Masterpiece by Elise Broach

From Goodreads: Marvin lives with his family under the kitchen sink in the Pompadays’ apartment. He is very much a beetle. James Pompaday lives with his family in New York City. He is very much an eleven-year-old boy. After James gets a pen-and-ink set for his birthday, Marvin surprises him by creating an elaborate miniature drawing. James gets all the credit for the picture and before these unlikely friends know it they are caught up in a staged art heist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that could help recover a famous drawing by Albrecht Dürer. But James can’t go through with the plan without Marvin’s help. And that’s where things get really complicated (and interesting!). This fast-paced mystery will have young readers on the edge of their seats as they root for boy and beetle.

My Two Cents: I loved all the characters, both beetle and human, in this E.B. White Read Aloud Award Winner. Broach always does an excellent job of weaving history through her books, and Masterpiece is no exception. There's humor, heart, and a good dose of suspense and adventure here that will keep kids turning pages in spite of the above-average word count.

Grade Level: 3-6

Additional Resources:

• Visit Elise Broach's website and check out her discussion guide.
• Check out the Kid Zone at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where much of Masterpiece takes place.
• Learn more about Albrecht Dürer and see some of his artwork here.
• Identify any bug you find (including dung beetles like Marvin) by putting its information into this cool Bug I.D. tool from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.
• Read the Georgia O'Keefe quote at the beginning of the book, then look at some of her paintings here by searching "flowers." (Make sure you scroll through all the pages.) Don't the quote and the paintings go well together?

More to Read:

• Another artistic insect: The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
• Another book featuring art and a bond between an animal and a boy: A Nest For Celeste by Henry Cole
• Another arthropod who saves the day (and a good friend): Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
• Another story of an art heist foiled by somebody...unusual: Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown

Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95

From Goodreads: B95 can feel it: a stirring in his bones and feathers. It’s time. Today is the day he will once again cast himself into the air, spiral upward into the clouds, and bank into the wind.
He wears a black band on his lower right leg and an orange flag on his upper left, bearing the laser inscription B95. Scientists call him the Moonbird because, in the course of his astoundingly long lifetime, this gritty, four-ounce marathoner has flown the distance to the moon—and halfway back!
B95 is a robin-sized shorebird, a red knot of the subspecies rufa. Each February he joins a flock that lifts off from Tierra del Fuego, headed for breeding grounds in the Canadian Arctic, nine thousand miles away.  Late in the summer, he begins the return journey.

B95 can fly for days without eating or sleeping, but eventually he must descend to refuel and rest. However, recent changes at ancient refueling stations along his migratory circuit—changes caused mostly by human activity—have reduced the food available and made it harder for the birds to reach. And so, since 1995, when B95 was first captured and banded, the worldwide rufa population has collapsed by nearly 80 percent. Most perish somewhere along the great hemispheric circuit, but the Moonbird wings on. He has been seen as recently as November 2011, which makes him nearly twenty years old. Shaking their heads, scientists ask themselves: How can this one bird make it year after year when so many others fall? 

National Book Award–winning author Phillip Hoose takes us around the hemisphere with the world’s most celebrated shorebird, showing the obstacles rufa red knots face, introducing a worldwide team of scientists and conservationists trying to save them, and offering insights about what we can do to help shorebirds before it’s too late. Through prose, research, and images, Hoose explores the tragedy of extinction through the triumph of a single bird.

My Two Cents: This is a well-written account of a really amazing bird, complete with helpful maps, gorgous photos, and profiles of the scientists who are working to help migratory birds. I especially loved the appendix "What You Can Do", which will help young readers channel the enthusiasm and interest they gain by reading the book into helpful outlets.

