National Moving Month... for Middle Grade Readers!

My earlier post today featured books related to moving for young children.... this next review is one I received in the mail about a month ago, but have held off on posting a review until today... because it's perfect for teaching an important lesson to middle grade readers who are dealing with the emotions surrounding a move to a new home/city.

Leal, Ann Haywood.
Also Known As Harper.
2009.
Henry Holt and Company, LLC, Books for Young Readers.

I can honestly say I've never been quite as touched by any middle-grade fiction novel as I was by Also Known as Harper. This book will allow 9-12 year olds to realistically see how children (much like themselves) are effected daily by poverty. I think children across the board would benefit from reading this touching story and watching as young Harper Lee Morgan deals with the hand her family has been dealt - being evicted from their rental unit while her mother struggles to pay the rent and bills after her father up and left the family one day unannounced, ultimately overcoming their hardships to a certain degree.

Harper Lee Morgan got her name from her mother's favorite writer, Harper Lee, most famous from her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. The book is referred to throughout this novel, almost acting as a constant for Harper and her little brother, Hemingway. It is evident that Harper takes after her mother from the very get-go... she's an aspiring poet who learned her love of words from her mother, who dreamed of one day writing a book. However, life has dealt them from a different deck of cards. Instead of chasing their dreams, Mama, Harper and Hemingway are struggling from day-to-day to make ends meet after being evicted. As if being evicted isn't bad enough, Harper learns she's going to miss being able to compete in the poetry contest at school... However, with the help of her new homeless friends, Harper ends up winning big time - sharing her poetry with the people who will most appreciate it, her mother, Hemingway, Lorraine, Randall and Dorothy.

Despite the hardships they face, Harper learns to make the most of each situation she is dealt. This book will help young readers to appreciate the lives they are living, show them to be thankful for the home they have! This is a wonderful book and I only hope that someday I will be able to share this with a classroom full of children!

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com.

National Moving Month

Did you know May is National Moving Month?

Recognizing America's mobile roots and kicking off the busiest moving season of the year. Each year more than 40 million Americans move between Memorial Day and Labor Day, with the average American moving every seven years. During this month, moving experts will be educating Americans on how to plan a successful move, to pack efficiently, and to handle the uncertainties and questions that children who are moving have.

-The Teacher's Calendar, 2008-2009

My post today focuses on those children, so hopefully these books will be of help to you or someone you know!

Civardi, Anne.
Moving House (Usborne First Experiences).
2005.
EDC Publishing.

Anne Civardi and EDC Publishing joined together to help children through a whole series of "first experiences" - an airplane ride, a doctor visit, going to a party, going to school, a new baby. The list continues on and almost all of the titles can be found here.

This particular book focuses on moving to a new house. I'd say it does a pretty good job at explaining the basics to children! The simplest explanation, which I'd say is suitable for older children, ages 6-8 perhaps, can be found at the top of the pages. However, the book also has more detailed explanations available at the bottom of each page. If your family is moving in the near future and the kids seem to be confused or struggling with the idea, I think this book would be a good starting point. You can always combine it with more book about the emotions children will face as the move nears and even after the move occurs, to make the most of this book!

Viorst, Judith.
Alexander, Who's Not (Do you hear me? I mean it!) Going to Move.
1998.
Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group.

Alexander is back! And this time, he's dealing with more than just a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day! This time, his family is moving - ripping him away from his best friend Paul, the cleaners who save everything from his pockets, the Baldwins and their dog, the Rooney's and their six girls, Mr. and Mrs. Oberdorfer's Halloween treats, Pearson's Drug Store, even his teacher Ms. Knoop... His brothers can't understand why he's being such a baby about the move, but they'll both have new friends their age at their new house.

Throughout the story, Alexander insists he's not going to move. Dad promises he'll find Alexander a new soccer team, possibly even a dog to be his new best friend until he meets some people friends. Mom even agrees to let him call Paul long-distance. Even his brother offers to help Alexander out by offering to let him sleep in his room if he's lonesome in his own room. Eventually, Alexander gives in and begins packing... insisting that it'll be the last time he ever moves... he's never going to move again!

