Some New Books for July

Planting the Wild Garden

by Kathryn O. Galbraith and illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin

This nonfiction book discusses the different ways that wild plants grow in the wild after the seeds of these plants are spread about. Many plants are grown by farmers planting seeds into the ground, but there are other ways that plants in the wild end up planted, too. One way is by the wind. There are a variety of seeds that get carried by the wind, and the illustrations show what some of those seeds are. Birds are another way that seeds travel. Some birds, like the goldfinch, like to eat seeds, and as they are eating, some seeds fall on the ground. Some plants, such as the Scotch broom, will pop out their seeds, so that more will grow. Rain is another way that seeds spread. The rain pushes the seeds to other places in the meadow. Animals that travel through the plants and grass are another good way of spreading seeds. The seeds will get caught in the fur of the animals as they walk, and then when the animals run or jump, the seeds fall off onto the ground. Some animals, like the squirrel, bury the seeds in the ground, in order to store them for food at a later time. What are some other ways that you think seeds are spread around. Have you ever helped spread seeds in the wild?

Blackout

by John Rocco

The night starts like any other summer night in the city; it is loud and hot. Inside a house a little kid wants to play a board game, but it seems that everyone else is too busy to play. So the child goes upstairs to play a video game, when all of the lights go out. The whole city seems to be dark, too. The child screams out for mom, and mom finds the child with a flashlight. So the family gathers together around the flashlight and candles. Dad makes shadow puppets on the wall, and the dog shadow scares the cat. Eventually, it was too hot to stay inside. So the family goes up to the roof, and on the roof, they see lots of stars and people. There are lots of other people who think it is too hot to stay inside, too. Then the family hears a lot of sound down below, and they go to see what is going on. They find other people hanging out down on the street. There is ice cream and singing. When the lights come back on, do you think the family will go back to doing what they were doing before? What does your family do when the lights go out?

Pig Kahuna

by Jennifer Sattler

It is Saturday and Fergus and his little brother, Dink, are looking on the beach for treasures. Fergus does not like to go in the water, as there could be icky monsters under the water. So Fergus and Dink look for treasures that the waves have left behind. So far, they have found some seaweed, a pebble the looks like an eyeball, and a piece of shell that looks like a shark’s tooth. Then, Fergus and Dink find a surfboard. No one comes to claim it, and so they carry it with them on their wagon. Fergus and Dink put their other treasures on the surfboard, where it looks like it has an eye, some hair, and a tooth, and they call it “Dave.” When Fergus goes to get some ice cream, Dink decides to set “Dave” free, by putting him back in the water. Fergus swims out to save “Dave” and climbs up on the surfboard. What do you think is going to happen next? Do you think that Fergus will be scared of the water anymore?

EllRay Jakes is Not a Chicken

by Sally Warner and illustrated by Jamie Harper

EllRay Jakes is the smallest kid in Ms. Sanchez’s third grade class, and EllRay is picked on by Jared and Stanley (he is not sure if his height is the reason or if Jared is just bored). Ms. Sanchez has no idea that this is going on, because the “war” that is happening between the three boys always happens outside the classroom. EllRay is not sure why the “war” between the three of them started, but he knows it started right after Christmas vacation. EllRay does not want to tell anyone what it going on, because he does not think that it would change anything but just make it worse. He is sure that it will end for no reason, and he wants to just make it through to that point. At home, EllRay’s dad is concerned about the “Behavior: Needs Improvement” that was on his progress report. EllRay’s dad talks about what EllRay is supposed to do in class and what he should avoid. This makes EllRay mad, because he “disrupted” class to make everyone laugh, and he thought that everyone need to. So he does not think he should get into trouble for that. Then EllRays dad tells him that if he can go a week “keeping his nose clean,” then EllRay will get to go to Disneyland, which he has not gotten to go to since he was four. So EllRay knows that he has to figure things out with Jared and Stanley. EllRay has a little sister, Alfie, who is also having problems with some of the girls in her preschool class. Alfie tells EllRay that even if these meaner kids in their classes went away, there would be others to take their places. EllRay is surprised that his sister could come up with this, but he agrees. EllRay decides that he is going to avoid Jared and Stanley all week (and hopefully any other trouble), so that he can go to Disneyland. By Friday, though, it seems that all of the adults may have figured out what has been going on between EllRay and Jared. Will EllRay be able to make it through the whole week without getting into trouble and go to Disneyland? Will he ever be able to get Jared and Stanley to leave him alone? Will he ever find out the reason that Jared is mean to him?