Wednesday, December 7, 2011
The Hunger Games HD Theatrical Trailer
I cannot wait for the movie to come out! How many of you have read the book(s)? Is this how you pictured it? I feel that the casting is spot on...hope it lives up to the hype. I LOVED the series.
2012 Authors for The Fox Cities Book Festival...RELEASED
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| Diane Ackerman |
Author Biography
(from the author's website)
Poet, essayist, and naturalist, Diane Ackerman is the author of two dozen highly acclaimed works of nonfiction and poetry, including A Natural History of the Senses -- a book beloved by millions of readers all over the world.
Humans might luxuriate in the idea of being “in” nature, but Ms. Ackerman has taught generations that we are nature—for “no facet of nature is as unlikely as we, the tiny bipeds with the giant dreams.” In prose so rich and evocative that one can feel the earth turning beneath one’s feet as one reads, Ackerman’s thrilling observations urge us to live in the moment, to wake up to nature’s everyday miracles.
Her most recent book,One Hundred Names for Love, has been described by Booklist as: "A gorgeously engrossing, affecting, sweetly funny, and mind-opening love story of crisis, determination, creativity, and repair."
Her recent memoir, The Zookeeper's Wife, received the Orion Book Award, which honored it as "a groundbreaking work of nonfiction, in which the human relationship to nature is explored in an absolutely original way through looking at the Holocaust. A few years ago, 'nature' writers were asking themselves, How can a book be at the same time a work of art, an act of conscientious objection to the destruction of the world, and an affirmation of hope and human decency? The Zookeeper's Wife answers this question." Speaking deeply to readers of all ages, it has been chosen as a Freshman Reads and Community Reads book in many cities.
Ms. Ackerman has received a D. Lit. from Kenyon College, Guggenheim Fellowship, Orion Book Award, John Burroughs Nature Award, and the Lavan Poetry Prize, as well as being honored as a Literary Lion by the New York Public Library. She also has the rare distinction of having a molecule named after her --dianeackerone. She has taught at a number of universities, including Columbia and Cornell. Her essays about nature and human nature have been appearing for decades in The New York Times, Smithsonian, Parade, The New Yorker, National Geographic and many other journals. She hosted a five-hour PBS television series inspired by A Natural History of the Senses.
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| Patrick Rothfuss |
Author Biography
(from the author's website)
Patrick Rothfuss had the good fortune to be born in Wisconsin where long winters and lack of cable television brought about a love of reading and writing. His mother read to him as a child, and his father taught him to build things. If you are looking for the roots of his storytelling, look there.
Having enjoyed the hard sciences in high school, Pat began college as a chemical engineer. He soon abandoned that, and decided to become a clinical psychologist. He eventually abandoned that as well, admitted he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life, and changed his major to Undeclared despite the fact that he had been in college for over three years.
Over the next six years Pat lived the life of an itinerant student, working three jobs and studying everything that interested him: philosophy, medieval history, eastern theater, anthropology, sociology.... After nine years as an undergraduate Pat was forced by university policy to finally complete his undergraduate degree.... in English.
While wandering through college, Pat learned he had a knack for writing. He wrote poetry for a local literary series, a satirical advice column for the local paper, and scripts for a radio comedy show. Two months before he graduated, Pat finally finished the project he had been working on for over seven years, a mammoth story centering around the life of a man named Kvothe.
After two excruciating years of grad school, Pat returned to teach at the University he had grown to love as a student. During this time his book was rejected by roughly every agent in the known universe. In 2002 a piece of Pat's novel, cleverly disguised as a short story, won first place in the Writers of the Future contest. Pat's story, The Road to Levinshir, was published in Volume 18 of their anthology, and they flew him out to their fabulous writers workshop in LA.
It was at that workshop that Pat met Kevin Anderson, who introduced him to his agent, Matt Bialer. Eventually Matt brought Pat in contact with his current, beloved editor, Betsy Wollheim, president of Daw Books.
Pat continues to live in central Wisconsin. He still lacks cable television, and the long winters force him to stay inside and write. He still teaches at the college he grew to love as a student, and acts as advisor for the College Feminists and the local Fencing Club. When not reading and writing, Pat wastes his time playing video games, holds symposia at his house, and dabbles with alchemy in his basement.
