Literacy – Page 4 – Booktalking #kidlit

Great Books

Picture Book of the Day

by Steven Kroll (Author) and Doug Holgate (Illustrator)

Booktalk: In this picture book comic, Drago wants to enter the Dragon Contest, but he doesn’t know how to fly yet…

Snippet:

Drago tried…

SFX: (sound effects) flap! flap! flap! flap! flap! flap! flap! flap!

DRAGO: HELP!!

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5 Great Books About Soldiers

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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Chapter Book of the Day

The Rendering

by Joel Naftali (Author)

288 pages

Booktalk: Doug Solomon was a normal kid. But that ended once he became wanted for murder. Now he’s being hunted by VIRUS–an evil organization bent on world domination.

Snippet:

Would you do me a favor and leave me a comment saying how you found this blog? You probably searched for my name, except this website isn’t even in the top three thousand search results for “Doug Solomon.”

Maybe that’s why you’re here. You think I killed my aunt. You think I’m a fugitive from justice, a homicidal maniac, or a domestic terrorist.

A thirteen-year-old driven crazy by video games.

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Picture Book Month

November is Picture Book Month! Today’s host is Kelly Milner Halls.

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Literary Link

Cool Facts About Veterans for Grades K-5

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My NEW picture book is Road Work Ahead (Viking)

Unexpected…

Picture Book of the Day

The Woods

by Paul Hoppe (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: When a boy can’t find his favorite stuffed bunny, he bravely heads into the woods to look for it. Instead, he finds a big, scary brown bear!

Snippet: Every night before bed, I turn on my night-light, read a story, curl up under a blanket, and give my bunny a hug. But last night, I couldn’t find my bunny anywhere!

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Chapter Book of the Day

90 Miles to Havana

by Enrique Flores-Galbis (Author)

304 pages

Booktalk: When Julian’s parents make the heartbreaking decision to send him and his two brothers away from Cuba to Miami via the Pedro Pan operation, the boys are thrust into a new world where bullies run rampant and it’s not always clear how best to protect themselves.

Snippet:

My mother waits for the kitchen door to slam shut and then sits down. She hides her face in her hands. “She’s not just a nosy neighbor; she can have you sent away.”

“I’m sure she can’t–” my father starts, but my mother interrupts him.

“Yes, she can and they’re doing it already.”

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Picture Book Month

November is Picture Book Month! Today’s host is Eric A. Kimmel.

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My NEW book, The Zombie Project (The Boxcar Children Mysteries #128)

Nonfiction Monday

Picture Book of the Day

Ruby, Violet, Lime: Looking for Color

by Jane Brocket (Author, Photographer)

Booktalk: Ruby flowers, violet quilts, lime frosting–colors are all around us. How many colors can you find in this book?

Snippet:

Primary colors are pure colors.

They can’t be made by mixing

different colors together.

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Chapter Book of the Day

Freestyle BMX

by Isabel Thomas (Author)

32 pages

Booktalk: The high-adrenaline thrill of freestyle BMX is creating a stir on the extreme sports scene. Make sure it’s on your radar!

Snippet: When adventurous cyclists began racing over the crazy bumps and jumps of motocross tracks, bicycle motocross (BMX) was born. Riders did tricks between races to have fun and impress their friends. Some began to enjoy the stunts more than the racing.

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Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday

This week’s Nonfiction Monday Round-up host is Jean Little Library

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Carnival Of Children’s Literature

The October 2011 Carnival Of Children’s Literature

is online at Jump Into A Book.

Hop on over and took a look! You’re in for a treat!

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Literary Links

Use my Silly Zombie Writing Workshop with your young writers today!

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My NEW book, The Zombie Project (The Boxcar Children Mysteries #128)

Friday Reads

Picture Book of the Day

His Shoes Were Far Too Tight: Poems by Edward Lear

by Daniel Pinkwater (Editor) and Calef Brown (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Edward Lear’s first nonsense poems were publshied in 1846…and have been loved ever since!

Snippet:

Nonsense Alphabet

A was an ape,

Who stole some white tape,

And tied up his toes

In four beautiful bows.

A!

Funny old ape!

