[R3librarians] Tuesday's Trash or Treasure

[knelson at mail.esc3.net]

Good Morning!

First, before we start, Boling High School
librarian Leann Eldridge is asking for help. Please respond directly to
her:


Have you purchased any books/anthologies of
poetry for the secondary UIL prose/poetry competition this year?  If
so, which ones have you found to be most helpful?  Many thanks in
advance!
Leann Eldridge, Librarian
Boling High
School
leldridge at bolingisd.net
979-657-2506
Onto our reviews:

Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean
Motion by Loree Griffin Burns
R.L. 7.3, Interest Level:
Officially 5-8, my opinion 8-12
This nonfiction book
discusses the work of beachcombers in tracking container spills in the
ocean and opens by following the story of thousands of pairs of Nike shoes
washing up near Seattle in 1990. A local woman showed the article to her
son, who regularly worked with water currents in his job. He began to
track the shoes as a favor to his mother. It also follows the bathtub toys
that floated around Alaska in 1992. Then the books becomes more technical
discussing ocean currents, computer models, and the Eastern Garbage
Patch--a current that collects everything from bottles caps to kilos of
heroin in a never-ending spin cycle. This book could be paired with the
award-winning picture book Flotsam or with Eve Bunting's
Ducky (the story of the bathtub toys) and could be used to
introduce convection in science class or environmental protection in
biology. The book is more academic than first expected and would be
suitable for advanced 8th graders and high school students.

Three Swingin' Pigs by Vicky Rubin R.L. 1.9
Interest Level: K-3
This little tale is a take-off on The
Three Little Pigs, catching up with the PIgs niece and nephews who play in
a jazz band. The pigs, named Satch, Mo, and Ella, convince the big,
baaaaaaaad wolf (who suffers from halitosis) to use his lung power to make
music. There are references to other nursery rhymes within the book.
However, there are a number of references and jokes that only adults will
catch (such as the wolf wanting a front-row tickets but the only seats
left are in the back by the restrooms). If you are using twisted fairy
tales, it might work, but there are better examples of that sub-genre
elsewhere. I would also question the 1.9 reading level. This book would be
a difficult selection for a beginning reader.


Kristy
Nelson 
Region III ESC 
Education Specialist for Library
Services 
& Technology 
knelson at esc3.net 
(361)573-0731
ext. 277
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