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Read aloud a chapter a day to broaden your children's interests and knowledge of historical eras, and have kids write about their own lives in the context of what is going on in the world around them right now. Red-Eyed Tree Frog For this age group, finding compelling nonfiction about animals is no easy feat. But Joy Cowley's simple-to-read color photo essay, Red-Eyed Tree Frog, will wow children of all ages. Danger lurks in the branches as a boa slithers up and flicks the frog's foot with its tongue, and listeners will exhale with relief when the pop-eyed frog gets away. The dramatic color close-ups of the two-inch green-backed cream-bellied frog are gorgeous in their clarity and detail, and the final "Did You Know?" page of additional facts will have newfound frog-lovers hanging on every word. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Hottest Coldest Highest Deepest In Steve Jenkins' Hottest Coldest Highest Deepest, take a brief tour of earth's natural wonders to find the longest river (the Nile: 4,145 miles); the highest mountain (Mount Everest: 29,028 feet); or the coldest place (Vostok, Antarctica, at 129 degrees below zero). Each double-page spread of striking paper collage illustrations depicts a geographical record-holder, a small inset map, and an additional paragraph of intriguing supporting facts. Not only will you circle the globe vicariously, but the mathematical comparisons for each place encompass miles, feet, inches, and temperature, making this an across the curriculum star for supporting math, science, and geography lessons. Children in grades K-4 can search out additional information about each of the 14 sites in the library, the encyclopedia, and Internet. Don't be surprised if kids get the wanderlust to visit some of these places. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Snowflake Bentley Jacqueline Briggs Martin's Caldecott Award-winning Snowflake Bentley is an unforgettable and gorgeously illustrated biography of a hardworking innovator and unsung hero, Wilson "Willie" Bentley. Bentley was a farmer from Vermont who spent his life photographing snowflakes. "Snow in Vermont is as common as dirt," people said, but that didn't stop Willie Bentley, who thought of his snowflake photographs as his gift to the world. He developed his own technique of microphotography that confirmed that no two snowflakes are alike, and earned him the reputation as the world's expert on snow. From this book, children see the importance of following their own passions. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman Here's another of my favorite biographies: Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman. This book by Kathleen Krull is a gripping and uplifting picture book biography of an African American heroine and role model. Born in 1940 in Tennessee, the youngest of 20 children, Wilma Rudolph contracted polio at age 5 and everybody thought she would never walk again. How she fought against that diagnosis, exercising her leg in its heavy iron brace until she could walk again, and finally run, led to her becoming a basketball star in high school, and the first member of her family to go to college. At the 1960 Rome Olympics, Wilma became the first American woman to win three gold medals for running. Kids will want to run laps around the gym after they read this one. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We Were There, Too!: Young People in U.S. History If you are tired of history texts describing the accomplishments of mostly white men, wait until you read Phillip Hoose's We Were There, Too!: Young People in U.S. History, a nominee for the 2002 National Book Award. The book is a riveting look at American history through the eyes of its activist youth. Two- to eight-page profiles, based on primary sources, diaries, and interviews, along with reproductions of prints, paintings, and portraits, acquaint the reader with 68 courageous children and teenagers who participated in groundbreaking events. Starting with 12-year-old Diego Bermudez who sailed with Columbus in 1492, the text is divided into nine time periods, including the British colonies, the American Revolution, the Civil War, the West, and the wars of the twentieth century. The final chapters deal with modern-day heroes who encountered segregation, war, sexual discrimination, AIDS, and environmental pollution. All of the profiles are written in a conversational but dramatic narrative style that personalizes each young person, followed by a description of what happened to each later in life.
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