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Chapter Book of the Day

Plagues, Pox, and Pestilence

by Richard Platt (Author) and John Kelly (Illustrator)

32 pages

Booktalk: A comprehensive history of disease and pestilence, told from the point of view of the bugs and pests that cause them.

Snippet:

Pick Your Germ

Just 150 years ago, people thought that bad smells spread disease. Now we know that it is germs that cause illness. There are three kinds.

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AASL 2011

I’m speaking at AASL 2011 on Saturday

Read and Write Sports Book Signing at AASL 2011 National Conference

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Poetry Friday

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by Random Noodling

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STEM Friday

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

This week’s STEM Friday Round-up is hosted by NC Teacher Stuff

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My NEW book, The Zombie Project (The Boxcar Children Mysteries #128)

Young Readers

Picture Book of the Day

You Are My Sunshine

by Jimmie Davis (Author) and Caroline Church (Illustrator)

Booktalk: The classic song in a cute board book.

Snippet:

You are my sunshine

My only sunshine

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Chapter Book of the Day

A Field Guide to Aliens: Intergalactic Worrywarts, Bubblonauts, Sliver-Slurpers, and Other Extraterrestria

by Johan Olander (Author, Illustrator)

61 pages

Booktalk: Find out ALL of the details about your favorite (and not so favorite) aliens in this field guide filled with alien “facts.”

Snippet:

The Alien Hunt

As with the hunt for monsters, when you’re investigating aliens it is helpful to bring a writing/drawing tool as well as something to hide under, like an old blanket or sheet.

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STEM Friday on October 28, 2011

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

The STEM Friday Round-up on October 28, 2011
is at NC Teacher Stuff.

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AASL 2011

I’m speaking at AASL 2011 on Saturday

Road Work Ahead Book Signing at AASL 2011 National Conference

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My NEW book, The Zombie Project (The Boxcar Children Mysteries #128)

Great Books

Picture Book of the Day

Clues in the Attic (My First Graphic Novel)

by Cari M. Meister (Author) and Remy Simard (Illustrator)

Booktalk: In this comic book mystery, Ben lost something that belongs to his sister, and he has to find it. He is scared, but it doesn’t matter. Ben has to be brave. He has to go into the attic.

Snippet:

Suddenly the door slammed shut.

SFX: (sound effects) BANG!

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5 Great Books About Veterans

America’s White Table

by Margot Theis Raven (Author) and Mike Benny (Illustrator)

Did you know that we set a place at the White Table to remember soldiers who didn’t come home? Picture book

George Washington — Soldier, Hero, President

by Justine Fontes and Ron Fontes (Authors)

Our first president was also a veteran. Level 3 easy reader

The Veterans Day Visitor

by Peter Catalanotto (Author) and Pamela Schembri (Author)

When Pop-Pop finds out that the children don’t know what a veteran is, he volunteers to talk to their class. Easy reader with chapters

Veterans Day

by Jacqueline S. Cotton (Author)

Learn all about Veterans Day in this easy reader.

The Wall

by Eve Bunting (Author) and Ronald Himler (Illustrator)

A boy and his father visit the Vietnam War Memorial. Picture book

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Chapter Book of the Day

Soldier Bear

by Bibi Dumon Tak (Author), Laura Watkinson (Translator) and Phiip Hopman (Illustrator)

144 pages

Booktalk: A group of Polish solders stationed in Iran during World War II trade a pen knife and some canned beef for an orphaned bear cub, and Voytek, as they name the bear, travels with them from Iran to Italy and then on to Scotland. See how they train a bear to help them in the war. (Photographs of the real Voytek are in the back of the book.)

Snippet:

The air rippled with heat. At that time of day, the army camp was like a ghost town. If you ventured out into the sun, it felt like you were about to burst into flames.

But even so, one creature still came out into the blazing heat, bumbling along the path between the parked trucks and stopping to sniff at every vehicle.

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Literary Links

My October @ALA_Booklist Quick Tips column: Hot Topics: Body Books

Cubes: An Inside Look at Scholastic’s Global HQ = video! (via @eBookNewser)

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My NEW book, The Zombie Project (The Boxcar Children Mysteries #128)

Young Readers

Picture Book of the Day

Numbers

by Sara Anderson (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: Turn the pages and count to ten…with the dots and the items on each page in this wordless board book.

