A Book a Day: The Little Guys

The Little Guys by Vera Brosgol

They may be little but when they work together they are the most powerful force in the forest. Will they go too far? Have you ever seen The Little Guys around your house?

Here's my read aloud.

DAY FORTY-FOUR TRIVIA

Today is National Superhero Day! Who is your favorite superhero? Look them up on the internet and see if you can find out who created your superhero and when they first appeared.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE? DC or MARVEL?

A Book a Day: Flour, Water, Salt Yeast

Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast by Ken Forkish.

Believe it or not, most of the books in my house are cookbooks. My wife collects and sells old cookbooks. She started when we first met. Some of them were presents, many of them were found at garage sales, flea markets, and used book stores all over Michigan. This awesome book was a Christmas present from my daughter.

Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast is everything you need to know about making great bread....and of course pizza. If you love to cook, and are looking for something new, here's a great place to find hundreds of cookbooks online: National Emergency Library.

DAY FORTY-THREE TRIVIA

On April 27, 1994, South Africa held its first elections with voters of all races participating. Who became the first black president of South Africa?

A Book a Day: A Place to Belong

A Place to Belong by Cynthia Kadohata

America has won World War II, but 12-year-old Hanako feels lost. When the war began, her family was forced to live in a camp, now they are being sent back to Japan. They go to live with Hanako's grandparents in a small village outside the bombed out city of Hiroshima. The country is starving, the black markets run rampant, and orphans beg for food in the street. Hanako wants to help them but there isn't even enough food for her own brother. Her grandfather explains the tradition of kintsukuroi: fixing broken objects with gold lacquer, making them stronger and more beautiful than ever. Can she find the gold needed to fix her own family?

Available to borrow from Overdrive.

A Book a Day: How to Read a Book

How to Read a Book by Kwame Alexander with art by Melissa Sweet

"First, find a tree-- a black tupelo or dawn redwood will do-- and plant yourself. (It's okay if you prefer a stoop, like Langston Hughes.)

Once you're comfy, peel its gentle skin, like you would a clementine the color of sunrise. The scent of morning air and sweet butterfly kisses.

Next, dig your thumb at the bottom of each juicy section and pop the words out..."


Harper Collins has provided teachers and librarians with permission to read and share their books online for the duration of the stay at home order. Here's my recording.

DAY FORTY TRIVIA

"Here there be dragons." You see that on old fashioned maps sometimes, but did you know it's true? There are Komodo Dragons, of course, in Indonesia, but there is also a dragon that lives in the sea called the Weedy Sea Dragon. Check it out. How long are they and where do they live?

A Book a Day: The Book Hog

The Book Hog by Greg Pizzoli

"He loved the way they smelled, and the way the pages felt in his hooves. He especially liked the ones with pictures. He picked them up here, and there. Anywhere he could find them. But the book hog had a secret. A BIG secret. He didn't know how to read."

Then he discovered another secret: the library. Over time and with lots of practice, he learned how to read.

Disney Hyperion has given teachers and librarians permission to share their books online. Here's my recording.

DAY THIRTY-NINE TRIVIA

Today, April 23, we say happy birthday to the most famous poet and playwright in the English language. What is his name and where was he born?

A Book a Day: The Boy in the Back of the Class

The Boy in the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Rauf

Alexa and her friends have lots of questions about the new boy in their London classroom: why doesn't he go to lunch or recess with the other kids? Why doesn't he talk to anyone? Then they overhear two adults say that Ahmed is a refugee from the war in Syria. He has been separated from his parents, his little sister drowned at sea when they were escaping, and on one at school speaks his language. The friends are outraged to learn that England will be closing their borders to refugees, so they plan how to convince the Queen to help Ahmed. Alexa learns that her own grandmother was a refugee who escaped the Nazis to come to England during World War II.

Sadly, I have no ebook links for this moving and funny book.

DAY THIRTY-EIGHT TRIVIA

Pro Baseball is back!

.....in South Korea. ESPN reported yesterday that the KBO, Korean Baseball Organization, has begun a two week preseason with games in empty stadiums. The regular season games will be broadcast on television. So do a Google search with the keywords "South Korea," "baseball," and "ESPN," then tell me what two teams played and what was the score.

DAY THIRTY-SEVEN TRIVIA

On this day in history, April 21, 1865, the Civil War came to an end. Look up the location, the names of the generals.

• April 1861-April 1862: Civil War in America, Exhibitions from the Library of Congress
• DK Find Out: The American Civil War
• Kids in the Civil War

A Book a Day: Justice League

Justice League: Amazo and the Planetary Reboot by Brandon T. Snider and Tim Levins 

Amazo arrives on Earth with a plan to solve all its problems: just wipe out its entire population. Al that stands in his way are the Justice League. Can the world's greatest super heroes shut down a duplicating android before Amazo flips the switch on a total planetary reboot?

