Search results matching tags 'reviews' and 'school stories'

Did Fleming Rescue Churchill? Research, Anyone?

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:57:00 GMT

James Cross Giblin has written about fifth-grader Jason and how he proceeded with his assignment, a three-page report on Sir Alexander Fleming. Trouble was, Jason didn't think Fleming was all that exciting, even if he did discover penicillin. His teacher suggested Jason look for an interesting story about Fleming and include that. But she stressed that it would have to be true. In this fiction book, Did Fleming Rescue Churchill?, James Cross Giblin puts Jason through the steps in doing research with encyclopedias, biographies, and the internet. And if anyone should know how to do research, it would be James Cross Giblin --he's written lots of great nonfiction books for kids, and he's bound to have done plenty of research in the process.

This book would make a great introduction to doing research for middle-graders.

And in reading it, you'll find out what Jason did --Did Fleming rescue Winston Churchill?

Click here to see books by James Cross Giblin in our library system.

More Pilgrims?

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:57:00 GMT

With Thanksgiving on the way, it's a good time to consider the definition of a Pilgrim. Molly's Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen does just that. When Molly explains to her mother what her teacher told her about why the Pilgrims came to America, Molly's mother thinks it describes why their family came from Russia less than a year ago, too.

Molly's English isn't really good yet, and she suffers a lot from the teasing she gets for being different. Written in 1983, this book provides a good jumping off spot for discussions of tolerance and differences and how it feels to be the odd one out. Along with what IS a pilgrim, anyway?

How Long Could YOU Keep From Talking?

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:12:00 GMT

Dave was normally a pretty noisy 5th-grader. In fact, maybe he was a loudmouth. But after reading about Gandhi, and how for many years he spent one day a week not talking at all, Dave thought it was worth finding out what it would be like to keep silent. After about a half day of trying silence on his own, he and Lynsey took up a dare to make silence a contest between the 5th grade boys and the 5th grade girls. They set the time limit of 2 entire days. Exceptions were only that they were allowed to respond to a teacher with a 3-word answer. Any more words counted as points for the other side.

What happened to the teachers when the lunch room was entirely silent? How did they manage in their classes?
Who won? And how DID it feel to keep mostly silent for all that time?

Andrew Clements has come up with another unique situation for his characters in No Talking.

Do you think you could keep silent for even one entire day?

The Bus for Us

UndergroundLibrarian@evpl — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:31:00 GMT

"Is this the bus for us, Gus?" That's the question Tess asks on every other page of this book, while they wait to go to school. Big brother Gus answers with varying degrees of patience. Meanwhile more kids keep lining up to ride too, and their wordless activities are worth watching. And check out the Bus Stop sign. What does it say on different pages? Prereaders will enjoy guessing what vehicle is pulling up now, after getting a view of its front bumper. Those who can "read" Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and its companions will soon be doing the same with The Bus for Us.