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Chapter Book of the Day

Vordak the Incomprehensible: Rule the School

by Scott Seegert (Author) and John Martin (Illustrator)

192 pages

Booktalk: Vordak the Incomprehensible, that world-class Supervillain and Evil Master, is BACK (in junior high)!

Snippet:

VORDAK THE INCOMPREHENSIBLE’S

Lip-Licking Loathsome List

of Most Cherished Evil Goals

Dispose of my arch-nemesis, Commander Virtue, once and for all.
Take over and Rule the World!
Make all escalators travel only in the downward direction (MUAHAHAHAHA!!!).

BONUS! See the original Vordak video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oDzMpEgL_E]

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STEM Friday on October 21, 2011

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

The STEM Friday Round-up on October 21, 2011

is at Growing with Science.

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Literary Links

S&S Gives Sales Data to Authors Through New, Internal Web Site (via @PublishersWkly)

Meet the iPad Generation (via @ebooknewser)

BONUS! See the video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXV-yaFmQNk]

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My NEW book, The Zombie Project (The Boxcar Children Mysteries #128)

Great Books

Picture Book of the Day

Chicken, Pig, Cow Horse Around

by Ruth Ohi (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: It was always Chicken, Pig and Cow. Then it wasn’t. There was also Horse.

Snippet:

“Where’s Horse?” asked Pig.

“Who cares?” asked Chicken.

BONUS! Watch the video!

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5 Great Halloween Books

Big Pumpkin

by Erica Silverman (Author) and S.D. Schindler (Illustrator)

A witch wants to make pumpkin pie but her pumpkin is too big! Picture book

Corduroy’s Best Halloween Ever!

by Don Freeman (Author) and Lisa McCue (Illustrator)

Corduroy and his friends get ready for Halloween. Picture book

Fancy Nancy: Halloween…or Bust!

by Jane O’Connor (Author) and Robin Preiss Glasser (Illustrator)

Fancy Nancy loves dressing up for Halloween. Picture book.

Nate The Great And The Halloween Hunt

by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat (Author) and Marc Simont (Illustrator)

Nate the Great and his dog Sludge look for a missing cat on Halloween. Easy reader

Scary, Scary Halloween

by Eve Bunting (Author) and Jan Brett (Illustrator)

Share this classic Halloween picture book with a surprise twist at the end.

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Chapter Book of the Day

The Wikkeling

by Steven Arntson (Author) and Daniela J. Terrazzini (Illustrator)

224 pages

Booktalk: In the enormous city of the Addition, all children are SAFE, SECURE, and SUPERVISED, and are watched by cameras even while they sleep. Henrietta is unlikable at her competitive school until she meets Gary and Rose. They all share something in common: headaches with an unknown cause. Then, late one night, Henrietta makes a startling discovery when she finds a wounded cat in the attic above her bedroom. Soon after, a series of strange occurrences follow, including the appearance of a threatening creature with long, waxy fingers, who calls itself the Wikkeling. With the help of an ancient Bestiary, will Henrietta and her friends solve these mysteries before the Wikkeling finally catches them?

Snippet:

An enormous cat lay there, in a puddle of blood.

Ms. Span’s voice popped into Henrietta’s head instantly, warning her about the risk of boldily fluids, infection, tetanus, dust mites, rabid animals, and falling from heights. But Henrietta didn’t budge.

BONUS! See the video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7nzJirAZcY]

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Literary Links

Halloween iPad app reading for kids (via @eBookNewser)

Why and Watch Me: Making the Abstract Concrete for Readers

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My NEW book, The Zombie Project (The Boxcar Children Mysteries #128)

Nonfiction Monday

Picture Book of the Day

Red Bird Sings: The Story of Zitkala-Sa, Native American Author, Musician, and Activist (Exceptional Social Studies Titles for Intermediate Grades)

by Gina Capaldi (Adapter, Illustrator) and Q. L. Pearce (Adapter)

Booktalk: Gertrude Simmons, also known as Zitkala-Sa (which means Red Bird) was born in 1876 on the Yankton Sioux reservation in South Dakota. She willingly left her home at age eight to go to a boarding school in Indiana. But Zitkala-Sa soon found herself caught between two worlds–white and Native American.