Nine Justice League adventures are available online at Capstone Interactive. Use the username continue and the password reading.

DAY THIRTY-SIX TRIVIA

Happy Earth Day!
Wednesday is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. On the first Earth Day in 1970, I was eight going on nine and in third grade. A couple of years earlier, we had moved from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which had notoriously polluted air from all of the steel mills, to north central Ohio, near Lake Erie, which was at the time very polluted. A lot has changed since then, we don't see as much pollution as we did in the 1960s and 1970s, but we're still facing a lot of problems. So for today's trivia challenge, ask your parents what were some of the environmental problems that they remember as a kid, and do a search for "Earth Day" and the year they were your age, plus the word poster and see what you find.

A Book a Day: The Fourteenth Goldfish

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm

Ellie is having a hard time adjusting to middle school until she meets a gawky, nerdy boy named Melvin who reminds her of her grandfather who was obsessed with discovering the key to immortality. Could it really BE her grandfather? Did his experiments succeed?

Available from Overdrive.

A Book a Day: Cardboard Kingdom

Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell (and friends)

It started out with Jack and his sister, some old cardboard boxes and other junk around the house. Jack is the evil sorceress and his sister is the loyal minion. Next comes their neighbor Vijay, the Beast, his sister, Shikha, the Huntress, Sophie the Big Banshee, Alice the Alchemist, Becky the Blacksmith, and lots more cardboard. Soon all the kids in the neighborhood want to join in the adventures. They meet up at The Dragon's Head Inn.

I imagine Raina Telgemeier waking up from a crazy dream about playing Dungeons and Dragons. The artist Chad Sell has enlisted a bunch of great storytellers to inspire and give words to his amazing graphic novel.

Sadly this not in any of the free ebook libraries yet. If you own Sisters, Smile, Drama, or the Dog Man books, this is one you might want to order from your favorite online bookstore.

DAY THIRTY-THREE TRIVIA

Snow on April 17th? What? So my question for you is this: it's almost May, has it every snowed in May in Michigan? When and how many inches accumulated?

The view outside my window this morning. Compare that to the video on Sunday.

Google Salutes Teachers

Your teachers have been working really hard this week to put in place a system for online learning to begin next Monday. Google has created a "Google Doodle" to honor them today.

You can see all of the special "Google Doodles" here.

A Book a Day: Miss Daisy is Crazy

Miss Daisy is Crazy by Dan Gutman

Second grade teacher Miss Daisy doesn't know how to add or subtract and the kids have other things on their minds. So Principal Klutz promises that if the students read a million pages in books, he will turn the school into a video arcade for one whole night.

The entire My Weird School series is available to read on Hoopla.


To hear the author, Dan Gutman, read from one of the My Weird School  books, visit his Facebook page at 2 pm each week day.

DAY THIRTY-TWO TRIVIA

On this day in history, April 16th, the last battle between Scottish rebels called Jacobites and the British army was fought. As a consequence, symbols of highland Scottish clans like kilts and bagpipes were effectively banned. They later became popular again in the 19th Century  as the British army created highland regiments and Queen Victoria began taking summer vacations in Scotland. If history had turned out differently, the great highland bagpipe might have been lost to history and Mr. Butts would have to find some other weird musical instrument to play.

But today your question is where was the last battle of the Jacobite rebellion fought on April 16 and who was the leader who wanted to be king?

A Book a Day: Sofia Valdez, Future Prez

Sofia Valdez, Future Prez by Andrea Beaty

I was just about to start reading some of these books by Andrea Beatty about kids who love science. This one is about Sofia and her abuelo who always walks her to school. When Abuelo hurts his ankle at the local dump, Sofia gets involved in making her town better. She goes to city hall to tell them her idea: turn the dump into a park. Even though she's just a kid, she learns how to organize and convince people that they could make the town better. When she succeeds, everyone says she could be President when she grows.

Sofia Valdez, Future Prez and other books by Andrea Beatty are available from Hoopla.

DAY THIRTY-ONE TRIVIA

As scientists continue to study the coronavirus, one of the goals is to develop a test that will identify what are called antibodies. After you have a virus like the flu or the coronavirus, the body produces antibodies that protect you from getting the virus again. If we can test whether a person has antibodies for coronavirus, it will tell us that the person had the virus, even if they didn't feel sick, and is safe to be around other people.

The discover of antibodies was an important step in the history of medicine. Today's question is to find out who discovered antibodies and when?

Here's a video with more information about antibodies.

