The Book Search

 There are (at least) two amazing new books out for elementary students that revolve around African animals, come check them out! The first one is the third from Katherine Applegate about a group of animals that lived in a mall in Seattle, Washington.  The first one was the One and Only Ivan about a silverback gorilla, told from the gorilla's point of view.  The second was The One and Only Bob, about a stray dog that lived with the gorilla and told from the dog's point of view.  This one, The One and Only Ruby is told from a baby elephant's point of view.  Ruby and Ivan have been relocated to a zoo that has spaces that mimic their natural habitats.  Ivan lives in an enclosure with other gorillas and has a wonderful companion gorilla.  Ruby lives in an adjoining enclosure, with a herd of other female elephants.  Ruby is anxious about her coming of age ceremony-Tuskday, where the other elephants will celebrate her getting her tusks.  It turns o...

It's sometimes hard to find a book that will get kids to think deeply about anything.  We seem to be firmly entrenched in a sound bite, 140 character limit, emoji laden world, so having something to consider thoughtfully is a real treat.  Here are two books that might make you go "hmmmm". The first one is a picture book.  It's called "Crocodile's Crossing: A Search for Home" by Yoeri Slegers.  The book opens with Crocodile already on his way somewhere new.  He's scared and hopeful because at home where he used to be happy, it's no longer safe.  He finds new places that are very different and not very welcoming to crocodiles.  He is about to give up, when he finds a community of mice who welcome him.  Things are not like they were at home, the food is different, but Crocodile tries and eventually makes a place for himself and is able to bring his family with him.  This is a marvelous story about immigration.  The art work surrounding the ...

My students love non-fiction books so I'm always on the look out for some great new non fiction.  We are a Montessori school, so books about the history of man are always a big hit.  This latest one is just terrific.  It's called "When We Became Humans" written by William Bright and illustrated by Hannah Bailey.  It's a picture book full of short pieces of text about how humans evolved from hominids.  The vocabulary is rich which may require some assistance for some kids, but over all the book is very accessible, especially to upper elementary students.  The pictures are terrific too-the soft water colors help with understanding some of the concepts.  The short pieces of text will provide a nice introduction to the concepts presented.  There's an excellent time line in the back of the book along with a map that shows human migration patterns.  I think the kids and the teachers are going to love this one. The second one, in my school, is...

I just got some new books that I ordered.  I just love getting a box of new books.  It's like Christmas!  Even if I had to order them and pay for them myself.  Still exciting!  Anyway, the kids are going to LOVE these new non-fiction books I just got. The first one is called "Snowy Owl Invasion: Tracking an Unusual Migration" by Sandra Markle.  I'm a big fan of Sandra Markle's work.  Her books are always thoroughly researched with lots of gorgeous pictures and super interesting text.  This one is no exception.  It's about what happened with snowy owls in the 2013-2014 season when suddenly people were spotting snowy owls in some pretty surprising places (like the Florida-Georgia border!) and in numbers not usually seen (like at the Boston Airport, where they typically remove 10-12 snowy owls per season, but that year, removed over 100).  She explains why scientists believe there was such a population explosion (no, I'm not goi...

My students LOVE non-fiction books.  In fact, I'm always surprised when school librarians lament the fact that their students don't check out non-fiction books, because my kids check out at least as many non-fiction as fiction books, maybe more.  I'm really excited about some of these new titles that are coming out soon. The first one is called "Her Right Foot" by Dave Eggers.  I'm a big fan of Dave Eggers work for adults and I really love his voice, so I was very intrigued his new book, which is a picture book.  The artwork is terrific-the first part has collages that have a very art deco period feel to them.  The second part is also collage, but more modern.  The text is amazing.  It's about the Statue of Liberty and the first part of the book has background information about the Statue of Liberty-how it was a gift from France, the architect Bartholdi, Eiffel's role, how it was put together in France and then taken apart, shipped to America, and pu...

My students really love nonfiction.  I think it has to do with the Montessori attitude where things are based in reality, starting with concrete and moving to abstract, or maybe their parents just prefer to read nonfiction with them.  In any case, the nonfiction books in my library get a work out and I know these new ones I've been reading are going to be great additions to my library. The first one is an easy sell in my library.  It's called "The Great Leopard Rescue" by Sandra Markle.  It's about the Amur leopards which live in Russia and are among the most endangered animals on earth.  They are big-almost twice the size of a German Shepherd and there are fewer than 1000 of them left.  The book details why they are endangered (habitat reduction) and what scientists are trying to do to help save them.  The book is full of engaging photographs of the leopards with small pieces of interesting text.  My kids are going to love this one. The ...

Wow, are these some good ones and you'll have to keep an eye out for them, because I just tried to order them and they haven't hit the stores yet.  They are totally worth waiting for.  Check these out! The first one is called Build Beaver Build by Sandra Markle.  The art work in this one is amazing.  The pictures are very detailed and so pretty!  It's about a young male beaver living in a dam with his family.  It shows how he grows and changes, how he gets food, how he avoids predators, how he plays with his sisters.  It's really a very thorough story of the life cycle and habits of a beaver.  Here in south Florida, we don't have beavers so I think my kids will be super interested to read about them in such an inviting and lovely book.  It's set to be replaced at the end of January, which should be an awesome time of year to get this one on the shelves, when the beavers are really having their babies and starting to be more active. ...

Boy are there some terrific new non fiction titles out there!  Let me tell you about a couple of them. The first one is called "The Great Monkey Rescue" by Sandra Markle.  It's about golden lion tamarins.  The book starts with some background information about the tamarins and then moves into how scientists are trying to reintroduce the tamarins back into the wild.  There are some gorgeous, engaging photographs that are sure to attract readers.  There are also some great text features that will make it a good non-fiction mentor text. The second one is also about animals and it's called "8: An Animal alphabet book".  Each page (and sometimes a full page spread) is one letter.  There are eight of one animal (like ants for A) but then there are also other animals that also start with the letter (which, happily, are listed at the bottom of the page, if like me you are thinking to yourself "What is a seagull doing on the A page?  Oooohhh, it's ...