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by Peter Brown

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Peter Brown. Little, Brown, $16.99 (282p) ISBN 978-0-316-38199-4

Brown's middle-grade debut, an uplifting story about an unexpected visitor whose arrival disrupts the animal inhabitants of a rocky island, has a contemporary twist: the main character is a robot. A hurricane deposits Roz (short for ROZZUM unit 7134) on the island, where she is accidentally activated by a group of sea otters, who are terrified by the shiny monster awakening before their eyes. At first, Roz struggles to survive in an environment where she is treated as a frightening intruder, but after she adopts an abandoned gosling, she slowly becomes part of the island community, learning animal language and taking on motherhood and a leadership role. Brown ( Mr. Tiger Goes Wild) convincingly builds a growing sense of cooperation among the animals and Roz as she blossoms in the wild. The allegory of otherness is clear but never heavy-handed, and Roz has just enough human attributes to make her sympathetic while retaining her robot characteristics. Brown wisely eschews a happy ending in favor of an open-ended one that supports the tone of a story that's simultaneously unsentimental and saturated with feeling. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8-12. Agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary Management. (Apr.)

Compact Disc - 978-1-4789-3908-5

Library Binding - 978-1-4328-5989-3

Pre-Recorded Audio Player - 978-1-5491-4292-5

Hardcover - 978-89-6607-205-7

Paperback - 978-7-5448-5341-5

Prebound-Glued - 288 pages - 978-0-606-40825-7

Open Ebook - 288 pages - 978-0-316-38201-4

Compact Disc - 978-1-4789-3835-4

Compact Disc - 978-1-5491-7543-5

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Children's Book Review: The Wild Robot by Peter Brown. Little, Brown, $16.99 (282p) ISBN 978-0-316-38199-4

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Peter Brown. Little, Brown, $16.99 (282p) ISBN 978-0-316-38199-4 Brown's middle-grade debut, an uplifting story about an unexpected visitor whose arrival disrupts the animal inhabitants of a rocky island, has a contemporary twist: the main character is a robot.

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by Eliot SappingField

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Children’s Book Review: A Problematic Paradox by Eliot Sappingfield. Putnam, $16.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-5247-38457

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Thirteen-year-old Nikola Kross is a genius and self-described “weirdo,” which has made her an outcast in her small North Dakota town. After her scientist-inventor father is abducted by a girl with unu

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by Jennifer L. Holm

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Jennifer L. Holm. Random, $16.99 (208p) ISBN 978-0-375-87064-4

More By and About This Author

Middle school doesn't start smoothly for 11-year-old Ellie, whose best friend finds her passion (volleyball) and new teammates to eat lunch with, while Ellie flounders, uninterested in sports or her parents' avocation, theater. A startling addition to the household helps Ellie get her groove back when Grandpa Melvin, a scientist, moves in after engineering a cure for aging (the regenerative properties of jellyfish are involved) and transforming himself into a teenage boy. Though Melvin dresses and acts like the crotchety old man he was, he and Ellie bond over spirited discussions about Jonas Salk, Robert Oppenheimer, the possibilities of science, and the moral questions scientific advances can raise. Though the subject matter has a lot of intellectual heft, the writing has Holm's ever-present light touch. The small cast, which refreshingly includes divorced parents who treat each other respectfully, is so well realized that the farfetched aspects of the plot seem almost plausible. This is top-notch middle-grade fiction with a meaty dilemma, humor, and an ending that leaves room for the possibility of a sequel. Ages 8-12. Agent: Jill Grinberg, Grinberg Literary Management. (Aug.)

Audio book sample courtesy of Penguin Random House Audio

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Children's Book Review: The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm. Random, $16.99 (208p) ISBN 978-0-375-87064-4

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Jennifer L. Holm. Random, $16.99 (208p) ISBN 978-0-375-87064-4 More By and About This Author Middle school doesn't start smoothly for 11-year-old Ellie, whose best friend finds her passion (volleyball) and new teammates to eat lunch with, while Ellie flounders, uninterested in sports or her parents' avocation, theater.

