Extreme Animals:The Toughest Creatures on Earth

Written by Nicola Davies

Illustrated by Neal Layton

Most enjoyed by 4th through 8th graders

Did you know that wood frogs use sugar as a type of antifreeze? This lowers the point at which their bodies freeze to below zero, allowing them to survive in very cold temperatures.

How about this tidbit - bacteria that live near volcanoes are called thermophiles. They love temperatures that range from 176F to 230F. Now, we humans might like it hot but we sure can't stand that kind of heat!

'Extreme Animals' is full of interesting information about the creatures in the world around us that survive and even thrive in conditions too extreme for people, from Arctic cold to bottom-of-the-ocean heat plumes. Cartoon-like illustrations help emphasize the extremes found in the text. While the text is difficult for younger readers, it's certainly a book that could be read aloud to them. In fact, they'd find that the animals that survive in extreme climates in our world make reality TV show survivors look like wimpy kids!

Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly

Written by Alan Madison

Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes

Most enjoyed by Kindergartners through 3rd Graders

Velma is starting first grade and she wants to make her mark. Everyone remembers her two big sisters for all of the special things they did, like singing beautifully and running very fast. Velma tries to draw attention to herself but her choices get her into a little trouble. Velma is thrilled when Mr. Plexipuss begins a science unit on butterflies. Could learning about butterflies be the very thing to make Velma special? When the class takes a field trip to the Butterfly Conservatory, Velma is able to put her butterfly knowledge to work in a way everyone is sure to remember.

I love Velma's spunk. Here's a first grader who has such enthusiasm it could be contagious. She plunges into learning about butterflies with gusto. You almost get the feeling that she'd have the same excitement even if she were studying slugs. Author Alan Madison has perfectly captured that single-mindedness many youngsters have about their favorite subjects.

Add 'Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly' to a science unit on butterflies or as a family read-aloud before going to a butterfly conservatory. The various caterpillars and butterflies depicted on the book's end papers will give you lots of species to watch for. How many of them can be found here where we live?

Birds

Written by Kevin Henkes

Illustrated by Laura Dronzek

Most enjoyed by Preschoolers and Kindergartners

One of the most loved aspects of spring is the return of birds. Many don't leave during the winter, giving us a reason to fill our bird feeders and toss out breadcrumbs. But the return of spring is heralded by a robin and bird song. Because we're so aware of birds now, it's a perfect time to savor 'Birds', the newest book from Kevin Henkes.

Birds come in many colors and sizes. They can be very beautiful in the winter when one red bird sits in a leafless tree. They can be fun to watch, like when they all fly away from a tree all at once. We enjoy birds for lots of reasons, but especially for their songs.

The bright, bold colors used throughout the book give it instant eye appeal. Thick black lines outline the simple pictures, making the colors used all the more vibrant. The strong simple drawings paired with the spare text make this a perfect read aloud for the youngest of listeners. Don't be surprised if the story is followed by a walk outside for some bird watching. The two go together perfectly!

Scat

Written by Carl Hiaasen

Most enjoyed by 5th through 8th graders

Bunny Starch is the most hated teacher at Truman School. Her expectations are high, she's demanding and intimidating. One day, during class, she's singles out Duane Scrod, Jr, for questioning. As her questioning becomes stronger, Duane bites off the end of the pencil she's pointing at him, chews it up, and swallows it. The next day, he doesn't show up for class. No matter; the class leaves on their scheduled field trip to Black Vine Swamp without him. There, Mrs. Starch tells the students to stay together in their groups, but the field trip is interrupted when the swamp begins to burn. The students gather at the bus and watch as Mrs. Starch goes back into the burning swamp to look for a student's inhaler. And doesn't return.

Then, or the next day, or the day afterwards.

