Animals

Sofia’s Kids’ Corner: The One and Only Ivan and The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate

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Sofia is an 8-year-old brilliant reader who aspires to be a book reviewer. On select Saturdays, Sofia will share her favorite books with kids! She is one of the most well-read elementary schoolers that we know, so she is highly qualified for this role!

Dear readers,

If you are looking for two books about kindness and bravery then these books would be those books. Drumroll please… The One and Only Ivan and the sequel The One and Only Bob by Kathrine Applegate!!! These books are totally recommended for read aloud! If you want any of these books for read aloud I would say they are appropriate for second grade and above. These books are recommended for ages 8-12 if you read them yourself.

The One and Only Ivan

Ivan is a big and kind gorilla. He lives at a mall owned by a person called Mack. Mack makes shows to attract more people to his mall and Ivan and some of his friends are in it. Ivan makes some friends at the mall like an old circus elephant named Stella, Julia who is Mack’s daughter and later on a young elephant named Ruby who was taken away from her family when she was very young. They are trapped in big cages made of glass so the people can see the animals when they walk past the cages. Mack is very harsh when the animals don’t follow his directions and sometimes he even takes out a whip! Will Ivan and his friends be able to escape Mack’s mall without being harmed?

The One and Only Bob

Bob is a dog. He got taken away from his mom when he was little. He got dropped off in the road and became a street dog searching through garbage cans for as much food as he could find.  When Bob meets Ivan in the first book they become best buddies and they also become friends with Ruby, the elephant that lives at the mall with Ivan. As you will know if you have read The One and Only Ivan Bob eventually goes to stay with Julia, Mack’s daughter. Bob visits his friends every day. But one time there is a big storm and Julia loses Bob in the middle of a monstrous flood! Will he make it out alive?

I love both of these books because they really make me feel like I am actually there and witnessing the event, like all good books do. I also love these books because they are a bit silly because the stories are told from an animal’s point of view. The animals say a lot of weird things about us because they don’t really understand our ways. For example, the book says “I have learned to understand human words over the years, but understanding human speech is not the same as understanding humans. Humans speak too much. They chatter like chimps, crowding the world with their noise even when they have nothing to say.” I am sure any reader would have fun with this so ENJOY!!!

If you loved these books then you might want to read Crenshaw By Katharine Applegate. Crenshaw is a cat. I have not read it yet but it sounds very interesting!

**Thank you, Sofia, for your continued brilliance. You inspire us!**

 

Review, Book Trailer, and Giveaway!: Marjory Saves the Everglades: The Story of Marjory Stoneman Douglas by Sandra Neil Wallace, Illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon

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Marjory Saves the Everglades: The Story of Marjory Stoneman Douglas
Author: Sandra Neil Wallace
Illustrator: Rebecca Gibbon
Published September 22, 2020 by Simon Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books

Summary: From acclaimed children’s book biographer Sandra Neil Wallace comes the inspiring and little-known story of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the remarkable journalist who saved the Florida Everglades from development and ruin.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas didn’t intend to write about the Everglades but when she returned to Florida from World War I, she hardly recognized the place that was her home. The Florida that Marjory knew was rapidly disappearing—the rare orchids, magnificent birds, and massive trees disappearing with it.

Marjory couldn’t sit back and watch her home be destroyed—she had to do something. Thanks to Marjory, a part of the Everglades became a national park and the first park not created for sightseeing, but for the benefit of animals and plants. Without Marjory, the part of her home that she loved so much would have been destroyed instead of the protected wildlife reserve it has become today.

About the Author: Sandra Neil Wallace hopes that her stories inspire readers as much as they inspire her. Her book The Teachers March! How Selma’s Teachers Changed History was written with her husband, Rich Wallace, and has received three starred reviews to date. Between the Lines: How Ernie Barnes Went From the Football Field to the Art Gallery received the Orbis Pictus Book Award, was an ALA Notable Book and a Booklist Top 10 Biography for Youth. Formerly, Sandra was an ESPN reporter and was the first woman to host an NHL broadcast. She continues to break barriers as co-founder of DailyGoodNH.org and lives with her family in New Hampshire. To learn more, and to download free activity kits and other resources, visit  SandraNeilWallace.com.

