» Georgia Book Award Nominee 2010

Georgia Book Award Nominee 2009-2010: The Rising Star of Rusty Nail

readingt — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:10:47 +0000

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 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).

Georgia Book Award Nominee 2009-2010: Saving the Griffin

readingt — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 02:32:56 +0000

Saving the Griffin by : Kristin Wolden Nitz

Summary: When eleven-year-old Kate and her younger brother Michael encounter a baby griffin in an Italian garden, they vow to help the creature find its way back home and to keep Griffo’s existence a secret.

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

Teacher’s Guide: Not Currently Available

Behind the Scenes from the Author’s Blog: http://kristinwoldennitz.wordpress.com/category/saving-the-griffin

Definition of Griffin:

A griffin is a legendary creature, usually represented in literature and art as having the head, beak, and wings of an eagle, the body and legs of a lion, and occasionally a serpent’s tail. The griffin seems to have originated in the Middle East, as it is found in the paintings and sculptures of the ancient Babylonians, Assyrians, and Persians. The Romans used the griffin merely for decorative purposes in friezes and on table legs, altars, and candelabra. The griffin motif appeared in early Christian times in the bestiaries, or beast allegories, of St. Basil and St. Ambrose. Stone replicas of griffins frequently served as gargoyles in the Gothic architecture of the late Middle Ages. The griffin is still a familiar device in heraldry and is thought to represent strength and vigilance.

Citation
Griffin. (2009). Retrieved August 16, 2009, from
Discovery Education: http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/

Griffin Gargoyle Photos:

Credit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chuntera/ / CC BY 2.0

Credit:

Photograph by Dona Acheson. Courtesy of Toronto Public Library

Related Links: Griffin (Mythical Creature)

KidzWorld: Griffin

Mythical Creatures Coloring Pages

Related Links: Florence, Italy

Guide to Italy (Photos and Video of Florence)

Related Links: Sienna, Italy

Guide to Italy (Photos of Siena)

Video of Siena, Italy from GeoBeats

Related Links: Basic Italian

Children’s Conversational Italian (Short Audio Files by Native Speakers)

Video of Top Local Italian Phrases from GeoBeats

Read Aloud Recommendation: Definitely! This story has fantasy, adventure, and a hint of danger.

Georgia Book Award Nominee 2009-2010: Leepike Ridge

readingt — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:06:40 +0000

Leepike Ridge
by N.D. Wilson

Summary: While his widowed mother continues to search for him, eleven-year-old Tom, presumed dead after drifting away down a river, finds himself trapped in a series of underground caves with another survivor and a dog, and pursued by murderous treasure-hunters.

Author Web Site: http://ndwilson.com

Teacher’s Guide: Teacher’s Guide @ Random House

Related Links: Archaeology

China Highlights: The Terracotta Army Museum at the Tomb of Qin Shihuang

Encyclopedia Britannica: Qin Tomb (Archaeological Site, China)

National Geographic: Mysteries of the the Ancient World

National Geographic: Who Were the Phoenicians?

National Geographic for Kids: Ten Cool Archaeology Sites

Phoenician Treasures (Phoenician Encyclopedia)

Related Links: Caves

Caves.org: Science Topics (Bats, Cave Biology, Cave Archeology, etc.)

Caves.org: Virtual Cave Tours