If kids are upset about a move, this may be just the book to share with them... they will sympathize with Alexander, maybe open up and express some of their own thoughts and fears. While I don't entirely agree with bribing kids with a dog, long-distance phone calls might be a compromise. Signing kids up for some kind of extra-curricular activity is perfect to get them with other children in their new neighborhood/school district. Maybe this is the way to get them on the same page with the idea of a move - allow them to choose what kind of activity they'd like to participate in!

MacLachlan, Patricia.
What You Know First.
1998.
HarperCollins Publishers.

The illustrations are beautiful - they're simple, but they perfectly convey the moods and feelings in the story! A young girl is upset about her family's impending move away from the prairie life that she's always known. She tries hard to convince her parents to leave her behind, but they work just as hard to convince her how much she's needed to make the family complete.

In the end, the little girl compromises, taking a bit of the prairie life with her - a twig of the cottonwood tree and a little bag of prairie dirt. However, even though she's only able to take those two concrete objects with her, her father reminds her that she'll always have the memories, as,

What you know first stays with you, my Papa says.

Think about it... how much truth is there in this? How much do you remember about your first home where memories were made?

• I remember the closet at the base of the stair case where we stored extra sheets and towels. I remember playing boogie-man and hiding myself in that same storage closet.
  
• I remember no closet in my bedroom. There was a bar about 2 feet long to hang my clothes. The rest were stacked on a changing table that was left over from when I was a baby.
  
• I remember my bedroom was dark wood paneling that my parents painted pale pink. And built in book cases above my bed, with a strawberry shortcake comforter.
  
• I remember the basement being set up as a play room for us kids, desks set up so I could be the "teacher" while my brothers roller skated around the "classroom."

The memories don't end there... so I'm truly believing what Papa says from What You Know First... What you know first stays with you... this is true for me at least!

If you or someone you know is moving in the near future, here are some other books that might help kids in dealing with the transition:

• Big Ernie's New Home
• A New House
• We're Moving
• I'm Not Moving, Mama
• Saying Good-Bye, Saying Hello...
• Who Will Be My Friends?
• The Berenstain Bears' Moving Day
• Moving with Kids: 25 Ways to Ease Your Family's Transition
  

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com.

Weekly Blog Plan, May 26-29

Here's the weekly blog plan! Again, please remember this is subject to change and is dependent upon whether or not my materials come in from the library as planned. I realize that this may fall too late for you to use in your classroom this year, but the activities will definitely swing from year-to-year! If you see something you really want to incorporate into your classroom, leave me a comment on this post or send me an e-mail, kateh12783@hotmail.com. I'd be glad to provide you with the links I have, if nothing more!

Tuesday, May 26 - National Moving Month

• Moving House, Anne Civardi
• What You Know First, Patricia MacLachlan
• Alexander, Who's Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move, Judith Viorst
• Also Known as Harper, Ann Haywood Leal
  

Wednesday, May 27 - National Spelling Bee Finals

• Spellbound, Janet McDonald
• Brave as a Mountain Lion, Ann Herbert Scott
• Abigail Spells, Anna Alter
  

Thursday, May 28 - May Reviews

• Bobby Bramble Loses His Brain, Dave Keane
  
• The Travel Game, John Grandits
  

Friday, May 29 - Andrew Clements' 60th Birthday

• Dogku
• A Million Dots
• Who Owns the Cow?
• Big Al
  

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com.

Happy Memorial Day!

I just have one quick review for today and it is Memorial Day related! Believe it or not, in my search, I was only able to locate one fictional picture book about Memorial Day... that's kind of disappointing!

Golding, Theresa Martin.
Memorial Day Surprise.
2004.
Boyds Mill Press.

