New Non-Fiction Content:
Colonial America and the Revolutionary War

Having established an esteemed reputation for creating outstanding reference publications, the Favorable Impressions titles display a high level of care and commitment, and each publication is reviewed by advisory boards comprised of school librarians, public librarians, and reading specialists.

As promised, we have added more titles in the Biography for Beginners series! Our latest addition, Biography for Beginners: Colonial America and the Revolutionary War, tells the story of the people of the American Colonies, as well as the social and political background of the American Revolution.

It's written for early readers, ages 7 to 10, and is organized into three main sections:

• Colonial America
• The Revolutionary War
• Biographical Profiles

Explore information on Jamestown, Yorktown, Native American Tribes, The Tea Act, John and Abigail Adams, John Hancock, and learn about symbols including the Liberty Bell, the Eagle, the American Flag, Yankee Doodle, and more.

Booklist hails this 2009 release a "wonderful history reference book presenting introductory-level information for primary and intermediate learners... [The] well-organized basic information, and user-friendly format make it a valuable resource for young researchers."

Colonial America and the Revolutionary War—as well as numerous Biography for Beginners non-fiction tomes and assorted biographies—joins SIRS Discoverer's collection of varied and notable books and publishers, including Weekly Reader, Mitchell Lane, Compton's by Britannica, World Almanac for Kids, and more.

Expect to see more of these titles added to the K-8 products—both SIRS Discoverer and eLibrary Elementary—in the future.

Written for early readers ages 6-9, Biography for Beginners covers a wide range of high-profile people, including children's authors, actors, musicians, sports stars, political figures, scientists, and more.

We've recently added 27 new biographies—in addition to the 60 biographies already in SIRS Discoverer—from Biography for Beginners.

Newly added Biographies include:

Anita Lobel
Barack Obama
Brian Selznick
C.S. Lewis
David Wiesner
Eli Manning
J.K. Rowling
Jean de Brunhoff
Jennifer Holm
John McCain
Margaret Wise Brown
Katherine Paterson
Katie Couric
Kevin Clash
Laura Amy Schlitz
LeBron James
Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon
Matthew Holm
Michael Phelps
Miley Cyrus
Mo Willems
Natalie Coughlin
Richard Peck
Roald Dahl
Stephen Hawking
Vanessa Anne Hudgens
Zac Efron

More additions to SIRS Discoverer are the acclaimed Mitchell Lane Blue Banner Biographies. Mitchell Lane represents yet another offering to Discoverer's extensive 2,000+ diverse and high-quality titles.

Newly added Blue Banner Biographies include:

• Allen Iverson
• Christopher Paul Curtis
• Condoleezza Rice
• Daniel Radcliffe
• David Ortiz
• Miguel Tejada
• Nancy Pelosi
• Rita Williams-Garcia
• Ritchie Valens
• Selena

Expect to see more of these biographies added to SIRS Discoverer in the future.

In addition to adding established and peer-reviewed reference publications, we're always investigating reliable and trusted material for kids—content that is editorially selected and age-appropriate. Science is a topic that's most often neglected at the elementary level—yet remains in the highest demand. The award-winning, activity-based publication Science Weekly stimulates interest in both science and literacy.

Each topic is written at six reading levels (grades K–6) and, through a series of hands-on activities‚ integrates reading‚ writing‚ science‚ math‚ and technology.

Explore SIRS Discoverer's growing Science Weekly content—which includes a wealth of articles, activities, and images.

Activities are highly valuable resources for beginning and struggling learners. Weekly Reader now offers "Editor's Choice Reproducibles"—sets of skills pages and assorted activities based on the following periodicals (all represented within SIRS Discoverer): Weekly Reader, Read, Current Health 1, Current Health 2, Career World, and Current Science.

Map and Chart activities, Editorial Cartoon analysis, Pro and Con debate, and more are included. Explore these new Weekly Reader activities in the following Subject Tree topic: KIDS CORNER/Things to Make & Do/reading, writing & language projects.

Forty years ago this past July, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made history by becoming the first men to set foot on another body in space. Neil Armstrong famously called the first moon walk "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

Commemorate the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11's landing on the moon—the climax of the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union—in such SIRS Discoverer content as:

Moon Landing

Apollo 11 Crew: Aldrin Likes Spotlight, 2 Shun It

Marking 40 Years Since Man's First Walk on the Moon

NASA Lost Moon Footage, but Hollywood Restores It

A Book That Puts the Moon Within Reach

First to the Moon

On the Moon

Man on the Moon

Read-along plays, quizzes, and interactive activities remain highly valuable resources for younger students. Also investigate writing activities and quizzes that illustrate concepts including Onomatopoeia, Anagrams, Pig Latin, Puns, and more! Explore this and more in our new Subject Tree Additions: ARTS/Grammar & Punctuation and KIDS CORNER/Grammar & Punctuation.

