Informational Books for Younger Readers
Best of the Best
February 4, 2013
Dorsey Chambers
Presenter
1.
Low, William. Machines Go to Work in the City.
If you have ever read the book Machines Go to Work, this is its eagerly
anticipated sequel, Machines Go to Work in the City. Both books are written
and illustrated by William Low and published by Henry Holt & Company.
Machines Go to Work in the City is the perfect book for curious toddlers
through 2nd graders who are interested in big city machines and their
important functions in city neighborhoods. This title features a garbage
truck, an elevated train, a giant vacuum truck, traffic lights, a bucket truck, a
tower crane, an airport baggage carrier and a plane.
Rather than simply explain each machine and how it works, Low weaves in
onomatopoeia, large flaps to be lifted and opened and a curious question to
engage the reader or listener.
For example, “Psssshhhh! In the train yard, the engineer checks the
brakes. The train is ready to go. Uh-oh! Yellow flags ahead. The train slows
down. Is something wrong on the tracks? (When you fold out the flap) No!
Flags mean caution, workers are busy laying new track.”
And
“Beep! Beep! Honk! Honk! Cars and trucks stop when the traffic lights are
not working. A police officer moves the traffic along. Will the officer fix the
broken light? No! When the bucket truck arrives, the signal crew will fix
the traffic light.”
Some of the flaps lift horizontally, some vertically, some up and some down.
The illustration on the last flap of the book shows an airplane taking off. The
flaps lift both up and out to reveal a 4 page cityscape with the text “Night
time falls in the city below. Tired workers return to their homes. It’s been a
busy day for the city machines and tomorrow they will go to work again.”
The last three pages of the book show the machines up close, named and
labeled, with brief explanations of their functions. An example is “Train
Crane.” “Train cranes have two sets of wheels – one set for the road and a
second set for rails. This crane is used for lifting track sections, moving
gravel and digging holes.“
You may already be familiar with Low’s other books, including Chinatown
and Old Penn Station. Low is a pioneer of digital painting techniques. He
uses Adobe Photoshop to access a myriad of palette colors and brush types
that Photoshop offers. He uses a pressure sensitive screen overlay to draw
right on a touch-screen monitor to draw thin or broad strokes, depending on
the pressure he applies. Using the computer enables Low to take risks he
would not normally be willing to take using acrylics and oil paints. If Low
makes a mistake, removing it is just a click away or he can choose to revert
to a previously saved version of each painting. Using “Painter”, Low can
even insert oil brushstrokes on top of the art to produce highlight, shine,
color blends, smears and even transparency of color to give the illusion of
watercolors. His integration of art and technology give him both freedom
and flexibility to experiment with design.
Some applicable common core standards for reading informational text in
this book include the kindergarten standard:
RI.K.4:With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about
unknown words in a text. Words like vacuum truck, landfill, commuter,
engineer and hydraulic jacks are all used in context with brilliant illustrations
to help readers understand the new vocabulary.
First graders can use the addendum to learn about using text features to
locate key facts or information in a text – Common Core standard RI.1.5.
2.
Hale, Christy. Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building.
Keeping with the engineering theme, our next book is Dreaming Up: A
Celebration of Building by Christy Hale and published by Lee and Low. This
book is best suited for grades K-3. It features illustrations of children playing
and building architectural forms with readily available materials, such as
Legos, blocks, cardboard tubes and sand. A concrete poem in shapes
reminiscent of the structure accompany each illustration. The words in the
concrete poem about domed shelters are arranged on the page in the
curving shape of a dome. On the facing page of each illustration is a
photograph of a real architectural work of art similar in design to the child’s
creation.
The photographs, biographical information and quotes in this outstanding
book all relate to the theme of architecture and building. For example, the
form of the concrete poem, “cup on cup, stacking up, smaller, smaller and
growing taller!” mimics the architectural style of the Petronas Twin Towers in
Kuala Lumpur. The illustration of children playing with colorful stacking cups
on the page facing the photograph, gives a relatable context for the bold
architectural design of the towers. Accompanying background gives short
biographies of the featured architects and a quote from each architect along
with information about the featured buildings.