Marco and his mother have a big day ahead of them... it's even too big of a day to stop and visit Abuelo (Grandpa). It's Memorial Day and the pair is headed off to the city's Memorial Day parade, at which Marco's mother promises a surprise. As they arrive on the main street, Marco finds all of his mother's favorite stores closed and the street lined with people in anticipation of the parade. As the parade begins, we watch as Marco continually questions his mother about the surprise?

Marco wished Abuelo could have heard the music. Maybe it would have made his legs tingle again. "Was that the surprise, Mama?" Marco shouted, "Was it? Was it?"

But the surprise wasn't the band!

Marco waved the flag at the noisy fire truck. "Was that the surprise, Mama?"

Mama shook her head. "No, Marco. The surprise is even more special than meeting a real firefighter.

And the surprise isn't the fire truck or real firefighter...

"Mama, look!" Marco opened his fist and showed her all the sweets he had collected, "That was the surprise, wasn't it?"

However, the candy wasn't the surprise, either!

"Abuelo!" Marco shouted and waved his hands.
"Why is your grandfather in the parade?" Jenna asked.
Marco stood tall. "My grandfather is a hero."

Have you figured out the surprise yet?!?!

Marco did not have to ask Mama. He knew this was the best memory day surprise of all.

This book is perfect for introducing young children to the importance of Memorial Day. It doesn't go into any lengthy detail about the holiday, but rather shows children that the most important part of the Memorial Day parade is honoring the soldiers, like Marco's grandpa, who appears in his fatigues.

I would think children as young as age 3 or 4 would walk away from this book with some understanding of Memorial Day! A must have for the children, especially for teachers or parents who want to expose their children to the more historical aspect of a parade!

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com.

Literacy Work Station 1 - Dragon is Coming!

A little over a month ago, I received a box of children's ARC's, of which contained Valeri Gorbachev's latest, Dragon is Coming!. It was released earlier this month and is a must have for the early elementary classroom and/or the home library! I enjoyed it so much, I was inspired to start a weekly post of Literacy Work Stations. This book is one of two that will be highlighted in the Literacy Work Station later on in this post!

Gorbachev, Valeri.
Dragon is Coming.
2009.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Children are going to love this one! I loved this one! If your children have big imaginations or if they need to start developing big imaginations, this book is perfect for fostering that!

Dog is laying on his back enjoying the bright blue ski that is filled with fluffy white clouds until a dark cloud rolled in and a small field mouse wakes him up by screaming,

Aaaaaah!
Dragon is coming!

As mouse attempts to outrun the "dragon," he passes by geese, sheep, a cow and pig, providing them with believable reasons to prove that Dragon is coming -

Did you see that flame?
Run, Geese, run!

Dragon is coming!
He'll swallow the sun - and
we're next! Did you hear
his stomach rumble?

Dragon is coming!
Did you feel that drop?
He's licking his lips!

As all of the animals hide from Dragon in the barn, Dog shows up,

Why are you all here in the dark?
The thundercloud is gone, and
the storm is over!

Mouse is relieved! Oh, how I love it!...

Shaw, Charles G.
It Looked Like Spilt Milk.
1947.
HarperCollins Publishers.
Guided Reading Level: E

White images set against a blue background, allow the imaginations to flow as readers are gently shown how sometimes an object can appear as one thing and turn out to be something entirely different! For example,Sometimes it looked like a sheep. But it wasn't a sheep.At the end of the story we learn that it was really just a cloud in the sky!

This was one of my favorite books as a child. In my five years spent between student teaching and substitute teaching, I have used this book a handful of times and children of all ages love it every bit as much as I did! It's definitely worthy of a place on the bookshelves, especially coupled with Valeri Gorbachev's Dragon is Coming!

Literacy Work Station #1
Theme: Imagination

Monday (Day 1) - Read Aloud both stories and as a whole group, create a Venn Diagram depicting the similarities and differences between the two stories. I would be sure to make mention that one central theme of both of these stories is imagination - a person/mouse is imagining what the clouds look like!

