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The Snake Scientist, by Sy Montgomery

Published June 10, 2013 by Dagmar

snake scientistI’ve found a non-fiction series that I just love, Scientists in the Field: Where Science Meets Adventure.  The writing in these books is targeted toward older elementary and middle school students.

In The Snake Scientist, writer Sy Montgomery is joined by fabulous nature photographer Nic Bishop.  (See my blog on Nic Bishop here. It just so happens that I wrote on his snake book.  Bishop has an beautiful series of companion books to his Snakes book.)

The Snake Scientist follows the work of Robert Mason, Ph.D., a zoologist from Oregon State University who works studying the red-sided garter snakes in Manitoba province in Canada at the Narcisse Wildlife Management Area.  There, drawn by the unique geology of the area, tens of thousands of harmless red-sided garter snakes make their home during the winter.

I really like this book, because it moves so effortlessly from topic to topic.  This book describes how Bob Mason studies snakes and how he began his career as a scientist.  You’ll find examples of how Mason uses the information he gathers to run experiments so he can study snake behavior.  The Snake Scientist explains the impact of Mason’s work and how the study of snakes may even result in the development of cures for human diseases.  The book also works to dispel common myths about snakes.

It’s no surprise to me that Nic Bishop’s photographs are stunning.  Not only do you get a sense for the number of red-sided gartner snakes in the area (quite amazing), but you see pictures of scientists collecting snakes and measuring snakes and snakes in their natural habitats.

This book is not a survey of snakes, but any child interested in snakes or zoology will gain valuable insight into how a zoologist studying snakes goes about their work.

Highly recommended to future scientists and reptile fans.

I love non-fiction

Published June 10, 2013 by Dagmar

non-fictionIt’s rare for me to find a student that goes to the non-fiction section of their own volition.  When I do have a student who wants to read non-fiction, it’s so fun browsing the shelves together.  Lots of my students ask for books on astronomy, dinosaurs, animals, vehicles or sports.

There are so many great books out there.  I can’t let them just sit on my shelves unnoticed, so please check my non-fiction pages for non-fiction books that I love and recommend, just in case you know a student that loves to read non-fiction too.  I’ll focus my writing on books that are readily available to the public, not just the school library market.

Corduroy, by Don Freeman

Published June 10, 2013 by Dagmar

corduroy 1 I think I read this book to my son about a million times – no, two milion times.  It’s a book I remember loving from my own childhood.  This book doesn’t seem to age.  The best thing, though, is to see the looks on the faces of my preschoolers and kindergartners when I read them this book.

Corduroy is a about a little teddy bear sitting on the shelf of a department store who is missing a button on his overalls.  A little girl named Lisa wants to buy Corduroy, but her mother won’t let her, because he doesn’t look new.  A button is missing on Corduroy’s overalls.  That night, after the store closes, Corduroy searches the department store for a button to fix his overalls.  Lisa, determined to bring Corduroy home, returns the next day with all her savings so that she can buy Corduroy, despite his missing button.  In a very sweet ending scene, as Lisa sews on a new button to Corduroy’s overalls, both Corduroy and Lisa realize that they’ve each found a friend.

Magic Tree House, by Mary Pope Osborne

Published June 7, 2013 by Dagmar

magic tree houseThis was a sleeper series in my library.  I read almost everyone with my son  when he was four and five years old, and he just loved them.  I couldn’t figure out why my students weren’t reading the books.  It turns out that my students just didn’t find the covers interesting.  So, I asked one of my second grade teachers to try reading the series out loud to her students.  Oh my goodness.  She loved the series and so did they.  I can’t keep these books on the shelves anymore.  Her entire second grade is now excited about these books, and my teacher said she will read them to her new second grade students next year.

What are the Magic Treehouse books?  These short chapter books are books that combine history with adventure, magic and suspense, perfect for first and second graders.  There are even picture to break up the text.  Jack and Annie are brother and sister. While playing near the woods in Frog Creek Pennsylvania, Annie, Jack’s younger sister, spots a tree house high in a tree.  She, the more adventurous of the two, climbs up to the tree house.  Jack, the more cautious of the two, follows her reluctantly.  They find books in the tree house on all different topics.  Jack, a big reader, picks up one of the books on dinosaurs.  Looking at a page, he says, “I wish I could see a Pteradon.”  No sooner has he said it, but there is a Pteradon outside the treehouse.  Annie runs out to meet it, much to Jack’s dismay.  So begins Jack and Annie’s first adventure with the Magic Tree House.  Once hooked, as my students now are, students can visit Pompeii, Ninjas, Pirates, the Titanic, the Amazon and many more places.

