Book talk: Over and Under the Snow (Virginia Readers' Choice, 2013-2014)

I want you to pretend that it’s winter, and you’re looking at a white field, completely covered with snow. It’s quiet and peaceful, and there seem to be no animals around. The scene is like a blank sheet of paper.

But there’s an entire secret kingdom under the snow that you can’t see and you can’t hear. This secret kingdom is called the subnivean zone, and it’s a network of small spaces and tunnels between the snowpack and the ground. It’s a small zone but it’s enough to keep a host of animals alive and hidden from your sight.

 If you were a red fox, though, you’d actually be able to hear the sounds of scampering mice under the snow. If you can hear them, you can catch them, fox.

If you were a small vole, you’d use that subnivean zone to slip through tunnels, searching for food, bits of old plants or roots in the ground.

If you were a black bear, the snow wouldn’t bother you: you’d be asleep in a hollowed out tree, or under a log or rock, or even in a cave.

This is a beautiful portrait of an invisible, secret winter kingdom.

Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner with art by Christopher Silas Neal. Virginia Readers' Choice, 2013-2014. Unpaged. Informative author’s note in the back. Chronicle Books, 2011. Booktalk to primary grades.

Over and Under the Snow

Booktalk: The Leanin' Dog (Virginia Readers' Choice)

Desssa Dean has an unusual life. She lives in a cabin in the deep woods with her father, who must hunt or find all their food. Their neighbors are coyotes, birds, and squirrels. Her mother died, and Dessa Dean is pretty lonely. She also has daymares, which are sort of like nightmares, only she’s wide awake, and re-living the time in which her mom died. If anyone needs a friend, it’s Dessa Dean. It’s pretty normal for her to be completely by herself in the cabin while her dad goes hunting. There are no people nearby, either. If a bear comes along, Dessa Dean has got to fend for herself. But there’s a dog who shows up scratching at her door one day. It wants to make friends with her, but it’s too frightened to stay. She chases after the dog but can’t get him to come back. Dessa Dean can’t forget this dog, but she hatches a plan, which involves a delicious meat stew offered as bait. That looked like one hungry, lonely dog. The Leanin’ Dog by K. A. Nuzum.

The Leanin’ Dog by K. A. Nuzum. 250 p. Joanna Cotler Books, 2008. Booktalk to middle school. Virginia Readers’ Choice 2011-2012.

Booktalk: Annie Glover Is Not a Tree Lover [Virginia Readers' Choice]

Of all the things in life that can embarrass you, your grandmother is not supposed to be one of them. Grandmas are all about hugs, presents, baking cookies with you, telling you funny stories about your parents – all that good stuff. But Annie Glover’s grandma has chained herself – with a padlock – to a tree named Elmer. And when Annie Glover’s classmates saw Annie’s grandma chained to a tree, they thought it was a man wearing pink shoes. How totally embarrassing! [Show picture on p. 6]. Now, Grandma has very good reasons for wanting to save this beautiful tree named Elmer. But the city council wants to cut Elmer down in order to put up a swimming pool. And who doesn’t want a swimming pool? Swimming pools are awesome, but there’s a secret reason why Elmer is awesome, too. I just hope everyone finds out the secret reason before the chainsaw guy gets to Elmer. Annie Glover Is Not A Tree Lover by Darleen Bailey Beard.

Annie Glover Is Not A Tree Lover by Darleen Bailey Beard. Pictures by Heather Maione. 120 p. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. Booktalk to elementary (2^nd) and intermediate grades (3^rd-5^th). Virginia Readers’ Choice 2011-2012.

Booktalk: What Bluebirds Do [Birds; 2]

[Bookmark the following pages: pp. 6-7, pp. 14-15].

[Start by showing off the cover.] Have you ever seen a bluebird? They are not bluejays: bluejays don’t have any orange, and they’re a lot bigger. Bluebirds are much harder to spot, plus they’re very shy. The author of this book is a photographer who has a bluebird nest in her yard. She watched as a male bluebird and female bluebird chose a nest and raised a family [show pp. 6-7]. The eggs might look big in this photo, but in real life they are so tiny [show pp. 14-15]. Like other bird parents, these two bluebirds eventually had to teach their fledglings how to fly and how to fend for themselves. The photographs are amazing, and you get to see how the babies grow up. What Bluebirds Do by Pamela F. Kirby.

What Bluebirds Do by Pamela F. Kirby. 48 p. 2009 Boyds Mill Press. Booktalk to elementary school [K-3].