Hockey by Bobbie Kalman

I know it is Spring time - but playoffs are going on - go Flyers!

Get in the game with Crabtree's exciting series on some of children's favorite sports.
Features:
-- the history of the sport
-- basic rules of play
-- equipment and safety precautions
-- techniques and quick tips for kids on how to improve their skills
-- action-packed photos showing boys and girls demonstrating moves
-- emphasis on the value of fair play and teamwork
-- how the professional leagues work



Grab your skates and hit the ice with Hockey in Action. This book brings to life the exhilaration of the fastest sport in the world using step-by-step instructions on how to play on the ice. Hockey equipment and rules of play are also described as well as such techniques as:
-- how to maneuver on skates
-- stick handling
-- passing the puck and shooting
-- making a save in the goalie's net

Claudette Colvin by Phillip Hoose

A  book by Phillip Hoose, "Claudette Colvin, Twice Toward Justice," describes how the girl stood her ground, yelling, "It's my constitutional right" as the cops pulled her off the bus, threw her into the back of a cop car, and handcuffed her through the window. In Hoose's telling, a teacher named Geraldine Nesbitt had emboldened her students, teaching them about the 14th Amendment. "It just so happens they picked me at the wrong time—it was Negro History Month, and I was filled up like a computer," Colvin tells NEWSWEEK, "I felt like Sojourner Truth was pushing down on one shoulder and Harriet Tubman, the other".

Check out this biography when you start to intoduce or review the ideas of civil rights.

Please Stop Laughing at Me by Jodee Blanco

Today we had GREAT discussion during our Middle School Advisory session about the difference between "bullying" and "teasing".  We also chatted with the kids about whether or not "bullying" is a one-way street.  They had great insight and thoughts.  This discussion let us to talk about being advocates for yourself and others.   Check out ..............http://www.nmsa.org/Publications/MiddleSchoolJournal/Articles/November2006/Article3/tabid/1093/Default.aspx for some titles of adolescent literature.  Here's one .................

Please Stop Laughing at Me: One Woman's Inspirational Story
Author: Jodee Blanco
While other kids were daydreaming about dances, first kisses, and college, Jodee Blanco was just trying to figure out how to get from homeroom to study hall without being taunted or spit upon as she walked through the halls. This powerful, unforgettable memoir chronicles how one child was shunned—and sometimes physically abused—by her classmates from elementary school through high school. It is an unflinching look at what it means to be the outcast, how even the most loving parents can get it all wrong, why schools are often unable to prevent disaster, and how bullying has been misunderstood and mishandled by the mental health community. You will be shocked, moved, and ultimately inspired by this harrowing tale of survival against insurmountable odds. This vivid story will open your eyes to the harsh realities and long-term consequences of bullying—and how all of us can make a difference in the lives of teens today.

The Lottery Rose by Irene Hunt

I happened to stop by a classroom of 7th graders today. 

Here is what they were reading -

"Georgie Burgess has known only neglect and abuse during his seven and a half years of life. His alcoholic mother does little to prevent the bruises and scars inflicted on Georgie by her brutal boyfriend. With each blow, the little boy withdraws further into his dreams. When he winds a small rose bush in a lottery, it seems as if one of his dreams has finally come true. But after a particularly savage beating, he is taken from his mother and placed in a home for boys. Surrounded by strangers and with the rosebush as his only link to the world, both the boy and his treasured plant must learn how to grow and thrive."  Most said they liked it, but it was sad.  It is important to evoke emotion from our children when they read.  Makes the experience meaningful.  Check it out .........................from families.com   http://media.families.com/blog/the-lottery-rose-irene-hunt  Here is the trailer from the movie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhCQHzcw7gQ

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall

My niece has read this book so many times ..................

When the Penderwick family's summer holiday plans are changed, the widowed Mr. Penderwick decides to take his four young daughters --- ages 4 through 12 --- to a cottage in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. Instead, though, they find themselves on a beautiful grand estate called Arundel. For the close sisters, Arundel gives them a realm of possibility and each their own treasure-trove of memories and discoveries.

This is a lighthearted children's book that is also somewhat realistic. Readers won't like how Mrs. Tifton treats the girls, but they will enjoy the sisters' special bond, such as when they have their secret MOOPS. As with summer holidays, the book ends too quickly but will continue to be just as memorable as the years go by.

Curiosities

The Land of Curiosities
Adventures in Yellowstone, 1871 - 1872
Lost in Yellowstone, 1872 - 1873
Deanna Neil

Adventures of James and his sister Alice in Yellowstone – uncovering a plot to kill off the buffalo herds, surviving in the wilderness alone, learning the ways of the Shoshone, and exploring the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. (Illustrated chapter book)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

This series made its debut in 2007 with rave reviews.  Check out the author's website for a blog, news, video and audio, among a few other things.  The movie opened this past Spring and comes out in DVD soon.  Check it out for some fun stories.

Grizzly Bears

Eye of the Grizzly
Mike Graf, Marjorie Leggitt

Explore Yellowstone with the Parker family – go camping in the back country, listen to wolves howling at night, ride out a thunderstorm, encounter a charging grizzly bear. An adventure story combined with park nature and lore, ideas for family hikes and camping spots, and tips for wildlife and outdoor safety. (Illustrated chapter book)

Saw several today, including a mama and her cub.  Here is a pic of some more. 

