The Very Ordered Existence of Merilee Marvelous
by:  Suzanne Crowley

Summary: In the small town of Jumbo, Texas, thirteen-year-old Merilee, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, tries to live a “very ordered existence,” but disruptions begin when a boy and his father arrive in town and the youngster makes himself a part of the family.

Author Web Site:  http://www.suzannecrowley.com

Other Author Resources:

School Library Journal Article:  The Voices of Autism (August 1, 2009)

Author Interview about The Very Ordered Existence of Merilee Marvelous and Writing @ Cynsations

Author Interview about New Book, The Stolen One, and The Very Ordered Existence of Merilee Marvelous @Kathyerskine’s Blog

Multimedia Resources:

Link to Audio Excerpt of The Very Ordered Existence of Merilee Marvelous @ Harper Collins Web Site

Teacher’s Guide:  Not Currently Available

Related Links:  Autism-Asperger’s Syndrome

Autism Spectrum Disorders:  Fact Sheet (Introduction to Asperger’s Syndrome)

ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education:  Asperger Syndrome FAQ

General Information about Asperger’s Syndrome @ kidshealth.org

Related Links:  Dragons

Dragon Links from The Dragon Theme Page (Created by Jerri S. Cheek at the ETTC, Kennesaw State University) Lots and lots of Web resources!!

Dragons Featured on Animal Planet (includes multimedia segments of new show about dragonsincluding mythology of dragons)

Related Links:  Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Characteristics of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Information @ the Mayo Clinic Web Site

Related Links:  Ghost Lights

Earth Lights:  Spooklights and Ghost Lights

Haunted Georgia:  Surrency Ghost (A Local Legend)

Read Aloud Recommendation: In my opinion, it takes quite a few chapters to understand the complexities of the characters in this story, and therefore, it may not be the best story for reading aloud with younger students.  More mature students could handle the slower pace of the story as the characters develop.  I recommend this book for older students, grades 5 and up.   It is a wonderful story if readers can hang in there.

The Rising Star of Rusty Nail by Leslie M. M. Blume

Summary: In the small town of Rusty Nail, Minnesota, in the early 1950s, musically talented ten-year-old Franny wants to take advanced piano lessons from newcomer Olga Malenkov, a famous Russian musician suspected of being a communist spy by gossipy members of the community.

Author Web Site:  http://www.lesleymmblume.com

Related Links:  Teacher’s Resources

Booktalk @ Random House

Real Star of Rusty Nail (Basis for Main Character of Franny Hansen According to Author)

Related Links:  American Coot

American Coot, Identification by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology

Related Links:  Cold War

McCarthyism:  A Description by PBS

The Price of Freedom:  Printable Exhibition by The Smithsonian

Related Links:  Multimedia



Description:  YouTube Video of Piano Concerto No. 2, First Movement (Moderato)
Please view this version of the video, as it is from the original source, if possible.

Description:  YouTube Video of Piano Concerto No. 2, First Movement (Moderato) Saved for Schools with Content Filters
This posting of the same video is for schools who cannot access YouTube due to content filtering.  Please view the video from the original source if possible.

Related Links:  Sergei Rachmaninoff (Composer, Pianist, and Conductor)

Classics for Kids:  Biography of Rachmaninoff

Detailed Biography at Classical Net

Related Links:  Young Musicians

Kids, Keyboards and Classics (Article and Recorded NPR Show about Pianists 12-16 at the International Institute for Young Musicians in Lawrence, Kansas)

Read Aloud Recommendation: A good read aloud to pick for discussions about goals and hard work.  This book would also help students to better understand the 1950s, the Anti Communist Movement (and propaganda), and the McCarty hearings (hearings conducted by the House Committee on Un-American Activities).

