Educators’ Guide for A Match Made in Mehendi by Nandini Bajpai

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A Match Made in Mehendi
Author: Nandini Bajpai
Published: September 10th, 2019 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Summary: Fifteen-year-old Simran “Simi” Sangha comes from a long line of Indian vichole-matchmakers-with a rich history for helping parents find good matches for their grown children. When Simi accidentally sets up her cousin and a soon-to-be lawyer, her family is thrilled that she has the “gift.”

But Simi is an artist, and she doesn’t want to have anything to do with relationships, helicopter parents, and family drama. That is, until she realizes this might be just the thing to improve her and her best friend Noah’s social status. Armed with her family’s ancient guide to finding love, Simi starts a matchmaking service-via an app, of course.

But when she helps connect a wallflower of a girl with the star of the boys’ soccer team, she turns the high school hierarchy topsy-turvy, soon making herself public enemy number one.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions: 

Please view and enjoy the educators’ guide I created for Cake Creative Kitchen:

You can also access the educators’ guide here.

You can learn more about A Match Made in Mehendi by visiting Cake Creative Kitchen’s Library.

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Discussion Guide for Merci Suárez Plays it Cool by Meg Medina

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Merci Suárez Plays it Cool
Author: Meg Medina
Published: September 13th, 2022 by Candlewick Press

Summary: In a satisfying finale to her trilogy, Newbery Medalist Meg Medina follows Merci Suárez into an eighth-grade year full of changes—evolving friendships, new responsibilities, and heartbreaking loss.

For Merci Suárez, eighth grade means a new haircut, nighttime football games, and an out-of-town overnight field trip. At home, it means more chores and keeping an eye on Lolo as his health worsens. It’s a year filled with more responsibility and independence, but also with opportunities to reinvent herself. Merci has always been fine with not being one of the popular kids like Avery Sanders, who will probably be the soccer captain and is always traveling to fun places and buying new clothes. But then Avery starts talking to Merci more, and not just as a teammate. Does this mean they’re friends? Merci wants to play it cool, but with Edna always in her business, it’s only a matter of time before Merci has to decide where her loyalty stands. Whether Merci is facing school drama or changing family dynamics, readers will empathize as she discovers who she can count on—and what can change in an instant—in Meg Medina’s heartfelt conclusion to the trilogy that began with the Newbery Medal–winning novel.

Discussion Questions: 

After writing the educators’ guide for Merci Suárez Changes Gears, I was so happy that Candlewick returned and asked me to create this discussion guide for the finale of the trilogy. Please view and enjoy the guide I created:

You can also access the discussion guide here.

You can learn more about Merci Suárez Plays it Cool on Candlewick’s page.

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Educators’ Guide for Fox + Chick: The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier

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The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories (Fox + Chick #2)
Author and Illustrator: Sergio Ruzzier
Published: March 5th, 2019

Summary: Opposite personalities attract for these two unlikely friends: In the second book of this lauded series, Fox and Chick are off on three new adventures involving a boat ride, a mysterious box, and an early morning trip to see the sunrise. Despite the antics ensuing from their different personalities, the contradictory duo always manages to have fun together.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions: 

Please view and enjoy the teachers’ guide I created for Chronicle Books for The Quiet Boat Ride:

You can also access the teaching guide here.

You can learn more about The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories on Chronicle’s page.

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Maps for Penguins and Other Traveling Animals by Tracey Turner, Illustrated by Hui Skipp

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Maps for Penguins and Other Traveling Penguins
Author: Tracey Turner
Illustrator: Hui Skipp
Published January 1st, 2022 by Kane Miller Press

Summary: Follow the treks, long or short, made by ten different animals all over the world.

Animals don’t actually use maps, so how do they find their way without them? This book focuses on different animals, including elephants, penguins, tigers, and more, and maps of their migrations, territories, and routes to food. Along with discovering fascinating information about the animals and their amazing ability to navigate without GPS, readers will also learn about distances, geography, climate, and habitats .

Includes:

  • Migration paths plus lots of facts about ten animals and their varying habitats.
  • Introduction to maps and geography.
  • Glossary and index included.
  • Perfect STEM title.

About the Author: Tracey Turner is an author and editor has written more than 70 books that cover a wide range of topics. She lives in Bath, England, with her partner and son.

