Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming- Nonfiction

Title: The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming

Author: Laurie David, Cambria Gordon

Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.

Genre: Children’s nonfiction, weather

Age level: 9-12

Themes: Knowledge about global warming, endangered species, how to prevent horrible consequences
Synopsis: Right now we are waking up to the reality that the effects of global warming are upon us. From extreme changes in weather patterns, to melting glaciers and polar ice caps, to endangered plant and animal species, global warming touches every aspect of our lives. The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming is the comprehensive resource readers can look to for understanding why global warming happens and the way it impacts our planet, and how we can work together to stop it. Irreverent and entertaining, and packed with essential facts and suggestions for how to effect change, The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming offers a message of hope. Kids and adults alike can help prevent the full consequences of global warming- we all have a part to play. There’s never been a more crucial time to come down to Earth and stop global warming!

About the author: Over the past decade, Laurie David has produced several projects to bring the issue of global warming into mainstream popular culture – including authoring the bestselling Stop Global Warming: The Solution is You! and co-authoring The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming, written for kids of all ages and published in eleven languages. The New York Times writes about the Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming: "…I’ve never seen a more comprehensive explanation of the phenomenon in so few words” and it received the prestigious Green Earth Book Award in the nonfiction category.

Cambria Gordon is an active environmentalist and children’s book author. She has written the nonfiction book Fifty Nifty Crafts to Make with Things Around the House and an episode of Madeline, the award-winning animated series, for the Disney Channel. Cambria Gordon lives with her husband and three children in Pacific Palisades, California.

Pre-reading activities: Ask students what they know about global warming, including why they think global warming is such a big issue nowadays and what they think cause it.

Post-reading activities: As a class, list ways we can all help to decrease global warming, such as recycling as much as we can, try not to use automobiles as much as we do or take public transportation when we really need to go someplace far, take shorter trips, etc. List some of the animals/plants that are endangered and think of ways to save them.

Reflection: I thought this book really gave great insight into the problem that is global warming. Though it’s written for older students, it still has a child-like feel to it, especially with some of the pictures and the captions to it. It is well-written and is very informative and useful for teachers and students alike.

Works Cited:

Laurie David

Cambria Gordon

Barnes & Noble

Down-to-Earth Guide picture

It's a Tsunami!- Nonfiction

Title: It’s a Tsunami!

Author: Nadia Higgins

Illustrator: Damian Ward

Publisher: Magic Wagon

Genre: Children’s nonfiction, weather

Age level: 8-12

Themes: Weather, geology, how to protect yourself

Synopsis: Woosh! Crash! Shush! It's a tsunami! Bring the weather indoors with this brightly illustrated series. Easy-to-read text explains the how tsunamis form, how scientists track them, and the damage a tsunami can cause. Diagrams, tsunami facts, and a glossary provide additional information for use in classrooms. A perfect suppliment to your library's weather collection.

About the author: Nadia Higgins is a published author and an editor of children's books and young adult books. Some of the published credits of Nadia Higgins include Electricity Is Everywhere (Science Rocks!), Moon Landing (Essential Events), Columbus and the Ages of Explorers (Events in American History), and Spanish Missions of the Old West (Events in American History).

About the illustrator: Damian Ward grew up with ideas that could barely fit in his big head and pencils he could barely fit in his tiny hands. These particular traits got him into all sorts of trouble of course, but they did eventually land him his dream job as a Children's Book Illustrator after his graduation from the Columbus College of Art and Design.
Clients include Scholastic, Harcourt, Oxford University Press, SRA, PowerHouse Books, McGraw Hill, Pearson, Scott Foresman, Soundprints, Our Own Image, Morgan Cain, Houghton Mifflin, and many others.
Damian now lives with his wife and their beautiful computers in India, where he recently moved to after enjoying an all too peaceful life in Ohio. His love of storytelling and exploring different perspectives keeps his eyes and mind constantly occupied, which thankfully, helps to keep him out of as much trouble these days.

Pre-reading activities: Since this book can closely relate to what if going on in Japan, start off by asking the students what they know about tsunamis, and write down what they know on the board. See if the students know what is going on in Japan, as they just had a tsunami and a very destructive earthquake.

Post-reading activities: The students can write letters to the children in Japan, telling them how they feel about the events that occurred. The school could also band together to raise money for the tsunami, with the students organizing the collection.

Reflection: This book caught my eye to begin with because of what is going on in Japan recently. It is a great teaching point because on the news, they don’t always talk about how these events really happen; they just talk briefly about the big tidal wave. I liked how the book discussed ways to save lives, such as moving to higher ground.

Works Cited:

Barnes & Noble

Nadia Higgins

Damian Ward

It's a Tsunami picture 

High Tide in Hawaii

Title: High Tide in Hawaii

Author: Mary Pope Osborne

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Genre: Young Adult

Age level: 9-12

Themes: Weather, geology, adventure, exploring the unknown, finding information
Synopsis: Jack and Annie are whisked away to old Hawaii. When they arrive they are just in time to attend a Luau and meet two young Hawaiians who open their home to them for the night. The next day the four children go surfing, an activity that Jack is uncertain about. After his first failed attempt, and teasing from the other children, he waits on the beach while the other children go surfing again. While he is waiting he feels an earthquake and consults one of his books on Hawaii for more information. He reads that earthquakes at Hawaii can result in a tsunami and quickly catches the other children's attention and warns them of the danger. The children make it to safety just in time and Jack and Annie soon return to their own time. Tidbits of information about Hawaiian culture and history intersperse the text, along with illustrations of scenes occurring in the chapters. Some background information is provided concerning how the children found the Magic Tree House, and how they know where they are going and the tasks they are supposed to perform. However, the book would be more interesting if read as part of the series instead of as a stand-alone piece of fiction. A very brief Hawaiian timeline and brief facts about Hawaii appear at the end of the text, along with a list of titles in the Magic Tree House Series.

About the author:  Mary Pope Osborne was brought up in a military family, and her parents' work led to a lifestyle full of change. Although many kids would've been traumatized by constant moves, she wouldn't have had it any other way.  After trying a variety of jobs such as window dresser, medical assistant, travel consultant, waitress, bartender, and assistant editor, it took a first attempt at writing a story for her to realize that was what she wanted to be when she grew up. Ever since 1992, Mary Pope Osborne has been thrilling kids everywhere with her delightfully exciting Magic Tree House series. The globetrotting escapades of time travelers Jack and Annie are brimming with adventure and magic (not to mention some subtly placed lessons on history and geography). With a life like Osborne's, it's only natural that she would be capable of bringing such wondrous stories to life.

Pre-reading activities: Have the students read the first page of every chapter; have them write down what emotions come to them as they read the first page, any vocabulary they don't know, and what they think the chapter will be about.

Post-reading activities: At the end of each chapter, review what Jack and Annie encountered in the reading, and at the end of the book, have the students recall how the tidal wave was caused.

Reflection: I read High Tide in Hawaii for a project in my undergrad career at Cortland, and this was the first time I had encountered the Magic Tree House series.
Works cited:

Amazon 

Barnes & Noble 

High Tide in Hawaii picture