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Author Archives: selena.seymour
A Monster Calls (Fiction)
A Monster Calls: Inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd by Patrick Ness and illustrated by Jim Kay Published by Candlewick: Massachusetts, 2012
Connor is a thirteen year old boy who is terrorized by a monster in his yard that comes to him at 12:07 am. It continuously demands the truth from Connor. During the day, Connor must deal with his mother having cancer and undergoing treatments.
Appropriate target audience: Children ages 9 and up
- Strengths: The illustrations enhance the frightening and emotional story that is told in the words on the page. This book is emotionally charged in a very masculine way and will appeal to reluctant readers.
- Weaknesses: The monster concept may frighten younger readers.
- Meaningful/Creative Uses: 1. Connor’s monster looks like a tree in his backyard. Take children on a nature walk with a sketch pad and have them find something in nature that they could turn into a monster. Create a display of the children’s monsters. 2. Taking the monster display further, have children record one frightening truth. Have a QR code by the monster and the scary truth sentence will play when the QR code is scanned.
- Awards: Carnegie Medal and Katie Greenway Award winner, 2012 (first book to win both prizes simultaneously)
- Other: The book was started by Siobhan Dowd who began the story when she was facing terminal cancer. She died while the book was still unwritten.
- Read-a-likes: More than This by Patrick Ness and Published by Candlewick: Mass, 2013
![More Than This by [Ness, Patrick]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61eNxGDixKL.jpg)
Seth drowns. However, he wakes up and isn’t where he is. Did he really die?
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes Eleanor Coerr and Illustrated by Ronald Himler Published by Puffin Books: London, 2004 
A race winning Japanese girl becomes terminally ill due to the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima. She starts making paper cranes while in the hospital.
The Rest of Us Just Live by Patrick Ness Published by Harper Teen: New York, 2016 Mikey isn’t extraordinary. There are no zombies in his life or 
anything apocalyptic. He is searching for the extraordinary from his ordinary life.
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (Fiction)
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition: New York, 2014
Margaret Simon is an eleven year old girl who has recently moved from New York City to a 
suburb in New Jersey. She quickly makes friends and they form a pre-teen secret club. They discuss bras, menstruation, and boys. Margaret struggles with her lack of a formal religion. Her father is Jewish and her mother Christian which created strife within their extended family. She talks to God but claims she doesn’t have a religion which baffles her secret club friends.
- Appropriate target audience: Girls ages 8-12
- Strengths: This book faces the real life conflicts of growing up. The language is simple but middle school is not. Blume does not shy away from topics of religion and puberty. Children ages 8-12 will be able to identify with these issues and realize they are not alone in this strange new world of adolescence.
- Weaknesses: The book is written for a white middle class girl. There is no diversity in Margaret’s friends or family.
- Meaningful/creative uses: Have a pre-teen girls club! Have a guest speaker come in from Elea Blake Cosmetics to show the girls how to take care of their skin and use age appropriate make up. Have the girls journal and have open discussions. 2. Because Margaret’s “Dear God” is similar to a girl’s “Dear Diary,” give children a blank journal and let them creatively decorate it and then have fun writing in it! Giving them the option to create a lock for it as well.
- Awards: 1970 Outstanding Book of the Year, New York Times 2005 Time Magazine All-Time 100 Novels List
- Other: This book has frequented ALA’s top 100 banned books. It has been banned due to its frank sexual discussions and purported anti-Christian ideas.
- Read- a-likes: Blubber by Judy Blume Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition: New York, 2014
Linda does a report on whales. She is 20 pounds or so overweight and the class begins to call her “Blubber.” Even Jill who knows it’s wrong calls her “Blubber.”
There’s A Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom by Louis Sachar 
Published by Yearling, Reprint Edition: New York, 1988
Bradley Chalker is a fifth grader and not well liked. He bullies the other kids and has no self-confidence. Carla is the new school counselor and she changes things because she believes in him.
Hound Dog True by Linda Urban Published by HMH Books for Young Readers: Massachusetts, 2012 
Mattie Bean has moved to a new town with her mother. She wants to be the custodian’s apprentice so she doesn’t have to face the lunchroom and other social situations as the “new girl” again.
Tracking Trash (Non-fiction)
Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion (Scientists in the Field Series) by Loree Griffin Burns Published by Houghton Mifflin: New York, 2007
Tracking Trash follows two oceanographers, Curt Ebbesmeyer and his colleague, W. James Ingraham, Jr. They use trash to track ocean currents and patterns. The idea to track trash came about when Ebbesmeyer’s mother showed him an article about sneakers washing up on shore from a spill. The scientists used beachcombers to record data of trash that washed up on shores all over the world.
- Appropriate target audience: Children ages 8-12
- Strengths: The book has vivid detailed photographs of ocean life and the trash found within. It also has many text features to aid the reader: captions, maps, a glossary, and an index. Burns uses an interesting hook into oceanography by focusing on trash collection by non-scientists on beaches around the world. This would be a useful resource for a student researching oceanography, specifically, involving flotsam and jetsam.
- Weaknesses: The text could be used for beginning research but because it jumps from the topic of studying the ocean through trash to discussing the scientists, it is often confusing. The reader would need to be fairly sophisticated to read the text and use the text features comprehensively.
- Meaningful/creative uses: Use bottle caps from soda bottles to make art. Mount the bottle caps onto a recycled piece of cardboard. 2. Visit a recycling center and discuss what can/cannot be recycled in your area. Find out where the recycling goes and how is it used again?
- Awards: . A 2007 Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book Winner of the 2008 IRA Children’s and Young Adult’s Book Award
- Read- a-likes:
Plastic, Ahoy!: Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by Patricia Newman and
Illustrated by Annie Crawley Published by Millbrook Press: Minnesota, 2014
This book explores the North Pacific Central Gyre also known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It investigates the massive amounts of plastic waste produced and disposed of improperly. This garbage, as damaging as it is to the environment of the ocean, helps scientists study the ocean’s currents.
The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle: A Story About Recycling (Little Green Books) by Alison Inches and illustrated by Pete Whitehead Published by Little Simon: New
York, 2009This is a recycling story told through the perspective of a plastic bottle. It is told in an easy to read diary format.
Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95 by Phillip Hoose Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux: New York, 2012
This is a documentation of a shorebird, named Moonbird or B95. This is a species that has greatly declined in numbers over the years due to human activity disrupting their migratory pattern. This book encourages readers to get involved in environmental issue, particularly from human impact.
Terrance is awesome.
Little Robot (Graphic Novel)
Little Robot by Ben Hatke Published by First Second: New York, 2015
A lonely little girl finds a robot that has been bumped off a truck. She inadvertently wakes it up and they become immediate friends. They go on a journey through the junk yard exploring together. Then the big mean robots want the little girl’s friend back, it is up to her to save her little robot.
- Appropriate target audience: Children ages 4-7
- Strengths: Ben Hatke has created a charming main character in the little girl. The illustrations are vibrant and tell a complete story with very limited dialogue. Without words the imagination of the reader brings life to the story and makes it accessible to many different ages and levels of readers. Most children will understand the little girl’s loneliness, friendship, and bravery.
- Weaknesses: As listed above as a strength, the lack of words will not advance a child’s understanding of word sounds. At this age, some teachers and parents may want books that help children to sound out words. Frankly, the imaginative storytelling factor far outweighs the need for words.
- Meaningful/creative uses: 1. Using items from a recycling bin, create your own robot out of parts. The robots may then “play” together and discover new treasures outside.
2. Use Google’s Toontastic app and create a cartoon story with robots. Make a display of the robots the children created from recycled goods with the cartoon story playing on Apple TV above the display.
- Awards: Eisner Award Winner, 2016 Illinois Gryphon Award, 2016 Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year, 2016
Literary Hoots Blog
http://www.literaryhoots.com/
- Emily is the author of the blog that is powered through Blogspot. She was a children’s librarian and began the blog while completing her Masters in Library Science. Recently, she has chosen to be a stay-at-home mom. She continues to review books and will take suggestions for books to review from her blog readers. Her blog also contains storytime ideas, book dsiplays, crafts/activities, LOTS of booklists, and even author interviews. Menu options:
- Storytime Ideas: These are sorted by age and include books and activities
- School-Age Programs: STEM, book clubs, and arts/crafts
- Book Reviews: these are organized by genre and format as well as a star-ranking system
- Other Resources: library displays, printable posters for librarians, and product reviews
- Fun Stuffs: Author interviews, book giveaways, and miscellaneous funny posts
- Appropriate target audience: The blog’s target audience is school librarians. However, literacy teachers and parents may also find her lists and ideas useful.
- Strengths: The book reviews are the most useful section of Emily’s blog. It is tremendously helpful that she has the reviews categorized by age and genre. She has also created several eye-pleasing and easy to use infographics for various book lists. The library signage and storytime aids she has graphically designed are also a strength. Her informal writing and musings make her blog easy and enjoyable to read.
- Weaknesses: Emily’s blog has several underused and rarely updated sections. Her “School-Age Programs” category has a STEM, Book club, and Arts/Crafts as subcategories. Most of these have not been updated and the Book Club subcategory only has one entry. Also, combining the Activites with the Art/Crafts would alleviate confusion as to how those are categorized.
- Meaningful/creative uses: 1. Use Emily’s blog to show students how I use other people’s blogs to read and learn. Students could begin their own blogs.
- Read- a-likes: Provo City’s library blog for children: http://www.provolibrary.com/kids-corner-home This
blog contains story times, fun kids’ activities, book reviews, and much more!
