In 1704, Alexander Selkirk was voyaging across the South Pacific when, after arguing with the ship’s captain, he was put ashore—alone—on an uninhabited island. Equipped with little more than a musket and his wits, Selkirk not only survived in complete solitude for more than four years, but to came to be quite comfortable and happy. After being rescued by a British private erin 1709, he took a leading role in several dramatic captures of merchant ships. Although he returned to civilization a rich man,he couldn’t find a place in society and always longed to return to the paradise of his island.Selkirk’s well-documented adventures so inspired Daniel Defoe that they became the basis for his perennial classic,Robinson Crusoe. In an account that is every bit as fascinating as Defoe’s novel, Robert Kraske provides vivid descriptions of Selkirk’s days on the island and aboard ship, including details of the violent, bloody, and legally sanctioned pirating that went on in the early 18th century. Author’s note, glossary, bibliography,index.
Join the pirate crew in their final spectacular adventure!Jolly, Griffin, and their pirate friends are back, battling to save the world from the evil Maelstrom. Griffin leaves his magic room in the belly of a giant whale to take on the lord of the kobalins. Princess Sole dad fights to protect the sea star city and encounters an awe-inspiring serpent god. Together, Jolly and Munk make their way underwater to reach the center of the Maelstrom. There they meet the beautiful Aina, who is a polliwog like themselves but from an ancient time. Is she a girl or a ghost? A friend or an enemy?While the battle for the sea star city is raging, Jolly learns the shocking truth about Aina. As Jolly begins to understand the past, she realizes what she must do to save the whole Caribbean. But is she already too late? This rip-roaring fantasy filled with nonstop action is a perfect ending to magical mastermind Kai Meyer’s swashbuckling Wave Walkers trilogy.
The House of the Scorpion By Nancy Farmer is about Matthew who is a clone of El Patrón, a powerful drug lord of the land of Opium, which is located between the United States and Mexico. For six years, he has lived in a tiny cottage in the poppy fields with Celia, a kind and deeply religious servant woman who is charged with his care and safety. He knows little about his existence until he is discovered by a group of children playing in the fields and wonders why he isn’t like them. Though Matt has been spared the fate of most clones, who have their intelligence destroyed at birth, the evil inhabitants of El Patrón’s empire consider him a “beast” and an “eejit.” When El Patrón dies at the age of 146, fourteen-year-old Matt escapes Opium with the help of Celia and Tam Lin, his devoted bodyguard who wants to right his own wrongs. After a near misadventure in his escape, Matt makes his way back home and begins to rid the country of its evils.
Helen is renowned as the most beautiful woman in the world. Her divine beauty will lead her to a lifetime of adventure–from her kidnapping at age 12, through an arranged marriage, to a passionate affair that will ultimately bring about the Trojan War. Cassandra, the sister of Helen’s true love, has the gift, or curse, to predict the future. When she foresees the ruin of her family and city, caused by Helen’s arrival in Troy, she is outraged. Yet Cassandra cannot help being drawn to Helen, and as the war rages around them, the two young women develop a deep friendship. Through their eyes, the classic tale of the Trojan War is retold in an immediate and fascinating way.
Volume I, Issue 2
WOW Stories: Connections from the Classroom is a regular on-line publication of WOW containing vignettes written by classroom educators about children’s experiences reading and responding to literature in the classroom setting.
Contents
Part 1: Creating a Context for Professional Learning
Part 2: Developing Conceptual Thinking
Conceptualization as a Way of Thinking in Schools, by Lisa Thomas, Instructional Coach
Thinking Conceptually about Journeys through an Author Study, by Jennifer Griffith, first grade teacher
Mapping Our Understandings of Literature, by Jaquetta Alexander, second grade teacher
“Life is a Journey and an Iceberg”: Creating a Context for Conceptual Thinking, by Amy Edwards, fifth grade teacher
Encouraging Symbolic Thinking through Literature, by Kathryn Bolasky, third grade teacher
Writing as a Tool for Synthesizing Our Learning, by Kathryn Bolasky, third grade teacher
Part 3: Considering Multiple Perspectives
Moving Across the Arts to Consider New Perspectives, by Kathryn Tompkins, fourth grade teacher
Making Connections through Text Sets with Young Children, by Jennifer Griffith, first grade teacher
Encouraging Intertextual Thinking in the Classroom, by Kathryn Bolasky, third grade teacher
Re-Visioning the World through Multiple Perspectives, by Amy Edwards, fifth grade teacher
Taking Action with Young Children, by Jaquetta Alexander, second grade teacher
Exploring Action and Responsibility through Literature, by Jennifer Griffith, first grade teacher
Part 4: Exploring Taking Action
Young Children’s Explorations of Multiple Perspectives, by Jaquetta Alexander, second grade teacher
Taking Action through Emotional Connections, by Kathryn Tompkins, fourth grade teacher
Exploring Voice and Responsibility through Literature, by Kathryn Tompkins, fourth grade teacher
An Inquiry on Taking Action: Exploring Human Rights, by Jennifer Griffith, first grade teacher, and Derek R. Griffith, Filmmaker
Editor
Kathy G. Short, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Production Editor
Rebecca K. Ballenger, Worlds of Words
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Matt and Bibi unravel a pattern to discover a lost cityThe Zills are visiting Peru to study the mysterious lost city of Quwi when Matt and Bibi stumble into an adventure. With only each other, their faithful dog Riley, and an unusual ancient relic to guide them, the twins must use their understanding of patterns and sequences to locate the lost city—and the way back. This companion to Mummy Math is a pattern-packed adventure in math that’s perfect for young readers.
Blue-eyed, freckle-faced Wanda is back, and with her comes spring, puddles, and wriggling black tadpoles. Wanda is enchanted. On the way to school one morning, Wanda scoops some tadpoles into her sand pail. When she presents them to her teacher, the teacher agrees to let the class take care of them until they become frogs. But what will happen to the tadpoles once they grow legs and their tails begin to shrink? Wanda is worried. She wants to keep them. When she secretly moves the frogs into her own bedroom at home, Wanda’s family is in for a hilarious host of surprises.In this charming sequel to Wanda and the Wild Hair, the dynamic author/illustrator team of Barbara Azore and Georgia Graham perform their magic in another joyful adventure of the quirky and mischievous Wanda.
“…catches all the excitement of a playground adventure…a great book to share with toddlers before any play date. It gets toddlers excited while, at the same time, shows them how three friends can play nicely together.”
Why does everyone seem so scared? That’s what the new boy in town, Rex Norton-Norton, aka Rex Zero, wonders as he rides his bike through Ottawa’s streets. Is it spies? Kidnappers? Or is it because of the shadowy creature some say is stalking Adams Park? One thing is certain in this summer of 1962 as the Cold War heats up: nothing is quite what it seems. What’s a boy to do? If his name is Rex Zero and he has a bike he calls “Diablo,” five wild and funny siblings, an alpha dog named Kincho, a basement bomb shelter built of old Punch magazines, and a mind that turns everything inside out, he’s bound to come up with an amazing idea. With its mystery, adventure, laugh-out-loud scenes of family chaos, and underlying message of hope, this wonderfully original novel explores the impact of doomsday on the imagination of one smart and funny twelve-year-old boy. And more Rex Zero adventures are promised!
In this retelling of the Andersen fairy tale, a tiny girl is stolen from her loving mother and many siblings, has adventures with a wise caiman, an injured bird of paradise, and other exotic creatures, and learns how to say no while fending off suitors. Includes a glossary of plants and animals.