Bison

Bison            Cherie Winner

Bison are big and you’re sure to see them in Yellowstone. Find out how bison are the largest land animal in North America, have good hearing and sense of smell, but don’t see well, live in herds, and are fierce fighters. (Illustrated chapter book)

Here they are "up close and personal"!

Yellowstone National Park

I leave for vacation in less than 24 hours, can't wait to see this beautiful place with my own eyes.  Follow the journey with me through these books. Going to Yellowstone by Peter and Connie Roop All about Yellowstone, starting with the geology (shaped by volcanoes and glaciers), Native Americans who lived here year-round, explorers in this “land of wonders,” thermal features, landmarks (Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone), fires and wildlife. Good for older kids. (Illustrated chapter book)

Mysteries in Yellowstone

The Land of Curiosities
Adventures in Yellowstone, 1871 - 1872
Lost in Yellowstone, 1872 - 1873
Deanna Neil

Adventures of James and his sister Alice in Yellowstone – uncovering a plot to kill off the buffalo herds, surviving in the wilderness alone, learning the ways of the Shoshone, and exploring the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. (Illustrated chapter book)

Henry and Mudge - Cynthia Rylant

Wonderful stories for beginning readers and the introduction to the world of "chapter" books. Some great ideas for book clubs,  word work and writing. These beginning stories, in a series are great ways to develop stamina in young readers.  Links to state standards are included for those that need that connection.  What's better than a boy and his dog!

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

A good book to introduce adolescents to social injustice and begin to ask questions -
To arrive in New Orleans shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005 was to witness what Haiti would look like if they built skyscrapers on top of the earthquake rubble – a mirage of wealth, power and order towering over a fairly well-veiled reality of poverty, helplessness and chaos.

Not a book for the "faint of heart", but something to discuss, consider and react.  Shocking!

Check out some reviews ...................

Holes by Loius Sachar

Holes seems to be as much about a place as about the characters.  Whether you watch the movie and then read the book or the other way around, an adenture story is in the making.  Check out the  author's website for q/a as well as discussion points and a Camp Greenleaf survival guide. For your creative writer and reader a webquest provides more discussion and reflection points. An interactive map provides more adventure with the Newberry Award winning novel.

Matt Christopher Sports books

For your sports enthusiast - try these Matt Christopher titles, there are many more in his collection.  There is also a biography of this writer Behind the Desk With... Matt Christopher: The #1 Sportswriter for Kids

by Dale Christopher yhat might be of interest to your young 

baseball or soccer star!
Start collecting now for your summer reading list.  

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Stargirl is a story about the coming of age of a high school girl.  Follow her unorthodox journey of love, peer relationships and the idea of "fitting in".  Her efforts at non-conformity and uniqueness provide endless opportunities for reader reflection and thoughtfull consideration of social norms.  Many activities and discussion points are available for this novel.  Check them out. A video clip is available as well to present as an introduction to the story. A prolific author,  Mr. Spinelli spins another tale of life, love, experiences and the journey from childhood to adilthood.  Check out his website for the latest titles, interviews and reviews.

Flying Solo by Ralph Fletcher

When the substitute for Mr. "Fab" Fabiano never shows up and his sixth-grade students are on their own, they set out to prove that they can run the class by themselves. With a little ingenuity and some careful planning, they might just succeed. But when a fight breaks out between Bastian Fauvell and Rachel White over a classmate, Tommy Feathers, who died six months earlier, everything begins to fall apart. Can Rachel deal with the anxieties that plunged her into silence the day Tommy died? Inventive and uniquely constructed, "Flying Solo" follows Mr. Fab's students hour by hour as they tackle the challenges of an unusual school day. Check out the author's website  which includes tips for readers and writers.

March is Women's History Month - Helen Keller

There are so many resources and stories about this courageous woman.  From picture books, to primary resources actually written by Miss Keller, readers are able to learn so much more about diabiities, historical times and the determination of a teacher and her student.  Check out some of these titles and activities - from the American Foundation for the  Blind,

Take  a "road trip" to visit her birthplace in Alabama.  A rare 1930 video shows both her teacher and the student, not sure of its authenticity, but interesting none the less.

March is Women's History Month - Babe Didrikson Zaharias

The Olympics may have ended for this winter season, but check out this famous woman sports person. One of Sports Illustrated 100 famous women athletes, she was a pioneer in blazing a trail for female involvement in sports. A stand out in golf and track, she excelled in softball and basketball as well.  Gold and silver medals in track and field were earned in the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Check out a biography by Robert Freedman, Babe Didrikson Zaharis - The Making of a Champion. Check out a preview.

March is Women's History Month - Maria Mitchell

An astronomer, educator and first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, she discovered a comet from her Nantucket Island rooftop observatory in 1847. A graduate of Vassar College, she blazed a trail for women to study the sciences. Check out Maria's Comet by Deborah Hopkinson and Maria Mitchell by Beatrice Gormley. An Association has been established at her home in Massachusetts.

 "When we are chafed and fretted by small cares, a look at the stars will show us the littleness of our own interests."