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| Rachel Simon |
Author Biography
Rachel Simon is an award-winning author and nationally known public speaker. She is best known for her critically acclaimed, bestselling memoir Riding The Bus With My Sister, which was adapted for a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie of the same name. The book has garnered numerous awards, and is a frequent and much beloved selection of many book clubs, school reading programs, and city-wide reads throughout the country. Her recent book, The Story of Beautiful Girl, is an unforgettably moving love story about the improbable odds faced by a couple with disabilities and a lost child.
Your school-age child begins to read: age 6-7
Your school-age child begins to read: age 6-7
By Zoë Kashner
According to the International Reading Association, literacy skills will help your child in every academic area, as well as with most life skills.
By the End of Kindergarten, Your Child Will Be Expected To:
-recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters in the alphabet
-read basic single-syllable words
-with prompting and support, identify the main topic in a text
-retell familiar stories
By the End of First Grade, Your Child Will Be Expected To:
-recognize the distinguishing parts of a sentence including capitalization and punctuation
-pronounce unfamiliar but commonly spelled one-syllable words
-read words with inflectional endings (-ing, -ly, -ed, -tion)
-identify the main idea of a text
By the End of Second Grade, Your Child Will Be Expected To:
-pronounce unfamiliar two-syllable words
-recount stories and say what the lesson or moral is
-identify the beginning, middle, and end of a story
-identify the points of view of different characters
Don’t Be Concerned if These Skills Develop Erratically, Unless Your Child:
-has trouble remembering new words
-has trouble blending sounds together to say words
-says reading is easier for their classmates
-avoids reading silently or aloud
*For more information on learning disabilities, visit the National Center for Learning Disabilities.
Reading at School
Decades of research support the fact that parental involvement in a child’s school learning will promote that child’s success. If you have access to the material your child is reading at school, make time to read it yourself. You can show how important reading for school is by participating in it with your child. By staying on top of your child’s school reading, you can avoid the perennial non-conversation: “How was school?” “Fine.”
Instead, ask about the book Frog and Toad, “Are Frog and Toad good friends? How do they show that?” and “Do you have a friend who you’d like to have adventures with like Frog and Toad? How is that person a good friend?”
Reading at Home
What part of reading development can you help with most at home? Reading volume. A 1998 study published by the American Psychological Association links reading volume directly with both advancing a student’s reading skills and with that child’s future academic success.
The key to increasing your child’s reading volume is motivation. Choose books that match your child’s interest. Or, explore reading with other media your child loves. Is she a fan of princesses? There is a world of online fairy tales for her to explore. Kids who love superheroes can enjoy easy-reader comic books. Don’t be too picky about what your child reads at this age. Captain Underpants may be more meaningful than Little House on the Prairie — and that’s fine!
Finally, celebrate the fact that you still have a great deal of influence over what your child reads. In a survey commissioned by Scholastic, 81% of kids ages 5-8 say that their mom is a source of information for good books.
-recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters in the alphabet
-read basic single-syllable words
-with prompting and support, identify the main topic in a text
-retell familiar stories
By the End of First Grade, Your Child Will Be Expected To:
-recognize the distinguishing parts of a sentence including capitalization and punctuation
-pronounce unfamiliar but commonly spelled one-syllable words
-read words with inflectional endings (-ing, -ly, -ed, -tion)
-identify the main idea of a text
By the End of Second Grade, Your Child Will Be Expected To:
-pronounce unfamiliar two-syllable words
-recount stories and say what the lesson or moral is
-identify the beginning, middle, and end of a story
-identify the points of view of different characters
Don’t Be Concerned if These Skills Develop Erratically, Unless Your Child:
-has trouble remembering new words
-has trouble blending sounds together to say words
-says reading is easier for their classmates
-avoids reading silently or aloud
*For more information on learning disabilities, visit the National Center for Learning Disabilities.
Reading at School
Decades of research support the fact that parental involvement in a child’s school learning will promote that child’s success. If you have access to the material your child is reading at school, make time to read it yourself. You can show how important reading for school is by participating in it with your child. By staying on top of your child’s school reading, you can avoid the perennial non-conversation: “How was school?” “Fine.”
