Book review of The Watchers by A. M. Shine, an intense and thrilling survival horror.
I don't know about you, but for me January means penguins and polar bears and all things polar. I don't combine them all into one theme, oh no! I can get at least 3 weeks of fun and learning out of it. This week I thought I'd focus on penguins. This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase using one of my links, which helps to support the blog. All opinions are my own and I only promote brands and products that I have used myself and truly love. I'm really excited by all the new (and new to me) books I've found about them! There are so many I've broken them out into categories (insert a happy book dance right here)! These are my current picks for the youngest crowd: 10 Little Penguins is too darned cute! I love the thicker pages - this book is going to be read over and over again, so I'm glad it's sturdy! Kate Toms has done an awesome job with the simple rhyming text, but what blows me away is the illustrations. Every picture is a fabric collage, with a little ribbon and felt thrown in for good measure. I found myself running my hands over each page as if to touch the fabric. Add in the counting down element of the story, and you have a winning book for young children! I had a delightful surprise when I opened Flora and the Penguin by Molly Idle - it's a wordless picture book with flaps on each page, and it is wonderful! Readers (children!) must narrate the story for themselves by reading the pictures - and that makes my teacher heart sing. By looking closely at the pictures and talking about what they see, children learn that good readers use the clues in the pictures as they read, and they gain confidence in their ability to enjoy books, even before they can read them for themselves. Wordless books are so good for building narrative skills - story telling - and for promoting book talk between parent and child. If you love this one, be sure to check out the rest of the series too! Cuddle up with your favorite little ones to read I Am Small by Emma Dodd. The lovely illustrations and simple text make it clear what all the adjectives mean (deep, long, far, high, etc.) and the touch of silver on most pages will enchant both adults and children. If your children aren't already in your lap when you start this book, they will be when you read the last page, snuggles are required! There's always room on the bookshelf for a sweet getting ready for bed book! While the focus of this book is not on the penguins - there are animal parents and babies on each page - you're not likely to make it through this one without a few snuggles, kisses, belly rubs and other loving gestures. Save Maybe, My Baby for last if you're looking to calm your little ones down for sleep. Of all the books so far, this one is my favorite! Britta Teckentrup includes flaps on each page to illustrate all the opposites in the book - pause and let your children predict what's behind each flap as you journey with little penguin to see his friend. This one is perfect for a classroom or story time setting - pair the book with colorful scarves so children can act out the opposite pairs. Don't have scarves? Try giving students a piece of tissue paper or even a tissue - these quiet props won't interrupt the story, but will let children move about and act out the concepts in Up & Down. If you're looking for some simple penguin activities to follow up these books, you may like this rhyme, book and finger puppets I put together - you can check it out here or watch the song on youtube.com here! I also found lots of books for slightly older children, the preschool and kindergarten crowd: If you're looking for some silliness (and when are preschoolers not?) I'd like to introduce you to Chongo Chingi the penguin in Penguin Dreams. He dreams about flying, but doesn't limit himself to flying like other birds do, he dreams higher and higher to outer space! The illustrations are bright and busy, with lots to keep your little ones interested. I'd recommend this for a parent or caregiver rather than a large group, so children can be close and see the pictures. Penguin Problems by Jory John and illustrated by Lane Smith is cute and fun! Did you spot the odd penguin out on the cover? Can you imagine what kind of problems penguins might have ? The narrator of this book is a little penguin with some big problems! Everyone looks the same to him, there are things in the ocean, he can't fly. He's pretty sure his life is rough. If your children are having a rough day and need a little attitude adjustment, they're going to love this book! This is a cute story about friendship, a toy penguin, and a lion, and I found the ending quite unexpected. Penguin by Polly Dunbar is not too long, not too short, and will appeal to adults almost as much as their children. If you're like me and always looking for an excuse to read children's books, grab a child and read this one - you're almost guaranteed to hear, "Read it again!" Do you love the Pebble books for young children? Oh my goodness! They combine simple text and beautiful close up photographs to teach children, and I can't recommend them highly enough! Every primary classroom should have some of these books, I haven't yet met one I wasn't impressed with! The true story of two male chinstrap penguins living in the Central Park Zoo, and tango makes three