Book Review: Irena's Children

IRENA’S CHILDREN by Tilar J. Mazzeo is a young reader’s edition of a true story about life in the Warsaw Ghetto in World War II.

A young Polish public health worker named Irena Sendler smuggled thousands of children out of the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw. Children snuck through sewers, hid in coffins, and were concealed under overcoats in daring attempts to escape death.

Librarians will find this story of survival during the Holocaust an appealing alternative to standard Holocaust offerings. The focus on a heroic female will draw the interest of girls.

The author’s website contains information and videos about Irena Sendler. Go to http://www.tilar-mazzeo-author.com/learn-more

Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Digital Collection: Highway 89 Collection

HIGHWAY 89 COLLECTION

Contents: This collection includes photographs, manuscripts, and printed materials related to Highway 89 that runs through the western part of the United States. Exhibits, a map, timelines, and browsing tools assist users in exploring the materials.

Classroom Connections: Use this project as inspiration for creating a local history project focusing on a local road. Or, seek out other highway collections include Lincoln Highway at http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/linchigh. Also, look for back country byway projects. Use the History Pin project for ideas https://www.historypin.org/en/.

Featured Digital Objects: 
Architecture - https://goo.gl/AVdcIx
Billboards and Signs - https://goo.gl/rlk2WT
National Parks - https://goo.gl/nOzE8S

To visit the collection, go to http://www.highway89.org/.

Book Review: The Secret Keepers

THE SECRET KEEPERS by Trenton Lee Stewart is a fast-paced mystery adventure.

When Reuben finds a magical, antique watch with the power of invisibility, he’s propelled into a life-changing adventure filled with quirky characters, dangerous secrets, and a time-sensitive mystery.

Librarians will find a ready-made audience in fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society. Although the book’s length may be a barrier for some students, others will enjoy the depth of the plot. Children who like puzzles, surprises, and mysteries will enjoy the complexity of the story.

Published by Little, Brown Book on Hachette Books on September 27, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Digital Collection: Darwin Online

DARWIN ONLINE

Contents: This website contains the largest collection of resources related to Darwin in the world. The collection includes Darwin’s complete publications, private papers, manuscripts, and other materials.

Classroom Connections: From reading the origin texts to exploring his many diagrams, maps, and photographs, students will enjoy diving into the world of Charles Darwin. Use the materials along with the nonfiction narrative Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman to bring his works alive. Or, ask students to compare the graphic adaptation of On the Origin of Species by Michael Keller to the original text.

Featured Digital Objects:
Publications - http://darwin-online.org.uk/contents.html
Manuscripts - http://darwin-online.org.uk/manuscripts.html
Illustrations - http://darwin-online.org.uk/graphics/illustrations.html

To visit the collection, http://darwin-online.org.uk/.

Digital Collection: AMNH Science Bulletins

AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY SCIENCE BULLETINS

Contents: The American Museum of Natural History maintains a collection of their monthly science bulletins. These may include documentaries, visualizations, and news videos. The bulletins are organization by type and subject including astronomy, earth science, biology, and human science. Fifteen years of bulletins are currently available. Unfortunately there’s not a search tool specifically for the bulletins, so be sure to use “science bulletin” in your search for a topic such as “gravitational waves science bulletin”.

Classroom Connections: This collection would be a useful resource for jumpstarting science units for intermediate through high school students. The videos can be streamed through YouTube or downloaded and placed in PowerPoint presentations.

To visit the collection, http://www.amnh.org/explore/science-bulletins

Book Review: The Adventurer's Guide to Successful Escapes

THE ADVENTURER’S GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL ESCAPES by Wade Albert White is a new fantasy series for middle grades.

Three friends go on a magical quest that involves travel to exotic places with riddles along the way. The threesome faces an array of amazing creatures in fascinating settings

Librarians will find this humorous blend of traditional fantasy with memorable steampunk elements to be popular with the middle grade audience. Filled with action and humor, the quirky characters and fast-paced approach will keep children reading.

Published by Little, Brown Books, an imprint of Hachette Book Group on September 13, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Digital Collection: AirNow

AIRNOW

Contents: The AirNow website from the Environmental Protection Agency contains maps and data sets related to air quality. Users can search for local air quality conditions by zip code and state. Numerous maps are provided for current and historical data in the United States and Canada. The data is also available through Google Earth.

Classroom Connections: Involve youth in tracking air quality in specific local or national area. Ask students to draw inferences from this data. Use the additional air quality link for additional background information.

