Fallout

Tate, Niki. (2011). Fallout. Victoria, BC: Orca Books.

Teen suicide, a survivor, distant parents, slam poetry, someone who understands....  Nikki Tate's Fallout is a powerful and engaging story of a teen coping with her younger sister's suicide through writing and performing poetry.  We meet Tara one year after her sister's death.  She has left home and moved to another city where she works in a bookstore by day and meets with her slam poetry friends by night.  Every day is filled with memories - and poems. Prose descriptions of a slam poetry competition are interspersed with poems about a family dealing with suicide. Tara begins to open up to her new friends and find a few moments of relief and, eventually, someone who really understands. While the topic is complex, there is no prolonged analysis or discussion and the characters are not very developed. The story moves along quickly touching on many common teen concerns (parental expectations, teen sex, teen drinking, depression, walking home alone, balancing competition and friendship). This is not a 'deep' novel but with its sparse layout, large type and lots of white space it is a perfect high interest, low reading level (3.0)  for reluctant or struggling readers that will appeal to many other teens looking for a quick read.

Young Adult (Part of the Orca Soundings Series, also available as an e-book on Google Play)

National Geographic Kids

National Geographic Kids website Retrieved from http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/

This free website has many resources for research as well as pleasure. We have been using it with Susan's class to research temperate rainforest animals and Louisa's class to learn about the arctic. The students enjoyed the site and found it easy to navigate. The animals and pets tab led to many resources they wanted to explore including animal facts, habitat maps and videos. While the animal selection for the arctic was limited, it did include the snowy owl which we didn't find on the World Book Kids site.  This led to a great discussion about using different resources when we research and how some are better for one project, but not so good for another. The many high quality nature videos (after all, what National Geographic is all about) are another great resource. The students loved the 'Quizz your Noodle' games (piggy backing on the trivia fascination that fuels Guinness World Record Books).  The Canada section is very limited, but does provide a good map. This is a user friendly, high interest resource that is great for introducing students to research.  It is also a great site for educational games and videos.

Primary/Intermediate/Teacher resource

Body Math

Dowdy, P. (2009). Body Math. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark.

I just purchased a new batch of math resources for the library including the "Math Alive" series with Body Math, Nature Math, Building Math, Science Math, Transport Math and Travel Math. A great hybrid of a fact book, a puzzle book and an activity book, Body Math uses brightly coloured two page spreads with photos, graphs and diagrams to explore various math concepts. Using body parts and functions will appeal to those biology fans. While some of the hands-on activities are doable by keen late primary and motivated intermediate students, some will definitely need a little teacher or parent help. The text can be read for interest without doing the problems, though.  This book will appeal to those math enthusiasts who are always looking for a puzzle and a challenge.  It would also be useful for exploring concepts in the classroom. I particularly like how the series uses other areas of interest (nature, buildings, transportation) to hook students into mathematical thinking. 

Intermediate (with some help)/Young Adult (independently)/ Teacher resource

Blackout

Rocco, J. (2011).Blackout.  New York: Hyperion Books.

A gem!! This Caldecott Honor Book depicts one night without electricity in New York with bold, two page spread illustrations in a graphic novel style (multiple frames, speech bubbles, text boxes with short descriptions). The shadow play throughout the story gives a feeling of youthful joy.  The youngest child in a family is looking for someone to play with but everyone is too busy - until the lights go out.  Then not only the family, but the neighbourhood, comes alive with roof top parties, free gelato and singing in the street.  When the lights come back on everyone returns to their routines - until the young child flicks the switch.  This beautiful book truly evokes the feeling of a neighbourhood brought together by a minor crisis and reminds us of the importance of taking time out to be together.

Primary (and grown-ups)

Watch the book trailer including clips of New Yorkers remembering the blackout of 2003.

Can You Survive the Wilderness?

Doeden, M. (2012). Can You Survive the Wilderness. North Mankato, Minn.: Capstone Press.

"It won't be easy, but if you stay calm and make good choices, you might be able to get out alive. Are you ready to find out whether you have what it takes?"

