I was looking through some of @jeffclune's tweets about creative ways AIs have solved problems and was reminded of this book. Yukikaze is a fighter plane AI that gradually gains sentience and independence, but does so while remaining thoroughly alien. Whereas her human pilot is very attached to her, there's no indication that she is in any way attached to her human pilot, or even perceives him as anything other than one more variable in her missions.

Then there's @JanelleCShane's tweets. This one, I think, is particularly relevant to Yukikaze: "If 'kill all humans' is the easiest solution to a problem, then machine learning will do that unless prevented." (Tied in with this tweet, which is a little like a scene that actually happens in Yukikaze: "Another algorithm discovered that rather than minimizing force, it could apply such a huge force that it overflowed the simulator's memory and registered as zero instead. Of course, the pilot would die, but hey. Perfect score.")

I had been planning to give Good Luck, Yukikaze, the second book, another go starting today. It might be best to work on my interlibary loan books, though. I haven't decided yet.

I LOVE OLIVER JEFFERS. His texts are jubilant and silly. The images are beautifully illustrated, and will have the reader flipping through in no time! Stuck tells us the story of Floyd. Poor Floyd got his kite stuck in a tree, and he can't get it down. He begins to throw all kinds of things at the tree in hopes of knocking it down. This book would be perfect for identifying problems and solutions. Because Jeffers has quite an extensive list of books under his belt, teachers could use him for an author study. Accompany with a read a loud by the author himself!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hipx6HJs4XQ

http://kickinitinkindergarten.com/breathe-life-literacy-oliver-jeffers/

Guided Reading - L

Lexile - AD530L

AR - 3.4

I was first introduced to this tale in movie form, however, to my great pleasure I stumbled across it at the book store on April Fool's day. To say I had to pinch myself to make sure I was not being tricked is an understatement. I whisked it to the front desk to purchase immediately and could not put it down! In this book, things like witches, wizards, kings, spells, seven-league boots and fire demons were everyday normal things.  The Hatter sisters, Sophie, Lettie, and Martha knew the warnings and stories. So, when a big black castle showed up on the horizon that moved warnings were whispered about in the village but life remained the same that is until the Witch of the Waste paid Sophie Hatter a visit and cursed her! From that moment on Sophie had to set out to find someone to break the curse and return her to her normal 17 year old self. Her mission is not as easy as it seems though as she finds the Wizard Howl and gets tangled up in all sorts of trouble. 

This book would be another good book to do an in-depth class study on and breaking it down into chapters for character analysis, plot, theme, problem/solution studies and much more. I foresee the students being activity engaged in trying to figure out the poems and untwisting the plot. 

Reading Level: 3rd to 6th grade

LEX 800L

Pete the Cat's school playground is a mess. It has gone to shambles, and the school needs a new one. So, Pete the Cat takes the initiative to design and build a new one. 

Construction Destruction received a Lexile score of AD420L, making it best used in read-alouds. This book would be good to teach about problem solving, or just as a fun read. 

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons draws readers along with Pete the Cat. This time Pete the Cat is wanting to go outside and play. However, a problem arises when Pete realizes he's missing a button! This book would be really good for Kindergarten through 2nd grade. I would read this with my future classroom and make it into a integrated lesson.  After reading the book and going over some leading questions to help build comprehension, I would have the students help me create a coat by adding buttons. Simple right? Well our coats would have only the amount of buttons in the equations we are working on for each coat with 6 different coats to add buttons to. 

Reading Level: Kindergarten through 2nd Grade

LEX AD350L