The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter: A Treasury of Myths, Legends, and Fascinating Facts by David Colbert

The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter: A Treasury of Myths, Legends, and Fascinating Facts by David Colbert

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This book decodes the clues and references that J.K. Rowling purposefully places in the Harry Potter series. This book is authorized, prepared, approved, licensed, and enforced by J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. It takes you inside Rowling’s thoughts and creativity when writing the series. An example of Rowling’s inside scoop includes, Chapter 3: Is “Avada Kedavra” a Real Curse? Here we learn that most of her spells and curses come from her imagination, but the Avada Kedavra curse originates from Aramaic phrase meaning “disappear like this word”. Another example discuses the resemblance of Medusa and the Basilisk, “Humans who looked at the snaky head of Medusa were turned to stone. The hero Perseus slayed it by looking only at its reflection in his metal shield, just as Hermione avoids the full force of the basilisk’s power because she sees only its reflection.” She thoughtfully crafts the characters, setting, and diction. My favorite chapter, Where Do Those Names Come From, divulges the origins of iconic names and words such as Quiddich, Hogwarts, Albus, and Hermione. Many are derived from maps, plants, and friends. This inside addition is a great connector to other material and studies in the class. As a teacher, you can pull out some relevant connections and use them to help students remember and understand other subjects.

War Dogs: Churchill and Rufus

War Dogs: Churchill and Rufus by Kathryn Selbert

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War Dogs: Churchill and Rufus by Kathryn Selbert shares the life of Winston Churchill through the eyes of his pet dog, Rufus. The layout of this book is unique. Each page has a short, but vibrant passage alongside an enlarged quote from Churchill (pasted on a sticky note). This makes the story feel more authentic and personal. Reading the actual words of Churchill brings in an element of truth and reality. His phrases are bold and noteworthy. These quotes could be used to inspire a connected unit of writing and grammar to the read aloud. The illustrations help the reader connect these bigger topics and actions to something tangible. The author does an excellent job discussing World War II with rich language and cohesive fluency. The word choice is purposeful and intriguing. The book comes full circle by beginning with an introduction of their relationship. They share walks and other daily activities together, but the book closes with, “Rufus and Winston share more than walks together. Walls that have crumbled from blasts and fire and rebuilt, and the streets are swept clean.” The book also contains an informational timeline of World War II events and a short biography and photo of Winston and Rufus. I highly recommend this book and will definitely use it to spark student interests and build background knowledge about World War II.

Emily Loughman – The Encyclopedia of Early Earth

The Encyclopedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg is a fantastic graphic novel about a storyteller who is sent on a quest. The book starts with a Nord man and a South Pole woman meeting for the first time. While they are opposites, they quickly fall in love. However, they can not touch. The woman asks her husband to tell her the story about how he found her from the very, very beginning. Throughout the book there are many different, unique, and interesting stories. In these stories you meet the main character, the storyteller and learn the boy has been separated into three different boys. Then soon after put back together agencyclopediaofearlyearthain by the Medicine Man. However, when put back together, the Medicine Man lost part of the boy’s soul. On the storytellers journey he meets many people from many different cultures and areas around the world. I really enjoyed reading this book. All the pictures really added to the storyline and made it very interesting to read! The book is fantastic for late elementary aged students. Some stories are more graphic and some of the drawings contain nudity, which would be appropriate for a child that is older. The aspects and plot of this book would also be better
understood by an older student.