• Dragon is Coming by Valeri Gorbachev
• It Looked Like Spilt Milk, Charles G. Shaw.

Tuesday (Day 2) - Listening Station (as part of classroom centers)

• *AHEAD OF TIME* Using a program similar to "Sound Recorder" (I found it on my computer under the "Start" menu, "All Programs," "Accessories"), record your voice reading both stories. The files can then be saved. Burn the files to 2 audio CD's - one of each book.
  
• Split students into groups of 4. Those groups will then be split into groups of 2. One group will listen to the audio recording of Dragon is Coming!. The other group will begin with It Looked Like Spilt Milk. When they have finished listening to one book, have the groups switch and listen to the other story. *Allow enough time for children to listen to both recordings.*
  

Wednesday (Day 3) - Comprehension/Assessment Activity

Whole Group

• Either purchase a pre-made It Looked Like Spilt Milk Felt Board story set or create your own using white felt. To make your own, enlarge or shrink the story illustrations to either 8 1/2" x 11" or 4 1/4" x 5 1/2", depending on the size you wish to use with students (If space is aplenty, I would suggest the larger size for ease of visibility). Cut out the white "clouds" and trace onto the white felt, then simply cut out the felt and you'll have your own story set!
• Explain that you want students to "retell" the story and put the events in order according to how they happened in the story.
  
• Pass out the white felt "clouds" to each student. If there are more students than clouds, pair students up and have them work together to decide where their piece belongs in the order.
• Read the first page of the story and then ask students to stand and add their felt clouds to the felt board when they feel it is their time. Ask students to reiterate the idea, "It looked like... But it wasn't... "
• Once all pieces have been placed, have students return to their seats and on a piece of scrap paper, write what it "really" was. Collect the papers to see if students have understood and are able to recall the ending to the story.

Independent Seat Work/Center Activity

• To assess comprehension of Gorbachev's Dragon is Coming, have students independently complete the sequencing activity found here (it is a download). This could be completed either as morning seatwork or as part of an independent work center activity.
  
• Supplies needed: Scissors, glue, crayons

Thursday (Day 4) - Whole Group (May Require Aide or Parent Volunteer) - White Clouds and Thunder Cloud Paintings

• Supplies Needed: 9"x12" Construction Paper (Blue, Gray) - One sheet of each for each student, White Tempera Paint, Black Tempera Paint, Pencils
  
• Have students write their name on 1 side of both sheets of construction paper.
• Ask students to fold their construction papers in half (either way works) and then open it back up.
  
• Start with blue construction paper and white tempera paint. Grey construction paper should be on floor underneath student seats. Teacher, aide, and/or parent volunteer should squeeze dime/nickel sized portion of white paint along the where the fold on the construction paper is. Student then re-folds the paper and presses gently on the paper, allowing the paint to "spread." Open up the construction paper. Place on drying racks or wherever paintings dry in your classroom/home. (It's up to you how you wish to control movement of students/papers to drying spot!)
• Repeat this procedure with the grey construction paper and black paint.
• Be sure to create a teacher example for Day 5 instruction at the time students are creating their cloud paintings.
  

Friday (Day 5) - Whole Group, Independent Writing, and Circle Time

Whole Group

• Supplies: Teacher Example from Day 4, Student Organizers (2 per student), Teacher copy of Student Organizer for class use, Sentence Strips (1 per student, cut in half so they have 2 pieces)
  
• Gather students on a carpet/meeting spot. Using one of the teacher paintings, brainstorm with students what the painting looks. Draw on the board an example of the student organizer to fill in. Allow each student to give one of their thoughts about what they "imagine" the painting to look like. Add their ideas to the organizer.
• Explain that at their seats, working independently, they will be filling in their own organizers, one for each painting, about what they imagine the painting to look like. Each student should come up with 4 possible ideas for each of their paintings.
  
