Prairie Storms
by Darcy Pattison (Author) and Kathleen Rietz (Illustrator)

Booktalk: See a year on the prairie. (Did you know that ground hogs live on the prairie, too? Tomorrow is their big day!)

Snippet:
The hibernating groundhog stirs,
awakes. It unplugs the door to its den
and peers out. Soft billows of fog blot
out the sun.

BONUS! See the video and download the ground hog coloring page

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Chapter Book of the Day

Attack of the Shark-Headed Zombie
by Bill Doyle (Author) and Scott Altman (Illustrator)
112 pages

Booktalk: After Keats and Henry lose their bikes, they need money—fast. So the help-wanted ad at the supermarket seems ideal for them. All they have to do is weed Hallway House’s garden, find some lightbulbs in the attic, sweep the garage . . . and battle a shark-headed zombie. That last job is a joke…isn’t it?

Snippet: “Shark-headed zombie?” Henry said.

“Extra wand?” said Keats.

Henry laughed, and then Keats did, too.

BONUS! See the video!

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5 MORE Great Books About Valentines

Big Heart!: A Valentine’s Day Tale
by Joan Holub (Author) and Will Terry (Illustrator)
The ant class makes a big Valentine. Who is it for? Pre-Level 1 easy reader

Melvin’s Valentine
by Jon Scieszka (Author), David Shannon (Illustrator), Loren Long (Illustrator) and David Gordon (Illustrator)
Who gave Melvin a Valentine? Level 1 easy reader

No Valentines for Katie
by Fran Manushkin (Author) and Tammie Lyon (Illustrator)
Uh-oh! No one gave Katie Woo a Valentine. Easy reader with chapters

Nate the Great and the Mushy Valentine
by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat (Author) and Marc Simont (Illustrator)
Who gave Sludge the dog a Valentine? Easy reader.

Valentine’s Day in Vicarstown
by Rev. W. Awdry (Author)
What will Thomas do about Valentine’s Day when the blizzard comes? Easy reader
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Literary Links

New Stats: Kids Find E-Books ‘Fun And Cool,’ But Teens Are Still Reluctant

Pinterest Tips for Writers (via @GalleyCat)
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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Copyright © 2012 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Toco Toucans by Anastasia Suen
A National Science Teacher’s Association Recommended book

Toco toucans have a surprising way of protecting themselves from predators. These birds have multicolored feathers and big, reddish-orange beaks that should make them easy to spot—or so you would think. The brilliant colors actually provide the perfect camouflage among the bright foliage of the tropical rain forest. The toucans can stay safe by hiding in plain sight!

• Copyright: 2010
• Dewey: 598
• Guided Reading level: I
• ATOS Level: 4
• Lexile level: 900
• Recovery Reading Level: 16
• Hardcover and hosted e-book: 24 pages
• Publisher: Bearport

Book Activities:

Print this simple crossword puzzle – or solve it online.

See and hear toucans in the wild and at the San Diego Zoo.

Hear more toucan sounds.

Use these simple science lessons.

Color the toucan from abcteach.

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Picture Book of the Day

Hans My Hedgehog: A Tale from the Brothers Grimm
by Kate Coombs (Adapter), Brothers Grimm (Author), John Nickle (Illustrator)

Booktalk: This retelling of the classic Grimm’s tale, paired with lush, detailed illustrations, reminds us of the power of music, the importance of belonging, and the transformative effect of love.

Snippet:

The couple so longed for a child
that one day the man cried,
“I want a son even if he’s half a hedgehog!”

Th next spring the farmer’s wife gave birth
to a child who was exactly that–
a boy from the waist down
and a hedgehog from the waist up.

For the final stop on the Hans blog tour, Kate Coomb answers just 3 questions…

Q. When did you start writing?

A. I wrote plays and stories and poems as a child. I remember writing a Nancy Drew knockoff in about 4th grade for school (a long short story), and I recall being very proud of myself for writing a sonnet in middle school. In my grade school plays, I would cast myself as the Glorious Queen and my little sister as the Quiet Servant Girl. As a teen and in college, I mostly wrote poetry.

