3rd Grade
Coyote Places the Stars
Based on a Wasco Native American legend, this dramatically illustrated pourquoi tale explains the designs of the constellations. It is
the curious coyote who decides to discover the secrets of the heavens by creating a ladder of arrows he shoots into the sky. Once in
the heavens, he moves the stars around forming the shapes of his animal friends, and he calls them all together to enjoy his
handiwork. The simple, quickly moving text is luminously illustrated with colorful border designs around some of the text as well as
full-and double-page spreads of the constellations, Southwestern landscape, and animals, created by painting dyes on cotton fabric
and detailing with the wax-resist batik method. The onomatopoetic language makes this a natural tale for classroom reading, but the
artwork can be best appreciated by independent readers.
The Earth Under Sky Bear’s Feet
A companion to Bruchac's Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back. In that title, a grandfather shared the moon's legends with his grandson. In
this book, a grandmother relates the legend of Sky Bear to her granddaughter. Sky Bear (also known as the Big Dipper) circles the Earth
each night, and these 12 poems tell of what she sees and hears. Each one is from a different tribe: Mohawk, Anishinabe, Pima,
Missisquoi, Winnebago, Cochiti Pueblo, Lenape, Chumash, Inuit, Lakota, Navajo, and Pawnee. Bruchac has once again compiled a
thoughtful collection that eloquently bears out the theme of unity among all creatures. The selections display a wide range of
emotions. Some are pensive meditations; others resound with hopeful energy. "Mouse's Bragging Song," a whimsical delight, is the
arrogant boast of a little creature who thinks he alone can touch the sky.
How the Stars Fell Into the Sky
At the end of the first day, First Woman tries to convince First Man that ``The people need to know the laws.'' Impatiently, he tells her
to write them in the sky. She takes a blanket full of her jewels (stars) and with infinite patience begins ``designing her pattern so all
could read it.'' Coyote asks to help, but when he sees the magnitude of the task he grumbles, then flings the remaining stars into the
night sky, forever obscuring the pattern. As the second day dawns, the people go about their lives, ``. . . never knowing the reason for
the confusion that would always dwell among them.'' This Navajo tale acknowledges the common human feeling that there IS a
message in the stars--the laws of a clear and orderly universe--if it could be read. It absolves humans of guilt (Coyote did it) and
provides a First Woman who is a strong, positive, and beneficent figure.
Drop of Water: A Book of Science
Wick's striking color photographs of water in various states and stages of movement capture moments of change in beautiful patterns
that cannot be observed without the advantages of stop action and magnification. These pictures present water drops; soap bubbles;
water condensing and evaporating; snowflakes, frost, and dew; and water as a prism. The paragraphs of text that accompany the
images read like extended captions; they describe what is being pictured and briefly comment on the phenomenon taking place. A set
of short directions for doing the observations and experiments included appears at the end. The photographs are the outstanding
feature here; they do stimulate wonder. Perhaps the book succeeds more as an exploration of their use to enhance scientific
observation than as a description of the characteristics of water. Wick clearly shows that science and art both offer ways to observe
the world around us.
Moon Shot: The Flight of Apollo 11
Large in trim size as well as topic, this stirring account retraces Apollo 11's historic mission in brief but precise detail, and also brilliantly
captures the mighty scope and drama of the achievement. Rendered in delicate lines and subtly modulated watercolors, the eye-filling
illustrations allow viewers to follow the three astronauts as they lumber aboard their spacecraft for the blastoff and ensuing weeklong
journey. They split up so that two can make their famous sortie, and then reunite for the return to "the good and lonely Earth,/glowing
in the sky." Floca enhances his brief, poetic main text with an opening spread that illustrates each component of Apollo 11, and a lucid
closing summary of the entire Apollo program that, among other enlightening facts, includes a comment from Neil Armstrong about
what he said versus what he meant to say when he stepped onto the lunar surface.
Sarah, Plain and Tall
In the late 19th century a widowed mid-western farmer with two children--Anna and Caleb--advertises for a wife. When Sarah arrives
she is homesick for Maine, especially for the ocean which she misses greatly. The children fear that she will not stay, and when she
goes off to town alone, young Caleb--whose mother died during childbirth--is stricken with the fear that she has gone for good. But she
returns with colored pencils to illustrate for them the beauty of Maine, and to explain that, though she misses her home, "the truth of
it is I would miss you more." The tale gently explores themes of abandonment, loss and love.
One Day in the Prairie
George takes an ecological community, adds a child, and comes up with a story both factually accurate and exciting to read. Henry
spends a day at a southwestern Oklahoma wildlife refuge to try to photograph a prairie dog doing a backflip (a warning signal to its
kin). He doesn't know that a tornado is forming on the horizon, but the nearby buffalo herd senses its approach. With her usual skill,
George describes the plants, the animals, and the insects of the prairie and their behavior as the storm approaches. Black-and-white
pencil drawings expand the text and bring out the threat of the coming tornado. George provides a brief but intense and detailed look
at the North American prairie.
3rd Grade
The Attractive Story of Magnetism
Max Axiom is a super teacher in the tradition of Miss Frizzle and the Magic Schoolbus. To teach
students about magnets, Max travels back in time to the 900 B.C. Greek region of Magnesia where
the discovery of magnetism was first documented. He shrinks into an atom to demonstrate the
spinning force of electrons and blasts deep into space to illustrate the Earth’s magnetic poles and
the forces that cause the Aurora Borealis (northern lights) and the Aurora Australis (southern lights).
He then returns safely back to his present-day lab for some fun science experiments that can be
replicated at home or in the classroom. Written in an accurate and engaging graphic novel format
with inserted panels defining key terms, this book would be an exciting asset to any home or
classroom library. This book is complete with additional facts about magnetism, a glossary and
index, and a fact-file of Max Axiom’s super capabilities and basic statistics
Balto and the Great Race
Kimmel presents the legendary story of the part-husky/part-wolf sled dog that braved severe blizzard conditions to take
antitoxin serum to a remote Alaskan village in 1925. When the town was stricken by a diphtheria epidemic, Balto overcame
unbelievable obstacles to accomplish what other dogs could not. This heroic canine has been immortalized in statue, film,
and now in a book that brings his story to life. Kimmel's writing deftly combines geography, sled racing, and historical
background with the gripping adventure of Balto's race to save lives.