Saving the Ghost of the Mountain: An Expedition Among Snow Leopards in Mongolia

Written by: Sy Montgomery

Photographs by: Nic Bishop

Recommended for: Children Ages

Themes: Non-Fiction, Science, Social Studies

Summary:
      This book chronicles the journey of several widlife experts as they work to catch and track the white leopard in an attempt to save them from extinction. This book also give wonderful information about the country of Mongolia, as this is where this section of their expedition takes place. The author adds in information about the culture, lifestyle, topography and wildlife of Mongolia as he describes the mission of these experts.
     Children will enjoy learning about the culture of Mongolia. This book will give them a glimpse into what it would be like living in this Asian country. The book gives maps, to help children to understand where Mongolia is, as well as wonderful photographs of the people, animals and land in Mongolia. The information is presented in a way where it is interesting and not overwhelming to children, however, it would be best to break this book up into different sections in order to make it more manageable.

Suggestions for the Classroom:
     This book would be best used to support instruction on the cultures of Asia, that of Mongolia in particular. In addition, the book provides information about the wildlife of Mongolia, including: snow leopards, goats, camels, takhi (wild horse),yaks, etc.

*Pre-Reading Activities: Show children a map of the world. Point out to them where Mongolia is. If possible, show them a short video about Mongolia to peak their interest:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abKtXa-UCP8 or http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/planet-earth-camels-of-the-gobi-desert.html

*During Reading: In small groups, reading groups, create a book club where you will read with students different sections of the book each day (Chap. 1- Where is Mongolia, Chap. 2- About the Experts, Chap. 3- Culture of Mongolia, Chap. 4 - Trapping and Tagging, Chap. 5- Topography, etc). With the children, point out the important details (Book Talks) from each section using a graphic organizer. *You may want to select different books to go with different Book Club groups to give students opportunities to work with different levels and to provide a greater variety of information to be shared at its conclusion.

*Post-Reading Activities: At the conclusion of the Book Club have the students prepare some sort of visual representation of what they have learned, a poster, using the information that they have collected on their graphic organizers during your Book Talks.

About the Author:

     Sy Montgomery a graduate of Syracuse University, with three degrees in: Magazine Journalism from the Newhouse School of Public Communication; the French Language and Literature; and in Psychology. She has traveled extensively to do research for her books which center around the preservation and protection of animals. She has received several awards for her writing, including: the 2009 New England Independent Booksellers Association Nonfiction Award, the 2010 Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award, the Henry Bergh Award for Nonfiction (given by the ASPCA for Humane Education) and dozens of other honors.

About the Photographer:

     Nic Bishop moved around a lot as a child, the son of a Biology professor he was taught to love and respect the animals found around him in each place that they traveled to and lived in. He began taking photographs at the age of 9 and as an adult decided to pursue his degree in Biology as well. He decided to travel after receiving his degree and took his cameras with him to chronicle his journey around the world, which he later turned into his first book Untouched Horizons. He decided to get into providing photographs for children's books after seeing how children responded to his work and thinking back to his love for non-fiction books as a child.

George Washington Carver: Teacher, Scientist, and Inventor

Written by: Lori Mortensen

Illustrated by: Niamh O'Connor

Recommended for: Children Ages 4-8

Themes: Non-Fiction, Science, Social Studies

Summary:

     A wonderful picture book that tells the life of young George Washington Carver, starting with his separation from his mother as a baby when they were both taken by slave steallers. This book shows children that since George was a boy he was always facinated with plants and helping people. Children are able to follow George's life through school and college and even as he bagan working at the Tuskeegee Institute in order to help poor black farmers. The book chronicles his reasons for making the peanut plant popular and what type of work he did testing out products to introduce all the ways that the peanut plant could benefit American farmers.

     Children will enjoy the opportunity to not only learn more about Carver's impact on the American society through his work with peanuts, but also in learning more about him as a man and why he chose to do the work that he has done. They will be sad to hear about how he how he was separated from his mother and how difficult it was for him to go to school. However, they will be very inspired by how he persevered to get the education that he always wanted and how he used his education to help other people. The illustrations in this book are beautiful and colorful. They are simple and follow the storyline, making it easier for the children to follow along with the story.

Suggestions for the Classroom:

     This book could be used in several different ways within the classroom: 1) as a resource when covering the achievements of famous African American's during Black History Month; 2) in discussing Plants, Peanuts, and Crops within a Science lesson; and 3) when discussing Slavery within America in conjunction with the Civil War.

*Pre-Reading Activities: Make a web with the class discussing all of the different things that you can eat that have peanuts in it (peanut butter, snickers bars, peanut brittle, etc.). Tell students that today we are going to read a stroy about George Washington Carver. He is the man who showed Americans all of the wonderful uses that a peanut has. Until he had invented it, peanut butter did not exist. People only used peanuts to feed their animals at the time. Review vocabulary on page 23 with the students before reading to introduce to them terms which they may not be familiar with.

*During Reading: Stop periodically to review with the students what is happening in George Washington Carver's life.Give them opportunities to give feedback about what is going on and how George may be feeling. Review the timeline and Did You Know? facts with the students which are on pages 22 and 23 in the back of the selection.