Q. Describe your writing process.

A. I brainstorm until I come up with an idea that appeals to me. If it’s for a picture book, I just start writing. This usually tells me whether the idea will work out. If it continues to seem promising, I revisit the story every day or so for weeks, playing with the manuscript and its possibilities. If the story works, I fine-tune it over and over. At times I step away for a week or two and come back to the story with fresh eyes.

For a middle grade novel, I brainstorm, as well, and pick an idea. Then I write several pages of story development notes, often questions and answers, e.g., “If they don’t catch the dragon, why not?” I also write random scenes that pop into my head–especially a scene that will come near the end of the book and show the direction I’ll be heading throughout. After a few days or weeks of this, I simply start writing with chapter one and go in order (unless a later scene makes itself known along the way, which does happen).

My best writing time is early in the morning, but I have been known to write on scraps of paper while in line at the post office. Sometimes I get an idea while I’m driving and pull over to write it down.

Q. Tell us about your latest book.

A. Retelling Hans My Hedgehog was actually illustrator John Nickle’s idea. It’s a less well-known Grimms’ fairy tale for a reason: the original is darker than some of the other tales and has a few narrative troubles. My goal, of course, was to keep the spirit and overall plot of the original while brightening the tale and smoothing out those bumps. Basically, Hans My Hedgehog is the story of a boy who is born a human from the waist down and a hedgehog from the waist up. He learns to play the fiddle and herd pigs, but the village boys and girls shun him. Riding on a rooster, Hans takes his pigs and goes off to live in the woods. There his music and magic grow, and Hans helps two kings in exchange for two promises. The question is, will a princess marry a youth who is half hedgehog?

Plus I have another book coming out in March, a collection of ocean poems called Water Sings Blue. This spring is a pretty happy time for me!

Thanks for stopping by, Kate! I look forward to seeing the new book in March…

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Chapter Book of the Day

The Silence of Murder
by Dandi Daley Mackall (Author)
336 pages

Booktalk: Seventeen-year-old Hope Long’s life revolves around her brother Jeremy. So when Jeremy is accused of killing the town’s beloved baseball coach, Hope’s world begins to unravel. Everyone is convinced Jeremy did it, and since he hasn’t spoken a word in 9 years, he’s unable to defend himself. Their lawyer instructs Hope to convince the jury that Jeremy is insane, but all her life Hope has known that Jeremy’s just different than other people—better, even. As she works to prove his innocence—joined by her best friend T.J. and the sheriff’s son, Chase—Hope uncovers secrets about the murder, the townspeople, her family, and herself. She knows her brother isn’t the murderer. But as she comes closer to the truth, she’s terrified to find out who is.

Snippet: The first time Jeremy heard God sing, we were in the old Ford, rocking back and forth with the wind. Snow pounded at the window to get inside, where it wasn’t much better than out there. I guess he was nine. I was seven, but I’ve always felt like the older sister, even though Jeremy was bigger.

I snuggled closer under his arm while we waited for Rita. She made us call her ‘Rita’ and not ‘Mom’ or ‘Mommy’ or ‘Mother,’ and that was fine with Jeremy and me. Pretty much anything that was fine with Jeremy was fine with me.

We’d been in the backseat long enough for frost to make a curtain on the car windshield and for Rita’s half-drunk paper cup of coffee to ice some in its holder up front.

Jeremy had grown so still that I thought he might be asleep, or half frozen, either one being better than the teeth-chattering bone-chilling I had going on.

Then came the sound.

*This book is a Young Adult Edgar Nominee!
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Literary Links

The February writing workshops begin online tomorrow!

Marc Aronson booktalks his forthcoming book at Nonfiction Book Blast.

Jane Yolen Announces A New Grant For Mid-List Authors (via @leewind)

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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Copyright © 2012 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Polar Bears
by Mark Newman (Author, Illustrator)

Booktalk: Explore the world of the polar bear on land and under water with wildlife photographer Mark Newman.

