Honestly I feel unworthy to even give this book a review because I feel it is a blanket understanding that this book is the greatest book ever written. Ever. How one book can move even the most stubborn hearts and oldest souls, as well and melt the hearts of the young who it was written for I have no idea. If you haven’t read it, go now and take tissues.   A great story that reminds us love is the best gift of all. And although I would like to use this book in lessons as well, I thought about doing something a little different in my room and having our own class giving tree but instead of the tree giving away it’s leavea, we as a class throughout the year build our tree up with compliments to each other as well as me giving compliments out to individual students. The compliment and student’s name will go on the leaf and they get to hang their leaf on the tree where they would like. A great positive visual in the classroom to promote a giving heart.

 

Guided Reading Level: N

This book is a book that will forever be associated with an elementary classroom because every student thought it was so amazing that the book itself looked like a caterpillar has eaten through the pages. The pictures are so colorful and vibrant and even though there aren’t many words, thw story like is clear and the book is nothing less than spectacular. I will definitely use this book to teach the life cycle of certain insects and animals as well as hopefully get the chance to have some class caterpillars that we can watch go through the different phases to a butterfly. 

 

Guided Reading Level: J

This book is a definite heart jerker. It's about a little girl, Fern, and a runt piglet she saves from her dad. Fern raises the piglet she names Wilbur until her father forces him out to the barn where is care is then taken over by a very ambitious spider. Together with the help of a rat, they do amazing things to ensure Wilbur gets to live a long and healthy life. I would recommend this book for 3rd grade and up. There are so many fun ways to use this book in the classroom. Depending on the grade level, I would love to use this book to do things like an indepth group book analysis (age appropriate) or individual book reports or even have the students use mixed media to create their own word web. 

Reading Level: 2nd grade to 6th grade 

LEX 680L

Moonstruck: How lunar cycles affect life... In "Moonstruck", Naylor delivers a tutorial on separating myth from reality. Myths, fables, and tales featuring the moon's influence on life on Earth about in just about every culture. The scientific community as a whole is deeply skeptical. Naylor sets out to determine what some of the very real influences of the Moon on life are and carefully describes how we know what we know about them. Okay, there's a behavior that correlates with the tides, but is this animal just responding to when it gets wet, or does it have an internal clock? How do we determine that, and what does it mean for our understanding of that organism?

Most of the effects he describes are tidally-linked and have to do with marine life. He does cover some other effects, and then in the last chapter addresses some myths about human lives being affected by lunar cycles. The only evidence that seemed up for interpretations one way or another has to do with our sleep cycles. The moon doesn't cause people to go crazy or commit crimes. It's traditional beliefs like these that make scientists cringe. But Naylor expertly aims his arguments at those who appreciate true scientific arguments. Most of those myths are nothing more. But some of them are based on a seed of truth. And in the stories that he tells, there are some unlikely characters. I rolled my eyes at the lengthy section on the sea louse (yes, that's a thing) only to be later intrigued by the lowly dung beetle navigating by the polarization of light from the full moon. Okay, he got me. That's pretty cool.

It's not exactly a chatty book, but I recommend it for fans and/or students of science who want to learn about the process of science. He handles the presence of truth mired in myth expertly.

I got a free copy of this from Net Galley.

Moonstruck: How lunar cycles affect life... In "Moonstruck", Naylor delivers a tutorial on separating myth from reality. Myths, fables, and tales featuring the moon's influence on life on Earth about in just about every culture. The scientific community as a whole is deeply skeptical. Naylor sets out to determine what some of the very real influences of the Moon on life are and carefully describes how we know what we know about them. Okay, there's a behavior that correlates with the tides, but is this animal just responding to when it gets wet, or does it have an internal clock? How do we determine that, and what does it mean for our understanding of that organism?

Most of the effects he describes are tidally-linked and have to do with marine life. He does cover some other effects, and then in the last chapter addresses some myths about human lives being affected by lunar cycles. The only evidence that seemed up for interpretations one way or another has to do with our sleep cycles. The moon doesn't cause people to go crazy or commit crimes. It's traditional beliefs like these that make scientists cringe. But Naylor expertly aims his arguments at those who appreciate true scientific arguments. Most of those myths are nothing more. But some of them are based on a seed of truth. And in the stories that he tells, there are some unlikely characters. I rolled my eyes at the lengthy section on the sea louse (yes, that's a thing) only to be later intrigued by the lowly dung beetle navigating by the polarization of light from the full moon. Okay, he got me. That's pretty cool.

It's not exactly a chatty book, but I recommend it for fans and/or students of science who want to learn about the process of science. He handles the presence of truth mired in myth expertly.

I got a free copy of this from Net Galley.