Featured Digital Objects:
Air Quality Index in Google Earth - https://goo.gl/9Z4krb
Maps by Location - https://goo.gl/3neC0o

To visit the collection, https://airnow.gov/

Book Review: The Mighty Odd

THE MIGHTY ODD by Amy Ignatow is the first fantasy in the new The Odd Series for middle grades.

After a mysterious bus accident, four children, a teen, and two adults develop strange supernatural powers. This diverse group must work together to solve the mystery of their special abilities.

Librarians will find a following with middle grade students who enjoy humorous stories. The strong female characters and diverse cast adds to the appeal.

This realistic school story has just enough fantasy elements to appeal to science fiction lovers without too much to lose mainstream readers. The author does an exceptional job addressing issues such as bullying and school politics.

Published by Harry N. Abrams on September 13, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Digital Collection: Academy of Achievement

ACADEMY OF ACHIEVEMENT

Contents: The Academy of Achievement connects students with extraordinary leaders, visionaries, and pioneers who help to share our world. The collection includes dozens of achievers in the arts, business, public service, science and exploration, sports, and other fields. A biography, profile, and interview is provided for each honoree along with other information such as a photo gallery, quotes, and background information.

Classroom Connections: There are two ways to explore this collection with students. First, students can explore by categories such as arts or public service. Second, they can examine people who reflect six principles including passion, vision, preparation, courage, perseverance, integrity, along with the American Dream. Combine a biography unit with a character education lesson by asking students to compare the people who reflect a particular principle. Use the website along with the biography section of the library.

Featured Digital Objects:
Achiever Gallery - https://goo.gl/Eqbw5A
Keys to Success - https://goo.gl/7AIBXy

To visit the collection, http://www.achievement.org/

Book Review: The Branch

THE BRANCH by Mireille Messier is a heartwarming picture book about a young girl and her neighbor who repurpose a broken branch.

A young girl is devastated when an ice storm snaps a favorite branch off a tree in her yard. After describing her many experiences playing on the branch, her neighbor helps the girl transform the piece of wood into something new.

Librarians will find this multigenerational story of renewal to be filled with learning opportunities. From STEAM projects to library makerspaces, this picture book is a wonderful tool for jumpstarting imagination and creativity.

To learn more about the author, go to http://www.mireille.ca/.

Published by Kids Can Press, an imprint of Hachette. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Digital Collection: CLEAN

CLEAN: Climate Literacy & Energy Awareness Network

Contents: This collection contains 650+ free, ready-to-use resources related to science education. The materials can be searched by key word and refined by resource type, topic, grade level, science literacy principles, or region.

Classroom Connections: The materials in the collection are designed for secondary and college settings. Connect the collection’s materials with the STEM curriculum.

Featured Digital Objects:
The Collection - http://cleanet.org/clean/educational_resources/index.html

To visit the collection, http://cleanet.org.

To explore the teaching resources, go tohttp://cleanet.org/clean/literacy/index.html

Digital Collection: Densho

DENSHO: THE JAPANESE AMERICAN LEGACY PROJECT

Contents: This digital archive includes hundreds of video oral history and 10,000 photographs and historical documents. In addition to the archive, the project also includes additional resources include a timeline, terminology, and

Classroom Connections: Curriculum materials are available that explore key questions related to the Japanese American Internment experience and help teach with primary source documents.

Featured Digital Objects: 
Archives - http://www.densho.org/archives/
Encyclopedia - http://encyclopedia.densho.org/

To visit the collection, go to http://www.densho.org/

To explore the curriculum materials, go to http://www.densho.org/learning-center/.

Digital Collection: The GLOBE Program

THE GLOBE PROGRAM

Contents: This international project contains science data sets that youth can explore using online visualization software. The measurements included in the project date from 1995 to the present. Users can choose from base maps such as the world at night, land surface temperature, and precipitation estimates.

Classroom Connections: Students can make use of the data sets or share their own data. A teacher section contains resources for students, teachers, and citizen scientists from around the world.

Featured Digital Objects:
Visualization - http://vis.globe.gov/GLOBE/
Teacher Resources - http://www.globe.gov/do-globe

To visit the collection, http://www.globe.gov

Book Review: The Light Fantastic

THE LIGHT FANTASTIC by Sarah Combs tells seven interwoven stories during one day.

Told through various perspectives, the story follows the events of a day that involves a series of planned school shootings. Rather than focusing on the violence itself, the story explores the various actions and reactions of the narrators as they experience the events. While the author’s “stream of consciousness” approach will attract some readers, it may annoy others.