Snippet:
Polar bears are not really white.
Despite what they look like and what most people think, polar bears are black, not white. Under all that warm thick fur, their skin is totally dark.
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Chapter Book of the Day

Sky Sailors: True Stories of the Balloon Era
by David L. Bristow (Author)
144 pages

Booktalk: For more than a century before airplanes, people explored the sky in balloons. From 1783 to the early 1900s, aeronauts flew into storms, crossed large bodies of water, sailed over enemy armies, and soared to deadly altitudes.

Snippet: Strange creatures lurk in the dark corners of the world, and sometimes they come out to get you. Countless stories tell it that way. On August 27, 1783, the villagers of Gonesse, France, saw the stories come true.
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Nonfiction Monday

This week’s Nonfiction Monday Round-up host is Wendie’s Wanderings

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January 2012 Carnival Of Children’s Literature

• Our January 2012 host is Delightful Children’s Books.
• The carnival is now open! Come by for a visit…

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Children’s Book Genres Workshop

A children’s book isn’t just one kind of book – there are 6 very different children’s book genres. Each genre meets the needs of a different stage of childhood. How are books for the stages of childhood structured? What story layers do the books have? What promises do they make?

In the Children’s Book Genres Workshop you will begin at the beginning with a child’s everyday world (realistic fiction) as you read 3 books for each stage of childhood and look beneath the surface to see how each children’s book genre is put together.

The next Children’s Book Genres Workshop begins on February 1st. This online workshop does not have a physical meeting place or classroom hours. You will have 8 weeks to complete the 6 lessons in this online workshop. Turn your lessons in as you complete them, the next day…or on the due date two weeks later.

After you discover the genre that is right for you, take the Intensive Picture Book Workshop, the Children’s Literacy Workshop (for Writers), the Children’s Chapter Books Workshop or the Children’s Novels Workshop and begin writing your own children’s book!

The February workshop dates are February 1-March 14, 2012.

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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Copyright © 2012 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Snow Wonder
by Charles Ghigna (Author) and Julia Woolf (Illustrator)

Booktalk: A rhyming easy reader about a snow day (with 2 pages of peel-off stickers!)

Snippet:
We wake and wonder
at the snow.
It puts on
such a lovely show.
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Poetry Friday

This week’s Poetry Friday Round-up is hosted by Hey, Jim Hill!

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Chapter Book of the Day

Freaky-Strange Buildings
by Michael Sandler (Author)
24 pages

Booktalk: Some buildings look so strange that it’s hard to believe that they were actually meant for people.

Snippet: (For the building on the book cover, it says:) “It looks more like a cave than a building, but Crazy House in Dalat, Vietnam, is actually a hotel.”
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STEM Friday

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

This week’s STEM Friday Round-up is hosted by Wrapped in Foil.

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Nonfiction Monday on January 30, 2012

Nonfiction Monday is coming!

The Nonfiction Monday Round-up on January 30, 2012

is at Wendie’s Wanderings.

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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Copyright © 2012 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Cinder: Book One in the Lunar Chronicles
by Marissa Meyer
400 pages

Booktalk: Even in the future, the story begins with Once Upon a Time…. Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Snippet: Tossing the screwdriver onto the table, Cinder gripped her heel and yanked the foot from its socket. A spark singed her fingertips and she jerked away, leaving the foot to dangle from a tangle of red and yellow wires.

BONUS! See the video!

 
BOOK GIVEAWAY! Do you want to read this debut novel? The publisher will send a copy to ONE of my blog readers (U.S. or Canada only). Add your name to the comments and I will select one name for today’s book giveaway.

Edited to add: The winner is Linda Baie! Congratulations, Linda!

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Picture Book of the Day

Bright Baby Touch & Feel Colors
by Roger Priddy (Author)

Booktalk: A board book with bright colors and stunning photos, each page has a new color and a new object to touch and feel.

Snippet:
yellow
banana
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STEM Friday on January 20, 2012

STEM Friday is coming! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

The STEM Friday Round-up on January 20, 2012

is at Wrapped in Foil.

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Literary Links

Next (online) Intensive Picture Book Workshop is Feb 1-Mar 14, 2012

74% Of Book Buyers Have Never Bought An eBook (via eBookNewser)
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My NEW chapter book is Save the Best for Last, Abby (All-Star Cheerleaders)

Copyright © 2012 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.