Nonfiction Monday

Friday Reads

Picture Book of the Day

UnBEElievables: Honeybee Poems and Paintings
by Douglas Florian (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: Come inside the honeycomb—a busy, buzzy, bee-filled home—and learn about the unexpected wonders of these tiny insects’ lifestyles, families, and communities.

Snippet:
Bee-coming
From egg I hatch in just three days,
Bee-ginning my new larval phase.
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STEM Friday

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

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

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Chapter Book of the Day

Under the Mesquite
by Guadalupe Garcia Mccall (Author)
224 pages

Booktalk: When Lupita learns Mami has cancer, she is terrified by the possibility of losing her mother, the anchor of her close-knit family. Suddenly, being a high school student, starring in a play, and dealing with friends who don’t always understand, become less important than doing whatever she can to save Mami’s life.

Snippet:
But lately Mami’s changed.
A thorny mesquite has sprouted
in the middle of her rose garden.
Even after she has pulled it out
by its roots repeatedly,
pricking herself on its thorns each time,
it keeps growing back.
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Poetry Friday

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

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STEM Haiku

sunrise, sunset
sunrise, sunset, and
the world turns around and
does it again…sunrise…
© 2012 Anastasia Suen
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Nonfiction Monday on April 23, 2012

Nonfiction Monday is coming!

The Nonfiction Monday Round-up on April 23, 2012

is at Books 4 Learning.

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

Picture Book of the Day

Bambino and Mr. Twain
by Priscilla Maltbie (Author) and Daniel Miyares (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Grieving the death of his wife, America’s favorite author and humorist shuts himself up in his Fifth Avenue house and abandons his writing. Only his daughter’s cantankerous cat, Bambino, seems to understand Samuel Clemens and his moods. When the feisty cat disappears, Sam is determined to find him

Snippet: “Everyone wants to meet witty Mark Twain,” the man said. “But tell me, Bambino, would they want to meet sad, old Samuel Clemens?”
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Chapter Book of the Day

The Gods and Goddesses of Greek Mythology
by Don Nardo (Author)
64 pages

Booktalk: Discover the exploits of all-powerful Zeus, leader of the Olympians, the mightiest of all the gods. Relive the excitement of the Titanomachy, the colossal War of the Titans. See what motivated the gods and goddesses, and encounter the ultimate winners and losers in Greek mythology’s incredible battles.

Snippet: The ancient Greeks who lived between about 800 BC and 300 BC believed that the gods they worshipped had interacted with select humans during a period of the distant past. They called it the Age of Heroes.
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Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday

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

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Nonfiction Book Blast 2012

Susan Stockdale booktalks Bring On the Birds

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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STEM Haiku

In honor of National Poetry Month, we invite you to share an original STEM haiku.

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

Share your original STEM haiku at the new STEM Friday blog.

byte-sized mail
emails fly across
cyberspace, ones and zeroes
become written words
© 2012 Anastasia Suen
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Read and Write Sports: Readers Theatre and Writing Activities for Grades 3-8

Poetry Friday Reads

STEM Haiku

Kidlitosphere
Cyberspace is a
lovely place to meet with friends
and talk about books!
© 2012 Anastasia Suen
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Poetry Friday

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is here!

Add your post to the round-up by clicking on the link below. Please write the title of your poem or book (in parentheses) after your name so Mr. Linky makes a hotlink for it. I’ll post the links on this page as the day goes on. Thanks!

Here’s what the kidlitosphere is reading and writing this week…

1.Kate Coombs’ Mud at 30 Poets/30 Days
2. Gathering Books (A Love Poem from Marguerite Burnat- Provins)
3. Children’s Poem “The Daffodil Dance” by Deborah Diesen
4. No Water River “Hydrophobiac” by Laura Purdie Salas
5. Julie Larios (Seamus Heaney’s Birthday!)
6. Tabatha (Progressive Poem and Fictional Faves)
7.Alice@ Supratentorial (Mathematickles)
8. Mary Lee (CAKE- KU–a cake pop haiku)
9. Liz Steinglass (Chippy Chap)
10. Tara@ ATeaching Life
11. Robyn Hood Black’s “Haiku Mind” at Author Amok
12.Laura Salas (crab haiku)
13. Laura Salas (15 Words or Less poems)
14. Robyn Hood Black (- Laura Purdie Salas and BOOKSPEAK)
15. Charlotte’s Library (A Little Bitty Man)
16. Shannon @ Mountaineer Country
17. Hope Is the Word (Laura Ingalls Wilder fairy poems)
18. Linda (an inspirational poem)
19. jama (Adele Kenny’s “Chosen Ghosts”)
20. A mathematical septina and an original sestina at Write. Sketch. Repeat.
21. Diane Mayr (“Sometimes in Spring”)
22. Kids of the Homefront Army (” The Train”)
23. Kurious Kitty (Renga)
24. KK’s Kwotes (Robert Frost)
25. Linda Baie (original poem)
26. Ruth (original poem)
27. Heidi Mordhorst (Ken Slesarik’s Poetry Rocks! e-book)
28. Teaching Authors guest post by Helen Frost featuring her poem ” Friend”
29. Dori Reads (Don’t Be Flip)
30. Charles Ghigna (” Over Herd”)
31. violet (“V is for…”)
32. Sara Lewis Holmes (Book with Wings)
33. Amy LV (LBH Birthday Party!)
34. Karen Edmisten (John Updike)
35. Reader KidZ (Kate Coombs Author- In- Residence)
36. Sylvia Vardell (Hoyte & Roemer Interview)
37. Wild Rose Reader (MOLE: An Original Animal Mask Poem)
38. Jone (Renee LaTulipe poem)
39. Jone (zombie poems)
40. Jeannine Atkins (The Poetry Teacher’s Book of Lists by Syliva Vardell)
41. Books 4 Learning (Science Verse)
42. david e (twitku roundup wk 2)
43. Lynn Plourde (Reading and Writing Ear Candy)
44. Thinking in Rhyme (Spot the Superstitions)
45.Kristie Hamilton (The Adventures of Babadooga: Back to Big)
46. On Point (Twenty- Seven Years)
47. readertotz (Water Sings Blue)
48. Jennie from Biblio File (Under the Mesquite)
49. Carlie from Twinkling Along (an original spring poem)
50. Betsy (Morning Greeting)
51. Janet (Lemonade and other poems squeezed from a single word)
52. Mainely Write (L is for Leaf)
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Picture Book of the Day

