Inquiry

Forgotten Beasts: Amazing Creatures That Once Roamed the Earth by Matt Sewell

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Forgotten Beasts: Amazing Creatures That Once Roamed the Earth
Author: Matt Sewell
Published October 4th, 2019 by Pavilion Books

Summary: A witty, colorful celebration of the amazing lost creatures of this planet; with a strong message of protection and conservation.

Matt Sewell’s follow-up to the mega-hit The Colorful World of Dinosaurs is a beautifully-illustrated large format look at the amazing beasts that time forgot – from the relatively well known, such as the sabre-toothed tiger and woolly mammoth, to the obscure monsters that walked the earth millions of years ago – many now forgotten. These beasts are arranged chronologically–from the strange invertebrate Opabinia that lived over 500 million years ago, to the Thylacine, or Tasmanian Tiger, that became extinct in 1936. New findings are being made every year, and research is showing us exactly how these beasts looked and how they lived.

Creatures illustrated and described include:

Sabre tooth tigers and woolly mammoths
Glyptodon – an armadillo as big as a VW Beetle car
Megalodon – a monster 60 foot (18m) shark
Water King penguin – a red and grey penguin the size of a man
Ornimegalonyx – a huge Cuban flightless owl, the largest owl that ever existed, at over 3 feet (1m) tall
Deinotherium – a strange-looking and huge, elephant-like creature with tusks positioned on its lower jaw and curved, facing downwards
Short-nosed bear – a massive fearsome bear that kept North America human free
Megatherium – the giant sloth, as large as a modern elephant

Less celebrated than the dinosaurs, the range of beasts is equally impressive, every one a scary, amazing creature that actually stalked the planet. Like the dinosaurs, these beasts are awe-inspiring in their variety, with amazing details not seen on animals today and in a wide variety of furs, feathers and colors, making for a stunning collection of illustrations.

About the Creator: Matt Sewell, who has been described as “the Banksy of the bird world,” is an avid ornithologist and artist. He is the author of Owls, Our Garden Birds, Our Woodland Birds, Our Songbirds, and Penguins and Other Seabirds and has illustrated for the Guardian and Big Issue among many other publications. His art has been exhibited in London, Manchester, New York, Tokyo, and Paris.

Review: What a fascinating introduction to species of animals that used to walk on our Earth. As a reader, mom, and teacher I immediately enjoyed this book. Each spread includes a synthesized blurb about the animal and a large, colorful illustration that definitely catches the eye. While the book is science-driven, it is written in a way that many different levels of scientific understanding would find it interesting. I also really liked the choice of animals that were included because it wasn’t only animals that people know about already.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: I want to know more, and Trent wanted to know more, so I think when kids read this, they would want to know more also. So let’s jump off on this curiosity and dive into inquiry!

First, the book starts with a timeline and each animal says what time period they are from, but it does not show the timeline. I would love to take the timeline and place each animal on it.

Also, with the foundational knowledge shared in the book, students can jump into a full on inquiry project about animals of their choice looking at when they lived, what they’re related to in modern time, how they became extinct, etc. Then students can make a presentation for a gallery walk.

Discussion Questions: 

  • When did _______ live?
  • How many years ago was that?
  • What is _______ related to [modern animals]?
  • Why did ______ go extinct?
  • What other animals lived during the same time?

Flagged Passages: 

Read This If You Love: History, Dinosaurs, Animals

Recommended For: 

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Stop by Kid Lit Frenzy for more Nonfiction Picture Book love!

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**Thank you to Media Master Publicity for providing a copy for review!**

Weird Little Robots by Carolyn Crimi

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Weird Little Robots
Author: Carolyn Crimi
Illustrator: Corinna Luyken
Published October 1st, 2019 by Candlewick

Summary: When two science-savvy girls create an entire robot world, they don’t expect the robots to come alive. But life may be a bit more magical than they thought.

