Barbara Haworth Attard
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Home Child Novel Study - Nearly four million Canadians (about 12 percent of our country's
population) can trace their ancestry back to a child who was shipped to Canada from Britain
sometime between 1869 and 1948. Called Home children, most of them were between seven and
thirteen years old and were removed from the streets, orphanages and workhouses of England's
industrial cities and placed on Canadian farms where they worked as indentured
farm-hands. Girls, who accounted for about a third of the 100,000 children sent here, were
usually placed in private homes where they worked as indentured servants. In her children's
novel entitled Home Child, Canadian author Barbara Haworth-Attard tells the story of a
fictitious Home child and his life with a typical Ontario farming family in the fall of
1914. Selected as a "Choice Book" by the Children's Book Centre and short-listed for the
Geoffrey Bilson Historical Fiction Award, Red Cedar Selection, Silver Birch Selection, and
CNIB Tiny Torgi Award, Home Child is a both a heart-breaking and heart-warming tale of
survival and hope. Recommended for children ages 8-11, it is an excellent novel to use
to explore the literary elements of character and universal themes of conflict, stereotyping
and friendship.
Avi
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Avi Official Web Site - This web site has three sections, About Avi, About Avi's Books and
Info for Teachers.
Blue Balliett
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Chasing Vermeer - This scholastic site includes a lot of information on Vermeer and pentominoes.
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About Vermeer - This site is dedicated to this artist, whose life and visions are partly a
great mystery. View all of his paintings and see the city of Delft and Dutch life in the 17th
century through the eyes of Vermeer. In addition to presenting all of Vermeer's paintings, this
site aims to be a source of information for anyone who enjoys this artist's work.
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WebMuseum: Vermeer - Another good site about Jan Vermeer.
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Essential Vermeer - The Essential Vermeer provides a wide range of in-house resources for
studying the work and life of Johannes Vermeer. New studies are constantly added as well as
news of recent Vermeer related exhibitions, publications, and websites of the highest quality.
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Pentominoes: An Explanation and History
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Basic Pentominoes
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Pentominoes Puzzle - A great page for pentominoes puzzles
Eric Carle
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Eric Carle - All you ever wanted to know about the books written by Eric Carle and the
site also has a link to the new Picture Book Art Museum.
Beverly Cleary
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Beverly Cleary Author Profile - She would become one of this century's most popular writers
for children, but you would never have guessed it to look at her sitting in the row against the
blackboard with all the boys. She was the only girl assigned to the "blackbird" reading group,
the lowest in that Portland, Oregon, first grade. Learn all about the great story behind Beverly Cleary's
becoming the author she did.
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The World of Beverly Cleary - Ramona Quimby and Henry Huggins are two of the many delightful
characters from Beverly Cleary. See how her ideas for Henry and Ribsy came to be, and find
interesting facts about Mrs. Cleary. Go to Teaching Resources to download a free classroom
guide, or click on the book characters for facts and a list of the titles in which they
appear. The neighborhood map is excellent for helping kids understand the world in which
Henry, Beezus, and Ramona live. There is also a link to trivia quizzes in Fun & Games
that will test even the most knowledgeable Cleary fan.
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Muggie Maggie Novel Study - This novel study includes reading comprehension sheets and
vocabulary words.
Eleanor Coerr
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Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes - The purpose is to help educators use the true story \
of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes to teach children about the power of one person to
create change, the long term consequences of war, and the values that are cherished by
all cultures.
Bruce Colville
Roald Dahl
Tomie dePaola
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Video Interview with Tomie dePaola - Tomie dePaola, the author and illustrator of Strega Nona
and many other favorite books, always knew he wanted to be an artist. In this exclusive
video interview with Reading Rockets, Tomie dePaola tells comical childhood tales, reflects
on his career, and suggests ways to encourage young readers and artists.
Phoebe Gilman
Kristine George
Barbara Haworth-Attard
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Homechild Novel Study - Provided by Jim Cornish in Gander, Newfoundland. In her children's
novel entitled Home Child, Canadian author Barbara Haworth-Attard tells the story of a fictitious
Home child and his life with a typical Ontario farming family in the fall of 1914. Selected as
a "Choice Book" by the Children's Book Centre and short-listed for the Geoffrey Bilson
Historical Fiction Award, Red Cedar Selection, Silver Birch Selection, and CNIB Tiny
Torgi Award, Home Child is a both a heart-breaking and heart-warming tale of survival
and hope. Recommended for children ages 8-11, it is an excellent novel to use to explore
the literary elements of character and universal themes of conflict, stereotyping and
friendship. It is also a way of learning about the history of the Home children and
how horribly they were treated.
