• Have you ever had to move to a completely new place? How did it feel?

  
  

• What would you do if you discovered a baby dragon in a forest?

• Why does Rowan decide to rescue the baby dragon?

  
  

• How do Grandpa and Arto help Rowan feel at home?

  
  

• What does caring for the dragons teach Rowan about courage and kindness?

  
  

• How do Rowan and her friends show teamwork?

  If you found a baby magical creature, what would you do to help it?

  
  

• Write a letter to Rowan giving her advice about being brave in a new place.

  
  

• How did Rowan start as a stranger and become part of the forest family?

  
  

• Why is teamwork important when protecting something you love?

  
  

• What part of Rowan’s adventure felt most exciting or magical?

  
  

• How did caring for dragons help Rowan learn about herself?

  
  

• Would you want to visit the Dark Forest? What would you do there?

  
  

• What new special talent might you have if you were a Wildsmith?

🐲 A) Dragon Care Poster

• Students draw a picture of the baby dragon and write (or draw) steps to care for it: feeding, warmth, safety.

  
  

📝 B) Rowan’s Daily Journal

• Day 1 entry: Rowan’s first day at Grandpa’s. What does she see, smell, feel?

• Later entry: After rescuing the dragon. How does Rowan feel? What does she hope for?

  
  

🎭 C) Forest Role‑Play

• In small groups, act out scenes such as:

  • Finding a dragon egg.

  • Grandpa healing an injured animal.

  • Protecting the dragons from poachers.

• Discuss each character’s feelings and how they help each other.

  
  

🌳 D) Magical Forest Map

• Students create a simple map of the setting: city, forest, Grandpa’s house, poacher’s hideout.

• Use symbols: a dragon icon for nests, wolf paw for Arto’s den, etc.

• Draw or cut and paste pictures or words that show the steps Veena takes to make roti: kneading, rolling, flipping, stacking.

  
  

📝 B) Veena’s Diary Entry

• Entry 1: Before the journey—what smells, sounds, and feelings is Veena experiencing in her home?

• Entry 2: In the refugee camp, offering to cook rotis—how does she feel helping others?

  
  

🎭 C) Role‑Play in the Kitchen

• Act out a short scene: Veena helping in the camp kitchen.

  • One student is Veena, others are family or friends in the camp.

• Pause to talk: What emotions does each person show? What does each character hope for?

  
  

🌍 D) Map & Emotion Chart

• Use a simple map: Veena’s original home → the refugee camp → their new city (e.g. Delhi).

• At each place, draw a symbol (heart, roti, tears) and a word describing Veena’s feelings: “happy,” “scared,” “helpful.”

• Provide paper and coloring tools.

• Divide the poster into three sections:

  1. Natural glitter (e.g. beetles, mica)

  2. Modern glitter (plastic, flitter)

  3. Future sparkle (biodegradable glitter).

• Students draw glitter examples and write one fun fact in each section.

🔍 B) Science Experiment: “Why Glitter Sticks”

• In groups, sprinkle different glitter types (plastic glitter, biodegradable glitter sample if available) on materials (paper, skin, fabric).

• Observe and record what sticks and discuss why it might happen.

🧪 C) Glitter Detective Notebook

• Hand out notebook pages for journaling:

  • A “What sparkles?” list (nature, crafts, holidays).

  • A glossary mini‑dictionary for words like iridescent, microplastic, biodegradable.

  • A “What did I learn?” section about glitter facts.

🎭 D) Role Play: Tiny Glitter Voices

• Divide students into 3 roles: a glitter speck, an insect wing, and a sea creature.

• Act out a short scene where:

  • Glitter speck explains how it travels.

  • Insect wing tells what natural sparkle means.

  • Sea creature describes how microplastics affect them.

• Pause for discussion: how would each feel?

Debate: Discuss fairness—if glitter is made from mica mined by child labor, what responsibility do we have as consumers?

Art & Language Arts: Create sparkly greeting cards using biodegradable glitter; write messages using glitter glue or colored pencils.

🎨 A) Draw Your Super Cat Comic

• Students sketch a short comic starring their pet or an imagined cat superhero like “Super Lolo.”

• Include simple panels showing cat actions or emotions and maybe a small speech bubble.

✍️ B) Two Voices Journal

• Write two short entries:

  • Miguel’s Entry: First day Miguel gets Lolo—what does he feel?

  • Lolo’s Entry: Lolo’s first night in the bodega—what does he notice and feel?