A Book a Day: The Last Last Day of Summer

The Last Last Day of Summer by Lamar Giles

Cousins Otto and Sheed have had a summer of crazy adventures and now it is the very last day before school starts again. The boys are arguing about how to spend their last day when a mysterious man named Mr. Flux appears with a camera that freezes time. With the help of strange people and even stranger creatures, Otto and Sheed will need to work together to save the town. And it better happen fast, or they may be living this day over and over again forever.


Sadly, I have no digital link for this fun book.

DAY THIRTY TRIVIA

What famous ship hit an iceberg on this day -- April 14 -- in history?

A Book a Day: Miles Morales, Spider-Man

Miles Morales, Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds

Miles Morales is an average teenager. But lately, his spidey-sense has been off. He gets suspended from school and loses his job being a superhero sure complicates life. Trying to get his school life back on track, nightmares continue to haunt him. So does the buzz of his spidey-sense every day in Mr. Chamberlain's History class. When the teacher lectures on the benefits of the slave system in the Confederate South and the modern-day prison system, Miles isn't the only one who blows up. And Miles uncovers a diabolical plot that puts his friends, his neighborhood, and himself at risk.

Available from Hoopla.

DAY TWENTY-NINE TRIVIA

This day, April 13th, was recognized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in honor of another president's birthday. Who was that president who was born in Shadwell, Virginia on April 13, 1743?

Pipers Around the World

...played Amazing Grace at 12 noon local time this Easter.

A Book a Day: Lety Out Loud

Lety Out Loud by Angela Cervantes

At school, Lety Munoz is an ELL.-- English Language Learner. Lety thought ELL sounded like a slimy sea creature. But this summer, Lety has decided not to take the summer ELL class and instead participate in a day camp at the animal shelter. She immediately become attached to a rambunctious dog named Spike who became a local hero by alerting the shelter workers to a baby who had been locked in a hot car. Each of the campers is assigned a job and Lety wants to help out as the shelter scribe who writes short profiles of each animal to encourage visitors to adopt the animals. Another camper named Hunter also wants to be camp scribe and he brags about his writing abilities and challenges Lety to a competition for the job. As the rules for the competition develop, each potential scribe must use five words in their profile. Lety's friends Brisa and Kennedy chooses the five words for Hunter: "rambunctious," "gush," "beckon," "scrumptious," and "cerise." Hunter and his friend Mario choose "supersonic," "infectious," "rigid," "colossal," and "fusion" for Lety. Lety is confident she can do it, but worries about being able to write fast enough and she also worries about the shelter staff finding out and being kicked out of the program. If she's kicked out of camp she won't be able to adopt Spike.

DAY TWENTY-SIX TRIVIA

We sure get weird weather in Michigan.

Did you wake up to little white snowballs? It's called graupel and your job is to find how its created and how it different from snow or hail and sleet.

A Book a Day: Stick Dog

Stick Dog Dreams of Ice Cream by Tom Watson

In one of my first blog posts I wrote about how I waited until last summer to read the Wings of Fire Books, well it took me a reeeeeeeally long time to get to reading the Stick Dog books. So today I finally picked up Stick Dog Dreams of Ice Cream. What a hoot! Stick Dog gets spotted by a human, oh no. It was a beautiful sunny day and I wanted ice cream bad.

"What was going on was some of the strangest behavior by a bunch of humans the dogs had ever seen. A group of humans had gathered around that strange screen window on the side of the truck. They were mostly small humans, but there were a couple of bigger ones too. The music had stopped. The driver had parked the truck and climbed into the back of it, and a few seconds later appeared in the screen window.

That's when the really odd things started. The humans stood in a line at the window and spoke one at a time to the driver. Then the driver came back, he held a pointed brown cylinder with circles on top of it."


No ice cream trucks are coming to my neighborhood for now, but the good news is a bunch of the Stick Dog and Stick Cat books are available to read or listen to on Hoopla--

DAY TWENTY-FIVE TRIVIA

The egg has a special place in almost every culture, especially at spring time where it represents hope, renewal, promise of life, and so on. Passover started this week and at the Passover supper a hard boiled egg is one of the symbolic foods on the plate. In Jewish tradition eggs are given to mourners. Elsewhere in the Middle East, eggs are symbols of beginnings and family. The Persian New Year celebration, Nowruz, also has a special table of symbolic foods that includes the egg.

Children in the United States love hunting for Easter eggs hidden around the house or outside. Other spring celebrations involving eggs include egg rolling, egg tapping, and egg dancing. So today's trivia question is to see what you can find out about egg dancing: where and when did egg dancing start?

A Book a Day: The Undefeated

The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson



"This is for the unforgettable.
The swift and sweet ones
who hurdled history
and opened a world of possible.

The ones who survived
America
by any means necessary.

And the ones who didn't.

This is for the undeniable.
The ones who scored
with chains
on one hand
and faith
in the other."


Kwame Alexander tells how he wrote the poem the year his second daughter was born and Barack Obama became president. He wanted to remind his daughter and all of you children of the 21st Century to never, ever give up. And to remember all the greats that came before you. He first performed the poem on ESPN. Alexander won a Newbery Honor for writing and illustrator Kadir Nelson won this year's Caldecott Medal for the best illustrations. They both received Coretta Scott King medals, as well.

Undefeated is available from Overdrive.

DAY TWENTY-FOUR TRIVIA

From 1935 to 1974, Babe Ruth, "The Bambino," held one of the most famous records in sports: the most home runs in major league baseball--714. Who broke Babe Ruth's record on this day, April 8, 1974?











The Baseball Hall of Fame

A Book a Day: I Can Make This Promise

I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day

From the very first day of kindergarten, adults have asked Edie "where are you from?" When she answers "Seattle," they still want to know where her parents are "originally" from. And that's the problem. Her dad is American, white, with ancestors from Germany, England, and Wales. Her mom is Native American. So everyone wants to know what tribe she's from, what buffalo tastes like and stuff like that. The problem is that Edie doesn't know anything about her mom's family because she was adopted. Edie's grown up like any other kid in Seattle. The only contact she has with the nearby reservation is that it's a place they can go and set off fireworks on the Fourth of July. And its where she is recognized for the first time, by a boy named named Roger who says "You look Native." Then she discovers a mysterious box filled with letters from a women named Edith. Could it be her grandmother?

Available in both eBook and eAudiobook from Hoopla.

DAY TWENTY-THREE TRIVIA

Disc golf first became popular as the frisbee became popular in the '60s and '70s, but the very first disc golf game was played long before that. Elementary school kids started a game throwing tin lids into circles on their playground. What was the name of the school? Where was it located? What year did the game begin? And what was their name for this game?

Disc Golf Hall of Fame

A Book a Day: Funny Girl

Funny Girl edited by Betsy Bird

"A couple of wise women once said, 'Joke-telling is the greatest superpower a gal can possess.'" Twenty some women--some you might know like Raina Tegemeier, Cece Bell, Shannon Hale, Jennifer Holm, and Sophie Blackall, other you may get to know soon--explore the way humor makes the tough times easier, and the good times memorable. What could be funnier than family? What could be funnier than friends? What could be funnier than YOU? It's time to let the world know about these superheroes.

Available online from Overdrive.

DAY TWENTY-TWO TRIVIA

April is National School Library Month. Below I have some links to some very unusual libraries around the world. Maybe you remember me reading a book called The Inside-Outside Book of Libraries with books of different sizes and types, but these are weirder than anything in that book.

So today's trivia question is this: who founded the first library in America? When? Where?



Do you have a Little Free Library in your neighborhood? Email me at pbutts@portageps.org and I will put it on my route and help keep it filled.







Bike Library, Dubuque, Iowa


Camel Library, Garissa, Kenya

Vending Library, Contra Costa, California

Tank Library, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Biblioburro, Columbia

A Book a Day: Stargazing

Stargazing by Jen Wang

If you  love Smile, Best Friends, and El Deafo, you'll love this graphic novel. Moon and Christine are unlikely friends. They both grew up in the same Chinese-American suburb. Moon is confident, impulsive, Christine is a quiet violin player. When Christine's family gives Moon and her mother a place to live, the two girls quickly become friends sharing music, K Pop videos, and secrets. Moon reveals her visions through her artwork, but then they take a dark turn and Moon ends up in the hospital. Can Christine be the friend Moon really needs when the sky is falling?

Day Nineteen Trivia

I'm hearing all kinds of stories lately from my parents about their childhood and my grandparents, and I bet you are too. Have they talked about old fashioned video games? Today's trivia question is what is the name of the carpenter who first appeared in the popular 1980s game Donkey Kong?

Here's a great online destination,  The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York. Be sure to check out the Pinball in America exhibit and the Video Game History Timeline.

A Book a Day: New Kid

New Kid by Jerry Craft

The very first graphic novel to win the Newbery Medal for the best children's book. Fifth graders, if you are starting to feel anxious about starting middle school, this is the book for you. Jordan Banks loves to draw cartoons about his life. He is hoping to go to the art school in town, but instead his parents send him to a prestigious private school where Jordan is one of the few kids of color. Riverdale Academy Day School is a long drive from his Washington Heights neighborhood. Jordan records many things in his sketchbook: the challenges he faces fitting in at school, the things some of his teachers believe about him because he is black,  the different goals that his mom and dad each have for him, learning to play soccer, and balancing his old and new friends.

Available on Hoopla.