With 3 story paths, 41 choices, and 18 endings, the next generation of 'choose your own ending' books has arrived with this new addition to the "Can you survive..." series. This book is definitely part of the movement, sometimes called 'radical change literature', devoted to giving young readers more interactive and engaging reading experiences. While the 'choose your own ending' is nothing new, this book incorporates bright, high contrast photos, various types and colours of font, and non-fiction features like text boxes, glossary, internet links, an appendix of real survivors and a survival quiz. From the first page that outlines how to use the book in widely spaced and easy to read font, this book is very accessible. The adventure can be played out in three different settings: Alaska, Australia, or the Cascade Mountains. Each adventure has between 3 and 6 choices before you reach "The End" - either survival or not. Poor decisions lead to your death, but the descriptions are short and matter of fact with no gory details. Rather like beating the levels of a game or figuring out a puzzle this book is quite addicting.  I kept going back to make another choice or try a different adventure.

Intermediate, Young Adult (reluctant readers)

National Film Board Website

National Film Board Website Retrieved from http://www.nfb.ca/

This website is a wonderful resource for fun and educational films. This year I have used the stop motion animation tutorial, Animate Everything, with both Div. 6 & 7.  Div. 7 has explored 'balance' with videos like High Steel and Marianne's Theatre.  On the home page you can choose from channels like 'Animation', 'Kids Movies' and 'The Green Channel'.  In the wonderful 'interactive' section (accessible from the home page), you can access interactive films like "Out My Window" that lets you explore the views from various high rise windows around the world and here about those peoples' lives or "Waterlife" that documents environmental concerns about the water of the Great Lakes. With no subscription, you have access to over 2,000 films. If you create a password account, you can make play lists to keep track of your great finds and, if you feel 'techy', you can cut portions of films to create shorter clips.  With my education account, I have access to another 500 films. This is a great resource for entertainment and enrichment, but remember, it is not geared specifically for children and there is mature content on the site.  As with all web use, be sure to monitor your childrens' viewing.

All Ages

That's Gross!

Boyer, C. (2012). That's Gross!: Icky Facts That Will Test Your Gross-out Factor. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic.

Hats off to Crispin Boyer!  It must have taken a lot of time to find all the disgusting facts included in That's Gross, not to mention deciding how to organize and present them.  Whoever designed this book was a master. The graphics are bold, colourful and easy to navigate. As well as the images, titles in bold and colourful  fonts on each page give a clue to the type of information found there.  This is certainly a feast for the eyes as well as the brain. Trivia hunters will be thrilled. Boyer plays up the gross factor without becoming too gory or taking anything 'over the top'.  The "happy place" page (with a rainbow, rollercoaster and ice cream) included near the beginning of the book as a refuge for the eyes (and brain) when you get too grossed out is a clever touch. Full of up-to-date scientific facts from history, nature, media, and everyday life, this book is a sure winner for those middle grade trivia seekers who also enjoy the thrill of a good gross-out.

Intermediate

One Crazy Summer

Garcia-Williams, R. (2010). One Crazy Summer. Toronto: Scholastic. 

This bookjacket is covered with awards: Scott O'Dell Award for historical fiction, Coretta Scott King Award for Non-violent change, Newbery Honor Book, Natonal Book Award (finalist). Seeing it on the Scholastic Book Fair shelves, I had to read it and was well rewarded.  This novel set in the late 1960's chronicles one month in the lives of Delphine, Vonetta and Fern as they travel from Brooklyn to Oakland California to meet the mother who left them when Fern was a baby.  Raised by their father and grandmother (who has not a single good word to say about their mother), these girls are independent and outspoken. Eleven year old Delphine has always looked out for her sisters and this summer she has to rise to the occasion once again as their mother, Cecile, refuses to look after them. Cecile sends the girls to the free breakfast and summer camp at the "People's Center" run by the Black Panthers where they get an education in social change, human nature, and what it's like to be in the stories they see on the news. Garcia-Williams cleverly weaves social issues of 1960's America with the timeless issues of childhood. While the beginning of the book seems to have a lot of hisorical references which might be confusing for younger readers, the endearing characters, effective use of vernacular (not too much, not too little, but just right) and a last minute insight into Cecile's character make the novel compelling and emotional. 

Intermediate

Everything but the Kitchen Sink

Wishinsky, F. & MacLeod, E. (2008). Everything but the Kitchen Sink: Weird Stuff You Didn't Know About Food. Toronto, Ont.: Scholastic.

(Illustrated by Travis King)

Have you ever eaten grunt, mudbugs or slugburgers?
Did you know that molasses can be deadly?

