Beyond the Solar System: Exploring Galaxies, Black Holes, Alien Planets and More

Mary Kay Carson is the author of this amazing science informational text, Beyond the Solar System: Exploring Galaxies, Black Holes, Alien Planets and More. This book is absolutely fantastic, and with good reason it has won the NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book in 2014. Beyond the Solar System includes stunning full-page, full-color photographs of our Universe, of infamous scientists, and other astronomical devices. It includes an incredible two-page timeline that references from prehistory, ancient times, modern times and everything in between. There are numerous info-graphics pertaining to how telescopes work, how to spot constellations, how to identify the rotations of planets, and an HR diagram that displays the lifespan of different stars. It truly has everything needed for a unit on the solar system, including 21 activities for the classroom!

After reading this book or using is as a research source, students will learn about the men and women who have made remarkable contributions to science and astronomy, they will understand the electromagnetic spectrum, and know their place in the Milky Way galaxy. I wish I could own this book for myself and my future classroom, and just might purchase it because of how well designed and informational it is! Pulling from the book itself, an activity I would use in a middle school science classroom would be the "Expand a Balloon-iverse" activity which demonstrates how the Universe is expanding by using stickers, a balloon, measuring tape and markers. It is a cross-curricula activity that integrates science, math and art in which students can measure the distances between the stars on their balloons as the balloon inflates. This shows students that every point in the Universe is generally moving further away and explains concepts from the Big Bang.

Carson, M. K. (2013). Beyond the solar system: Exploring galaxies, black holes, alien planets and more. Chicago, IL: Chicago Review Press, Inc.

Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers and the Recovery of the Past

Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers and the Recovery of the Past is a scientific non-fiction book that is centered around what we can learn from melting alpine glaciers. This book includes archeological discoveries made from glaciers and educates readers about how when glaciers melt, it uncovers not only the hidden rocky terrain underneath but also the bodies of people who had died in the them. This book begins by informing readers of the oldest body ever discovered in the melting ice of an Austrian glacier - known as "Ötzi" the Ice Man, this mummified corpse was not evidence of a recent death, but actually of a person who had lived 5,300 years ago! Scientific studies on this body led to uncovering more surprising data about humans living in this time period, such as the first instance of using acupuncture and the first two-part shoes. Ötzi still remains to be one of the most important archeological discoveries of all time. Bodies from the Ice includes over 65 rare photographs of the mummified remains of the people who had died within the glaciers, of maps, tools, landscapes and scientists. It includes fascinating information about similar discoveries all around the world that help scientists uncover clues about the Earth's past.

This book truly has it all! It is a vast vessel of knowledge and information regarding scientific discoveries, important male and female contributors to these discoveries, lore about glaciers, and more facts about these giant and interesting bergs of ice. As a lover of all things science, I adored this book. It is packed full of photos and information that could lead to endless discussions and activities regarding many topics such as what we can learn from science, what science learns from it's discoveries, and how the contributions to these scientific explorations teaches us about our planet's history. It has tons of scientific vocabulary and great geographical information to use in the classroom. It would be exciting to use this book and it's photographs to try and determine how much ice has melted from the glaciers by looking at the pictures and the timelines. This book has so many opportunities to lend itself to Project Based Learning as well!

Deem, J. (2008). Bodies from the ice: Melting glaciers and the recovery of the past. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

The Deaf Musicians

The Deaf Musicians is a collaboratively-written picture book by Pete Seeger and Paul DuBois Jacobs, with illustrations done by R. Gregory Christe. This story is one about overcoming obstacles, and how sometimes you can still pursue your dreams even if troubles may come your way. The Deaf Musicians is about a snazzy piano player named Lee who enjoys playing jazzy music with his band every night in a club. Unfortunately, Lee begins to lose his hearing and his band-mates certainly notice when he's not following their cues or hitting the right notes. They tell Lee that they can't have him in the band anymore because no one wants to listen to an off-key pianist. Feeling dejected, Lee takes the subway home. On the way, he sees a sign for a school for the deaf and begins thinking that maybe there is some way to learn something new. After attending the school and meeting new friends, Lee learns sign language and creates a new band of his own that "plays" music through sign language! His band becomes very popular and he and his friends have so much fun playing music again!

I thought this was an amazingly optimistic picture book that includes positive characters, experiences and outcomes. I like that they feature characters with disabilities to help diversify the text. It portrays trying new things to be a comfortable and enjoyable experience, which is great for the students who might be struggling with the same thing. Beginning new things can often be scary because you don't know how people might treat you, but this book shows readers that you can continue to do what you love even if it's in a different way than others might expect. Because this book has so many onomatopoeias that help tell the musical parts of the story, I think this is a great book to use in creative writing or when teaching about sound. Even further, teachers can use this book as an introduction to learning American Sign Language and see how they can communicate through signing.

 Seeger, P., & Jacobs, P. D. (2006). The deaf musicians. New York: The Penguin Group.

All the Lovely Bad Ones

Written by Mary Downing Hahn, All the Lovely Bad Ones is an exciting and sometimes spooky chapter book that tells the story of a brother and sister, Travis and Corey, who are staying at their grandmother's house in Vermont for the summer. But their grandmother's house isn't just any old house, it's a creepy old inn with a history of ghost sightings. There are even books written by ghost hunters about the sightings at the inn, and the two siblings can't wait to investigate the accusations themselves. Travis and Corey are notorious pranksters and can't resist playing good jokes on people, but when they decide to stage a fake ghost sighting of their own, they mistakenly awake the real ghosts that are trapped at the inn. Some of the spirits are playful and mischievous, but others are vengeful and restless. As the Travis and Corey try to understand the messages the spirits are sending them, they begin to uncover the horrifying truths about the inn's grave past.

