Celebrate Groundhog Day!

What do John Dalton, Al Roker, and Punxsutawney Phil the Groundhog have in common? They’re all famous weathermen! Groundhogs, which also go by the name woodchucks, are ground squirrels related to chipmunks and prairie dogs. They live in the North East of the United States and in Canada, where they feed on wild grasses and insects and live in burrows they dig for themselves. Sometimes the tunnels that make up their homes can interfere with the homes of humans by making the ground under buildings unstable. Some farmers and homeowners get mad at Groundhogs for damaging their property. However, other people believe that Groundhogs provide a useful service for humans: they predict the weather!

In the 1800’s, German immigrants in Pennsylvania started a tradition where, every February 2nd, they watched the behavior of a special Groundhog to tell them how soon Spring would begin. They would gather around the weatherman-Groundhog’s burrow and watch as he emerged. If the day was sunny, the groundhog might see his shadow, become afraid, and retreat into his burrow. According to the tradition, this is his way of telling people that Winter will last for another six weeks. If the Groundhog doesn’t see his shadow and leaves his burrow, then Spring will come early! Instead of using graphs and images for his weather forecast, the Groundhog communicates with his emotions!

This tradition was “Candlemas” to the German immigrants, but now we know it as “Groundhog Day.” Every February 2nd, people still look to famous Weather-Groundhogs such as Punxsutawney Phil, Western Maryland Murray, and Chattanooga Chuck to tell them how soon spring will come. The weathermen-Groundhogs are never completely accurate with their predictions, but then again, neither are human weathermen!

Learn more about groundhogs in Prairie Storms by Darcy Pattison and click on the picture below to print this great coloring page by Kathleen Rietz.

Halloween Fun!

It’s a scary time of year and kids are gearing up for costumes, trick or treating and scary movies. Here is a fun fall activities.

Carving Jack-o-Lanterns is a fun Halloween activity, but where do those pumpkins come from?

Who knew pumpkins are a fruit! Pumpkins need acres of room, rich soil and lots of sun so their vines can stretch out across the field. They don’t like the cold and should be planted late in spring. When we carve the pumpkin and remove all those seeds, they can be saved for planting next year, or eaten! Don’t worry you can’t grow a pumpkin in your belly, but here is a tasty way to enjoy the seeds.

Ranch Pumpkin Seeds

2 Tablespoons melted butter

Pinch of Salt

1 Tablespoon Ranch Dressing Mix

2 cups raw pumpkin seeds

Heat oven to 275° F. Toss butter, salt, dressing mix and pumpkin seeds in a shallow baking dish. Bake for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes.

-For more fun facts about growing plants read The Tree That Bear Climbed, Sylvan Dell’s November free eBook of the Month.  http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/bookpage.php?id=TreeBear.

And Here They Are…

After many long weeks of waiting the Sylvan Dell fall releases are finally here! If you haven’t checked out our new releases online here is an overview. We are having an online launch party all next week, watch the blog for author posts, teaching activities and GIVEAWAYS!!

Desert Baths- All animals bathe to keep their bodies clean and healthy. Humans mi
ght use soap and water, but what do animals, especially those living in dry climates, do to keep clean? Darcy Pattison and Kathleen Rietz team up again to explore the desert to find out how snakes, spiders, and birds bathe. This surprising book teaches children about hygiene and how some exciting desert creatures manage to stay clean without the help of soap and water.

 

The Most Dangerous-Dangerous animals from all over the world gather for the Most Dangerous Animal of All Contest. Snakes, spiders, sharks…who will the winner be? Deadly poison, huge teeth, razor -sharp horns, and fearsome feet are just a few of the ways that animals kill. Predators mean to kill. Prey simply defend themselves. And yet, the unexpected most deadly animal doesn’t mean to harm at all!

 

Solar System Forecast-Freezing temperatures, scorching heat, and a storm bigger than planet Earth is just some of the wild weather you will encounter on your trip through our solar system! Get your fun facts along with your forecast for each major planet, as well as the weather on dwarf planet Pluto. Any child with an interest in space is sure to love Solar System Forecast, and parents will love the educational “For Creative Minds” section in the back of the book. Get ready for some out of this world fun with Solar System Forecast!

 

The Tree That Bear Climbed-Everyone knows about the house that Jack built, but this is The Tree That Bear Climbed. What makes this tree so fascinating to bear? Starting with the roots that anchor the tree, this chain of events story in cumulative verse explores many different things that help a tree stand tall. It also lends itself to further discussion with fun repetition and detailed picture clues, stimulating a child’s curiosity. Why does the bear climb the tree and what happens when he arrives at his goal?

