play, I would have asked my mom to bring the video camera or something. But you never know that kind of stuff in advance. All you can do is play every game like it’s your final shot at the World Series, and hope that for you, it isn’t.
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5 Great Books About Soldiers for Armed Forces Day

Armed Forces Day is May 19th, 2012.

D-Day Landings: The Story of the Allied Invasion
by Karen Wallace and Richard Platt (Authors)
Find out more about this famous World War II event. Level 4 easy reader

From Slave to Soldier: Based on a True Civil War Story
by Deborah Hopkinson (Author) and Brian Floca (Illustrator)
A slave boy runs away and joins the Union army. Level 3 easy reader

Hero Dad
by Melinda Hardin (Author) and Bryan Langdo (Illustrator)
A young boy talks about his father, the soldier. Picture book

Pearl Harbor
by Stephen Krensky (Author) and Larry Day (Illustrator)
See how and why the U.S entered the World War II. Level 3 easy reader

Sam the Minuteman
by Nathaniel Benchley (Author) and Arnold Lobel (Illustrator)
A boy helps his father fight the Battle of Lexington. Level 3 easy reader
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Literary Links

Last call! May 2-June 20 (online) children’s book writing workshops begin today!

Study Links Dyslexia to Visual Attention Problems in Preschool (via Education Week)
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Read and Write Sports: Readers Theatre and Writing Activities for Grades 3-8

Great Books

Picture Book of the Day

The Ugly Duckling Dinosaur: A Prehistoric Tale
by Cheryl Bardoe (Author) and Roy D. Kennedy (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Once upon a time, seven tiny duck beaks pecked their way out of their eggs, but the eighth egg was a little bit different. What emerged wasn’t a duck at all–he was a dinosaur! (Real dino facts in the back of the book.)

Snippet:
Just then the egg trembled
Thump, thump, thump.
SMASH!
A huge claw burst out, followed by a gigantic foot. The newest duckling exploded from its shell.
The mother duck gasped. Her other ducklings froze and stared.
“That is the ugliest ducking I’ve ver seen!’ the neghbor screeched.

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

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Chapter Book of the Day

Irises
by Francisco X. Stork (Author)
304 pages

Booktalk: Kate is bound for Stanford and an M.D. — if her family will let her go. Mary wants only to stay home and paint. When their loving but repressive father dies, they must figure out how to support themselves and their mother, who is in a permanent vegetative state, and how to get along in all their uneasy sisterhood.

Snippet:
“What do you means Father’s dead?” Kate shouted into the phone.
“I went to check on Moma after you left and he had died.”
“Oh, oh my–” Kate stopped herself. “Did you call 9-1-1?”
“No.”
“Do it now. Never mind, I’ll do it. I’ll be right over.”
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5 Great Mother’s Day Books

Eloise’s Mother’s Day Surprise
by Lisa McClatchy (Author) and Tammie Lyon (Illustrator)
Eloise gets ready for Mother’s Day in this easy reader.

Fancy Nancy’s Marvelous Mother’s Day Brunch
by Jane O’Connor (Author) and Robin Preiss Glasser (Illustrator)
Nancy plans the perfect Mother’s Day. Lift-the-flap book

I Like Noisy Mom Likes Quiet: A Mother’s Day Story
by Eileen Spinelli (Author) and Lydia Halverson (Illustrator)
The title says it all! Picture book

The Mother’s Day Mice
by Eve Bunting (Author) and Jan Brett (Illustrator)
Three mouse brothers try to find the perfect gift for their mother. Picture book

The Night Before Mother’s Day
by Natasha Wing (Author) and Amy Wummer (Illustrator)
Dad and the girls get ready for Mother’s Day. Picture book
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STEM Haiku

Share your own haiku about a STEM topic during National Poetry Month.

(STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

stand up
sitting all day is
bad they say, so stand or walk
as you work today
© 2012 Anastasia Suen
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Read and Write Sports: Readers Theatre and Writing Activities for Grades 3-8

2012 Poetry Month Progressive Poem

2012 Poetry Month Progressive Poem

Day 12 of the 2012 Poetry Month Progressive Poem is here at Booktalking. Poets in the kidlitosphere are adding one line a day. Contributing so far are poets…

1 Irene at Live Your Poem
2 Doraine at Dori Reads
3 Jeannine at View from a Window Seat
4 Robyn at Read, Write, Howl
5 Susan at Susan Taylor Brown
6 Mary Lee at A Year of Reading
7 Penny at A Penny and her Jots
8 Jone at Deo Writer
9 Gina at Swagger Writer’s
10 Julie at The Drift Record
11 Kate at Book Aunt

And now it’s my turn to add line #12…

If you are reading this
you must be hungry
Kick off your silver slippers
Come sit with us a spell

A hanky, here, now dry your tears
And fill your glass with wine
Now, pour. The parchment has secrets
Smells of a Morrocan market spill out.