Facebook: Sandra Neil Wallace
Twitter: @SandraNWallace
On Instagram: @sandraneilwallace

Praise: “Marjory Saves the Everglades will inspire children of today and tomorrow to be persistent and follow their dreams to create a better world. Sandra Neil Wallace captures Marjory’s passionate commitment to justice for our natural world and all of its inhabitants.”

Review: Marjory Stoneman Douglas is such a special person to us Floridians, even before the tragedy at the school named for her. Marjory changed the course of history here in Florida helping establish our very own ecosystem where amazing wildlife live. We’ll forever be grateful for her, and I am so happy for this beautiful biography commemorating her life and teaching even me more than I knew about her.

Wallace did a fantastic job choosing which parts of Douglas’s amazing life to share, going through much of her life without overloading the narrative, while also showing how important the Everglades are.

The illustrations are perfect because they are so detailed and engulf you when reading about the Everglades. Also, they are so colorful bringing to life all of the amazing wildlife!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This picture book biography will be perfect for older elementary and secondary classrooms! I would love to see it being used when speaking about humans/women who made a difference or wetlands, so it’ll be a perfect cross-curricular read hitting science, social studies, and reading.

There truly is so much that can be done with this picture book. While reading, I found many differen sections I could stop and do a lesson about an aspect: transportation over time, women’s right history, onomatopoeias, article writing, women in military, women during WWII, expansion of the USA, poaching, National Park history, swamp vs. Everglades, animals of the Everglades, effects of pollution, Friends of the Everglades, and more!

The back matter of the book also offers great opportunities to diving deeper including articles to learn more about Marjory and a mentor text timeline.

Discussion Questions: 

  • How did Marjory’s persistence show that anyone can do anything they put their mind to?
  • How did Marjory change the world?
  • How can we keep the Everglades safe?
  • What birds and wildlife live in the Everglades that live no where else?
  • How is the Everglades unique?
  • What adjectives would you use to describe Marjory?
  • Before saving the Everglades, what else did Marjory do that she should be honored for?

Book Trailer:

Flagged Passages: 

Read This If You Love: Picture book biographies, Enviornmental-focused picture books

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Giveaway!: 

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**Thank you to Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review and Simon & Schuster for providing a copy for giveaway!**

Magnificent Makers: How to Test a Friendship by Theanne Griffith, Illustrated by Reggie Brown

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Magnificent Makers: How to Test a Friendship
Author: Theanne Griffith
Illustrator: Reggie Brown
Published May 19, 2020 by Random House Children’s Books

Summary: BOOM! SNAP! WHIZ! ZAP! The Magnificent Makers series is filled with science, adventure, and characters that readers will love!

A modern-day Magic School Bus for chapter book readers!

Violet and Pablo are best friends who love science! So when they discover a riddle that opens a magic portal in the Science Space at school, they can’t wait to check it out! Along with their new classmate, Deepak, the friends discover a magical makerspace called the Maker Maze. It’s a laboratory full of robots, 3D printers, an antigravity chamber, and more. Doors line the walls of the makerspace, with a new science adventure waiting behind each one.

Ricki’s Review: I think I’ve recommended this book to about fifteen people since we’ve read it. I really admire the way in which Griffith incorporates science in such a fun way. The book almost feels interactive. I am going to admit that I, an adult, learned some cool science information as we read this one. We read this book with our virtual book club of kids, and they all loved it. It was very easy to host discussions, and the kids were very animated as they talked about the sections that they loved most. This is a great early chapter book series that is going to be well-loved by teachers. The interdisciplinary nature of the text makes it very easy to teach. We will definitely be getting the next book in the series.

Kellee’s Review: As a mom of 1st grader who loves to read, we are always looking for new early chapter books that will grab his attention and this book is everything we could want. First, it is relatable. The dynamics between the three characters are accurate and just on point. It also deals with real feelings like jealousy and competitiveness. Second, it is about science! Trent is definitely a science loving kid, and adding some science into his books makes him love them more. Third, it is a reflection of the real world (even though they travel to another dimension) because there are a diversity of kids and adults both in looks and behavior. We have already gone to buy the next three in the series, and we cannot wait to see what adventure happens next!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: This book offers many questions that can lead to inquiry and many topics that can be explored further by kids. Teachers might ask students to select a topic in science and write a fictional story about it. This would require some research and thinking about how information is presented in fiction.