 

A Warm Winter Tail- Do you ever wonder how animals stay warm in the winter? Well, they wonder how humans do too! In a twist of perspective, wild creatures question if humans use the same winter adaptation strategies that they do. Do they cuddle together in a tree or fly south to Mexico? Take a look through an animal’s eyes and discover the interesting ways animals cope with the cold in this rhythmic story.

A Fun Classroom Activity for Common Core Standards

By Darcy Pattison

How do you get kids interested in a book about vultures and desert tortoises at a summer program where they are interested mostly in having some fun? And how do you do it while fulfilling the Common Core State Standards?

One of the tenets of the Common Core State Standards is the use of technology with kids. This summer, I volunteered at the Arkansas Audubon (ar.audubon.org/) summer camp. Camp Director Mary Smith agreed when I asked if we could do some videotaping with kids to create a book trailer for my new book, DESERT BATHS.

First, I studied the Common Core requirements. The Common Core ELA Speaking & Listening anchor standard #5 requires students to “Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding.” An appropriate task for this standard is for students to create a video. In this case, we also emphasized close reading of the text of Desert Baths (CC ELA Reading anchor standards #1, 2, 4) to understand how each desert animals stays clean.

Note: The camp had a wide range of ages, so I didn’t use any specific grade level standards. The Common Core provides Anchor Standards, which are in turn specifically interpreted for each grade level. By following the more general Anchor Standard, I was confident that we would accomplish something appropriate for each student.

After the close reading of the text, students were assigned an animal to act out and practiced a couple times.

Videotaping the Desert Baths Book Trailer

Videotaping with kids can be chaotic. In order to minimize this, I set up four stations.

1. Camera man. The camera man was responsible for running the camera and taping the Actor. I use a Kodak Z-i8 hand-held camera because it is the only camera in its class with an external microphone jack. The camera was mounted on a tripod and the Camera Man had to make sure it was the right height for the Actor and was positioned for the setting to fill the screen.
2. Actor. The actor was responsible for standing on the stage, saying his/her lines and acting out how a desert animal takes a bath.
3. Sound Man. I plugged a lapel microphone into the Kodak Zi8 Camera. If you look closely, you can see the wire on the kids. The Sound Man was responsible for making sure the microphone was placed on the Actor correctly. Also, to conserve the batteries of the microphone, it was turned off except when in actual use. The Sound Man was responsible for making sure the microphone was turned on and off at the right times.
4. Stage Director. This was a favorite task, because this person got to yell out, “Quiet on the Set.” In addition to starting and stopping the action, the Stage Director was responsible for making sure everything was set up correctly, the Actor was ready and then directing everyone to start.

The stations worked well because students came to the videotaping in groups of four and each student rotated through all the tasks. They knew their job was important and they took it seriously. Watch and see what fun they had.

News Flash From Sylvan Dell

New Books are on their way and we couldn’t be more excited to get them into little hands for science fun. Our authors and illustrators will be out and about in their communities and holding launch parties for their titles, we wanted to get in on the fun at Sylvan Dell and will be holding a virtual launch week September 10^th-14^th. Join Sylvandell on Goodreads, Facebook and Twitter for contests and giveaways! For a sneak preview of the six new titles visit www.sylvandellpublishing.com.

Back to School with Begin with Books… It’s always a great experience to really experience the joy a children gets from reading, and we did just that this weekend with a local organization Begin with Books. While passing out books from Sylvan Dell we collaborated with this local affiliate of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to help gain interest in reading. Begin with Books is a fantastic organization that provides children with a book a month until the age of four. This early exposure to reading why we do what we do every day and it’s important to take time out and experience that excitement. Sylvan Dell will continue to work with this organization and others throughout our community to promote literacy. To learn more about begin with books visit their website http://beginwithbooks.org/

For teachers and librarians only! Planning for the upcoming year or looking for some impactful presentations to your school or classroom, Sylvan Dell authors or illustrators love to talk about their work to children. An author or illustrator visit is very inspiring to young minds and may just spark a budding talent. Contact us if you are interested in learning more! If an author can’t travel to your local area Skype visits are fun and check out TeacherTube for exciting and fun new videos!

Back to School

It seems like yesterday we were buzzing about summer reading programs, and now the time has come to go back to school for new teachers, new tests and new challenges.

