Texas Bluebonnet Award Books Voting Results 2011

Texas Bluebonnet Award Books Voting Results!

11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass

Questions:

1. In what way would this story have turned out differently if the two main characters had been two boys or two girls?

2. If you could write a sequel to this story, what would it be called and what would the story be about?

3. Where do you think Amanda and Leo will be on their 21st birthday? Describe what you think they will be doing and what their lives will be like.

4. If you could live a special occasion all over again, what would the event be and how would it be different?

14 Cows for America

Questions:

1. Explain what the author means when she says "There is no nation so powerful it cannot be wounded, nor a people so small they cannot offer mighty comfort?

2. Can the quote above appy to children, too? If so, how?

3. If you had to choose something to give to someone to help them in their suffering and to show them you cared, what would it be? Why would you choose what you chose?

All Stations! Distress! by Don Brown

Questions:
1. You are a survivor of the Titanic. Write about how you survived and what you were feeling after you were rescued.

2. If you were a reporter interviewing the Titanic survivors, what would the headline read for the article you are writing about the disaster?

3. Would you rather have been a first class passenger or a third class steerage passenger? Why?

Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea by Steve Jenkins

Origami Sea Creatures

Origami Angel Fish

Questions:

1. If you could be a marine animal, which one would you want to be? Why? Do you think you would be friendly with any other marine animals? If so, which one(s)? If not, why not?

2. What is the mood of the book? If the book had actual photographs of marine animals instead of pictures made out of paper and put together as a collage, would it make a difference? Why or why not?

3. What topic do you think the author/illustrator Steve Jenkins should use for his next nonfiction book? Why? 

The Uglified Ducky by Willy Claflin

Questions:

1. Can you identify with the Uglified Ducky - Maynard Moose? Why or why not?

2. Do you feel like "a giraffe being raised by a family of gerbils or a ladybug being raised by a family of elephants"? Explain your answer.

3. Explain the quote: "Everybody is a beautiful something or other." What does the author mean? How are you beautiful?

3.

The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau by Dan Yaccarino

by author/ illustrator Dan Yaccarino

Questions:

1. What did Cousteau and his team invent? If you could invent anything, what might it be? What would you explore with your new tool?

2. Was Jacques Cousteau more of an inventor or a scientist? What is the difference? What would you rather be?

3. What do you think is the most interesting thing that Cousteau discovered? Where would you like to explore? What might you discover? 

Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

Book trailer source: librarian Analine Johnson from Laredo, Texas

Katherine Applegate discusses her book: Home of the Brave

(click on this link)        Macmillian 2008

Questions:

1. How was Kek's experience different from Ganwar's experience?

2. Kek and Ganwar demonstrate important character traits. Describe these two young men. Which one would you rather be and why?
 
3. Why are cattle so important to both young men and their communities?

4. Are animals this important in our community? If so, which animals and why?

Dying to Meet You by Kate Klise, illustrated by M. Sarah Klise

Questions:

1. Why do the characters have such funny sounding names in this punny book? Choose one character's name and comment on why his/her name fits him/her perfectly.

2. If you could create a punny name for yourself, what would it be? What would it mean?

3. Did you like the epistolary style of writing or letters written between one character and another as the narration of the story? Why or why not?

Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow by James Rollins

Questions:
-If you could time travel, would you go forward or backward in time? Why?

-Describe what it might be like to suddenly travel to a different time. How would it be different from the time you are living in now and how might it be the same?

-If you could, who and what would you take with you?

-If time travel was a possibility, should it be open for anyone or just scientists? Why? How would it affect how we live today?

-What would be the worst part of time travel and what would be the best?

Surfer of the Century by Ellie Crowe

-Duke Kahanamoku was known throughout the world for several reasons. In your opinion, for what is he the most famous?

-What would it be like to be famous? Are some people famous for the wrong reason?

-Is an athlete's fame different from a political leader's fame? Why or why not?

Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff

Questions:

1. List some things of which you are scared. Choose one and describe why you are scared of it and what you might do to help yourself when you feel scared.

2. Do you think you can be too careful or overly cautious about things? If so, give an example and explain why.

3. What did Annie and her new neighbor have in common? How did they help each other? Can you think of someone you might want to reach out to and help?

Thing #5 Share the New Information

After rereading several online blogs about creating book trailers, I noted that most agreed on these three points about book trailers --> they should be between 30 seconds to 3 minutes long, contain a credits page, and have no "homemade" dialog. I went back to the drawing board with my Photo Story deleting the humdrum dialog, inserting text, adding a few more pictures, and turning up the audio volume. Much better results without the droning monologue!



1. What tags (other that the required sbisdL2P3) did you add to your project so that it may be searched. That includes the tags you will add to your #5 Post.
The tags I used: Duke Kahanamoku, Ellie Crowe, Hawaii, Olympics, Photo Story, sbisdL2P3, surfer, surfing, swimming, and Texas Bluebonnet Award.
2. Who is the audience for your project? Can the project be adapted for others or other needs?
The audience for my project is teachers and elementary intermediate students. Since all of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders will be participating in the Bluebonnet program, they will be especially interested in viewing and creating their own book trailers. Both teachers and students can use this blog for displaying original work, discussing Bluebonnet books read, and learning about the process of creating a book trailer.
3. Describe how to find your project other than your L2P3 blog.
You can find it on YouTube by searching any of the above tags. The most fun was creating my very own Library YouTube Channel! All videos my students and I upload can be stored there for future viewing and for use in other Google sites to be shared among teachers, students, and grade levels. When searching using the sbisdL2P3 tag, a collection of videos our group has posted so far appeared. Amazing!

Bringing It All Together

Lights! Camera! Action! Movie trailers have long been a vehicle for generating excitement about an upcoming film. Book trailers have the same type of appeal for introducing and creating excitement about books. This blog was created to demonstrate the step-by-step process involved in creating student-generated book trailers. The use of energetic and compelling images, text, and music in a book trailer engages students creating high interest and excitement about new books.

Using Surfer of the Century by Ellie Crowe, from the 2010-2011 Texas Bluebonnet Award list, my goal is to give teachers and students an opportunity to learn how to create a 2.0 readers advisory, instead of the usual book report, to motivate their students and peers to read. This blog will also be a vehicle by which to motivate my 3rd – 5th graders to read and enjoy the most recent Texas Bluebonnet Award nominees.

This topic will cover TEKS §126.3. Technology Applications for grades 3-5 as students learn to research, acquire, and evaluate electronic information, while complying with the district acceptable use policies and copyright law, and format the information into new knowledge and effective communication.