Discussion Questions: 

  • What was your favorite aspect of science that you learned from the book?
  • What emotions did the characters experience in the book? Have you been in situations where you’ve felt these emotions?
  • What could you research from this book to learn more (e.g. robots, 3D printers, an antigravity chamber, the ecosystem)?

Flagged Passage: “Producers, consumers, decomposers, oh my! All are necessary for an ecosystem to survive. Most animals are __________. Living things, beware! If ____________ disappeared, we wouldn’t have fresh air. And without ______________, nature’s garbage would be everywhere! Solve this riddle to enter the maker maze” (p. 11).

Read This If You Love: Science books, early chapter books, interdisciplinary learning

Recommended For: 

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Review and Giveaway!: Clover Kitty Goes to Kittygarten by Laura Purdie Salas

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Clover Kitty Goes to Kittygarten
Author: Laura Purdie Salas
Illustrator: Hiroe Nakata
Published July 14, 2020 by Two Lions

Summary: Clover Kitty does NOT want to go to kittygarten! Although she might like a friend to play with, kittygarten feels overwhelming for a sensory-sensitive kitty like Clover. And when she arrives, it is exactly as she fears: her classroom is too loud, the lights are too bright, and everyone comes too close. So Clover throws a fit…and decides to quit kittygarten. But when a classmate comes to check on her, she begins to reconsider. Maybe it’s time for Clover to give kittygarten another chance.…

Laura Purdie Salas is an award-winning author of more than 125 books for children, including her recent books Snowman – Cold = Puddle: Spring Equations, illustrated by Micha Archer, and Lion of the Sky: Haiku for All Seasons, illustrated by Mercè López. Her books have received such honors as Bank Street College of Education’s Best Books for Children, IRA Teachers’ Choice, the Minnesota Book Award, and NCTE Notable book. Laura went to kindergarten in Florida and now lives in Minnesota. She hates crowds and knows a good friend makes everything better. Learn more about the author at www.laurasalas.com. Twitter: @LauraPSalas
Facebook: @LauraPSalas

Hiroe Nakata grew up in Japan and moved to the United States when she was sixteen. She is a graduate of the Parsons School of Design. Artwork from her first picture book, Lucky Pennies and Hot Chocolate, was chosen for the prestigious Society of Illustrators Annual Exhibition. Since then, she has illustrated numerous books for children, including her recent titles, Baby Builders, written by Elissa Haden Guest, Baby’s Blessings, written by Lesléa Newman, and One More Hug, written by Inside Edition’s national correspondent Megan Alexander. Hiroe vividly remembers her daughter’s struggles in kindergarten and is happy to report that, at fourteen, her daughter excels in school and plays in the school band.
Instagram: @hiroenakata

“Young readers will identify with Clover’s feelings about starting school or any new adventure… A perfect story to share at the beginning of the school year.” —School Library Journal

“Salas shapes a read-aloud that will spark conversation with first-timers who are sensitive to stimulus, while Nakata humorously conveys the resolute feline’s emotions in expressive watercolor images.” —Publishers Weekly

Ricki’s Review: This book is so charming. It is the perfect back-to-school book for cat-loving kids (and non-cat-loving kids, too!). I read this book to my 3yo and 6yo who are entering preschool and first grade, and the book brought both of them joy. The book brought back memories for me—I was also a kid who faked sick because I didn’t enjoy school when I was in elementary school. Clover’s actions likely replicate those of millions of kids, and the book offers opportunities for conversations with kids about pushing forward despite discomfort. There’s so much to love about this book. The illustrations made me smile, and they beautifully portray the emotions of the characters. The language flows well, which makes for a very enjoyable read-aloud. Literary elements are packed within the pages, which makes this book very teachable. We’ll be rereading this one often, and we will definitely pull it out the evening before school begins!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: I highly recommend this one for the first, second, and third day jitters. Students will be captivated by the story, and they’ll find much to love in the animals of the book. Clover won my heart, and I know she’ll be popular among kids, too. Teachers might also point out the personification and the figurative language as they read. Check out the book trailer, activity sheets, and more at https://laurasalas.com/clover/.

