Read an E-Book Week

This week is National Read an E-Book Week. I feel a bit like a traitor for announcing that, but there; it's done.

Why should you care? Because this is your chance to visit several online publishers to check out their absolutely free (or deeply discounted) e-books titles. You'll find an extensive listing of partner sites, publishers, authors, and booksellers at the official site.

For lovers of picture books (yay! he's back! pluckin' that old one stringed banjo!) you'll find some terrific titles over at Sylvan Dell, including a free full-access look at Pandas' Earthquake Escape (doesn't work too well in AOL; other browsers seem fine).

While at Sylvan Dell, definitely check out their grant program, which allows schools and libraries access to all their books in e-book form.

One Wolf Howls

In a recent picture book workshop at the New Jersey Education Association Annual Convention in Atlantic City, I shared with participants some full page spreads from One Wolf Howls, a gorgeous picture book from Sylvan Dell. The audience had to laugh at itself after responding with "ooos" and "ahhhs" like a classroom of kindergartners. But that's exactly the reaction this book often receives, so I'm pleased today to offer copies of One Wolf Howls to three lucky winners.


For those of us who teach the upper grades, we take for granted that our students should already know a good deal of information. It's our lower grade colleagues, of course, who work tirelessly to impart this wisdom to their pint-sized charges. One Wolf Howls is at first a beautiful nature picture told in rhyme. But upon closer inspection, it teaches students the number that corresponds to each month of the calendar year. For example, February's spread reads

Two wolves play in a February snowfall—
frisky, frosty, fairyland snow.
Two wolves play in a February snowfall
deep in the woods where the harsh winds blow.

And each illustration, in turn, adds another wolf. Cool, huh? And like all Sylvan Dell books, One Wolf Howls is supported on-site by an impressive pdf of teaching activities (this one is 46 pages!), interactive quizzes (which my wife in kindergarten uses on her interactive whiteboard), standards alignment, author and illustrator profiles, and more, including a link to the book trailer:


The connection that illustrator Susan Detwiler makes between her dog and the wolves is an interesting one, worthy of further study in the classroom. In what ways are wolves and dogs alike? How is some common dog behavior explained by wolf pack behavior?

A helpful book for further "insider information" on wolf behavior is Jim Brandenburg's Scruffy: A Wolf Finds His Place in the Pack (available in most libraries). As a photographer for National Geographic magazine, Brandenburg spent a good deal of time with a wolf pack in the cold north and observed the individual roles taken on by wolves in that society. Other nonfiction recommendations: Wolves by Seymour Simon and Wolves by Sandra Markle (mini-lesson topic: create a memorable title!).

These books might lead in turn to a unit on wolves and their typical role in children's literature (such as Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs) compared to their real-life roles in the food chain. In recent years picture books such as The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf and The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig have started to humorously challenge the traditional versions of the timeless tales in which the wolves are villains, and instead cast them as hapless victims who find themselves in "the wrong place at the wrong time." Another I'd suggest is The Wolf's Story: What Really Happened to Little Red Riding Hood.

Students may enjoy splitting into two groups and taking sides in this debate. Students could even take the identities of storybook characters (as well as true-to-life wolves) and argue for and against the wolf's reputation.

Be sure to visit Sylvan Dell for other great nature and science books for young readers.

CONTEST CLOSED

Explore the Wild Side with Sylvan Dell

I am not a lazy teacher; far from it. That's exactly why I appreciate a publisher like Sylvan Dell that has so much to offer students, teachers, and parents.


The award-winning science and nature books which define their niche are extremely colorful and well-designed. As a teacher who often reads books upside down (so that younger students can see the pictures more easily) I definitely appreciate the no-nonsense fonts!

What I especially like, however, is that each Sylvan Dell picture book features an educational section called For Creative Minds which features a number of teaching ideas and resources. For example, Sort it Out!(obviously intended for lower grades than this blog's target audience) features two pages of sorting cards which can be used for classification (a table is included for this) or Memory. But what teacher would want to cut apart such a beautiful book? Here's the good news. Each book's For Creative Minds is available for pdf download from the publisher's site. Check out the quality of the pages that accompany Sort it Out!.

How the Moon Regained Her Shape is an example more appropriate for fourth grade. It's a terrific Native American-influenced folktale which can be used to study that genre, or the phases of the moon, or even bullying. As you can see, the teaching materials for this book are a little more elaborate and mature. Turtle Summer: A Journal for my Daughter is on one level deceptively simple as a picture book, and yet on another level incredibly insightful as a journal of scientific observation of nature. Again, the For Creative Minds section provides parents and teachers with ideas which are as simple or involved as you choose. This kind of resource instantly increases the value of this book as an instructional tool in the classroom.

This, however, is just the beginning of what Sylvan Dell offers as educational supports for their books. At their site you'll also find Teaching Activities (30 or more pages!) for each title. These guides feature questions, cross-curricular activities, charts, vocabulary lists, games, glossaries, cloze activities, maps, and more. For the teacher who wants to take the picture book experience beyond the read-aloud, these Teaching Activities are priceless. Check out the Teaching Guide for Ocean Hide and Seek. Dozens of options (yes, options; don't try to do them all!) to support a simple, beautifully illustrated book which students will want to view over and over again.

Still need convincing? How about online, self-checking, interactive quizzes? Alignment to state standards? Online Ebook previews of each title?

I'm impressed. This is one publisher that definitely fulfills their end of the bargain. Go and see for yourself what an amazing website this young company has created, and explore some more titles while you're there.

I love it when my job is so easy!