*Post-Reading Activities: Complete a Graphic Organizer with the students as you discuss the plot (StoryMan would work). Start with details about the main character. Make a new web with the students. Ask them this time to tell you character traits that they could associate with George Washington Carver. Them discuss the setting, and jot down ideas as the students provide them. Finally, add in the Problem and the Solution (farmer's crops weren't growing so George Washington Carver showed them that you could rotate crops and then the field's would produce plentiful crops again. Also, people could produce peanuts but there were not uses for them so George Washington Carver invented different uses for the peanut so that farmers would be able to get people to buy them).



About the Author:
     Lori Mortensen lives in Northern California with her husband, three children and her cat, Max. She graduated with her Bachlor of Science degree from Bringham Young University with a major in Dance and a minot in Art and she later received her Master's degree in Dance Education. However, Mortensen states that she has always been an avid reader enjoying the way that reading a book had helped her to escape into many different adventures. She adds that writing is her true passion and she enjoys writing both picture books and chapter books for children and juvenilles. She has also written stories and articles for popular children's magazines, such as : Highlights, Ladybug, and The Friend. Check out her website to learn more about her and her books.

 

Amazing Grace

Written by: Mary Hoffman

Illustrated by: Caroline Binch

Recommended for: Children Ages 4-8

Themes: Fiction, Character Education

Summary:

     Grace is a young girl with a wonderfully creative imagination. She loves to read stories and make believe that she is the characters. Grace often will act out the parts of her favorite characters from these stories with her friends, family, and even while all alone. When Grace finds out that her class will be putting on the play Peter Pan she decides that she wants to play the part of Peter. However, Grace's classmates tease her that she cannot be Peter because she is a girl and she is black. Grace is very disheartened by their comments but continues to prepare for the auditions with the encouragement of her family that she can be anything that she wants to be. Grace ends up getting the part of Peter and the encouragement of her classmates after they she how perfect Grace is at playing the part of Peter.

     Children will love the wonderful illustrations included in this story which show Grace as a playful and happy child. They will be compelled to cheer her on when the other students doubt her ability to play Peter. The story and the pictures reflect a multicultural classroom which can be reflective of many public school systems in America at this time. Children will love to see Grace persevere despite the comments made to her by others putting her down. This story teaches children to believe that they can achieve anything with hard work and practice.

Suggestions for the Classroom:

     This book would be a wonderful selection to read to students as both a Character Education piece as well as for discussing Character and Plot.

*Pre-Reading Activities: Discuss with students that when we read stories, often the main character faces some kind of problem. What it is that they do to solve that problem is called the solution. For instance: If I came to school today and forgot my pencil that would be a problem. Ask the students, what could I do to fix this problem (borrow one from a friend, ask the teacher to borrow one, etc.) and record their answers on a t-chart (one side listing problems and on the other side solutions). Give them a second problem: I can't find my favorite eraser (ask a friend to help you look, use another one, borrow one from someone else). 

     Explain to children that today we are going to read a story and the main character is going to face a problem. Ask them to listen for what she does to solve her problem, that is called the solution.

*During Reading: Stop throughout the story to give students opportunities to express how they think Grace is feeling. Pay attention to: how she may feel when the other students are telling her that she can't play Peter in the play? when her Grandma takes her to the ballet? when she auditions for the play? when she finds out what part she got.

*Post-Reading Activities: Go back to the t-chart that you created with the students before you began reading. Ask the children to tell you what problem Grace had and record it on the left side of your chart. Then ask the students to tell you her solution, or how she solved her problem, and record it on the right side of your chart. Discuss with the students the character Grace, what about her makes her so special or Amazing as the title suggests. If time permits, give the students time to complete a character chart writing down Grace's character traits.

About the Author:

     Mary Hoffman currently lives in West Oxfordshire and enjoys writing books for children and teenagers, including picture books as well as fantasy and historical novels. She explains on her website that she grew up with two older sisters and even taught herself how to read before she began school herself. Hoffman also describes that like Grace she loved to act out the stories that she read and she even wrote plays for her and her friends to act out. I would imagine that her character Grace has much of the same characteristics as she did when she was a young child. Hoffman explains that her husband is half-Indian, likely a reason that she has chosen to write her books with a focus on many cultures.

About the Illustrator:

     Caroline Binch lives in West Cornwall with her two cats and a dog. She says that her illustrations are inspired by people and places around her. She likes to focus her writing and illustrations on the positive aspects of life rather than the negative ones. This is most likely why she chose to illustrate the book Amazing Grace as it portrays a positive message to young children to never give up and to work hard to accomplish their dreams. Binch states that she enjoys spending her free time relaxing doing yoga, taking walks, dancing with the music up loud, and laying in the grass enjoying the day.