I first read this book while I was doing a practicum observation in a 5th grade classroom. The students were reading it and I read it too so I could help with assignments. I could not put this book down. It had the intense mystery of any adult fiction novel, but suited for younger readers. I absolutely loved finding out about the horrors that took place almost a century ago at the inn, and I couldn't wait to keep reading to see what happened to the ghosts and how vengeful they would become. I thought this book was actually a little spooky for young readers as it shed light on some unsettling stories and scary characters, but overall the students really enjoyed reading it. I think this would be a great story to use in a Guided Reading activity. Students would be put in groups of 4-5, and each day one group would meet with the teacher at a time to read the story together and discuss guided reading questions relating to the story. By reading this story in guided reading groups, students have more one-on-one time with the teacher to have focused discussions and ask questions related to the plot and character development. The teacher also has a better chance to observe how each student is reading, paying attention, and making inferences and connections.

Hahn, M. (2008). All the lovely bad ones. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing.

The Higher Power of Lucky

The Higher Power of Lucky is a quirky chapter book aimed at children ages 9-11 years, written by Susan Patron and illustrated by Matt Phelan. This book is about a 10 year old girl named Lucky who lives in the small trailer town of Hard Pan, California that has a population of 43 people. Lucky is an aspiring scientist who likes to examine the different species of Hard Pan like her idol Charles Darwin, and is also on a mission to find her own Higher Power. Lucky has heard of this mysterious yet inspiring Higher Power that changes your life for the better from the stories of the people who attend the Anonymous Meetings, whom she cleans up after as a small job. Lucky's story is unique because of her family situation: she never really knew her father and her mother died two years prior when she was eight. Since Lucky then became a warden of the state in need of a guardian, her absent father called on his Parisian ex-wife Bridgette, who flew to California to look after Lucky.

This book continues on to tell the reader of Lucky's fears of being abandoned by Bridgette and her plans to run away into the desert to find her Higher Power. However, her plans are set off-course as a dust storm makes it harder to survive than she expected. In the end, Lucky is reunited with her family and learns to appreciate the good things that can come from bad situations. With an incredibly lovable and relatable cast of characters, I easily fell in love with Lucky's story and the messages readers can take away from it. There are also some great science terminology in this book such as anti-venom, capillaries, specimen and enzymes. Geographical information such as weather patterns associated with certain regions are also included and could be used to examine climate facts.

Patron, S. (2006). The higher power of lucky. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Holes

Today I'm reviewing the well-known young adult novel Holes written by Louis Sachar. Holes won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 1998, and the Newbery Medal in 1999. This is an amazing read that seems to have it all! Family curses, treasure, destiny, poetry, friendship and adventure, Holes has a wonderfully mysterious, yet playful, plot that keeps the reader interested by providing satisfying twists and victories. This novel begins by telling the story of Stanley Yelnats and his misfortune that is blamed on his family's "curse". Stanley was at the wrong place at the wrong time when a stolen pair of shoes drops in his lap and he is accused of stealing. As punishment for his wrongdoings, Stanley is sent to Camp Green Lake, a "juvenile detention facility" in the middle of the desert where the "inmates" of the camp are forced to dig holes all day by the nasty and greedy supervisors.

After befriending a young boy named Zero and having mishaps with the other inmates and faculty, eventually Stanley and Zero escape the camp and runaway into the desert hills. Throughout the story, however, there are many flashbacks that tell the stories of Stanley's and Zero's relatives and how their family curses are actually intertwined. The reader finally realizes that destiny has brought the two boys together so they can help break the curses set upon them by their ancestors. After almost dying of dehydration and exhaustion, the two boys find salvation at the top of a legendary mountain and learn the history of each others families. In the end, every character gets what they deserve and Stanley, Zero and their families live new, happy lives together.

I had read this story when I was in the 6th grade and I remember loving reading it as an assignment. It is interesting, mysterious, funny and unique. This book's plot is a great foundation to teach many things, such as foreshadowing, flashbacks, plot summaries and character development. A fun assignment would be creating a (fake) historical timeline of the incidents in this story and analyze how they connect. Students could also create a family tree for the characters that illustrate how they are connected.

Sachar, L. (1998). Holes. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover

In this adorable and funny book Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover, two friends set on a night of fun are put off-track when their plans go slightly awry. Rabbit invites his friend Robot to his house to sleepover, and plans a whole list of things to do like making pizza, playing Go Fish and watching TV. But when Robot wants to alter the plans slightly by wanting to play other games and eat other foods, Rabbit gets upset! After having a picnic instead of eating at the table, and taking a nap before going to bed, the two friends realize that even though their night didn't go exactly as planned they still had a very fun evening anyways!

Cece Bell, author and illustrator of this short chapter book, tells a story of a common occurrence that happens often between friends! I liked reading this book because it sends a great message to young readers that having fun with your friends doesn't have to go exactly as planned. Some friends like to do different things and like to eat things you might not, and after reading this book children might better understand that it can be fun doing things others like. I would use this book in an elementary classroom to help illustrate cause and effect or sequence of events. There are many events that happen because of a different action that Rabbit did not predict, and using this book to teach predictions and cause and effect would be very helpful to young readers. After reading the story, the teacher could pass out cards with pieces of the story on them. The students could put the events in order, and then talk about which events happened because of something else.

Bell, C. (2012). Rabbit & robot: The sleepover. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.