This book leads you to consider how joining toothpicks together in a sphere
can resemble the Montreal Biosphere or how Frank Lloyd Wright’s
masterpiece Fallingwater (a private residence) resembles children’s
creations from wooden blocks.The accompanying poem to Fallingwater
is “Touch wood, fingers learn each form. Hanging shapes on air, explore
new directions. Every block anchored with care.” The stunning curved lines
of Frank Ghery’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, is likened to the
soft sculptural forms of children building living room forts out of couch
cushions.
Can you imagine how your students might be inspired to use research and
classroom materials to re-interpret Millennium Park’s Cloud Gate, the
Hancock Building, Marina City or the Field Museum?
This book aligns with College and Career Readiness Anchor Standard
R.5“Analyze the structure of texts, including how sentences, paragraphs,
and larger portions of the text relate to each other and the whole.”
Or, the grade 2 literacy standard W.2.7: Participate in shared research and
writing projects. Students can be asked to use the design of the book to
inspire research on favorite Chicago buildings and structures. There is a
comprehensive and student friendly website of Chicago Landmarks and
Chicago Architects accessible from the Chicago History Museum website to
help students with their research.
3.
Holub, Joan. Zero the Hero.
2.7 R.L., 450 Lexile,
Zero the Hero, written by Joan Holub and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld is a
graphic depiction of counting numbers using sassy dialogue balloons and
visual asides to explain mathematical principles through text about an
atypical hero, a bullied and unappreciated zero. It is best suited to grades 14 with a 2.7 reading level and a lexile number of 450. You may recognize
Lichtenheld’s illustrative style from Shark vs. Train or “Duck! Rabbit! The
style of Zero the Hero is reminiscent of the adorable book Arnie the
Doughnut by Laurie Keller.
Poor Zero the Hero couldn’t catch a break with a butterfly net. He was often
mistaken for various circular objects: Froot Loops, donuts… even the letter
o. Other numbers used to make fun of him since he didn’t seem to count for
anything when adding math problems such as 3 + 0 =3. In fact, the number
5 in this book said to Zero, “Okay, let me take a wild guess here, the sum of
You and Me is going to be ME! That’s pretty much a sure thing, right?” The
number One bragged, “Yes it’s true, I’m number one – the number everyone
wants to be. I take first place in every contest. I’m the number one line
leader.”
When subtracting, the same thing happened. 4-0 = 4, 6-0 = 6
“You are soooo zilch!” said the number 2 to poor Zero.
Another number said, “Hey diddly squat, any way I figure it, me take away
nothing equals me!” Division had the same result. Zero didn’t make a
numerical difference at all….until … dumdadumdumduuuummmm…
MULTIPLICATION came along…1 X 0 = 0, 2 X 0 = 0. The other numbers
went running for the hills fearing extinction! “Don’t go near the times tables
if Zero is around!” they cried. Zero’s confidence was shaken because a real
friend wouldn’t multiply his friends into oblivion.
Zero left the other numbers and bolted away. At first the other numbers
didn’t even notice Zero was gone, happily adding and subtracting without
him until one day when they needed him for rounding up or down or for
answering problems like 5+5 = …
In a strange twist of fate the numbers were taken captive by Roman
Numerals who didn’t need the numbers at all and saw them as a threat.
From far away, Zero the Hero heard the cries of the numbers and set off to
rescue them. He threatened the Roman Numerals with his power of
multiplying numbers into nothingness and sent them scurrying. Zero the
Hero was now a celebrated hero and was no longer mistaken for a giant
cheerio, a chariot wheel or a flying bagel.
A free Teacher’s Guide for Zero the Hero is available from illustrator Tom
Lichtenheld’s webpage that includes discussion questions, math curriculum
connections, related books and suggestions for reader’s theater
performance and a Zero the Hero mask template for students to wear during
the reading.
http://www.tomlichtenheld.com/childrens_books/zero-thehero/ZeroTeacher%20Guide.pdf
4.
