Books | Page 31 of 82

An Illustrated Book of Loaded Language, is the unsaid, muddied truth

The vast majority of people muddle on purpose or accidentally, twist their day-to-day communication. Sometimes it’s quite innocuous, it’s those other times when people or organizations leave things unsaid or pepper their language with certain phrases that make things opaque. An Illustrated Book of Loaded Language is a book that looks at euphemisms, spin, bias, or things that are not said in arguments, in order to persuade people. It’s a very smart book that logic-based people will love reading. The subtitle is Learn To Hear What’s Left Unsaid, and if you can hear the opinions or direction that a conversation is trying to lead you in then this book will speak to you.

An Illustrated Book of Loaded Language is a grammar book on semantics and subtle inferences that are used all the time, here’s what to look for.

When you hear things, are you leading, being led or unaware of the fact?

When Plants Took Over The Planet, smart illustrated young STEM

We have a dinosaur tree in our front yard. It’s my favorite tree, having said that, I don’t know any people who have a preference for their tree. When Plants Took Over The Planet is an illustrated book that will really grow on STEM kids, plant geeks, science students, dinosaur people, or just those who want to be entertained while learning about plant evolution.

When Plants Took Over The Planet is an illustrated book that offers a deep dive-at an approachable level, about the evolution of plants.

Fear not the smart illustrated book meant for elementary school readers

Spy School The Graphic Novel, the go-to mglit series in illustrated form

Yeah, but the book was better. People might be used to hearing that when engaging in discussion about popular movies. It’s a similar conversation and vibe to those who softly gloat about first hearing a band. Spy School The Graphic Novel will elicit the same Pavlovian response to some upper elementary through middle school readers. The Spy School mglit book series has been a go-to franchise since 2012. It breathlessly threads the needle between action, believability, and life in a manner that results in these books constantly being checked out from libraries. We are massive fans of graphic novels and realize that they fill a need in getting young audiences to read. The nagging thought in our mind was questioning if a graphic novel was able to capture the fun and joy that the Spy School books brought out in readers.

Spy School The Graphic Novel is a textbook graphic novel that can inspire kids to read more novels.

Graphic novel or novel: this is hard wired to be great

The World Book, world nugget stats for upper elementary

At work, for the past three weeks, I’ve been helping fourth and fifth-grade students craft and edit informational powerpoints. They’ve run the gamut of the usual suspects that any 10 or nine-year-old would find interesting. However, there were a couple of the students that really took the assignment one step further. These were the students that researched little-known topics that they were passionate about, as well as, those kids who were doing subjects that they simply wanted to know more about. Specifically, there was a student who writing about the history of Nintendo and one who was doing Egyptology. The World Book is a reference book that balances illustrations with elementary-aged content in a way that can provide a slightly deeper dive into countries, in addition to introducing students to new areas of Earth.

The World Book explores stats and 411 from every country in a way that introduces many of them and adds information to some.

This is geography catnip for elementary school kids

The Great Stink, non-fiction, illustrated book STEM that kids want to read

Joseph Bazalgette we salute you. Actually, everyone in London salutes you in their own special way. Bazalgette had an idea in the late 1840s; and while his idea wasn’t a new one in the greater global perspective, it was one that would forever change the capital of England. His job was to map London’s sewers, but this wasn’t the job that the short employee pulled. As an engineer, this was a challenge that he lived for and was one that had life and death results. The Great Stink is the illustrated book of this story that those young readers won’t be able to resist.

The Great Stink is an illustrated book that details engineer Joseph Bazalgette and his quest to solve London’s poop pollution problem in the mid 1800s.

More illustrated books should take this STEM cue

A Man Called Horse, makes pre-Civil War Seminole history approachable

Even when you’re finished attending school, you’re never done learning. A Man Called Horse is non-fiction proof to that for us, as well as, most people who will read the book. Despite having lived in Florida for half a decade I never knew anything about the Seminole. It’s very likely that resident Floridians know the basics about the Seminole Indians. However, I had no idea of the complex history that the region had in the early 1800s. What’s impressive about A Man Called Horse is how simple and concise author Glennette Tilley Turner makes the material.

A Man Called Horse is about John Horse, a Black Seminole in the pre-Civil War era, his tumultuous life and the chaotic times then.

Non-fiction on an era most middle school students know nothing about

Prehistoric Pets, a data-heavy dino pop-up, in a good way

If there’s one thing that Jurassic Park taught us it’s that chicken-sized dinosaurs, even if they had feathers, were vicious creatures that did not play around and could kill you in a number of different ways. Prehistoric Pets takes that idea, puts it into a pop-up book, and creates a colorful, read-to-me book that will entice readers aged five and up.

Prehistoric Pets is a pop-up book where the art starts the trip, but the text takes the reader further due to all of the details.

Prehistoric Pets is dino, pop-up fun on poster board paper

14 questions from elementary students to Bad Kitty creator, Nick Bruel

It’s great to be teaching in elementary schools. I get to see what they’re learning and hopefully add to that in a manner that makes some kids get it, or further their knowledge. I also get to see what they’re reading and in every ELA classroom, there’s at least one Bad Kitty book. Author and illustrator Nick Bruel’s latest installment is Bad Kitty Gets a Phone and he was kind enough to answer 14 questions from some of my ELA students.

Rodrigo – Why is Bad Kitty the only bad cat in the book?

Find out the answer to this and other kitty-inspring qustions after the jump