Discussion Questions: 

  • How does Clover feel on the first day? The second day?
  • How do Clover’s emotions shift in different moments of the story?
  • Have you ever felt this way about a new situation? What did you do? What can you learn from Clover?

We Flagged: 

Read This If You Love: The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn; Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney; Stella Luna by Janell Cannon; In My Heart by Mackenzie Porter; Back to School Books; Cats

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

Shifu Orboot Earth: AR-Powered, Interactive Globe

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About Orboot from Shifu

An award-winning educational toy, Orboot is a no-borders globe that connects with the fun & interactive Orboot app.

A STEM toy that sparks the imagination and creativity, Orboot encourages the little ones to explore and discover on their own. It builds knowledge as well as develops linguistic and cognitive abilities in the process.

Explore the world with 400+ highlights and 1000+ cool facts across 6 categories – cultures, cuisines, monuments, inventions, animals and maps (national and state boundaries of countries).

Visit https://www.playshifu.com/orboot/earth to learn more!

Four Reasons to Love Orboot

And Trent surely does love Orboot!

What makes Orboot stand out versus other globes and other geography apps is that it combines the two: hands on and technology. The globe can be used like a standard globe but it also can be taken to the next level by using the AR-powered app to dig in!

There are some awesome pluses to the app: all aspects of it is free, it is available in many different languages, and once you download the app WiFi isn’t needed. Also, there is a portion of the app that can be used if the physical globe is not available!

There are so many different ways to play with your globe with its app. First, you can learn information about six different categories: maps, monuments, animals, food, inventions, and culture. There is also a scavenger hunt type game, quizzes, and the ability to build their own national park. And that is the digital puzzles and activities.

In addition to the digital activities, the user also gets a passport, stickers, guide, and stamps to keep track of the countries you “visit” while using Orboot.

Trent adores his globe! He will sit with it for hours, listening to facts, interacting with the information, telling me about the places he traveled to, and making connections between what he is learning and what he knows. Trent says, “I like that I can learn about different places!”

I was surprised that the coins, stars, gems, and badges he could earn wasn’t what kept him going back to the globe, it was the knowledge and the mysteries. He loved figuring out all of the clues in the scavenger hunt type mysteries, and he likes throwing out the “Did you know?” questions at us. He likes looking up places he sees in books or entertainment to learn about them. Who can argue with a learning toy that engages kids this way?

He also really likes the Oko Park aspect because it allows him to take his knowledge about the world and apply it to make a virtual national park. In the park the user looks at the balance of the national park, problems in the national park, and ways to keep their national park healthy. Trent says, “I love that I can learn to help nature.”

As a teacher, I could see Orboot as a center all by itself. It has such possibilities that it, by itself, could fill a center need and would allow students to dive into geography, social studies, and science!

Orboot takes kids on an adventure that they’ll love!

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**Thank you to Shifu for providing a globe for review!!**

Book Reader Animal Kingdom from Best Learning

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Book Reader Animal Kingdom is an interactive book reader for children to learn about 12 animals through 27 book pages about their appearance, behaviors, habitats and much more! Filled with playful melodies, friendly voices, and interesting sounds of animals and nature! Also comes with Quiz mode for those up for a challenge to keep them enthusiastic and learning at the same time!

  • Family Choice & Tillywig Parents’ Favorite Products Award Winner 2018! An interactive book reader for children to teach 12 animals about their appearance, behaviors, habitats and much more!
  • Simply press the paw down against the page as it reads aloud the contents.
  • Comes with a true and false quiz mode for those up for a challenge to keep them enthusiastic and learning at the same time.
  • Skills learned include animals, memory, dexterity, motor functions, concentration and problem solving.
  • Requires 3 AAA batteries (included); intended for preschoolers and early learners of ages 3 years and up.

