National Geographic Kids Almanac 2011
written by Nat Geo
This year's Nat Geo Kids Almanac 2011 is full of over 5,000 fun and fabulous facts about the world and who's in it!
Geography, science, history, adventure, it's all here for you to discover through your reading.
You can literally spend hours browsing through the book, but don't take my word for it! Come along with me by watching the vimeo video below and you'll get a special sneak peak of the book!
Happy Reading!
National Geographic Kids Almanac 2011 Book Talk from Roxanne Clement on Vimeo.
ISBN: 978-1426306303
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Digital Footprints: What are you leaving behind?
Just found this as I was browsing today to find videos to share as I develop digital citizenship and cyber safety content for my students. Although I think this probably is a better fit for older teens, my tweens will benefit from introductory discussions about this topic since quite a few of my tweens are beginning to develop their own web presence already!
Find more videos like this on The Educator's PLN
Find more videos like this on The Educator's PLN
Nancy Drew Mysteries and Files
Nancy Drew Mysteries
written by Carolyn Keene
REVIEW.
Nancy Drew mysteries have been around since 1930...that's 80 years ago!
In our library as you can see in these photos, the Nancy Drew series is alive, well, and flourishing in our reading community at Bay Farm School.
We have an entire bookcase dedicated to mysteries with each side containing our favorites, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, A-Z Mysteries, and Bailey School Kids to name a few. One and a half sides are filled with Nancy Drew alone! Many of our copies have been lovingly donated from parent/children collections...second or third generations down! And our students love them!
The series has managed to remain current with each generation. The series has been modified, updated, and re-created over time which has kept the series current. On our shelves we not only have the original series, but also Nancy Drew Notebooks, Nancy Drew Files, Pocketbooks, and now, even graphic novels!
Over time, Nancy Drew has aged from 16 to 18 years old and has solved well over 350 mysteries. Her favorite color is blue, she is wealthy; but doesn't hesitate to roll up her sleeves and is not afraid to get her hands dirty or take risks to solve a crime.
When first written, Nancy Drew challenged the stereotypes of the day regarding young girls' gender roles. But in many ways, she represents what everyone can be, boy or girl...curious, thoughtful, independent, polite, justice-seeker, sensitive, adventurous, brave, trustworthy, and a critical thinker/problem-solver.
Nancy Drew Notebooks were first published in 1994 to give our youngest readers a glimpse into Nancy when she was eight years old.
The first book in the series " The Secret of the Old Clock" is now 80 years old and our copies are still checked out on a regular basis in our library.
In addition to the original series, there are combined collections with the Hardy Boys, a TV series, many movies, and Nancy Drew Mystery games. There is even a website dedicated to the series and her author Carolyn Keene. Check out the website to find out about the real author of the series and many other trivia facts you may not have known about the classic series!
Nancy Drew Website: http://nancy-drew.mysterynet.com
written by Carolyn Keene
Nancy Drew mysteries have been around since 1930...that's 80 years ago!
In our library as you can see in these photos, the Nancy Drew series is alive, well, and flourishing in our reading community at Bay Farm School.
We have an entire bookcase dedicated to mysteries with each side containing our favorites, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, A-Z Mysteries, and Bailey School Kids to name a few. One and a half sides are filled with Nancy Drew alone! Many of our copies have been lovingly donated from parent/children collections...second or third generations down! And our students love them!
The series has managed to remain current with each generation. The series has been modified, updated, and re-created over time which has kept the series current. On our shelves we not only have the original series, but also Nancy Drew Notebooks, Nancy Drew Files, Pocketbooks, and now, even graphic novels! 
When first written, Nancy Drew challenged the stereotypes of the day regarding young girls' gender roles. But in many ways, she represents what everyone can be, boy or girl...curious, thoughtful, independent, polite, justice-seeker, sensitive, adventurous, brave, trustworthy, and a critical thinker/problem-solver.
The first book in the series " The Secret of the Old Clock" is now 80 years old and our copies are still checked out on a regular basis in our library.
In addition to the original series, there are combined collections with the Hardy Boys, a TV series, many movies, and Nancy Drew Mystery games. There is even a website dedicated to the series and her author Carolyn Keene. Check out the website to find out about the real author of the series and many other trivia facts you may not have known about the classic series!
