The U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court by Anastasia Suen
American Symbols series Picture Book

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Library Binding: 24 pages

Publisher: Picture Window Books

Since our nation’s birth, the Supreme Court has been the highest court in the United States. But until 1935, it didn’t have a building of its own. Join a lawyer named Marta in The U.S. Supreme Court as she follows the court’s long journey to its final home in Washington, D.C.

Activities:

Visit the U.S. Supreme Court online.

See photos of the U.S. Supreme Court Modernization.

Learn more about the U.S. Supreme Court at Congress for Kids.

Take A Look at the Supreme Court with Time for Kids.

Read Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Are you attending ALA? Come see me on Sunday, July 12 from 1-2 at Booth #1940. I’ll be signing 100 copies of The U.S. Supreme Court…and Capstone is giving them away!

Literacy Links
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

On the Radio

I’m on Book Bites for Kids on Blog Talk Radio – Monday 6/29 at 2pm Central. Give me a call!

Literacy Links
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Wired

Wired by Anastasia Suen
A picture book about electricity

Reading level: Ages 6-9

Hardcover/Paperback: 32 pages

Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing

“By sticking consistently to the topic of how electricity reaches the home without trying to cover history, trivia, or more complex science, the fundamental information comes through in an appealing way that kids can fully understand.”
— School Library Journal

Activities:

Make a battery:

• with a lemon
• with coins or three potatoes
• a lemon and an old penny.

Try the electricity word search, criss-cross and double puzzles at Discovery Education.

Visit the Games Page at Energy Quest for an energy word search, crossword, jigsaw puzzles and more!

The Energy Kids page has riddles, online field trips, wordsearch and crossword puzzles, an energy source sudoku, and a scavenger hunt.

See Teacher’s Corner extensive list of electricity lessons and experiments.

Tune in Monday, June 29 at 2 pm Central. I’ll be on blogtalkradio’s Book Bites for Kids. Call in and ask me a question!

I’ll be signing copies of Wired at ALA in Chicago on Sunday, July 12 from 3-4 pm in Booth #1627.

Literacy Links
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Uncle Sam

Uncle Sam by Anastasia Suen
American Symbols Picture Book

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Library Binding: 24 pages

Publisher: Picture Window Books

He has become one of the country’s most well-known characters. Tall and firm, Uncle Sam stands for a strong U.S. government. Join meatpacker Sam Wilson in Uncle Sam as he shares the wild story of how he, a clown, and countless artists shaped this American symbol.

Activities:

September 13th is Uncle Sam Day!

Bake and paint an Uncle Sam hat.

Try this online Uncle Sam coloring page.

Make an Uncle Sam pin with seed beads and a safety pin.

Find lesson plans, crafts, puzzles and writing activities at abcteach.

Use these six trait writing activities as students create their own Uncle Sam comic.

Are you attending ALA in Chicago? On Monday, July 13 from 11-12 in Booth #1940, I’ll be signing 100 copies of Uncle Sam…and Capstone is giving them away!

Literacy Links
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

A Tiger Grows Up

A Tiger Grows Up by Anastasia Suen (Wild Animals series)

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Hardcover / Paperback: 24 pages

Publisher: Picture Window Books

Deep in the forest, a tiny tiger cub is born. As the tiny tiger grows, she plays in the river and learns to hunt on her own. Catching a fish is an easy task. Splash! Learn more about this wild hunter, as you watch a tiger grow up.

Photos:

See the National Geographic Photo Gallery of tigers and other big cats.

Visit National Geographic’s Creature Feature for a tiger video, facts, photos, and an e-card you can send to a friend.

Activities:

DLTK’s Crafts for Kids has tiger coloring pages, paper bag puppets, paper plate crafts and more!

Kaboose has a tiger cub magnetic frame craft, a tiger pencil holder craft and instructions for a tiger seltzer rocket!

Try the tiger word search here and here.

Help the baby tiger find his way through this online maze.

Literacy Links
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

The Clubhouse

The Clubhouse by Anastasia Suen
Peter’s Neighborhood easy reader series

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Hardcover/Paperback: 32 pages

Publisher: Viking/Puffin

A pile of junk or a brand-new clubhouse? When Peter, Archie, and Louie see the pile of wood, they think it’s just a big mess. But when Amy and Lily look at it, they see a clubhouse that’s waiting to be built. Louie’s father says that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Is he right?

