Monday Reading! For National Space Day and Beyond!

            

        Visit Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts to see what they and others have been reading! Your TBR lists will grow! 

        Last Friday, May 3rd, was National Space Day!  I have some great space books to share, including a fictional one, and one that will make you feel very good about our special earth! 

        If you haven't read anything about this, it's a space book, too! I cannot bring myself to tell you anything, except it's about one young man, fearful of a lot of things including going into middle school, one high school girl, his babysitter and certainly not afraid of much, an older man, caretaker of the apartment complex where the kids live, plus a strange young man who just arrived. It's a heart-in-your-throat story! DON'T MISS READING THIS NEW BOOK BY ERIN ENTRADA KELLY! 

Thanks to June Cotner & Nancy Tupper Ling
for the joy of receiving this copy!

           Considering space, so celebrated when astronauts years ago first saw, then shared that amazing picture of our "blue marble", thus it feels as if I should also highlight and share a book filled with poetry, blessing our Earth in numerous heartfelt poems that celebrate its inhabitants, and finally, share poems to come to its aid. June and Nancy have written the intro, inviting parents and children to both cherish the earth and "become stewards of all its beauty." Separated into five sections, from "Dreams and Prayers for My World" to "Caring for Our World", readers will meet poets new to them and read poems from familiar poets, like Karla Kuskin, Langston Hughes, and Aileen Fisher.    

           I was also excited to read special poems from Charles Ghigna, Matt Forrest Esenwine, and Irene Latham, familiar poets who are publishing today! Charles tells readers to "Think Like A River," Matt's poem is Honeybee, and Irene shares Hymn, about a coyote!         

            Also, a surprise, there are some older familiar rhymes/songs, like "The Johnny Appleseed Grace," which I remember singing at camps long ago. "Oh, the Lord is good to me,/And so I thank the Lord, For giving me the things I need:/The sun, the rain, and the apple seed./Oh, the Lord is good to me." There is a wonderful poem, too, from a ten-year-old young woman from the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska. Her first lines: "If I were a bird/I would fly like an eagle/Through the sweet summer sky/All day Long." The book is rich with beautiful words about Earth, and further enriched with the beauty of Keum Jin Song's illustrations! See that gorgeous cover! 

          Note: the "blue marble" photo was taken on December 7, 1972, by astronauts on Apollo 17. You can find out more on Wikimedia here!

Thanks to Candlewick Press for these four space books!

 

        Dr. Marc J. Kuchner feels like the emcee of a game show, starting off with the question of which might be left standing "in this incredible planetary smackdown"?  It's such a fun idea, makes one want to read fast, though the explanations of what each is, how they change as they move through space, and react with collisions are thorough and wonderfully illustrated by Matt Schu. How much each weighs, or can weigh, how they change temperatures, all about an "Oort Cloud", and the variations of what each one is like are all explained simply and illustrated. In a study of these two fascinating space objects, this will be the book to show so much about them and to inspire more and more questions for further research. It's terrific! 

         It's a fantastic story of the one whom Michael J. Rosen calls "the most vertical woman in the world". Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan has gone the highest and the deepest (in the ocean), setting three world records for her Space Shuttle Missions and ocean diving. She's studied both places and this time she and Michael give a tour about what to do "before" even applying to become a space astronaut and the path to being one 

           Shared first are the mental challenges and then the athletic expectations to becoming a Nasa astronaut. In easy-to-understand explanations, with photos by NASA, and drawings by Michael, readers can begin to understand the incredible journey to becoming ready, to be athletically and mentally fit to become an astronaut, and to do space walks. Susan has done three! The story is illuminated by cartoon drawings and real photos from NASA, clear explanations of equipment, how every part of the spacesuit works, safety rules, and much more! It's quite intriguing to see all that has been invented in order to do all that they do, in space! Those interested in this area will love the book, and be inspired to learn more! 

        Written in rhyming couplets, Dr. Eve M. Vavagiakis, physicist and author of I'm A Neutrino, lets a black hole introduce itself to a young girl. She's watching, then moving into space herself as she observes what a black hole is and what it is able to do. Full color, starry night illustrations by Jessica Lanan feel as if one is really in space. Additional explanations are in the backmatter with a list of sites for further exploration. It's an enticing book, inviting young readers to be part of the search to learn even more about black holes!

          Dare I write that this is a cute book? Randy Cecil tells of a spaceman who has the dull task of flying from planet to planet in his little spaceship (see that cover!), taking soil samples. It's routine and dull! When a bird steals his ship, he has some time to walk around and look for it, and in the search, he begins to notice what a marvel this planet is, showing him so much beauty. He struggles with the idea that he's never noticed all these beautiful things and he even meets a big, hairy animal that becomes a friend. He's never before had one! In the midst of other details, he believes a life decision must be made. Also illustrated by Cecil in cute, colorful, but quirky pages, it's a delight. There must be an audience out there who will love talking about this spaceman!

What's Next– I've started Rez Ball by Byron Graves. It's been on my list for a while and what better time to read a book about basketball, among other things, than during the NBA finals? It feels like it'll be a great story!