NGSS Standards and TOO HOT? TOO COLD? KEEPING BODY TEMPERATURE JUST RIGHT

The Next Generation Science Standards provide guidelines for science education from K-12. Based on a report produced by the National Research Council they call for a new approach to teaching science.
Books like mine can be used in support of achieving these standards, especially in Life Science (LS) and Earth and Space Science (ESS).

Too Hot? Too Cold? Keeping Body Temperature Just Right By Caroline Arnold (Charlesbridge, 2013)
NGSS Standards for grades 3 and 4:
3-LS4-2. Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.
4-LS1-1. Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.
4-LS1-2. Use a model to describe that animals receive different types of information through their senses, process the information in their brain, and respond to the information in different ways.

AUTHOR VISIT at ESPERANZA SCHOOL, Los Angeles, CA

Welcome sign in Mrs. Oasay's 4th Grade Class at Esperanza School

A week ago I had a terrific visit at Esperanza Elementary School in Los Angeles, California, with two groups of Mrs. Williams students in the library (3rd and 4th grades) and with Mrs. Oasay's 4th grade students in their classroom. I could tell that the students enjoyed meeting a "real live author" and I was glad to hear what they have been learning from reading my books. Each group had been reading one of my recent books in advance of my visit. Mrs. Williams' third graders had read Watching Desert Wildlife and the fourth graders had read Birds: Nature's Magnificent Flying Machines.

With teacher Elizabeth Williams in the library. A life-size cutout of P-22 peeks out behind us.

Mrs. Williams also shared the students' pollinators books that they are working on as they learn in the school's natural habitat garden. What a great project!

A book made by one of the students about plant pollinators

She also showed me the story boards the students made for P-22 Day. (P-22 is a mountain lion that lives in the Santa Monica Mountains.) I loved the illustrations and what they wrote. They had presented their story at the P-22 Day in Griffith Park in October.

With Mrs. Oasay in her classroom

Mrs. Oasay's class was a very enthusiastic audience and had a lot to share about what they were learning in my book Too Hot? Too Cold?. I loved their own Too Hot? Too Cold? books, done backwards and forwards.

My book Too Hot? Too Cold? and one of the student's books with facts about animal adaptations for keeping warm and keeping cool.

The board in front of Mrs. Oasay's room was filled with questions the students had prepared to ask me. They were great questions, ranging from "What inspired you to write about animals?" to "Did you have any challenges as a kid?" I didn't have time to answer all of them, but we had a great conversation.
I thank super Principal Brad Rumble for arranging my visit and making it possible.  During my visit, Assistant Principal Mrs. Lexus Lee took good care of me and made sure everything ran smoothly.

GREAT SCIENCE BOOKS FOR KIDS

 

I was pleased to be included in a wonderful list of great science books for kids put together at the blogsite GeekWrapped. On the list of 100 titles is my book Too Hot? Too Cold? Keeping Body Temperature Just Right (Charlesbridge, 2013).  In it readers will discover the remarkable--and similar--ways in which humans and animals adapt to heat and cold. The book is illustrated with lovely watercolor paintings by Annie Patterson.

Author Visit at Horace Mann School, Bakersfield, CA

Today I had a terrific visit with students and teachers at Horace Mann Elementary School in Bakersfield, California and I thank kindergarten teacher Kyle Johnson for her super organization of the day. I was greeted by a colorful welcome sign made fourth graders, who also made a sign for the staff room where we had lunch. In advance of my visit, every class had received a copy of my books Wiggle and Waggle and Too Hot? Too Cold?.
 

After reading them, the kindergarten classes made their own Wiggle and Waggle books, using my story as writing prompts for their own stories. All the primary students knew the Wiggle and Waggle song–which we sang together during the assembly while it was acted out with my Wiggle and Waggle sock puppets. One of the classes even came to the assembly wearing wonderful Wiggle and Waggle hats!

During my break I got a tour of the new school garden which had been planted in raised beds next to the playground. They were bursting with lettuce, peas, onions and all kinds of vegetables ready for harvest. Wiggle and Waggle would have been proud!  Some of the garden vegetables were used to make a delicious salad for the potluck lunch I had with the teachers.

I enjoyed the chance to chat with the teachers and have the opportunity to autograph their books. Altogether, it was a very successful day. I thank Kyle Johnson, the principal, and all the teachers and staff who assisted throughout the day. I also thank the PTA for its generous support.

Too Hot? Too Cold? Finalist for the AAAS/Suburu SB & F Prize

Page 28, Too Hot? Too Cold?, illust. by Annie Patterson

I was delighted to learn that my book Too Hot? Too Cold? Keeping Body Temperature Just Right was named a finalist for the AAAS/Suburu SB & F Prize in the picture book category. The AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books celebrates outstanding science writing and illustration for children and young adults. The prizes, meant to encourage the writing and publishing of high-quality science books for all age groups, are awarded in four categories: Children’s Science Picture Books, Middle Grades Nonfiction Science Books, Young Adult Science Book and Hands-on Science/Activity Book. To read about my book and the other two finalists, go to the AAAS Science Books and Films page.