Davies, Nicola. Just Ducks.
RL 4.1
AD940L (Adult-directed Lexile)
Just Ducks is written by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Salvatore Rubbino.
Just Ducks is a Book Links Lasting Connections Winner and was awarded
the Booklist Top 10 Science & Health Books For Youth 2012 distinction.
Just Ducks is a charming fictional story for first through third graders, written
in first person narrative about a young girl’s observations through the course
of a day of mallard ducks that live in the river that runs through her city.
“Quack quack, quack quack quack…It’s the first sound I hear every
morning,” says the narrator. “I open my bedroom curtains. Who could be
making all that noise? Ducks ---just ducks, down the river that flows through
town.” The little girl and her mother eat their breakfast while the ducks eat
theirs. She observes the ducks preening and upending as she walks to
school and on her way home. She feeds them bread and distinguishes the
differences in coloring and habits of male and female mallards. “The boys,
called “drakes”, have glossy green heads, neat white collars and a cute little
curl on their tails. They both have a secret patch of blue on each wing,
which I see when they stretch or fly. I like it when a drake shows off his
handsome feathers to the lady ducks, trying to get one to be his girlfriend.,,.
When I close my curtains on the frost stars, the ducks have disappeared.
The bridge is quiet, and there’s just the sound of rushing water and the
stillness of the night. But in the morning, they’ll be there…ducks, - just
ducks, down on the river that flows through the town.”
Much like the narrator of the story, the book’s illustrator Salvatore Rubbino
prepares to paint by observing and sketching his subjects. The watercolor
paintings evoke a calm gentle background highlighting the expressive ducks
featured in the text.
Smaller print in a different font is interjected on many pages of the book to
give additional information about mallards such as : “Male mallards, called
drakes, don’t sit on the eggs the ducks have laid, so they don’t need to be
camouflaged like the female mallards,” further explaining the observations
of the narrator. An index at the back of the book helps students quickly find
information about the life of mallards, including “dabbling”, “predators” and
“preening”.
Chicago students may be surprised to learn that mallards have a strong
presence all around Chicago. They can be found in Humboldt Park,
Montrose Harbor, Columbus Park on Chicago’s West side, a courtyard in
Northeastern Illinois University’s campus, the garden center of a Home
Depot retail store, and many other places that are in or near water.
Teachers can ask students to create questions for their peers using the
index to address the Third grade Common Core standard R.L.1 Ask and
answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text referring explicitly
to the text as the basis for the answers.
5.
3.9 R.L.
F Walker, Sally. Freedom Song: The Story of Henry Box Brown.
AD570L (Adult-directed Lexile)
The historical fiction title Freedom Song: The story of Henry Box Brown by
Sally Walker and illustrated by Sean Qualls is a picture book for grades 1-4
with a reading level of 3.9. Illustrator Shawn Qualls is the Coretta Scott
King Honor illustrator of Before John Was a Jazz Giant. You may already be
familiar with Henry’s Freedom Box by Author Ellen Levine and illustrated by
Kadir Nelson. It is the true story of a remarkable slave who succeeds in
escaping slavery by mailing himself to the North.
Sally Walker’s perspective of the story of Henry Box Brown’s life comes
from her research that uncovered that Henry “Box” Brown was a member of
his church choir for many years and her knowledge that music played an
important role in the lives of slaves. As she wrote the book, she
incorporated poetic songs into the description of Henry’s everyday life to
help her to tell this amazing story.
“Mama’s cooking grew Henry tall. Papa’s stories grew Henry smart. The
whole family’s love grew Henry strong, even though they were slaves on
Master’s plantation.” As Henry grew and began working, he sang his
workday song, “It’s lift, tote, toss the sack words sent strength to his arms.”
