From Caterpillar to Butterfly

Happy May Day! April was a swirl of final papers, lesson plans, lightening storms, and new opportunities. I'm looking forward to a slower pace this summer...and blog love. Sorry for the neglect, but studies come first.

 From Caterpillar to Butterfly introduces early readers to the life cycle of a butterfly in bright, narrative format. Content area literacy, anyone? This is the first book in the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out-Science series, written to engage young children. Science is fun!

Age Range: 3 to 6

Reading Level from Lexile: AD490L

About Insects: A Guide for Children

Wonderful instructional text for children! No gross photos either. My kindergarteners appreciated that.Cathryn and John Sill form an excellent team to communicate basic life science through text and detailed illustrations. It's amazing how much information you can gather from a realistic illustration.

The Adventures of Tintin

Over the next few days I'll be writing about Les Aventures de Tintin, one of Europe's most popular children's series. Tintin is a Belgian reporter who travels the world, tackling daring adventures with his precocious fox terrier sidekick, Snowy. The Belgian comic book series was originally published by Hergé (George Remi) in French, but has since been translated into numerous languages. I grew up reading the English version of Tintin's mystery, political suspense, science fiction, fantasy and comedy. During my visit to the Decatur library today, I was delighted to pick up a copy of The Red Sea Sharks en français. I can't wait to revisit a childhood favorite in my second language! I'm curious to see what was lost in translation.