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Holidays and Harvest Science
 Even though the growing season is drawing to a close here in the Midwest, fall is a wonderful time to explore the science behind the season's flashy displays, from crimson leaves to pumpkins as large as Cinderella's carriage. In this issue of Quick Tips, we're celebrating the harvest season with suggestions for linking books about the life cycle of plants with the STEM curriculum and the Common Core State Standards. In a related feature, you'll find more recommended science books and activities, all linked to the Standards and well suited to cross-curricular use. And for students (and teachers) searching for fresh material for fall's ubiquitous holiday-themed assignments, we offer a listing of top holiday reference resources, as well as a multicultural roundup of recent holiday titles, which introduce cultural and religious events throughout the year, from Carnival to Kwanzaa. As always, we love to hear about the books—and the creative ways to share them—that are taking off in your classrooms and libraries this fall. Please send us your suggestions!
Happy reading!
Gillian Engberg, Editor
gengberg@ala.org
By Anastasia Suen
Celebrate the harvest with these recent books about
growing that connect with the STEM curriculum and the
Common Core State Standards.
 This fall season we can use the themes of the harvest and giving thanks to help young readers learn key life-science concepts. Children grow in their understanding of the life cycle of organisms by direct participation, such as planting a garden, and by reading books. Books about gardening and food also provide an excellent starting point to implement the Common Core State Standards, tying in opportunities to ask questions about unknown words in a text (RI.1.1), use illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas (RI.1.7), and describe the connection between a series of scientific ideas or concepts, or the steps in technical procedures in a text (RI.2.3). 
Harvest Time
Celebrate the season with Awesome Autumn, by Bruce Goldstone. Look at how plants grow all year with Up We Grow!, by Deborah Hodge.
[read more]
For more on the books mentioned here, see these related web resources.
  
By Terrell A. Young and Barbara A. Ward
Jump-start science instruction with well-selected
informational titles and classroom activities that
Connect with the Common Core State Standards.
 Because of the added emphasis placed on reading and mathematics after the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act and the Reading First program, science and social studies became two subjects that received less attention, necessitating that teachers find innovative ways to incorporate them into their lesson plans. Some schools found that even with an increased amount of time spent on literacy, their standardized test scores dropped. Many attributed these lower scores to students lacking the sufficient background knowledge to perform well on the expository sections of the tests. With the passage of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) by 46 states and the District of Columbia, science and social studies texts are likely to become important in classrooms once again. The CCSS differ from previous national standards in many ways, including the following:
[read more]
For more on the books mentioned here, see these related web resources.
By Rebecca Vnuk
Help students find information about holidays around
the world with these reference resources.
It's not far from that time of year again, when students will be researching the origins of Christmas trees, Hanukkah dreidels, Kwanzaa candles, St. Lucia headpieces, and more. Here are seven reference sources that will come in handy for students looking to complete world-holiday-themed projects.
 African-American Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations. By Kathlyn Gay. 2006. 566p. illus. Omnigraphics, $65 (9780780807792).
More than 100 African American holidays and festivals on the U.S. calendar are described here, featuring historical background, information on each event's origins and observances, a list of contacts and websites, and suggested titles for further reading.
[read more]
By Daniel Kraus
These nonfiction series titles offer fresh fodder for
report research and for browsing.
Due to the sheer number of books they produce, series publishers tend to reach past the usual red-letter days to more esoteric holidays. The upside for young report writers? No matter what time of year it is, there's probably something to celebrate, as evidenced by this widely ranging list of recent series titles.
 Carnival. By Daniel Shafto. 2009. 96p. illus. Chelsea House, lib. ed., $40 (9781604130959). 394.25. Gr. 5–8.
Columbus Day: Observing the Day Christopher Columbus Came to the Americas. By Rennay Craats. 2010. 24p. illus. Weigl, paper, $11.95 (9781605969336); lib. ed., $27.13 (9781605967752). 394.264. Gr. 3–5.
Easter Bunnies. By Patrick Merrick. 2010. 24p. illus. Child's World, lib. ed., $24.21 (9781602533332). 394.2667. Gr. 1–3.
Juneteenth. By Julie Murray. 2011. 24p. illus. ABDO, lib. ed., $17.95 (9781617830396). 394.263. Gr. 2–4.
Kwanzaa By Sheila Anderson. Illus. by Holli Conger. 2009. 32p. ABDO/Magic Wagon, lib. ed., $18.95 (9781602706040). 394.2612. PreS–K.
Let's Throw a Valentine's Day Party. By Rachel Lynette. 2011. 24p. illus. Rosen/PowerKids, lib. ed., $21.25 (9781448825707). 793.2. Gr. 2–4.
Marco's Cinco de Mayo. By Lisa Bullard. Illus. by Holli Conger. 2012. 24p. Millbrook, paper, $6.95 (9780761385806); lib. ed., $23.93 (9780761350828); e-book, $17.95 (9780761388418). 972. K–Gr. 2.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. By Rebecca Rissman. 2010. 24p. illus. Heinemann, lib. ed., $21.50 (9781432940553). 394.261. PreS–K.
Paper Crafts for Mardi Gras. By Randel McGee. 2011. 48p. illus. Enslow, lib. ed., $23.93 (9780766037243). 745.594. Gr. 2–4.
Purim. By Lynn Peppas. 2010. 32p. illus. Crabtree, lib. ed., $26.60 (9780778747642). 296.4. Gr. 1–4.
About Booklist's Quick Tips for Schools and Libraries
Gillian Engberg, Editor gengberg@ala.org
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