Football Genius
by: Tim Green

Summary: Troy, a sixth-grader with an unusual gift for predicting football plays before they occur, attempts to use his ability to help his favorite team, the Atlanta Falcons, but he must first prove himself to the coach and players.

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

Teacher’s Guide:   LA Young Reader’s Choice Study Guides

Related Links:  Atlanta,  Georgia

50 Fun Things to Do in Atlanta
http://www.atlanta.net/50fun

Atlanta Falcons Web Site
http://www.atlantafalcons.com

Related Links:  Mathematics and Football

NCTM Illuminations:  Mathematics and Football Unit
http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?ID=L213
The activities in this unit  focus on connections between mathematics and football by using the Super Bowl.  Students apply math to  problems associated with “The Big Game.”  The activities involve number sense, geometry, measurement, statistics, estimations, and problem solving.

Read Aloud Recommendation: Students who are sports fans will love the subject matter  and the cinematic descriptions of games.  Others will just enjoy the fast-moving plot.  This is a great selection for a read-aloud.  I think that it would be especially fun to use in a mathematics class as part of a unit that focuses on connections between mathematics and football.

Sequel Available:

Football Champ: A Football Genius Novel

Hiroshima Dreams
by: Kelly Easton

Summary: Lin O’Neil, a talented but shy girl growing up in Providence, Rhode Island, develops a close relationship with her Japanese grandmother, who shares Lin’s gift of precognition.

Author Web Site:  www.kellyeaston.com

Teacher’s Guide:  Not Yet Available

Related Resources:  Peace Lesson Plans

Hiroshima Day Lesson Plan (pdf)
This pdf document is a multi-day unit on Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes and Hiroshima Day with color illustrations of the story.

Peace Lesson Plans @ Wilmington College

This site contains lesson plans divided by grade levels:  elementary (1-5), junior high (5-8), and high school (9-12).   Many of these lesson plans deal with American/Japanese relations before and after WWII.    For example, one lesson plan explores prejudice and appreciation of other cultures through relating the story of friendship dolls that were sent from America to Japan in 1926.  Another lesson deals explores the story of Sadako and focuses on Hiroshima Day.  Teachers should find plenty of ideas at this site.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

This site will help teachers and students to complete an engaging research project as part of a study of the historical novel Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, a true story about a girl who lived in Hiroshima on the day that the United States dropped the atomic bomb on that city in an attempt to end World War II.    This book would be a great companion novel to read before or after Hiroshima Dreams, or this assignment could be adapted.  To better understand the novel,  student assignments include  research about this event in history and its effect on the people of Hiroshima and the world at large.  This site includes mini-lessons, resources, and assessment tools.

Read Aloud Recommendation: This coming of age novel probably lacks the action to hold students’ attention as a traditional read aloud, but it would be great for literature circles and for the teacher to read aloud in segments.  I would recommend it as a companion novel to Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes as it deals with the aftermath of Hiroshima and the effects of the atomic bomb generations later.   

EntertainerandtheDybbuk_Cover

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 Entertainer and the Dybbuk
by:  Sid Fleischman

Summary: A struggling American ventriloquist in post-World War II Europe is possessed by the mischievous spirit of a young Jewish boy killed in the Holocaust. (Includes author’s note which details the murder of over one million children by the Nazis during the 1930s and 1940s.)

Author Web Site: http://sidfleischman.com

Related Resources:  Children During the Holocaust

Anne Frank Museum, Amsterdam
Online exhibits, Photos, and Information about Anne Frank and her World-Famous Diary including a 3-D Tour of Anne’s Hiding Place (The Secret Annex)

Holocaust Cybrary @ remember.org
Powerful Art by Children and Survivors as well as a Virtual Tour of Auschwitz

Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust:  Children
Produced by the FL Center for Instructional Technology (Lots of Web Resources for Teaching About the Holocaust and Children)

United States Holocaust Museum:  Anne Frank
Informational Articles, Photos, and Web Links

United States Holocaust Museum:  Children During the Holocaust
Informational Articles, Photos, Videos, and Web Links

Related Resources:  Vaudeville

American Studies @ The University of Virginia:  Vaudeville
Information about Vaudeville Performers, Audio, and Video Footage from Actual Performances, and Web Links

