Science – Page 21 – Unleashing Readers

The SLOWEST Book EVER by April Pulley Sayre

April 6, 2016 by Kellee

Nonfiction Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

The SLOWEST Book EVER
Author: April Pulley Sayre
Illustrator: Kelly Murphy
Published April 5th, 2016 by Boyds Miller Press

Goodreads Summary: April Pulley Sayre’s wry, quirky storytelling tone shines from the warning on the first page (“This is a S-L-O-W book. Do not read it while surfing, water skiing, or running to escape giant weasels.”) right through to the glossary at the end. In between, readers will explore an astounding variety of information about all things slow—in nature, geology, art, outer space, etc. Throughout, The SLOWEST Book EVER playfully encourages readers to slow down and savor everything. As Sayre shows: “If you think slowly enough, the entire world is amazing.” This innovative nonfiction work is a treasure trove of information that begs for multiple readings.

Kellee’s Review: Anyone who teaches knows that the most popular nonfiction books are the ones that have a ton of information in short segments with fun pictures. Well, Sayre’s The SLOWEST Book EVER is exactly that but even better than you are picturing. Sayre does such a great job of having a small amount of information that packs a very big punch. Although each fact is over only a 2-page spread, the information is thorough, interesting, and specific. I loved the wide range of topics that were all covered under the big idea of SLOW, and I think students will be fascinated with all of the information.

Ricki’s Review: I read a lot of books, and I don’t think I’ve read a book that is quite like this one! It is a compilation of fascinating information that will compel readers to want to learn more about their world. It is apparent that a lot of thought and care went into the crafting and production of this book. Each page is a bit different, so if a reader is uninterested in a topic, he or she can flip the page and find something else entirely different. This book would make a great gift because all children will find sections that intrigue them, regardless of their interests. I’d look forward to going to a class where a teacher used this book used as a read-aloud, reading a few sections each day. This book makes learning fun!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Since The SLOWEST Book EVER includes tidbits of information on many different topics, each spread could easily be used as a jumping off point for an inquiry project. Students browse through the book to determine which spread of information interests them the most then they do more research (using the back matter as a place to start) then share the extra information with their classmates.

The SLOWEST Book EVER also does an amazing thing by looking at all the different ways that SLOW can be defined. After finishing the book as a class, revisit all of the different ways slow was used then brainstorm different meanings of other subjective adjectives such as fast, large, and small. Then student, as a class, could write their own fact book using a different adjective but showing different meanings of that word.

Discussion Questions: Which fact surprised you the most?; The book doesn’t only focus on slow speeds–what ever definitions of slow did the author focus on?; What topics would you like to learn more about? Where could you go to get more information?

We Flagged: “Chewy Nature Thoughts
Read them. Think about them. S l o w l y.
Slow thoughts are often big thoughts. So don’t fret if it takes a while to understand them. Don’t worry if you need to read them twice. -Traveling in a circle is, after all, still traveling.” (p. 8-9)

“How long does a minute feel to a mayfly…?
It’s About Time

Does time fly for a fly? Biologists wonder about this. So you can, too! How long does a minute feel to a mayfly, which may live only one day? How long does a minute feel to a 70-year-old Galápagos Tortoise?” (p. 16-17)

Read This If You Loved: Nonfiction books such as Weird but True by National Geographic, Lifetime by Lola M. Schaefer, Extreme Oceans and Extreme Earth Records by Seymour Simon, Island by Jason Chin, The Guinness Book of World Records

Recommended For:

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Blog Tour, Author Guest Post, and Review!: Dig In! by Cindy Jenson-Elliott

March 9, 2016March 9, 2016 by Kellee

Nonfiction Wednesday

Dig In!
Author: Cindy Jenson-Elliott
Illustrator: Mary Peterson
Published March 1st, 2016 by Beach Lane Books

Summary: Dig in to this vibrant picture book that celebrates all the surprises found down in the dirt!

I dig in the dirt…and find a seed.
Seed waits.
I dig in the dirt…and find a spider.
Spider runs.