Nine-year-old Penny Rose has just moved to a new town, and so far the robots she builds herself are her only company. But with just a bit of magic, everything changes: she becomes best friends with Lark, has the chance to join a secret science club, and discovers that her robots are alive. Penny Rose hardly remembers how lonely she used to feel. But then a fateful misstep forces her to choose between the best friend she’s always hoped for and the club she’s always dreamed of, and in the end it may be her beloved little robots that pay the price.

Praise: [A]uthor Crimi infuses this unassuming transitional novel with compassion, humor, and a refreshing storyline in which girls organically weave a love for science into their everyday lives. Illustrations by Luyken add to the guileless sensibility. A contemplation on the magic of friendship told with sweetness, simplicity, and science.—Kirkus Reviews

**BEA Middle Grade Book Buzz Book

About the Author: Carolyn Crimi enjoys snacking, pugs, Halloween, and writing, although not necessarily in that order. Over the years she has published 15 funny books for children, including Don’t Need Friends, Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies, Where’s My Mummy?, There Might Be Lobsters, and I Am The Boss of This Chair. Weird Little Robots is her first novel.

For more information, and to download a free classroom guide for Weird Little Robots, visit her website. and Twitter @crims10.

Review: Thank goodness books like this exist out in the world. I cannot wait to see what this new generation of kids are like as adults now that they all have these amazing stories of smart girls to read. Even the characters who fit a certain stereotype for Penny Rose ended up proving her wrong. This book shows that there is more to everything than anyone can imagine: more to science, more to friendship, more to imagination… What a fantastic world that Penny and Lark’s story can be told!

And the story itself is one that is fun to read. Not only do you get to read about robots, engineering, ornithology, and even decorating, but the book includes a story that many kids will connect with: do you abandon one to join the others even if the one is your best friend and the others is giving an opportunity that is hard to refuse. That is something that everyone faces more than once in their life. And told in a lyrical and a bit quirky narrative, the story is just fun to read.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: A Classroom Guide for Weird Little Robots can be found on Carolyn Crimi’s website!

Discussion Questions: 

  • What do Penny Rose and Lark have in common?
  • Why do you think Penny Rose made the decision she did about the secret society? Did she regret it in the end? How could she have dealt with it differently?
  • If you were going to build a little robot RIGHT NOW, what items are in your backpack that you could use? Use these items and sketch out a plan.
  • How could Penny Rose have helped her other robots communicate with her?
  • Why do you think the robots waited to communicate?
  • What did the different members of the secret society show Penny Rose, and the reader, about judging others?
  • Create your own conversation starters. Then, in class, group with 2 other people and use the conversation starters to chat. Rotate.
  • What did Penny Rose’s one decision the turned her back on Lark cause?
  • Penny Rose finds her way through the woods just by listening. As a class create an obstacle course that has different sounds throughout it and see if students can navigate through using only their hearing.

Flagged Passages: “First though, Penny Rose would need a detailed plan. She went up to her bedroom, sat on her bed, and turned on the lamp she had made last year from an olive oil can. A stack of notebooks sat on her nightstand: her New Inventions notebook, her Robot Drawings and Descriptions notebook, and her To-Do List notebook. Her most secret notebook, Conversation Starters, was at the bottom of the pile.

She picked it up, found a clean page, and wrote a quick list of Possible Conversation Starters:

  1. “I think binoculars are fun.” (Lark seems to like binoculars.)
  2. “The sun seems strong today.” (Lark often wears sun goop. First determine if the sun does, indeed, seem strong.)
  3. “Sunglasses are very wise.” (Lark wears sunglasses.)
  4. “Do you like robots?” (It is unknown whether or not Lark likes robots, but it is probable that she does since most people do.)
  5. “Yesterday was my birthday. Would you like some leftover cake?” (This seems like a good bet, unless she has allergies or is gluten-free or vegan or something.)
  6. “What is in that metal box?” (This might be too nosy, although if you’re going to carry something so mysterious, you should be prepared for questions.)

Penny Rose looked over her list. She considered what her father said about Lark not hearing before. She decided she would speak loudly.