ReviewThis book is the perfect book for the scientist or animal lover kid in your life! It has so much information that readers will find interesting, even more than what is promised. In addition to maps and migration information, the author includes information about diet, mating, families, habits, and more! And the variety of the animals, from all over the world and habitats, are great also, so the reader takes a trip around the world. All accompanied by colorful and eye catching illustrations! All accompanied by colorful and eye catching illustrations!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Teachers will find so much to use in classrooms! I would love to see this used in a jig saw where each member of a group is given one of the animals, learns all about them by studying the 2 spreads about the animal, then going back to their home group to share what they learned. It could also be used as a jumping off for an inquiry project about another animal using Maps for Penguins as a mentor text for creating their own maps and information spread. The book is also a great early introduction to geography and maps and the glossary and index in the back are helpful to the reader as well.

Discussion Questions: 

  • Which animal migrates or has habitats near where you live?
  • Which animal would you like to learn more about?
  • What other animals do you know about that migrate or travel in another way?
  • Why do animals travel? What are some similarities/differences between the different animals and why/how they travel?
  • Which continents were represented in the book? Which oceans?

Flagged Passages: 

Read This If You Love: Animals, Geography

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**Thank you to Lynn at Kane Miller for providing a copy for review!**

Hooray for DNA! How a Bear and a Bug Are a Lot Like Us by Pauline Thompson, Illustrated by Greg Pizzoli

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Hooray for DNA! How a Bear and a Bug Are a Lot Like Us
Author: Pauline Thompson
Illustrator: Greg Pizzoli
Published April 25th, 2023 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Summary: Bill Nye meets Green Eggs and Ham in this playful and rhythmic nonfiction picture book that introduces readers to the concept of DNA, and celebrates the similarities we share with all life-forms–and each other!

DNA is the ABC
of what makes you, you
and what makes me, me.

Did you know we share DNA with every living thing? Humans, bugs, bears, even a virus–we all have shared DNA hidden inside us!

From a debut author and an award-winning illustrator, here is a bouncy and playful picture book–perfect for the classroom or for story time–about the genetic code that makes up all living things, and reminds us that we’re all more alike than we think.

About the Creators: 

About the author

PAULINE THOMPSON is a Toronto based artist and writer. Her work spans 25 years of creating, exhibiting, and incubation. Her love of popular science is the fuel for her children’s stories. In her spare time, Pauline facilitates writing workshops for Writers Collective of Canada.

About the illustrator

GREG PIZZOLI is the award-winning author and illustrator of many books for kids including the award-winning picture books The Watermelon Seed, Good Night Owl, and The Book Hog. He lives in South Philadelphia with his wife, two daughters, dog, and cats.

Review: What a fun introduction to DNA for young children! The author’s rhyming and rhythmic text lends itself to a read aloud and Pizzoli’s illustrations are as eye catching as always. Along with a great message about humanity, the book delivers a solid introduction to the idea of DNA.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: After reading aloud this book, dive into the back matter! The author has some great resources including more about the science of DNA, an activity comparing and contrasting ourselves and other items, and resources, including videos, that can be used in the classroom. This would be a perfect addition to an early education lesson on DNA!

Discussion Questions: 

  • How is DNA defined in the book?
  • What is something that you were surprised that we share DNA with?
  • What would we be like if we had no tissues or organs?
  • How closely related, DNA-wise, are all humans?
  • What does the book share that each of our unique DNAs lead to?

Flagged Passages: 

Read This If You Love: Science books for children

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**Thank you to Cate at Nicole Banholzer PR for providing a copy for review!**

Nic Blake and the Remarkables #1: The Manifestor Prophecy by Angie Thomas

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The Manifestor Prophecy
Author: Angie Thomas
Published April 4th, 2023 by Blazer + Bray

Summary: Internationally bestselling superstar author Angie Thomas makes her middle grade debut with the launch of an inventive, hilarious, and suspenseful new contemporary fantasy trilogy inspired by African American history and folklore.

It’s not easy being a Remarkable in the Unremarkable world. Some things are cool—like getting a pet hellhound for your twelfth birthday. Others, not so much—like not being trusted to learn magic because you might use it to take revenge on an annoying neighbor.

All Nic Blake wants is to be a powerful Manifestor like her dad. But before she has a chance to convince him to teach her the gift, a series of shocking revelations and terrifying events launch Nic and two friends on a hunt for a powerful magic tool she’s never heard of…to save her father from imprisonment for a crime she refuses to believe he committed.