Kevin Henkes
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Kevin Henkes - The site has a separate section for his picture books, mouse books and novels.
Caroline Lawrence
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The Roman Mysteries - Welcome to the world of Flavia Gemina. The year is 79 AD. The place
is Ostia, the port of Rome. From here, Flavia Gemina, daughter of a Roman sea captain, embarks on
thrilling adventures with her three friends Jonathan, Nubia and Lupus.
C.S. Lewis
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Into the Wardrobe: The C. S. Lewis Web Site - This site, developed by a fan of the author, is
a tribute to the life and works of C.S. Lewis. It provides lots of resources for students
studying his work or for anyone interested in this author or his works. This site also offers
an outline of Lewis's life and a biographical sketch, news and events, frequently asked
questions and bibliographies of his literary works. The multimedia section contains an
extensive collection of photographs and a collection of audio clips. The clips feature
notables such as Claire Bloom and Anthony Quayle reading from his work and Lewis talking
about Christian love. Other resources include links to some of Lewis's contemporaries, other
Lewis related links, and an index of papers, speeches, etc. that have been written about the
man and his work.
- Narnia
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Narnia's Magical Revival
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Virtual Narnia - This site contains over 50 pages going into detail on the
Chronicles of Narnia.
Roy McGregor
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Screech Owl Mysteries - Take a look at the hockey books by this Ottawa based author. Great for
kids from about grade four through seven.
Farley Mowat
Robert Munsch
Mary Pope Osborne
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Magic Tree House - Need an interesting way to tie in science or social studies
to reading? This Web site lists all the books in the fantastic Magic Tree House series and
includes an entire section just for teachers. There are free activities, as well as research
and teacher guides so you can bring the adventures of Jack and Annie into your classroom
during a study of the Civil War or dinosaurs. For kids, there are Reader's and Writer's
Clubs to help children work on their reading and writing skills.
Scott O'Dell
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Island of the Blue Dolphins Novel Guide - A small unit designed for students in grades six and
seven and centered around the theme of courage and survival.
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Cruisin the Island of the Blue Dolphins - Your students will enjoy this
adventurous cruise to the Island of the Blue Dolphins. As they dip with the dolphins, they will
explore the Chumash culture, visit exotic sea animals, and enjoy a sea food extravaganza.
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The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island (Juana Maria) - This site tells the true story on which
Island of the Blue Dolphins is based.
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TeacherView: Island of the Blue Dolphins - A few well designed activities to go along with the novel.
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Island of the Blue Dolphins Teachers Guide - A small teachers guide for the novel
provided by Random House.
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SCORE: Island of the Blue Dolphins Cyberguide - This supplemental unit was developed as part of
the Schools of California Online Resources for Educators (SCORE) Project and consists of five
Internet activities in which the students explore the following: Life of the California
Indians, Animals indigenous to the Channel Islands off the coast of California, California
Mission Life, A comparison of Karana's survival on the island and surviving the Iditarod Sled
Dog Race, A biographical account of Karana's life on the island.
Gary Paulsen
Bill Peet
Dav Pilkey
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Captain Underpants - This site from scholastic has great activities for the
students and the kids really enjoy it.
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Pilkey's Web Site O' Fun - This official Dav Pilkey web site has a lot of information about
Dav and goes more into his other stories. It is not updated very often however.
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Dogzilla: TeacherView - The mice of Mousopolis were busy at the annual Barbecue Cookout,
when out of the depths of the ancient volcano, rose the most terrifying beast of all times - Dogzilla!
He wreaked havoc throughout the town, until the Big Cheese found a solution to their problem.
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Kat Kong: TeacherView - The natives of an island are offering a sacrificial can of tuna to
the most frightening creature ever known to mousekind, the mighty Kat Kong! After the cat
knocks himself out, Dr. Varmit and his assistant take Kat Kong back to the city. There, the
mighty Kat Kong overcomes the ties that bind him and terrorizes the city. Finally he meets
his demise when curiosity killed the cat.
