New Books

Hello,
Here are a few new books you might like.

Tree of Wonder by Kate Messner, illustrated by Simona Mulazzani. This is a book about a tree in the rainforest and the creatures that make their homes in the tree. The book begins with 1 Almendro tree, 2 Great Green Macaws, 4 Keel-billed Toucans, and continues multiplying 8 more times. In the back is more information and websites about the Almendro tree and extra rainforest math problems. One of the problems is this: There are four Great Green Macaws shown in the illustration on pages 4 – 5. When the eggs hatch, how many birds will there be all together? There are also book suggestions and a movie suggestion for more rainforest information.

I chose the poison dart frog page because they are so colorful and I wanted you to see the visual of 256 frogs in the sidebar. I also like that there is easier text and more informational text. Great for a reading buddy situation.

Beatrix Potter and Her Paint Box by David McPhail. A simple biography of the author/illustrator of Peter Rabbit plus many other books for children. Beatrix Potter was born nearly 150 years ago this coming July and her books still remain popular. McPhail has used watercolors to illustrate this book which is a lovely nod to Beatrix’s own illustrations.


Traveling Butterflies by Susumu Shingu. If you study the life cycle of a monarch butterfly, this is a great resource to have. The book begins with a picture of eggs on a leaf, and continues through the different stages of a butterfly through their migration south.


Edible Science Experiments You Can Eat by Jodi Wheeler-Toppen and Carol Tennant. If your kids like science experiments and eating, they will enjoy this book. Each experiment give the science of what is happening. There is a list of supplies needed, a difficulty level, time needed, and instructions. Vocabulary words may be found on many pages. Photographs help to show some of the steps in each experiment and children are shown wearing lab coats and goggles when appropriate.


Clean Sweep! Frank Zamboni’s Ice Machine by Monica Kulling, illustrated by Renné Benoit. Here is the story in picture book format of the Zamboni ice machine and how it came to be invented. Use this in a unit on inventors, the Winter Olympics, ice skating, or just for fun. There are a list of fun facts at the end of the book. One of the is that a Zamboni machine, with a top speed of 9 miles per hour, was driven across Canada from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Victoria, British Columbia, a trip that took four months.


The last set of books I want to share with you today is actually three books that work well together. In a preview box, I found among other things, three different sets of books. One set had six biographies written on a low reading level. The series is found under the title “Amazing Inventors & Innovators. The books in that series include George Eastman, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Samuel Morse, and The Wright Brothers.
Another set of books was titles Amazing super Simple Inventions and each one has projects for children to do. Super Simple Aircraft Projects, Super Simple, Automobile Projects, Camera Projects, Phonograph Projects, Telegraph Projects, and Telephone Projects. One of our 5th and 6th grade teachers was interested in these projects.
The third set of books was about inventions. Aircraft, automobiles, cameras, phonograph, telegraphs, and telephones.
I admit that it took me a while to realize that the three sets were linked to each other. They would make great units. Read the biography of George Eastman, read about the invention of the camera, and then have your class do some or all of the camera projects. The books have different authors, but the publisher is ABDO. I do wish the publisher would have combined these three books into one and published six books rather than eighteen, but apparently they didn’t think to ask me.


I hope you see something that interests you. Have a great week.
Audrey

Currently reading:
A New Song by Jan Karon (Book 5 of the Mitford series)
The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery
Gunn’s Golden Rules by Tim Gunn