A free ebook about Earthquakes from Sylvan Dell

I recently got an email from Sylvan Dell that I would like to share with you:

To help parents and teachers explain the Haiti tragedy to their children, Sylvan Dell has posted our Pandas’ Earthquake Escape eBook on our homepage free for the next 30 days. Our hearts go out to those suffering in  Chile and in Haiti, and we hope having access to this e-book will  help children understand the shifting plates and dynamic earth forces at work. We are proponents of using teaching moments, even tragic ones, to optimize learning. Listen to the news, read the picture book, use the 6-page non-fiction educational section in the back of the book, and then use the 50-page cross-curricular Teaching Activities section online. 

Pandas’ Earthquake Escape written by Phyllis Perry and with stunning illustrations by Susan Detwiler follows the adventures of a mother panda, LiLing, and her cub, Tengfei, for several days after the devastating earthquake that hit China two years ago. Perry’s story follows the two pandas’ quest to survive outside the comfort of their reserve. 

The eBook features read-aloud, auto page flip, and selectable English and Spanish  text and audio. This title is also available in hardcover and paperback. We hope this book is enjoyed and helps children understand world events around them.

Please click here to access the free ebook, and thank you Sylvan Dell for this special book. 

Vote for a "Read to Kids" Campaign

Launch a National "Read To Kids" Campaign

In the U.S. today, a stark disparity exists between the reading abilities of low-income and higher-income children. Only 50% of low-income 4th graders read at or above the basic level according to the Department of Education’s 2007 Nation’s Report Card. The implications of the growing literacy gap extend beyond the walls of our homes and our classrooms. According to Dr. G. Reid Lyon, Chief of Child Development and Behavior at the National Institute of Health, "surveys of adolescents and young adults with criminal records indicate that at least half have reading difficulties, and in some states the size of prisons a decade in the future is predicted by fourth grade reading failure rates."

According to the National Commission on Reading report, Becoming a Nation of Readers, “the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.”  However, The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study found that only 36% of kindergarten students of a low socioeconomic status were being read to every day by their parents.  In total, low-income children hear only half to one-third as many spoken words as children in more affluent households. 

By reading aloud with low-income children, we can help bridge the literacy gap. To accomplish this, we need a national campaign that emphasizes the importance of parents, teachers and community volunteers reading aloud to children at least 20 minutes a day from birth through high school. Similar to the national physical activity campaign that encourages kids to get their 60 minutes of physical activity every day, we need a similar campaign aimed at encouraging kids to get their 20 minutes of reading aloud every day.

By reading aloud with children, we can improve their interest in and attitudes toward reading and improve children’s fundamental literacy skills, including reading comprehension, vocabulary, reading ability, listening comprehension, attention span and ability to articulate thoughts. Being read to by an adult also helps build a child’s self-esteem and confidence.

A national “Read to Kids” campaign could engage national and local literacy organizations, schools, teachers, parents, authors, publishers and nearly every sector of business and society that understands that our nation's future depends on our children's literacy skills.

Please vote to support this important campaign by clicking here.

March is Youth Art Month

I am ashamed to say that I only just found out that March is Youth Art Month in the USA. I would have done a special feature on this special event much sooner if I had known about it. Sometimes trying to keep track of dozens of things at once does not always work, and I have to play catch up every so often. So, what is Youth Art Month anyway?

Youth Art Month was founded by the Crayon, Water Color & Craft Institute, Inc., the predecessor of the Art & Creative Materials Institute, Inc. (ACMI), in cooperation with the National Art Education Association, in 1961 and was initially called Children's Art Month. Its goal was to "emphasize the value of participating in art for all children." It was renamed Youth Art Month in 1969, to include secondary school students. In 1984, ACMI created the Council for Art Education, Inc. (CFAE) to oversee the annual observation of Youth Art Month. As of 2009, CFAE consisted of representatives of: ACMI, the National Art Education Association, "The SHIP" (a group of manufacturers of art materials), and the General Federation of Women's Clubs. The Craft & Hobby Association is also involved in Youth Art Month.

The main nation-wide component of Youth Art Month is a competition called School Flags Across America . . . Flying High. As part of the competition, each state Youth Art Month Chairperson selects a theme that is representative of that state and of the spirit of Youth Art Month, and students design flags around that theme. The winning design from each state is then made into an actual flag, and the 50 student-designed flags are then displayed throughout Washington, D.C. following an opening ceremony held the first week of March to commemorate the start of Youth Art Month. The winning students and their families are invited to attend this opening ceremony in Washington, D.C. and the flags are displayed throughout the city for March, and then displayed at the Youth Art Month booth at the annual convention of the National Art Education Association.