Library of Congress’ American Memory:  American Variety Stage
Collection of Materials About American Variety Stage from 1870-1920 Including Theater Bills, Photos, Sound Recordings, and Video

Vaudeville:  A History
Short Articles About Vaudeville

Related Resources:  Ventriloquism

Ventriloquism During the Vaudeville Era
Historic Information and Photos of Ventriloquists  from 1900-1930

Ventriloquist Video (YouTube Version)

Description:  YouTube Video of Terry Fator Performance on Letterman
Please view this version of the video, as it is from the original source, if possible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bPmwzhqEgw

Ventriloquist Video
(Version for Schools Who Cannot Access YouTube)

Description:  YouTube Video of Terry Fator on Letterman
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.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bPmwzhqEgw

Related Resources:  War Crimes Prosecution

Famous War Trials:  Nuremberg Trials (Faculty Project of University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law)
Account of Trial, Chart of Defendants, Diagram of Courtroom, Transcripts and More in Easy to Read Format

Nuremberg Trials:  Wikipedia
Great Article with Lots of Photos and Links

United States Holocaust Museum:  War Crimes Trial
Information, Photos, Videos of Personal Narratives, Historical Film Footage and More

Read Aloud Recommendation:
Students love a good ghost story and this is no exception!  Teachers will find this to be a good read aloud to use as part of a study of the Holocaust and War Crimes Trials that followed World War II.

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).

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:

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.

Book 1:  The Lightning Thief (Georgia Book Award Winner, 2009)

Summary: After learning that he is the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea, twelve-year-old Percy is sent to a summer camp for demigods like himself, and joins his new friends on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.

Book 2:  The Sea of Monsters

Summary: Seventh-grader Percy Jackson has recently discovered that he is the son of Poseidon, making him half human and half god, and along with his a demigod and a satyr friend, must save his beloved Camp Half-Blood from evil forces determined to destroy it.

Book 3:  The Curse of the Titans

Summary: The disappearance of the goddess Artemis while out hunting a rare, ancient monster, prompts a group of her followers to join Percy and his friends in an attempt to find and rescue her before the winter solstice, when her influence is needed to sway the Olympian Council regarding the war with the Titans.

Book 4:  The Battle of the Labyrinth

Summary: When demonic cheerleaders invade his high school, Percy Jackson hurries to Camp Half Blood, from whence he and his demigod friends set out on a quest through the Labyrinth, while the war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near.

Book 5:  The Last Olympian

Summary: The long-awaited prophecy surrounding Percy Jackson’s sixteenth birthday unfolds as he leads an army of young demigods to stop Kronos in his advance on New York City, while the Olympians struggle to contain the rampaging monster, Typhon.

Teacher’s Guide to Percy Jackson Series (including Author Interviews, Discussion Questions, Reader’s Theatre Scripts, Literature Circle Activities, Units, and More!!)

Recommended by the Author:  Mythology Sites

For the second year, Reading is Fundamental (RIF) and US Airways are working together to help children nationwide discover the joy of reading.  Starting in April, adults are invited to join the 2009 Read with Kids Challenge and help collectively log 5 million minutes spent reading with kids.  You’ll have the chance of winning a family vacation to the Walt Disney World Resort and more great prizes.  Get on board!  Visit http://www.RIF.org/readwithkids today.

I found out about this challenge a couple of days ago and I hope to spread the word.  So far, our school has logged 500 minutes.  Help make this initiative a success and join the challenge!

Duck! Rabbit! Cover

I recently found the perfect Easter basket book for boys and girls in a wide age range (3-7).   It’s called Duck! Rabbit! The text of the book is super simple, but the pictures provide a clever look an optical illusion in the form of an argument over whether a duck or a rabbit is depicted.  The book illustrates a good point that can be made in many arguments, “It depends on how you look at it!”

Duck! Rabbit! is a delightful read-aloud for young children.  In addition, I love that a digital version of it is available at Amazon.com.  It is perfect for showing in your classroom through a digital projector and whiteboard (ACTIVBoard, SMARTBoard, etc.).  Here’s the link to the digital content on Amazon (You can also find it posted on YouTube, but most schools can’t access YouTube due to filtering.):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m296GUZCI50OD

The artwork in this book makes me think of Eric Rohmann’s bold, expressive relief prints in My Friend Rabbit, a former Caldecott winner.  It would also make a great addition to the Easter basket of young children as it is a simple story of friendship between Rabbit and Mouse told mostly through pictures with minimal text.