Not only does this wonderful and engaging series go on for 48 books, but it is accompanied by non-fiction readers for those students interesting in learning more about the topics in the books.

I highly recommend this series as a read aloud to younger students and as a great early chapter book for first, second and third grade readers.

Summer reading lists

Published June 5, 2013 by Dagmar

I’m finishing up the school year, inventorying books, cataloging my book orders and giving hugs to kids stopping by wondering why we aren’t holding classes.  Once our shelves are filled with new books and we host our fabulous library book giveaway and sale today, it’s time to lock the doors for the summer and read, read, read!

I’ve got a pretty ambitious reading list for this summer.  Here are some of the chapter books I’m looking forward to reading this summer and hopefully recommending to students next school year.  Some of the picks are by authors I love, some were recommended by students, some are simply books on my library shelves that I haven’t read yet, including books sent through my fabulous Junior Library Guild subscriptions, others are award winners.

So many books, so little time! 🙂  Ok, here goes nothing!

PS. Be Eleven – new book by the wonderful author of One Crazy Summer (see my blog article)

Lincoln’s Grave Robbers by Steve Sheinkin – author of the incredible book Bomb: the race to build – and steal – the world’s most dangerous weapon (see my blog article)

Witness, by Karen Hesse – a very moving book about KKK activity in a small town in Vermont in 1924

A Hero’s Guide to Saving the Kingdom by Christopher Healy – when I asked my students about their favorite books of the year, one student enthusiastically recommended this book – a Junior Library Guild selection.

The Robe of Skulls by Vivien French- a popular mystery in my library and a Junior Library Guild selection.

The Candymakers by Wendy Mass – recommended by a young blog reader!

Out of the Dust, by Karen Hesse – 1998 Newbery Award winner

Jasper Jones, by Craig Silvey – 2012 Michael L. Printz Award winner

Ida B by Katherine Hannigan – a Booklist starred review

One White Dolphin by Gill Lewis – a book for animal lovers – a Junior Library Guild selection

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly – 2010 Newbery Honor book

Kira Kira by Cynthia Kodohata – 2005 Newbery Medal

Secrets of Shakespeare’s Grave by Deron R. Hicks and Mark Edward Geyer – a Junior Library Guild selection

Jefferson’s Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley – a Junior Library Guild selection

I’d love to hear about your top summer reading picks!  Comment with some recommendations, please!

Have a wonderful end of the school year and summer ahead,

Dagmar

One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia

Published June 2, 2013 by Dagmar

OCSOne Crazy Summer is an incredible book – not only because much of the book takes place just blocks from my school library in North Oakland, CA – but because the main character, Delphine, is a strong and capable 11 year old girl who really knows how to make the best of a bad situation.  I love her strength and her determination.  This book ran like wildfire around my school.

Delphine, Vonetta and Fern are three girls, 11, 9 and 7, who live with their father and Big Ma, their grandmother, in Brooklyn, NY.  Their mother, Cecile abandoned them when Fern was just a baby.  One summer, the girl’s father says the girls need to know their mother and sends them across the country to stay with their mother in Oakland, CA.  The girls, who don’t know their mother at all, are greeted by Cecile at the airport.  Cecile not only doesn’t hug them, when she takes them home, she doesn’t cook for them or care for them in any way.  Cecile sends them off every day to get their breakfast from the Black Panthers kitchen in the neighborhood and tells the girls to spend the day in the Black Panthers’ summer camp.  The girls learn all about revolution but also that the Black Panthers feed hungry people.  They also discover that their mother, a poet with a printing press, has been asked to print the Black Panther newsletter.

Delphine rises to the occasion.  She rejects her mother’s call to eat Chinese food every night and goes to the store so she can cook meals for her sisters.  She even plans an excursion into San Francisco so that the girls can actually see something of California, not just “poor people in Oakland”.  Delphine is smart. You just can’t help routing her on and hoping that her mother can see all the good that we see in her.