In the garden, Henry sang his gather up song. It’s “twist, snap, pick a pea”
words rang loud and clear. Henry’s favorite song was his quiet Freedom
Song. It’s “think freedom-land, family, stay all together” words soothed
Henry’s greatest fear –- that his family would be separated some day.
As Henry grew older he fell in love with another slave named Nancy and
had children with her. While working in a tobacco factory for a slave owner,
a friend reported that Henry’s wife and children had been sold to a faraway
plantation. Henry was devastated. For weeks silence filled Henry’s house –
people thought that perhaps Henry had no more songs left in his soul – but
Henry still had his Freedom Song. Its “think, plan, take yourself to Freedomland” words were getting stronger every day. There were folks in Freedomland who could help Henry reunite with Nancy and his children.
Friends of Henry’s helped him plan to stow away inside a box headed for
Pennsylvania with only a small sack of water. The book recounts his
frightening and dangerous journey inside the small, dark, box until the lid of
the box was pried off in a safe place in Pennsylvania and Henry was free.
James McKim, who received Henry’s box at the anti-slavery office, sent a
letter about Henry’s escape to a friend. A copy of the letter still exists in a
New York museum and an excerpt from the letter is printed in the back of
this book with a link to the complete letter.
The letter begins…
“To appreciate fully the boldness and risk of the achievement you ought to
see the box and hear all the circumstances. The box is 3 feet two inches
long; two feet eight inches deep, and one foot two inches wide, with the very
slightest crevice to admit the air…”
This book is a perfect opportunity to use the primary source of the letter and
the fictional account of the story to meet the Fourth Grade Common Core
Standard RI.4.9 Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in
order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
6.
Muntean, Michaela. Stay: The True Story of Ten Dogs.
760 Lexile
Stay: The True Story of Ten Dogs is written by Michaela Muntean with
photographs by K.C.Bailey and Steven Kazmierski. Stay is for grades 2-5
with a reading level of 4th grade. Stay recounts the life of Luciano
Anastasini, a circus acrobat and tightrope walker who, while performing in
Chicago, suffered a devastating fall that prevented him from performing as
an acrobat ever again. Coming from a long family line of circus performers,
Luciano was determined to find a new way to continue to work with the
circus he loved so dearly. He figured that since he was preparing for a
second chance to be a circus performer, he should adopt dogs who also
needed a second chance. When Luciano recovered from his fall, he went to
the dog pound and adopted 10 dogs from the pound who no one wanted.
Throughout this photo essay, readers meet each of the dogs that Luciano
chose. Here are four of them:
Bowser was a kitchen thief stealing loaves of bread and sticks of butter right
off the counter.
Penny was a little BijonFrise who spun in circles bumping into walls and
furniture. She was returned to the pound three separate times.
.
Tyke was a schnauzer with a bad attitude and coincidentally, had a very bad
hairdo. Whatever was asked of him, Tyke did the opposite.
Cocoa was a Dalmatian with cocoa brown spots. He dug up flowerbeds and
grass.
With patience, care and time, Luciano saw in Bowser a dog with
tremendous balance and agility. He realized that Penny was cross-eyed and
saw two of everything. With love and training Luciano could help her figure
out which of two images were in fact real. Although Tyke the dog with the
bad attitude tested Luciano’s patience, Luciano was gentle and kind with
him, slowly winning the dog’s trust and loyalty. Luciano saw Cocoa the
Dalmatian as a dog with boundless energy that needed to be channeled.
This is an unusual circus story. As stated in the book, “..one man and ten
dogs were fortunate enough to find one another, but luck alone does not
turn around lives. Sometimes a dog will show up when a person needs one
most. Sometimes a person will show up when a dog needs one most.
Sometimes a dog and a person will find one another at just the right
moment, a moment when they need each other more than either could ever
imagine.”
For further investigation, there are videos of Luciano’s dog acts and PBS
interviews with Luciano available online as well as articles about Luciano
and his Pound Puppies in Circopedia: the free international encyclopedia of
the circus. (http://www.pbs.org/opb/circus/video/performance-lucianospound-puppies/ and www.circopedia.org)
These resources can be used in conjunction with the book to meet the Fifth
Grade Standard RI.5.7: Draw on information from multiple print or digital
sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly
or to solve a problem efficiently.