Penny Rose tore out the page and tucked it into the tool belt she wore in case she happened upon interesting items for her robots.” (Chapter One)

Read This If You Love: Ellie Engineer by Jackson Pearce, Ada Twist by Andrea Beaty, Marty McGuire by Kate Messner, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly, The Last Panther by Todd Mitchell, Frank Einstein by Jon Scieszka

Recommended For: 

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**Thank you to Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review!**

Monument Maker: Daniel Chester French and the Lincoln Memorial by Linda Booth Sweeney

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Monument Maker: Daniel Chester French and the Lincoln Memorial
Author: Linda Booth Sweeney
Illustrator: Shawn Fields
Published September 3rd, 2019 by Tilbury House Publishers

Summary: This is the story of how a farmboy became America’s foremost sculptor. After failing at academics, Dan was working the family farm when he idly carved a turnip into a frog and discovered what he was meant to do. Sweeney’s swift prose and Fields’s evocative illustrations capture the single-minded determination with which Dan taught himself to sculpt and launched his career with the famous Minuteman Statue in his hometown of Concord, Massachusetts.

This is also the story of the Lincoln Memorial, French’s culminating masterpiece. Thanks to this lovingly created tribute to the towering leader of Dan’s youth, Abraham Lincoln lives on as the man of marble, his craggy face and careworn gaze reminding millions of seekers what America can be. Dan’s statue is no lifeless figure, but a powerful, vital touchstone of a nation’s ideals. Now Dan French has his tribute too, in this exquisite biography that brings history to life for young readers.

Praise: 

“The environment that nurtured Daniel Chester French is given loving treatment by Sweeney and Fields. . .  As Sweeney traces French’s way in the world, French goes on to create numerous statues of Civil War heroes, including the epic sculpture of Abraham Lincoln enshrined in his memorial. A timeline and author’s note fill in various gaps in the text, and Fields’ drawings are both powerful and graceful, just as French would have wanted, depicting a largely white cast but including some figures of color, including one of the two modern children who observe the story. . . Both bracing and winning, a fine tribute to the sculptor and his world. (Picture book biography. 8-12) ” – Kirkus Reviews

*Junior Library Guild Gold Standard

Note from the Creators:

When Abraham Lincoln was shot in 1865, fifteen-year-old Dan French had no way to know that one day his tribute to the great president would transform a Washington, DC marsh into a national gathering place. He only knew that he liked making things with his hands.

As a boy, Dan plowed the straightest lines on his family’s farm, but as a teen, he failed (quite spectacularly) out of MIT.  And yet, almost 50 years after Lincoln’s assassination, Daniel Chester French drew on his memories of Lincoln and his artistic talent to create a lovingly sculpted touchstone for a nation’s ideals, reminding millions of seekers what America strives for and still can be.

This is the story of how one young boy became very, very good at what he loves, and for that talent to inspire people across a country and around the world.

We hope this book both delights and unites!

About the Author: Linda Booth Sweeney is an accomplished writer and an educator specializing in the exploration of living systems. www.lindaboothsweeney.com

About the Illustrator: Shawn Fields studied art at the School of Visual Arts, the Arts Student’s League, and the New York Academy of Art. His work has been exhibited at ArtBasel Miami, Forbes Gallery NYC, Arcadia NYC, and is collected worldwide.

Review: If you have ever been to the Lincoln Memorial, you know that a very talented artist sculpted the statue you find within. Monument Maker tells us how a young farm boy takes something he is good at and makes it not only his job but his passion. And I think that is what I loved the most–it showed that there is so much more to life than what others want you to be good at and what society expects you to do well at. We all have talents and passions, look at what Daniel Chester French did with his!

Sweeney and Fields did a fantastic job telling his story while also tying in the theme mentioned above, celebrating history, and setting goals for the future. Overall, a truly deep and well done middle grade picture book!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: With ties to art and history as well as social-emotional learning, Monument Maker can find its home in may different classrooms.

