The Story of Basketball

The Story of Basketball by Anastasia Suen
A sports history hi-lo book

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Library Binding: 24 pages

Publisher: PowerKids Press

This book is also available in Spanish: La historia del baloncesto

Activities:

Make your own NCAA March Madness highlight reel!

See photos and the brackets for NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball games.

Count down the days to the Men’s Final Four and the Women’s Final Four.

See the March Madness games again at NCAA March Madness Central.

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

Pencil Talk and Other School Poems

Pencil Talk and Other School Poems by Anastasia Suen
Easy reader

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Paperback: 24 pages

Publisher: Bebop Books

A simple school day is a lot more fun when you add a little poetry! Follow along for a fresh look at spelling tests, recess, music class and more, in this spirited collection of school day poems.

Activities:

Scholastic’s Celebrate Poetry Month website has workshops, webcasts, lesson plans, printables, and book lists for K-12!

See Poetry for Children’s multi-media poetry links for audio and video poetry resources on the web.

Send your students’ poems to my new Poetry Month blog, Pencil Talk – School Poems where I’ll be posting a poem a day. (We tell writers to write what they know, so all of the poems will be about school.)

Sign up for The Miss Rumphius Effect blog’s Poetry Month series, Poetry Makers, for a 30 days of interviews with today’s children’s poets.

Have a brand spanking new poem (from a famous children’s poet) delivered to your inbox each morning from GottaBook’s Poetry Month series, 30 Poets/30 Days.

Learn how to write a children’s book.
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Delivery

Delivery by Anastasia Suen
Picture book

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Hardcover: 32 pages

Publisher: Viking

From morning to night, something is being delivered!

Activities:

Try this Online Truck Puzzle.

See Ocean Freight Photos from around the world.

Print these Airplane Coloring Pages.

Can you find all of the words in this School Bus Word Search?

Trace your hand and arm to make this Train Craft.

Learn how to write a children’s book.
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Free Throw

Free Throw by Anastasia Suen (writing as Jake Maddox)
A basketball novel

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Library Binding / Paperback: 72 pages

Publisher: Stone Arch Books

Since Derek is the tallest kid on his basetball team, his coach decides to let him play center instead of Jason. Derek thinks this is a lucky break, until Jason stops passing him the ball out on the court. As Jason takes his revenge on him, Derek begins to lose confidence. He’s not sure he’ll ever be able to make a successful free throw with Jason breathing down his neck.

Activities:

See the latest basketball news and videos at NBA.com.

Take a video tour of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Can you find all of the words in this Basketball Word Search Puzzle?

Make your own Basketball Word Scramble.

Discover the secret message in these Basketball Math Puzzles.


Learn how to write a children’s book.
Copyright © 2008 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

Window Music

Window Music by Anastasia Suen
Picture Book

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Hardcover/Paperback: 32 pages

Publisher: Viking/Puffin

This train ride was A New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year!

Photos:

Visit Union Station in Los Angeles where the train ride began.

The Union Pacific Railroadphoto gallery has LOTS of trains!

Follow the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway freight map.

Use Amtrak’s Interactive Route Atlas to explore all the places Amtrak goes.

Activities:

Print these trains activity and coloring pages. 

Make a train window.

Try this train track maze.

Can you find all of the words in this train word search?

Learn how to write a children’s book.
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.

My New Blog: 5 Great Books

I wanted to let you know about my new blog, 5 Great Books: Books for Children Learning to Read. (The first post goes out on Wednesday.)

I’m moving there from my Easy to Read blog.

Why?

In the Easy to Read blog I only wrote about easy readers, but I realized that when I teach reading I always use a mix of picture books and easy readers. It’s part of the Daily 5:

1. Read to self
2. Read to someone
3. Listen to reading
4. Work on writing
5. Word work

What does this look like in the classroom or at home?

• The child reads easy readers by himself. (Silent reading is #1 Read to self. Reading aloud is #2 Read to someone.)
• The adult reads picture books to the child. (#3 Listen to reading.)
• There are writing materials available for the child to use. (#4 Work on writing). (I blog about writing at Picture Book of the Day.)
• The adult points out new words and talks about the letters and sounds. (#5 Word Work).

I invite you to join me at 5 Great Books: Books for Children Learning to Read where I’ll be posting every Wednesday about 5 great picture books and easy readers. All of the books will be about the same topic – it’s a thematic book list blog.

You can subscribe by email or subscribe with RSS.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Learn how to write a children’s book.
Copyright © 2009 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.