Thought for the Day:
“Have no fear of perfection—you’ll never reach it.”
~ Salvador Dalí ~
Gifts for My Writer Friends:
Do you ever feel like some of your scenes are just flat? HERE is a great post by Lisa Hall-Wilson that will help you bring those dead scenes back to life.
I don’t do writing exercises nearly as often as I should, but when I ran across the post HERE by Natalie Hart on Writer Unboxed, I thought this is something I need to take time to do.
HERE is a great Narrative Nugget from Janice Hardy that will help you look at your writing with a reader’s eye.
It has been kind of a strange week. I’ve been healing up pretty well from my fall, but my biggest problem is that there is still swelling around my eyes and the top of my nose. That means my glasses don’t sit on my face properly, and I get really tired trying to read anything, either on the computer or in books. It is taking me a lot longer to do anything reading-related than it should. Ugh! Not fun. But it is getting better every day.
I had a landmark birthday last week, and my family really made it a special day for me. My daughter Maggie flew in from New York, and my other daughter, Sara, and her family cooked up a fabulous dinner. Have I mentioned my grandson Gehrig is a chef-in-training? He’s very good. And my granddaughter Gracie is a baker, and an extraordinary one at that. So the great dinner was topped off with homemade cheesecake with homemade chocolate sauce and caramel sauce. It couldn’t have been nicer. Getting older has its perks.
I know that I am fully in touch with my inner child. Whenever I see a book about dinosaurs, I simply can’t resist. When I saw DINOSAURS: EXPLORING PREHISTORIC LIFE AND GEOLOGICAL TIME by Rachel Ignotofsky on the review list for the Los Angeles Book Review, I knew it was something I’d like. And I have a real soft spot for middle-grade picture books, so it was a win-win for me. Here is the review I wrote for LABR.
The title of Dinosaurs is a bit misleading, only because this book covers so much more than dinosaurs and the era in which they lived. After a quick introduction, readers will find a timeline that shows how recent, in the larger scheme of things, is the age of dinosaurs, and how many other important eras there are. There are sections on plate tectonics, understanding fossils, reading rocks, mass extinction events (there were many), and understanding evolution. These lead into sections on the many eons, eras, and periods in the history of the planet. Each section is chock full of information written in accessible, conversational prose that does not shy away from using scientific language. The writer, Rachel Ignotofsky, respects the middle-grade readers who will pick this book up and expects them to do what they need to do to read it. Every page is filled with wonderful illustrations, also by Ignotofsky, that support the vast amount of information being communicated. The illustrations are not terribly realistic but still convey a good deal of information. Young readers are infinitely curious, and they will lose themselves in this wonderful compendium of historical and scientific information. This is the perfect book for young science and history lovers.
Please don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.
Rosi Hollinbeck 
I always had two or three students each year who would have devoured books like this one.
My wife and I are heading to Arizona next weekend to catch some spring training baseball, Rosi, and take a hot air balloon ride. I remember that you’re a big Giants fan.
LikeLike
I hope you have a great time at spring training. The Giants have been tearing it up! Thanks for the comment.
LikeLike
Happy Birthday! I’m sorry you’re having trouble reading after your fall. You must be a kid at heart if you can’t resist a book about dinasaurs.
LikeLike
I am a kid at heart. But the rest of me… Thanks for the good wishes and the comment.
LikeLike
I KNOW, without a doubt, that if this book had been around when I was a kid, I’d be carrying it with me everywhere! I used to peruse my dad’s geology textbook because of the graphic showing all the geological periods and eras. How could the earth be that old?
LikeLike
Yup. It is your kind of book, Sue. Thanks for reading and commenting.
LikeLike
I’m glad you had a great birthday and I loved the cartoon. Carol
LikeLike
Thanks, Carol.
LikeLike
Okay… I’m intrigued! And Happy Birthday Rosi 🥳❤️🥳
LikeLike
Thanks, Donna.
LikeLike
This sounds like a book my eldest child would have loved. We must have checked out every book our library had on dinosaurs, geology, vulcanology, and severe weather about a million times. That kid was one of the “non-fiction only” sort for a long time. Still prefers NF, if I think about it.
LikeLike
Sounds like your boy follows in your footsteps. Thanks for reading and commenting.
LikeLike
That photo of the bangs made me snort. I’m glad I no longer have bangs, LOL. And I hope the swelling on your face goes down soon. I’ve broken my glasses and temporarily fixed them, but they’re not sitting right on my nose, either, so I get the part about reading making you tired. This dino book looks fun! Thanks for the rec!
LikeLike
Most of us have had a bad bangs experience at some point. It just cracked me up. Sounds like we both need to take a trip to optometry. Thanks for reading and commenting.
LikeLike
Happy belated birthday! Sounds like you had a great time with your family. I too am always interested in Dinosaur books. Thanks for the heads up on this one. I spent lunchtime with your links today and they were all good, especially the one from Janice Hardy.
LikeLike
So glad you found the links to your liking. This is a great book for you and your students. Thanks for the good wishes and the comment.
LikeLike
Happy belated, Rosi! How lovely that you have a chef and a baker in the family. Your cake sounds delicious! I also loved the quote.
I actually hadn’t heard of middle-grade picture books till I read your post, but I do agree that the really juicy picture books are great for teaching in depth about topics. And kids love the visuals!
LikeLike
Middle grade picture books are often overlooked, but I love them. Thanks for the good wishes and the comment.
LikeLike
Happy birthday, Rosi! I hope you didn’t celebrate by cutting your bangs. (I still remember the unfortunate bowl cuts given to me by my mother.) I’m wishing you speedy healing.
Like Jenni, I haven’t heard about MG picture books, but find the whole idea intriguing. Thanks for the dinosaur suggestion. Happy MMGM!
LikeLike
I love middle-grade picture books and feature them here often. Stay tuned! Thanks for the good wishes and the comment.
LikeLike