What body part is that?

WHAT BODY PART IS THAT? by Andy Griffiths with illustrations by Terry Denton. Feiwel and Friends, November 2011.

How about a book with a title that purports to be about answering questions but also cries loudly from the cover that it is 99% fact-free? Andy Griffiths(author of The Day My Butt Went Psycho and others) brings his zany humor to an exploration of the parts of the body. Wacky illustrations by Denton complete the fun. <359>

science from two perspectives

Each of these books deals with the environment in a different way. One is realistic fiction and one is nonfiction. Common Core asks us to share more nonfiction with kids. Texas skills include crossing genres. So, here is a nice text pairing.



MARTY MCGUIRE DIGS WORMS by Kate Messner (Scholastic 2012) brings back the plucky Marty McGuire. Marty's class is challenged to come with ways of being more environmentally friendly. Marty and her best friend Annie, with some help from Marty's grandmother, decide to use worms to help reduce cafeteria waste. of course, there will be some obstacles along the way. However, Messner's great gentle humor and insight into the minds of young students keeps this story on track. Read this aloud to introduce a unit on the environment. Or pair it with the following book.
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FROGS, STRANGE AND WONDERFUL by Laurence Pringle with illustrations by Meryl Henderson (Boyds Mills Press 2012) is an in-depth examination of frogs: species, habitats, behavior, and more. While there is a great deal of information here, it is parsed out in meaningful chunks along with detailed illustrations to accompany the text. This nonfiction works well with the foregoing Messner chapter book in that both address concerns about the environment. <222>

some picture books for watch for in 2012

Loreen Leedy gives readers SEEING SYMMETRY (Holiday House 2012), a fascinating examination of symmetry in the world around us. Letters, numbers, animals, plants: many of these have symmetry. Different types of symmetry are clearly delineated and explained. if you have not had the chance to have read any of Leedy's other books, find MESSAGES IN THE MAILBOX, THE EDIBLE PYRAMID, and CRAZY LIKE A FOX among other terrific nonfiction titles. <44>




LADYBUGS by Gail Gibbons (Holiday House 2012) gives readers plenty of useful information about the various types of this beetle common to North America. From egg to pupa to beetle, Gibbons shows readers how ladybugs grow. Their role in helping farmers is also explored. <45>




THE ELIJAH DOOR by Linda Leopold Strauss with illustrations by Alexi Natchev (Holiday House 2012) is a Passover tale about two families that had been friends for a long time. The daughter of one family was even engaged to a son of the neighboring family. And then something happened. Who can remember what it was, but now the families are not speaking to one another. The engaged couple, with the help of their rabbi and the neighbors, devise a way to bring the two feuding families back together. <46>





BALLERINA SWAN by Allegra Kent with illustrations by Emily Arnold McCully (Holiday House 2012) is the story of Bella, a swan who longs to dance. One day she is invited to join the dance class and learn how to a ballerina. She even receives a special role in the class' performance of Swan Lake. <47>