Librarians will find this work of contemporary fiction to be of interest to teens who seek out books that describe events through multiple perspectives. A number of recent books have explored the topic of school shooting. However this book presents the topic in an innovative way through the eyes of the planners.

Published by Candlewick Press on September 13, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Digital Collection: Case Study Teaching in Science

NATIONAL CENTER FOR CASE STUDY TEACHING IN SCIENCE

Contents: This project contains a database of active learning techniques focusing on science education. The emphasis is on case studies and problem solving. The collection includes over 645 cases and dozens of science education stories. Users can search by heading, educational level, type, topic, and date.

Classroom Connections: Use this collection to provide teachers with unit and lesson ideas that emphasize active learning techniques. Look for projects that place emphasis on inquiry-based learning and science to library connections.

Featured Digital Objects:
Collections - http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/collection/

To visit the collection, http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/.

Book Review: Every Falling Star

EVERY FALLING STAR by Sungju Lee and Susan Elizabeth McClelland tells the true story of a twelve year old boy growing up on his own in North Korea after his parents are banished then disappear.

The book begins with background information about North Korea and a prologue introducing the story. The memoir describes how the Sungju Lee’s family was banished and how his parents disappeared. The fast-paced story details his life traveling the country in a gang and how he was ultimately reunited with his family. The epilogue does an excellent job completing the story.

Librarians will find that fans of memoir quickly become immersed in Sungju Lee’s life in North Korea. Develop a literature circle of the many teen memoirs available from around the world.

Watch Sungju Lee introduce the book at https://youtu.be/4jaa2sTelk4.

Published by Harry N. Abrams on September 13, 2016. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Digital Collection: National Snow & Ice Center

NATIONAL SNOW & ICE CENTER

Contents: This website contains scientific data focusing on glaciers, ice sheets, ice shelves, permafrost, sea ice, soil moisture, and snow. In addition to data sets, the resource also includes photo collections, maps, and other interesting resources.

Classroom Connections: The data sets in this collections are useful for teaching science concepts along with data literacy. Involve students in examining changes over time and ask them to draw conclusions.

Featured Digital Objects:
Photo Collection - https://goo.gl/4ItvCm
Scientists in the Field - https://goo.gl/YxvwU8
About the Cryosphere - https://goo.gl/bw3fVy

To visit the collection, https://nsidc.org/.

Digital Collection: Dennis Kunkel Microscopy

DENNIS KUNKEL MICROSCOPY

Contents: Award-winning photomicrographer Dennis Kunkel has create a collection of science images as seen through a microscope. The image collection contains over 5,000 scientific, biological and medical subjects. The Zoom-in and Zoomify sections provide the opportunity to zoo in close.

Classroom Connections: This image collection is an engaging way to introduce students to microscopy science. Start by showing students a few photos and ask them to identify the creature. Then, focus on identifying the anatomy of various microscopic creatures. Ask students to select an image and learn more about the creature.

Featured Digital Objects: 
Image Library - https://goo.gl/kMwXBU
Most Wanted Bugs - https://goo.gl/T5wneb

To visit the collection, go to http://education.denniskunkel.com.

Book Review: A Squiggly Story

A SQUIGGLY STORY by Andrew Larsen is a picture book about the art of writing.

A young boy wants to write a story, but he doesn’t know how to write words. When his older sister suggests that he just needs to start with a single letter, the boy’s story begins to take shape. Although his classmates have lots of ideas, the boy soon discovers that it’s his story so he can write whatever he imagines.

Librarians and classroom teachers will find this adorable picture book to be a wonderful way to introduce young children to the creative writing process.

To learn more about the author, go to http://andrewlarsen.ca/.

Published by Kids Can Press, an imprint of Hachette Book Group. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Digital Collection: Wildscreen Arkive

WILDSCREEN ARKIVE

Contents: This collection contains information about thousands of species from around the world. Users can conduct a search or explore by species, places and topic. In addition to factual information, photos and video are provided for each animal. Users can also explore by conservation status.

Classroom Connections: An educate section contains lots of learning materials organized by grade level. The fun section of the website contains endless activities for kids. Of particular interest is a section on habitats that teachers can use to connect species with the places where they live.

Featured Digital Objects:
Species - http://www.arkive.org/species/
Team WILD game - http://www.arkive.org/education/team-wild
Marine plastics - http://www.arkive.org/c/marine-plastics/

To visit the collection, http://www.arkive.org/