Discussion Questions: 

  • What did Dan’s family do to help support him in his endeavors?
  • What are the different steps in creating a large monument like the Lincoln Memorial?
  • How did Daniel Chester French become one of the best in his field?
  • What is something you love that you want to do when you grow up? How can you become an expert?
  • Why was it important for Daniel to learn how to draw even though he wanted to be a sculptor?
  • What does Daniel Chester French failing out of some classes yet becoming a master sculpture tell you?
  • How does the author tie together Lincoln, French’s sculpture, other history, and the future?

Flagged Passages: 

“History shapes our lives. And what we do with our lives can shape history. That’s how it was with Daniel Chester French.”

“Soon afterward, Dan’s father returned from Boston carrying a cardboard box. In it was ten pounds of cold, wet clay for a family sculpting night.

One by one the family gave up, but not Dan. He kept at it until the shape of a dog’s head appeared in his hands. From then on, Dan worked on the farm during the day and sculpted birds and animals at night.”

Read This If You Love: Art, Abraham Lincoln, Architecture, Sculpture

Recommended For: 

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Don’t miss out on other nonfiction picture books! Check out Kid Lit Frenzy’s Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: 

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Weird But True: Class Collaborative Research Activity

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My students love the Weird but True books by National Geographic, but one thing they don’t like about the books are the lack of information found in the books. Because of this, as we chatted in class, we decided to make a class “Weird But True” presentation with not only the weird and true facts but with extra information and sources! 

All three of my classes all worked in the same Google Slides presentation and built this amazing document of fascinating facts: 

Weird But True
Please view the Google Slides presentation to see the extra information in the Speaker Notes.

This was such a fun and interesting project! It made students check on facts, learn about reliable sources, and learn all sorts of interesting and fun facts!

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National Geographic Kids: Little Kids First Big Book of Science by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld

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National Geographic Kids: Little Kids First Big Book of Science
Author: Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
Published April 4th, 2019 by National Geographic Kids

Summary: What is science? What do scientists do? This lively reference book answers these questions and many more, all while introducing kids to the amazing things that scientists study: animals and plants, oceans and space, earthquakes and volcanoes, sound and light, inventions, and more!

Make sure kids’ first experience of the wonders of science is a thrilling eye-opener with this fun reference book. Fun activities, games, and simple experiments encourage interactive learning, showing kids that anyone can use scientific observation and experimentation to be a scientist and discover new things. With bright images and age-appropriate text, this book inspires kids to be curious, ask questions, and explore the world around them. And, maybe even grow up to be a scientist one day, too! Topics touched on include astronomy, botany, paleontology, malacology (that’s the science of clams, snails, and other animals with shells!), zoology, and more.

Inside you’ll find:

  • More than 200 incredible photos
  • Age-appropriate explanations of the things that scientists wonder about and learn
  • Questions and activities in each chapter that encourage interactive learning
  • Simple text for reading aloud or for beginning readers, and fun facts on every page
  • Parent tips that extend the experience beyond the book

About the Author: Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld was a children’s book editor for more than 10 years before becoming a full-time writer. She has published more than 60 books for children, most about animals and natural history.

Other National Geographic Kids Little Kids First Big Books:

 

Review: National Geographic Kids books are such amazing resources for kids and adults! I just love reading through the books because I always learn something, too, and the images are beautiful. And as a mom, I love reading it with Trent because he adores science and the books are such an inquisitive conversation starter. As a teacher, I can see so many ways that this book could be used in an elementary classroom. It is just a perfect triad!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: The book is made to be used with children when discussing science. There are a plethora of ways to use it! The book speaks for itself:

Additionally, the parent resources in the back are amazing for home and classroom! Here are some examples of the hands-on science discussions/activities for adults to do with kids in the “Parent Tips” section (just a summary):

  • Egg, Plus Heat (Chemistry): Looks at how heat changes the egg.
  • Moon Shapes (Astronomy): Lunar calendar
  • House of Blocks (Engineering): Make the most stable structures.

Discussion Questions: 

  • What is a hypothesis?
  • What is a Control?
  • What are the different branches of science?
  • Why do we get vaccinations?
  • What are the different kinds of animals?
  • What is an ecosystem?
  • What are the three different states of matter?
  • What moves faster: light or sound?
  • Word play with the glossary!