This book is also a perfect opportunity to discuss character motivation using
the Grade Three Standard 3.R.L.3: Describe characters in a story (their
traits, motivations, or feelings and explain how their actions contribute to the
sequence of events.”
7.
Nelson, Kadir. I Have a Dream. Schwartz & Wade, Publishers.
4.7 R.L.
I Have a Dream by Kadir Nelson is a triumph of artistry, created to
commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s legendary speech. For this
book, Kadir Nelson selected the most iconic portion of Dr. King’s original
speech given on August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial during the March
on Washington. This book is appropriate for grade 2 and up with a 4.7
reading level.
Kadir Nelson’s oil paintings are striking and capture the splendor, power and
dignity of Dr. King’s speech, while helping younger readers to envision his
message of freedom, equality and peace.
This edition has an accompanying CD on the inside front cover pocket of
the book, so readers can listen to the entire speech, word for word with all
the power and majesty of Dr. King’s original tone and inflection.
Nelson carefully chose the images he painted to compliment the text of Dr.
king’s most famous speech. For the quote “I have a dream that one day this
nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these
truths to be self-evident – that all men are created equal…..,” Nelson
painted a mass of marchers carrying signs peacefully assembling in front of
the Lincoln Memorial.
Nelson painted King’s four little children who King had hoped would not be
judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. The
painting depicts the four children so realistic and hopeful that they look like
children we see in our libraries across our city every day. Nelson used
panels to illustrate the hilltops of New Hampshire, the mighty mountains of
New York, the forested Alleghenies of Pennsylvania and the snow-capped
Rockies of Colorado. He chose to paint a flock of rising doves to symbolize
peace and illustrate the words, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God
almighty we are free at last!”
The last two pages of the book offer the speech in its entirety. There is also
a Read & Listen E-book version available offering a unique and immersive
reading experience. Schwartz and Wade Publishers are an imprint of
Random House. Random House shares a free online teacher’s guide of
activities related to Kadir Nelson’s book, including Music, Visual Arts,
Language Arts and Social Studies Curriculum Connections.
(http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/wpcontent/uploads/2012/10/IHaveADream_Poster_EG_SingPgs.pdf)
In a TFK –“Time for Kids” video clip, Kadir Nelson shares his dream for this
book. He hopes that children reading his book will be inspired to think about
their role in helping to fulfill that dream and the ways they can contribute,
large or small to creating a better America.
This book can be used to meet a variety of Common Core Standards from
the Grade 1 Standard, RI.1.6: Distinguish between information provided by
pictures or other illustrations, and information provided by the words in a
text all the way through the Grade 6 Standard RI.6.4: Determine the
meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
figurative, connotative, and technical meanings.
8
.
Asim, Jabari. Fifty Cents and a Dream: Young Booker T. Washington
There are many biographies of Booker T. Washington available for
students. The carefully executed design of this book, Fifty Cents and a
Dream:Young Booker T. Washington, written by Jabari Asim and illustrated
by Bryan Collier, is an absolute must-have picture book biography for your
collection. Collier’s rich illustrations made of watercolor images painted over
underlying collages and the author’s unique free verse poetry text add
unexpected dimension to Booker T. Washington’s story.
Students in grades 2-4 will be engaged by author Jabari Asim’s skill sharing
the importance of Washington’s desire for education by describing young
Booker as a slave. “When he walked his Master’s daughter to school, he
carried her books, and his fingers would linger on each of the covers. He
could feel magic seeping into his hands.” A poignant illustration of
Washington looking in the school room depicts a young man as thirsty for
knowledge as he was for water in the hot Virginia sun.