Grade Level: 4-8

Additional Resources (most from the "What You Can Do" section of the book):

• Phillip Hoose's website
• Games, activities, and ways to help at the National Audubon Society's Just for Kids page
• Check out the Shorebird Sister Schools Program and connect with kids all over the world as you follow the migration of shore birds.
• See how arctic animals migrate at Wandering Wildlife, which tracks actual animals of several species using radio telemetry.
• Learn about the rufa red knot and why it's in trouble at Parks Canada's site.
• Find out when International Migratory Bird Day is in your area and what you can do to celebrate.

More to Read:

• A fun Phillip Hoose picture book about being kind to little creatures: Hey, Little Ant
• Another inspiring book by Hoose: It's Our World, Too! Young People Who Are Making a Difference
• Another great middle grade book where birds are featured: Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt
• Another middle grade book where Audubon himself shows up: A Nest for Celeste by Henry Cole
• Another book about animals making, well, an incredible journey: The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford

Desert Animal Olympics

See how many desert animals you can find in this awesome painting by artist Arlene Braithwaite! (Click for a larger image.)

 



In this week's book, One Day in the Desert by Jean Craighead George, we met tons of cool desert animals: roadrunner, peccaries, tarantulas, headstand beetles, desert tortoises, honey pot ants, elf owls, foxes, and even a mountain lion. These animals have all made adaptations so they're fit to live in such a dry climate. But they're amazing in other ways too!

Use the animal facts here to learn about your favorite desert animals and how they've adapted to their climate. When you've picked some favorite animals and their adaptations, design an Olympic activity to compete with your friends and compare yourself to your favorite animal! Would you survive in the desert?

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Kangaroo rats are tiny (their bodies are about 4-5 inches long), but they can jump up to 9 feet! How tall is your body? How far can you jump?
• Baby scorpions crawl on their mother's back and stay there until they molt (7-21 days). Have a scorpion relay race using empty gloves or stuffed animals as your baby scorpions. Be careful not to drop your "babies"!
• Hummingbirds can stick their tongues out 13 times per second to reach nectar. How long does it take you to stick your tongue out 13 times?
• Leafcutter ants can lift about 50 times their body weight, and male rhinoceros beetles (the largest beetle in North America) can lift 850 times their body weight! How much do you weigh? How much would you have to lift to be as strong as the leafcutter ant or the rhinoceros beetle? How much can you lift?
• Headstand beetles do a head stand to mix chemicals and shoot them at predators. Can you do a headstand? How long can you hold it?

When you're finished with your Olympic events, print one of these Desert Animal Olympics gold medals for each of your friends on card stock. Cut them out and attach a ribbon so you can wear them around your necks, and be sure to write some of your awesome results and favorite adaptations on the back!

This lesson is adapted from Exploring Adaptations: Animal Olympics from the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Conservation Education & Science Department. They have lots of great resources for kids and teachers. Be sure to check them out!

One Day in the Desert by Jean Craighead George

From Goodreads: As day breaks in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, a wounded mountain lion limps toward a Papago Indian hut. The lion fears people, but today he is desperately hungry. And he has caught the scent of Birdwing and her mother. Then a loud thunderclap warns Birdwing, the mountain lion, and all the creatures of the desert that danger is near. A flood will soon wash over the land - and some will not survive it.

My Two Cents: This is a very short book that still packs plenty of information about the wildlife and habitat of the desert. There's enough of a storyline mixed in with interesting animal, plant, and geological information that kids will zip right through this book. The best part is how much they'll learn in the process. This is just one title in a 5-book series by Newbery-winner George.

Grade Level: 2-5

Additional Resources:

• Take a look at the official Jean Craighead George website.
• Visit the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum--a great place to visit in person that also has fun online resources for kids, including fact sheets on tons of desert plants and animals.
• Check out this great article from National Geographic about life in the Sonoran Desert.
• Learn more about the four deserts of North America at this site or get an overview of deserts here.
• Even if you don't live in the desert, it's important to conserve water! Learn how and why we should save water and play a fun water-saving game at the WaterSense website.

