Trueit, Trudi Strain.
MY TOP SECRET DARES & DON'TS
New York : Aladdin, 2017
IL 5-8, RL 5.7
ISBN 1481469053
Kestral is on her way to British Columbia. Her grandfather has passed away and now Kestral, her mother and her brother will be spending the summer at the lodge to help out. Kestral discovers that there is something going on at the lodge and she tries to get her family to listen to her. But when you are only 12, sometimes you don't always make your point. As the summer progresses, it become clear that something is going on and Kestral wants to help her grandmother keep the lodge.
Podcast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/Ou6wnBqZD4yUc
Rusch, Elizabeth.
THE MUSIC OF LIFE : BARTOLOMEO CHRISTOFORI AND THE INVENTION OF THE PIANO
New York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2017
IL K-3, RL 4.6
ISBN 1481444840
Have you ever wondered how -- and why -- the piano was invented? They are everywhere now and many people can play these instruments in varying abilities. But what is the history of the piano? Way back in the 1600s in Italy, a young man named Bartolomeo Christofori was a talented harpsicord maker. His instruments were talked about around the country. He was even invited by the Prince to come to the palace and work for the court. This was great but Bartomoleo wanted to create an instrument that had more range than the harpsicord or the clavicord. He worked tirelessly year after year and finally came up with the pianoforte. Now the musician could play loud or soft and really control the music. And can you believe this? People hated it. Musicians couldn't figure out how to play it. Poor Bartomaleo. All his work and no one liked it. Why do you think it is so popular today?
For those of you who wonder how an author finds information while writing a book, Rusch given us details of how she discovered the facts for this book.
Podcast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/6YIXror5YNaQg
Rooney, Anne.
YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO LIVE WITHOUT INSECTS!
New York : Franklin Watts, 2015
IL 3-6, RL 5.7
ISBN 0531213625
Insects! Yuck, what a pain. Did you know that insects have been around a lot longer than people? Actually, they were the first type of animal to come out of the water and live on land about 450 million years ago. And did you know that there are about 6-10 million species of insect? They account for about 90 % of all life forms on Earth, not counting bacteria. Although some insects spread diseases like malaria and the plague, there are a lot of beneficial insects. Insects that are good for us? Come along and find out.
Podcast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/biM9UnLj33XCP
Paul, Miranda.
ONE PLASTIC BAG : ISATOU CEESAY AND THE RECYCLING WOMEN OF GAMBIA
New York : Millbrook Press, 2015
IL K-3, RL 3.0
ISBN 1467716081
Isatou Ceesay livedd in Gambia in Africa. When she droped a basket of fruit, she looked for another way to carry the fruit. She found a plastic bag. She didn't know what it was but it certainly would hold the fruit. Many of the people in the village began using plastic bags. But when they found that the bags broke quickly, they threw them away. But all the trash caused problems in the village. Isatou and her friends knew they had to do something to keep the bags out of the trash. Can you think of a way to reuse plastic bags?
Podccast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/8fEuOGElKDcSo
Maciejewski, Mark.
I AM FARTACUS
New York : Aladdin, 2017
IL 5-8, RL 5.6
ISBN 1481464205
Maciek Trzebiatowski (pronounced Maw-check Chub-a-tess-key) is better known as Chub to his friends. Not that he has very many. It is pretty much just Moby now. But everyone certainly knows Chub. There aren't many bald immigrants in the middle school. He used to be best friends with the Arch back in 2nd grade but they are now enemies. And Chub will do any mean trick he can think of to bring the Arch down. When the Arch becomes captain of the track team and class president, the rivalry intensifies.
Podcast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/1CSKbSNTe8j2Y
Rosenthal, Amy Krouse.
ON THE
SPOT
New York : Random House, 2017
IL K-3
ISBN 1101932309
“When I woke up this morning, what did I see? A sweet little . .
. spot chirping at me.” What would you use to fill in the
blank? Each page of the book gives you an
opportunity to fill in the blank. Not only with words
though. There are reusable stickers that you can use to
fill in the blanks. Have fun with this interactive book.
Podcast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/GkzNElAVyJV2g
Richmond, Lori.
PAX AND BLUE
New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2017
IL K-3, RL 2.3
ISBN 1481451324
Do you have a pet? Maybe a cat or dog? Well, Pax doesn't have any pets so he makes friends with a pigeon in the park. He names him Blue and he stops to talk with him everyday and gives him treats. One day Pax's mother is in a big hurry and whisks Pax away. Blue tries to find him but gets lost. Oh no. Poor Blue. Can he ever find his way home?
Podcast: https://spark.adobe.com/video/CPu648OdYiH6b
New York : Aladdin, 2017