When freedom came for Washington and his family in 1865, Washington
worked very dangerous and difficult jobs in both a salt furnace and a coal
mine. As he worked he listened, learned and continued to dream of
unlocking the secrets found in books. He heard of a school called the
Hampton Institute, 500 miles away, that welcomed African American
students. Author Jabari Asim uniquely depicts the courage and
determination of young Booker T. Washington as he sets out on foot in 1872
to walk 500 miles miles to the Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia.
Asim writes, “Trudging beneath the bleak skies and bitter cold, he could
have given up. Then he imagined the library at the Hampton Institute, magic
and mystery lining its shelves. From deep inside he heard a voice urging
him to press on. He listened and dreamed.” By the time Washington
reached Hampton, he had only 50 cents in his pocket and a dream in his
soul.
Award- winning illustrator Bryan Collier used pages from an 1824 spelling
book to overlay a collage symbolizing Booker’s desire to read and learn. He
used strips of maps as a collage to create the shirts Washington wore in the
illustrations to foreshadow Booker’s 500 mile walking journey.
As we all know, Booker T. Washington attended Hampton Institute and
ended up teaching there as well. Then he went on to build, open and teach
at the famous Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
This freestyle poetic book ends with additional facts about Washington’s
journey, a timeline of significant moments in his life and notes from both the
author and illustrator.
This book lends itself to explore the Third Grade Standard RI.3.3: Describe
the relationship between a series of historical events, using language that
pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect. Or, the 4th Grade Standard
RI.4.5: Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison,
cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in
a text or part of a text.
9.
Rosenstock, Barb. The Camping Trip That Changed America.
RL 5.0, 740 Lexile
The Camping Trip That Changed America: Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir
and our National Parks was written by Barb Rosenstock and illustrated by
Mordicai Gerstein, who also wrote and illustrated the Caldecott Medal
winner, The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. The Camping Trip that
Changed America is geared for grades 2-5, and explains the nonfiction story
of how two very different individuals happened to spend three nights
together camping in the wilderness, inspiring the preservation of our
National Parks.
Though we are used to referring to Theodore Roosevelt as Teddy, his own
family referred to him as Teedie.Teedie. He grew up in a wealthy family,
enjoying fishing and hunting, horseback riding and the great outdoors.
Teedie grew up to become the youngest president ever elected.
Johnnie Muir on the other hand, was the son of poor immigrant farmers. He
loved to camp, hike, sketch and write about his travels through nature. He
became a world famous naturalist and protector of wildlife.
In the White House, one March evening in 1903, Teedie, who loved to read,
curled up with a book about Johnnie’s travels through California’s Sierra
Mountains. He was shocked to read that Muir believed the mountain forests
were in jeopardy of vanishing if they were not protected. Intrigued by Muir’s
concern, Roosevelt wrote and asked Johnnie Muir to take him camping in
the Yosemite wilderness so that the President could see those endangered
forests for himself. Johnnie and Teedie set off on a great 3-day journey
sleeping under the stars, marveling at the Giant Sequoias of the Mariposa
Grove. They rode horses through drifts of snow and saw brilliant valleys
carved out by glaciers. Muir shared his concerns with Teedie over a
campfire.
“ People were destroying wild land to make money. Ranchers cleared
forests, prospectors mined for gold and companies planned to build hotels
throughout the valley.” Together Teedie and Johnnie crafted a plan, “What if
everyone owned the wilderness? What if both rich and poor could spend
time out in the open? What if we could save the forests for all the children to
come.” Back in Washington, Roosevelt pushed Congress to pass laws
protecting the wilderness, creating national parks, national forests and
wildlife sanctuaries.
Mordicai Gerstein’s illustrations of Johnnie and Teedie camping out under
tremendous, ancient trees, wondering at the spectacle of a glacier-carved
valley, and author Barb Rosenstock’s embedded conversations about the
importance of protecting our national treasures create an enduring
impression for children and adults to remember.
Roosevelt returned to Washington and declared, without a vote, the first
protected National Monuments, including the Petrified Forest, Mount
Olympus and the Grand Canyon.
