Archives for April, 2011
The 2011 Hands-On Explorer Challenge Winners
Posted by The winners of the 2011 Hands-On Explorer Challenge have been chosen! Visit kids.nationalgeographic.com to read excerpts from their essays and see their winning photos.
The expedition to the Cayman Islands starts on July 8. Visit the blog to learn more and get updates from the Cayman Islands expedition team!
Posted by BOOK NAME: Looking for Marco Polo
AUTHOR:
Alan Armstrong
Looking for Marco Polo is a good book. I like it because I like learning about explorers and it is a good adventure book.
It is about this boy named Mark, and his dad is going on a trip to the desert where Marco Polo went. His dad can only bring a bag that has less than 20 pounds in it. Mark’s father puts two gold coins in his socks and salt in his backpack. The salt is good for trading and the two gold coins are for emergencies. He also brings as much water as he can because there’s never enough water in the desert. He ends up with 19 ½ pounds in his pack so he fills up the rest of the space with maps.
Mark’s dad gets lost, so Mark and his mother go to Venice, Italy to try and find him. Venice is where his dad’s trip started, and it’s also where Marco Polo started his trip.
Marco Polo is a famous explorer. He explored some of China and traveled on the Silk Road. Mark gets sick…the same kind of sickness that Marco Polo had. His mother calls a doctor, someone who worked in a war with his dad. Marco Polo had a big black dog, and the doctor had the same kind of dog. One night, the dog starts talking to Mark and explains that he’s a relative of Marco Polo’s dog.
Mark hangs out with the doctor and the doctor tells he and his mother the story of Marco Polo. In real life, Marco Polo meets a man in prison. Marco tells his story to the man who ended up writing his famous book. Marco died before he finished his full story and he says on his deathbed: “I’ve only told half of what I know.”
I would recommend this book for kids ages 7-11. You would like this book because it is a cool adventure book. It will help you learn about explorers in social studies.
Posted by Phenomenal Friday fact!
If we turned off home computers when not in use, we would cut their CO2 impact by 8.3 millions tons a year or 50 percent.
Posted by BOOK NAME: Incarceron
AUTHOR:
Catherine Fisher
Incarceron is alive. A prison unlike any other. It’s prisoners live not in cells, but in metal forests and ramshackle cities. Since the beginning of time, it’s been closed. Nobody coming in and nobody escaping. All except one man, Sapphique. Legend says he was the only escapee. With that inspiration in mind, Finn, a young prisoner of Incarceron claims to escape. To return to where he believes is his home. The Outside.
After finding a crystal key, Finn meets Claudia. A charming, but stubborn girl who is said to live Outside. With the evil Warden of Incarceron as her father, Claudia is able to help Finn escape, but will most certainly need his help in exchange, being in the midst of an arranged marriage with a horrifying prince.
A winner. Again, another book that will be remembered always. The characters are written so detailed, I have this elaborate picture in my mind of what each person looks like. The environment and the character’s feelings are very obvious and you start to ‘feel’ for each and every one of them! I found myself literally on the edge of my seat when I read some parts!
After reading The Maze Runner I got hooked on steampunk books. So I immediately fell in love with Incarceron when my mother bought it and took it home. After just a few chapters, I assure you the suspension and mystery will keep you reading and you’ll be hooked as well.
Want another opinion? Read Mairen’s review of Incarceron.
