From: "Curriculum Connections - School Library Journal" <schoollibraryjournal@email.schoollibraryjournal.com>
Date: June 10, 2014 at 3:07:25 PM EDT
To: kwidz@sbcglobal.net
Subject: Deborah Wiles; Gene Luen Yang; Summer Reading; Juneteenth; Professional Reading

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June 10, 2014

Summer Beckons with a Bonanza of Books @sljournal While the school year is winding down, the spring publishing season continues to deliver abundant titles to read and to share. This month we feature a stunning new book by Angela Johnson and E. B. Lewis on Juneteenth, titles to commemorate the 70th anniversary of D-Day, and Deborah Wiles's documentary novel, the latest in her "Sixties" trilogy. Gene Luen Yang weighs in with his thoughts on comics "then and now," and our "On Common Core" columnists reflect on what they have learned over the year creating standards-based lessons.  In this issue, you'll also find our annual "What's on Your Summer Reading List?" article. In addition to discovering some books to add to your night table, you'll find out which author sneaks in reading time on her Brooklyn stoop when her children are asleep, who has a stack of titles about crime in the 19th century at the ready, and who creates "summer sandwiches" out of his selections.  Daryl Grabarek, Editor Curriculum Connections School Library Journal dgrabarek@mediasourceinc.com P.S. In case you missed them in May, we have recommended summer reading suggestions for grades K-3, 4-8, and 9-12.

Interview

Revolution | A Conversation with Deborah Wiles By Jennifer M. Brown In her book Countdown, set in 1962, Deborah Wiles focused on tensions between the United States and Russia and the threat of nuclear war. Revolution takes place two years later during Freedom Summer in Greenwood, Mississippi, when college students "invade" the town to register African American voters. Wiles's final title in the "Sixties" trilogy will also be set in that decade, which the author sees as a crucial time in the making of our nation. "Kids don't often see themselves as part of history," the author stated, "but they're a piece of it, and their [stories are] vital to understanding the larger history."  more›››

Spotlight Juneteenth: The First Day of Freedom By Joy Fleishhacker Angela Johnson and E. B. Lewis's beautiful and evocative All Different Now commemorates the first Juneteenth—June 19, 1865—when Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with the long-delayed news of emancipation.  more›››     Required Reading Remembering D-Day By Joy Fleishhacker Seventy years ago, on June 6, 1944, Allied troops launched an audacious assault on a 50-mile expanse of heavily defended coastline in Normandy, France. Led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower and planned down to the smallest detail, the massive amphibious attack assembled and mobilized mind-staggering numbers of Allied troops and resources—156,000 soldiers, 13,000 parachutists, 5,000 ships, and 11,000 planes. The titles offered here—fact-packed resources loaded with primary quotes, archival photographs, and detailed maps—document that watershed moment, which ultimately turned the tide of World War II.  more›››   Professional Shelf Summer Reading to "Re(Invigorate)" Your Teaching By Alicia Eames It's June! A bittersweet time of celebration and reflection for students and teachers saying good-bye to another school year and to each other. As teachers take off for a brief respite, many are already looking ahead to the next term, thinking about what worked (or didn't) and how to make next year better. Committed teachers, whether new to the profession or seasoned veterans, are always honing their craft, and we have suggestions of books that will help them do just that.  more›››   Summer Reading What's on Your Summer Reading List? | Authors and Illustrators Respond By Daryl Grabarek Every June we query some of our favorite authors and illustrators to find out what's on their summer reading lists. Not only do we come up with more titles to add to our teetering stacks of books, we learn about some interesting habits and tastes. Take a peek at this year's list and find out which author sneaks in summer reading time on her Brooklyn stoop in the early hours of the morning when her children are still asleep, what funny guy takes a thematic approach to his selections, and who is reading all about poisons—and why.  more›››

From Our Archives: Big, Bigger, Biggest  Dinosaur Delights Humor That Is Seriously Funny Birds of a Feather

From TeachingBooks.net Comics, Then and Now | Behind the Books By Gene Luen Yang When I was in the fifth grade, I convinced my mother to take me to our local comics shop. While I browsed the shelves, she stood by the door with her arms crossed, silently judging an entire industry. I went home with Secret Wars #4, the latest issue of Marvel's cosmic, no-holds-barred superhero slugfest. It's like Homer's Iliad, only in outer space and without all the boring pathos. It was everything my 10-year-old heart desired. That evening, I made the mistake of letting my mom flip through it. She pointed to one of the panels. "Why isn't this woman wearing any clothes?"  Read more at TeachingBooks.net›››   Touch and Go An Elegant Proof: Incredible Numbers on the iPad By Gretchen Kolderup "Math is Beautiful," states Ian Stewart, and along with the production team at Touch Press, he delivers elegant proof of that claim in Incredible Numbers, a visual exploration of mathematical concepts.  more›››     On Common Core What We Learned | Crafting Standards-Based Lessons By Myra Zarnowski and Mary Ann Cappiello Over the course of the school year, we've brainstormed possibilities for science, math, and social studies units at the primary, intermediate, and high school levels. Our purpose was to show how nonfiction literature supports inquiry and integration across the curriculum while at the same time meeting Common Core and content-area standards. It was hard but satisfying work. It's now time to reflect on that experience. Here are our top 10 takeaways.  more›››   Lolly's Classroom Confront and Question By Randy Ribay A man decapitates someone and then hangs himself. A young man learns to return hate with hate. A powerful leader is assassinated via stabbing. An entire people group is nearly annihilated. A girl's parents and two sisters die because of a corrupt government. A boy is raped in an alleyway, and his friend does nothing to help him. Welcome to my 10th grade literature class.  more›››

SummerTeen Hot Books for Young Adults SLJ's 3rd annual SummerTeen virtual conference features authors, illustrators and editors of the best books for teens talking about their writing experiences, and current and forthcoming titles in an engaging. conversational format, including live Q&A with the audience. Best of all, it's free! REGISTER TODAY   Too Good to Miss... John Green's The Fault in Our Stars | Film Review On Top of His Game | An Interview with Margaret Edwards Award Winner Markus Zusak Explorations of Gender & Sexuality in New Young Adult Fiction

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