Electronic field trips are available for free through the National Parks
Foundation. www.nationalparks.org/explore-parks
Students can address the Fifth Grade Standard RI.5.6: Analyze multiple
accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and
differences in the point of view they represent, by comparing the resources
available on the website with the account of Teedie Roosevelt and Johnnie
Muir.
10.
Bishop, Nic. Snakes. (Scholastic Nonfiction)
.
Scholastic RL 5.1
Nic Bishop has a doctorate in Biological Sciences – he is passionate about
getting children as excited about his subjects as he is. He is a master author
and illustrator and as many of us discovered at a previous Best of the Best
event, here at the Chicago Public Library, he is a warm, funny and engaging
speaker. Nic Bishop’s new book Snakes is a slithery masterpiece! His
Sibert medal-winning bold and brilliant photography is sure to grab even the
most squeamish reader, and is particularly perfect for grades 3-5.
What Nic Bishop does best is to engage young readers with a context for all
of the information that he offers, showing respect for and knowledge of his
young audience. He writes, “If you could turn yourself into a snake you
would be about 4 times longer than you are now, and only a few inches
thick. You would have to get around without legs. Instead you would have a
long backbone with hundreds of ribs and thousands of muscles! “
The vocabulary of the text makes it clear that Bishop has the utmost respect
for his subjects. He describes Flying Snakes that flatten their bodies and
glide like ribbons from rain forest trees. The smallest snake is “thinner than
a shoelace… Extra large scales on a snake’s belly act as the tread on your
shoes – enabling them to slide up trees without even slipping.” Bishop
describes the way snakes can track the invisible trail of a mouse with an
organ in its mouth. He explains that snakes are very patient. They only
require 8 large meals per year and are willing to wait and ambush their prey.
Bishop is also very patient. In his author’s note he explains that getting a
photograph of the egg-eating snake took 4 snakes and many nights of
patience to capture the photo. Bishop also reveals that the little opossum
pictured with the Emerald Tree Boa was very friendly and gentle and he
couldn’t see the opossum as becoming snake food, so he took two separate
pictures, one of the opossum and one of the snake and put them together
for the photo spread. He goes on to explain that snakes are nervous
creatures, with little sight and no hearing, so they rely on vibrations and
sensory glands, camouflage and even playing dead to keep safe.
A four page photo-spread (30 inches long) of a venomous Mojave
rattlesnake enables the reader to see one of the snake’s heat seeking pits
halfway between its mouth and its eye.
One of the snakes Bishop was photographing bit his hand leaving small
sharp teeth buried in his hand. Bishop was left picking glassy slivers from
his hand for weeks – but, he notes, the snake loses and replaces teeth all
the time, so the snake was not harmed by biting him. Well, thank goodness
for that! For the amateur herpetologists in your life, be sure to pick up Nic
Bishop’s book, Snakes, today.
A comprehensive, index, captions, bolded information, an author’s note,
books for further reading, a website and glossary all make this a perfect
selection for Third Grade Reading Standard RI.3.5: Use text features and
search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information
relevant to a given topic efficiently.
11.
Gherman, Beverly. First Mothers.
RL 5.5
There are plenty of books about our presidents but very, very, few about the
parents who raised our country’s leaders. This book, “First Mothers” by
Beverly Gherman has information about all of our country’s first mothers,
from George Washington through Barack Obama. Students in grades 2-5
will enjoy this title. First Mothers is written by Beverly Sherman and
illustrated by Julie Downing. In addition to the predictable themes of
mothers with strong work ethics and dedication to the church and social
justice, Sherman investigated for three years to bring some additional
colorful facts to the surprised reader. For example:
The good: Woodrow Wilson’s mom read aloud to him because he had
dyslexia.
The bad: No matter what he did, including becoming the first president of
the United States of America, George Washington’s mother was never
proud of him.
And the Ugly: In 1913, Gerald Ford’s mother was in an abusive marriage.
She took the baby, snuck out of the house and never returned. Her new
husband adopted her son and gave him his last name, Gerald Ford. Mrs.