Instead, ask about the book Frog and Toad, “Are Frog and Toad good friends? How do they show that?” and “Do you have a friend who you’d like to have adventures with like Frog and Toad? How is that person a good friend?”
Reading at Home
What part of reading development can you help with most at home? Reading volume. A 1998 study published by the American Psychological Association links reading volume directly with both advancing a student’s reading skills and with that child’s future academic success.
The key to increasing your child’s reading volume is motivation. Choose books that match your child’s interest. Or, explore reading with other media your child loves. Is she a fan of princesses? There is a world of online fairy tales for her to explore. Kids who love superheroes can enjoy easy-reader comic books. Don’t be too picky about what your child reads at this age. Captain Underpants may be more meaningful than Little House on the Prairie — and that’s fine!
Finally, celebrate the fact that you still have a great deal of influence over what your child reads. In a survey commissioned by Scholastic, 81% of kids ages 5-8 say that their mom is a source of information for good books.
About the author of story...
Zoë Kashner is a freelance writer. Previously, she was an editor for Scholastic's READ 180 program, the reading intervention program for elementary, middle, and high school students. She was also the editor of The World Almanac for Kids.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
HIPPO SAYS "EXCUSE ME" by Michael Dahl
Hippo Says "Excuse Me"
Oh my gosh, this book is so adorable! When reading it to my children I actually giggled because the picture was so cute. I laugh, I snicker, but I seldom giggle. This book is a great book to teach manners to children. While reading my son said "What there is no room for a tiny chick, that is not very nice". It created dialogue with my children about the importance of being kind and being a good person. I absolutely loved this book. I have found another series to dive into.
Book Description:
Hippo uses his manners to help a little chick.
For the youngest learners, this fun, cheerful read-aloud helps guide a child's first steps in learning and growing and promotes manners, recognition, speaking skills and first words. Good manners are pure genius!
Part of the Hello Genius series. Ages 2-4. Board book format.
About the Author
Michael Dahl is the author of more than 200 books for children and young adults. He has won the AEP Distinguished Achievement Award three times for his nonfiction. His Finnegan Zwake mystery series was shortlisted twice by the Anthony and Agatha awards. He has also written the Library of Doom series and the Dragonblood books.
Michael Dahl is the author of more than 200 books for children and young adults. He has won the AEP Distinguished Achievement Award three times for his nonfiction. His Finnegan Zwake mystery series was shortlisted twice by the Anthony and Agatha awards. He has also written the Library of Doom series and the Dragonblood books.
FRANKLIN'S CHRISTMAS GIFT by Paulette Bourgeois
Franklin's Christmas Gift
Many of you may know already how much I love Franklin and his group of furry friends. But for those that don't, I am here to tell you I am a huge fan of Franklin. The true meaning of Christmas is brought to light in Franklins Christmas Gift...it is better to give than to receive. My husband and I are struggling right now with trying to explain the importance of giving to our children. Our world places our children front and center and our frustration rises when they fail to see how lucky they are. I purchased this book and plan to read it many times before Christmas. Franklin and his pals are easy to relate to and my children really enjoy these story books. With Franklin at my side my children will become more generous and grateful through the lessons taught in this story. I rate this Franklin book 5 out of 5!!!
Book Description:
In this Franklin Classic Storybook, Franklin can’t decide what to donate to his school’s Christmas toy drive. At first, all of his toys seem too special to give away, then nothing seems special enough. With some inspiration from his Great Aunt Harriet, Franklin finally comes up with the perfect gift.
About the Author
Paulette Bourgeois worked as an occupational therapist and a print and television journalist before she began writing for children. When Franklin in the Dark was released in 1986, it became a bestseller—and the Franklin phenomenon was born. Paulette has gone on to write over 30 Franklin stories illustrated by Brenda Clark that have been published around the world. Although Paulette is best known for the Franklin books, she has also written other children’s titles, including a number of non-fiction books and the award-winning picture book Oma’s Quilt. Paulette lives in Toronto, Ontario.
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