Explore all of the creepy, crawly, dirty, muddy, green, and growing things that can be found outside in the garden. From pill bugs to worms to leafy green sprouts, young readers will love discovering the muddy garden habitat within the pages of this book—and outside in their own backyards!

This sweet and playful celebration of outdoor exploration is a perfect read aloud for story time.

About the Author: Cindy Jenson-Elliott is the author of the celebrated Weeds Find a Way illustrated by Carolyn Fisher. She is a freelance writer for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and educational publishers, as well as a teacher and natural history instructor. She has an MA in education, and she enjoys spending time outdoors in San Diego, California, where she lives with her family. Visit her at CindyJensonElliott.com.

Kellee’s Review: Both of Cindy Jenson-Elliott’s books have truly made me want to get down and dirty in the garden which, if you know me, is exactly the opposite of what you would guess I want to do. Jenson-Elliott has a way of making the ordinary, and dirty, seem extraordinary. It would be great to have students catalog all of the things they find in a dirt. This would make their trips outside quite exciting!

Ricki’s Review: Kellee is absolutely right. Reading this book made me want to get outside in my garden! Oh, I cannot wait for spring! When my son and I read this book, I kept pointing to the pictures and telling him about all of the digging we will do this spring, and I am excited to have this book (and Jenson-Elliott’s Weeds Find a Way) on hand for when the time comes! We live in Connecticut (which is much colder than where Kellee lives), so we can’t quite do any digging yet. This book emanates warmth, and it will make kids want to go outside and start exploring! Cindy Jenson-Elliott seems to find the beauty in things that others may perceive negatively, and I love teaching my son to find the beauty in these unappreciated things!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Cindy Jenson-Elliott has some amazing ideas on how to bring a garden into your curriculum (see below), but you can also use Dig In! to discuss sequencing and cause/effect. First, you can discuss sequencing by having students share each step of what needs to be done to plant and maintain a garden. You can also take the sequencing and extend it into cause/effect by discussing different things you can do to a garden to help or hurt it. It would also be interesting to ask students to research local dirt inhabitants. They might then research the garden plants and critters of another location to learn more about different habitats.

Some More Teachers’ Tools from Cindy Jenson-Elliott:

“From Compost to Blossoms: Falling in Love with Literature in the School Garden”

An empty pile of dirt. A blank page. A great book. A tender idea. This is how most of my garden adventures with children begin.

Teaching in the garden is alive with possibility in more ways than one. Ideas spring up like weeds – a crazy tangle without discernable order. Bringing an idea to fruition –doing something I have never done before — feels like an enormous reach. It is like trying to untangle a vine: where should the project begin? What are the steps? Who will help me figure it out? It’s terrifying — and thrilling! Teaching in the garden wakes you up to being a learner, even as you teach. You and the students are partners, learning together from nature. We all know teaching is risky business. Hands-on, project-based teaching – especially in the garden– is downright dangerous.

Books take the edge off and give you a jumping off point for great projects that connect inside and outside learning. Here are some book ideas to get you started on some thrilling garden adventures of your own.

Sunflower House

On one particular day in November, I shared Sunflower House by Eve Bunting with my TK- grade 3 students. My crazy idea was to grow our own sunflower house in a bare patch of dirt in the corner of the school garden.

First, I read the book to the children, and I shared my idea.

“We’re going to need a nice pile of garden dirt to go over in that corner,” I told them. “Right now it’s just hard clay.”

We piled dirt and compost on top of cafeteria trays reserved for gardening and students worked in partners to carry them over to the corner. We made a round, flat pad 1 foot high and 10 feet across. After school, I tapped into our drip-line watering system and ran a flexible watering tube over to the circle, looping around and around. The next garden time, students added a small amount of organic fertilizer and planted dozens of sunflower seeds. We planted Russian Mammoths, but also other multicolored and multi-sized varieties. We created a pathway leading to the dirt pad, and put up stakes protecting the area. Then we sat back and and waited, working on other garden projects all the while.

Winter rains in drought-stricken Southern California were sparse, but with dripping irrigation a few times a week, soon the sunflowers were sprouting. We measured them week by week, watching them grow higher and higher. Soon they were as high as a first grader’s head. Finally they were higher than my own head and shooting out buds.