You have come to the right place, just breathe in.
Honey, mint, cinnamon, sorrow. Now, breathe out
last week’s dreams. Take a wish from the jar.
Inside, deep inside, is the answer…

Next up are:

13 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
14 Diane at Random Noodling
15 Ruth at There is No Such Thing as a Godforsaken Town
16 Natalie at Wading Through Words
17 Tara at A Teaching Life
18 Amy at The Poem Farm
19 Lori at Habitual Rhymer
20 Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe
21 Myra at Gathering Books
22 Pat at Writer on a Horse
23 Miranda at Miranda Paul Books
24 Linda at TeacherDance
25 Greg at Gotta Book
26 Renee at No Water River
27 Linda at Write Time
28 Caroline at Caroline by Line
29 Sheri at Sheri Doyle
30 Irene at Live Your Poem

So it ends where it began. What a great idea, Irene! I’m so glad I was able to participate.
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Picture Book of the Day

Hush Little Turtle
By Maranke Rinck (Author) and Martijn Van Der Linden (Illustrator)

Booktalk: In this board book, Turtle has a problem. He can’t go to sleep! His friends try to help him out…

Snippet:
“Ahem, I have an idea,” announces Bird.
And he picks up a stick.

TURN THE PAGE

“Hush little Turtle,” the others sing.
Very soft. And very slow.
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Comic of the Week

Patrick in A Teddy Bear’s Picnic and Other Stories
by Geoffrey Hayes (Author, llustrator)
32 pages

Booktalk: Patrick is a puddle-jumping teddy bear whose biggest challenge is avoiding naptime…until he has to contend with Big Bear.

Snippet:
PATRICK: OOOF!

PATRICK: Come back!

PATRICK: BIG BEAR!

PATRICK: May I have my balloon…please!
BIG BEAR: NO!

BIG BEAR: I want to hear it go…

SFX: POP!
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STEM Haiku

Blue Screen of Death
Blue makes you calm, so
they say, but not during a
computer crash. NO!
© 2012 Anastasia Suen
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STEM Friday is coming!

STEM Friday is coming! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

If you blog about science or math books tomorrow,

come share your link or a STEM haiku of your own!

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Read and Write Sports: Readers Theatre and Writing Activities for Grades 3-8

Great Books

Picture Book of the Day

Vote for Me!
by Ben Clanton (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: It’s election time again. The donkey wants your vote. So does the elephant. And each will do just about anything to win your support…

Snippet:
DONKEY:
Hey, you!
Yes, YOU with the great hair and that dazzling smile.
Listen, you should–

ELEPHANT:
DON’T LISTEN TO THAT DONKEY!
You’re too smart for that.
You’ll want to…

BONUS! See the video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfZikbt7uiY]
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Chapter Book of the Day

Fracture
by Megan Miranda (Author)
272 pages

Booktalk: Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine — despite the scans that showed significant brain damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she’s far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can’t control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?

Snippet:
The first time I died, I didn’t see God.
No light at the end of the tunnel. No haloed angels. No dead grandparents.
To be fair, I probably wasn’t a shoo-in for Heaven. But honestly, I kind of assumed I’d make the cut.

BONUS! See the video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd5rUSMoYdI]
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5 More Great Earth Day Books

Biscuit’s Earth Day Celebration
by Alyssa Satin Capucilli (Author)
Biscuit the little yellow puppy goes to school for Earth Day. Easy reader.

Earth Day (On My Own Holidays)
by Linda Lowery (Author) and Mary Bergherr (Illustrator)
Learn about how Earth Day started. Easy Reader.

Earth Day
by Margaret McNamara (Author) and Mike Gordon (Illustrator)Lloyd G. Douglas (Author)
What can Emma do for Earth Day? Level 1 easy reader.

Let’s Get Ready for Earth Day
by Lloyd G. Douglas (Author)
Dan and his class get ready for Earth Day. Easy reader.

Sid the Science Kid: Earth Day Fun
by Jennifer Frantz (Author)
Sid is going to plant a tree for Earth Day, but first, he wants to know…what is dirt? Level 1 easy reader.
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STEM Haiku

Share your own haiku about a STEM topic during National Poetry Month.

(STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

Go Away, Bugs!
Oh bugs, bugs, bugs, who
said you could come in? This is
my house, not yours. Scram!
© 2012 Anastasia Suen
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Literary Links

How To Search Google By Reading Level (via @eBookNewser)
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Read and Write Sports: Readers Theatre and Writing Activities for Grades 3-8