This book is a window into the world of the 1960s and those who believed in the work of the Black Panthers and those in the black community who saw things differently.  Delphine is forced to view both worlds, that of her father and grandma and that of her mother Cecile.  What a great book.  But, don’t just believe me.  This book won the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, the Coretta Scott King Award and a Newbery Honor and National Book Award Honor.  Don’t miss it.

I’m excited to read Rita Williams-Garcia’s new book, P.S. Be Eleven.

Velma Gratch & the Way Cool Butterfly by Alan Madison

Published June 1, 2013 by Dagmar

the way cool butterflyVelma is in first grade.  Unfortunately, Velma is the third of the Gratch sisters.  Even more unfortunately, both of Velma’s older sisters were incredibly memorable.  They were perfect.  Velma is constantly reminded of how wonderful her sisters were while no one seems to remember her name.  Velma decides she wants to be remembered, too.

When Velma’s class goes on a field trip to the butterfly conservatory, Velma finds out that her sisters never went there.  Velma waits and waits for something memorable to happen to her at the conservatory.  Then, something does.  A beautiful monarch butterfly lands on her finger…and stays there.  The butterfly stays and stays on Velma’s finger long after they’ve left the conservatory.  Finally, Velma’s principal says, “no one will forget this.”  Velma realizes that monarch needs to start its “my-gray-sun”.  Velma knows just how to make the monarch leave her finger and takes her monarch to the park.

This book drew applause from my second graders.  It’s a great story about rooting for the underdog.  The illustrations by Kevin Hawkes are really nice.  This was chosen as a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year.

Of Thee I sing, by Barack Obama

Published May 30, 2013 by Dagmar

of theeI find this book incredibly inspiring.  Many thanks to Amelie’s Bookshelf for the recommendation.  I went out and bought it and used it for my final week of library classes.  I read it to students in grades 1-5.

President Obama’s book is a letter to his daughters about the people that made our country wonderful.  He starts, by saying, “Have I told you that you’re creative?” and then talks about Georgia O’Keefe.  Each page, he talks about a quality exemplified by the person he highlights, including Helen Keller, Cesar Chavez, Neil Armstrong, Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King, Jane Addams, Abraham Lincoln, Maya Lin, Sitting Bull and others.  Some people, like Georgia O’Keefe, Maya Lin, Jane Addams and Helen Keller were less familiar to my students.  It was nice to have the opportunity to talk about these amazing people and the importance of their work.  Most importantly, President Obama finishes the book by saying that America is full of people of all different races, religions and ideas.

This book is a beautiful, touching book.  It’s especially great to share.  The illustrations by Loren Long are wonderful.  My students quietly while I read the book to them (good quiet, not bored quiet).  Afterward, we went from student to student and talked about which person or people inspired them the most.  I loved hearing students talk about the people that inspired them, particularly when they mentioned people they’d first learned about in the book.

Big Nate: In a Class by Himself, by Lincoln Peirce

Published May 28, 2013 by Dagmar

Big nate 4The first of the Big Nate series, my students recommended that I read this book. I’m glad I did! It’s perfect for fans of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Like the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, it’s funny and is a blend of graphic novel and text.  This series is really popular with boys from 4th-6th grade who are always lobbying for me to get more books in the series…anything to keep them reading!

Big Nate (COMIX!) is also now a graphic novel series, so Big Nate flies off the shelves in my fiction and my graphic novel sections.  Highly recommended for tween boy readers who like to laugh.

The Painter and the Bird, by Max Velthuijs

Published May 26, 2013 by Dagmar

painter and the birdHere’s an oldie but goodie that I found on the shelves of my library.  It can be easy to dismiss books, because they aren’t current.  In this case, you would miss a wonderful story.  The dedication, “To those of us who have ever been lost or lonely” is touching.  This book really moved my students and led to great discussions about the value of friendship.

The once was a painter who was very poor.  He had one favorite painting of a strange and wonderful bird.  Then, a wealthy man comes and wants to buy the painting.  The painter does not want to sell his favorite painting.  When the wealthy gentleman offers more and more money, the painter, who needs money desperately, accepts the money and sells his painting.  The wealthy man hangs the bird painting in his fancy house.  The bird, who is magical, misses the painter and flies out of the painting.  The bird begins a long search for the painter.  In the meanwhile, the wealthy man goes to the painter’s house demanding his money back, because the bird left his painting.  Now, the painter has no bird and no money.  At last, the bird finds its way back to the painter, and the painter promises never to sell the bird painting again.