]]> http://readingtreasurechest.com/2009/09/08/georgia-book-award-nominee-2010-the-rising-star-of-rusty-nail/feed/ 0 http://readingtreasurechest.com/2009/09/06/georgia-book-award-nominee-2010-the-puzzling-world-of-winston-breen/ http://readingtreasurechest.com/2009/09/06/georgia-book-award-nominee-2010-the-puzzling-world-of-winston-breen/#comments Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:59:39 +0000 readingt http://readingtreasurechest.com/?p=265

This year I plan to read all the GA Book Award Nominees and provide a “one stop” resource for teachers who would like to use these books in their classrooms.  I will be posting links to author Web sites, teacher’s guides, and related Web links.  I hope to make this an unbiased resource, so I will not be providing my own review of the books–other than recommending it as a read aloud (or not).

The Puzzling World of Winston Breen by:  Eric Berlin

Summary: Winston Breen loves solving puzzles; and when his sister uncovers a twenty-five-year-old scavenger hunt (which leads to a ring worth thousands of dollars), he and his family jump at the opportunity to solve it.

Author/Publisher Web Site:  http://www.winstonbreen.com
Download and print a copy of all the puzzles so your kids won’t write in the book.  They’ll want to solve them all!

Teacher’s Guide:  Not Currently Available

Teacher Resources:

Best Kids Mystery Books from Suite101.com (Good choices in my opinion!!)

Interview with Author (text)

What is a Mystery?  (Lesson Plans Include Mystery Vocabulary, Elements of a Mystery, Writing Mysteries, etc.)

Related Links:  Multimedia

Book Trailer Created by Educators in the Liberty County School System

Related Links:  Mysteries

A. Pintura:  Art Detective (Online Art Mystery/Simulation)

Mini-Mysteries for Kids at kids.mysterynet.com

Related Links:  Puzzle Sites for Kids

Anagram Server from Wordsmith.org (Find anagrams for any word!)

Guess the Anagram & See the Answer Immediately  (Over 600 Anagrams from Everyday Things)

Online Jigsaw Puzzles, Include Tesselation Cuts (Can Login as Guest to Play)

Puzzle Choice for Kids:  Interactive Puzzles to Complete Online

Puzzle Choice for Kids:  Printable Puzzles

Read Aloud Recommendation: Unquestionably!! This is a good mystery adventure full of puzzles that you could give your students to try and solve before revealing the answer.  Kids will enjoy exploring the different types of puzzles found in this book.

Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson

Summary: When a new, white student nicknamed “The Jesus Boy” joins her sixth grade class in the winter of 1971, Frannie’s growing friendship with him makes her start to see some things in a new light.

Author Web Site:  http://www.jacquelinewoodson.com

Teaching Resources:

Teacher’s Guide:  Not Currently Available

Lesson Plan from National Council of Teachers of English on Similar Books (Does Not Include Feathers, But Could Be Used As Building Block/Includes The Other Side, a Picture Book by Woodson )

Reading Guide of Discussion Questions by Penguin Publishing

Review Suitable for Booktalk from Kidsread.com

Related Links:  Civil Rights

Brown v. Board of Education:  National Archive Documents and Lesson Plans

Learn NC:  Race Relations (Includes Multimedia Resources)

Research Starters from Scholastic:  Civil Rights

Related Links:  Emily Dickinson

Biography of Emily Dickinson from the Academy of American Poets Web Site

Dickinson Electronic Archives

Teaching with Emily Dickinson:  The Classroom Electric (Emily Dickinson Resources)

Text and Slideshow of Entire Poem (TextFlow) from the Academy of American Poets Web Site

Excerpt:

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
-Emily Dickinson

Related Links:  Hearing Impaired

Resources from the American Society for Deaf Children

Resources from Raising Deaf Kids

Related Links: Multimedia

Slideshow and Reading of Excerpt from Feathers on the Author’s Web Site

Mini Documentary of Woodson on Writing Realistic Fiction, Video of Author Reading from Feathers, & More

Related Links:  Sign Language

First 100 Signs (with Illustrations, Descriptions, and Photos of Person Making Each Sign)

Handspeak.com (including American Sign Language Online Dictionary with Videos Showing Signing of Words)

Read Aloud Recommendation: This is a good book to open dialogue about social issues such as race relations.  It will challenge students to question social injustices such as prejudice and stereotyping.