5x5
| Bev's 5 x 5 |
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by Tad Hills The little puppy named Rocket flops under a tree after a busy morning of romping and playing. Yellow bird is excited to see her first pupil but since rocket can't read the sign on the tree he is unaware that he has entered her class. Rocket is a reluctant student and would rather nap. The wise yellow bird understands that being read to and stories are the hook to creating readers. Soon Rocket is captivated and then motivated to unravel the mysteries of the alphabet, words, and then stories. If only every child had a yellow bird in her life. |
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Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci by Joseph D'Agnese, John O'Brien As a child Leonardo Fibonacci finished his math problems in a fraction of the time of his classmates, giving him time to stare out the window, think, and observe. "There will be no thinking in this classroom - only working ... you are nothing but a BLOCKHEAD." This so-called blockhead went on to observe the patterns in nature that came to be called the Fibonacci Sequence. Not just for math class, this book has intricate illustrations of the patterns representing the technical aspect of story without overpowering it. You'll discover spirals and patterns in buildings, gardens, and even hairdos. It's a book to return to and discover something new each time. Back matter gives activities to reinforce the concept. |
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by Phyllis Rott illustrated by Betsey Bowen This oversized picture book has a color palette so rich it is almost murky. Betsy Bowen's familiar style brings the bog teeming to life with woodcuts beautiful enough to frame. Author Phyllis Root helps us learn how to speak bog with words like hummock and flark. The hermit thrush, the first bird to return in the spring and last to migrate in the fall ushers us through the book with an appearance on each page. But what about the title? Do bogs really belch? This question will keep the reader turning the pages to find the answer. |
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by Rosemary Wells & Bagram Ibatoulline The popular author of Max and Ruby books takes a different track with this chapter book for middle readers. This suspenseful time-travel book also doubles as a history lesson - the depression, the Midwest, coming of war. This makes a great read aloud as adults will enjoy the story on a different level as 15 presidents, a couple of Hollywood personalities, and a circle of Wall Street Tycoons all make appearances. But the story is really about Oscar and his dad who spend their evenings with the model trains until the big crash, unemployment and foreclosure change their lives. The train ends up on display in a bank lobby. Oscar escapes a bank robbery only to find himself aboard the Blue Comet. It doesn't take long for him to puzzle out that this train is criss-crossing both the continent and time. The few illustrations interspersed in the book have a Norman Rockwell feel that enhances the time period. |
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by Patricia MacLachlan, Katy Schneider & Emily MacLachlan Charest This is just a fun introduction to poetry for the youngest reader. The variety of breeds of pups speaks to us through short, humorous verse. The perspective is from the pups burt could also be a jumping off point for children to create their own poems with titles such as Rules, What I Like, and Dreams. There's a personality plus portrayed in the textured oil colors. |
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