Good bye Earth! Hello Nebulon!

                                           









Galaxy Zack: Hello Nebulon

(Book #1 of Galaxy Zack)

Author: Ray O'Ryan

Illustrated by  Colin Jack

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

For Ages: 5 - 7

The Year is 2120, and Zack Nelson and his family are making the big move from Earth to the planet Nebulon. Zack is already nervous about starting school and making new friends, but it only gets worse when he dreams that his classmates are slimy aliens with tentacles, pizza comes covered in gross bugs, and he can never communicate with his Earth friends again! When Zack arrives at Sprockets Academy for his first day of school, he meets and befriends Drake Tucker, a Nebulite boy who also loves to explore and learn about the planets. All of the differences between Earth and Nebulon begin to pile up and make Zack miss his home in Dubbsville, Texas, even more. But things start to look up when he receives a mysterious surprise. What could it possibly be?


Why will kids like this book?

• It has aliens!

• Kids will think the alternating black text on white pages, then white text on black pages, and then slanted text is cool. 

• Zack's new house is equipped with an Indoor Robotic Assistant, better known as IRA, who takes care of your every need. Thirsty? Pow! Try a glass of frosty, bubbling, spudsy melonade,

• Zack's massive bedroom is equipped with the coolest technology- a huge desk with a built in computer touch pad and an entire wall that is the computer screen. It's like going to the movies. You can even search the stars and galaxies. 

• Zack's bed retracts up into the ceiling when not in use.Wicked!

• IRA eill prepare your favorite meals. While your parents dine on grilled salmon, and your sisters spaghetti, you can have delicious cheesy pepperoni pizza! 

Why Ms. Murphy thinks this is a great book for kids:

• It has aliens!  
• It reaches early chapter book readers through an engaging format using larger print and ample graphics to guide the story.  
• It introduces early chapter book readers to Science Fiction genre in a light, upbeat way. 
• It is a story about friendship, family, and adjusting to new situations with a positive attitude.  
• The book sums up most kids' day dreams of a super cool room, never having to clean up after yourself, and delicious food prepared and instantly delivered via a sliding panel door (Come to think of it, I dream about this too).

Ms. Murphy also appreciates that Simon and Schuster has provided great promotional materials for the Galaxy Zack series which makes my job as a librarian much easier to book talk it (book trailer, book excerpts, and downloadable resources). When kids see a book trailer, that book is guaranteed to be put on a long hold list.

Visit the Galaxy Zack website

Galaxy Zack downloadable resources can be found here

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? 3/25/2013

This will be my first post linked to Teach Mentor Text's What are you reading? 

I read everyday and love sharing what I am reading. I have just finished Every Day by David Levithan and now I am working on finishing up Scarlet, book number 2 in the Lunar Chronicles, by Marissa Meyer, but more on that next week. 

Every Day by David Levithan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first thing that came to mind as I was reading Every Day was one of my favorite TV shows several years ago-Quantum Leap. A is a genderless being that is propelled into a different, unsuspecting host body every day. A respects the host body by making as little changes as possible until he meets Rhiannon and falls in love with her. Remarkably, Rhiannon begins to love A back although she never  knows what A will look like each time they meet. Can such an improbable love story find a happy ending? Read it to find out. You will not be disappointed. 

View all my reviews

These are the books we are reading at home this week. 

Waking Dragons 

by Jane Yolen and Illustrations by Derek Anderson

Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

A young knight helps his dragon prepared for the day brushing teeth, changing into outdoor clothes, and eating waffles for breakfast. Waking Dragons is an easy flowing rhyming book. The illustrations are bright and colorful and offer multiple opportunities for good discussions. Point in fact-why did the dragon first brush his teeth and then eat his breakfast? We brush after eating in our home. 

Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature

by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Mark Hearld

Candlewick Press

In a word, this book is beautiful.

Beautifully written.

Beautifully illustrated.

Young readers and older readers alike will marvel over glimpses into the natural world.

Outside Your Window is a book of nature poems divided into four sections by the four seasons. 

Each reader will discover a favorite section as they meander through this jewel of a read. For me, it was "Listen to the Pond" frogs singing out "Rrruuprrrppp rrruuurrrrppp. Nature lovers will enjoy the process of speckled frog eggs evolving into tadpoles and eventually into frogs. Excellent book to reinforce learning objectives for science based topics through poetry.

A B C, 1 2 3

 

Day 13: Theme

A B C

1 2 3

A told B,

and B told C,

I'll meet you at the top

of the coconut tree.

Since this is ABC 123 day at Picture Book Month, it goes without saying that someone would discuss Chicka Chicka Boom Boom on their blog. Well, today, that someone is me!

Simon and Schuster description:
Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault's rhythmic chant and Lois Ehlert's exuberant collage illustrations have made Chicka Chicka Boom Boom a read-aloud favorite for twenty years.
 
A favorite of Pre-Kinder and Kinder teachers, parents, and kids-Chick Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault, is cram pack with alphabet fun. This book has rhythm and rhyme which is always conducive to read alouds. Plus, it can be purchased as a set with a book, tree, alphabet letters and a music CD.

Bill Martin website

Weston Woods includes Chicka Chicka Boom Boom in its Sing Along Stories DVD which is available through Scholastic. I have this in my library collection and it is a must have! You will love it as much as your students.

Lakeshore

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom activities:

DLTK this is one of my favorite websites when searching for terrific printables or craft ideas for preschoolers.

Make Learning Fun: literacy ideas and crafs

Squidoo  This website has Chicka Chicka galore ideas. Be sure to check out the magnetic letter activity. 

Hubbard's Cupboard Every Kindergarten teacher has heard of Hubbard's Cupboard, one of the original teaching sites in early internet days, can always be counted on for high quality lesson plans and ideas. By the way, thanks for many years of great ideas, Hubbard's Cupboard!