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Oh No! Not Again!: (Or How I Built a Time Machine to Save History)

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Oh No! Not Again!: (Or How I Built a Time Machine to Save History)

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by Mac Barnett

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Children’s Book Review: Oh No! Not Again! (Or How I Built a Time Machine to Save History) (Or At Least My History Grade) by Mac Barnett, illus. by Dan Santat. Disney-Hyperion, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4231-4912-5

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The studious, pigtailed girl whose science project got out of hand in Oh No! hasn’t quite learned her lesson. When she misses one question on her history test (she incorrectly answers that Belgium is

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Lost in the Solar System (The Magic School Bus, #4)

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Lost in the Solar System (The Magic School Bus, #4)

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by Joanna Cole

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Joanna Cole, Author, Bruce Degen, Illustrator Scholastic Inc. $15.95 (48p) ISBN 978-0-590-41428-9

More By and About This Author

Cole and Degen have already escorted young readers on three enlightening, boisterous rides on the magic school bus--in explorations of the human body, waterworks and the inside of the Earth. This latest expedition, on which the energetic Miss Frizzle offers a tour of the planets, should not be missed. When a closed planetarium disappoints her students on a class trip, the likable teacher saves the day. She manages to launch her rickety school bus into space and steers it around the solar system, visiting the moon, the sun, Mercury, Venus and Mars before an asteroid knocks out one of the taillights. When Miss Frizzle leaves the bus to investigate, she gets lost in space, and the students visit the outer planets without her. They reconnect with her eventually, and the group ends up back in the classroom, making a chart and a mobile based on their discoveries. Once again, author and illustrator let readers laugh while they learn in an animated, fact-filled adventure. Ages 6-9. (Oct.)

Prebound-Other - 40 pages - 978-0-7857-3267-9

Prebound-Sewn - 40 pages - 978-0-7857-0337-2

Prebound-Sewn - 40 pages - 978-0-7807-1122-8

Analog Audio Cassette - 978-0-545-22337-9

Paperback - 40 pages - 978-0-590-41429-6

Paperback - 40 pages - 978-0-590-46429-1

Prebound-Other - 40 pages - 978-0-606-00583-8

Paperback - 1 pages - 978-0-590-72599-6

Hardcover - 48 pages - 978-957-32-6948-9

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Children's Book Review: Lost in the Solar System by Joanna Cole, Author, Bruce Degen, Illustrator Scholastic Inc. $15.95 (48p) ISBN 978-0-590-41428-9

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Joanna Cole, Author, Bruce Degen, Illustrator Scholastic Inc. $15.95 (48p) ISBN 978-0-590-41428-9 More By and About This Author Cole and Degen have already escorted young readers on three enlightening, boisterous rides on the magic school bus--in explorations of the human body, waterworks and the inside of the Earth.

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Oh No!: Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World

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Oh No!: Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World

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by Mac Barnett

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Mac Barnett, illus. by Dan Santat, Disney-Hyperion, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4231-2312-5

More By and About This Author

Santat and Barnett collaborate seamlessly on this slapstick adventure about a pigtailed, bespectacled science fair entrant trying unsuccessfully to control her prize-winning robot. "I probably shouldn't have given it a superclaw, or a laser eye, or the power to control dogs' minds," she sighs as she watches the metallic monster storm across her city. Barnett's (Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem) telegraphic text packs wicked humor into economical, comic book-style lines, while Santat's (Always Lots of Heinies at the Zoo) skylines pay homage to old monster movies. In one scene, the robot looms Godzilla-like, railroad car in hand, over an urban Japantown; another sequence is viewed through its fish-eye lens, with crosshairs trained on its creator. When the robot reacts with fury to the girl's futile attempts to stop it ("I should have given it ears," she laments), the girl and text become blurred, testimony to the impact of its stomps. Blueprints for the robot and the genetically altered toad she deploys to defeat it are included on the endpapers, but, kids, don't try this at home! Ages 3-7. (June)

