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STEM Haiku

STEM Haiku

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

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

Sixty Seconds
A minute is a
minute, so why are some days
short and others long?
© 2012 Anastasia Suen
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Picture Book of the Day

Can I Bring Woolly to the Library, Ms. Reeder?
by Lois Grambling (Author) Judy Love (Illustrator)

Booktalk: A young boy asks his librarian if he can bring his friend Woolly, a mammoth, to the library. His humorous pleas are a fun way to teach children how to use a library.

Snippet:
Can I bring Woolly to the library, Ms. Reeder?
Can I?
PLEASE?!
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Chapter Book of the Day

BZRK
by Michael Grant (Author)
400 pages

Booktalk: Set in the near future, BZRK is the story of a war for control of the human mind. Charles and Benjamin Armstrong, conjoined twins and owners of the Armstrong Fancy Gifts Corporation, have a goal: to turn the world into their vision of utopia. No wars, no conflict, no hunger. And no free will. Opposing them is a guerrilla group of teens, code name BZRK, who are fighting to protect the right to be messed up, to be human. This is no ordinary war, though. Weapons are deployed on the nano-level. The battleground is the human brain. And there are no stalemates here: It’s victory . . . or madness.

Snippet: Anyone could have done it. But could they have done it as fast? Could they have wired the pilot’s brain three days? And set her up to have a switch thrown as dramatically as this?

Hell no.

BONUS! See the video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98Tu5tSSIcs]

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Literary Links

It’s National Library Workers Day – Name your favorite librarian as a star!

Show support for your library during National Library Week, April 8-14, by uploading this art to your Facebook page.
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Read and Write Sports: Readers Theatre and Writing Activities for Grades 3-8

Road Work Ahead (in the book club!)

My Book of the Week

Road Work Ahead by Anastasia Suen
A transportation picture book

Copyright: April 2012
Ages: 3-5
Hardcover
Publisher: An April 2012 Scholastic Book Club paperback!

“Suen’s sparse rhyming verse leads readers through the busy scenes and uses simple vocabulary that suits both the youngest listeners and those just beginning to read.” ~ Kirkus Reviews

“A batch of Grandma’s homemade oatmeal cookies beckons, but for this backseat narrator, the sights and sounds along the road to her house are equally compelling.” ~ Publishers Weekly

Activities:

Play the Road Signs Matching Game.

Find out more about Cars, Trucks, and Construction Play.

Watch the construction site video.

Make a Traffic Light Necklace with yarn and stickers.
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Picture Book of the Day

The Adventures of Granny Clearwater and Little Critter
by Kimberly Willis Holt (Author) and Laura Huliska-Beith (Illustrator)

Booktalk: The Clearwater family is heading west in their covered wagon. But when Granny and Little Critter are accidentally thrown from the back, they are suddenly on their own.

Snippet: They flew through the sky for almost a mile until they landed stuck to a prickly pear cactus. Granny kept napping as if nothing has happened, but Little Critter’s eyes popped open wide as he watched his family’s wagon disappear from the horizon.
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Chapter Book of the Day

The Gray Wolf Throne (A Seven Realms Novel)
by Cinda Williams Chima (Author)
528 pages

Booktalk: Han Alister thought he had already lost everyone he loved. But when he finds his friend Rebecca Morley near death in the Spirit Mountains, Han knows that nothing matters more than saving her. But nothing prepares him for what he soon discovers: the beautiful, mysterious girl he knew as Rebecca is Raisa ana’Marianna, heir to queendom of the Fells.

Snippet: Three lean young men in Ardenine civilan garb played cards at a table by the door. Four had come in, but one of them had left a while ago. Several times, Raisa looked up and caught one or another of them staring at her. Apprehension slithered down her spine. Thieves or assasins? Or just young men showing interest in a girl on her own?

BONUS! See the video!

[youtube=http://youtu.be/bXksII_uVG8]

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Literary Links

Ready to write your children’s book? Apr 4-May 23 (online) writing workshops begin next week!

How can you help your child learn to read?
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My NEW chapter book is Just So, Brianna (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Nonfiction Monday

Picture Book of the Day

Surviving the Hindenburg
by Larry Verstraete (Author) and David Geister (Illustrator)

Booktalk: On May 6, 1937, the giant German airship the Hindenburg exploded in a ball of fire as it attempted to land at Lakehurst Navel Base in New Jersey. Of the 93 people on board, a remarkable 62 survived, including Werner Franz, the ship’s 14-year-old cabin boy.