Governors and mayors throughout the United States issue proclamations declaring March as Youth Art Month, and many United States Senators, Member of Congress, andstate legislators take the opportunity to make public statements in favor of art education.

Observation of Youth Art Month is carried out by volunteers around the country, including art educators, parents, librarians, leaders of youth organizations, businesspeople, and students.

Activities depend on the efforts of local volunteers, and include:

• display of student art at art museums, libraries, and other places throughout the community;
• talks, forums, and discussions on art;
• partnerships with local newspapers, radio stations, and TV stations to raise the profile of youth art and art education in the community;
• local art competitions, often with winning student art displayed somewhere prominent in the community (e.g. at local bus stops);
• cross-promotions to raise awareness of other local charities or to beautify the community;
• special events, such as sidewalk chalk displays, ice sculpture carving, and craft workshops.

For more information take a look at this booklet from the Council for Art Education. 

Women's History Month - A review

March is Women's History Month in the USA and I have collected some wonderful books to share with you. I would like to begin with a splendid book that is not only fascinating and beautifully written, but that is also really lovely to look at.

Mermaid Queen: A True story

Shana Corey

Illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham

Nonfiction Picture Book

Ages 6 to 8

Scholastic, 2009, 9780439698351

   When Annette Kellerman was still very young, her legs developed a weakness and she had great difficulty walking. To help his daughter to get strong again, Annette’s father taught her how to swim, and he encouraged her to swim as much as she could. It wasn’t long before Annette was swimming very well, and soon she started to win races and break records.

   Annette had grown up watching people dance in her parent’s home, and she had always wanted to be able to dance with grace herself. In the water, she found a way to do be “beautiful and graceful and fancy-free.” She “whirled and twirled. She dipped and danced and dived.” Annette had created something new – water ballet.

   Annette was eager to share her love of swimming with others, and so she and her father left their home in Australia and traveled to London. The English were appalled at the idea of a girl swimmer performing in public. Annette decided that she needed to do something “drastic” to get them to pay attention to her, to get them to give her a chance. Annette had to “make waves.”

   This delightful true story is both interesting and inspiring. Young readers will come to appreciate the fact that the Annette Kellerman’s world was very different from the one that that we live in today. There were many things that girls were not allowed to do, and it took the courage of  women like Annette to challenge the ‘rules’ that everyone lived by.

   Throughout the book Shana Corey’s unique text is perfectly complimented by Edwin Fotheringham’s vintage looking illustrations. Readers will find more information about Annette in an author’s note at the back of the book. 

You can find many more titles that are suitable for Women's History Month on the TTLG website here. 

The new Listen-Along Storybook Program from Sterling, and a book giveway

Recently the folks at Sterling sent me an email to tell me about a new program that they are launching. It is called Listen-Along Storybook and I think it is a wonderful idea. Sterling has created delightful audio recordings of some of their books for children to enjoy, and the recordings are free! This is what Sterling has to say about their new program:

LISTEN-ALONG STORYBOOK, a website and iTunes podcast, lets consumers download audiobooks of select Sterling picture books. It will delight children and bring backlist titles back into the spotlight. LISTEN-ALONG STORYBOOK rolls out with eight of our most popular titles. Every book in the program willl have a sticker directing readers to the website, www.listenalongstorybook.com, where they can get the free downloads or listen to them as streaming audio.

You can sample one of the books, Cesar takes a break, by clicking here. You might also enjoy seeing how this title was turned into an audiobook. Here is a podcast about how the audiobook of Cesar takes a break was recorded. To view the podcast with a full screen double click on it. 





Here is my review of the print version of Cesar takes a break.

Cesar takes a break

Susan Collins Thoms

Illustrated by Roge

Picture Book

Ages 4 to 7

Sterling, 2008, 1402736533

   Cesar is an iguana who was adopted by Ms. Lee and who now lives in a second-grade classroom at Pinebrook Elementary School. Cesar has a very comfortable life, and he thinks the world of his children, who happily tend to his every need. He often wonders “how this class every managed” before he arrived on the scene. With his help class time runs smoothly for everyone, and Cesar is understandably very proud of his abilities.

   Then the most dreadful thing happens! Cesar learns that he is going to be all alone for an entire week. School will be closed for Spring Break and Cesar is going to have to make do with being fed by Mr. Will, the school custodian. For a day or two Cesar mopes around feeling lonely and sorry for himself. Then, being an iguana who does let life get him down, Cesar decides that he too will have a break. He will take advantage of the Spring Break situation to explore the school at his leisure.