Discover these and many more facts in Everything but the Kitchen Sink. This clever book won the Red Cedar Award for non-fiction in 2011. Wishinsky and MacLeod explore food facts with short, bulletted bits of information gathered around themes like food history, superstitions, funny names, records, inventions and trivia.  There is even a chapter with food experiements to perform in your own kitchen. The way the text is divided by headings, bullets and chapter breaks makes it easy to read in chunks and accessible to a variety of reading levels.  Travis King's cartoon style illustrations give the book an animated feel. Trivia text boxes interspersed throughout the book add interesting "bits and bites" to the menu. I learned a lot about culinary history and traditions and found myself captivated by the clever headings and wanting to read section after section.

Intermediate

Guyku

Raczka, B. (2010). Guyku: A year of haiku for boys. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. (illustrated by Peter Reynolds)

Divided into seasons, this short book of short poems about boys playing outdoors is a gem. Raczka's afterword notes that his inspiration was his own boyhood outdoors, and it shows.  The poems bring back memories of classic outdoor activities that every child can connect with - climbing trees, skipping stones, roasting marshmallows, splashing your sister....  He also notes that Haiku is the perfect 'boy poem' - it is about nature, "a place where guys love to be" and written in present tense, "guys are always interested in what is happening right now".  Peter Reynolds calls the book an important "invitation for boys to swim in the 'poem pond'".  Let's share the invitation!

Primary, Intermediate (as an invitation to poetry writing), Teacher resource

Fancy Nancy: There's No Day Like a Snow Day

 

O'Connor, Jane.(2012). Fancy Nancy: There's No Day Like a Snow Day. New York.: HarperCollins.

I have never been a "Fancy Nancy" fan, but I picked this book up at the most recent Scholastic Fair and Nancy won my heart. Jane O'Connor's clever use of "fancy words" to increase children's vocabulary made the librarian and literacy teacher in me grin.  Nancy and her sister get ready to "frolic" - fancy for having fun - in the snow. Even though they have to wait all day to go to the sledding hill ("Grown-ups don't get snow days. That is a sad but true fact of life."), they find other ways to have fun in the snow while they wait. A lovely read aloud and a great early reader, the stickers for creating your own 'fancy' snowperson are an added bonus. 

Primary (and fun for older students to reminisce about snow days)

Out of the Box

Mulder, M. (2011). Out of the Box. Victoria, BC: Orca Book Publishers.

"I wonder why some people can have terrible lives and still find things to be happy about, and other people can have everything and still be miserable."

This is the question Ellie asks herself when a summer with her fun-loving Aunt Jeanette takes her out of the round of tears, arguments and accusations that haunts her home life and offers her a different view of the world.  Jeanette lost her partner, Alison, to leukemia.  Ellie goes to Victoria to stay with Jeanette for the whole summer and help clean out the basement (a project long planned with Alison).  They find an old bandoneon (an Argentinian instrument like an accordion) in the basement and Ellie falls in love.  During her stay Ellie helps her aunt at the soup kitchen, makes a new friend, searches for the original owner of the bandoneon and realizes that life can be different. With her aunt's help, Ellie learns that it is not her job to solve all the problems for the adults in her life - it is all right to just be thirteen.  Far from trite, this novel's conclusion holds out hope while remaining realistic.  A gentle portrayal of mental illness and how it can affect others, this empowering novel reveals the joy and freedom available to those who have the courage to reach out to others.

This novel is included in the Canadian Children's Book Center's Best Books for Kids and Teens 2012.

Intermediate/Young Adult

Mister Monday

Nix, Garth. (2003). Mister Monday: The Keys to the Kingdom. Random House Audio/Listening Library. (Audio Book Read by Allan Corduner).

I haven't listened to an audio book since our family driving trip across Canada.  Yes, they were life savers!  Listening to this young adult book from the public library brought back all those memories of being immersed in a story while doing something else at the same time - a great way to multi-task.  Garth Nix is a master storyteller and Allan Corduner brought the characters to life (although my son found his attempt at a young girl's voice annoying). The reader ( I mean listener) follows 12 year old Arthur Penhaligon on a fast-paced fantasy ride through time and space as he tries to find the remedy to a plague in his own world and time. Chosen as the 'rightful heir' to the first key of  "The House", Arthur battles creatures of the 'nothing' and vengeful trustees with the help of an orphaned girl he meets in "The House".  The first of a series of seven books (one for each day of the week guarded by a trustee), Mister Monday left me wanting to read the rest of the series.  In audio book format this story would be perfect for reluctant or struggling readers looking for an exciting story at their own age level.