Snippet: As the Hindenburg‘s cabin boy, 14-year-old Werner had many chores to do for the officers and crew–setting tables, washing dishes, making beds, cleaning boots and uniforms. Much of the time, Werner lived and worked below deck.

BONUS! Download the teacher’s guide!
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Chapter Book of the Day

Attack of the Killer Video Book Take 2: Tips and Tricks for Young Directors
by Mark Shulman and Hazlitt Krog (Authors) and Martha Newbigging (Illustrator)
76 pages

Booktalk: Originally published in 2004, Attack of the Killer Video Book has become indispensable for budding filmmakers and video production classes. This updated edition has been revised to include new technology, with hot tips on digital cameras and editing; shooting on a phone or webcam; adding cool and safe special effects; and much more. Aspiring directors will discover tricks and techniques for becoming a camera sharpshooter; lighting like a pro; making awesome music videos; and using social networking sites to post and promote their movies.

Snippet:
Let There Be Lighting:
Your camera can adjust to the color of light because it has an automatic light balance. That means it works to make white things look white, even if there’s yellowy light on them. Then all of the other colors shift, too.

BONUS! See inside the book!
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Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday

This week’s Nonfiction Monday Round-up is here at Booktalking.

Nonfiction Detectives

100 Scope Notes

Shelf-employed

Kidlit celebrates Women’s History Month

True Tales & A Cherry On Top

Anatomy of Nonfiction

Biblio File

Archimedes Notebook

All About Books with Janet Squires

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Spring 2012 Call for Nonfiction Monday Hosts

Nonfiction Monday

We’re looking for Spring 2012 Nonfiction Monday Round-up hosts.

Go here to sign up.

Edited to add: The list filled up before noon!

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Nonfiction Book Blast 2012

Susan Goldman Rubin booktalks Music Was IT: Young Leonard Bernstein

on the Nonfiction Book Blast blog today…

Save the date! June 23, 2012 Nonfiction Book Blast 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

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March 2012 Carnival Of Children’s Literature

Our March 2012 host is Just Children’s Books!.
Add YOUR post to this carnival by commenting here.
The deadline for adding your post is TODAY, March 26th.
The carnival will go live on March 28th.

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My NEW chapter book is Just So, Brianna (All-Star Cheerleaders)

March 2012 Carnival Of Children’s Literature

March 2012 Carnival Of Children’s Literature

Our March 2012 host is Just Children’s Books!.
Add YOUR post to this carnival by commenting here.
The deadline for adding your post is March 26th.
The carnival will go live on March 28th.

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Spring Break

Booktalking will be on Spring Break until March 26th.

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My NEW chapter book is Just So, Brianna (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Here Comes the Bus

My Book of the Week

Here Comes the Bus by Anastasia Suen
A Bebop Easy Reader

Reading level: Guided Reading™: B DRA: 2 Intervention: 2
Paperback: 8 pages
Publisher: Bebop Books

A Chinese American girl takes the bus to school and greets her friends, one by one, at each stop.

Also available in Spanish as Ya viene el autobús

Activities:

Use the lesson plans from the 91 page Illinois School Bus Safety Program.

First School has school bus music, coloring pages, crafts, and online games.

Play the online School Bus Safety Games.

Visit the Traffic Safety Kid’s Page for coloring pages, puzzles and a word scramble.

Download Free Bus Safety Presentations in PowerPoint.

Use these lesson plans with your class.

See inside the book
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Picture Book of the Day

St. Patrick’s Day
by Anne Rockwell (Author) and Lizzy Rockwell (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Mrs. Madoff’s class celebrates St. Patrick’s Day!

Snippet: On St. Patrick’s Day, I wore my green shirt, green pants, and even my green striped socks. Pablo wore green sneakers.
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Chapter Book of the Day

Tails of Spring Break
by Anne Warren Smith (Author)
128 pages

Booktalk: Everyone, it seems, is going somewhere fun for spring break-everyone except Katie Jordan and her family. Even her best friend, Sierra, is going to Hawaii! But then Katie realizes she’s not the only one being left behind-what about all those poor lonely pets? And so Katie sets out to save her spring break with a pet-sitting business. But Katie hadn’t bargained on having a business partner-especially not someone as awful as Claire Plummer!