Too Hot? Too Cold? OUTSTANDING SCIENCE TRADE BOOK

I was thrilled to learn that my book, Too Hot? Too Cold? is on the recently announced NSTA (National Science Teachers Association) Outstanding Science Trade Books K-12, 2014.  The list of winning titles is now available on the web and will be published with fully annotated reviews in the March 2014 issue of NSTA’s K-12 journals.  Here’s what NSTA says about the list:

This year, science teachers and mentors have been challenged to meet the high expectations of the Framework for K–12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards. The Framework urges us to help learners “[build] progressively more sophisticated explanations of natural phenomena…” while NGSS provides a model for “gathering, describing, and using information about the natural and designed world(s).” In the development of curricula that meet these challenges, literature is an essential partner. “The NGSS are aligned with the CCSS [Common Core State Standards] to ensure a symbiotic pace of learning in all content areas.”

Too Hot? Too Cold? at Children's Book of the Month Club

I just learned that my book, Too Hot? Too Cold? is now available at the Children's Book of the Month Club. "Offering members exclusive access to a rigorously curated selection of bestselling and quality children's titles, Children's Book of the Month Club selects only the best of the best in recent releases to offer to their patrons through monthly mailings."
I'm thrilled to have even more readers become familiar with my book!

Too Hot? Too Cold?: Top Picks from the Editors at Junior Library Guild

In today's School Library Journal, my book Too Hot? Too Cold? is featured in the article On the Radar:  Top Picks from the Editors at Junior Library Guild:  New Releases for Your Nonfiction Shelves by Deborah B. Ford.  She writes:

Good nonfiction titles rise to the top as librarians focus their content needs to meet the Common Core State Standards. New releases by our favorite authors and illustrators include an environmental bilingual poem, a picture-book biography, a fact-filled science title, and a narrative account of a bird’s 7,200 mile migration.

ARNOLD, Caroline. Too Hot? Too Cold?: Keeping Body Temperature Just Right. illus. by Annie Patterson.  Charlesbridge. 2013. ISBN 9781580892766. JLG Level: SCE : Science Nonfiction Elementary (Grades 2-6).
Written in a voice that speaks directly to the reader, Arnold’s text presents facts about body temperature. “You have a layer of fat under your skin. It is like a built-in blanket that helps protect your body and keep it warm.” The author introduces various behaviors that influence natural temperature, such as weather, clothing, and location. Glossary and author’s note provide supplemental nonfiction text features.

Other books included in the article are Sandra Markle's The Long, Long Journey:  The Godwit's Amazing Migration; Bill Martin Junior's I Love Our Earth/Amo Nuestra Tierra; and Kadir Nelson's Nelson Mandela.

Too Hot? Too Cold? is available from the Junior Library Guild.

Starred Review for TOO HOT? TOO COLD?

I was thrilled to learn that my new book, TOO HOT? TOO COLD: Keeping Body Temperature Just Right, has just received a starred review in Kirkus (January 15, 2013).  I thank my editor and all the people at Charlesbridge for their careful attention in producing this book and to Annie Patterson for her beautiful watercolor illustrations.  The official publication of the book is February 1, 2013. Here's the review:

A fascinating and thorough look at how both animals and humans regulate their body temperatures.

Beginning with the difference between warmblooded and coldblooded species (the terms endothermic and ectothermic are introduced but not used), Arnold devotes spreads to such topics as muscle movements, sweating, the shrinking and expanding of blood vessels in the skin, fat, body coverings, and the size and shape of an animal. Behavior can also affect body temperature: animals or humans can seek/avoid the sun or a breeze, cool off or warm up with water, find shelter, or hibernate/estivate/migrate. The one misstep is a minor quibble, ­a sentence incorrectly states that “No animal can live if its body temperature falls below freezing.” The copyright page lists the illustrations as having been done in watercolor and Photoshop, but readers would be hard-pressed to see any evidence of digital artwork here. The spreads and spot illustrations have that blurry, batik quality of watercolors that lends itself so well to nature scenes, while the insets are well-delineated, allowing readers to understand the structures discussed in the text. Every animal is labeled, making this a great jumping-off point for further research into readers’ favorites. A glossary and author’s note round out the text.

A stellar addition to a rather empty shelf. (Nonfiction. 6-10)

Author of the Month at UNABRIDGED

 Check out the Charlesbridge Publishing blog, Unabridged, where I am the Author of the Month for December!  I write about the background for my upcoming book Too Hot? Too Cold? and offer three cool activities that kids can do as extensions of the book:

• Hot Rocks

• Making a Wingspan Tape

• Cooling Thermometers. 

You can also see a photo of me and my brothers in the snow taken when I was ten years old.  My mother wrote on the back of the picture that the temperature that day was minus 14 degrees!