Here is a link to the Keys to the Kingdom website.

Young Adult, Intermediate (due to audio format)

Owl Magazine

 Cooper, K. (Ed.). Nov. 2012. Owl. Toronto, Ont.: Bayard Canada.

Subscribe at https://secure.indas.on.ca/bayard/

 Although I subscribe to Owl for our library and my own two children had subscriptions, I have to admit I have not read one cover to cover since I was 12.  I was impressed. It had something for everyone: puzzles, quizzes, animal facts, sports science, jokes, contests, an advice page with both student and professional suggestions, FAQ, a 'hot topic' current events pole, 2 serial comic strips, a DIY section and even some world records!  The layout is bright and colourful, mixing text and graphic information. Responses to past questions and contests are included with children's names and ages making the magazine really feel child centered. The contests and submissions all have web or e-mail as well as 'snail mail' addresses that make them accessible to all readers. Like all magazines, the articles stand alone and readers can pick and choose where to spend their time - and go back later for more.  Best of all, Owl is Canadian!

Intermediate

Each Kindness

Woodson, J. (2012). Each Kindness. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books.

This poignant and beautifully illustrated book tells the age old story of succombing to peer pressure and excluding someone who looks a little different.  When a new girl arrives at Chloe's school Chloe follows the unwritten rule to exclude her.  The whispering and name calling grow until the teacher tries teaching a lesson in kindness. Dropping a pebble in water, the teacher says "This is what kindness does, ...Each little thing we do goes out, like a ripple, into the world."  Chloe decides too late to show some kindness - the new girl has moved again.  When I read this to the grade 3's you could have heard a pin drop.  They all wanted Chloe to get her chance back. We took time to talk about the ending they wished had happened. This book is a great conversation starter about bystanders, upstanders and chances for kindness.

Late Primary, Intermediate picture book, Teacher resource

I am I

Fitzpatrick, Marie-Louise.(2006). I am I.  New Milford, Connecticut: Roaring Brook Press.

I showed this incredibly beautiful book to Susan, Louisa and Jennah's classes before Remembrance Day using the document camera.  The story of two boys living on opposite sides of a river in an imaginary landscape and declaring themselves king of all they see spirals into a sad tale of war and destruction. Their proud, defiant and hateful words turn to barbed wire and eventually a fire-breathing dragon that leaves their world scorched and barren. The boys' remorse is genuine.  Their tears become a rain storm and germinate new life.  In the final illustration the boys face each other in a cobbled front yard bringing the story back to reality. The amazing, double page spread illustrations tell the story with very few words. The wonderful imagery in this book inspired thoughtful and insightful discussions in every class.

Primary, Intermediate picture book, Teacher resource

You Will Be My Friend

Brown, P. (2011). You Will By My Friend! New York: Little, Brown and Co.

Over the years I have learned three important lessons about making new friends.

                      Lesson 1: Always be yourself.

                      Lesson 2: New fiends appear when you least expect it.

                      Lesson 3: Do not scream, "YOU WILL BE MY FRIEND!" at people. Trust me, that 

                      never works.

Lucy bear wakes up one morning determined to make a new friend. At first she is too exuberant, ruining things by accident.  Next she tries to fit in by copying others - also not popular. Then she tries threatening or ordering people to be her friend. When she has finally given up, a friend appears. This colourful, cartoon-like picture book uses boxy illustrations and large speech bubbles to express Lucy's excitement and frustration.  It is a great conversation starter for talking about strategies for making friends - ones that work, and ones that don't.

Primary

Who Likes the Rain?

Kraner, Etta. (2007). Who Likes the Rain? Toronto, Ont.: Kids Can Press. (E-book retrieved from Tumblebooks).

This year our school purchased a subscription to Tumblebooks (ask Kathy or Carla for the password to use them at home).  I have been using them in my Kindergarten classroom.  Last week we watched and listened to "Who Likes the Rain?".  This wonderful mixture of fiction and non-fiction describes children playing in the rain and explores all the reasons we like rain. When a child states "I like the rain because the worms come out.  I wonder why the worms come out?", the next page explains why worms come out when it rains. Every reason for liking rain is a starting point for another age appropriate scientific explanation. The children were mesmerized and learned a lot.  Afterwords we did our own writers' workshops about why we like (or don't like) rain. This is a great book acknowledging our natural curiousity and introducing the idea of inquiry learning (asking "wonder" questions and then looking for the answers).

