This week – a middle grade favorite. And next week, I’ll be launching a monthly series from published authors entitled “Mining for Heart.” Stay tuned. Title: Pax Written by: Sara Pennypacker Illustrated by: Jon Klassen Balzer & Bray/Harper Collins, 2016, fiction, 288 pages Suitable for ages: 8-12 Lexile: 760 Themes/topics: nature, war, family, relationships, pets, grief Opening: … More Pax by Sara Pennypacker
How much do you know about the puzzling platypus? Title: Platypus Written by: Sue Whiting Illustrated by: Mark Jackson Candlewick Press, 2016, nonfiction Suitable for ages: 5+ Themes/topics: animals, nature, Australia Opening: Beyond the snaking bend in the creek, where the water lazes in a still green pool, a scraggly gum tree perches on the … More Platypus
Literature, Science, and Math, OH MY! Title: Tree of Wonder, The Many Marvelous Lives of a Rainforest Tree Written by: Kate Messner Illustrated by: Simona Mulazzani Chronicle, 2015, nonfiction Suitable for ages: 5-8 Themes/topics: rainforest, math, animals Opening: Deep in the forest, in the warm-wet green, ONE ALMENDRO TREE grows, stretching its branches toward the … More Tree of Wonder
This book is just pure fun. The rhymes flow, and the illustrations are lively and imaginative. Great for kids who love dogs. Writers, take a look at the stanzas and page breaks. … More It’s Only Stanley
Title: Actual Size
Written and Illustrated by: Steve Jenkins
Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004
Suitable for ages: 4-8
Themes/topics: animals, nature, size
Opening: Did you ever look a giant squid in the eye? Have you shaken hands with a gorilla or been face to face with a tiger? All of the animals in this book are shown at actual size, so you can see how you measure up to creatures both large and small.
Brief synopsis: (from barnesandnoble.com) How big is a crocodile? What about a tiger, or the world’s largest spider? Can you imagine a tongue that is two feet long or an eye that’s bigger than your head?
Sometimes facts and figures don’t tell the whole story.
Sometimes you need to see things for yourself—at their actual size.
Links to resources:
Activity page with math and science ideas on Parent/Teacher Resource page. … More Actual Size
Beth Anderson, Children's Writer 