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Children's Book Review: Oh, No! (Or, How My Science Project Destroyed the World) by Mac Barnett, illus. by Dan Santat, Disney-Hyperion, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4231-2312-5

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Mac Barnett, illus. by Dan Santat, Disney-Hyperion, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4231-2312-5 More By and About This Author Santat and Barnett collaborate seamlessly on this slapstick adventure about a pigtailed, bespectacled science fair entrant trying unsuccessfully to control her prize-winning robot.

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Create a scavenger hunt. Have students find books in your classroom library that have elements of science fiction. Have the students write down what elements of the book fall under the science fiction category and then discuss as a class.

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Exploring Literature Genres in the Elementary Classroom

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EXPOSURE TO TEXTS FROM A WIDE VARIETY OF GENRES OPENS UP NEW WORLDS TO READERS! ENCOURAGE YOUR STUDENTS TO EXPAND THEIR READING HABITS, AS WELL AS RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF EACH GENRE, WITH THESE PRACTICAL TIPS YOU CAN IMPLEMENT TODAY! Often, students will find one

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Have books of different genres out on a table and have students investigate the books and sort them into the correct genres. This can work for science fiction as well as any other genre.

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As a teacher you want your students to read and experience a wide variety of literary genres, but often it is hard to get them interested in straying from their usual book choices.

This blog post will explain the benefits of reading different genres and share ideas for lessons and activities to help teachers inspire and motivate their students to read a variety of genres.

6 Benefits of Teaching Many Genres of Literature :

1. Reluctant Readers = A student who struggles with reading a novel may fall in love with poetry, or biographies, mysteries (or even horror!) and be able to improve their attitude about reading by being exposed to many other varieties of literature.

2. Vocabulary = Each genre of literature carries with it an opportunity to learn a wider variety of vocabulary, which the student will need as they read more, and also as they progress in their academic career.

3. Skill building = If a student is not able to grasp one reading skill, such as making inferences, within one genre, perhaps they can grasp the concept by using another form of literature. (For example, using a picture book instead of a poem when learning how to make an inference)

4. Confidence = As a student learns how to interpret and understand one literary genre, their confidence will build as they broaden their horizons to learn from other genres.

5. Reading Skills = The development of so many reading skills relies on teachers modeling those skills, such as fluency, by using many genres of literature.

6. Bring on the FUN! = So often we are focused on what the child must read, and how much time we must spend reading, that we forget that one of the best aspects of books and reading is that it should be fun and relaxing and pleasant to read! Finding a genre of literature that a student will love to read, by exploring many genres, is the key to making reading fun and to developing a love of reading that will last a lifetime!

How to Teach Genre to Elementary Students

Filling your classroom bookshelves with a collection of titles and series from a broad spectrum of genres is important. However, that alone may not be enough. You need to also provide your students with lessons, activities, and resources to inspire and motivate them to explore all different types of genres.

What is the Difference Between Fiction Books and Non-Fiction Books?

Start by teaching your young readers the difference between fiction and non-fiction. Avoid telling them that fiction is make believe and non-fiction is real. Instead define fiction as "a story with characters and events that have been made up in the author's mind." Explain that non-fiction books are informative. Use actual non-fiction books and explore the text features.

Teach the Definitions of Book Genres

From there you can start to focus on the characteristics that define each genre. One simple activity that makes a great center is to place a collection of books on a table and have the students sort them by genre. Only select a few different genres at a time until the students become more skilled at identifying them. Continue this practice with other centers that include sorting activities and matching games as ongoing review.

Display Genre Posters on a Bulletin Board or in the Classroom Library.

Offer additional support by displaying reference posters in the classroom and by giving each student a bookmark to remind them as well.

Motivate the Students to Read Different Genres.