It appears that something terrible has happened to Mrs. Starch. Nick and Marta, who've both braved Mrs. Starch's biology class and watched her disappear on the field trip, aren't so sure Mrs. Starch has met her end. When Mrs. Starch leaves a message for the headmaster that she's taking a leave of absence due to a family emergency, Nick and Marta are convinced that there's something funny going on. Mrs. Starch doesn't have any family, so why would she have a family emergency. Furthermore, could her disappearance has something to do with Duane's disappearance? Duane has a reputation for being a pyromaniac, but would he go so far as to set a fire that would hurt a teacher? And what was that scream Nick and Marta heard in the swamp? Could it be related somehow?

Carl Hiaasen has previously written two very popular eco-friendly books for young readers in 'Hoot' and 'Flush'. Fans will not be disappointed with his newest, 'Scat'. Combining concern for an endangered panther with the get-rich-quick schemes of an oil-seeking millionaire, 'Scat' is full of Hiaasen's trademark quirky characters and loads of mystery and adventure to keep you turning the pages turn quickly. You'll find 'Scat' a fun read that is hard to put down.

Wangari's Trees of Peace:A True Story from Africa

Written and illustrated by Jeanette Winter

Most enjoyed by peace lovers everywhere

Wangari lives in Kenya and grows up under the beautiful green trees. As a child, she helps her mother gather firewood from those same trees. When Wangari is older, she gets a scholarship to continue her schooling in America, but when she returns home, she finds the trees gone. Women who relied on them for firewood now must travel greater distances to find enough wood for their homes. The trees have been cut down to make way to more buildings. Enough, thinks Wangari. She begins to plant trees on her own, then soon begins a program paying women to plant even more trees. Often laughed at for her efforts, even arrested, Wangari persists until her world is restored to the green forests of her childhood.

This is the true story of Wangari Maathai, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts at restoring the ecology of Kenya. Through her persistence and dedication, she made her world a beautiful place again. How inspiring! So what are you doing to make your world a better place?

Frogs

Written and photographed by Nic Bishop

Most enjoyed by 1st through 4th Graders

Frogs. Gotta love 'em. And even if you don't, check out 'Frogs' by Nic Bishop. Did you know that there is a frog whose skin is see-through? Called a glass frog, it's skin is so thin you can see it's heart pumping! There's a great picture of one on page 10. Ever heard of the strawberry dart poison frog? It lives in the rain forest and lays it's eggs on the forest floor. When the tadpoles hatch, the mother frog lets the tadpole wriggle onto it's back before climbing up a tree to deposit the tadpole safely into the wet leaves of a bromeliad. There she will care for the tadpole until it turns into a frog. Take a look at how colorful it is on page 42.

The photography in 'Frogs' is spectacular. With close-ups galore and facts about all kinds of frogs, this book will fascinate you even if you don't like frogs. It might even turn you into a frog lover!

Surprising Sharks

By Nicola Davies

Illustrated by James Croft

Most enjoyed by Kindergartners through 3rd graders

Sharks fascinate us, don't they? From predator killers to tiny critters that can fit in the palm of your hand, sharks thrill and terrify at the same time. 'Surprising Sharks', one of our Monarch award titles this year, is just the right book for sharing with the youngest shark lover in your house.

Sharks come in all shapes and sizes, from the littlest dwarf lantern shark (6 inches) to the whale shark (39 feet, 4 inches). Try measuring those lengths out on your living room floor to get a sense of just how big, or small, sharks can be. Bold, colorful illustrations show the variety of sharks and draw readers into a shark's world. Factual information is presented on two levels, with the simpler, more general information presented in bold letters while the more detailed information is given in paragraphs of smaller text. The two levels makes the book appealing to a wide range of readers.

Young readers will find that our copies of 'Surprising Sharks' have an extra bonus - a CD that includes music and additional facts. Pop the CD in the car stereo on a road trip and everyone can learn about sharks!

The Secret Science Project that Almost Ate the School

By Judy Sierra

Illustrated by Stephen Gammell

Most enjoyed by anyone who has ever done a science fair project

It's science fair time here at Zion. Our 5th through 8th graders are just starting to figure out what science topic they want to investigate over the next two-and-a-half months. Those that are desperate for an idea might want to stay away from 'The Secret Science Project that Almost Ate the School' by Judy Sierra.