Nancy Drew Website: http://nancy-drew.mysterynet.com
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Bites: Scary Stories to Sink Your Teeth Into/ Bones: Terrifying Tales to Haunt your Dreams
Bites: Scary Stories to Sink Your Teeth Into
Bones: Terrifying Tales to Haunt your Dreams
a flip book edited by Lois Metzger
Guaranteed to tickle your horror bone, here is the ultimate flip book of scary stories from familiar tween and teen authors and screenwriters. 14 stories are shared, seven each flip.
From the "Bites" Side you are forewarned with the following advise:
1. It's not enough to watch your back....Watch your neck too!
2. There isn't always honor among vampires.
3. Do not become the "guests of honor" at a vampire dinner.
4. Stay out of direct sunlight. At the very least wear sunblock.
5. Never remove the silver bullets from a dead werewolf body.
6. Don't steal...especially rare artifacts.
7. You can't teach a ghost dog new tricks.
There are seven stories about bites on this side of the book....but as the author states, " Sometimes, one bite is all it takes!
Read on at your own risk!
The flip side of this book is "Bones," the author lets you know that none of the stories really happened so the reader can relax and enjoy....except that the eye-witness descriptions are chilling and seem based in real events and happenings...so could it be that the goal is to lull the reader into a false sense of security???? Seven more stories of ghosts, hauntings, and stalkings so be sure to keep looking ver your shoulder, someone might be following you after all!
Included at the end of each flip side are bio trivia about each of the authors including their other works, horror or not. I especially liked these sections so that if the reader liked a particular story, the author is right there to recommend other titles that particular author has written. Great idea!
ISBN: 978-0-545-27651-1
Bones: Terrifying Tales to Haunt your Dreams
a flip book edited by Lois Metzger
Guaranteed to tickle your horror bone, here is the ultimate flip book of scary stories from familiar tween and teen authors and screenwriters. 14 stories are shared, seven each flip.
From the "Bites" Side you are forewarned with the following advise:
1. It's not enough to watch your back....Watch your neck too!2. There isn't always honor among vampires.
3. Do not become the "guests of honor" at a vampire dinner.
4. Stay out of direct sunlight. At the very least wear sunblock.
5. Never remove the silver bullets from a dead werewolf body.
6. Don't steal...especially rare artifacts.
7. You can't teach a ghost dog new tricks.
There are seven stories about bites on this side of the book....but as the author states, " Sometimes, one bite is all it takes!
Read on at your own risk!
Included at the end of each flip side are bio trivia about each of the authors including their other works, horror or not. I especially liked these sections so that if the reader liked a particular story, the author is right there to recommend other titles that particular author has written. Great idea!
ISBN: 978-0-545-27651-1
767 Sports Questions Your Friends Can't Answer
767 Sports Questions Your Friends Can't Answer
edited by Wallie Walker Hammond
published by Thomson Peterson's
There are so many tween sports fanatics at our school and this book presents a challenge as well as a great read for sports trivia fans.
The book is a series of set of trivia questions (737) organized by chapter and sports topic including Baseball, Football, Basketball, Hockey, Auro Racing, Women in Sports, Golf, Tennis, Olympic Games, Coaches, Hall of Famers, Boxing, Championship Teams, and Retired Numbers. At the end of each chapter there are sets of answers to the questions presented.
Also provided is a scoring key to rank yourself among other readers of the book according to the publishers.
This would make a great car travel book for a sports-minded family to help pass the time and have a great family read together, or for a group of kids who hang out together after games, scouting, or other activities.
I plan to use the book to post a sports trivia question weekly on my website for students to check in and respond to. I love these kinds of books for browsing and I often see students choosing other books as a result in order to dig deeper into sports content after becoming interested by a specific piece of trivia.
ISBN: 978-7689-2458-9
edited by Wallie Walker Hammond
published by Thomson Peterson's
The book is a series of set of trivia questions (737) organized by chapter and sports topic including Baseball, Football, Basketball, Hockey, Auro Racing, Women in Sports, Golf, Tennis, Olympic Games, Coaches, Hall of Famers, Boxing, Championship Teams, and Retired Numbers. At the end of each chapter there are sets of answers to the questions presented.
Also provided is a scoring key to rank yourself among other readers of the book according to the publishers.
This would make a great car travel book for a sports-minded family to help pass the time and have a great family read together, or for a group of kids who hang out together after games, scouting, or other activities.
I plan to use the book to post a sports trivia question weekly on my website for students to check in and respond to. I love these kinds of books for browsing and I often see students choosing other books as a result in order to dig deeper into sports content after becoming interested by a specific piece of trivia.