T is for Titanic: A Titanic Alphabet
by Debbie & Michael Shoulders (Authors) and Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen (Illustrator)

Booktalk: At 11:40 pm on April 14, 1912, the fate of the world’s most famous ship was sealed when the lookout on the luxury liner, RMS Titanic, spotted an iceberg in the ship’s path in the North Atlantic. By 2 am, the ship had started its slide into the frigid waters, carrying close to 1,500 people to a watery grave.

Snippet: A is for the Anatomy of the Titanic

The RMS Titanic
included ten decks in all.
it was the world’s largest
moving object at 175 feet tall!

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

A Funeral in the Bathroom: and Other School Bathroom Poems
by Kalli Dakos (Author) and Mark Beech (Illustrator)
48 pages

Booktalk: The school bathrooom is a place where kids meet their friends, go to think when a pet has died, or just to take a break from it all.

Snippet:
Germs
It was about germs…that TV show.
The bathroom has a zillion, you know.
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STEM Friday

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

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

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Nonfiction Monday on April 16, 2012

Nonfiction Monday is coming!

The Nonfiction Monday Round-up on April 16, 2012

is at The Nonfiction Detectives.

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

Nonfiction Monday

Picture Book of the Day

Earth Day Every Day
by Lisa Bullard (Author) and Xiao Xin (Illustrator)

Booktalk: On Earth Day, we find ways to help the Earth. Trina plants trees with her class. She forms an Earth Day club with her friends. What can you do to make every day Earth Day? Do your part to be a planet protector!

Snippet:
Mom says people should clean up their own messes.
Earthlings made this Earth a mess.
So we Earthlings should fix it.
It’s a job for everyone.
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Chapter Book of the Day

Scheduling Smarts: How to Get Organized, Prioritize, Manage Your Time, and More
by Sandy Donovan (Author)
64 pages

Booktalk: Time management. It’s a challenge for everyone. Between homework, family life, friendships, and after-school activities, most teens feel overscheduled and stressed out. But did you know you can create a ‘time budget’ to help you manage your list of to-dos? Or that identifying your priorities is a great first step toward getting your crazy schedule under control?

Snippet: Ever heard the expression, “Time is money?” People use this phrase to describe how valuable time is. What they’re really saying is, “Treat your time like money, because you’ll never feel as if you have enough of it.” In fact, this saying is true in more ways than one. Time is valuable, and you do need to budget it just like you budget money.
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Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday

This week’s Nonfiction Monday Round-up host is Ana’s NonFiction Blog

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Nonfiction Book Blast 2012

Deborah Hopkinson booktalks Titanic: Voices From the Disaster

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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STEM Haiku

In honor of National Poetry Month, we invite you to share an original STEM haiku.

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

Share your original STEM haiku at the new STEM Friday blog.

pruning the roses
I cut the old canes
away, and new ones grew back
fuller and stronger.
© 2012 Anastasia Suen
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Read and Write Sports: Readers Theatre and Writing Activities for Grades 3-8

Friday Reads

Picture Book of the Day

These Bees Count!
by Alison Formento (Author) and Sarah Snow (Illustrator)

Booktalk: As the children in Mr. Tate’s class listen, they use science and math to learn how bees work to produce honey and make food and flowers grow.