• The organizer can be found here. Again, it is a download!
  

Independent Writing

• Pass out 2 organizers to each child.
  
• Monitor progress as students work on these, giving them a check or whatever you prefer once they have completed and have had the organizers approved.
• Using their organizers, students will then choose their favorite "It Looked Like..." from each one and circle it.
• They will then write the sentence on the sentence strips - one sentence on each strip! It looked like... (and then whichever choice they made from their organizer).

Circle Time

• Once everyone has had ample time to complete their writing, gather students for circle (sharing) time.
  
• Each child should pick 1 of their 2 paintings and the sentence that matches to share with the class.
  
• Allow questions to be asked... I'd go with 1 question per child depending on the class size and the amount of time sharing takes.
  

Culmination (the following week) - Displaying Student Work

• Create 2 displays of student work: One bulletin board and one class book.
  
• Bulletin Board - Choose one of the two cloud painting sets (white on blue, black on grey). If choosing white on blue for It Looked Like Spilt Milk, title your display, "But it was a cloud in the sky..." (Perhaps you could you draw a cloud and write the words on the cloud with blue marker). If choosing black on grey for Dragon is Coming!, draw a small mouse standing next to the pig, who is holding a sign that read, "Mouse, a thundercloud is big and scary, but it's not a dragon!" Leave the work on display for a week or so and then allow children to take their work home!
  
• Class Book: Staple students' work together into a book and add the final page for whichever book is put together... "But it was a cloud in the sky" for It Looked Like Spilt Milk or "Mouse, a thundercloud is big and scary, but it's not a dragon!" for Dragon is Coming! The class book can then be added to the class library for students' reading pleasures!

Okay guys and gals, that's it for Literacy Work Station 1!!! I hope you enjoy it! Please feel free to leave me any feedback that you may have, I'd love to hear from you!

P.S. I've contacted Valeri Gorbachev's publisher to try and receive permission to use his illustrations on the Dragon is Coming! sequencing activity. If that permission is granted, I'll change up the worksheet and then leave an update so you can all download the new worksheet!

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com.

Weekly Blog Plan, June 22 - 26

Here's the weekly blog plan! Again, please remember this is subject to change and is dependent upon whether or not my materials come in from the library as planned. I realize that this may fall too late for you to use in your classroom this year, but the activities will definitely swing from year-t0-year! If you see something you really want to incorporate into your classroom, leave me a comment on this post or send me an e-mail, kateh12783@hotmail.com. I'd be glad to provide you with the links I have, if nothing more!

Monday, June 22 - National Rose Month

• Wanda's Roses, Pat Brisson
• A Sweet Smell of Roses, Angela Johnson
• The Rose in My Garden, Arnold Lobel
• September Roses, Jeanette Winter
  

Tuesday, June 23 - Gay and Lesbian Pride Month

• Uncle Bobby's Wedding, Sarah S. Brannen
• Molly's Family, Nancy Garden
• And Tango Makes Three, Peter Parnell
  

Wednesday, June 24 - Fairy Day

• Alice the Fairy, David Shannon
• Fairy Houses, Tracy Kane
• How to Find Flower Fairies, Cicely Mary Barker
  

Thursday, June 25 - Eric Carle's Birthday

• The Very Lonely Firefly
• The Very Quiet Cricket
• The Very Busy Spider
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar
  

Friday, June 26 - Charlotte Zolotow's Birthday

• William's Doll
• The Storm Book
• Seashore Book
• If You Listen
  

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com.

National Egg Month

An unexpected event prevented me from finishing this post yesterday as I had intended. My brother's dog was hit by a car and I ended up driving to his place to pick the little guy up and bring him to my house for a few weeks of recuperation... The whole day was tied up by these events and I apologize for the late finish of the post - things have not settled down much, if any, as our dog and his put together = hellacious scrambling, but I've got to have some resemblance to normal if I'm to survive these next few weeks!

It's National Egg Month!

