April 2020 Carnival of Children’s Literature Call for Posts

Hello, friends!

You are invited to add your blog post about children’s literature to our end-of-the-month carnival round-up.

For the April 2020 Carnival of Children’s Literature, we’re looking for blog posts about children’s literature written by parents, educators, librarians, and children’s book authors, illustrators, and reviewers.

After one of our hosts approves it (yes, there will be a time-delay so we’re not posting spam) this end-of-the month carnival round-up will link back to your blog so everyone can read your post!

When children’s book author and (Here in the Bonny Glen) blogger Melissa Wiley hosted the very first Carnival of Children’s Literature in February 2006, it was an end-of-the month round-up of blog posts about children’s literature written by children’s book authors, illustrators, and reviewers as well as parents, educators, and librarians. The Blog Carnival software created the links (back to each blogger’s site) AND saved all of them in one place that everyone could see.

In 2010, Melissa handed the hosting duties over to me. Fast forward ten years. Last week I realized that my search for software that worked like our original (and now broken) Blog Carnival software was in something I used everyday — Facebook! A Facebook “Community” page can create the links (back to each blogger’s site) AND save all of them in one place that everyone can see.

Leo the Library Lion (and Carnival of Children’s Literature mascot)

So with Leo (our Library Lion mascot) and the help of my wonderful #kidlit blogger co-hosts: A Field Trip Life, Good Reads with Ronna, Randomly Reading, and The Book of Life, we are rebooting the #kidlitcarnival on April 28. Can you join us?

Copyright © 2020 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Secrets of the Loon

Time to celebrate tomorrow’s book birthday of  Secrets of the Loon by Laura Purdie Salas and Charles Dayton.

Loons are water birds that live in lakes in northern North America in the summer where they dive under the water to catch fish and other small swimming animals. They are known for their haunting calls that travel great distances over the water and for their striking black and white plumage.

According to a recent interview with Chuck Dayton, Secrets of the Loon started with his amazing photographs of loons taken over years spent at a family retreat on a lake in Minnesota. He wasn’t, however, used to writing for children, so his editor brought fellow Minnesotan and prolific children’s author/poet Laura Purdie Salas on board to write the main text. The combination is a winning one.

The main story, which is written in rhyme, follows the life of a loon named Moon from hatching to taking off for her first migration flight. Dayton’s original text is included as four pages of back matter, revealing some amazing facts. For example, loons have heavy bodies, which makes it hard for them to lift off out of the water. Once in flight, however, they can fly faster than a cheetah can run. Wow!

Secrets of the Loon is a must-read for budding ornithologists, especially ones who live near lakes where loons live. It is also a treat for the rest of us who wish we could visit a cold lake and listen to these amazing birds. Dive into the book today!

For the rest of the review and related activity suggestions, visit Wrapped in Foil blog.

Copyright © 2020 Roberta Gibson All Rights Reserved.

We Are Power: How Nonviolent Activism Changes the World

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We Are Power: How Nonviolent Activism Changes the World
by Todd Hasak-Lowy (Author)

Booktalk: In an age when armies are stronger than ever before, when guns seem to be everywhere, how can people confront their adversaries without resorting to violence themselves? Through key international movements as well as people such as Gandhi, Alice Paul, Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez, and Václav Havel, this book discusses the components of nonviolent resistance. It answers the question “Why nonviolence?” by showing how nonviolent movements have succeeded again and again in a variety of ways, in all sorts of places, and always in the face of overwhelming odds. The book includes endnotes, a bibliography, and an index.

Snippet: History is more than wars and violence.

In fact, history has more often been forged through conflicts of a different sort, when huge numbers of people banded together to fight and sacrifice for their side, without ever joining a conventional army or resorting to violence. Incredible individuals–who were not politicians or generals–led these movements.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Copyright © 2020 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

World’s Best (and Worst) Creepy Critter Jokes

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World’s Best (and Worst) Creepy Critter Jokes
by Jessica Rusick (Author)

Booktalk: How do fleas travel? They itch-hike! And what is a mouse’s favorite game? Hide and squeak! Kids can read these jokes — and make up new ones!

Snippet:


Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Copyright © 2020 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Know any parents teaching school at home due to the pandemic?
Share my makerspace (DIY) articles published by the American Library Association.

This Raindrop: Has a Billion Stories to Tell

Right in time for Earth Day, we have This Raindrop: Has a Billion Stories to Tell by Linda Ragsdale and illustrated by Srimalie Bassani at Growing with Science blog.

This picture book…
Starts with a single raindrop that “has billions of stories to tell” then follows it through time and space at it cycles again and again. Readers will be thrilled as the words flow like water.

This picture book…
Has incredibly imaginative illustrations that play with perspective, zooming in and out, then up and down from spread to spread.

This picture book…
Has a little something extra. It features a lovely arlin paper cover with foil text enhancements, illustrated end papers, plus back matter including an explanation of the water cycle, the importance of water conservation, and resources for further reading.

This picture book…
Could help save the planet. As the sticker on the cover says, “Every Book [purchased] Plants a Tree.”

What could be better than that?

Copyright © 2020 Roberta Gibson All Rights Reserved.

Everest: The Remarkable Story of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay

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Everest: The Remarkable Story of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay
by Alexandra Stewart (Author) and Joe Todd-Stanton (Illustrator)

Booktalk: In the late morning of May 29th 1953, the sun was shining brightly on the roof of the world, a gentle breeze was blowing and two men were there to witness it for the first time ever . Their names were Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay and the roof of the world was Everest. This is the story of how two very different yet equally determined men battled frost-biting temperatures, tumbling ice rocks, powerful winds and death-defying ridges to climb the world’s highest mountain.

Snippet: What made Hillary and Tenzing’s achievement all the more remarkable was that they had triumphed where so many others had failed before. Climbers had been trying to reach the top of Everest for more than thirty years.

A huge amount of time, effort, and money –not to mention national pride– had been invested in these attempts. Despite this, each one had ended in disappointment, and some even in death.

See the book trailer.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Copyright © 2020 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Planes (Easy to Draw)

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Planes (Easy to Draw)
by Mark Bergin (Author)

Booktalk: Follow the steps from simple shapes to the completed drawing. Simple step-by-step picture instructions show how to draw a variety of planes in 2-D from a glider to a seaplane.

Snippet: Use a pencil to draw the shapes of your plane. Any mistakes you make can be easily erased, as can any construction lines that are left over at the end of your drawing.

Nonfiction Monday

It’s Nonfiction Monday!

Copyright © 2020 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Know any parents teaching school at home due to the pandemic?
Share these Makerspace (DIY) projects for kids.