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West Meadows Detectives: The Case of the Snack Snatcher
by Liam O’Donnell (Author) and Aurélie Grand (Illustrator)

Meet Myron: a third-grade detective who loves logic, facts, and solving mysteries. He does not love new things. Unfortunately, everything is new this year: Myron has a new baby sister, his family has moved across town, and now he’s starting his first day at a new school. But when the school kitchen is burgled, leaving the morning snacks nowhere to be found, Myron gets his chance to crack the case with help from his classmates from Resource Room 15.

Myron’s unique perspective from the autism spectrum makes him a top-notch sleuth. Similarly, the other kids in his resource room demonstrate creative problem solving and unique talents that come in handy for the case. Together with his detective partner, the hyper-energetic Hajrah, and tech-savvy Danielle, known as “Glitch,” Myron gets to the bottom of the mystery — all while trying to avoid the school bully, Sarah “Smasher” McGuintley, who’s intent on sabotaging their efforts.

#kidlit Writing Lesson: the small details

In chapter 2, Myron meets his new resource room teacher. After his mother leaves, Myron looks around the resource room:

Mr. Harpel smiled at me.
“Welcome, Myron. Come in.”
“Four,” I said.
“Sorry?” Mr. Harpel said.
“You said ‘welcome’ four times,” I said. When someone says something over and over, it’s called repeating. People repeat themselves when they are really serious or really nervous. Good detectives always notice when people repeat themselves.

The dialogue reveals Myron’s personality:

Mr. Harpel smiled at me.
“Welcome, Myron. Come in.”
“Four,” I said.
“Sorry?” Mr. Harpel said.
“You said ‘welcome’ four times,” I said.

Myron’s inner monologue provides context for the reader:

When someone says something over and over, it’s called repeating. People repeat themselves when they are really serious or really nervous. Good detectives always notice when people repeat themselves.

Basketball (Making the Play)
by Valerie Bodden (Author)

Booktalk: The BIG Picture

Do you think about science when you play baseball? Probably not. But you use science anyway. See how the physics of launch angles and inertia affect dribbling and shooting.

#kidlit Writing Lesson: the small details

STEADY SPEED
A ball keeps going where
you threw it until something
stops it. This is called
inertia (in-NUR-shuh).

This page defines the word inertia, but it doesn’t do so by beginning with an unfamiliar word. It defines the new word by beginning with something that young readers understand:

A ball keeps going where
you threw it until something
stops it.

After showing readers what inertia looks like in the sport of basketball, the name is introduced:

This is called
inertia (in-NUR-shuh).

The phonetic spelling helps young readers pronounce this new unfamiliar word.

A new word is best defined by moving from a familiar idea to an unfamiliar one. Begin with something that young readers understand and then name it.

It’s Nonfiction Monday!