Snippet:
One by one, we zip up high,
buzzing through
the bright blue sky.
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Poetry Friday

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by Read, Write, Howl

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Chapter Book of the Day

Saving Animals from Oil Spills (Rescuing Animals from Disasters)
by Stephen Person (Author)
32 pages

Booktalk: When disaster strikes, people aren’t the only ones in danger. On April 20, 2010, an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded. See how the animals were affected…

Snippet: As much as two and a half million gallons (9.4 million liters) of oil flowed from the broken pipe into the Gulf of Mexico every day. Scientists knew that the Gulf’s wildlife was in serious danger.
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STEM Haiku

Night Sky
Venus, Jupiter
and Mars, I see you at dusk
shining on the moon.
© 2012 Anastasia Suen
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STEM Friday

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

Come visit the new STEM Friday blog – and add YOUR link!

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Nonfiction Monday on April 9, 2012

Nonfiction Monday is coming!

The Nonfiction Monday Round-up on April 9, 2012

is at Ana’s NonFiction Blog.

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

Nonfiction Monday

Picture Book of the Day

Twice as Good: The story of William Powell and Clearview, the only golf course designed, built, and owned by an African-American
by Richard Michelson (Author) and Eric Velasquez (Illustrator)

Booktalk: To nine-year-old Willie Powell, there was no prettier sight than the smooth grass lawns of Edgewater Golf Cource.

Snippet: Willie Powell as fast. He was the only third grader who could run across the playgound faster than most fifth graders. But the new golf course as seven miles outside of town, and he’d promised his mother he would be home before dark.

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

Amateur Wrestling: Combat on the Mat
by Garrison Wells (Author)
32 pages

Booktalk: Did you know that wrestling started out as a deadly sport? Ancient Greeks and Romans used it for self-defense. In modern times, amateur wrestling is still powerful and challenging. But training, equipment, rules, and scoring systems make the sport safer for competitors.

Snippet: Amateur wrestling is one of the oldest styles of fighting. It has been around for thousands of years. Proof of its history has been found in China, Egypt, India, France, and other countries. Archaeologists in Egypt have found art dating back to 2300 B.C. that shows wrestling. Drawings on cave walls in France show wrestling existed more than 15,000 years ago.
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Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday

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

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April 2012 Online Workshops

The April 2012 workshops will begin on Wednesday, April 4th.

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 April workshop dates are April 4-May 23, 2012.

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STEM Haiku

In honor of National Poetry Month, we invite you to share an original STEM haiku.

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

Share your original STEM haiku at the new STEM Friday blog.

I’ll start…

Comments
A blog is a place
to share your thoughts. We invite
you to share yours here…
© 2012 Anastasia Suen
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My NEW chapter book is Just So, Brianna (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Friday Reads

Picture Book of the Day

A Dress for Me!
by Sue Fliess (Author) and Mike Laughead (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Hippo is looking for a new dress. There are so many choices! Dresses with beads and fringe, dresses with shiny sequins, dresses with stripes and checkers, and more!

Snippet:
Rows of dresses,
wall to wall.
Watch me as I
try them all…
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Poetry Friday

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by my juicy little universe

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Chapter Book of the Day

Shetland Ponies Are My Favorite!
by Elaine Landau (Author)
24 pages

Booktalk: Shetland ponies have small, broad heads and stocky bodies, and they’re known for being hard workers. Did you know that Shetlands hauled coal in England’s coal mines in the mid-1800s? Or that modern-day Shetlands sometimes help the blind by serving as guide ponies?

Snippet: Shetlands are the perfect size for kids to ride. They are usually about 44 inches (112 centimeters) tall. That’s just a little bit bigger than a very large dog.
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STEM Friday

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

Come visit the new STEM Friday blog – and add YOUR link!

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Nonfiction Monday on April 2, 2012

Nonfiction Monday is coming!

The Nonfiction Monday Round-up on April 2, 2012

is at Rasco From RIF.

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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)

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)

Friday Reads

Picture Book of the Day

Zero the Hero
by Joan Holub (Author) and Tom Lichtenheld (Illustrator)

Booktalk: Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. That’s what all the other numbers think of Zero. He doesn’t add anything in addition. He’s of no use in division. And don’t even ask what he does in multiplication. (Hint: Poof!) But Zero knows he’s worth a lot, and when the other numbers get into trouble, he swoops in to prove that his talents are innumerable.

Snippet: Unlike most numbers, Zero believed himself to be a hero. He just needed a chance to prove it.
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STEM Friday

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

The STEM Friday Round-up on March 9, 2012

is at Practically Paradise.

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Chapter Book of the Day

I Lay My Stitches Down: Poems of American Slavery
by Cynthia Grady (Author) and Michele Wood (Illustrator)
34 pages

Booktalk: Through imagery drawn from quilting and fiber arts each poem in this collection is spoken from a different perspective chronicling the various experiences of American slaves: a house slave, a mother losing her daughter to the auction block, a blacksmith, a slave fleeing on the Underground Railroad. Each poem is supplemented by a historical note.

Snippet:
North Star:
Age six saw me with a new master. He
was no slaver. Instead of tobacco
fields, I plowed the planes of Euclid. Instead
of flax, I spun my way through Homer’s verse.
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Poetry Friday

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by Gathering Books

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Nonfiction Monday on March 12, 2012

Nonfiction Monday is coming!

The Nonfiction Monday Round-up on March 12, 2012

is at Rasco From RIF.

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