Summary: This book is about the life cycle of a ladybug. It goes through all of the stages and does a great job explaining them in an age appropriate way.
My Review: I like this book. It is part of a series about life cycles. I think it would be a great way to show students how things start to grow and how they go through the stages back to the beginning.
About the Author: Colleen Sexton is a writer of non-fiction books including a few books from the Exploring Countries series also mentioned in my blog. She has produced many non-fiction titles many of which are in the Blastoff Readers Series. All of which are great to use in a classroom when trying to expose children to non fiction.
Genre: Non-fiction, Science
Theme / Skill: Researching information, reading to learn
Age Level: 5-10
Pre-reading Activity: K-W of a KWL. What do we want to know about the life cycle of a ladybug? What do we want to know?
Post-reading Activity: After reading, ask students what they still want to learn about ladybug life cycles? and how can we find out that information. Draw and label a picture that shows the life cycle of a ladybug.
Summary: This is a book about Sea Stars or Starfish. The book tells you where Sea Stars live, what they look like, what their body parts are called. It goes through some more interesting facts about the Sea Stars.
My Review: I think this is a great non-fiction book to use in a class room. It is part of a series entitled Oceans Alive. The book has many real pictures in it and does a great job of explaining the information in a grade appropriate way. The book has a glossary in the back as well as a list of websites and books to look up additional information. I taught about ocean animals last year and I wish I knew about this series then.
About the Author: Ann Herriges is a published author of books in the Oceans Alive series. I was not able to find more information about her.
Genre: Non-fiction, Sciene
Theme / Skill: Researching information, reading to learn
Age Level: 7-9
Pre-reading Activity: K-W of a KWL. What do we want to know about Sea Stars? What do we want to know?
Post-reading Activity: After reading, ask students what they still want to learn about Sea Stars? and how can we find out that information.
Summary: This book is about the children of America and what they are. They are almond eyes, my grandfather's dimples and olive skin. They are also many different races, nationalities and religions.
My Review: I like this book because its about all of the people of America. It also has photos of real children which I think is important for kids to see. It is a very nice book that I think should be shared with all students.
About the Author: Smith is photographer and an author of many children's books. His love for books started when he was a young boy but his love for photography started in high school. His love for sports is also fused into many of his books which he writes for multiple grades level.
Genre: Multicultural, Non-Fiction
Theme / Skill: Appreciating other Cultures
Age Level: 5-10
Pre-reading Activity: Show students the pictures in the book and ask them what they notice about the people in it.
Post-reading Activity: Have students write a sentence to add a page to our own book. Take a picture of each student and have them write I am ...
Summary: This book is a collection of poems ad songs about what Native Americans give thanks for.
My Review: I like this book because you could read it as a whole or read each poem individually (which is what I would do). You could tie this book into a unit about weather or nature and you could illustrate the reasons that Native Americans give thanks for each thing.
About the Author: Joseph Bruchac is a Native American author that draws from his heritage for inspiration for his work. Not only is he a writer, he founded the Greenfield Review Literary Center and The Greenfield Review Press. Through The Greenfield Review Press, he has done some editing and is a professional story teller of traditional tales. Also, in 1999 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas.
Genre: Multicultural, Poems
Theme / Skill: Working on words that rhyme
Age Level: 7-11
Pre-reading Activity: Explain what the book is about. Read one poem to the students.
Post-reading Activity: Don't show students the picture to the first poem and have them illustrate an appropriate picture for it.
Summary: Anansi the Spider is folktale about where the moon comes from. Anansi is the father of six sons, who all have different gifts. Anansi runs into trouble one day and all of the sons come together to save their father. Anansi wants to give a prize to the one that was most helpful to him but he cannot decide between them. He asks Nyame, the God of All Things to help him. Nyame cannot decide either. Instead of giving the gift to one son, Anansi places the beautiful white light in the sky for all to see and share.
My Review: I loved this book as a child and I still love it. Another great production of McDermott. The pictures are awesome and the story itself is something to be shared with young readers everywhere.
About the Author: McDermott is a well-known author, illustrator, designer and director. He has helped to create over 25 books and films. He has been an artist since he was very young. At the age of 4 he was admitted to the Detroit Institute of Arts. He was award the National Scholastic scholarship and attended New York's Pratt Institute. He left school during his junior year to become the first graphic designer of Channel 13. He has written several well known books that have won Caldecott Honors and Caldecott Medals.