explains how Roy and Silo became dads when a zookeeper gave them an egg that would not have otherwise been hatched. You could use this book to talk about non-traditional families, or just enjoy the sweet story. A Penguin Story is about Edna, a penguin who thinks there has to be more to the world than the black, white and blue she's used to seeing. This book lends itself to a color story time, but I included it for slightly older children because it also lends itself to learning about scientists learning about penguins. If you're teaching and learning about penguins, do your students ever wonder how we know about arctic and antarctic animals? If you have any deep thinkers in your group, they're going to appreciate this book in ways the rest of the class might not, and the same can be said for your young artists. To extend the learning for this slightly older group of students, I like to get out my polar animal tangram puzzles. I've written about tangrams before - they're a really fun open ended puzzle made up of 7 simple shapes that turn out to be not so simple. To make it easy to differentiate for my students, I've made tangram puzzles that include both the shape outlines (for matching size, shape and orientation), and more challenging finished pictures. We use plastic, wooden and paper tangrams depending upon what my goals are. Exploring with a group of children at school or the library? Inexpensive plastic sets are great. For a gift or at home? I have a lovely wooden set my husband gave me. For showing our parents what we've learned by gluing down and taking home, paper is the answer. One of my favorite all time penguin activities is to have students take care of an "egg" or "chick" on their feet - you can see the blog post about that here, along with even more book recommendations. What are YOUR favorite penguin books and activities? I'd love to know! Paula
About Goddess of Filth “Five of us sat in a circle…
In her new memoir, 'Educated,' Tara Westover recounts how she left an isolated childhood behind to go to college and beyond. A 4-star review.
In many ways — setting, historical elements, the mix of romance and horror, the use of Spanish — Vampires of El Norte is the spiritual sister of The Hacienda, and a perfect example of genre mixing.
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Need a quick and fun way for students to recommend books to each other? Try this mini-book review! Get your Mini Book Review Here for Free! Rachel Lynette You Might Also Like:Spanish Common Core StandardsIs it a mountain range, river, or state?Quick Formative Assessment ToolCoin-Themed Number Puzzles
You are a Badass by Jen Sincero is a personal development book. You are a Badass focuses on the action you put behind your dreams.
My school requires a summer reading assignment for each grade level. In my 4th grade class, students read one required book and three "free choice" books from a list I provide. This year, I asked rising 4th grade students to read The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies. I do not like to dwell on the summer reading for too long at the beginning of the year, but I do want students to complete some sort of writing assessment. This year students created a fun Amazon book listing. First, we looked at actual book listings for favorite books I had read over the summer (hint, hint... generating book recommendations for your students). We identified key features in an Amazon book page and items that seemed to be the same in every book listing. Students discussed the differences between the book summary at the top of the listing and the book reviews at the bottom of the site page. We noted that the summaries contained more facts and less opinion, but the summaries did try to entice a reader. We also noticed how the summaries did not give away the ending or any surprise twists but created a little bit of a cliff hanger for a potential reader. Finally, we discussed the "Frequently Bought Together" section in each Amazon listing and the purpose of that feature. I designed an Amazon-like template and gave the students a copy. Each student completed an Amazon book listing for The Lemonade War that included the title of the book, author, a book level that the students determined like 3rd to 5th grade or 8-11 years old, year published, star rating, summary, and three additional book suggestions. It is a simple writing activity that could be used for any novel. It incorporates many literature skills like summarizing and identifying important details and main characters. I was also able to sneak some library skills into the assignment by having students look for the year published and choose a reading level for the book. My favorite piece of the assignment is asking students to generate three additional book suggestions that would be good "next reads" to share with classmates. To download a copy of the Amazon template (and see a few more writing activities for novel studies), CLICK HERE. To purchase a complete Lemonade War novel unit CLICK HERE. Happy Reading! Caitlin TheRoomMom
Educated is a memoir written by Tara Westover about her childhood and her quest for education. She was born into what she describes as a “survivalist family” but I would amend to say they were extremists, isolated from society.
A list of Viggo Mortensen's favorite books, including work by Lao Tzu, Plato, Dante, Goethe, and William Shakespeare.