The Sunflower House gave us endless opportunities for learning. We measured and drew the growing plants with pastels and black paper to draw blossoms. Some teachers extended the activity by learning about Van Gough and looking at his paintings of sunflowers. We watched bees visit the blossoms and learned about pollination. When the stalks dried and the heads turned inside out, we learned about the birds that came to eat the seeds. And when the next generation of sunflowers sprouted up from fallen seeds, we could see the complete cycle of life in our circle of flowers. Best of all, students loved sitting in the Sunflower House to write or draw, or just be. From one book, we developed an entire year’s worth of activities.

Weeds Find a Way

After reading my 2014 picture book Weeds Find a Way we searched our garden for the weeds pictured in the book. We drew weeds and researched them, asking how the weeds adapted for survival. Some classes used Weeds Find a Way as a mentor text to write their own “Something Finds a Way” books about another topic. We wrote poetry, and students developed social-emotional understandings by looking at the tenacity, grit and adaptability of weeds and comparing it with their own. Finally, we tried our hands at botanical drawing and we made a giant art piece to hang on the fence of the garden.

Trellis-Bridge Project

A trellis we built last year to hold up a new passion fruit vine in the garden collapsed and we needed a new trellis. This problem was the catalyst for learning about bridges. Pop’s Bridge by Eve Bunting and Bridges! By Carol Johmann and Elizabeth J. Rieth, were jumping off points for learning about bridges, and designing and building a trellis to hold up our passion fruit plants.

Dig In! #1000HandsDigIn Photography Project

Last week we read Dig In! for the first time. Then we went out to the garden to dig in and photograph our hands and whatever our Mixed Age Class (MAC) grade 1 – 3 students found in the school garden. Students learned to frame, take and edit photos from fabulous teacher Margit Boyeson. Students are sharing their photos to twitter at #1000HandDigIn.

Engagement with Common Core Reading and Writing in the School Garden

Picture books are the perfect way to connect inside learning and outside doing in the garden. Read Roxaboxen or Westlandia and create your own special civilization. Read Creepy Carrots and plant a less scary variety. Then write your own creepy stories. Dive into Muncha, Munch, Muncha and see what critters are eating up your garden. Then write your own stories about the critters in the garden. And before you even plant seeds, take a look at your soil. Read Dig In! and discover the wonders living in your dirt.

What will you find when you Dig In! to gardening and literature? A world of wonder!

To see more literature-based projects you can do with students in the school garden, visit my website and follow the links to my naturexplorer blog at www.cindyjensonelliott.com.

Discussion Questions: How are worms, spider, and pillbugs beneficial to a garden?; What other bugs are beneficial to gardens?; What else does a garden need to succeed?

We Flagged:

Read This If You Loved: Weeds Find a Way by Cindy Jenson-Elliott, The Troublemaker by Lauren Castillo, In the Garden by Elizabeth Spurr

Recommended For:

and

**Thank you Shifa at Simon & Schuster and Cindy Jenson-Elliott for providing a copy for review and for having us as part of the blog tour!**

Normal Norman Written by Tara Lazar, Illustrated by S.britt

October 8, 2017March 3, 2016 by Ricki

Normal Norman
Author: Tara Lazar; Illustrator: S. britt
Published March 1, 2016 by Sterling Children’s Books

GoodReads Summary: What is “normal?” That’s the question an eager young scientist, narrating her very first book, hopes to answer. Unfortunately, her exceedingly “normal” subject—an orangutan named Norman—turns out to be exceptionally strange. He speaks English, sleeps in a bed, loves his stuffed toy, goes bananas over pizza, and even deep-sea dives! Oh, no: what’s a “normal” scientist to do?

Ricki’s Review: Norman is one of those great literary characters that will stick with readers for a long time. The book is quite humorous, and my son was giggling as we read it together. Norman is anything but normal, yet the young scientist makes strong efforts to prove that he is normal. She becomes very frustrated, and then Norman teaches her an important lesson. I enjoyed this book because it was a fresh take on the idea of: What does it mean to be normal? I also enjoyed the layout of each page. The quote bubbles from the characters added another layer to the text that would be great to discuss in the classroom with a close reading. This will be a favorite in classrooms, and I recommend it highly.

