Coming Soon! Joyce Sidman's Swirl by Swirl Nonfiction Poetry Picture Book

     Check out this engaging preview for Joyce Sidman's latest book Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature (Houghton Mifflin, 2011.) It is beautifully illustrated by Caldecott Award winner Beth Krommes. Sidman and Krommes previously collaborated on the picture book Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow (Houghton Mifflin, 2006.)  Swirl by Swirl will be released on October 4th, and I can't wait to use it as a fresh mentor text at my school! Not only will it be another book to add to my Sidman author study, it will be an additional example of one of my favorite niches for picture books referred to as hybrid nonfiction. Stay tuned for a blog post featuring how I used the text in a lesson within the next month! In the meantime, you can explore the Reader's Guide from Joyce Sidman's website. It's full of scientific tie-ins for lessons. I hope you are inspired and energized like I am to dig into a new mentor text!

Celebrate the Legacy of Roald Dahl Through "Follow That Peach!"

     September is "Roald Dahl Month!" At the website Follow That Peach, Puffin Books is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the classic James and the Giant Peach. In the spirit of the book's sense of adventure, you can send a Peach gram via e-mail or snail mail to a friend. A tally of how many miles Peach grams have traveled is updated at the top of the screen, and a there's a photo gallery from participants as well. A PDF poster of 50 ways you can celebrate Dahl's rich legacy is available, along with a "Teach the Peach" teacher's guide for using James and the Giant Peach in instructional and enriching ways. Something that is of particular interest in the full color PDF guide are photos of actual postcards sent by Dahl to his mother. Students love learning about authors as real people, especially when they were children themselves. A "Peach Party Pack" includes additional ways to enjoy the main character James Henry Trotter.   

    As an additional part of the fun of celebrating Roald Dahl Month, Puffin Books recently released Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Pop-Up Book (Puffin, 2011). Have a scrumdiddlyumptious time rediscovering James and the Giant Peach and more of Roald Dahl's lasting treasures through Dahl's official website!