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Georgia Book Award Nominee 2009-2010: Deep and Dark and Dangerous

readingt — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:55:25 +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).

Deep and Dark and Dangerous: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn

Summary: When thirteen-year-old Ali spends the summer with her aunt and cousin at the family’s vacation home, she stumbles upon a secret that her mother and aunt have been hiding for over thirty years.

Author Web Site: http://www.hmhbooks.com/features/mdh/index.html

Teacher’s Guide: Not Currently Available

Teacher Resources: Classroom Connections, Great Resources Posted by Elizabeth Borne, a Student at LSU School of Library and Information Science

Multimedia: Digital Booktalk

Related Links: Ghost Stories

American Folklore (Stories to Read and Audio Podcasts)

August House: Tips for Scary Storytelling (Link provided to 20 page pdf document, “The August House Scary Story Startup Kit”)

Related Links: Maine

Interactive Map with Photo and Video Links a the Maine Office of Tourism Web Site

Videos of Maine at the Maine Office of Tourism Web Site

Read-Aloud Recommendation: Oh, yeah!! This novel is a spine chiller, sure to keep students’ interest. If you need a good ghost story, this book is for you.

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

readingt — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:59:39 +0000

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: 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