Kellee’s Review: I love everything that this book stands for. It shows that normal is whatever you make it, that everyone should be accepted for what they are, and normal isn’t always what it seems. Norman helps mold the young scientist’s mind which will hopefully lead readers to also rethink what they think normal is. I am definitely going to use this book as one of our “precepts” in the future because I really think it’ll make students think.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Teachers might consider using this text to teach broad conceptions of normalcy. Often, young students conceive of normalcy as anything similar to them. A teacher might introduce different groups, customs, and cultures to allow students to understand that normal is a socially constructed concept, and people can be different yet still normal. Or perhaps, students might determine that there is no such thing as being “normal.”

Discussion Questions: What does it mean to be normal? Is anyone normal? How might we conceive of normalcy more broadly?; What lessons does the scientist learn? How does she learn them?

We Flagged: “Allow me to introduce Norman. He will help me demonstrate the word normal. You see, Norman is EXCEEDINGLY normal.”

Read This If You Loved: You Are (Not) Small by Anna Kang, Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae, Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great by Bob Shea, The Magic of Maxwell and His Tail by Maureen Stolar Kanefield

Recommended For:

Check Out Normal Norman at the other stops on the tour!:

and

**Thank you to Josh from Sterling books for providing copies for review!!**

Author Guest Post!: “Nurturing Nature in the Classroom” by Rebecca Bielawski, Author of the Mummy Nature series

December 23, 2015December 6, 2015 by Kellee

“Nurturing Nature in the Classroom”

If you are having trouble getting your class out and into nature, there are a hundred ways you can get nature into your class. If you want your kids to run wild with nature-based crafts and projects, but your imagination feels as dried up as an autumn leaf, don’t despair – On the wonderful world wide web you can discover all the inspiration you need. I especially recommend Pinterest boards and Google+ communities to look for specific ideas suited to your group’s age and other circumstances.

Here are a few tips for adapting nature projects and nature crafts that you might find, to your own classroom or home school environment.

Adapt ideas to your local area e.g., seeds to germinate that are readily and cheaply available, plants that are easy to sprout and suited to the climate and of course child friendly. Your local garden centre can help out. Local plant species will always be more relevant to the kids. (Planting sunflowers was my favourite as a kid.)

Adapt ideas to your available resources Most projects will not represent an elevated cost. Here you can use recycled materials such as plastic bottles and yoghurt pots, eg. hand trowels can be made from plastic milk or juice bottles with handles. You can also reinforce the Reuse, Reduce Recycle mantra. If you have more of a budget you could, for example, buy plants for the classroom that represent your nature goals.

Don’t forget about your human resources Think about, how many people you have available to help out. Don’t be afraid to ask parents, grannies etc. for help. Get to know a bit about them, what sector do they work in, do they have any interesting hobbies or contacts? Find out who has the wildest back yard and if they need it to be explored. They will be able to help in a million ways with their expertise or simply their time and enthusiasm.

Plan an excursion Think about what nature opportunities are offered by the surrounding countryside. Go with someone who has knowledge of the local plant life, to enrich the visit and be aware of dangerous or poisonous plants.

It’s great if you can go out to a local forest or mountain or other wild habitat but if that presents too much of a logistical or safety problem, even a local park or a corner of the playground can be ideal to focus on one point of interest, for tiny discoveries inside the grounds of the school. Take them to see the weeds growing out of the cracks in the pavement. They can track how fast they grow, pull them out to observe the roots or discuss flowering or seed dispersal. There is a lot to be learnt from the bugs under the rocks too, eg. observational drawings, questions: Why do they live there? What are they doing? Identify and compare species… Finding moss and lichen and other treasures is another option.

Plan ahead and imagine what restriction or problems you might encounter during the activity, especially if you are the only adult involved.