Some of the Interactive Questions from throughout the book

  • If you could spend a day with one of these scientists, who would you choose?
  • Which part of the body would you like to learn more about? Why?
  • Can you name three ways you look different from when you were a baby?
  • What wild animal would you most like to study? Why?
  • Which ecosystem would you most like to visit? Why?
  • How many ocean animals can you name?
  • If you could travel to another planet, which one would you choose?
  • What would you like to invent?

Flagged Passages: 

Read This If You Love: Science!

Recommended For: 

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**Thank you to Karen at Media Masters Publicity for providing a copy for review**

Is 2 A Lot? An Adventure with Numbers by Annie Watson

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Is 2 A Lot? An Adventure with Numbers
Author: Annie Watson
Illustrator: Rebecca Evans
Published June 4th, 2019 by Tilbury House Publishers

Summary: Two is not a lot of pennies, but it is a lot of smelly skunks. Ten is not a lot of popcorn pieces, but it is a lot of chomping dinosaurs. One thousand is not a lot of grains of sand, but it is a lot of hot air balloons!

While Joey’s mom explains the context of numbers in vivid ways, Joey’s imagination transforms their ordinary car ride into a magical odyssey through a land of make-believe.

Is Two a Lot? is a wonderfully charming and authentic exchange between mother and child. Annie Watson’s story makes numbers tangible, and Rebecca Evans’s illustrations bring them to life.

About the Author: Annie Watson (Flagstaff, AZ) is proud of the meaningful work that she does as a high school English teacher, and she feels balanced whenever she can get outside and find time to write. She finds daily joy in reading bedtime stories, and she looks forward to her family’s next adventure to the bookstore, museum, or beach. She and her husband and two children enjoy the beautiful mountains, sunflowers, parks, community events, and pizza places in and around Flagstaff.

About the Illustrator: Rebecca Evans worked for nine years as an artist and designer before returning to her first love: children’s book illustration and writing. Her children’s books include Someday I’ll Fly; Friends in Fur Coats; The Good Things; The Shopkeeper’s Bear; Naughty Nana; Amhale in South Africa; Mei Ling in China; Tiffany in New York; Masterpiece Robot; and Finding the Speed of Light. She lives in Maryland with her husband and four young children, shares her love of literature and art regularly at elementary schools, teaches art at the Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts, and works from her home studio whenever time permits. Rebecca’s own boundless imagination enjoys free reign at www.rebeccaevans.net

Praise: “A picture book that accurately depicts how children think about numbers and values in a fun and engaging way.

Readers will want to count the number of skunks, cowboys, and other imaginative creatures and objects Joey and his mother discuss throughout the book, and they will enjoy seeing various characters from the places they visit pile into the trunk of the station wagon.

Children who are learning the meaning of value and numbers will both learn from this book, with its whimsical examples of what “a lot” means, and find much to enjoy.” – Kirkus Reviews

Review: Trent loves books like I do, but he really is more of a science and math kid than I was (am!), so whenever we can combine the two in fun ways, the book is a favorite in my house. This also shows the engagement opportunities with a book in a classroom.

I love that the story is a conversation between a mom and her son. It reminds me so much of so many conversations I’ve had in my car with Trent. I really promotes the inquisitiveness of kids which is something I think we all need to keep promoting.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Trent actually had a hard time grasping the concept that is being discussed in the book, so it would be an amazing math activity to turn the conversations into manipulatives and bring the numbers to life!

Discussion Questions: 

  • When is ___ (#) a lot? When is it not?
  • How many pieces of sand are on a beach?
  • How many bones are in your body?
  • Why do skunks spray?
  • How many types of dinosaurs were there?
  • How many kids fit in a bus? A double-decker bus?
  • How do hot air balloons work?
  • What questions do you have that you would like answered?
  • Look at the illustrations and how all of the things mentioned throughout come together, and write your own narrative telling the story about what happened.