ISBN: 978-7689-2458-9
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Two Minute Mysteries Collection
Two Minute Mysteries Collection
written by Donald Sobol
If you enjoyed the classic series "Encyclopedia Brown" and enjoy solving mysteries then this book is for you! More than 200 mini mysteries (hence the name 2 Minute Mysteries) packed into this book. Each mystery has the solution at the end of the mystery with a simple flip of the book so the suspence won't go on forever or stop you from going on to the next exciting mystery! Interpret the clues shared by the narrator and inspector and see if you can solve each mystery as Haledjian does throughout the book. What's your success average at solving the Two-Minute Mysteries?
The Collection includes all three or you can purchase them separately
Two Minute Mysteries Collection ISBN: 0-439-70991-1
Two Minute Mysteries ISBN: 978-0590447874
More Two-Minute Mysteries ISBN: 978-0590447881
Still More Two-Minute Mysteries ISBN: 978-0590447867
written by Donald Sobol
If you enjoyed the classic series "Encyclopedia Brown" and enjoy solving mysteries then this book is for you! More than 200 mini mysteries (hence the name 2 Minute Mysteries) packed into this book. Each mystery has the solution at the end of the mystery with a simple flip of the book so the suspence won't go on forever or stop you from going on to the next exciting mystery! Interpret the clues shared by the narrator and inspector and see if you can solve each mystery as Haledjian does throughout the book. What's your success average at solving the Two-Minute Mysteries?
The Collection includes all three or you can purchase them separately
Two Minute Mysteries Collection ISBN: 0-439-70991-1
Two Minute Mysteries ISBN: 978-0590447874
More Two-Minute Mysteries ISBN: 978-0590447881
Still More Two-Minute Mysteries ISBN: 978-0590447867
Nat Geo Kids Almanac 2011
National Geographic Kids Almanac 2011
by National Geographic
REVIEW.
Each annual release of the Nat Geo Kids Almanac is eagerly awaited and automatically placed on our "hot table" at our Fall BookFair each fall. This popular series is filled with interesting trivia, stats, topics, and articles that guarantee to interest even the most reluctant reader!
A good read of this book can happen in a variety of ways, but very seldom do I observe kids reading cover to cover page by page, although you can bet that the entire book eventually gets consumed!
Start at the Table of Contents with topic areas including Your World, Amazing Animals, Going Green, Super Science, Geography Rocks, History Happens, Culture Connection, Awesome Adventure, Wonders of Nature, and Future World, and you see what I mean....everyone out for their favorite topic! You can also use the index to find your favorite item or photo, or what most often happens, just start flipping through the pages! The format is easily readable, with each topic edged in its designated color, heading on the right side pages, and subtopic heading on the top left pages. (A Teacher Librarian's delight to teach reference book skills with exciting content kids can't wait to read....they'll go through your lessons patiently just to get to the content!)
The photos leap off the pages thanks to the famous photographers at National Geographic who never fail to please and excite readers with amazing work that draws the reader into the content. And each page has a careful and deliberate customized layout to encourage the reader by deliberately and carefully parsing trivia facts and little known information that often drives my readers into heavier readings once their interest is tweaked.
Once the reader has gotten his/her fill of the "hottest" pages, within this source are articles like "Write a letter that gets results", "You can make a difference," "The Constitution and the Bill of Rights," ""How to write a perfect essay," "How a bill becomes Law," and so many other topics that teachers have to cover, but can become so dry and boring to our students. Presented within this exciting book, with the kind of attention that pop culture magazines use to captivate, we might be able to squeeze in some of the standards work that is so essential to academic success without our students even knowing it!
This weekend I'm respectfully tearing apart two of my copies to put them together to use with my document reader as 5 minute content starters with my students throughout the year to help encourage deeper readings of topics that students are learning in their classrooms.
I'm excited!
A multi-content "textbook" for $13.99 that kids will actually want to take home to read!
ISBN: 978-1-4263-0630-3
by National Geographic
Each annual release of the Nat Geo Kids Almanac is eagerly awaited and automatically placed on our "hot table" at our Fall BookFair each fall. This popular series is filled with interesting trivia, stats, topics, and articles that guarantee to interest even the most reluctant reader!
A good read of this book can happen in a variety of ways, but very seldom do I observe kids reading cover to cover page by page, although you can bet that the entire book eventually gets consumed!