Here are a few juicy nature ideas to get you started:

Flower spotting
Flower pressing
Flower arrangements
Vaseline saucers – you put a thin layer of vaseline on a small plate and make circular patterns with different petal and small leaves
Finding animal tracks, burrows, nests
Collecting seed pods, cones, feathers, sticks, bark, leaves to make their own nests, collages, miniature habitats
Worm collecting for a class compost bin where the kids can throw their biodegradable rubbish from their snacks
Have a “dirty day.” In rural schools, everyday is pretty much a dirty day, but urban schools might find the concept more of a novelty and very liberating – Kids come with old clothes and can play in the dirt, make mud pies and are allowed to get as dirty as they want

Remember, the opportunities to bring our little ones closer to their natural surrounding can be found in every corner. Happy worm hunting!

About the Author: Rebecca Bielawski is the author of the educational series of children’s books MUMMY NATURE, designed for home and classroom use for under 6yrs. With a background in biology, nutrition, art and graphic design. She grew up in rural New Zealand, and now lives in the south of Spain where she is involved in a community project teaching English to Spanish children through stories, games, arts and crafts. http://www.booksbeck.com/

About the Series: Each book in the series is one mini nature lesson wrapped up in colour and rhyme. These books are intended for very young children including toddlers and will give them just a glimpse into some of the wonders of the natural world. Illustrated for maximum vibrancy and visual impact, using rhyme to engage young minds and encourage participation. Read the rhymes to your children and soon they will be reading them to you!

The narrator is a small child and keen observer who tells us in short rhyming phrases everything she thinks we should know, and all about the magical things she sees around her. Sometimes she is camouflaged in the long grass and other times she has to climb a tree to get a better look.

Review of Meet Bacteria (Mummy Nature Book 1) here at Unleashing Readers: This book is a great introduction to scientific exploration and then to bacteria itself. I love that the protagonist is a young girl who is exploring the world around her. I think students will see themselves in her, and that along with the interesting, rhyming information about the different types of bacteria will really persuade kids to want to explore.

I do think that this is just an introduction though. Each bacteria is briefly mentioned along with a fun illustration. I would love to see this book be a jumping off point to an inquiry unit about bacteria.

Thank you Rebecca for tips on how to connect our kids/students with nature from such a young age!

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Review and Author Interview!: Ebola: Fears and Facts by Patricia Newman

September 30, 2015 by Kellee

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday

Ebola: Fears and Facts
Author: Patricia Newman
Expected Published October 28th, 2015 by Lerner Publishing Group

Goodreads Summary: Ebola is a deadly contagious disease. From 1975 to 2013, it killed about 1,500 people. But a 2014 epidemic killed more than six times that number. At first the outbreak was contained to one country. But soon it spread to two others―the virus was on the move, and people were scared. When two American healthcare workers became infected and were sent to the United States for treatment, many people feared a pandemic―an outbreak that would spread all over the world. Could it happen?

Ebola: Fears and Facts takes you behind the sensational headlines to address questions and concerns about the virus. Learn about the history of the disease, its symptoms, and how it spreads. Find out how the 2014 epidemic compares to past Ebola outbreaks, as well as to outbreaks of other infectious diseases. With a question-and-answer section and reference maps, Ebola: Fears and Facts will help you to better understand this most-feared disease.

My Review: The Ebola epidemic of 2014 caused pure panic around the world. Because of the 24-hour news coverage of the disease as it entered the U.S, Ebola became a hot topic; however, there was so much misconception about the disease. As a teacher during the epidemic, I saw how scared students were of the disease and how little they knew about it. The text is a wonderful resource to help kids learn about the disease.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Patricia Newman’s middle grade nonfiction texts are a necessity for middle school classrooms. They teach the reader so much about the topic though do so in an interesting way to keep the readers’ attention. They are also about important topics that kids can make a difference by learning about. Her books, including Ebola, need to be available to students.

I really like how the book is set up. It begins with the history then goes into the way Ebola works and finally looks at the 2014 outbreak and how Ebola could possibly be conquered. It allows readers to navigate to the section they want or build up their knowledge from beginning to end.

Discussion Questions: What did you learn about Ebola that you didn’t know before reading?; What is the difference between Ebola and diseases like the measles?; How did the Ebola virus begin?; How is the Ebola virus a threat to apes in Africa?

“Truth or Hype?…The next time you come across a story about Ebola–or any topic–ask yourself the following questions. 1. What does the storyteller want us to remember? 2. How might different people understand the story? 3. Does the storyteller present facts or opinions? How do we know? What words are used? Does the storyteller quote scientific or eyewitness sources? 4. What action does the storyteller want us to take? 5. Do our emotions influence the way we evaluate the story?” (p. 35)

Author Interview: Thank you to Patricia for answering some of my questions!

What research did you do when writing Ebola?

I visited East Africa several years ago, so I had a general sense of the landscape, the bush, the people, the cadence of their speech. But the crowded cities and steamy jungles of West Africa are different than the wide open savannas of the east. Of course, I needed to learn about the physiology of the disease, but I also wanted to know where in the jungle it came from and how it affected all aspects of peoples’ lives.

I interviewed a CDC epidemiologist who’d just returned from Liberia; read books by David Quammen and Peter Piot; deciphered scientific studies in journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and Vector Borne and Zoonotic Diseases; scoured the CDC, WHO and MSF websites for case counts and anecdotal information; and read every news story (or watched every video) I could get my hands on. I also interviewed a nurse at a Sacramento hospital near my home who specializes in speaking to children about serious illnesses. Her compassion and common sense were tremendously helpful. A small fraction of my sources are listed in the back of the book.

My nurse-source also gave me a full set of Ebola protective gear. I share it with students at school visits and talk to them about how health-care professionals put it on and take it off.

Why did you decide to research and write about Ebola?

My editor, Carol Hinz, came to me in November 2014 with the idea. Millbrook Press wanted to publish a book about the 2014 epidemic, and thought I was the person to do it. I was flattered by their faith in me and overjoyed with the way they handled Plastic, Ahoy! Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, so I said yes. Carol and I learned a lot from this book. Because the deadline was so tight (my final manuscript was due February 1, 2015) we developed the outline together. Before we went to press, we revised or otherwise massaged every line in the book, always working to stay abreast of current reports. At one point I added several hundred words because of planned vaccine trials and Ebola survivors. Thank goodness Millbrook paid for a fact checker because the editing process became more and more chaotic. For example at one point in April, I gave an all-day writing workshop to a group of conservation scientists interested in writing their research for children. During my lunch break I had to edit Ebola one final time before it went to press!

What is the biggest misconception you have found about Ebola?

I think there are two frequent misconceptions. The first is that Ebola is airborne like measles or the common cold. It is not, nor is it every likely to be. Ebola is spread by contact with bodily fluids (saliva, vomit, stool, sweat, blood, semen). Generally one person infected with an airborne disease spreads the disease to more people than one person infected with Ebola. For instance, one Ebola patient infects between 1.5 and 2 people. In comparison, one measles patient infects 18 others (assuming those people have not been vaccinated). NPR wrote an interesting article about this concept.

The second misconception is that Ebola is deadly no matter what we do. Based on our success treating Ebola patients in the U.S., and the successes in some of the vaccine trials, Ebola need not be a death sentence. Two factors that contributed to the high death rate in West Africa were the lack of education about communicable diseases and the lack of high-quality medical care.

As information about the disease changes rapidly, what would be the best resources for people who want to continue learning about the disease?

News from the front lines altered the manuscript even as my editor and I were preparing it for printing, and I worried about how my readers will stay informed as our understanding of Ebola develops. I decided to include a sidebar in the last chapter of the book, Conquering Ebola, to help readers stay informed by sharing the Ebola pages for WHO, CDC, USAid, and Doctors Without Borders. For students writing Ebola reports, many of these sites have RSS feeds that will deliver information straight to their inbox.

What is the topic of your next book?

I have a book proposal under consideration at Millbrook—hopefully the editorial team will decide to take it—so for now the topic is a secret. But I can tell you to expect more science.