Snippet: On the last day of school before spring vacation, it sounded like almost every kid in my fourth grade class was getting away from Oregon. They were going places where the sun was shining. Places like Disneyland and San Diego. Even Hawaii!
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Literary Links

Research Shows that Books without Text Can Increase Literacy, Vocabulary Skills in Children with Developmental Disabilities

Join @CBCBook in celebration of the 93rd annual Children’s Book Week, May 7-13, 2012! #CBW
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My NEW chapter book is Just So, Brianna (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Nonfiction Monday

Picture Book of the Day

Touch the Sky: Alice Coachman, Olympic High Jumper
by Ann Malaspina (Author) and Eric Velasquez (Illustrator)

Booktalk: See how Alice Coachman, born poor in Georgia, became the first African American woman to win a gold medal at the Olympics.

Snippet:
Alice’s teacher saw
something special
in that never-sit-still girl.
She took her to a track meeet
whereS a boy leaped
over a crossbar
into a pile of sawdust.
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Chapter Book of the Day

Right To Play
by Jesse Goossens (Author)
144 pages

Booktalk: Johann Olav Koss, triple world skating champion and winner of four Olympic gold medals, wants to make it possible for everyone, everywhere, to have the opportunity to play. “Everyone” includes those children who, through war, natural disasters, violence or famine, have lost everything. It is for this cause that Koss has given up his career as a top class athlete to found the organization Right to Play. This book takes the reader on an adventure around the world–through schools in Rwanda, refugee camps in Palestine, the slums of Mali and the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The reader will meet child soldiers who have returned from war, children who have to survive on the streets of Africa, and boys with nothing but a rolled up T-shirt as a football because they have nothing else to use.

Snippet: Barely two weeks after the death of his father, Isaac had to pack his things together. He found it hard to keep back the tears when bidding his mother, brother and sister goodbye before getting into the van for Rwanda.

BONUS! See the video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVJQ-3Kwy14]

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Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday

This week’s Nonfiction Monday Round-up host is Rasco From RIF

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Nonfiction Book Blast 2012

Ginger Wadsworth booktalks First Girl Scout: The Life of Juliette Gordon Low

on the Nonfiction Book Blast blog today…

Save the date! June 23, 2012 Nonfiction Book Blast 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

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Literary Link

A Survival Guide for Beating Information Addiction (via @zenhabits)
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My NEW chapter book is Just So, Brianna (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Nonfiction Monday

Picture Book of the Day

Here Come the Girl Scouts! The Amazing All-True Story of Juliette ‘Daisy’ Gordon Low and Her Great Adventure
by Shana Corey (Author) and Hadley Hooper (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Juliette Gordon Low–Daisy to her friends and family–was not like most girls of the Victorian era.

Prim and proper?

BOSH!

Dainty and delicate?

HOW BORING!

Snippet: Daisy grew up in Savannah, Georgia when proper young ladies were supposed to be dainty and delicate. But Daisy came from a family of pathfinders and pioneers. She wanted adventure and excitement!
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Chapter Book of the Day

Cleopatra Rules!: The Amazing Life of the Original Teen Queen
by Vicky Alvear Shecter (Author)
128 pages

Booktalk: Cleopatra didn’t just rock the boat when she turned queen at seventeen. She rocked the world with brilliant alliances that kept her in power and in control for decades.

Snippet: She ruled all of Egypt, had Romans trembling in their togas, and made kings weak at the knees. Yet the glamour queen of the ancient world started out as…a bookish nerd.
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Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday

This week’s Nonfiction Monday Round-up host is 100 Scope Notes

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Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month. Read all about it at the Library of Congress.

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March 2012 Online Workshops

The March 2012 workshops will begin on Wednesday, March 7th.

Which workshop is best for you?

New to children’s books?
Learn about the different types of children’s books in the Children’s Book Genres Workshop.

Passionate about literacy?
Find out how you can write for children learning to read in the Children’s Literacy Workshop (for Writers).

Ready to write?
Write and edit your book in the

After you finish a writing workshop you can work through two more edits in a “work-in-progress” workshop, by rewriting your picture book or easy reader or working on the next chapter of your children’s chapter book or children’s novel.

The March workshop dates are March 7-April 25, 2012.

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My NEW chapter book is Just So, Brianna (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Nonfiction Monday

Picture Book of the Day

Underground
by Shane W. Evans (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: A family silently crawls along the ground. They run barefoot through unlit woods, sleep beneath bushes, take shelter in a kind stranger’s home. Where are they heading? They are heading for Freedom by way of the Underground Railroad.