Snippet:

The IRON HORSE

February 1884

From my playmates I heard that two paleface missionaries from the Land of Red Apples were in our village. They were from that class of white men who wore big hats and carried large hearts. When they came to our house, an interpreter who knew a smattering of my language joined them.

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Chapter Book of the Day

Vampires (Monster Mania)

by John Malam (Author) and Vincent Boulanger (Illustrator)

32 pages

Booktalk: Unearth all the most chillling legends and mysteries aoubut VAMPIRES! Did you know that vampires have no reflection? Or that Count Dracula was based on a Romanian prince? Or that holly thorns protect against vampires?

Snippet:

The meaning of “vampire”

No one really knows where the word “vampire” comes from. Some say it comes from the Lithuanian word wempti, which means “to drink.” Some say it’s from the Turkish word uber, meaning “witch.”

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Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday

This week’s Nonfiction Monday Round-up host is Simply Science

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Literary Links

3 Questions Every Creative Person Must Ask (via @JaneFriedman)

6 things every smart home needs #literacy

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My NEW book, The Zombie Project (The Boxcar Children Mysteries #128)

Great Books

Picture Book of the Day

Sparky: The Fire Dog

by Don Hoffman (Author) and Todd Dakins (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Meet Sparky. This adorable Dalmation puppy–who’s celebrating his SIXTIETH birthday–is an important member of the team at the fire station. But he’s more than just a cute character in a book: Sparky is the official spokesdog for the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), and what he has to say can actually save lives.

Sparky the fire dog takes a group of young animals through the neighborhood, pointing out hazards, giving basic fire prevention and safety tips, and showing them how to be prepared in case of an emergency. From having a working smoke alarm to being careful with candles and knowing where your exits are, Sparky’s advice may be the most important thing children–and their parents–ever learn.

Snippet:

Roger knocks on Mrs. Sheep,s front door.

“Helloo, I’m out baaaack,” a voice calls,

“It’s Sparky and the Junior Inspectors.

We’re here to inspect your smoke alarms.”

BONUS! Watch the video and see how Sparky has changed over the years!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j174sgpdgZg]

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5 Great Ghost Books

Don’t Walk Alone at Night!

by Veronika Martenova Charles (Author) and David Parkins (Illustrator)

Three boys tell each other spooky tales. Easy reader with chapters

Pup and Hound Scare a Ghost

by Susan Hood (Author) and Linda Hendry (Illustrator)

Pup and Hound chase a ghost! Level 1 easy reader

This Book Is Haunted

by Joanne Rocklin (Author) and JoAnn Adinolfi (Illustrator)

There are 6 scary stories in this Level 1 easy reader.

The Ghost Who Was Afraid of Halloween

by Samantha Brooke (Author)

Super Why and his friends help a scared ghost. Level 1 easy reader

The Mystery of the Pirate Ghost

by Geoffrey Hayes (Author, Illustrator)

Is there a ghost in Boogle Bay? Otto and Uncle Tooth are going to find out. Level 4 easy reader

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Chapter Book of the Day

Ballpark Mysteries #2: The Pinstripe Ghost

by David A. Kelly (Author) and Mark Meyers (Illustrator)

112 pages

Booktalk: There are rumors that the ghost of Babe Ruth is haunting the new baseball stadium! A chill air blasts down a service hallway before every home game, along with various thumps and bumps. Is the Bambino really searching for his missing locker?

Snippet:

“What about the ghost of Babe Ruth?” Mrs. Hopkins asked. “Will he show up this weekend?”

Kate turned to Mike, her brown eyes wide. “A ghost?” she asked. “How come Mom didn’t tell us about it?”

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Literary Links

What does a publisher actually do? The same things you would have to do to self-publish successfully (via @hunderdown)

Celebrate Fire Safety week with fun activities for the kids

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My NEW book, The Zombie Project (The Boxcar Children Mysteries #128)