Two of Everything

A Chinese Folktale

Retold and Illustrated by: Lily Toy Hong

Recommended for: Children Ages 4-8

Themes: Folktales, Social Studies

Summary:

     Mr. Haktak and his wife were poor and modest farmers who worked very hard. One day while working in his fields, Mr. Haktak was digging and hit something hard. When he was able to dig far enough to see the object, he observed that it was a large brass pot. Perplexed on how this brass came to be in his field and go unnoticed, Mr. Haktak decided to take the pot home to his wife with hopes that she could find a use for it. Mr. and Mrs. Haktak by accident realized that this pot had a special gift, anything that feel inside was copied leaving the copy with two of any object put inside. Furthur accidents insued and by the end of the story there was also a second Mr. and Mrs. Haktak. The Haktak's decided to embrace these new friends into their lives and soon both couples had just enough of all that they needed to live out their days.

     Children will enjoy this story because it is exciting to imagine a magical pot that doubled everything that you put inside. The children will also enjoy the humorous story of the Haktak's falling into the pot and coming out with a twin. As this story is also a Folktale, it has a wonderfully happy ending which the children will enjoy.

Suggestions for the Classroom:

*Pre-Reading Activity: Show the students the cover of the book Two of Everything. Ask the students to make predictions about what the book may be about? What clue may the title give us about the story?

*During Reading: Have students make predictions throughout the story: What will they use the pot for? What will they put in the pot next? What will the Haktak's do with the gold coins that came out of the pot? What will happen next (after she looks in the pot)? What will Mr. Haktak do with two wives? etc.

*Post-Reading Activity: Model for students writing a journal entry using the story starter: If I had a magic pot, I would _________________. Students will then create their own journal entry using the story starter on the board with your example to reference. Students should include a picture in their journal entry.

About the Author:

     Lily Toy Hong grew up as one of nine children in a Chinese American family in Salt Lake City Utah. She has written and illustrated several children's books, which she credits has always been her intended career. She now lives with her husband in Marray, Utah.

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The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales

Retold by: Dawn Casey
Illustrated by: Anne Wilson

Recommended for: Children Ages 9-12

Themes: Folktales, Social Studies, Science and Character Education

Summary:
     The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales is a collection of folktales from across the world which have an emphasis on the Earth and caring for it. This collection include folktales from: Australia, Nigeria, the American Southwest, Bali, Kazakhstan, India and Wales. Along with each folktale is a description of the culture of the area which the tale comes from and a learning activity to extend lessons learned within the folktale.
     Children will enjoy these stories as they will enjoy the opportunities to be exposed to stories from other cultures, the tales are very descriptive, they would be able to predict many of the events in the story, and they all have happy endings. As a read aloud, these stories would give wonderful opportunities for visualization. The activities selected to go along with each folk tale would also be fun ways in which for the children to tap into their creative energies and furthur connect to the stories and cultures.

Suggestions for the Classroom:
     This book could be used in several different ways within the classroom beyond learning simply about Folktales: 1) to extend Social Studies units when studying about different cultures and countries of the world; 2) to extend Science lessons about the Food Web and Food Chain; 3) to educate students about recycling, conservation and waste in connection with Earth Day, and 4) as a Character Education piece (as stories deal with themese of Respect, Responsibility, Caring, Giving, and Manners).
     For this selection, I would personally choose to include this book as part of an Earth Day Unit which I would plan for the month of April combining both Science and the study of different cultures. I would first discuss with the students the fact that Earth Day is a holiday held every year in the United States of America on April 22nd. On Earth Day we celebrate the earth by doing extra to care for our environment, however, all over the world different cultures have been celebrating the Earth in different ways. I would also make a list with the children of ways in which we can help to care for the Earth (recycling, cleaning up after ourselves, riding the bus instead of driving, etc.) in order to see what their Schema is.

*Pre-Reading Activities: I would choose one story from the book to read to them (maybe on a week as part of an Earth Day Unit), in this case it will be Grumpy Gecko, which is a Folktale from Bali. I would read to them the section about Bali, which describes the culture of Bali asking them to close their eyes and visualize what Bali looks like as I read the description. I would the students to take a moment to describe their vision to an elbow parter, in a few minutes they would then switch roles and hear from their partner. If possible, I would then show them a picture of Bali to compare to the picture that they had in their minds. I will also give the students a moment to let them ask any questions they may have before I being to read the selection.
*During Reading: I would read the selection to the students once without interuptions, asking them to try to visualize the characters and their actions as I read (set a purpose for reading).
*Post-Reading: As a class, we will fill out a flow-chart to show how each characters' actions had effected one another.
I would also use this story again the next day as an opportunity to do Reader's Theater with the students, giving them all parts to perform. We could practice these roles throughout the Unit and invite parents and family members to come in on Earth Day to observe our performance of Grumpy Gecko.

About Dawn Casey:
     Dawn lives with her family in England and has published two books with Barefoot Books (The Great Race:2006) and has previously worked as a primary school teacher and in publishing. She has always enjoyed folklore and believes that it looks deeply at who humans are within.

About Anne Wilson:
     Anne also lives with her family in England and has illustrated four projects for Barefoot Books (Storytime:2005, The Great Race:2006, and We're Sailing Down the Nile,2007). She gets the inspiration for her pictures from the traveling experiences which she has had in her life. Anne Wilson graduated with her MA in illustration from St. Martin's College of Art in London.

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