As a library media specialist in a public elementary school, I have always felt it was my duty to buy and promote the Newbery, Caldecott, Coretta Scott King Illustrator, and state award winners and nominees in order to showcase some of the best books of year––even though I have had reservations about the kid appeal of some of the books. After all, part of my job is to help kids discover literary gems. However, despite my best efforts, every year a portion of these books eventually become “shelf-squatters” as my attention becomes focused elsewhere and the kids naturally gravitate toward more commercial, mainstream books (which I also purchase as my budget allows).

When considering books for the school library collection, the library media specialist must make tough decisions regarding the major award winners. It is very difficult for me to be objective about award books because in most cases, I find the chosen books to be so worthy of recognition. However, my young patrons do not always agree. After all, in most cases a committee of adults select the award winners based on specific criteria. (With the Georgia Book Award process, students select the winner from a list of nominees by voting for their favorite.) I have found that adults judge literary merit using a set of criteria that is very different from the criteria that children use to decide what is appealing to them. I have also found that even though adults may find a book to be of great literary merit, if kids find the book to be unappealing, it will not be read (no matter how many awards adults have bestowed upon it). That is this the case with this year’s Newbery winner, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village. It is an excellent choice, but it doesn’t have much kid appeal. It will never have the same popularity as some of the winners (such as the 1999 winner, Holes). In fact, I will have to work really hard to promote the book, or it will seldom be checked out. While I realize that is part of my job, it does illustrate my point. So what is the solution? Maintain the current course, or steer more into the mainstream?

Motherhood has really been the catalyst for the clarification of my thoughts on the struggle of literary vs. mainstream. I have found with my own child, now a busy toddler, that I have to appeal to his interests in order to keep him reading. That doesn’t mean that my little one hasn’t succumbed to the charm of Caldecott winner Where the Wild Things Are and classics like Goodnight Moon. It just means that when something is holding his attention (currently Thomas the Tank Engine), I have to seize the moment. Therefore, I have learned to balance the award winning and classic with the kid appealing. I have come to realize that I may never get my little one to listen to Snowy Day. It just doesn’t appeal to him. (And let’s face it, my son, who hates to travel, has never seen snow where we live––in south Georgia.) That doesn’t mean that I won’t keep trying. It just means that if I want to keep him reading, I have to keep his interests in mind when purchasing new books. It’s all about balance.

I read one of the classics to him every day, though not always an award winner. Tonight, it might be Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham (which he loves after I convinced him to give it a try). After that, he can choose. He usually chooses a Thomas story like Catch Me, Catch Me! A Thomas the Tank Engine Story, Go, Train, Go!, or Stop, Train, Stop! A Thomas the Tank Engine Story, a Cars story like Driving Buddies (Step into Reading), or a Dora or Diego story like Diego’s Wolf Pup Rescue . As long as we are reading together every night, I have stopped obsessing so much about what we are reading.

There is a wonderful article on this topic at http://www.warriorlibrarian.com/LIBRARY/qual_vs_pop.html. An extensive review of literature on this topic shows that readers of commercial/mainstream literature are the most prolific readers and are more likely to to continue their reading development at a higher rate than those who do not read popular literature. Researchers also found that popular literature can be a bridge to higher quality literature. While I already knew this from experience––both academic and maternal, I have to say that I like being able to back up my own thoughts with research.

In conclusion, I will always pursue and purchase the best in children’s literature. However, I am going to be much more careful about balancing the award winning with the popular literature that students crave. After all, as a librarian and as a mother, I have to serve the needs of my patrons and keep them reading!

Here are a couple of my son’s current favorites as mentioned above:

Scholastic has created a powerful online literacy resource with the introduction of BookFlix.  BookFlix pairs Weston Woods video storybooks by a wide range of authors with related nonfiction e-Books from Scholastic.    For example, Bark, George is paired with a nonfiction title called Pets at the Vet, while Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type is paired with Let’s Visit a Dairy Farm.

