The Secret World of Weather

The Secret World of Weather by Tristan Gooley is a worthwhile read.  If you live in a place where the weather changes often, the people talk about the weather, or the weather affects your daily activities, you would learn something useful.  It would also be a good book to read if you are a science teacher or a naturalist.  Parts of it was easier to understand than others, but I plan to reread parts of it, especially the parts about clouds, trees, and precipitation.  It made me realize there are a lot more things that an average person can pay attention to and understand about the weather without listening to a forecast. 

more than books

If you have not been to your local public library lately, I would suggest you stop by.  Of course, there are plenty of books, but many libraries have increased the variety of things you can check out with your library card.  

My library now has disc golf sets (five plus a carrying bag) you can check out for a week.

You can check out a mobile hotspot for a week as well.

Or a Minnesota state park pass.  

There are also telescopes, board game kits, and a try it yourself ukelele kit in my regional library system.

Does your library have any of these sorts of things?  

Whose House is That?

 Whose House Is That? by Stan Tekiela makes an excellent addition to any home or classroom library.  Tekiela describes in a few sentences a home of a wild animal and shows a photograph of the home.  On the folllowing page, there is a photo of the animal in it's home, along with more information about the animal.  All of the animals are from Minnesota.  If you enjoy this book, you can look for more by Tekiela, including his books for children like Whose Track is That? and The Kids' Guide to Birds of Minnesota, or his guides for wildflowers, trees, or birds of different states.

Sewing

One thing nice about summer is chunks of time to sew when I am not tired from teaching.  I made a few zipper pouches this summer for gifts-this one was my favorite.

I also am working on two different quilt tops.  The pinwheels are going to be a quilt for me.

 This quilt is going to be a graduation gift. 

Digging for Words

Digging for Words by Angela Burke Kunkel and illustrated by Paula Escobar is a book based on the story of Jose Alberto Gutierrez.  He was a garbage collector in Bogota, Columbia, and began taking the books others had discarded and taking them home so he could share the love of reading with others.  This inspirational story is a good example of a man who decided to help others even though he didn't have much.  It is available in Spanish as well.

One Little Bag

One Little Bag by Henry Cole is a book for all ages.  This book without words tells the story of one paper bag as well as a boy's life.  I have added it to my list of wordless picture books to use with my students for speaking or writing practice.  It is also a good book on the topic of conservation.