In this Becoming Supernatural book review, I pull out five important themes from the book and offer several of my favorite quotes as food for thought!
Sentaro wanted to be a writer, but a youthful folly and a spell in prison have now forced his hand to working in a shop. With no ambition, Sentaro spends his day preparing and selling dorayaki, a p…
These 10 reading activities are not only a great way to teach kids how to read, but get them to…
[Source: Twin Sisters Speech and Language Therapy] The author of the book that we are reviewing today is, Mirla G. Raz. She is a certified and licensed Speech-Language Pathologist who has been working as a clinician for over 40 years. She has said, “I have been keenly aware of the significant role parents play in the progress […]
From Kierkegaard to Cortazar, read a list of 74 books recommended by beloved Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges.
Making Art From Maps by Jill K. Berry $14.99 I love this BOOK! The only problem is I don’t have any maps, not even old ones. I think we have Google maps to blame for that. I am looking forwar…
Try the onion book review template! Peel back the layers of a novel or class reader with clarity and precision. Uncover the theme, characters, plot twists, literary craft, and more in this step-by-step book review resource. Includes: A3 double-sided one-pager 7-page quick response booklet version 17 page developed response booklet version Much like peeling an onion reveals nuanced flavors, this template guides you through a comprehensive analysis, from basic comprehension to critical evaluation. Perfect for students, book clubs, or any literature enthusiast. You might also like... How to Write a Diary Entry with Checklists and Differentiated Planning Would You Rather Brain Break Prompts for Any Literature Study | This or That Creative Chapter One-Pagers | 23 Activities | Reports, Reviews and Summaries Differentiated Character Hexagon Thinking Diagram Templates for Any Book Book Bento Box Report | End of Reading Project | Review | Novel and Nonfiction
A book review of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s “Gods of Jade and Shadow”
Students love sharing books they enjoy! Grab these FREE unqiue book recommendation templates to encourage your students to read more.
Review of The Secret by Rhonda Byrne The secret pdf free download is written by Rhonda Byrne in 2006 inspired by a film that was released in the early month of 2006. Rhonda Byrne was an Australian writer who wrote for television mostly. The secret was her first self-helping book and is on the top […]
From Richard Dawkins to the Dalai Lama, read a list of billionaire hedge fund titan Ray Dalio's most recommended books.
Kacken, Rülpsen, Pupsen ruft beim Vorlesen bei den Kindern immer Gekicher hervor. Ich weiß nicht warum, aber diese Art Humor trifft bei Kindern einfach einen Nerv. Das Kinderbuch "Die Kackwurstfabrik" aus dem Klett Kinderbuchverlag greift genau das auf und bringt den Kindern auf lustige Art und Weise ganz viel über den menschlichen Körper und im speziellen über alles rund um die Verdauung näher. Dabei vereint es eine Geschichte zum Vorlesen und auch ganz viel Sachwissen.
How It Feels to Float von Helena Fox
{Book Review} The Alice Network By Kate Quinn It’s 1947 and Charlie St. Clair is on her way to Europe with her mom, to take care of her Little Problem. Unwed and pregnant, Charlie is consumed with worry and hope for her cousin Rose, who disappeared in France during WWII. She may have lost her … Continue reading "{Book Review} The Alice Network"
From William Faulkner to Rainer Maria Rilke, read a list of beloved British actor Colin Firth's favorite books of all time.
Book lovers everywhere, rejoice! There are so many wonderful, literary, bookish podcasts to binge, consume and otherwise indulge that it could become overwhelming. Here are eight of the best book podcasts to try in 2020, everything from author interviews and conversations to book recommendations, reviews and more.
My Review: When Cassidy broke up with her long time boyfriend, Preston, she thought she would be done with the Lowe family. But, when she finds herself alone with Preston’s father, Dr. Low…
This simple book review form for kids is perfect for reflecting on a book and giving details to recommend or not recommend it to a classmate.
Read a list of Nobel-winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro's favorite books, including work by Charlotte Bronte and Haruki Murakami.
Julia Walton on a new novel in verse about trauma and family tragedy.
