Georgia Book Award Nominee 2009-2010: The Puzzling World of Winston Breen

readingt — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:59:39 +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 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.

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: