The Penworthy Company Blog
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact

Penworthy Pick: Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table

1/29/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
My Penworthy Pick is Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table, by Caldecott Medal winner Jacqueline Briggs Martin. This large format picture book tells the compelling story of former professional basketball player-turned-farmer Will Allen. Growing up, Will helped his family grow healthy food for their dinner table. They had no car or TV, but always entertained friends and family with great food and fellowship. Will eventually settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he began his dream of teaching the world how to become urban farmers with some help from his secret recipe of compost and red wiggler worms. The result was Growing Power, Milwaukee's only urban farm. Will achieved his goal and was awarded a MacArthur "Genius Grant" in 2008 and the Theodore Roosevelt Award, the highest honor given by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, in 2012.

The story of Mr. Allen's passion for helping others is an engaging and truly motivational account of a great role model.
The bright illustrations and spare, engaging text capture his enthusiasm for bringing good food to every table. This title would make a great prompt for discussions about healthy food, community, and social justice. A note from Mr. Allen himself and a list of resources to help young readers start their own gardens are included.

By Jim Huebner, Penworthy Sales Representative

0 Comments

Resources for World Read Aloud Day

1/22/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
“Read Aloud. Change the world.” World Read Aloud Day is almost here! We’ve compiled a list of useful resources to help make your WRAD celebration a success:

  • Free lesson plans and other resources from readwritethink.org
  • Skype with an Author on World Read Aloud Day 2018
  • Free resources from Scholastic
  •  World Read Aloud Day Skype collaboration – connecting classes around the world to read to each other on WRAD
  • Tools and Tips for World Read-Aloud Day – from the NYT’s The Learning Network
  • Make Every Day Read Aloud Day - by 6th grade language arts teacher Donalyn Miller
  • Nurturing the Inquiring Mind Through the Nonfiction Read-Aloud – blog post on readingrockets.org
  • 12 Apps & Websites for World Read Aloud Day (or any day!)

And of course, Penworthy’s collection of read-aloud favorites can be found here. Wishing you and your young readers a wonderful day celebrating the magic of reading aloud!
0 Comments

Penworthy Pick: How to be a DJ in 10 Easy Lessons

1/15/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
How to be a DJ in 10 Easy Lessons is a fun and straightforward guide for aspiring DJs.  Readers interested in music and mixing will follow an easy-to-understand path to becoming a DJ, starting with a brief history of the art form.  The book outlines basic equipment and software needed for startup, followed by music theory and counting beats and bars. From there, kids will learn about music mixing, blending, and scratching. Readers gain knowledge as they progress though the book with simple and clear instructions, engaging graphics, and helpful tips.

​The layout makes the text easy to read, with paragraphs
 separated into highly visual sections, and broken up by fun images and helpful diagrams. A table of contents, glossary, index, and a "Useful Links" section are included. The author himself is a professional DJ and music producer, and teaches dance and arts workshops for youth internationally. This title is great for the upcoming 2018 Summer Reading theme "Libraries Rock," or for any kid interested in learning how to DJ, either for fun or as a potential career path.

By Katie Ratajczyk, Penworthy Sales Representative


0 Comments

100 Days of School celebration ideas!

1/8/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Credit: McKellar Primary School, Melbourne, Australia

​If your school celebrates the 100th Day of School, it’s coming up fast! And it can be celebrated in the library or media center, too. Here are some fun ideas – many are free printables. And of course, our 100th Day Pinterest Board has many more suggestions for your perusal. Enjoy!
​
  • Two different free printable 100th Day bookmarks to color
  • Have students create “when I am 100” self-portraits (#5 at the link):
  • Free decorate-your-own 100th Day hat printable
  • Challenge classes to collectively read 100 books by the 100th day while tracking progress on a chart – here’s a free certificate available for download from PTO Today
  • Fun 100th Day t-shirt ideas
  • Free 100th Day activity packet – 5 pages  
  • 100th Day, Survivor Style!  – Awesome idea for older students
  • Printable puzzle – solve, then color! (bottom of the page at the link)
  • 100 dreams for the world - All-in-one MLK Jr. Day, Valentine’s Day, and 100th Day bulletin board idea
  • STEM activities for the 100th Day of School – these could take place in a classroom or media center
0 Comments

    Archives

    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016

    Penworthy Prebound Books are the high-circulation titles kids WANT to read in a binding that is guaranteed to last. All titles are in-stock and ready to ship with no back orders. 
    ~EST. 1982~
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact