A Place for Bats

Now that summer beckons, I am walking around the lake by my house. It is approximately 2.7 miles and takes me 45-50 minutes, depending on how fast I walk. Today I saw a turtle resting. I don't know what species of turtle it was but I stopped to watch it until it got tired of being stared at and crawled back into the lake.

  This week's topic is not an animal I really want to get close to. A Place For Bats by Melissa Stewart. This book tells you about different types of bats  as well as what people can do to coexist with them.


   Here is a sample: "When people build bat boxes that are the right size and shape, bats can live and grow."

The illustrations by the artist, Higgins Bond, enhance this book.

Police Dog Heroes

For dog lovers everywhere, here is a title that should appeal: Police Dog Heroes by Linda Bozzo. Chapter One introduces the reader to K-9 Lucky, an officer with the Edison, New Jersey Police Department. Here is a sample of an arrest Lucky made with his human partner, Officer Shawn Meade: "Officer Meade hooks Lucky back on his leash. This time the man follows the officer's orders. He lies down on the ground."

  This book gives other information,  such as  the best breeds for police work and how they are trained.   In many cases, retired police dogs are adopted by their handlers.

Kennewick Man

Imagine that you found a skull along the bank of the Columbia River in
Washington State that turned out to be 9,500 years old? Read all about this in
Mysterious Bones: the Story of Kennewick Man by Katherine Kirkpatrick. In addition to the skull, the rest of the skeleton was recovered but years of litigation ensued before scientists could study it.

  Their initial finding was that Kennewick Man was not related to any living Native Americans.

Nonfiction Monday

                                      

Welcome to Nonfiction Monday!  My featured title is The Elephant Scientist by Caitlin O'Connell & Donna M. Jackson.
                                              

Caitlin O'Connell is an American scientist who has been studying elephants in the African country of Namibia. Her area is elephant communication.
Here is a sample describing an a-ha moment:
"Then slowly, almost imperceptibly, many of the elephants turned toward the source of the signal-a shaker buried nearby...The entire herd had responded-just as I had witnessed years ago."

This book covers African elephants.  For Asian elephants I invite you to visit an earlier post.

Here are links  to other titles:

Ms. Yingling Reads:  Witches: the Absolute True Tale of Witches in Salem.
NC Teacher Stuff:   Tornado! 
A Teaching Life:  Genius of Islam and a second title Creep & Flutter.
Laura Salas: For the Life of Birds: the Life of Roger Tory Peterson.

For  more, please visit the comments section below.

Bayard Rustin

A  good title to keep in mind for next Black History Month is We Are One: the Story of Bayard Rustin. He was a civil rights activist who was largely responsible for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963.

Here's a sample: "Bayard strolled over to the Washington Monument to see how the march was shaping up. Journalists and the security patrol greeted him, but there were only a handful of protesters."

I have a personal connection to Larry Dane Brimner, the author of this book.
 He was an instructor at the Writers Workshop at  Chautauqua the summer I attended and I benefitted from discussions with him.

Patience's Grand Adventure

You may have never heard of Patience Wright who created wax sculptures for important people in England. Born in Philadelphia, she also served as a spy for the American cause during the Revolution. Read all about her in
Patience Wright: America's First Sculptor and Revolutionary Spy by Pegi Deitz Shea.

Here is a sample: "London, England already had a thriving wax-sculpting industry in the late 1700s. So in 1772, American-born Patience Lovell Wright moved across the the Atlantic Ocean, and her sculpting business soared."

Activity:
This is a letter George Washington wrote to Patience. It  is a primary source: a letter written by George Washington himself. It's not only letters but also newspaper and magazine articles written during a person's lifetime.
Can you find a primary source from this year?

Visit The Nonfiction Detectives, today's hosts for Nonfiction Monday.

Have You Ever Visited Trinidad?

One day I plan on visiting Trinidad and Tobago, two islands in the West Indies that comprise one nation. Here is a sneak peak:  Kamal Goes to Trinidad by Malcolm Frederick.

This sample tells how the steelpan, the native instrument of Trinidad and Tobago is made: "First they take an old oil drum and cut it in half, then they bang the top of the drum to make a  big dent..."

The photographs greatly add to the enjoyment  of this book.