On this date in 1903

Orville Wright piloted the first powered airplane twenty feet above a beach in North Carolina. The flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. Three more flights were made that day with Orville's brother Wilbur piloting the record flight lasting 59 seconds over a distance of 852 feet.

Written for middle schoolers, Wilbur and Orville Wright goes into detail about the numerous experiments and efforts in aerodynamics that propelled the Wright brothers to finish first in the race toward powered flight. Fun activities such as building a wind tunnel and anemometer are also included.

This is flu season

Here are the common symptoms: rapid onset, usually in an hour or two; sudden and increasingly severe headache; sore throat and dry cough; rising fever that can reach 104 degrees Fahrenheit in adults and higher in children; sneezing and runny nose; muscle aches in the back, arms, and legs; loss of appetite; fatigue and lack of energy, sometimes for more than a week; severe chills, accompanied by feeling very hot, then very cold; occasionally, nausea and vomiting, especially in children.

Got all that? Just thinking about it is more than enough.

According to Investigating Influenza and Bird Flu, each year between 4 and 20 percent of the world population catches some form of influenza. In the United States, about 250,000 people contract the flu each year, and about 36,000 die from flu-related causes.

After reading this, sounds like a good idea to get a flu shot!

Video Games

I bet video games are on your Christmas shopping list. I know they're on mine. Still popular with kids and adults, the first video game was invented by Ralph Baer in 1968 and looked more like a console covered with brown wood-grain paper. It was stuffed with three hundred parts and could run several simple games. It wasn't until 1970 when Magnavox, a leading TV set manufacturer, offered to pay Baer royalties to develop and market his game ideas that his work finally paid off. Baer's first check in the amount of $100,000 was presented to him in the hospital where he was waiting for an operation.

Enslow's title The Guy Who Invented Home Video Games: Ralph Baer and His Awesome Invention is part of our Genius at Work Great Inventor Biographies series. If your school or library hosts a gaming program, you may want to introduce this title to your participants so they can have a better understanding as to how millions of video games today are the result of Ralph Baers lone question, "What Else Can a TV Do?"

235th Anniversary of Washington's Crossing the Delaware

The holiday season includes anniversaries of important dates in American history. One of them is George Washington's bold crossing of the Delaware River during the Revolutionary War. His strong leadership and skillful tactics helped wavering colonial forces rally during a key period of the conflict.

For teachers and media specialists planning to include Washington's crossing in December's American history lessons, an excellent resource to use is Enslow Publisher's George Washington Crosses the Delaware: Would You Risk the Revolution?  Elaine Landau's 48-page book, part of the six-book "What Would You Do?" American history series, offers a unique, speculative approach to the Christmas Day battle. Each chapter concludes with the award-winning author asking readers to place themselves in the shoes of historical figures and articulating how they would have decided various courses of action. The structure thereby encourages the development of critical thinking skills in the context of an American history narrative.

Full-color photographs and illustrations, as well as historical works, add visual support to the Guided Reading Level "O" text. The book also includes a useful timeline, a "words to know" section, and sources for further reading. A free, downloadable teacher's guide is also available on the Enslow Classroom paperback website -- http://www.enslowclassroom.com -- or at www.enslow.com. The paperback edition is available for $7.95; the library-bound version is available to qualifying schools and libraries for $17.95.

Books For Teens

Books for Teens is a program created by the American Library Association that helps to support teens who are at risk and empower them with knowledge from free age apporpriate books.

Books play a large factor in determining the level of education a young person is able to attain. Education level is strongly connected to the number of books a young person may have in their home. Please help young adults obtain the tools they need in order to reach their full potential of knowledge. Anyone can help by donating a book here: http://www.causes.com/causes/552398

Happy Birthday Emily Dickinson

Today would have been Emily Dickinson's 180th birthday! That's a lot of candles!

Considered a very important poet in American literature, Emily Dickinson's work expressed a dark pessimism, reflecting the alienation of many American intellectuals after the Civil War. In this Student's Guide to Emily Dickinson, the career of this literary giant is examined, with special emphasis placed on curriculum-related poems.

Remember: Our Cash for Clunkers offer ends soon!

Enslow is once again offering it's Cash for Clunkers offer, but it's only good until December 31, 2010.

We wanted to send a quick reminder to those who are interested in taking advantage of it.

Time is running out!

30th anniversary of the death of John Lennon

Fans have been gathering outside of The Dakota, the apartment building in which John Lennon lived, as well as at Strawberry Fields, a memorial to Lennon located just inside Central Park across from The Dakota.

Every year, fans gather and play/listen to John's music. His song "Imagine, " probably one of his best-known works, is a favorite.

Enslow's book on John Lennon describes his childhood, his life as a Beatle, as well as his life as a solo artist. High school students will learn a lot about John Lennon from this book.

December is Hand Washing Awareness Month

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says keeping hands clean is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of infection and illness. Tips for hand washing are listed on their web site.

Our title Super Ben's Dirty Hands, for Grades K-3, is a great way to introduce young readers to the importance of keeping hands clean which is especially important during this busy time of the year when all of us are more likely to be shopping in malls and exposed to large crowds.

Christmas Reading for Early Learners

If there were ever a "perfect" time to engage children with books, the Christmas season is it. The season's marvelous stories enchant children and encourage them to explore the world of their imaginations.