Start at the Table of Contents with topic areas including Your World, Amazing Animals, Going Green, Super Science, Geography Rocks, History Happens, Culture Connection, Awesome Adventure, Wonders of Nature, and Future World, and you see what I mean....everyone out for their favorite topic! You can also use the index to find your favorite item or photo, or what most often happens, just start flipping through the pages! The format is easily readable, with each topic edged in its designated color, heading on the right side pages, and subtopic heading on the top left pages. (A Teacher Librarian's delight to teach reference book skills with exciting content kids can't wait to read....they'll go through your lessons patiently just to get to the content!)
Once the reader has gotten his/her fill of the "hottest" pages, within this source are articles like "Write a letter that gets results", "You can make a difference," "The Constitution and the Bill of Rights," ""How to write a perfect essay," "How a bill becomes Law," and so many other topics that teachers have to cover, but can become so dry and boring to our students. Presented within this exciting book, with the kind of attention that pop culture magazines use to captivate, we might be able to squeeze in some of the standards work that is so essential to academic success without our students even knowing it!This weekend I'm respectfully tearing apart two of my copies to put them together to use with my document reader as 5 minute content starters with my students throughout the year to help encourage deeper readings of topics that students are learning in their classrooms.
I'm excited!
A multi-content "textbook" for $13.99 that kids will actually want to take home to read!
National Geographic Kids Almanac 2011 Book Talk from Roxanne Clement on Vimeo.
ISBN: 978-1-4263-0630-3
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Life: America the Beautiful
The photographers of these beautiful landscape photographs created this Life coffee table book as a "photographic journey from coast to coast...and beyond."They refer to the book as an invitation to entertain and inspire. 100 locations within the United States are explored in single and double page splendor in this oversized book.
I included this title in my tween collection as an essential part of the exploration of states, included in geography and US social studies standards during the tween years. If used strategically within states study, students can be inspired to do further research of these and other locations to develop their knowledge in United States geography, and further investigations of our 50 states of beauty.Edited by Robert Sullivan
ISBN: 978-1-933821-15-3
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Ultimate Guide
REVIEW.
This is THE Guide for all Percy Jackson enthusiasts! The Ultimate Guide includes additional information to clarify Percy Jackson events and characters and deepen the reader's understandings, further enriching the entire reading experience.
I love the hologram figures on the front cover and the overlapping “locking” flap. Inside, the Ten signs that you might be a half blood...easily explains most tweens' views of the adults around them and behavior adults regularly observe in their tweens, such as "suspicions that at least one of your teachers may not be human," odd events happening that cannot easily be explained, experiencing deja vu, the feeling that parents might not actually be your real parents, a friend that doesn't seem normal, feelings that you are being watched or followed, vivid recurring dreams, and fears and phobias. A diagnosis of dyslexia or ADHD is explained as godlike behaviors and qualities that elevate one beyond mere mortal, celebrating differences instead of being viewed as often-negative labels.
Other chapters include details of camp, Gods and spirits, the Labyrinth, Underworld, the Beastiary where mythological creatures are defined, and everything you wanted to know about Percy Jackson, including stats, his favorites, and his lack luster performance in school.This is a companion book that adds interesting depth to the series. It includes maps, drawings and sketches, charts, and paintings that assist readers to visualize important characters and elements throughout the series. The guide also stimulates natural curiosity to find out more about the characters and events that occur within this very popular series and in Greek mythology.
ISBN: 978-1-4231-2171-8
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Reading Saves the Day!
We just completed our Fall Book Fair which runs virtually as a Book Store within our Library Media Center each Fall and Spring. Scholastic has outdone itself yet again with lots of new titles to read!
We just added up our sales and topped $10,000. even with this economy! We are so lucky to have a community that values reading and makes it a priority to support student learning!
As a result we have approximately $3000. of new titles for our school library, $100 worth of titles for each classroom library selected by each teacher, and we gave away over 40 titles to students through our Book Give Away online raffle run from our Media Center website. Students sign up for each title they would like to win and we announce the winners during Morning Ceremony the second week of our book fair. It has become the #1 favorite school wide event for our Bay Farm students as measured by our annual student survey.
I'll be tagging the titles reviewed here with "Book Fair" so you will be able to see some of the most favorite reads this fall from our Book Fair theme "Reading Saves the Day." And soon you will be able to also see what our students think about our books at Reading Saves the Day!
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