We Flagged: “Ebola. The word calls up images of sick people in Africa and doctors wearing space-suit-like protective gear. Before 1976, however, Ebola was simply the name of a winding river in central Africa.” (p. 5)

Read This If You Loved: Plastics Ahoy! by Patricia Newman

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Patricia and Lerner for providing a copy for review and specifically to Patricia for the Q&A!!**

Review, Author Q&A, and Giveaway!: The Trouble with Ants by Claudia Mills

April 13, 2016September 25, 2015 by Kellee

The Nora Notebooks: The Trouble with Ants
Author: Claudia Mills
Illustrator: Katie Kath
Published September 22nd, 2015 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Goodreads Summary: Science-obsessed fourth grader Nora has ants all figured out—now she just has to try to understand her fellow humans!

The trouble with ants is . . .
. . . people think they’re boring.
. . . they are not cuddly.
. . . who would ever want them for a pet?

Nora Alpers is using her new notebook to record the behavior of ants. Why? Because they are fascinating! Unfortunately, no one agrees with her. Her mom is not happy about them being in the house, and when Nora brings her ant farm to school for show and tell, her classmates are not very impressed. They are more interested in cat videos, basketball practice, or trying to set a Guinness World Record (although Nora wouldn’t mind that).

Mostly they are distracted by the assignment their teacher Coach Joe has given them—to write a persuasive speech and change people’s minds about something. Will Nora convince her friends that ants are as interesting as she thinks they are? Or will everyone still think of ants as nothing but trouble?

With real science facts, a classroom backdrop, an emphasis on friendship, and appealing black-and-white interior illustrations from artist Katie Kath, The Nora Notebooks is perfect for newly independent readers—especially budding scientists like Nora!—and adults who want to encourage awareness of STEM subjects in young readers.

About the Author: Claudia Mills is the author of over fifty books for young readers. She does not personally keep an ant farm, but she does have a cat, Snickers, with whom she curls up on her couch at home in Boulder, Colorado, drinking hot chocolate and writing. To learn more, and to download free curriculum guides for her books, visit her website at claudiamillsauthor.com

My Review: I love books that promote girls being smart and doing well in school. This book goes even further and promotes girls finding a love in science and, specifically, insects. Nora is a girl that I hope that lots of readers find a connection with and strive to be like. She is a role model for all kids. She is smart, doesn’t mind being a bit different, and has great friends and family. I also love that she is at the heart of it a normal girl who just happens to be smart and like science. The story is more than just her science and ants. It is about growing up. There is so much you will love in this book: Nora, her parents, her teacher, her friends, and, of course, Precious Cupcake.

Author Q&A: We are so excited to host Claudia today! Thank you for taking part in the Q&A.

Do you like ants as much as Nora does?

No! But some ants somewhere must have read my book and gotten the wrong impression, as I had my first-ever invasion of ants in my pantry as the book was going to press. It was hard to convince them that I much prefer to have them outside in their usual habitat. But I had a pang thinking how much Nora would have come to their defense.

What was the hardest part about writing this book?

The research was a challenge. Most of my books are contemporary school stories. It helps that I love going to schools on author visits where I pay close attention to the details on how the classrooms are organized, what kind of work the kids are doing, and how classmates interact. But I don’t need to do any other research. Here I had to try to equal Nora’s knowledge about ants, and that meant reading about ants, interviewing a leading ant scientist, and combing the internet for promising ant experiments.

What’s next for Nora?

She is going to star in two more books. In The Trouble with Babies she devotes herself to the scientific study of babies as a new a-u-n-t; in The Trouble with Friends she wants to replicate Mendel’s experiments on the genetics of peas in the class garden, but finds herself instead learning the limits of her own scientific approach to life.

Thanks for hosting me today, Kellee!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: I love the cross-curricular aspect of this novel. You can use aspects in science and in language arts. I love Nora’s example of an experiment and persuasive essay. I also think having an ant farm while reading the novel would really add an extra aspect to the reading.

Discussion Questions: What are the steps to doing a science experiment?; Why did all of Nora’s ants die?; How is Nora different than her friends? How does their relationship show that different types of people can be friends.; How did Nora’s parents influence her?; Why do you think Dunk acts the way he does?; What was so special about Nora’s classroom?