Our narrator just can't think of a science fair project as cool as growing corn and peas with an ant farm or curing a disease. She resorts to the Internet and finds a wonderful product called Professor Swami's Super Slime. Guaranteed to win our narrator first prize, she opens the package but doesn't read the directions enclosed. The result is a project that takes a mind of it's own and doesn't quite follow the scientific method.

Anyone with fond (or not so fond) memories of a science fair project will enjoy 'The Secret Science Project that Almost Ate the School'. Stephen Gammell's illustrations lend just the right touch of outrageousness to the story. Be sure to be careful when looking for a project on the Internet. You may end up with a little more than you bargained for!

The Dumpster Diver

By Janet S. Wong

Illustrated by David Roberts

Most enjoyed by Preschoolers through 3rd grade

Happy Earth Day! In honor of this special day set aside to take care of our earth home, we have a title called 'The Dumpster Diver'. Steve is the neighborhood dumpster diver. Once a month he dons a yellow scuba diver's jacket, a face mask and a snorkle to dive into the dumpster behind the appartment building. He finds interesting stuff but it's what he does with the stuff that's so cool. A pair of broken skis, some nuts, bolts, wheels and a torn umbrella become a paraskater. An old blender becomes a lamp, a lamp becomes a table and so on. Steve is an expert at turning junk into treasure and the kids learn fast. When Steve has an accident while diving one day, the kids put their learning to work and create something perfect just for Steve.

Recycling trash into treasure is one way to keep garbage out of a garbage dump. Since this week is TV Turn-Off week, you've got some time on your hands so why not raid the recyling bin and see what you can find? Can you turn what you were going to throw away into something useable? Dumpster Diver Steve would be proud!

Tracking Trash:

Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion

By Loree Griffith Burns

Great non-fiction for 5th through 8th graders

Alrighty, folks, it's time for a little non-fiction on the blog today. The book we're going to...wait, wait, wait! Don't switch to another site just because I said non-fiction. Yes, the stuff is good for you just like eating your vegetables, but it's actually pretty interesting and easier to read than you think. Probably a lot easier than eating spinach. So hang with me.....

Back in 1990, a ship carrying stuff from Korea to the U.S. got caught in a bad storm in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Five containers of Nike shoes (about 80,000 all total) were washed overboard. Somehow, the container broke open and out floated the sneakers. No one knew much about the spill until the sneakers started showing up on beaches along the California coast. Now, who loses that many sneakers when they're at the beach? The story made the papers and caught the attention of scientist Curt E.'s mom. She showed the story to him and asked him to figure out where the sneakers had come from (yes guys, his mom made him do it!). Being a scientist who studies ocean currents, Curt used his knowledge along with data from the ship's log to determine where the exact spill occurred. He put out a call for all beach combers to keep their eyes open for sneakers in order to determine how far they all had floated.

During his research, Curt met another scientist, W. James, who had written a computer program that figured out the movement of the ocean's surface currents. So much data about ocean currents had been gathered that together, the two scientists were able to track the movement of all 80,000 sneakers. When another spill occurred two years later, this time containers carrying bathtub toys, Curt and W. James were able to track exactly where the tub toys would end up.

Pretty cool, huh? There's more, too. More spills, more about ocean movement, more about the impact those spills have on animals (the photo of what was found inside a bird carcass will make you really sad) and more about the people that are working to clean up these spills. After reading 'Tracking Trash', you'll want to be a lot more careful with your garbage, even though we don't live by the ocean.

Bonus: If you read this book, you are guaranteed to come up with at least three ideas for your science fair project next fall. I'll give you one idea - you read the book and see if you can come up with the other two!

Idea No1. - Can your project answer this question - How fast does packaging dissolve in salt water? Packaging, or the paper/plastic/cardboard the stuff we buy comes wrapped in, doesn't always last a long time in the ocean. The salt water eats away at it. But just how long does it last? Is one type of packaging better than another?