April Pulley Sayre's Blog, page 4

Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! in Family Magazine

Good review of Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! and related books in and Ocean Alive Section of Family magazine and also on the website of reviewer Meribeth Shank. Hooray! Nice to be in good company. 

Here Come the Humpbacks! Event Kit

Everyone is invited to download a free Whale Migration Game for classrooms, libraries, bookstores, and other mammal loving locales.  The event kit encourages readers (ages 5-10) to imagine both the perils and delights of being a baby humpback on its first migration through the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.   Explore and Download whale event kit here

 

Here Come the Humpbacks! Giveaway

Thanks to illustrator Jamie Hogan, Charlesbridge Publishing, and Kirsten Cappy, we’re giving away 20 paperback copies of HERE COME THE HUMPBACKS! to librarians and educators.  Enter here to win free book. 



Everyone is invited to download a free Whale Migration Game for classrooms, libraries, bookstores, and other mammal loving locales.  The event kit encourages readers (ages 5-10) to imagine both the perils and delights of being a baby humpback on its first migration through the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.   Explore and Download whale event kit here

 

Shark Tank and Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! and Lionfish

When the new edition of my book, Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! was created, there was a lionfish on the top left corner of the cover. My reaction: WHAAAA?  I’ve been snorkeling the reefs in the Caribbean for about 20 years and I knew that was not a native fish. After a little research, though, I found out more about the lionfish invasion of the reefs. And I found out this fish is indeed widespread now. I thought having this fish on the cover would be a great teaching point. Kudos to the illustrator, Annie Patterson, for putting it there in the first place.

It’s a great jumping off point for students researching this issue. I just watched the tv entrepreneur show, Shark Tank, where Dave Johnson and Gary Groomes of Traditional Fisheries talked about the lionfish invasion of Atlantic reefs. Teachers, I think you might be able to develop some terrific research/conservation projects related to this issue. Perfect for common core and research. There are many logistical aspects to accomplishing what these folks are trying to do. Eat the fish that is eating the reefs! They made a great case on the show for this solution.

Here Come the Humpbacks! Paired With Poetry

Booklist Online’s newsletter has a lovely article by Anastasia Suen that has some terrific ocean poetry books and includes Here Come the Humpbacks! as a book connection. Hurray!

Common Core and More

School Library Journal’s Myra Zarnowksi, Marc Aronson, and Mary Ann Cappiello serve up some common core nonfiction mentor texts in an article.  Here Come the Humpbacks is included, hooray! This year it’s been productive using the book with kids to get them writing.  Apparently a lot of what I do in presentations and books ties in with common core. Educators are cluing me in on how  how it all dovetails.  Feel free to contact me and share your wisdom. I could use links to anything you do with my books or see in my books that ties in well with common core. I would like to share  general common core/nonfiction resources with educators I meet at conferences, school visits, and  so on. This year I’m speaking a lot at STEM events. The more quality books/resources that reach our children’s minds, the better! As always, INK, .inkrethinkblogspot.com is a font of inspiration for nonfiction and the writing process. I’m not blogging on there this year but did so in previous years.

Resources for Let’s Go Nuts: Seeds We Eat

Here are some resources to help readers and teachers use my new book, Let’s Go Nuts! Seeds We Eat (Release date August 27, 2013, Beach Lane Books an imprint of Simon & Schuster). Hope you find edible seeds a a chewy, fun topic as I did!

Related Children’s Books and Reference Books

Alphabetical Seed Guide for Let’s Go Nuts

Memory Jogger Photos

Alphabetical Seed Guide for Let’s Go Nuts: Seeds We Eat

Here are photos of seeds to help you identify the seeds in my book Let’s Go Nuts: Seeds We Eat, (August 27, 2013, Beach Lane Books).

 

Let’s Go Nuts: Seeds We Eat Memory Jogger

Have you accidentally (or on purpose) memorized parts of Let’s Go Nuts! Seeds We Eat? (Beach Lane, August, 2013)

Below are two photos with seeds arranged in the format of parts of the seed chant.

Try out your memory. “Read” these photos by identifying the seeds and saying the seed chant out loud to help you figure out the seeds that you find hard to recognize! You can click on the photo for a much larger version to examine.

 

Say the chant, identify the seeds.

Let’s Go Nuts! Seeds We Eat Related Books

For my book, Let’s Go Nuts: Seeds We Eat, release date August 27, 2013, Beach Lane Books

 

Books for Younger Readers

Aston, Dianna Hutts., and Sylvia Long. A Seed Is Sleepy. San Francisco: Chronicle, 2007. Print.

DePaola, Tomie. The Popcorn Book. New York: Holiday House, 1978. Print.

Dodge, Abigail Johnson. Around the World Cookbook. New York: Dk, 2008. Print.

Heller, Ruth. The Reason for a Flower. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1983.

Jordan, Helene J., and Loretta Krupinski. How a Seed Grows. New York: HarperCollins, 1992. Print.

Krauss, Ruth, and Crockett Johnson. The Carrot Seed;. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1945. Print.

Macken, JoAnn Early, and Pamela Paparone. Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move. New York: Holiday House, 2008.

Schaefer, Lola M., and Lindsay Barrett George. Pick, Pull, Snap!: Where Once a Flower Bloomed. New York: Greenwillow, 2003. Print.

 

Books Used For Reference (Highly Recommended for Older Readers)

Ashworth, Suzanne, Kent Whealy, and Arllys Adelmann. Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 2002.

Capon, Brian. Botany for Gardeners: An Introduction and Guide. Portland, Or.: Timber Press, 1990. E-book.

Dragonwagon, Crescent. BEAN BY BEAN: More Than 175 Recipes for Fresh Beans, Dried Beans, Cool Beans, Hot Beans, Savory Beans, Even Sweet Beans!: Workman Pub, 2012. Print.

McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. New York: Scribner, 2004. Print.