Encourage students to read from the different genres with incentive charts. Two of my favorites that I've found to be extremely effective are tally charts and Bingo boards. I display and use a whole class version for read aloud books we've enjoyed together and provide each student with their own copy as well.

Provide Students Opportunities to Write About Genres

You can help students to reflect on their experiences with different genres by recording their thoughts on paper. When finished you can display these for other students to read as recommendations. For a great looking bulletin board you may want to consider hanging them with a photo of the child holding the book they wrote about. The written reflections can also be assembled into individual student books by collating several different genres. Another option would be to have each student write a reflection on a different book from the same genre to create a class book that the children can read to find new titles. Additionally the reflections make a great assessment tool of student understanding.

Classroom teachers are welcome to create their own versions of each of the items shown for personal use in their own classroom. However, if you would like to save time I have made all of them available in a quick and easy packet titled, Genre Made Easy so you can just print and go and have your students enjoying a variety of genres in no time.

Introducing your students to different genres and encouraging them to read a variety of books will strengthen their reading, vocabulary and writing skills. This resource includes genre posters, printables, games, bookmarks, and more! It will make your job easier!

This blog post will...

identify the problems this resource solves

suggest how it can help you and your students

explain why you will love it and how to use it

offer testimonials from elementary teachers like you

share what's included in this resource

Are you looking for a fun and easy way to teach your students about genre? If so, this is the resource for you!

This resource will expose your students to many different genres.

All students will be able to access the content through the differentiated resources.

It will increase student engagement.

It will strengthen their reading and writing skills.

Reluctant readers may find the genre that pulls them into the world of reading.

This resource will engage your learners by offering a variety of formats for students to learn through (posters, games, activities, written responses, etc.).

It will meet your students' learning needs through differentiation.

It will strengthen their reading skills without them even realizing it!

It will make your job easier because there is little to no prep. Some resources may require quick and simple cutting, while most are print and go. Many of the pages are even reusable and can be used over and over with different books.

Your reluctant readers could find the genre that pulls them into the world of reading.

This product has a comprehensive bundle of resources that will enable you to teach genre effectively.

Check out these testimonials from teachers who've used it in their classrooms...

CLUTTER-FREE CLASSROOM HAS DONE IT AGAIN! You KNOW how much I love you and all your products. This one is just another example of how fabulous you really are. EVERY year I end the year realizing that I should have done more with genre study... well now I will finally do it well! Because of you! THANK YOU!!!

- Elyse Jahnke

I love all of your resources, but I'm especially excited to use this to help my kiddos understand what they're reading and what suits them best. I love the variety in the activities, so there's several options for teaching!

- Stephanie L.

We had such a great time learning about Genres this week! Thank you so much for that! 🙂 Thank you for the DETAILS you put into your work! I am THRILLED every time I open up a download from you....makes me so excited to be teaching.

- Exploring Elementary

Can't wait to use this! I love the simplicity and accuracy of the definitions of the genres and the abundance of games/center ideas-and, of course, the endearing artwork! You saved me hours of planning and searching the web. Thank you!

- Lynne O.

This is a great time saver for me and provides all the elements that students will need to be accountable for on state standards assessments. The student-friendly language is what really appealed to me as well as the wonderful graphics. Thanks so much for your wonderful resource!

- Linda M S.

You can read more great feedback from teachers just like you here!

GENRE POSTERS: Sixteen 8.5 x 11 inch charts featuring a the name of the genre, a description and images to provide a visual cue using Melonheadz clipart

TALLY CHARTS: Three tally chart options (blank, color and ink-saving black and white). After reading a book, record the book's genre using tallies in the appropriate box. These can be used individually by students or displayed in the classroom and used to track your read aloud books.

GENRE BINGO: Students cross off a box after reading a book from that genre. The goal is to get 5 boxes in a row, column or diagonally across. This was designed to help encourage your readers to branch out in their selections. This printable comes in three varieties (blank, color and ink-saving black and white).