Snippet: We are quiet.
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Chapter Book of the Day

Fort Mose: And the Story of the Man Who Built the First Free Black Settlement in Colonial America
by Glennette Tilley Turner (Author)
48 pages

Booktalk: Fort Mose in St. Augustine, Florida, was the first free African settlement to legally exist in what later became the United States. It was also the most southern link of the Underground Railroad.

Snippet: For Francisco Menendez, the story started in the Senegambia region of West Africa, where he was born into the Mandingo tribe around 1700.
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Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday

This week’s Nonfiction Monday Round-up host is The Childrens War

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Literary Links

Tom Greve booktalks his forthcoming book on plate tectonics at Nonfiction Book Blast

When The Project Is Over Getting Organized (via @freelancesw)

Amazon removes IPG Kindle books (@ebooknewser)
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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

February Carnival Of Children’s Literature

February 2012 Carnival Of Children’s Literature

Dear friends,

I’m sorry to say that the carnival software we have been using since 2006 has stopped working. Please go to the carnival announcement post here and add your link to the comments. Margo, our February host, is now an editor on our carnival round up blog, so she will collect all of your links there and add them to this month’s carnival.

Our February 2012 host is The Fourth Musketeer.
Add YOUR post to this carnival by commenting here.
The deadline for adding your post is February 26th.
The carnival will go live on February 28th.

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Picture Book of the Day

Peter Is Just a Baby
by Marisabina Russo (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: Peter can’t do any of the things that his big sister can. She can leap, and skip, but he can only crawl.

Snippet: I can even count to three in French — un, deux, trois — and ask for apple pie a la mode.
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Chapter Book of the Day

The Way We Fall
by Megan Crewe
308 pages

Booktalk: When sixteen year old Kaelyn lets her best friend leave for school without saying goodbye, she never dreams she might not ever see him again. But then a strange virus begins to sweep through her island community. As patients start dying, the government quarantines the island: no one can leave, and no one can come back.

Snippet: Sept 2
Leo,
While the ferry was carrying you to the mainland, I was on West Beach with Mackenzie and Rachel. Mackenzie had decided we should have one last summer swim before school starts tomorrow, but the breeze was so chilly, none of us ended up wanting to go in the water. So we just walked on the sand, talking and speculating about how junior year will go.
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Literary Links

Loreen Leedy booktalks Seeing Symmetry at Nonfiction Book Blast

Sorry, Pinterest Users: Websites Can Now Block Pinning [VIDEO] (via @mashable)
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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Young Readers

Picture Book of the Day

Baby Happy Baby Sad
by Leslie Patricelli (Author, Illustrator)

Every right hand page says…

Baby HAPPY

And on the left it says…

Baby SAD

The story in art, however, changes on each page, so young children will memorize the story and “read” along.
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Chapter Book of the Day

The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale
by Carmen Agra Deedy (Author), Randall Wright (Author), and Barry Moser (Illustrator)
256 pages

Booktalk: Skilley, an alley cat with an embarrassing secret, longs to escape his street-cat life. Tired of dodging fishwives’ brooms and carriage wheels, he hopes to trade London’s damp alleyways for the warmth of ye olde Cheshire Cheese Inn. He strikes a bargain with Pip, an erudite mouse: Skilley will protect the mice who live at the inn, and in turn, the mice will provide Skilley with the thing he desires most.

But when Skilley and Pip are drawn into a crisis of monumental proportions involving a tyrannical cook, an unethical barmaid, and a malevolent tomcat, their new friendship is pushed to its limits. The escalating crisis threatens the peace not only of the Cheshire Cheese Inn but also the British Monarchy!

Unbeknownst to Skilley and Pip, however, they have a secret ally: a famous author who scribbles away many an afternoon in ye olde Cheshire Cheese Inn…

Snippet: He was the best of toms. He was the worst of toms.

Fleet of foot, sleek and solitary, Skilley was a cat among cats. Or he would have been, but for a secret had carried since his early youth. A secret that caused him to live in hidden shame, avoiding even casual friendship lest anyone discover–

The 2011 Cybils Fantasy & Science Fiction Winner!

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Austin SCBWI Regional Conference

I’ll see you this weekend at the Austin SCBWI Regional Conference

February 17-19, 2012

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STEM Friday on February 17, 2012

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

The STEM Friday Round-up on February 17, 2012

is at Nomad Press.

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Literary Link

My February Quick Tips column: Hot Topics: Telling Time with STEM is at Booklist Online.

Science, math, geography—these titles about telling time cover the curriculum!

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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)