🎭 C) Role-Play a Scene

• Act out a scene like Miguel convincing his parents, or Lolo chasing away another stray cat, or Miguel drawing in the store.

• Stop after acting and ask: How did the character feel? What might they think next?

🗺️ D) Bodega Community Map

• Draw a map of the bodega and neighborhood: label spots like the register, fridge, sidewalk, Miguel’s sketchbook spot.

• Add emotion bubbles: “safe spot,” “work hard,” “dream place,” “scary outside.”

Surprise – Lily is a witch! She must learn magic, and find her animal guardian and gemstone, while keeping her new identity a secret.

Protecting the people of Piedraville from evil is no easy task. Especially when a dangerous creature is on the loose. Will Lily finally discover her gem's unique power with the help of her new friends, Gigi and Mai, all without attracting attention?

• Printable #1: Gem Outline Template.

• Students draw their own gem and describe its magical power. Write a short sentence: “My gem can…” and color it.

Animal Guardian Matching

• Printable #2: Cards showing animals (fox, owl, dragon, etc.).

• Students choose one as their guardian and write three traits it gives them (e.g., bravery, speed, kindness). Use in pairs to explain.

Comic Panel - First Spell

• Printable #3: Blank 3-panel comic strip.

• Draw Lily performing a first spell with her gem. Write dialogue or sound effects: “Glow!”, “Whoosh!”, etc., and show how she feels.

Witches’ Pledge Role‑Play

• Read the pledge from Lily’s magic school:

  “To protect those who cannot protect themselves… and to keep your powers a secret forever.”

• Students choose lines and act them out.

• Discuss meaning afterward.

Art & Design: Create a poster of the Gems Field Guide like in the book—list gem names and powers from the student created ones in the group.

SEL & Identity: Talk about your own hidden talents. Share something you’re good at but few know.

Creative Writing: Make up a short story where Lily’s power creates something helpful—like moonlight flowers or glow paths at night.

Growing up in Cambodia, Malen knew that dangers from a long-ago war lay hidden underground. Buried explosives forced her and many others to live, farm, and play in fear. As she got older, Malen learned how to use a metal detector to find and safely dispose of these landmines.

Five thousand miles away, in Tanzania, Magawa was also learning how to find landmines. But he didn’t need a metal detector—he had his nose. Magawa was a rat, and his smelling superpower and light weight helped him safely sniff out dangerous explosives.

After completing his training, Magawa joined Malen in Cambodia, and together they cleared more than a hundred landmines from fields all across the country. A fascinating true story with a hopeful ending and rich back matter from Scott Riley, author of The Floating Field, with Sambat Meas, a Cambodian deminer, and Cambodian American illustrator Huy Voun Lee.

• Draw a flower and write a kind message inside to someone in class.

• Talk about how Anthony felt giving kindness to Gordon.

  
  

💭 “How I Feel” Thought Bubbles

• Draw Gordon in the middle, then fill in thought bubbles with what he might have been feeling before and after kindness. Label emotions like “angry,” “surprised,” “sad,” “happy.”

  
  

🎬 Comic Strip—Before & After

• Use a four‑panel strip:

  • Panels 1–2: Show Gordon being mean.

  • Panels 3–4: Show the moment Anthony gives the flower and Gordon’s reaction.

• Add dialogue bubbles like “HONK!” or “Thank you?” to express change.

  
  

🤝 Role-Play Freeze Frame

• In small groups, freeze in a ‘scene’ of Gordon being mean or receiving the flower.

• Others guess what’s happening and how characters feel. Then, repeat as a ‘changed Gordon’ forgiving others.

With Helen Hippo and June Bug by his side, Max must stop the evil Goldfish-Finger from stealing a priceless, solid gold fish-finger. This dangerous, top-secret mission will involve explosions, a naked mole rat, and being flushed down a giant toilet. Will Max and the team defeat the fiendish fish?

Time to rock and mole!

He shouts at people. He presses the cross-the-road button repeatedly and never crosses the road. He even directs zoo visitors to the open tiger cage!

But when Anthony the Piglet gives him a beautiful flower, Gordon is unsettled. Why is he feeling like this? Perhaps instead of being mean, he could be brave. And saying sorry for being mean would be very brave indeed...

This is a very funny story. Alex Latimer’s genius illustrations add to the humour as well – never has a goose had such brilliant facial expressions. Or eyebrows.

The message of being nice instead of mean is delivered with thoughtfulness as well as humour, so it’s not sickly or didactic. Children should love poring over this book and enjoying the colourful pictures and the silliness.