New Book News
April/May/June 2007
Excerpt
Book
The Snack Smasher and Other Reasons It's Not My Fault
by Andrea Perry
Illustrations by Alan Snow
Atheneum, 2007 32p. (gr. K-5)
Poems about the sneaky villains that cause life's little annoyances.
Idea
Share the list of villains from the table of contents. Readers can identify a situation when one of these villains entered their lives and caused havoc.
Readers can make a WANTED poster for the villain, indicating the crime committed against the reader. Remind them to include either a portrait of the villain or a picture of the cause the villain caused on their posters. They can also include the date of the crime, as well as the location.
Readers can write a crime report, as if they were a police officer reporting the crime. Their police report should include the following:
- mug shot
- date of crime
- details of the crime
- evidence recovered from the scene
- witness statements
- recommended sentence
Readers can write a newspaper article describing the havoc that one of these villains caused in their lives. Remind them to write a headline that will grab the readers' attention, and describe the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the situation.
Strategies for the following books are also included in the April/May/June issue:
purchase the full version of New Book News >>
- Animal Poems
- by Valerie Worth. Pictures by Steve Jenkins
- Farrar, 2007 (gr. 2-6)
- Big Bug Surprise
- by Julia Gran. Scholastic, 2007 (gr. K-3)
- Casey Back at Bat
- by Dan Gutman. Paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher
- HarperCollins, 2007 (gr. 2-6)
- The Chicken Chasing Queen of Lamar County
- by Janice N. Harrington. Pictures by Shelley Jackson
- Farrar, 2007 (gr. K-3)
- Deep in the Swamp
- by Donna M. Bateman. Illustrated by Brian Lies
- Charlesbridge, 2007 (gr. 1-4)
- Green As a Bean
- by Karla Kuskin. Illustrated by Melissa Iwai
- HarperCollins, 2007 (gr. K-3)
- Heat Wave
- by Eileen Spinelli. Illustrated by Betsy Lewin
- Harcourt, 2007 (gr. K-3)
- How to Steal a Dog
- by Barbara O'Connor. Farrar, 2007 (gr. 4-6)
- Hurry! Hurry!
- by Eve Bunting. Illustrated by Jeff Mack
- Harcourt, 2007 (gr. K-2)
- If
- by Rudyard Kipling. Photographs by Charles R. Smith, Jr.
- Atheneum, 2007 (gr. 3+)
- The Invention of Hugo Cabret
- by Brian Selznick. Scholastic, 2007 (gr. 4-7)
- Leaving the Nest
- by Mordicai Gerstein. Farrar, 2007 (gr. 1-4)
- The Longest Season
- by Cal Ripken, Jr. Illustrated by Ron Mazellan
- Philomel, 2007 (gr. 2-6)
- Louis Sockalexis: Native American Baseball Pioneer
- by Bill Wise. Illustrated by Bill Farnsworth
- Lee & Low, 2007 (gr. 2-6)
- My Life As a Chicken
- as told to Ellen A. Kelley. Pictures by Michael Slack
- Harcourt, 2007 (gr. 1-4)
- Peanut
- by Linas Alsenas. Scholastic, 2007 (gr. K-2)
- The Perfect Nest
- by Catherine Friend. Illustrated by John Manders
- Candlewick, 2007 (gr. K-2)
- 17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore
- by Jenny Offill. Pictures by Nancy Carpenter
- Schwartz & Wade, 2007 (gr. K-3)
- Spring Things
- by Bob Raczka. Illustrated by Judy Stead
- Whitman 2007 (gr. K-3)
- Stealing Home
- by Robert Burleigh. Illustrated by Mike Wimmer
- Simon & Schuster, 2007 (gr. 2-6)
- The Tale of Pale Male
- by Jeanette Winter. Harcourt, 2007 (gr. 1-4)
- Today at the Bluebird Cafe
- by Deborah Ruddell. Illustrated by Joan Rankin
- McElderry, 2007 (gr. 1-5)
- Twist
- by Janet S. Wong. Artwork by Julie Paschkis.
- McElderry 2007 (gr. 1-6)
- When Gorilla Goes Walking
- by Nikki Grimes. Illustrated by Shane Evans
- Orchard, 2007 (gr. K-4)
To search for a specific title, see the Title Index
A newsletter devoted to the latest and the best in children's literature and how to use it with your students.
Purchase the latest issue now and receive 16 pages of the best new children's books and how to use them with your readers. Each issue features a major curriculum area and many, many ideas for using the best new picture books, chapter books, fiction, poetry, traditional tales and informational books.
Price: $6.50 for each issue.
Order yours by going to our Resources section.
The latest issue of the quarterly newsletter about new books and strategies for using them with your readers is currently available.
Don't miss a single issue of a newsletter full of ideas you really can use with your favorite books.