by Rebecca
Endangered animals don't just reside in the rainforests of the Amazon or the jungles of Aftrica. You might share your environment with an endangered species! The most endangered wolf in the world resides in the state where Carol and I live, North Carolina. The red wolves reside in North Carolina's Albemarle Peninsula, the only known wild red wolf pack in existence. We hope you enjoy this issue reading about animals in need of our care and attention. You might even discover endangered animals in your own backyard.
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Featured Author:
Nora Ferm Nickum
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I’m the senior director of conservation programs for the Seattle Aquarium, so I work on marine conservation, including orca recovery, every day. But the seed for this book, Superpod, was planted much earlier, when I was a kid hoping to spot this family of orcas from shore whenever I went to visit my grandparents. Those were magical, memorable experiences, and I have loved whales–and particularly the Southern Resident orcas–ever since. In the intervening years, these orcas have become critically endangered due to threats like boat noise and scarce salmon, but there are many people working to help them, and young readers will find plenty of action ideas in the book.
When I do school visits, kids especially enjoy taking a close look at photos of the Southern Resident orcas–who have names like Blackberry, Shachi, and Notch–and spotting the differences, getting to know these whales as individuals. I share fun stories from the book about those orcas and also about the scientists who are learning more about them by using drones, scat-sniffing dogs, underwater hydrophones, observation, and more.
My favorite grownup reader reaction was that the book has “Sy Montgomery vibes”. I really admire Sy Montgomery’s nonfiction books about wildlife (especially octopuses) and how she weaves together science, her experiences, and emotion. I wanted to bring similar threads together myself in Superpod. Kids have also written to share beautiful dioramas and other projects they have done after getting excited about orcas.
For those who want to help bring these whales and the surrounding science to life for kids in classrooms and at home, I have a teacher’s guide, orca family trees, and links to video and audio resources on my website. And I'm excited that the book is newly out in paperback!
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Eric has illustrated over 25 books for children, and has created work for magazines and ad campaigns. He was a winner of the 2010 London Book Fair's Children's Illustration Competition; the 2010 Holbein Prize for Fantasy Art, International Illustration Competition, Japan Illustrators Association ; Runner-Up, 2013 SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) Magazine Merit Award; 2017. Eric lives in Bradenton, FL. www.ericfreebergillustration.com
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One Student Talks About Three Books
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By Emily Kozenski
Rewilding is an amazing Non-Fiction book by David A. Steen. It’s different from my normal reads, as they mostly consist of lots of fantasy fiction like J.K Rowling (love you!) and Rick Riordian. Rewilding has the most beautiful illustrations by Chiara Fedele I have ever seen in a nonfiction book. It's artwork you just need to see for yourself! I could just flip a page for another animal adventure, and they kept me coming back for more!
Rare Birds is a sensational book by Jeff Miller and I will certainly read it again and again! After the second chapter I knew It was a good one. Graham, his mom, and Lou are such likable characters I would just read on until they were mentioned again. To distract themselves from difficult life experience, Lou and Graham join a contest to find the engangered Snail Kite. The book is full of plot twists and everything felt so real like I was there experiencing their adventures with them.
Odder by Katherine Applegate is amazing. It was so fun reading about what otters talk about, what they think humans are, and their mysterious ways. It was full of twists and turns that were unexpected but fit into the plot and helped it move along.
These were all such incredible and inspiring books it’s hard to choose a favorite! I hope you go to your library to check out one of these magnificent books, or any book, just read a book!
My name is Emily and I am a twelve-year-old-trombone-playing-ballerina who loves learning new things. I live in Gloucester, VA with my Dad, Mom, and twin sisters.
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by Carol
A. Write a story that includes an endangered animal. Consider:
- Who is the main character: a person or an animal?
- What point of view will you use--a person's or an animal's?
- What is the character's connection to the endangered animal?
- What are some of the conflicts the person or animal face that the character can solve? Will it be person vs. nature (example: a storm that threatens the character from doing something for the animal) or person vs. person (example: a government agency refuses to protect sea turtles' eggs.)
photo by Katy Foster, NOAA Fisheries, taken under NMFS permit 18786
Mike, a male, is in the water. Slick, a female, is breaching.
B. Write an "I am" poem or a haiku from an endangered animal's POV.
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We love to hear from our readers!
You can contact us through the newsletter or individually at the following social media platforms.
We're also both available for school visits.
Rebecca W Wheeler
Carol Baldwin
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Does a Teen Reviewer
Live in Your House or
Attend Your School?
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We're always looking for teen or tween reviewers. If you know someone who might be interested in reading and writing a short synopsis of three books, please email us.
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To Nora Nikcum for being our author expert and donating a copy of Superpod.
To Christel Dyer for donating Lemon and Cedar.
To Emma Kate Kozenskifor being our teen reviewer.
To Nancy Sutin for proofreading.
To Sleeping Bear Press for donating The RIver that Wolves Moved.
To Eric Freeberg for his illustration.
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Congratulations to the July book winners.
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Danielle Hammelef The Girl Who Loved Poutine
Marci Whitehurst won Ice Cream Everywhere
Sarah Bullard won Bokky for Breakfast
Deborah DeCiantis won The Big Buna Bash
Rebecca Dollins won The Chocolatiers Ball
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If you're having trouble emailing us, try using CHROME browser.
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PLEASE SHARE
TALKING STORY
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If you share TALKING STORY either on social media or via email, we will enter your name in our giveaway. Please complete this google form by October 19, 2024, indicate your book preference and we will add your name to the hat!
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Please share our books with your librarians!
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Did you know there is a TALKING STORY Facebook Group? We would love for you to participate and find out what other writers, educators, and librarians are saying.
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Complete this google form and we'll enter your name to win one of the four books below.
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by Carol
This summer I enjoyed a week in the San Juan Islands. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the highlight was spotting orcas! When I came home and Becca and I started brainstorming our fall issue, I knew that I wanted to highlight these amazing mammals and their stories. It turns out when I emailed Nora Nickum about being our expert, she was on San Juan Island doing research...and knew my tour guide. It's a small world!
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Books Featuring
Endanger Animals
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PICTURE BOOKS AND BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
****
BOOKS FOR MIDDLE GRADES and OLDER READERS
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