Studyplans

This picture book takes place in Nashville, Tennessee in the 1950s, years of the Jim Crow laws.  Tricia Ann is a young black girl who is making her first trip by herself on the bus to "Someplace Special".  She remembers the way that she has learned from her grandmother, who she lives with, and gets help from her others on her journey.  Tricia gets to "Someplace Special", despite hurtful remarks made by some white people, which we learn is the public library.  One of the reasons Tricia considers the library special is because there are no Jim Crow signs there and blacks were treated with respect. The author's note page at the end of the book explains that Nashville's public library board of directors voted to integrate all of their facilities in the late 1950s.

I have been reading some children's books about the life of Abraham Lincoln. If you are visiting the Springfield, Illinois area, you might want to read books like these with your children:

If You Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln by Ann McGovern

Abe Lincoln: The boy who loved books by Kay Winters & Nancy Carpenter

I have been reading about bats and where they live for a unit I will be teaching. The books tell about the bats that live in an area and is one way to study that area.
Some of the books that I have enjoyed and learned from are:

Bats: Mammals that Fly by Marlene Say, Ph.D.

Zipping, Zapping, Zooming Bats by Ann Earle

Bats! Strange and Wonderful by Laurence Pringle

The full name of this book is Horseshoe Crabs and Shorebirds: The Story of a Food Web.  It tells about the importance of the eggs that the horseshoe crabs lay in Delaware Bay each spring. Migratory animals as well as those who live in the area year round depend on the eggs.  Even after these animals have eaten billions of eggs, there are still enough left for the horseshoe crab life cycle to continue. This illustrations by Annie Cannon help the young reader understand the meaning of the text.  This is an informative book for everyone but especially those visiting the Delaware Bay area in the spring.