Tuesday, October 5, 2010

More Fall Books...

Time ZonesTime Zones by David A. Adler and illustrated by Edward Miller was one of the books in my pile after my visit to our amazing Columbus Metropolitan Library. This book is filled with fun facts and even some history on how Time Zones came about. This book answer questions like What is Daylight Savings Time? why do we reset our watch when we travel from one city to the other? Has it always been this way? Why do we have several time zones? Questions like these and much more are explored in this book but in a fun, concise manner. Even though it contains many facts, the book keeps a light approach to this topic by balancing it with some fun illustrations created by Edward Miller.
While discovering this book, I learned that the author has written other nonfiction books on the topics of Math, Science, and Economics. Definitely worth discovering, especially well written nonfiction books for the young ones!

Rules for SchoolOh how I wished I've seen this book earlier in the school year! But it will still be a fun read aloud no matter what. The very young author, Alec Greven, gives his audience all the experience he has earned in his 7 years of life about how to survive school, especially the first day of school. Written in a straight forward, and with some spice of humor here and there, Alec Greven knows how to entertain his audience starting with rule # 1 that states that "You have to let go of summer." I could've have used that advice as well. :-)  He simply states that "it is a good idea to switch to "school time" three days before the first day of school. Smart kid. And of course one of his last rules: Appreciate your teacher is one of my favorite. A fun read aloud for our young children in Elementary School!

Eight DaysAnd on a much more serious note, the book Eight Days, A Story of Haiti by Edwidge Danticat is one that will steal your heart for sure.  This book is a tribute to the brave children of Haiti for their courage to live and survive. Edwidge Danticat brings us the real story of Junior, a seven year-old boy trapped beneath his house after the terrible earthquake that forever changed this country.  Junior's amazing willingness to live and his incredibly smart way of using his imagination, helps him wait for the rescuers and for his time to finally be saved and healed after 7 days of being trapped under his own roof.
The amazing work of the artist, Alix Delinois is a perfect compliment. He knew how to paint Haiti since this is his hometown, his country, his people. Please don't miss the opportunity to bring this book into your classroom! It will leave so much to think about!

Enjoy the journey dear friends! I'm excited to see what this new season will bring in terms of books and experiences for our young readers and writers!