- Shannon McClintock Miller is a teacher librarian. Her blog combines library ideas and signage along with technology in the library. http://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.com/
- Mr. Schu Reads is a blog dedicated to exploring children’s literature through e-trailers
http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/
That Is NOT a Good Idea: Short film
Short film based on the book by Mo Willems
Director/animator – Pete List
Produced by Paul R. Gagne and Mo Willems Weston Woods Studios, 2015
Pete List animates and directs this Mo Willems story. The fox invites the seemingly naive goose for a stroll. The music and frames are reminiscent of the silent film era with the damsel in distress as the goose and the fox as the villain. The goslings appear and warn the reader that the actions of the goose and the fox are “NOT a good idea!” Cher Willems is the voice of the goose and Mo Willems the voice of the fox.
- Appropriate target audience: Children ages 4-8
- Strengths: Because the book is laid out as a silent film, it seems a natural and necessary next step to create a short film. The music matches the silent film era and enhances the book. The goslings popping up and talking is also an added bonus.
- Weaknesses: It is written in a silent film style and by adding voices it detracts from that concept.
- Meaningful/creative uses: Have a film festival for several Carnegie Award winners. Then have the kids make their own short films and watch those. There could be popcorn and a red carpet. Take pictures celebrity style in front of a backdrop with the library’s name on it.
- Awards: The Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children’s Video, 2016
National Geographic Magazine for Kids
National Geographic Kids Published by National Geographic Partners, LLC March 2017
National Geographic kids magazine has scientific articles with a pop culture spin that will resonate with a young audience. The magazine has the ever popular “weird but true” facts, games, puzzles, and in depth articles written in a child friendly manner. There is even a fill in the blank funny grammar section in Mad-Libs style. A little bit of something for everyone.
- Appropriate target audience: Children ages 6-10
- Strengths: The magazine has many attention grabbing fonts, photos, and illustrations. It is similar to “reading” a website. Children who are not fluent readers will still appreciate National Geographic’s amazing photography and easy-to-read captions. Older more experienced readers will enjoy the photos as well as the informative articles.
- Weaknesses: As noted earlier, it resembles a website. This can also be a weakness as readers may feel overstimulated. The magazine, according to its website, names the target audience as a range up to 14 years old. With the juvenile fonts and games, it seems unlikely that a middle school age child would want to read this magazine regularly.
- Meaningful/creative uses: 1. To pair with a regular feature, “Mission Animal Rescue” – arrange for a veterinarian who specializes in wildlife rescues to come and talk to the children. In Chattanooga, this is a resource that is available through the Chattanooga Nature Center. They may even bring a rescued animal! 2. On the cover of the March 2017 edition, there is a feature article about sloths. Arrange a visit to the zoo to visit the sloth as well as other animals in the rain forest habitat. Meet a zoologist who can give us more information about the sloth and its neighbors. Create a display of the rain forest and feature rain forest animals made from recycling.
- Awards: 4 time winner of the Parents’ Choice Gold Award
- Read- a-likes: Ranger Rick is published by the National Wildlife Federation
It is a nature magazine that has been in publication since 1967. The magazine has science articles about nature, puzzles, activities, and games. This is appropriate for kids ages 7-12.
Ranger Rick, Jr is similar to its older version but the target audience is for children ages 4-7 years old.
Bink and Gollie
Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo, Alison McGhee and illustrated by Tony Fucile Published by Candlewick Press: Massachusetts, 2010
Bink and Gollie are unlikely best friends. Bink is a short, messy, unsophisticated girl who loves bright socks and her fish, Fred. Gollie is tall, chic, loves pancakes and imaginary adventures. This is an easy to read brilliantly illustrated story of the exploits of these friends.
- Appropriate target audience: Children ages 6-8
- Strengths: This book is easy to read because the dialogue of Bink and Gollie is paired with Tony Fucile’s supporting illustrations. There are few words on a page. Even reluctant readers would be drawn into the best friend’s witty banter and fun adventures.
- Weaknesses: As this book serves as an early reader, it lacks a basic story line. The dialogue propels the story and there are running themes but not a cohesive beginning, middle, and end of the story.
- Meaningful/creative uses: 1. To celebrate Bink’s obsession with bright socks, have a large pile of socks to decorate and then (of course) wear to have a Sock Bonanza! Have sequins, glitter, markers, pom balls- easy sew needles and thread as well as glue. Take a picture of kids in their socks and post them in a display around the book.
- Have a pancake cooking class to honor Gollie’s love of pancakes. Children could use different cookbooks to create their own recipes – sprinkles, chocolate chips, blueberries, etc.
- Awards: Theodor Geisel Award 2011
- Read-a-likes: Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Chris VanDusen Published by Candlewick Press: Massachusetts, 2009
Mercy Watson is an animated, fun, trouble-loving pig in this easy reader by Kate DiCamillo. Mercy loves to ride in Mr. Watson’s pink Cadillac. One day, she actually tries to drive it by jumping in Mr. Watson’s lap. This fun and silly adventure will delight young readers.
The Princess in Black by Shannon and Dean Hale and illustrated by LeUyen Pham Published by Candlewick Press: Massachusetts, 2015.
Princess Magnolia transforms into the Princess in Black when the monster alarm sounds. This unusual princess wears a black cape and mask to fight the monsters. Even though readers are privy to her secret identity, it is truly a secret in this fun series for young readers.