Primary

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny - Detectives Extraordinaire!

Horvath, Polly. (2012). Mr. and Mrs. Bunny - Detectives Extraordinaire! Groundwood Books, Toronto, Ont.

An absolute treat!  A fast paced mystery with human characters mixed up with talking rabbits, foxes and marmots (never trust a marmot), this clever story written in large, well spaced font interspersed with full page pen and ink illustrations appears at first glance to be an early chapter book. The wry humour and social and political commentary, however, will bring smiles to more sophisticated readers. Madeleine, who lives on Pender Island with her hippie parents, returns home from work one evening to discover her parents have been kidnapped - by foxes. The foxes need the help of her code breaking uncle and hope her parents will lead them to him. Madeleine's uncle falls into an sudden coma (a great way to get a rest, he says)  and she must enlist the help of Mr. and Mrs. Bunny, two talking rabbits who take her in and look after her.  Much high jinks ensues including an unpredictable marmot, some purple disco boots and a desperate last minute rescue. This book can be enjoyed on many levels. It would make a wonderful read-aloud for a mixed audience too.

Late Primary/Intermediate/Adults too :)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Kinney, J. (2009). Diary of a wimpy kid: dog days. Amulet Books, New York.

 The Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are very popular in our library.  I skimmed the first one when it came out and was not impressed with the main character, Greg Heffley. I had thought the stories would be about a misunderstood, misfit kid readers could identify with.  I found a quite unlikeable, self-centered kid instead BUT.... the Wimpy Kid continued to be popular.  So last week I gave him another try. I still did not like Greg Heffly, but I could see his appeal. In fact, I am sure my own children could relate to some of Greg's disappointing summer experiences - like the surprise summer trip where his Mom packed healthy snacks (no pizza stop), the surprise was the 'Slip Slide Water Park' (definitely not cool for a middle school kid), once the family did get settled a thunder storm appeared and the park was closed due to lightening, they got caught in the traffic jam leaving the park, and his younger brother told those four year old jokes (the ones that don't make sense) all the way home. Between losing and regaining his best friend, starting a doomed summer business, surviving a summer crush and navigating the horrors of the men's change room, Greg is certainly someone a middle grade kid can relate to. Greg is still self-centered and thoughtless, but his misdeeds do have consequences. Perhaps Greg Heffley is just mischievous and irreverent enough to appeal while the consequences of his actions maintain some safe boundaries - a way to explore tempting thoughts we know are not really right, but might be fun at the time.  The black line, newspaper comic style illustrations add some details to the diary style narration and break up the text making it feel like an 'easy read'. I have to admit, I did crack a smile a few times....

Late Primary/Intermediate

Who's In My Family

Harris, Robie. (2012). Who's In My Family: All About Our Families. Sommerville, Mass.: Candlewick Press.

This detailed picture book with gentle illustrations explores the diversity of families. The illustrations are filled with people of different ages, nationalities, genders and abilities while the simple text reveals that families eat different foods, enjoy different activities, have different numbers (and genders) of parents and children and may contain different nationalities. Robie Harris certainly appears to have covered all the possible permutations and combinations of family. Families have happy times, sad times and angry times, but in the end "most of all and most of the time, and no matter what - children and grown-ups and their families really do love one another!"  This book is a wonderful tool for teaching about diversity and beginning discussions about tolerance. Even though all families are different, "every day and every night and all around the world, families talk, laugh, sing, play, cuddle up, tell stories, read books, and make sure their children are healthy and safe and loved".

Primary

Bink and Gollie

DiCamilllo, K. & McGhee, A. (2010). Bink and Gollie.

Bink and Gollie won the Theodore Seuss Geisel Award in 2011. This lovely picture book is divided into chapters and illustrated in a graphic novel style with full page, mostly black and white illustrations with the colourful Bink and Gollie really 'popping' and short captions or speech bubbles. The endearing, mismatched friends get up to all sorts of adventures from shopping trips to mountain climbing.  Gollie's intellect and imagination make a perfect foil for Bink's irrepressible fun-loving style. DiCamillo's understated humour coupled with McGhee's expressive illustrations bring the two lovable and engaging characters to life. Despite Bink and Gollie's differences, they discover that compromise, and pancakes, are the key to lasting friendship.

Primary, Late Primary, (Intermediate students enjoy the illustration style and Gollie's dry humour too)

Visit Bink and Gollie's Website at http://www.binkandgollie.com/