Christmas, a new title included in Enslow's "All About Holidays" series, continues in this wonderful tradition. Author Dorothy Goeller's 24-page title balances engaging text and full-color illustrations to create an engaging reading experience. The book's 6" x 7" trim size makes the tactile experience of reading -- turning pages, holding the book, seeing child-friendly type size -- approachable for pre-K students. Sight words and simple sentences provide a useful "way in" for kids to connect vocabulary with the holiday season in which they're immersed.

The library-bound version makes a fun, thoughtful gift for families, as well as a useful addition to a media center collection. Christmas is also published in a paperback edition ($6.95), which is ideal for classroom libraries or for supplemental classroom material resources. The title's value-added features include a free, downloadable teacher's guide. You'll find it at the Enslow Classroom website: http://www.enslowclassroom.com/.

Happy Birthday Walt Disney

Has anyone been to The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco? From the descriptions on the web site, it sounds like a fun and interesting place. The last time I was in San Francisco (which was several years ago) they were renovating the buildings in the Presidio that contain the museum. One of my brothers lives in San Francisco and drove through the Presidio to show me the buildings. The views from that area are simply spectacular!

Enslow's Walt Disney title is for middle school readers. It's simply amazing what this man, with the help of his brother, was able to create.

Elementary students can learn about Christmas

Written by the next generation of McKissacks, Christmas—Count and Celebrate (and the rest of the titles in this series) is a useful tool for teaching children about holidays. This easy-to-read book is enhanced with color photographs to make the learning experience fun.

Interested in learning more about the series? Click here.

Enslow Author Linda Bozzo at NJASL

Author Linda Bozzo, who has written a number of well-received series for Enslow Publishers, will be presenting at this year's New Jersey Association of School Librarians (NJASL) convention. Her presentation -- The Art of Writing for Children --is scheduled to be held on Friday, December 3rd, 7:45 am, in the Ocean Place Resort and Spa's McKinley Room.

Bozzo will also be signing copies of her books on Friday, starting at 10:30 am, at the Authors and Illustrators Alley. Her most recent Enslow series are Amazing Working Dogs with American Humane and Imagining the Future.

Happy Birthday Rick Savage

Bass guitarist for the band Def Leppard, Rick Savage is celebrating his 50th birthday today. This founding member is a vocalist, plays keyboards, and the synthesizer for the band as well. He is also an avid soccer fan.

Interested in learning more about Def Leppard? Click here for the library bound version or here for the paperback version.

Enslow at NJASL This Friday and Saturday

New Jersey school librarians participating at this Friday and Saturday's NJASL Convention are invited to visit us at the Enslow Publishers booth. We'll be at Booth #30. We'll welcome you with fantastic, NJASL-exclusive deals, and provide hands-on opportunities to explore new Enslow series!

December 1st World AIDS Day

The World Health Organization established World AIDS Day in 1988. World AIDS Campaign is the leading international organization which plans and implements the observance.Visit AIDS.gov for more information.

The face of AIDS is changing. In 2005 in the United States, over 900,000 Americans were infected with HIV, and women accounted for about one-third of them. The important history, as well as the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease is presented in a clean style. Check out our title, The AIDS Update for grades 5-up.

55 Years Ago Today, Rosa Parks Made History

Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus on this day, 55 years ago.

This is a story I heard over and over as a child in school, but haven't revisited until now. Rosa Parks was 42 years old at the time when she got on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. The bus driver demanded that she move to the back of the bus, to the black section, so a white passenger could have her seat. Parks refused and was arrested and convicted of disorderly conduct.

Parks' event triggered Martin Luther King, Jr. to organize a 381-day boycott of the public transportation system in Montgomery.

To learn about Rosa Parks, see Enslow's book: Rosa Parks: "Tired of Giving Up"

Holidays and Math Teaching Opportunities

The holidays present teachers and parents with excellent opportunities to teach young children about money and the mathematical principles associated with the season.

Enslow Publishers' six-book "I Like Money Math" series has the right stuff for older siblings, and adults need to teach and learn these fundamental concepts. Author Rebecca Wingard-Nelson's Guided Reading Level "K" text and clear examples provide an effective blend of language and content. Supporting illustrations lend each 24-page book essential, real-world visual context to the identification of coins and bills, as well as reinforcement of basic mathematical functions. One title in the series foucses on word problems, an area of particular significance for test preparation.

Value-added features for this series include free, downloadable teacher's guides for each title, state and national curricular correlations, and free worksheets for most titles. Books are available in paperback via Enslow Classroom for $6.95 per copy; "six-packs" of individual titles in this series are available at 10% discount from Enslow's list price. For more information and immediate ordering, visit the Enslow Classroom website: http://www.enslowclassroom.com/.

The series is also available in a library-bound format via http://www.enslow.com/.

Today would have been the birthday of Madeleine L'Engle

Madeleine L'Engle is a famous writer of fantasy for young people. Her best-known book, A Wrinkle in Time, has been loved by generations of readers and lauded by critics. Author Marilyn McClellan discusses L'Engle’s life and beliefs and analyzes two of her best known books. She also explores the history and present state of book censorship and helps readers form their own opinions about whether books should be banned.

This blog entry was created and supposed to be posted on November 29, but did not get posted until November 30.

Today would have been the birthday of C. S. Lewis

The author of "The Chronicles of Narnia" would have celebrated his birthday today.

Interested in learning more about C. S. Lewis? Click here.