Activities:

June is National Safety Month!

Use these safety craft ideas and lesson plans from Crayola.

Make a first aid or emergency preparedness kit.

Talk about safety all year long.

Literacy Links
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Twittering My Day Job(s)

“Keep your day job” is the advice given to writers everywhere, and it’s something I’ve done my entire life. I wrote my first picture book when I was eleven, so going to school was my day job then. After college, I taught elementary school (K, 1, 5, and 6), raised children…and kept writing. I started working as an children’s literature consultant and then I sold my first book. That led to teaching at the university, both children’s literature and writing for children, which in turn led to my online writing workshops!

For ALL of my day jobs, I collect reference materials. With the advent of the internet, it’s become a LOT easier to share that information. The internet’s latest invention, a microblogging service called Twitter, has made it easier still.

I’ve created two Twitter microblogs so I can share the information I find:

asuen1 is my Children’s Book Biz Twitter
asuen2 is my Literacy Links Twitter

If you want to write children’s books, the asuen1 Twitter will give you information about agents, editors, and changes in the book industry.

If you’re helping children learn how to read and write, the asuen2 Twitter will send you links to literacy/education websites.

BOTH asuen1 and asuen2 will link to book awards and reading lists.

Twitter is a MICROblog, so only 140 characters are allowed. The “posts” I send will be a headline and a link for you to click. (After the link I’ll add a hashtag that “classifies” the link, such as #kidlit, #writing, #literacy, and #education.)

Q. What will happen to the other blogs?

A. The Kid Lit Kit blog is going on summer vacation. My last post for the 2008-2009 school year will be on June 1.

Picture Book of the Day will resume again tomorrow and continue throughout the summer.

Book of the Week and 5 Great Books will resume posting next week.

The posts on Children’s Book Biz News will come from the asuen1 Twitter. This means that most posts will be a headline, a link, and hashtags. (I will write “long form” posts on the WordPress blog, but most of my posts will be Twitter-based. I can share a link from the web via Twitter with just a few clicks!)

Enjoy!

Inservice Clock Hours | The Butt-In-Chair Club starts June 1st!
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

The Story of Soccer

The Story of Soccer by Anastasia Suen
A Sports History easy reader

“A brief history of the sport for beginning readers.”
                                                    ~School Library Journal

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Hardcover/Paperback: 24 pages

Publisher: Rosen/Rigby

This book is also available in Spanish.

Activities:

Try these soccer puzzles and word searches.

Soccer Printables has puzzles, word searches, and coloring pages.

Play the Soccer Mania game online.

Twitter | Inservice Clock Hours | Virtual Author Visits
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

The Red Cross

The Red Cross by Anastasia Suen
A Helping Organizations easy reader

With big, dramatic, close-up color photos and a few sentences of clear text on every page, these titles in the Helping Organizations series present the basic facts about each charity: the work it does across the world and the essential role of volunteers, including young people. New readers will be drawn by the drama of worldwide disasters and by the actions of those who can make a difference. Booklist

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Hardcover/Paperback: 24 pages

Publisher: Rosen/Rigby

This book is also available in Spanish.

Activities:

Preview the book.

Explore the Red Cross Tools for Teachers and Parents.

Visit the online Red Cross Museum.

Print and color this historic Red Cross Poster Coloring Book. (The first poster was printed in 1945.)

Prepare for disasters with Cool Cat (fire), Ready Rabbit (winter storms) and Disaster Dog (earthquakes) in this Red Cross Activity Book

Twitter | Inservice Clock Hours | Virtual Author Visits
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

The Story of Hockey

The Story of Hockey by Anastasia Suen
A sports picture book

A brief history of the sport for beginning readers.

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Hardcover/Paperback: 24 pages

Publisher: Rosen/Rigby

Activities:

See the latest hockey news and videos at NHL.com.

Explore the Science of Hockey.

Try this hockey maze puzzle,

Make your own Hockey Word Search.

Also available in Spanish:

Twitter | Inservice Clock Hours | Virtual Author Visits
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.