Cheryl Bardoe at Cover to Cover

I went to hear Cheryl Bardoe speak at Cover to Cover yesterday. I am on a mission to find more great nonfiction for kids and I picked up Cheryl's newest book MAMMOTHS AND MASTODONS: TITANS OF THE ICE AGE
a few weeks ago.


I loved it immediately and think the topic, writing and visuals will appeal to kids. As I have said before, I think it is really important that we have lots of nonfiction that kids could read cover to cover. To build stamina for nonfiction and to immerse themselves in topics they love, reading lots on a topic is important. This is one of those great books that upper elementary/middle school kids could read from cover to cover. This book is the story of a recent discovery of a fully frozen baby mammoth. Because the mammoth was so well preserved, scientists learned a great deal from the discovery. This book is the story of the work that the scientists did and the things they discovered that might help us in the future. The book is filled with photos, illustrations and diagrams and is packed with information about mammoths and their disappearance. "Lyuba' as the baby mammoth has been named, is part of a traveling exhibit at the Chicago Field Museum.

There are several articles about the baby mammoth and the traveling exhibit in Chicago:
USA TODAY
DAILY HERALD
ABC NEWS

Bardoe's first book GREGOR MENDEL: THE FRIAR WHO GREW PEAS, is another book that I love. A great biography about the worlds first geneticist. This biography explains the experiments that Mendel did with peas in a way that children can begin to understand concepts related to genes. Told in narrative, we learn a great deal about Mendel's passion for nature as well as his scientific contribution to the world.

So glad I was able to hear Cheryl Bardoe yesterday. She has a gift for writing about complex topics in a way that makes them accessible to kids. If you have not visited her website, she has great resources for teachers.


An aside: To highlight Cheryl Bardoe's books, Cover to Cover had a digital frame on the check-out counter. The books were highlighted on the frame. It caught my eye immediately and I began to think about what a great tool this would be for the library. A frame can hold so many pictures and the images are so easy to change and update. I think I will buy one to use to highlight new books, certain books by an author, etc. Just another way to highlight books for kids--this digital frame idea seems brilliant to me!

A Community Garden Booklist

Our school has started a community garden and everyone is excited about it. Our third grade classes worked all year to get the garden designed and created it in the spring. This coming year, it will be up and running and most of the school will be involved in some way.

Knowing that the whole school will be busy working on and thinking about the garden and that the kids will be extra excited this fall, I have been keeping my eyes open for books that might connect in some ways to the garden.  I am envisioning an area of the library dedicated to gardens, etc. similar to the inquiry displays set up at THE ALLEN CENTRE.  I have learned so much about what is possible in an elementary library from visiting their site. If you have not had a chance to look at the site and the invitations they create for kids, they are amazing. Connecting that thinking to the thinking I get from Georgia Heard and her book A PLACE FOR WONDER,  I am hoping to create a space for exploring ideas connected to gardening while also including a variety of books that invite children to think in different directions.  You never know what the work in the garden might spark in terms of an interest for a child so I am trying to be broad in my connections at this point. These are the books on my list so far:

GREGOR MENDEL: THE FRIAR WHO GREW PEAS by Cheryl Bardoe is a great picture book biography that fascinates me. This is a great introduction to genetics and the man behind the thinking about heredity in plants.  This is a longer picture book and one that might be interesting to older students. It is also a great story about someone who did what they loved and made a difference in the world.


FIRST GARDEN: THE WHITE HOUSE GARDEN AND HOW IT GREW by Robbin Gourley is a new book that focuses on Michelle Obama's garden and the purpose behind it.  It tells about Michelle Obama's goals for the garden, how it came to be and the history of gardens at the White House.  I think this is a timely one to include this year. Kids will like the story about something that happened so recently.


RAH, RAH, RADISHES!:  A VEGETABLE CHANT by April Pulley Sayre is one that Mary Lee reviewed here a few weeks ago. After the review, I had to buy it. This is a perfect one for shared reading and the photographs are gorgeous!



HOW DID THAT GET IN MY LUNCHBOX by Chris Butterworth is a great book about how the foods we eat came to be in our lunchboxes. Starting at the beginning, each food is examined so children understand where food comes from.  The art adds a great deal to the information.



SEED, SOIL, SUN by Cris Peterson is one of my favorite nonfiction picture books this year.  It has amazing photographs and is written with language that is amazing and surprising at the same time.





BUSY IN THE GARDEN by George Shannon is a poetry book that I'll include. This one is great for all ages, but especially fun for young children and for shared reading. (April's blog review is here.)




DO YOU KNOW WHICH ONES WILL GROW? by Susan Shea doesn't connect exactly to the garden but focuses on the difference between living and nonliving things. It was a favorite read aloud with young children this spring so I think they'll love revisiting it this fall.





MY GARDEN by Kevin Henkes How can I not include this wonderful book?  This one is ALWAYS checked out from our library!  (A book on my list of BOOKS I COULD READ A MILLION TIMES)