Ricki’s Review: About twenty minutes after my 3-year-old started playing with this book, I messaged Kellee because I had to share about it. I wrote, “The Animal Kingdom book is SO COOL. He’s been playing with it for twenty minutes and hasn’t let his older brother have a turn. It would be so good for classrooms, too. It teaches reading comprehension really well!” Within about five minutes, Kellee had ordered one for her son, too. Although I was supposed to be reviewing this book alone, Kellee is joining me because she loved it just as much.

(This is how my 3yo started the book—he immediately placed it on the ground to start reading.)

This is a book (and product) worth sharing about. As you can see in the video above, the pages offer fascinating facts about animals, and the reader is clear and easy to understand. My kids listen intently to the reading, and they are always excited to take the true/false quiz to test their listening skills. Soon, my six-year-old will be able to easily follow along as she reads aloud. My three-year-old typically guesses the answers to the quiz (the concept of true/false is still a bit confusing for him), and my six-year-old is able to practice his listening and reading comprehension skills independently. The both love this product equally, despite their different reading abilities. Even my one-year-old gets a kick out of pushing down the reader to get her talking!

(20 minutes later…)

(I kid you not, 20 minutes after that…)

My three-year-old spent almost an hour with this book and even moved to a comfier spot. It is a favorite in our toy room (they consider it to be a toy!). We’ll be gifting this book to friends. (And I plan to write an email begging Best Learning to produce more of these books.)

Kellee’s Review: Like Ricki said, she shared with me how informative and engaging this book was, so I immediately jumped on and bought one for Trent. Trent adores animals but is more interested in watching documentaries and shows about them than reading about them (he is a fiction loving reader), but this book defies his normal interests, and he loves learning everything he can about each of the animals in the book. He’ll re-listen to pages, redo the quiz, and look back at the images over and over. This book is a hit in our household (it is in the living room because he keeps grabbing it to bring out here as a choice activity), and I, like Ricki, look forward to sharing as a gift and hoping for Best Learning to make more readers like this.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: ELA teachers focus on reading, writing, speaking, and listening (among the obvious other things like thinking). This is a beautiful example of a book that teaches listening. It would be a great learning tool to place at an independent or group station for reading comprehension. Alternatively, it could also be used for fast finishers. Even adults will find joy in this book.

Additionally, it would be a great mentor text for early education animal research projects. Students can emulate the format of a spread about an aimal of their choice.

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**Thank you to Best Learning for providing a copy of Animal Kingdom for review!**

That’s A Job?: I Like Animals…What Jobs Are There? by Steve Martin, Illustrated by Roberto Blefari

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I Like Animals…What Jobs Are There?
Author: Steve Martin
Illustrator: Roberto Blefari
Published March 1st, 2020 by Kane Miller Books

Summary: What do you want to do when you grow up? Children who love animals can find out all about potential future careers, from veterinarian to zookeeper to pet portrait artist, as they’re taken through a “day in the life” of 25 different animal workers.

Praise: 

Review: This book was written for so many kids out there! If any of you are librarians or teachers, you know how popular nonfiction animal books are. There are so few kids out there that don’t love animals! My son is one of those kids that adores animals and already says that he wants to be a zoologist and work with turtles, so when I saw this book, I knew I had to get it for him. What I love about the book (and the series I hope it is!) is that it gives options that kids may not know they have. Trent’s first thought for working with animals is working at a zoo, but there is so much more than that which he can choose from.

Each job’s section is really well done! It is written in first person from the point of view of the professional and includes fun yet truthful information, including the best and worst parts. Then, in the back, there is a flow map that helps kids see which job might be their perfect match, and there’s even back matter with more jobs. What a way to open up a kid’s imagination for the future!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: My first thought was that this book could be an awesome mentor text for creating a similar type pamphlet. Students could pick something like sports, technology, children, etc. and make a pamphlet about what jobs are out there. This would be a great research project.

Discussion Questions: 

  • Before reading: What jobs do you know of that include working with animals?; After reading: Add to the list.
  • Which job do you think would work the best with your personality and work ethic?
  • Any jobs that you are interested in that weren’t in the book?
  • Why do you think the author chose to write each section in 1st person?
  • Why do you think the author wrote this book?
  • Compare/contrast two of the jobs in the book.

Flagged Passages: 

Read This If You Love: Animals

Recommended For: 

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