READER RESPONSE SHEETS: There are 2 differentiated response sheets for each of the sixteen genres featured in this resource. Each asks the students to identify the genre of a book they have read and support their thinking with details from the text.

GO FISH OR MEMORY MATCH: The first set of cards can be used in several ways. Some teachers like to print the 2 whole pages and include them as a reference in the students' notebooks or folders. Print two copies and cut apart to play a matching game or print 4 copies of each and use the cards to play "Go Fish." There are also sets of cards included that include just the name of the genre on one and the description of the genre on the other for a more advanced version of those two games.

SELF-CORRECTING MATCH CARDS: Print all the pages and cut the cards out on the dotted line. Use scissors to cut the name of the genre apart from the description of the genre. By cutting in distinct patterns instead of straight, the students will know if their answer is correct if the 2 pieces fit together.

GENRE BOOKMARKS: Printable 2-sided bookmarks. Each page contains two bookmarks. Cut the page down the middle and fold each piece in half. Laminate for durability if desired. These make a great reference tool.

GENRE MATCH: Use the cards to play Memory/Concentration by matching the genre card to the correct definition card. This also makes an excellent pocket chart activity center.

NAME THAT GENRE: Use the colored genre cards as categories. Have the students sort the description cards into the correct category. To make the activity self-correcting you could write the card numbers on the back of the category cards.

THE GENRE SORT: Print all pieces and cut on the dotted lines. The names of the genres are used as headers. Have the students place the story description cards with it's correct genre. As an alternative, many teachers like to use actual books and have the students sort them based on their descriptions.

GENRE CHALLENGE: This sheet encourages students to read books from a variety of genres.

FICTION vs NONFICTION: These may be used in 2 different ways. The first is to print a copy for each student and fold the page in half so one side reads fiction and the other reads non-fiction. The teacher then either describes a book or reads parts from a book and the students hold up the card to show if it is fiction or nonfiction. The other option is to use them as headers and have the students sort actual books into the two categories.

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How to Teach Genres in Elementary School (The Benefits of and Strategies for Getting Kids to Read Different Genres)

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As a teacher you want your students to read and experience a wide variety of literary genres, but often it is hard to get them interested in straying from their usual book choices. This blog post will explain the benefits of reading different genres and share ideas for lessons and activities to help teachers inspire ...

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Have students draw, paint, or collage their favorite scene or character from the science fiction story. This begins to emphasize the elements of science fiction novels.

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Science Fiction Classroom Activities | Synonym

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Science fiction is a literary genre often overlooked in the classroom in favor of more traditional or classic works. This is slowly changing, however, as more instructors realize the creative worth of sci-fi novels and short stories. Renowned authors such as H.G. Wells, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick…

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After reading a science fiction novel, write an alternative story using the elements of the original story such as characters, setting and events. This encourages critical literacy skills and a healthy imagination. Be sure students are using the sci-fi elements of the original story correctly in their alternative story.

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Science Fiction Classroom Activities | Synonym

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Science fiction is a literary genre often overlooked in the classroom in favor of more traditional or classic works. This is slowly changing, however, as more instructors realize the creative worth of sci-fi novels and short stories. Renowned authors such as H.G. Wells, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick…

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Rewrite the ending of a sci-fi novel or short story that you have read together. Be sure to encourage students to use identifiable science fiction elements. This emphasizes the makeup of the science fiction genre as well as encourages critical literacy.

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Science Fiction Classroom Activities | Synonym

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Science fiction is a literary genre often overlooked in the classroom in favor of more traditional or classic works. This is slowly changing, however, as more instructors realize the creative worth of sci-fi novels and short stories. Renowned authors such as H.G. Wells, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick…

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Time travel
Teleportation
Mind control
Aliens
Space exploration
Parallel universes

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Science fiction is a genre of fiction that typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts that are comprehendible to our reality. It has the possibility to occur in our universe in the future. The concepts include advanced technology, space exploration, time travel, and extraterrestrial life.