   Children will love sharing Cesar’s adventures as he makes friends, eats wonderful meals, explores new places, and discovers that he has even more talents than he thought he did. With a delightful and often very funny story and charming artwork, this is a picture book that children will love to share with others. Iguana fans will find a section at the back of book full of interesting facts about green iguanas. 

GIVEAWAY!
Send me an email and I will enter you in a drawing to win all eight of the books that are in the Listen Along Storybook program. Three of you will be lucky winners! These are the books that are included in the giveaway.

Good luck!

The new issue of Through the Looking Glass is online

                                       

The March and April edition of Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews is now online. Please come and visit the site to see the new issue.

For this issue I have chosen to do a special feature about saving the environment, in part in honor of Earth Day. Many children are passionate about doing their part to keep Mother Earth beautiful and green. They are often the driving force behind family recycling programs, and children all over the world have created and supported all kinds of environmental organizations and programs. The books in this feature will educate, inspire, and entertain young readers of all ages.

April is also the month when many Americans celebrate Arbor Day. I have put together a delightful collection of books that are about trees. Some are informative nonfiction titles, while others are stories that will amuse, touch, and delight readers of all ages.

Here in Oregon spring is making itself felt already, and for many people March and April are the months when they start getting busy in the garden.  Spending time in the garden gives children a wonderful opportunity to connect with nature, watch things grow, and - of course - get dirty!

In honor of National Poetry Month, I have reviewed several splendid poetry titles. One in particular is quite delightful. It is called A Mirror to Nature: Poems about Reflection with poems by Jane Yolen and photographs by Jason Stemple.

This month's editor's choice title is Julie Andrews' Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies. This is a splendid collection that readers of all ages will enjoy.

-:Bookish Events for March and April:-

March is Women's History Month (USA)
March 2nd is Read Across America Day (USA)
National March into Literacy Month (USA)
April is National Poetry Month (USA)
April 2nd is International Children's Book Day
National Library Week April 4th - 10th (USA)
Young People's Poetry Week April 12th - 18th (USA)
National Week of the Ocean April 4th - 10th (USA)


I hope you find a way to celebrate some, if not all,  of these bookish events. If I have missed an important bookish event, please drop me a line to tell me about it.

Don't forget to look at the Bookish Calendar page for a lot more reviews about Harriet Tubman, Saint Patrick's Day, Thomas Jefferson, William Shakespeare,  Leonardo da Vinci, and much more.

At the beginning of this year I launched the new website, and all the new content for every issue is on this new website. However, a large part of the old content is still on the old site. You can still get to this content, but it is not intergrated into the new site. Moving the 4,000 reviews over is going to take some time, and I appreciate your patience while I work on this.

I hope you enjoy this new issue, and I look forward to hearing from you.

   

Black History Month - two reviews

Recently I have been spending a good bit of my free time reconnecting myself to the world of music. I played the flute when I was a child and teenager - and then I just stopped. Now I am playing the flute again, and I am teaching myself the penny whistle. Over the last few weeks I have been reminded of the fact that music can truly offer solace and give your heart a lift.

The books that I have reviewed below are not only perfect titles for black history month, but they also look at the way in which songs can tell the story of a people. The will help readers to see and appreciate that music truly does have the power to give people strength and hope during hard times.

Let Freedom Sing

Vanessa Newton

Picture Book

Ages 6 and up

Blue Apple Books, 2009, 978-1-934706-90-9

   During the Civil Rights movement marchers, protestors, and activists had to face all kinds of obstacles. They were ridiculed, arrested, imprisoned, beaten, and bombed. It was a hard time and often, to lift their spirits and to give them strength, the activists raised their voices in song. Sometimes the words they sang described what they were doing: sitting on a bus, sitting in a jail cell, or participating in a sit in. Sometimes their songs were about “letting the best in themselves shine the brightest.” The song “This little light of mine,” was just such a song.

   In this powerful and memorable book, Vanessa Newton takes the words of “This little light of mine,” a gospel children’s song, weaving her own words around the lyrics to show her readers how people from all walks of life “let their lights shine” for the civil rights cause. She shows how the Jim Crow laws kept white and black separate, and she shows how people dared to fight those laws without resorting to violence.

