Random books recommendations

 In a very bad order:



This is a very good book presenting the topics in Q&A format. Each two pages has pictures and informational text addressing one specific question about the life of the Amazon people.

The story is beautifully illustrated. Each page represents one specific episode in the life of John Wesley Powell. It is a very well illustrated and narrated story which should definitely inspire you to talk about people and nature, go for walks, talk about dams, politics, bravery, settlers vs indians, and hopefully, inspire you to take a trip to this wonderful place on our planet.

Yes, this is on our February reading list. Darwin's birthday is the same date as Lincoln's-February 12. Same year too! It is a wonderful book but I strongly recommend it for kids who have read other Darwin related books. Some of our favorites are: Cool friend, You wouldn't want to be on the Beagle, Galapagos Islands, etc. The reason for my recommendation is that the book holds Darwin's words, and leads you to his final formulation of evolution and one of its mechanisms natural selection. The pictures are fabulous, the narrative is fantastic, but background knowledge is needed to fully appreciate the book.

Another February quick read. I love Freedman's books but the detail my kids can get is very small, and the purpose of opening this book is not the detail but sparking the interest. So, we will go over (maybe) the pictures pinpointing the main ideas of the text!

Great series-good pictures, good narrative. Great text for fifth graders who can read the text themselves. For us it is a quick read-looking through the pictures and walking away with the general messages. This is related to our recent trip south during which we visited a few Native American museums. (I intended to read them in January but we never got to them-either next year or after our next visit to a native american related place)

These are texts my kids can fully understand, so we will use them in parallel with the texts above. These we will read in full, and the above will be reference. (I intended to read them in January but we never got to them-either next year or after our next visit to a native american related place)

I hope to get to this book but we may skip it. It is a good description of what a scientist can do when inspired and motivated. We can related in general to the topic of water/snow which we will discuss in detail next month, or to George Washington Carver as a scientists since we visited the national monument dedicated to him in Dimond, MO. (We read this book and the kids liked it but I did not read it again. I think I will bring this book again next school year in December and we will explore more seriously snow and its properties)

I loved this book. I know most of it but make many of the mistakes that are outlined as common mistakes. I love this book and could easily use it to eventually teach grammar or at least as a reference when editing writing.

Yes, this is another February book. We already read the magic tree house books and this is just an extra we will leaf through. The book is phenomenal and we will carefully look at the pictures and recall out trip to Springfield and what we have already learned.  Just a reference though. For fifth grade and above this will be a useful resource!

We will talk about the Lewis and Clark expedition which will also begin our study of world rivers. This is an easy, elementary and decent text. I think I will try to find a more detailed picture book and use this as a supplement, independent reading material.

We will combine this with the previous book on snow but I do not put a whole lot of emphasis on this book. If we get to it, we get to it. Eventually we will study it and learn from it. If not now, there will be snow next year. The pictures are breath taking so I recommend it. I think that some knowledge of water, its cycle and properties will be needed. (We read this book and the kids liked it but I did not read it again. I think I will bring this book again next school year in December and we will explore more seriously snow and its properties)v

Speaking of water, this is very simple book, but if you handle it properly, you can teach a lot about earth science using it as a spine. I love this book, the sequence, the details I can fill in myself.

Another gem. We read a similar one already but this is so good that we are going to read it to reinforce the idea that the europeans did not discover America. America was already well known to a whole lot of locals. Setting the record straight is important to understanding the devastation that the europeans caused. I think it is fair to say that the conquistadores were on equal footing to Hitler and other dictators who had no respect whatsoever for human life and dignity. (We will read this book in October 2015)

The kids' school has a one-school-one-book program. A copy of the same book is given to each family represented in the school, and the family is asked to read aloud the book together. This year's choice is wonderful. I recommend this book. It tells you a lot about how to look on school, what to strive for, how to persevere, how to be true to yourself, not to fear and be brave and daring, and how the american society works which has always astounded me-much ado about nothing. People in this country become rich out of trinkets, unbelievable. We bulgarians do not waste money on trinkets so none of us became rich that way, but the bulgarians borns and raised here tend to fall for trinkets because it is the american trap. Wonderful book, lots to talk about and definitely will be a required reading in a few years. I like the program but I did not like the previous choices very much. The mouse and the motorcycle was ok but Humphrey was dull and boring and I refused to read it.