We Flagged: “Nora loved scribbling down all kinds of facts in all kinds of notebooks: big ones, little ones, fat ones, skinny ones, spiral ones, and now this new super fancy one.

She had waited to start her new notebook on the first day of the new year.

‘Fascinating Facts About Ants,’ she now wrote on the first blank page with her blue ballpoint pen.” (p. 2)

Read This If You Loved: The Categorical Universe of Candice McPhee by Barry Jonsberg, Cody and the Fountain of Happiness by Tricia Springstubb

Giveaway:

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**Thank you to Barbara at Blue Slip Media for providing copies for review and giveaway and also a big thank you to Claudia Mills for taking part in the Q&A!!**

Space Boy and His Dog by Dian Curtis Regan

July 17, 2015 by Kellee

Space Boy and His ~~Sister~~ Dog
Author: Dian Curtis Regan
Illustrator: Robert Neubecker
Published April 7th, 2015 by Boyds Mills Press

Goodreads Summary: Niko may live on boring old Earth with his family, but he’s always finding a new adventure. Using the spaceship that he built from a box in his backyard and a little imagination, he flies off into space with his robot, Radar, and his dog, Tag. The only one NOT invited is his sister Posh who keeps trying to insert herself into Niko’s story. In this first mission, Niko and crew (and maybe also pesky Posh) fly to the moon in search of a lost cat. Illustrated in comic–book style and featuring easy–to–read text packed with humor, Space Boy and His Dog is Niko’s first adventure, with two more books planned in the series.

About the Author: Dian Curtis Regan is the author of more than 60 books for young readers, including The Snow Blew Inn, Rocky Cave Kids, Monster of the Month Club, Barnyard Slam, and the bestselling Princess Nevermore. Her books have received many honors, including Best Books for Young Adults, Los Angeles Times Recommended Book, and Children’s Choice Awards. For more information on her books, visitdiancurtisregan.com and spaceboybooks.com.

Kellee’s Review: Regan and Neubecker do a great job in this picture book making Niko’s story come to life. It is a fun story with elaborate, bright full-page illustrations. I also like that it is a chapter picture book. It sequences Niko’s adventure into different “chapters” which would make it a nice introduction to the idea of chapter books. This is a story that will trigger interest in space! It would spur some really wonderful conversations about the moon, but there are so many exciting elements to discuss. I love that the book promotes imagination (reminds me of Faraway Friends by Russ Cox in that aspect). It shows that playing in the backyard and pretending can be so much fun! It would offer excellent opportunities to analyze the interactions between Posh and Niko, Niko’s voice, as well as the character traits of the two characters.

Ricki’s Review: After reading this book, I showed it to a middle school science teacher who loves everything related to space. She told me she is excited to use it in her classroom to introduce her unit on space. The book reads like a fantasy, so she plans to do a lesson at the end of her unit (after they study the different planets), and her students will imagine themselves on a planet. As an educator, I very much value interdisciplinary connections, and I think teachers would enjoy using this book to kick off or conclude a unit about space. Students can consistently refer to the book and ask, “What was real, and what was fantasy?” The books is quite clever and very funny, and I was smiling as I read it to my toddler. I recommend this book particularly for early elementary school classrooms, but I think it can be used at all levels.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Monday, July 20th, is the anniversary of the first moon landing, so this is perfect timing to celebrate this book. It would be a fun way to start a lesson about the moon and would definitely be a jumping off point to discussing the atmosphere of the moon, how long it would take to get to the moon, and space ships.

A curriculum guide for Space Boy and His Dog is available here. The curriculum guide not only focuses on the space elements of the story, but also asks the reader to think about characterization, the interactions between Niko and Posh, author’s purpose, and how illustrations affect a story.

Discussion Questions: What would Niko and Post need to survive a visit to the moon?; How long does it take to get to the moon?; Looking at Niko’s spaceship, how does it compare to NASA spaceships?

We Flagged:

SpaceBoySpread2 — from http://www.neubeckerbooks.com/

Read This If You Loved: Faraway Friends by Russ Cox, Space Encyclopedia by National Geographic

Recommended For:

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**Thank you to Barbara at Blue Slip Media for providing copies for review!**