Designed for PreK-grade 3, the books are sorted into categories so that users can search by concept such as Animals and Nature, or Earth and Sky.  However, more advance search features are available in the Resources section.

I am fortunate to work in a school system that has purchased BookFlix for the coming school year after an impressive trial period which had teachers at my school, as well as other schools in the county, eager to subscribe.  Also, our subscription includes remote access, which allows children and their families to log on to BookFlix anywhere there is an Internet connection.

BookFlix can be used in sooooooooo many ways.  The teachers at my school used it primarily as a whole group activity with a projector and interactive whiteboard during the trial period.  It can also be used as a learning center or independent reading station with students rotating through in the classroom, library media center, or computer lab, as an interactive alternative at story time in the library media center, as a family literacy resource at a Parent Resource Center, or as a literacy connection in students’ homes for families with an Internet connection.  It is ideal for beginning readers, struggling and reluctant readers, and English Language Learners.

There are currently 80 fiction/nonfiction pairs categorized by theme.  Of these, 20 of these pairs are currently offered in a Spanish version as well.  Both the video fictional selection and the nonfiction e-book have a read-along option, with word by word highlighting during the narration of the fictional selection and the reading of the e-book.  In addition, users can click on key content-area words within the interactive eBooks for a definition in both text and audio clip format.

Each pair of stories have similar features that make the resource easy to use and adapt to classroom and library needs–a detailed lesson plan tied to national standards with lots of extra instructional activities and ideas for extending student learning and navigation allowing users to pick and choose the following activities:

1. Watch the Story (Fictional Selection)
2. Read the book (Nonfiction Selection)
3. Puzzlers! (Word Match-Vocabulary Practice, Fact or Fiction Activities, Sequence Activities)
4. Meet the Author (Photo & Brief Biography with Optional Audio/Link to Author Web Site for More Details)
5. Explore the Web (Select Web Sites Links)

Into the Sea by Brenda S. Guiberson

This is a beautifully illustrated story about the life cycle of a sea turtle.  The story follows a sea turtle from the moment it hatches from an egg until it returns to the same sandy beach as an adult to lay eggs of its own.   It includes a look at some of the dangers that sea turtles face (including a close encounter with a fishing net), as well as encounters with other sea creatures.  Various ecosystems are spotlighted–a moonlit sandy beach, a tropical coral reef, and the open ocean. It includes information about the dwindling sea turtle population and ways that people are working to save sea turtles.  The illustrator, Alix Berensky, provides the reader with a magical look at undersea life through the use of vibrant colors with perfectly executed colored-pencil and gouache illustrations.  While this book is perfect as a read-aloud for younger readers, it will also delight independent readers. ATOS Reading Level (AR): 4.8

Other Recommended Titles Include:

One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies

This is the story of a tiny loggerhead sea turtle who swims out to sea, then returns after a few years to the beach where she was born to lay her eggs before returning to the sea. Includes many facts about sea turtles.  ATOS Reading Level (AR): 4.1

Sea Turtles of the World by Jeff Ripple

This book includes an introduction to the physical characteristics and behavior of sea turtles, featuring information on the eight recognized species of sea turtles and a section on efforts to conserve the endangered animals.  It is perfect for student reports with easy-to-read text and over 50 full-color photographs.

Sea Turtles by Gail Gibbons

This book describes eight kinds of sea turtles, their physical characteristics, senses, how they feed, migrate, and nest, and what is being done to protect them.  It has soft watercolor-and-ink illustrations and general information that would be perfect for beginning readers or as a general introduction to sea turtles.  ATOS Reading Level (AR): 4.1

Recommended Web Resources with Connecting Activities:

Art Lesson Plan: Underwater Sea Turtles -Water Color – Resist

Drawing sea turtles

Education World ® - Lesson Planning: Tracking Sea Turtles

Georgia Sea Turtle Center

Marine Discovery Lesson Plan (includes downloadable Powerpoint Presentation and M&M’s)

seaturtle.org : Teachers

Sea Turtles: The Kids’ Times – Office of Protected Resources

The State of the World’s Sea Turtles (SWOT)

Turtle Trax – A Sea Turtle Page