May is National Egg Month. More eggs are sold in America during the Easter season - usually in April - than at any other time of the year. Then, sales go down, but the hens keep on laying eggs. After Easter, because the supply of eggs is normal but the demand for eggs is less, their price ordinarily goes down. Starting in May and running through the summer, eggs are usually an even better bargain than they are the rest of the year. Through the American Egg Board and other groups, the American egg industry celebrates National Egg Month in May to remind home cooks how good eggs are. Egg farmers want cooks to remember that eggs are nutritious to eat and simple to make in many different ways. . . plus eggs are especially easy to afford from May until the end of summer.

-American Egg Board

Gregory, Valiska.
Sunny Side Up.
1986.
Macmillan Publishing Company.

Mr. Poggle and Scamp meet daily for breakfast. Mr. Poggle has planned eggs, served sunny-side up for today's meal! However, as the yolk breaks in Scamp's egg, his smile turns sunny-side down. The toast burns... They forgot to make the orange juice... breakfast seems to be a disaster until Mr. Poggle comes to the rescue and shows Scamp how to enjoy it and make the most of it!

This is a cute book and despite its being published 23 years ago, it definitely passes on an important thought to kids in a way they will be able to connect with!

MacDonald, Elizabeth.
Mr. MacGregor's Breakfast Egg.
1991.
ABC/The All Children's Co.

In this book, children will be able to see how one event can impact all others in just a single day. Before the day can officially begin and go off without a hitch, Mr. MacGregor must have a fresh egg from the little brown hen that lives on the family's farm. However, when Mr. MacGregor's son Jamie goes to fetch the egg, the hen won't lay it because there is no feed. Mr. Cameron can't deliver the feed because Mr. MacGregor won't whistle to Shep until he's had his breakfast. Shep won't herd the sheep to the hillside because Mr. MacGregor hasn't whistled. The sheep are blocking the man on the motorcycle, who's blocking the drummers in the van, who are blocking the boys who are trying to go camping, who are blocking the cattle from getting to their grazing ground, who's preventing Mr. Cameron from delivering the feed, which is the only way that Mr. MacGregor's day can begin! Jamie comes to the rescue though, running to Mr. Cameron's truck and asking for a handful of seed to take back to the hen.

It's a funny adventure that definitely shows children how a cycle of events takes place!

Friend, Catherine.
The Perfect Nest.
2007.
Candlewick Press.

This is a really really cute book! Jack the Cat has one great plan in mind! He's going to build the "perfect nest" to attract the perfect hen who will then lay the perfect egg so Jack can have a perfect omelet for breakfast! He sets to work and builds the nest. The nest is so perfect, in fact, that it attracts not only a chicken, but also a duck and a goose, all of which lay eggs in the nest. Jack is excited! He has not one egg, but three, which will make three omelets... or so he thinks! The three birds begin arguing over who the nest really belongs to and all wind up sitting on the nest. Jack goes to extreme measures to try and rid the nest of the three birds, claiming a fire, a flood and even "wolf." But nothing works. Instead, he tricks them away from the nest by claiming at the next farm there's an even better nest. Just as Jack reaches the nest to claim the eggs for himself, they begin to hatch! Suddenly, Jack becomes the mother of these three new babies and he's not at all amused! As time progresses, Jack realizes that his new job of "mothering" the babies and sitting on the nest with them does make it a "perfect nest" even though he never saw the "perfect omelet!

This is definitely worth the read!!!

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com.

Non-Fiction Monday!

I've had both of these books sitting around for some time now, waiting for a non-fiction Monday review... however, they've all passed me by until today!

Woods, Michael and Mary B.
Seven Natural Wonders of North America.
2009.
Lerner Publishing, Inc.

This book is a great resource for middle-grade children doing research projects about one of the Seven Natural Wonders of North America of for teachers of youngers students to use as a read aloud when focusing on one of the seven natural wonders.