Before we jump into the everyday grind that back to school brings, Sylvan Dell has one last summer fun reading event. The winner will receive a prize package with one of our educational books and stuffed animal.

For Kids only:

What is your favorite book?

What did you learn this summer through reading?

What is your favorite animal story?

Why?

Rules For Parents: The answers have to come from children.

You can submit by putting commenting here
send us a message on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/SylvanDell
Or by mail at 612 Johnnie Dodds Blvd. Suite A2 Charleston, SC 29464

Thank you for participating!

National Berry Month

July is the perfect time for berry fun!

 

Blackberries are a fruit that can be picked throughout most of the United States, and thrive in the hot summer months. It’s a fun family activity to pick your own blackberries at a local farm, or even plant bushes in your own personal garden.

Once you have picked your berries here is a smoothie recipe to celebrate the hard work!

 

Blackberry Smoothie

1 cup vanilla yogurt, ice cream or milk
½ cup blackberries
1 small to medium banana
2 to 3 Tbs. sugar (depending on sweetness of berries)

Place in your blender and puree on high speed to mix

Learn more about blackberries and the wild animals that like to eat them in Blackberry Banquet.

Inspiration

To continue with the theme of how a book begins this week we consulted our experts and interviewed Sylvan Dell authors. What sparks your creativity?

 

“Everything!  I’m a naturally very curious person. In a single day, I can think of hundreds of ideas. For example, if I’m at a stoplight, I begin to wonder, “What if…. or Why?”  For example:

What if the car next to me suddenly disappeared?

Why are stoplights red/yellow/green?  Who first decided that?

What if it started to rain so hard that I couldn’t drive home?

I encourage parents to take advantage of time spent in a car with their children and try asking them “What if….” They might create a story before they even get home!” – Terri Fields

Terri Fields is the author of the August release The Most Dangerous as well as Burro’s Tortillas for Sylvan Dell.  A long-time teacher and award-winning author of books for all ages click here to learn more about Terri Fields.

 

 

“I am most creative in the morning – often very early – before my house wakes up.  Hot chocolate mixed with coffee in my favorite mug (given to me by my oldest daughter that reads, “Actually, I Am the Boss of You”) helps me be imaginative as does a cloudy day (versus a sunny day because then I want to be outside doing stuff!). I work through story lines and ideas when I’m in the woods or on the beach alone every day.  When I return to my computer, I’m ready to write.” – Carrie A. Pearson

A Warm Winter Tail due to hit shelves in August is Carrie’s first book for Sylvan Dell to. Carrie is an avid writer of nonfiction for Michigan Magazines, and winner of the SCBWI-Michigan Picture Book Mentorship Award. To learn more about Carrie A. Pearson click here.

 

“Listening to music that tells a story or delivers an emotion is what stirs my creativity. But when it’s time to write, I need to turn off the music so that I don’t hear anyone else’s words but my own!” – Kelly Kizer Whitt

Kelly Kizer Whitt’s first book for Sylvan Dell is Solar System Forecast due out in August. Read more of Kelly’s work in her online blogs about astronomy for Astronomy Today, Suite 101 and The Sierra Club. Click here to find more information about Kelly Kizer Whitt and Solar System Forecast.

 

Thanks to our authors for a look at what inspired their upcoming books!

Elephant Seals Helping Scientists

Drive along the Pacific Coast Highway and you may witness one of the great migrating animals. Elephant Seals come to the beaches near Big Sur, California to breed and molt each year. They are quite a site to see. Although the massive mammals appear to be lazy beach sunbathers, they to travel thousands of miles and dive deep into the ocean to find food, but they return to their beach each season.   

In another part of the world, these animals are working for scientists gathering data in the Antarctic on the Fimbul Ice Shelf.  The seals were able to collect impressive data, that otherwise would have been extremely costly and very difficult for a boat crew to brave the Antarctic winter.  With the new accurate information scientists were able to determine that the ice shelf is melting at a much slower rate than computer models originally predicted.

To read more about the American Geophysical Union’s findings at the Fimbul Ice Shelf click here. For more information about elephant seals click here. Sylvan Dell Publishing features elephant seals in the Book Water Beds, to learn more about this book click here.

How a Picture Book Begins

Have you ever wondered how an illustrator begins the pages of a picture book? Erin Hunter illustrator of The Great Divide, Multiply on the Fly and A Day on the Mountain gives us a sneak peek into her next project for Sylvan Dell A Day in the Deep – A Story of the animals that live in the depths of the ocean. Here Erin shows us how her paintings come to life, and the process she uses to create the detail of each creature.