September 2006 Children’s Books by the Month

This month we feature titles from Albert Whitman & Company

An Apple for Harriet Tubman
by Glennette Tilley Turner, illustrated by Susan Keeter
An untold story of the most famous Underground Railroad conductor – told to the author by Harriet Tubman's own great-niece.

ACTIVITY
Journey to Freedom
Harriet Tubman had to travel a long way to get to freedom in the North. Harriet walked most of her journey with no help form the others, returning several times to save members of her family and other slaves who needed her help. On a map, find Bucktown, Maryland, where Harriet lived on the Brodess plantation. Now find Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Harriet reached freedom. How many miles did she travel? How long would it take you to walk that far?

Did a Dinosaur Drink this Water?
Written and illustrated by Robert E. Wells
A fascinating new look at the water cycle.

ACTIVITY
Save the Water
In this book we learn how important water is to us, and to the world around us. We also learn how important it is to conserve the water that we have. Think of all the different ways you use water every day from when you get up in the morning to when you go to bed at night. (Examples: brushing your teeth and washing dishes.) Now write down three things you can do every day to help conserve water.

The Man Who Named the Clouds
by Julie Hannah and Joan Holub, illustrated by Paige Billin-Frye
The little-known story of Luke Howard, the man who created a system for classifying clouds.

ACTIVITY
Name those Clouds
Luke Howard loved to watch clouds. Look outside and see what clouds are in the sky today. Can you find the names of the clouds in this book? Write down the name of each cloud you see. Is the cloud a low, middle or high cloud? What kind of weather comes from these clouds? (Hint: Check out pages 32-35 in your book!)

Alfie the Apostrophe
by Moira Rose Donohue, illustrated by JoAnn Adinolfi
A fresh take on this underappreciated aspect of grammar!

ACTIVITY
Punctuation Magic
Alfie's magic show tricks are amazing! See if you can use the mysterious, magical apostrophe like Alfie does.

1. Write a sentence using an apostrophe in a contraction to bring two words together. (Hint: See what Alfie did with the words can and not.)
2. Write a sentence using an apostrophe as a possessive – to show that something belongs to someone or something. (Hint: Remember Dot and her doll?)

Bonus question: What does apostrophe mean in Greek?

Rock, Brock, and the Savings Shock
by Sheila Bair, illustrated by Barry Gott
This book shows the value of saving and teaches the concepts of doubling and interest.

Writing Assignment
A Penny Saved
Rock and Brock can teach us a lot about how to save money. Let's find out how much money you can earn by just leaving your money in the bank, just like Rock and Brock.

1. If someone gave you $50, and you put it into a savings account, how much money would you have in five years if your bank account pays you five percent interest? (Hint: Look in the back of the book to find out about interest and compound interest.)
2. Apply one of Sheila's saving tricks to your allowance. How much will you save in one month if you take out $10 or speed save? How much will you save in six months? How much will you save in one year?

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To see the August 2006 Children's Books by the Month click here.