There is much to be learned about each of the Seven Natural Wonders of North America:

1. Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada
   Readers find out about:
   
   • ancient reptiles
   • dinosaur boneyard
   • sedimentary rock where bones are encased
   • paleontologists finds
   • preserving this natural wonder
   • what a visit to Dinosaur Provincial Park might consist of
     
2. The Grand Canyon in Arizona
   It's gorgeous to see and almost as fun to learn about:
   
   • What makes the Grand Canyon Grand?
   • How was the Canyon carved?
   • The Canyon is a "storybook" of the Earth's history
   • Various groups who have resided in the Canyon
   • Worries about this natural wonder
   • What/How to explore during a visit to Grand Canyon National Park
     
3. Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada and New York
   Also known as the "Honeymoon Capital," readers of all ages will enjoy discovering Niagara Falls:
   
   • learn about the natural history - dating back to the Ice Age
   • the importance of location in its popularity (only 2 1/2 hours from me!)
   • tightrope walking and barrel dropping stunts
   • the source of power that the falls provide
   • positive/negative of the falls
   • visitors attractions/activities
     
4. Pacific Rim National Park in British Columbia, Canada
   Readers can learn about:
   
   • dangers faced by ships trying to cross the rim
   • rescue and hiking trails built by the government
   • the rain forest located within the park, as well as lakes, rivers, beaches, forests, meadows, mountains and valleys
   • the Broken Group Islands, a part of the park
   • what is/can be done to preserve Pacific Rim National Park
     
5. Paricutin Volcano in Michoacan, Mexico
   Learning about Volcanos:
   
   • What happens when a volcano erupts?
   • Destruction caused by volcanos
   • Volcanos as a tourist attraction
   • What makes a volcano erupt?
   • What is Volcano Country?
   • Settlers in/around Paricutin
6. Redwood Forests in Oregon and Northern California
   Children will love learning about:
   
   • the age of redwood trees
   • the ability of redwood trees to withstand very high winds
   • the home for plants and animals within these trees
   • the various uses of wood provided by the redwood trees
   • what is being done to protect the Redwood Forests
     
   *** Couple this section of the book with Jason Chin's Redwoods for a well-rounded lesson on the Redwood Forest!
   
7. Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho
   Exploring Yellowstone (through literature):
   
   • Where did the name "Yellowstone" come from?
   • Wonders within this Natural Wonder - Old Faithful, Giant, Giantess
   • Wildlife located within the Park
     
   • Protecting this tourist attraction
     

As you can see, there's a great deal that children will learn when browsing this book. It's not only great for children though... if you're a traveler, why not try and visit all of the Seven Natural Wonders of North America and create a scrapbook of your travels? Heck, this book even encourages readers to "Choose an Eighth Wonder" after reading and/or visiting the first seven!

Now that you've read about the seven natural wonders of North America, do a little research to choose an eighth wonder. You may enjoy working with a friend.

To do your research, look at some of the websites and books listed on pages 76 and 77. Look for places in North America that:

• are especially large
• are exceptionally beautiful
• were unknown to foreigners for many centuries
• are unlike any other place on earth

You might even try gathering phots and writing your own chapter on the eighth wonder!

How cool of a project would that be for older children, perhaps in the 4th-12th grades?!?!

Jenkins, Steve.
Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea.
2009.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Steve Jenkins does not disappoint in his latest non-fiction children's work! Readers are given a brief introduction about the ocean before setting sail on a virtual submarine of sorts, exploring the ocean to its greatest depths, The Marianas Trench, located 35,838 feet below the surface.

Oceans cover more than two-thirds of the globe's surface and well over half the planet lies beneath water more than a mile (1 1/2 kilometers) deep. We have explored only a small fraction of the oceans. In fact, more humans have walked on the moon than have visited the deepest spot in the sea.

This book is perfect for any child who loves the ocean and sea-life. It is very factual and will provide children with the chance to test your knowledge of ocean life!

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com.