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The Paper Boy: TeacherView - Early in the morning, before the rest of the world wakes up,
the Paper Boy starts his day. With his dog, he delivers his papers, riding his bike down the
quiet streets. He finishes as the sun is rising and comes back home. His work is done, so he
goes back to sleep. This book was a Calecott Honor Book, and it is easy to see why.
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Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving: TeacherView - Dav Pilkey is at it again, this time poking
fun at the traditional Christmas poem. In Pilkey's version, a field trip takes a group of children
to Farmer Mack Nuggett's turkey farm. The trip is great until the children learn of the
turkey's fate. However the clever children save the turkey from being the main course.
Philip Pullman
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Philip Pullman Author Spotlight - Learn more about the author of Dark Material Trilogy... The
Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.
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Philip Pullman - The official Philip Pullman web site with a lot of information about his books,
the worlds within his books, and about himself.
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Randomhouse: Philip Pullman - Check out descriptions of all three books as well as learning about
a new short story related to the Dark Material trilogy called Lyra's Oxford.
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Philip Pullman Interview - Learn about the Dark Materials trilogy first hand in this
interview from 2001.
Wilson Rawls
J.K. Rowling
Jon Scieszka
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Tut Tut: TeacherView - In this exciting tale, the Time Warp Trio, as they are affectionately
called are whisked away to ancient Egypt when Anna, Joe’s sister unwittingly opens the Magic
Book. Fred, Sam, and Joe end up on an exciting and for them scary journey to find Anna and the
book (and Cleo the cat). As the story develops the reader is given tidbits of Egyptian history
along with a strong dose of wit and humor. By the end of the book, the reader has been given
enough history to entice them into digging deeper.
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2095: TeacherView - Here's another book in the Time Warp Trio series by John Scieszka. This
time Fred, Sam, and Joe end up in a frightening journey to the future. With robots, ray-guns,
and 3-D advertisements chasing them wherever they go, these boys decide that the future is an
age that they can wait for.
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Math Curse: TeacherView - A young girl discovered that her math teacher, Ms. Fibonacci,
placed a math curse on her when she said, "You know, you can think of everything as a math
problem." The next morning she faced the math curse. Waking and going to school were problems,
riding the bus was a problem, and even the members of the class were problems.
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The True Story of the Three Little Pigs: TeacherView - Jon Scieszka makes an old story new
by changing the point of view. A. Wolf visited the three little pigs to borrow a cup of sugar
for his grandma’s cake. He had a bad cold, sneezed, and blew two houses down. The pigs were
already dead so he ate them so as not to be wasteful. The third pig insulted his grandmother
so he had to retaliate. The police arrested him but he claims it was unfair.
Mary Shaw
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Mary Shaw Official Site - The author of the Brady Brady hockey books. A fabulous site with
a lot of activities and ideas.
Lemony Snicket
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Official Lemony Snicket Web Site - This site warns from the beginning, "ATTENTION: Please
run for your life!" The sometimes sarcastic, perplexing, often depressing, but endlessly
popular A Series of Unfortunate Events author's Web site begins just as the books do—with
a disclaimer that nothing positive will come of your visit. This well-organized site takes
you through a synopsis of the series, an interview with the author, a reader's guide, and
some strange games (we were also amused by a wanted poster of Count Olaf). With all his
wit and charm, Lemony Snicket reminds us that life doesn't always have a happy ending. This
site can help to tie the books to a lesson on the importance of family or overcoming
difficult situations.
William Steig
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William Steig - A great starting place to look into the work of Willaim Steig.
Lauren Stringer
Dr. Suess
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Suessville - A place for anything and everything Suess!
Chris Van Allsburg
E.B. White
Laura Ingalls Wilder
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Little House Books - Laura Ingalls Wilder's nine classic Little House books, five of
which received the distinguished Newbery Honor award, have been cherished by millions of
readers around the world for their endearing portrayal of Laura Ingalls and her remarkable
pioneer childhood. Although her books are historical fiction, Wilder brought to life her
family's real-life adventures, challenges and triumphs on the American frontier. Downlaod the Classroom
Activity Guide.
Paul Zelinsky
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Last updated October 15, 2004