Atlantic

·        Atlantic, G. Brian Karas, Natural Science

·        G. Brian Karas has written scores of children’s books.

·        I grew up by the ocean and consider it to be one of the best elements of our planet.

·        Some talk topics:

o       The book is narrated from the point of view of the Atlantic Ocean.

o       The reader is taken on a tour through the ocean systems and the water cycle in a clear, understandable way.

o       The book shows how humans affect the oceans and how  much responsibility we have to care for them for our own good and the good of the planet.

o       I liked how the importance of the oceans was shown on so many different levels.

“First I was discovered

(even though I was here first)

and then conquered

by men in big ships

who named me

I’ve been crosses and probed,

charted,

studied,

dirtied."

o       I would recommend this book for young children (K-3) and would use it as a resource for science lessons.

images taken from- http://tomakeaprairie.wordpress.com/2011/11/ and http://greenslibrary.wordpress.com/2008/03/13/atlantic-by-g-brian-karas/

To The Top- The Story of Everest

·  

            To The Top 

     By Stephen Venables, 

     Natural Science/History

·        The author is an avid mountaineer from Britain. He has scaled the tallest peaks on most of the continents on Earth. He was the first Briton to ascend Mt Everest without supplementary oxygen.

·        I also love outdoors adventure and mountain-climbing. It is a great look at the perils of mountain climbing, in one of the worlds most extreme environments, and the extents that humans will go to in the name of exploration.

·         

·        Some talk topics:

o       Venables provides a historical account of Everest expeditions as well as his own ascent of the mountain in 1988.

o       The reader gets a great feel for the personalities of the explorers.

o       The severity of these “adventures” is staggering.

o       Many lives were lost and many fortunes were made in the attempts to climb Mt Everest.

o       The story is riveting at times, while giving the reader a lot of historical and scientific facts related to the topic.

o       One emphasis of the book is on the people who live in the high valleys around Mt Everest in Nepal, the Sherpa people. Venables also takes care to mention women climbers who have ascended the peak.

o       I loved the authors description of his own experience climbing Mt Everest.

“The work was fun, because we were exploring. No human being had ever touched the rock, snow, and ice where we made our route. Because the climbing was very steep and complicated, we sometimes made only about 1,000 feet in a day . . . The scenery was incredible and we found ourselves in amazing places. There were immense striped walls of rock. Huge snow gullies. And an incredible ridge of gleaming ice towers, like giant crystal vegetables, which we called the Cauliflower Towers.”

o       I would recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure, exploration, history, and accounts of great human achievements.

 

 Image credit- http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/61403000/jpg/_61403353_stephenvenablesonthematterhorn.jpg

Carnaval

• Carnaval, George Ancona, Social Studies
• Other books by George Ancona include: Mayeros: A Maya Yucatec Family, Capoeira, Earth Daughte, Piñata Maker, and Barrio: José’s Neighborhood

·         I’m obsessed with Brazil: its culture, language, geography, and history. I loved to see the vibrant pictures of this cultural phenomenon. Curiously, my brother just came home from Brazil this week and told me that he had visited Olinda, that he liked it a lot, and that he heard it is the best place to go for the authentic Carnaval experience!

·         A lot of Portuguese vocabulary is included in the text which I would have a great time exploring with my students.

Some talk topics:

o       This book takes a documentary-style look at the carnaval festival in Olinda, Brazil.

o       It is mainly a photo exposition (with explanations) of many of the townsfolk and their preparations for the festival, as well as of the festival while it is happening.

o       Through the pictures and discriptions we get an intmiate view of the city’s customary music, costumes, handicrafts, and festivities that surround the carnaval season.

o       I loved the sense that I was looking through a spyglass at a fascinating culture that is so different from my own.

o       It’s always good to learn about other people, cultures, and places!

Here are a couple of pictures of Olinda!

Photos taken  on 2/7/13, from http://www.costadoatlanticotur.com.br/canal.php?codigo=20 and http://penaestradacom.blogspot.com/2010/09/olinda-pe_25.html