“All the brilliance you’d expect from Angie Thomas: a page-turning plot, pitch-perfect characters, heart and substance, and real stakes that real kids will care about—plus magic! This is one of those rare books that will instantly become the best friend you didn’t know you needed. Nic Blake and the Remarkables is nothing short of a triumph. When’s the next installment, please?” — Rick Riordan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series

“Packed with humor and bursting with heart and imagination, Nic’s story will enchant readers of all ages!” — B.B. Alston, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Amari and the Night Brothers

“Exploding with heart, humor, and all things Black Girl Magic, Nic Blake and the Remarkables is a triumph of friendship and Black Southern folklore and history.’ — Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Marvellers

“This book is no-holds-barred, fly by the seat of your pants (and other methods) trip to the corner of Thrill Street and Wonder Avenue. Nic Blake is amazing!” — Kwame Mbalia, author of the Tristan Strong series

About the Author: Angie Thomas is the author of the award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling novels The Hate U GiveOn the Come Up, and Concrete Rose as well as Find Your Voice: A Guided Journal for Writing Your Truth. She is also a coauthor of the bestselling collaborative novels Blackout and Whiteout. Angie divides her time between her native Jackson, Mississippi and Atlanta, Georgia. You can find her online at www.angiethomas.com.

Review: This book is a dream of Angie Thomas’s. She wanted to create a book that was for a younger her who LOVED fantasy. This book allows her to world build, and she hopes to bring her readers the same joy that she felt reading fantasy (https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-authors/article/90215-pw-talks-with-angie-thomas.html), and I am happy to say, that she does just that (and more because she includes history, too)!

Although the world building is great and it is right up the alley for students who love middle grade contemporary fantasy adventures and the pacing is perfect, which keeps the reader reading, it was Nic Blake’s voice that truly sold me. It is fantastic! She is sassy and strong and witty! She is someone you root for right away and also trust as a character, which is important in these types of fantasy novels.

Discussion Questions: 

  • How does Nic deal with her life turning upside down? What does this tell you about her character?
  • How does the author intertwine history within her fantasy novel? What do you think her purpose of doing this is?
  • What folklore influences Thomas’s story?
  • What are the different character traits of the trio? How do they complement each other? How do the three of them compare/contrast to the original trio of Nic’s mom, dad, and godfather?
  • How does Nic’s story compare to the hero’s journey?

Book Trailer: 

Read This If You Love: The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton, Amari series by B.B. Alston, Tristan Strong series by Kwame Mbalia, Ring of Solomon by Aden Polydoros, Dragons in a Bag series by Zetta Elliott, Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu

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**Thank you to Spark Point Studio for providing a copy for review!**

Global by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, Illustrated by Giovanni Rigano

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Global
Authors: Eoin Colfer & Andrew Donkin
Illustrator: Giovanni Rigano
Publishing April 11, 2023 by Sourcebooks Young Readers

Summary: Time is running out for Sami and Yuki. Sami and his grandfather live in a village along the Indian Ocean. They earn their living by fishing. But the ocean is rising and each day they bring back fewer and fewer fish. Yuki lives in the far north of Canada where warming temperature are melting the ice. Polar bears have less food to hunt and are wandering into town looking for something to eat. Yuki is determined to do something to help the bears.

Extras:

    • Four pages, written in graphic novel format, that summarize the history of global warming and the climate change movement
    • An author letter
    • Character sketches

Plot Synopsis as put by the authors: 

Book Trailer:

About the Creators:

Eoin Colfer is the author of Illegal as well as the internationally bestselling Artemis Fowl series. Eoin lives in Ireland with his family. Learn more at eoincolfer.com

Andrew Donkin is the author of more than sixty books and graphic novels for children and adults. He lives in London. Learn more at andrewdonkin.co.uk.

Giovanni Rigano is an artist and illustrator who has illustrated many graphic novels, including the Artemis Fowl series, The Incredibles, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Illegal. He lives in Como, Italy.

Review: Just like in Illegal, Colfer, Donkin, and Rigano do a beautiful job putting a narrative to a crisis to make it more accessible to children who may not understand how something so big is affecting their life and their world.

In Global, the two stories that are told are half a world apart but are tied in the young people who are willing to fight to make the world a better place amidst what many would find truly unlivable and treacherous times.

These three creators obviously have a mission that they have taken on in spreading information to young minds about about “man-made disaster(s) that most impact vulnerable children who had no hand in causing it,” and they do it so well. I look forward to their next collaboration.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This book would be a great text to read in conjunction with the teaching of climate change because it gives a face and story outside of science to the problems our world is facing. Students could also write their own story in the vein of Global (see below in discussion questions) to connect the science to their life.

Discussion Questions: 

  • How do the two stories told in Global relate to each other? Why would the authors choose to tell these two specific stories?
  • How do the authors tell the story of climate change without writing a informational nonfiction book?
  • What did you learn about the two settings that you didn’t know before?
  • How is climate change affecting your home? If there was a story like Global about you and your home, what would it be about?

Read This If You Love: Illegal by the same trio of creators, learning about plights faced in our world, graphic novels about serious topics

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**Thank you to Sourcebooks for providing a copy of the book to review!**