Thank you! by Anastasia Suen I wanted to give a public thank you to my wonderful 2012 Nonfiction Book Blast panel! Nina Kidd, the ALA photographer who took this photo, said it was “a galaxy of stars!” I completely agree–you were FABULOUS! Top row from left to right: Loreen Leedy, Seymour Simon, Susan Stockdale, Susan […]
June 18, 2012
Creating a Successful Butterfly Garden in 10 Easy Steps by Seymour Simon One of the most utilized sections of the Teacher Guide for my new book, BUTTERFLIES, is a guide to planning and planting a butterfly garden. It is not difficult, and your work is paid back with years of enjoyment! Would you like to […]
June 11, 2012
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Jean Laffite: The Pirate Who Saved America By Susan Goldman Rubin Jean Laffite: The Pirate Who Saved America came about because of children’s book writer, June Sobol. We were both signing books at a book fair once, but to put it more accurately, she was signing hundreds of copies of Shiver Me Letters: A Pirate […]
June 4, 2012
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Seeing Symmetry Activities by Loreen Leedy A common factor among butterflies, dinosaurs, the letter A, human and animal bodies, airplanes, totem poles, etcetera, is one that most people don’t think about very often…SYMMETRY! An underutilized resource (in my humble opinion), symmetry is a great way to demonstrate basic math concepts such as REPEATS…EQUALITY…PATTERNS…REFLECTIONS…and ROTATIONS. Because […]
May 28, 2012
Johnny Appleseed by Anastasia Suen Writing nonfiction for early readers is a challenge. You want to share as much as you can about your topic, but children who are just learning to read can’t read many words by themselves yet. Much of what you want to say requires words that are too difficult for these […]
May 21, 2012
Coming up on the 20th Anniversary of Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought) By Kathleen Krull Lives of the Musicians would never have come about if I hadn’t known Kathryn Hewitt, the artist. She was painting these amazing caricatures of people she admired– famous philosophers, writers, artists. We started brainstorming on […]
May 14, 2012
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Thanks, NASA! by Tom Greve I was born in 1969. I don’t remember the year of course, but this winter, as I researched the work of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for Rourke Publishing’s book “Thanks, NASA!” the year began to take on new significance. It seems for millions of people around the world, […]
May 7, 2012
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Black & White: The Confrontation between Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene “Bull” Connor By Larry Dane Brimner Because student questions are the beginning point of learning, the following activities use student reactions and thoughts as the starting point for a deeper look at Black & White and the history behind the interaction of Fred Shuttlesworth and […]
April 30, 2012
Butterflies by Seymour Simon I surprised myself with the answer to a question I was asked by a student at a recent school visit. The question was: What is your favorite animal? My initial instinct was to say that it’s impossible to say which is my favorite animal…..it’s like having favorites among your own children. […]
April 23, 2012
Activities for First Girl Scout: The Life of Juliette Gordon Low by Ginger Wadsworth 1. National History Day. Go to: www.nhd.org for details and guidelines. For 2012-13, the theme is Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, and Events. Consider doing a project on how Juliette Gordon Low turned her life around to create an organization […]
June 25, 2012
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