Three Times Lucky

 

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage is a Newbery Honor book. It is also on the 2016 Illinois Rebecca Caudill list.

The story centers around a young girl "Mo" who is being raised by a couple who "found" her. Mo loves her family but is always wondering about her Upstream mother. Mo and her friend Dale jump into action when a murder takes place in town and become detectives unearthing the towns secrets. There are humorous moments, action, and mystery. Great read for kids 3-6 grade.

STEAM Jr, Marshmallow Shooters, and Screaming Balloons!

The first STEAM JR (K-2) event of the fall is complete and a huge success! We did some fun hands on science experiments involving force and motion. I started by reading the book Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee. There is a lot of action in the book and the book actually mentioned that the roller coaster is pulled up the tracks. We had just discussed pushing and pulling as 2 forces, so bonus example!

After our story, I showed the kids what we would be making as junior scientists. First up, marshmallow shooters. I pre-cut the plastic cups bottoms off and doubled them for strength after a failed attempted stretching the balloon over the lip of just one. Next, cut the tip off a strong balloon and stretch it over the lip end of the cups. Tie a knot on the end of the balloon. Start with just one marshmallow and experiment shooting with more projectiles, aiming at targets, going for distance, etc. We did a Bozo bucket style contest. Have kids record their results. Lots of examples on Pinterest. Https://www.pinterest.com/explore/marshmallow-shooter/. 

  

Straw rockets were next. Again, Pinterest is a great source for how-to's. Lastly, we did the screaming penny experiment found on Stevespanglerscience.com. (If you use a hex nut and a strong balloon, you have a great sound experiment.) We talked about the laws of motion, centrifical force, friction, and gravity.

   

There was more to do, but not enough time. I  love to over plan! We had a word search with terms like gravity, force, push, pull, etc. We also had a (now take home) experiment making a paper helicopter weighted by a paper clip or two. We ended our session by trying out Hula Hoops and playing with a slinky. It was a fun day experimenting with force and motion.

Where Are My Books?

Where Are My Books? by Debbie Ridpath Ohi
I don't even remember why I requested this book , but it was a simple story about a boy missing his favorite book about Narwhale. He makes a surprise discovery and is transformed into a
mini-librarian. Of course, there is a happy ending.

A Nest is Noisy

A new non-fiction book came in and the illustrations are beautiful. It describes all the different kinds of nests there are in nature. (Alligators make nests too.) There are a lot of cool facts to go along with the beautiful illustrations.

Creepy Carrots and The Dark

   

Following my theme of looking for fun scary bedtime books, Halloweenish kids books, two of my favorites are Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds and The Dark by Lemony Snicket. They would both pair well with the book from my last post, The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman. I have previously posted about The Dark, but Creepy Carrots is equally as good. Kids love this book and it was repeatedly requested when I worked at the school library. Why are those carrots stalking Jasper Rabbit? Was it just his imagination? You'll have to read to find out.

The Wolves in the Walls

The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman

While thinking about Halloweenish books for Storytime, or maybe just a drop-in storytelling session, I remembered Neil Gaiman has written a few children's books. I decided to check them out and found The Wolves in the Walls. The title and the cover art told me The Wolves in the Walls would be a good book. Well, after reading it, I can say I did really like it, but I do not know what age to recommend it for. I would say parents should read it first and see if they think their kids could handle it. I would not recommend it for younger than elementary school. Too scary even with the almost "happy" ending. 

The main character, Lucy hears noises in the walls she believes to be wolves, but no one believes her. Finally, the truth is revealed, and the family runs out of the house until they decide to take it back. Although Lucy is frightened, she conquers her fears. I think the illustrations (which I LOVE) are scarier than even the story. I will be reading it as a "let's have fun getting scared" family bedtime book, but not at Storytime.

Have You Seen My Dragon?

 

Really it's:

 

Just a little fun reference about one of my favorite shows. Lol! Actually, this new picture book is a counting book that goes up to 20. Illustrations are black and white except for the counting item. The little dude goes around the city looking for his dragon. Book is a little of a snooze fest to me, but how many different ways can we count to 20 in books?