   Throughout the book, Vanessa Newton marries the text with her delightfully warm and rich vintage style multimedia art. The pictures capture special moments in the civil rights movement, including the day when Rosa Parks refused to move from her bus seat, and the day when Ruby Bridges dared to walk alone to attend an all-white elementary school in the South. 

Freedom Song: Young Voices and the Struggle for Civil Rights 

Mary C. Turck

Nonfiction (with an audio CD)

For ages 10 and up

Chicago Review Press, 2009, 978-1-55652-773-9

Many of us think that the American Civil Rights movement began in the 50’s and 60’s. In actual fact, it began many years before when slaves found ways to fight back against their oppressors. They learn to read and write in secret, they ran away to northern states and into Canada, they refused to give up their hopes and dreams, and they sang songs. The songs they sang gave the slaves the strength to go on, they gave them hope, and they gave them the means to ‘talk’ about their dreams for the future.

   Many years after these melodies were first sung in cotton fields and on plantations, these same songs, and other like them, were sung in churches where African Americans came together to talk about how they would fight against segregation. Songs filled the air as people marched to protest segregated buses, schools, bus stations, restaurants, and other public places. Sometimes old traditional spirituals were given new lyrics to suit the times.

   This carefully researched book will help readers to see the role that music has had in the struggle for civil rights in American. Among other things, the author looks at the origins of the songs that were sung, the history of the movement, and she also tells the story of the Chicago Children’s Choir. 

Please use the search box at the top of the page to purchase these titles on Amazon.com

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Sweepstakes!

The film, based on Jeff Kinney's #1 bestselling book, is now a live action feature movie
from Twentieth Century Fox, in theaters Friday, March 19.

ENTER HERE FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A PRIVATE SCREENING FOR YOUR ENTIRE SCHOOL!

One grand prize for schools. Sweepstakes closes March 10, 2010, so enter today!
50 Runners-up will receive:
A complete set of Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, including the new The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary, Jeff Kinney's original book about how the movie was made, and a cardboard Wimpy Kid standee.

Copyright © 2010 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID is trademark of Wimpy Kid, Inc.
© 2009 Wimpy Kid, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Black History Month - a review

Yesterday I read and reviewed a very powerful book about what it was like to grow up during the the days when the civil rights movement was in full swing in the southern states. The book was written by a woman whose father marched next to Martin Luther King Jr, and who played a critical role in the struggle to secure civil rights for African Americans. Here is my review:

Child of the Civil Rights Movement

Paula Young Shelton

Illustrated by Raul Colon

Picture Book

Ages 6 to 8

Random House, 2010, 9780375843143

    Paula was born in New York and she has never experienced the Jim Crow laws that her southern parents grew up with. She has not seen the ugliness of racism, and she has not been made to feel like a lesser person because of her skin color. Now her parents have decided that they need to lend their support to the civil rights movement in the south; it is time to go home.

   When they get to Atlanta, Paula’s father, Andrew Young, joins the battle for civil rights beside Martin Luther King Jr. To Paula he is “Uncle Martin,” and he is the kind man who plays with her in the pool and who comes to dinner. At these dinners, Paula listens to what Uncle Martin says and to the opinions of Ralph Abernathy, Randolph Blackwell, and the other men and women who are leading the effort to get justice and freedom for African Americans. Together, over the baked chicken and the creamy macaroni and cheese, this “family” decides how they should proceed with their campaigns. Marches, sit-ins, and boycotts are all planned around the dinner table. The underlying theme is that there is to be no violence. Even if they are beaten and imprisoned, the African Americans should not respond with aggression.

   This first hand account as described by Paula Young Shelton, Andrew Young’s daughter, is not only incredibly moving, but it is also very informative. Readers will get a very real sense of what it was like to be an African American child who was living in the middle of the civil rights movement. They will meet some of the key players in the movement, and will come to understand how much southern African Americans suffered under the boot of the Jim Crow laws.

   Raul Colon’s distinctively evocative illustrations perfectly compliment the text.

You can purchase the book on Amazon here.

An Anniversary - Composer George Frederic Handel's birthday

On this day in 1685 George Frederic Handel was born. I can still remember going to a concert of his Music for the Royal Fireworks when I was quite young. The performance was outdoors, and the music was accompanied by a real fireworks display, which was coordinated to compliment the music. It was wonderful. While I was driving around in my car today my local public radio station was playing Handel's Fireworks in honor of his birthday, and I was reminded of that concert and how much I have enjoyed Handel's music over the years.

I have reviewed two books about Handel that you can view on the Handel feature page. I hope you enjoy the reviews.

Here is a video Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks - with fireworks!