Poet and Author Joyce Sidman

In the last few weeks, many of the classes have heard the poem titled SPRING in the book, Red Sings from Treetops: a year in color by Joyce Sidman. Ms. Sidman is a wonderful author who writes about the natural world, in short informational pieces as well as in poetry. Her writing really shows how fascinating and beautiful nature can be!

Our Library Media Center has several of her books of poetry. Click on these links for book trailers to see and hear samples of her wonderful books!

Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night 

Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature

Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors

Ladybug Book #6 : Blackout

This picture book tells the story of a city family who experiences a loss of electrical power on a hot summer night. Many of the details of the story were taken from the experiences of New Yorkers the night of the Northeast blackout of 2003, as shown in this book trailer.

When asked what they would do to entertain themselves if the power went out, first graders responded:

Use the iPad.
Play a board game.
Play with a friend.
Color a picture. 
Dress up. 
Swim in your pool if it was summer. 
Use a headlamp. 
Play with a remote control vehicle if the batteries work. 
Play with your toys. 
Jump rope.
Sit in a circle and tell spooky stories with a flashlight.
Read at books and learn from it.
Go bike riding by the headlights of your car.

The beautiful illustrations from this book have already won a 2012 Caldecott Award! Maybe it will win the Ladybug Award, too!