17th August Science Week Part 1 Who is a Scientist?

We are in the midst of Science Week here in Australia, an annual celebration of science and technology. There are so many special events, schools organise events to highlight science in schools and to show students what science has to offer. It is a great time for a purposeful display in the library too. In our school library we have displayed books that explain what it means to be a scientist, books that encourage students to experiment and picture book biographies about famous scientists.

Get started with books like these:
• What is a scientist? by Barbara Lehn

• Who is a Scientist?  by Laura Gehl

• A Scientist Like Me by Shini Somara

•  Ada Twist Scientist by Andrea Beaty

• What are Scientists? by Rita Golden Gelman

•  Science and Me  by Mickael el Fathi

• Scientist, Scientist, Who Do You See? by Chris Ferrie

• Pirate, Viking and Scientist by Jared Chapman

• Scientist in Training  by Cath Ard

• What's the Matter in Mr Whisker's Room by Michael Elsohn Ross

• Look I'm a Scientist  by Helen Hilton

• I Want to Be a Scientist by Dan Liebman   

• Cece Loves Science  by Kimberly Derring

• Geraldine and the Most Spectacular Science Project  by Sol Regwan

• Charlotte the Scientist is Squished  by Camille Andros

• Think Like a Scientist by Alex Woolf

• Get Into Citizen Science  by Vic Kovacs

• Mr Shaha's Recipes for Wonder  by Alom Shaha

• Newton and Curie the Science Squirrels by Daniel Kirk

• Bears Make the Best Science Buddies  by Carmen Oliver

Two series worth a look:

• Ada Twist: The Why Files by Andrea Beaty

• Kid Scientist  by Sue Fliess

17th January New School Year List 3: Goal Setting

The teachers will say "I want a book to start a discussion about goals and goal setting. What do you recommend?"

Hard, because as always there isn't one picture book that does that. There is quite a lot of overlap with books that I would recommend for Growth Mindset because goal setting is an important component of classroom communities that focus on it. If students get to set their own goals and take ownership of them, perseverance will be evident.

Teaching using mentor texts helps learners to see how people (characters) who set and achieve  goals demonstrate perseverance and grit to succeed. For this reason many picture book biographies make wonderful mentor texts. 

Here are some books that I suggest teachers use as discussion starters for thinking about goals for the year.

• Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker Rees

• The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper

• After the Fall by Dan Santat

• Ruby’s Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges and Sophie Blackall

• Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats

• Someday by Eileen Spinelli and Rosie Winsted

• Rosie Revere Engineer by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts

• Thanks for the Feedback by Julia Cook and Kelsey De Weerd

• Because  by Mo Willems & Amber Ren

• Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman & Caroline Binch

• Salt in His Shoes by Deloris Jackson and Kadir Nelson

• The Oldest Student by Rita Lorraine Hubbard and Oge Mora

• My Strong Mind III I Set Goals and Work Hard to Deliver Them by Niels Van Hove

9th July Ada's baptism

I have just come home from a lovely celebration for a friend's baby, Ada Grace. For the last week I have been agonising about what gift to give her. I always give this family books, so I felt quite sure they would expect me to arrive with books, but what to take? I had given Ada's older sister picture book bible stories for her baptism, but felt I had chosen the best of these then. So finally I decided to give Ada some books about exemplary Adas. Well as it turned out I had a lot to choose from, all of which she would grow into at some stage. In the end I bought a current favourite, Ada Twist, Scientist and one of the wonderful biographies on Ada Lovelace, Ada's Ideas, but it could have just as easily been any of these below. The one at the top right is book one of a new series about Ada Lace, an eight-year-old girl with a knack for science, maths, and solving mysteries with technology. It will be out in August and I will buy it for the library.

7th November Marie Curie (1867 - 1934)

Today is Marie Curie's birthday and I thought it fitting to see what picture books were available to share with my young audience. Because of books such as Ada Twist, Scientist and Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World there has been renewed interest in the library for reading biographies and reading about science and women scientists. There's certainly much written about Marie Curie, but not all of it is easily accessible to under 10 year old readers. Therefore I am really looking forward to next March when another title, Marie Curie in the  Little People Big Dreams series by Isabel Sanchez Vegara  arrives in the bookshops. The other titles in this series that we have have proved to be popular and the perfect amount of words for prep school readers.

October missed birthdays

I have found four October birthdays that I haven't celebrated at school. I am writing them here so that next year I can remember to highlight them

3rd October 1948   Marilyn Singer
The American author responsible for a series of picture books about Talulah, a child ballerina. My girls love her, but even better known for her wonderful poetry, See Mirror Mirror; A Stick is an Excellent Thing  and A Strange Place to Call Home.

4th October 1944 Susan Meddaugh
The American author/illustrator of the series of books about a dog called Martha e.g. Martha Speaks. My favourite of her books Cinderella's Rat.

7th October  Andrea Beaty
The author of the outstanding Iggy Peck Architect  and Rosie Revere Engineer

18th October 1956 Eugene Yelchin
Is a Russian born American illustrator. See Lee Wardlaw's haiku Won Ton and the wonderful poetry book for two voices written by Carole Gerber Seeds, Bees, Butterflies and More!