More to Read:

• The other books in George's habitat series: One Day in the Alpine Tundra, One Day in the Prairie, One Day in the Woods, One Day in the Tropical Rain Forest
• Another desert adventure story: Missing on Superstition Mountain by Elise Broach
• Another desert survival story (for a slightly older audience): Holes by Louis Sachar
• Another quick read featuring animals in an unforgiving climate: Akimbo and the Lions (and all the other books in the Akimbo series) by Alexander McCall Smith

Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World

Today is World Autism Awareness Day! In honor of those with autism and to raise awareness in some small way, this week's book is about a truly remarkable person with autism. 

From Goodreads: When Temple Grandin was born, her parents knew that she was different. Years later she was diagnosed with autism. While Temple’s doctor recommended a hospital, her mother believed in her. Temple went to school instead.
  
Today, Dr. Temple Grandin is a scientist and professor of animal science at Colorado State University. Her world-changing career revolutionized the livestock industry. As an advocate for autism, Temple uses her experience as an example of the unique contributions that autistic people can make.

This compelling biography complete with Temple’s personal photos takes us inside her extraordinary mind and opens the door to a broader understanding of autism.

My Two Cents: This is a book that can be read quickly and is totally accessible to kids (although descriptions of the slaughterhouses that Temple improves might be too much for very young readers). Temple's story helps the reader not only understand autism, but also appreciate the value of other kinds of minds as "different, not less." Rita Shreffler, the executive director of the National Autism Association, calls Temple Grandin "a source of inspiration to parents of children with autism who know their kids have abilities that often go unrealized." It would be hard for anyone to read this book and not be inspired by Temple Grandin's compassionate heart and brilliant mind.

Grade Level: 3-5

Additional Resources:

• Watch Temple Grandin's TED talk, "The World Needs All Kinds of Minds"
• Visit one of the most comprehensive resources, with advocacy ideas, events, family services, and information on how you can help: Autism Speaks
• Read author Ellen Notbohm's Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew
• Visit Temple Grandin's website.
• Watch the movie that was made about Temple Grandin's life.

More to Read:

• A story featuring another girl who had autism before it was widely diagnosed: Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
• Another girl with autism who figures out how to deal with difficult things: Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
• Another kid on the autism spectrum with an interest in science: The Reinvention of Edison Thomas by Jacqueline Houtman
• A great book from the perspective of an autistic child's sibling: Rules by Cynthia Lord
• All of Temple Grandin's books (written primarily for adults)

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

From Goodreads: The Poppers unexpectedly come into possession of a penguin, then get a penguin from the zoo who mates with the first penguin to have 10 baby penguins. Before long, something must be done before they eat the Poppers out of house and home!

A classic of American humor, this story of a gentle housepainter and his high stepping penguins has delighted children for generations.

My Two Cents: This classic is a fun, fast read that has aged remarkably well. It's unusual to see a middle grade book with a middle-aged man as the main character, but Mr. Popper is silly enough and the penguins are center stage enough that it totally works. And while the conclusion might not be totally ecologically sound, the idea that wild animals should be in the wild and their needs should come before those of their "owners" is a nice additional layer.

Grade Level: 2-4

Additional Resources:

• Find lesson ideas and vocabulary words on Scholastic's Mr. Popper's Penguins page or with this very in-depth curriculum guide
• Learn more about Captain James Cook and other polar explorers
• Learn more about emperor penguins from National Geographic Kids
• Watch this video to learn more about real penguin families, or this video to see a real expedition to Antarctica
• Listen to the music that Mrs. Popper plays for the penguins' act: Schubert's Military March, Lehar's Merry Widow Waltz, and By the Brook
• Track the penguins' journey across the USA through Seattle, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Boston, New York

More to Read:

• Another classic about an average family whose life takes a turn toward adventurous: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming
• Another book about birds and letting them live where they really belong: Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
• Another great book about letting pets into your life, even when it doesn't go smoothly: Mason Dixon: Pet Disasters by Claudia Mills