Ford was a very religious woman. She sat in the same church pew for 50
years. One Sunday she died right there in that pew waiting for services to
begin.
Did you know that Abigail Adams was the first woman to be a wife and a
mother to a president?
That Nancy Hanks Lincoln was a wrestler?
Sara Delano Roosevelt was the first mother to vote for her son for president.
Richard Nixon’s mother Hannah Milhous Nixon baked 50 pies every day.
Bill Clinton’s mother was married 5 times.
Barack Obama’s mom was an only child. Her father had wanted a son, so
he named her Stanley after himself. She woke Barack every morning at
4:00 AM reading him speeches from famous Americans.
A bibliography and an author’s note complete the volume. In the author’s
note Ghermin explains that, “Despite their differences, these forty-three
mothers and one step-mother seemed to have several things in common.
They all valued learning and made great a sacrifices to insure that the future
presidents were well educated. They encouraged their sons to pursue their
passion and respect hard work.”
Third graders can select a president and write an original presentation about
how their president’s mother may have affected their presidency,
addressing Common Core Standard RI.3.6: Students distinguish their own
point of view from that of the author of a text.
Or
5th graders could work towards meeting Writing Standard W.5:3 Write
narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences by describing how
their own grandmothers may have impacted the lives, aspirations and
attitudes of the students’ mothers.
12.
.
5.9 R.L.
Jenkins, Steve. The Beetle Book.
Like Nic Bishop, Steve Jenkins is another non-fiction rock star! His books
include Just a Second, Actual Size, Biggest Strongest Fastest and What
Can You Do with a Tail Like This?. The Beetle Book, his most recent
endeavor, is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, aimed at an audience
of students in grades 4-7. The reading level of this book is 5.9.
Jenkins begins The Beetle Book with the shocking phrase, “Line up every
kind of plant AND animal on earth…and one of every four will be a beetle.”
His trademark cut paper technique is so intricate, it’s almost hard to believe
he was able to cut each antennae and wing casing so precisely.
Silhouetted throughout the book are actual sizes of the featured beetles
from the teeny tiny clown beetle, the size of a dot on a piece of paper, to the
gigantic 9 by 9 inch titan beetle. The silhouettes give readers perspective on
size while larger than life images show off the detail of the hairy legged
African Goliath beetle and the tribal tattoo design of the Harlequin beetle’s
wings.
The chosen font resembles writing one might find in a journal left on a
wooden stump somewhere, full of beetle trivia and facts.
A section entitled “Beetle Bits” labels beetle parts to help readers discern a
beetle thorax from a beetle mandible.
Before I read this book I was only familiar with ladybugs, June bugs and
fireflies – all beetles.
After reading this book, I learned that beetles have a lot of adaptations that
have helped them to survive and thrive. They’ve been around since the
dinosaurs roamed the earth. Beetle mandibles or jaws allow beetles to eat
a wide variety of foods. The rigid outer wings of beetles help protect beetles
from predators.
Beetles are clever…
The whirligig beetle skims along the surface of ponds. It has 2 eyes that
watch above the water and two eyes that watch below the surface, doubling
their chance to find food.
Beetles have a variety of defenses against predators....
The bombardier beetle squirts a blinding, boiling hot liquid into the face of
an attacker. When threatened, the ironclad beetle pulls its legs into its shell
so it appears to be a bird dropping.
Beetles are creative…..
The forest fire beetle uses heat-sensing spots on its body to detect a forest
fire up to 20 miles away. The beetle flies to the sight of a forest fire and lays
its eggs in charred wood knowing that it is free from predators.
An index at the back of the book lists the page of each featured beetle, the
Latin name of the beetle and the part of the world where it is found.
The Beetle Book is a terrific choice to tackle the Fourth Grade Common
Core Standard RI.4.8: Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to
support particular points in a text.
Or
The Grade 6 standard RI.6.10: By the end of the year, read and
comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 6–8 text complexity band
proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.