Picture That! From Mendel to Normandy: Picture Books and Ideas, Curriculum and Connections

Make connections to Gregor Mendel's work with genetics, the journey of 100 orphans from the Normandy battlefields, diverse cultures, and much more. This book, by celebrated author and teacher Sharron L. McElmeel, offers practical resources for promoting curiosity and involving learners of all ages in critical thinking.

Picture books can provide a short and focused stimulant to promote discussion and further investigation into topics as diverse as mathematical concepts, science topics, geography (landform and locations for example), and language arts skills. At the same time, personal narratives offer a glimpse into the human factors present during various periods of history. Picture That! From Mendel to Normandy: Curriculum and Connections—for 'Tweens and Teens is an invaluable resource with many suggestions and with space for recording connecting ideas and strategies to infuse literacy into every area of the curriculum—in classrooms and libraries—with older readers.

Grades 4-12

SHARRON L. McELMEEL is a renowned author and an instructor of Children's and Young Adult Literature at University of Wisconsin-Stout. A literacy consultant and columnist, she was named Iowa Reading Teacher of the Year in 1987, and in 2004 she received the Iowa Reading Association's State Literacy Award in recognition of her lifelong efforts to build literacy and literature appreciation in the community. Her columns appear regularly in Library Sparks.

What Others are Saying:

"This exceptional text focuses on using current children's picture books to enhance understanding of various content topics presented to middle and high school students, such as discussing jazz and musicians with Karen Ehrhardt's This Jazz Man (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006), or railroads and their Chinese workers via Yin's Brothers (Penguin USA, 2006). Chapters follow a concise rationale, each highlighting a picture book. Identical formats contain the book's citation, annotation, main (e.g., immigration, baseball) and secondary (e.g., divorce, prejudice) subjects, background information, classroom ideas, and supplemental resources, all of varying lengths. Additional picture books, each cited and briefly annotated, round out the book with indexes for both title sections. Selected subjects are interesting and varied, with annotations crisply compelling. Extensive research provides the background component's little-known facts, such as lead poisoning causing Beethoven's death or Marco Polo dictating his memoirs from prison. Overall the detailed classroom ideas are teacher-friendly, interesting, and clearly enhance secondary content; clunkers do not appear. ...Secondary teachers and librarians .. will yearn for a sequel." -- VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates)

"Teachers who want to teach upper elementary, middle and high school students with picture books will find plenty of suggested picture books that can be used for teaching older students in the teachers' guide Picture That! From Mendel to Normandy." -- www.kidsbooks4you.com/

"McElmeel selects an excellent collection here with a good bibliography after each book. Her selection spans both fiction and many popular information book topics. Recommended..." -Professional Reviews

"Sharron L. McElmeel encourages upper elementary, middle and high school educators to use picture books across the curriculum and gives them ideas as to which children's books to use and how to use them....
    * In-depth coverage of 62 children's books
    * Well-organized approach, one that can be applied when looking at other books
    * Helpful list of 280 picture books recommended for the classroom library
    * Good ideas about how the recommended books can be used in teaching"

-- About.com: Children's Books

Featured in Elizabeth Kennedy's About.com Guide to Children's Books: For Teachers of Tweens and Teens.

"Educators looking for ways to integrate picture books into classroom instruction will find many ideas in this book. McElmeel opens with excellent reasons for using picture books with older readers....detailed annotations helpful, and the extension ideas and curriculum links will assist in sparking creative ideas for using these titles with older students."— School Library Journal

"The use of picture books with teens and tweens has become quite popular in recent year and successful if you have good excuses for this to engage....Recommended as a good bibliography.—www.librarything.com

"Picture That! From Mendel to Normandy: Curriculum and Connections - for Tweens and Teens" is an invaluable resource with many suggestions and with space for recording connecting ideas and strategies to infuse literacy into every area of the curriculum - in classrooms and libraries - with older readers. This title includes over 350 titles - over 60 with full entries." -- Penelope Bokhandel

"Teachers who want to teach upper elementary, middle and high school students with picture books will find plenty of suggested picture books that can be used for teaching older students in the teachers' guide Picture That! From Mendel to Normandy." —www.kidsbooks4you.com

by Sharron L. McElmeel Published by Libraries Unlimited

by Sharron L. McElmeel
Published by Libraries Unlimited