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NEW BOOKS
FICTION
Ehlert, Lois. Leaf Man. 2005. Harcourt (0-15-205304-2)
Preschool-Gr. 2. Lois Ehlert has done it again. The main character is Leaf Man, a bright maple leaf with acorn eyes who travels with the wind. Using leaves she has gathered Ehlert creates animals and objects which children can search for. The illustrations are bright and colorful. Ehlert has used scalloped top edges at varying heights giving a three-dimensional feeling to the landscape.
DiCamillo, Kate. Mercy Watson to the Rescue. Illustrated by Chris Van Dusen. 2005. Candlewick. (0-7636-2270-2)
Preschool-Gr.2 The first of the adventures of Mercy, the pig. She is a member of the Watson family. A series of events and misunderstandings leads to a funny story. This book can be used as a read-aloud and a first reader book. The art is cartoon-like matching the mood of the story.
Gerstein, Mordicai. Carolina Clatter! 2005. Roaring Brook. (0-59643-063-X).
Preschool-Gr.2 A tall tale of a giant who is in love with the moon. After spending much time singing to the moon without a reaction, the giant lies down and falls asleep for thousands of years. While sleeping a village grows on his belly. People of the village are afraid of waking the giant so they live in silence. That is until Carolinda Clatter is born. She loves noise! She wakes the giant and helps the giant come to terms with his affections for the moon. (Other tall tales with a female heroine are Clever Beatrice by Margaret Willey, Apples to Oregon by Deborah Hopkinson, and Granite Baby by Lynne Bertrand.)
Giff, Patricia Reilly. Willow Run. 2005. Random/Wendy Lamb. (0-385-73067-5)
Gr. 4-6 A story about Margaret “Meggie” Dillon, who readers met in Lily’s Crossing. Meggie’s family, with the exception of her grandfather, move to Michigan so her father has a job. Things are difficult during World War II for this family. Meggie has a hard time dealing with all the changes in her life at this time in history. The reader gets to know each character and his worries, fears, and hopes in depth. Story lines are intertwined. However at the end of the story, readers are left up in the air about Meggie’s brother who is fighting overseas. (Giff wrote an article, “Here Are My Secrets”, about her childhood during WWII. It appeared in the May 2004 issue of Book Links.
Erdrich, Louise. Game of Silence. 2005. HarperCollins. (0-06-029789-1)
Gr. 5-8 The sequel to The Birchbark House shares the story of an Ojibwe tribe and their way of life. The year is 1850 and white settlers are threatening the Ojibwe culture. The main character is Omakayas, a nine-year old Ojibwe girl. Erdrich researched her own ancestors for this book’s background.
Flanagan,John. The Ruins of Gorlan. 2005. Philomel. (0-399-24454-9)
Gr.5-8 A fantasy and the first in the Ranger Apprentice series. All fifteen year-olds at Castle Redmont are assigned to a master for training. Although Will, the protagonist, wants to be assigned to The Battleschool, he is too small in stature. Instead he is assigned to the mysterious Ranger. His training is but the beginning of a great adventure in which Will will have to save the Ranger and the kingdom.
Wilson, Diane Lee. Black Storm Comin’. 2005. Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry. (0-689-87137-6)
Gr. 7-10 Colton’s mixed race family heads to California with a wagon train, but things change rapidly. He is accidentally shot by his white father, who after the shooting runs away in horror, leaving his family behind. The family is harassed, ignored and finally abandoned by the wagon train. Colton manages to get his mother, brothers and sisters to the eastern side of the Sierra Nevadas. His mother becomes ill and dies leaving Colton to take the children to Sacramento. In order for Colton to manage this, he joins the Pony Express where he is subjected to further hardships and danger.
NONFICTION
Reich, Susanna. Jose! Born to Dance. Illustrated by Raul Colon. 2005. Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman (0-689-86576-7)
Gr. 2-4 The biography of Jose Limon, an important figure in the history of American dance. The story begins with his childhood in Mexico, his family’s flight to the United States when civil war breaks out in Mexico, his discovery of his love of dancing and his hard work to become a choreographer.
