|
|
Click here for the Teacher Feature Archives
Teacher Feature
|
This issue's special- 30% off!
|
It’s
been incredibly busy digging out from ice storms and whatnot, and now we’re
digging out from a storm of books with our huge Low Watermark sale.
If you haven’t been in yet, come visit!
We have hundreds of children’s titles 45% off, and remember - all
other
regularly priced books are discounted 20% for teacher’s use in the
classroom.
We are also getting in many books celebrating February’s Black
History
Month and Valentine’s Day. 1)
“Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-ins” by Carole Boston Weatherford
(Dial Books, ISBN 0803728603, $16.99). You get to follow the story of a little girl in the
1960’s
American South who starts to wonder why she, too, can’t sit down to have ice
cream at the lunch counter.
From
her parents talking about Martin Luther King, Jr., coming to town to
learning
about the NAACP, Connie becomes aware of the change that eventually will get
her
that banana split. 2)
"Food for Thought: The Complete Book of Concepts for Growing
Minds" by Saxton Freymann (Scholastic, ISBN 0439110181, $14.95).
You are immediately struck by the cover photo of the giant fruit
faces,
and you’ll continue to be delighted by the imaginative uses of food stuffs
all
throughout the book to illustrate the concepts of shapes, colors, numbers,
letters, and opposites. I kept
giggling as I read it, particularly when I got to the green pepper
frogs.
You, and your kids, will adore it. 3)
"Days of Jubilee” by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack (Scholastic
Press, ISBN 059010764X, $18.95.)
This
book was a Coretta Scott King Honor Book, and you will understand from the
minute you pick it up. Here you
will find beautiful writing, for middle readers, about the process of ending
slavery. Kids will learn how slavery did not all end in a single
day,
but instead became a ‘jubilee’ of personal days of freedom that arrived in
stages. This would be an
excellent
book to add to kids’ knowledge of the controversies and challenges that
arrived with post-civil war, and a great way to acknowledge and celebrate
the
strength of African Americans in our history. 4)
“Give Me Grace” by Cynthia Rylant (Simon and Schuster, ISBN
0689878850, $7.99). One of my
favorite illustrators, Cynthia Rylant gives readers a lovely day book of
prayers
for young children this year.
You
will find lovely painted images, simple but poignant, serving as a backdrop
for
words each day children can give as blessing and thanks.
Its board pages make it perfect for young children. 5)
“Seeds”
(Simon and Schuster, ISBN 0689850417, $15.95).
Beautiful and bright real-life photographs are the shining marker of
this
new book by Ken Robbins documenting (what else, of course!) seeds.
Kids will enjoy seeing how seeds grow, vary in shape, size, and
color,
and may end up marvelling at the complexities of nature that are found in
the
smallest of packages. 6)
“The Librarian of Basra” by Jeanette Winter (Harcourt, ISBN
0152054456, $16.00). This
book’s
story haunted me after reading the simple tale of one woman in Basra, Iraq,
who
saves her library by stowing the books with neighbors, family, and
friends.
The importance of reading to a community, the ravages of war, and the
heroic acts one person can do for the world are all tied together into this
simple little book brand new this year. 7) “10 Little Rubber Ducks” by Eric Carle (Harpercollins, ISBN 0060740752, $19.99.) You will not be disappointed by Eric Carle’s newest creation, featuring his always recognizable, colorful artwork, with a fun audio surprise on the last page. Based on the real-life news story of 29,000 rubber bathtub toys lost overboard at sea, it’s a hilarious tale of what eventually does become of them. - Come into the store and enjoy a 30% discount on Remember: The Journey to School Integration by Toni Morrison (Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 061839740X, $18.00.) One of my favorite books from this past year, Toni Morrison’s words are as beautiful as the graceful sepia-toned photographs that illustrate this book of the struggle children faced as they dealt with the issues of racism, segregation, and change first-hand. Published at the fifty-year celebration of the famous Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education court decision, kids (and adults) will be moved by this story so recent in our history. - For kids ages 8-12 years, consider “Grasslands” by Debra Seely (Holiday House, ISBN 082341731X, $16.95.) Many of you may have read this book, but for those of you that haven’t, consider Debra Seely a must in current children’s literature. Set on a Kansas farm in the 1880’s, this story follows the main character, Thomas, through the struggles of western life, adjustment in a stepfamily, and relating to his father. “The prairie looked treacherous to me now… ,” Seely writes, “like the seas the Greek heroes crossed, and my book couldn’t take the place of someone real to be with.” Simply beautiful. For teen readers, you might suggest "Haunted Kansas” by Lisa Hefner Heitz (University Press of Kansas, ISBN 070060930X, $14.95.) With Kansas Day approaching, you might try this book for a new twist looking at ‘haunted’ stories of Kansas towns. Based on oral histories documenting stories passed down in our state through the generations, it’s a fun and surprising book of legends written by a fellow Kansan that “tells us what we’ve known all along – Kansas is a spooky place” (to quote the “Kansas City Star”). - Don’t
forget to send me any other thoughts, suggestions, or any requests for this
portion of this portion of our newsletter to me at shaunna.balman@watermarkbooks.com.
Enjoy
the great weather this week! Shaunna
Click here for the Teacher Feature Archives
Peruse back issues of teacher feature since its inception in April 2003. |