Flagged Passages: 

Read This If You Love: Math, Inquiry

Recommended For: 

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Blog Tour with Review: Moon! Earth’s Best Friend by Stacy McAnulty

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Moon! Earth’s Best Friend
Author: Stacy McAnulty
Illustrator: Stevie Lewis
Published June 11th, 2019

Summary: From writer Stacy McAnulty and illustrator Stevie Lewis, Moon! Earth’s Best Friend is a light-hearted nonfiction picture book about the formation and history of the moon—told from the perspective of the moon itself.

Meet Moon! She’s more than just a rock—she’s Earth’s rock, her best friend she can always count on. Moon never turns her back on her friend (literally: she’s always facing Earth with the same side!). These two will stick together forever. With characteristic humor and charm, Stacy McAnulty channels the voice of Moon in this next celestial “autobiography” in the Our Universe series. Rich with kid-friendly facts and beautifully brought to life by Stevie Lewis, this is an equally charming and irresistible companion to Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years and Sun! One in a Billion.

About the Author: Stacy McAnulty is the author of several picture books, including Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years, illustrated by David Litchfield; Sun! One in a Billion, illustrated by Stevie Lewis; Excellent Ed, illustrated by Julia Sarcone-Roach; and Beautiful, illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, three children, and two dogs.

About the Illustrator: Stevie Lewis spent four years working in animation and now creates art and illustrates children’s books, including Sun! One in a Billion, written by Stacy McAnulty, and Lost in the Library, written by Josh Funk. Stevie lives on the road, furthering her passion for climbing, art, and the outdoors. She gathers inspiration from a variety of places, be it climbing in the high desert in central Oregon, hiking in the wilderness of Alaska, or sharing laughs with fellow travelers around a campfire.

Praise: “Perfect for children—and grown-ups—who have questions about the greater universe.” —Booklist on Moon! Earth’s Best Friend

A Junior Library Guild Selection

Review: I cannot rave enough about this book and the series it is a part of. And as a mom of a kid who adores space, I have read quite a few nonfiction space books, but there are no others like McAnulty and Lewis’s books. There are a few reasons why these books, including Moon!, stand above and beyond others:

  • Humor! You cannot help but giggle when Moon says something funny or cute.
  • Narration! It is awesome having the Moon (or Earth or Sun) narrate the book. It being in 1st person adds to the narrative.
  • Voice! It is so fascinating how McAnulty changes her voice in each of the books. If I read one aloud to Trent without saying which book it was, he would know because of how the characters talk.
  • Interesting! McAnulty does a great job sharing foundational knowledge as well as some unique facts.

View our reviews for the first two Universe books, Earth! and Sun!, also.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: The ideas we shared for the other Universe books would definitely book for Moon! also, so check out the other posts linked above, but now that we have three Universe books, there is now the opportunity to do activities will all three books! The options I think of are:

  • Like a jigsaw! Split your class into three groups, and each group reads and discusses one of the books. From the book, they create a handout to share the information that they learned. Then make new groups with 3 students: one from each book’s group. They will then share what they learned with their new group.
  • Split up the class into three groups (one for each group) and have the group read the book and create a readers theater of the book.
  • In-class book clubs! With them being picture books, you can split into three groups and rotate them through all three books. Have students create a one pager sharing what they learned (independently or as a group) or have them write discussion questions and discuss them or give questions to have them discuss.

Discussion Questions: 

  • How did the Moon come to be?
  • Why is Moon capitalized but moon isn’t?
  • How does the author use the narrator’s voice between the three books? How do the voices differ?
  • What reasonings does Moon give for why she’s Earth’s BFF?
  • What new information did you learn about the Moon?

Our Universe Series Book Trailer: 

Flagged Passages: 

Read This If You Love: Universe books by Stacy McAnulty, The Sun is Kind of a Big Deal by Nick Seluk, Once Upon a Star by James Carter, Space Encyclopedia by David Aguilar, You Choose In Space by Pippa Goodhart, A Big Mooncake for Little Star by Grace Lin, Star Stuff by Stephanie Roth Sisson

Recommended For: 

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