Millman, Isaac. Hidden Child. 2005. Farrar/Frances Foster. (0-374-33071-9)
Gr. 4-7 The author tells his own story of his survival of the Holocaust. Written in first person with some black-and-white photos and line-and-watercolor illustrations. Good for adults also. A must for Holocaust curriculum.
Collard, Sneed B., III. The Prairie Builders: Reconstructing American’s Lost Grasslands. 2005. Houghton. (0-618-39687-X)
Gr. 5-8 The story of naturalists’ and volunteers’ processes for bringing back the tallgrass prairies of the Midwest. The well-researched, beautifully designed book has colored photos, a glossary, and a list of recommended books and Internet sites.
FREE STUFF
Harcourt Children’s Books is offering a free classroom kit for Lois Ehlert’s Leaf Man.
The kit consists of a poster, curriculum ideas and a black lines master for children to color and make their own leaf man. Send a self-addressed mailing label to: Leaf Man Kit, Book Links Offer, Harcourt Children’s Books, 525 B St., Ste.1900, San Diego, CA 92101. 3-5 weeks for delivery. Good while supplies last.
AWARDS
2005 E.B.White Read Aloud Award: Wild About Books by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Marc Brown, Random 2004. This award began in 2004 and honors a book that reflects read-aloud standards that were created by E.B. White in his books.
Please Touch Museum’s 20th annual Book Award went to: Down on the Farm by Will Hillenbrand (Holiday 2004) in the age 3 and under category; Turn-Around, Upside-Down Alphabet Book by Lisa Campbell Ernst (Simon & Schuster, 2004) age 4-7 category. The mission of this award is to encourage and recognize publication of high-quality books for young children.
Audie Award went to What Charlie Heard performed by Mordicai Gerstein and produced by Live Oak Media for the children’s titles category. This award is given to outstanding audio book presentations by the Audio Publishers Association.
WEB SITE
http://www.jewishlibraries.org
Jewish Stars: Recommended Books with Jewish Themes for Schools and Libraries. This list contains more than 200 titles for children from primary through high school. It is organized by topic.
www.hyperionbooksforchildren/contest.asp
There is a drawing and writing contest to win a school visit from Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers. Go to this site for entry rules and a copy of new McDuff Teacher’s Guide.
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson204.shtml
Find “Coming to America: Immigration Builds a Nation” here. This contains a list of activities and informational web resources for students. There is a script exploring stereotypes, a tenement treasure hunt, information on making a time-line and an immigration graph.
The web site of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum offers a virtual tour of a tenement at 97 Orchard Street in New York City. More than 7000 immigrants lived here between 1863 and 1935.
This writer’s web site. Features information and additional material about her books. It also has a short movie about the making of Betty’s Doll. There are also downloadable materials to use in the classroom.
Visit Colonial Williamsburg. The site has photographs, video clips, electronic field trips and information about colonial life. Lesson plans are offered for all ages.
http://monticello/org/education/study_resource.html
Take a virtual house and plantation tour and read about a typical day in Thomas Jefferson’s life.
http://mountvernon.org/learn/explore_mv/index.cfm/
Take a virtual tour of the buildings of Mount Vernon from the shoemaker’s shop to the smokehouses.
http://library.thinkquest.org/J002611F/
Information on colonial children’s lives. Many activities listed for the classroom.
http://www.libsci.sc.edu/miller/Colony.htm
“Life in Early America is a study unit for elementary-level students.
A teacher’s helpmate
Click on “Web Connections” for a complete list of web sites.
http://www.ohionewspapers-in-ed.org/
Ohio Newspaper Association – NIE Activities
The
newspaper is a valuable teaching tool you can use across the curriculum. For
activities and information, check the ONA webpage. Great activities
that meet ODE Standards!
The
ONA web page also has lists of local daily and weekly newspapers. Check
to see if your local newspaper has an NIE rep.
You can purchase sets of newspapers at a reasonable price and may even be able to obtain “sponsored” copies. Corporate or individual donors provide funds so that teachers and their students can use the newspapers for free in the classroom.