Genre: Multicultural, Folktale
Theme / Skill: Teaching students about cultures different from their own.
Age Level: 5-10
Pre-reading Activity: I would do a book walk and ask students what they think this book will be about. Write down predictions. As we read, I would also fill in a Storyman (version of a story web by Colleen Meier) as I read to help students keep track of what is going on in the story.
Post-reading Activity: I would check students predictions to see if they were right. I would ask the students what word describe Anansi. For a writing activity, students would need to pick one of the adjectives and write about Anansi.
Summary: This story is about how Raven stole the sun gave it all of the people. Raven sees how sad all the people are in the dark and felt bad for them. He decided to go and look for light. He found light at the house of the Sky Chief. Raven saw the Sky Chief's daughter as she was drinking from the water. He turned into a pine needle and fell into the water. The Sky Chief's daughter drank the needle. Before long she had a baby, who was Raven reborn as a child. The baby was in search of the light. He moved toward a box and Sky Chief told his daughter to give him what was inside. It was the sun. Once Raven was holding the sun, he turned back into a bird and flew out the smoke hole. Raven then threw the sun into the sky and it stayed there. The sun was shared with all of the people and to thank him for bringing the light, they feed him fish.
My Review: I think McDermott has done it again. He retold a trickster tale from the Pacific Northwest and did a wonderful job. Another great book to share with young readers at the same time exposing them to other cultures from around the world.
About the Author: McDermott is a well-known author, illustrator, designer and director. He has helped to create over 25 books and films. He has been an artist since he was very young. At the age of 4 he was admitted to the Detroit Institute of Arts. He was award the National Scholastic scholarship and attended New York's Pratt Institute. He left school during his junior year to become the first graphic designer of Channel 13. He has written several well known books that have won Caldecott Honors and Caldecott Medals.
Genre: Multicultural, Trickster Tale
Theme / Skill: Predicting what will happening throughout the story.
Age Level: 5-10
Pre-reading Activity: Show the students a totem pole and explain the significance of the Raven. Read the story.
Post-readig Activity: Find out what the other animals on the totem pole signify and have students draw a picture of (or color in) the one that best describes them. Assemble a classroom totem pole.
Summary: This story is about the son of the Sun Lord. The Sun Lord sent a spark to Earth and it reached a young maiden, she then had a son. The boy was teased because he did not have a father. The boy went in search of his father but no one seemed to be able to help him. The boy met the Arrow Maker. The Arrow Maker made him a special arrow and sent him to the sun. The Sun Lord said that the boy had to prove to be his son by passing four tests. Once the boy passed the forth test he was transformed and filled with power from the sun. The Sun Lord sent him back to Earth where the Pueblo people rejoiced.
My Review: This book would be fun to read to young children. The story simple and easy to follow. The pictures are very vivid and would be easy for the reader to follow. It was another beautiful story that illustrated a small part of Pueblo culture.
About the Author: McDermott is a well-known author, illustrator, designer and director. He has helped to create over 25 books and films. He has been an artist since he was very young. At the age of 4 he was admitted to the Detroit Institute of Arts. He was award the National Scholastic scholarship and attended New York's Pratt Institute. He left school during his junior year to become the first graphic designer of Channel 13. He has written several well known books that have won Caldecott Honors and Caldecott Medals.
Genre: Multicultural, Folktale
Theme / Skill: Learning about other cultures through literature.
Age Level: 5-10
Pre-reading Activity: Examine the cover and ask the students what they think the story will be about. Do a book-walk and ask the students what they think may happen during the story.
Post-reading Activity: In a journal or on paper, have students write about their favorite picture in the book. Have students illustrate their favorite page.
_(Oceans_Alive)_(Oceans_Alive)&docid=BgPlwRUKnt9pFM&itg=1&imgurl=http://covers.openlibrary.org/w/id/2974956-M.jpg&w=180&h=246&ei=s1beToWKDcbZ0QGTjLDMBw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=93&sig=109185224693035760812&page=1&tbnh=155&tbnw=113&start=0&ndsp=11&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=63&ty=51)