Further Language Arts resources include:

Perform read-aloud Science Mystery Plays to actively learn about friction, sound waves, ink, and more. These plays/activities can be found in the following locations:

• Visit the Subject Tree branches KIDS CORNER > Fiction > plays; KIDS CORNER > Fiction > mysteries; ARTS > Literature > fiction > mysteries; ARTS > Literature > fiction > plays
  
  
• Search the Subject Heading terms Children's Plays, Mystery, and Science Projects

Teach formal thinking of history and enrich Social Studies, by illuminating history with interesting and entertaining narratives. Explore the newest title from Patria Press, Alexander Hamilton, and read 13 other books detailing the lives of young notable people.

Engage varied learners and listeners while developing background knowledge, increasing comprehension skills, and fostering critical thinking. Read-along with varied learning-leveled stories from titles including Highlights, Children's Digest, Children's Playmate, Child Life, Humpty Dumpty, U.S. Kids, Jack and Jill, Turtle and Storyworks.

Read-aloud stories are great for teaching young kids and struggling learners the basics of reading.

• Visit DATABASE FEATURES > Activities > read-aloud stories OR visit: Kids Corner > Things to Make & Do > read-aloud stories
  
  
• Visit the same Tree branches to find Read-aloud plays

Most science-specific products are too advanced for younger and/or struggling learners. SIRS Discoverer offers a wealth of pertinent and appropriate science content:

• Research our Subject Tree branch delegated for Science content—Science—and explore the numerous subtopics included therein
  
  
• Find articles about Scientists in the Subject Tree branches SCIENCE > Scientists and NOTABLE PEOPLE > Scientists
  
  
• Investigate the Biographies feature for notable scientists and inventors, including Thomas Edison and Louis Pasteur
  
  
• Learn about recent science news and discoveries, under the Subject Heading term Discoveries in science
  
  
• Research science activities and projects in the Subject Tree branch KIDS CORNER > Things to Make & Do > science & nature projects, and under the Subject Heading term Science Projects
  
  
• Perform read-aloud Science Mystery Plays in the Subject Tree branch KIDS CORNER > Fiction > plays [among other Tree branches], and under the Subject Heading term Children's Plays, Mystery, and Science Projects
  
  
• Read editorially-selected and unique titles, including such Science-specific kids' sources as:
  
  Current Science
  DIG (Cobblestone)
  KNOW: The Science Magazine for Curious Kids
  National Geographic Little Kids
  National Geographic Kids
  National Geographic Explorer!
  National Geographic Young Explorer!
  National Geographic Extreme Explorer!
  Odyssey (Cobblestone)
  Scholastic DynaMath
  Science Made Simple
  Scholastic Math
  Science Weekly
  Science World (Scholastic)
  SuperScience (Scholastic)
  ScienceSpin
  WR Science
  YES Mag: Canada's Science Magazine for Kids
  Series: How Stuff Works
  Series: Try This

In the acclaimed reference title Biography for Beginners: Inventors, students can research the personal and working lives and accomplishments of such notable inventors as Alexander Graham Bell, George Washington Carver, Thomas Edison, Wilbur and Orville Wright, and others.

One of SIRS Discoverer's additions is the acclaimed Weekly Reader series of books, geared specifically for elementary levels.

Accelerated-Reader approved and correlated with curricula including science, the series are comprised of multiple books.

These high-interest titles combine easy-to-follow text with amazing photos to spark students' interest. Reading levels include grades 1-2, 3-4, and 5-6.

• Weekly Reader States of Matter (4 books): Gases; How Water Changes; Liquids; Solids
• Weekly Reader In the Sky (4 books): The Moon; The Planets; The Stars; The Sun
• Weekly Reader Storms (6 books): Dust Storms; Hailstorms; Hurricanes; Snowstorms; Thunderstorms; Tornadoes
• Weekly Reader Animals and Their Senses (5 books): Animal Hearing; Animal Sight; Animal Smell; Animal Taste; Animal Touch
• Weekly Reader Big Cats (6 books): Cheetahs; Cougars; Leopards; Lions; Lynxes; Tigers
• Weekly Reader Let's Read About Dinosaurs (6 books): Apatosaurus; Giganotosaurus; Stegosaurus; Triceratops; Tyrannosaurus Rex; Velociraptor
• Weekly Reader X-Science (6 books): The Bermuda Triangle; Bigfoot; ESP; Ghosts; The Loch Ness Monster; UFOs

The call for full-text books remains strong. In response, we're continuing to add new, premier titles from varied publishers, including established and peer-reviewed publications, respected by educators. New features to our recently loaded books may include tables of contents, glossaries, article links, images, maps, timelines, and ever-valuable primary documents.

Our 250+ and growing collection remains a valuable resource, and may be just what you need for your non-fiction and reference content! Additionally, our Reference Desk provides everything young researchers need to begin the research process. Users can create marked lists, and view, print, or email any document or image in one easy step.

For a complete list of eLibrary Elementary's reference and non-fiction holdings, visit the "Books" feature.

             

Title List: New in 2009

American Journalists: Getting the Story
Archaeologists: Explorers of the Human Past
Archaeology: Discovering the Past
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, v 3.0
Compton's by Britannica, v 6.0
Child of the Fighting Tenth: On the Frontier with the Buffalo Soldiers
GeoNova City Maps
GeoNova Continent Maps
GeoNova Country Maps
GeoNova Flags
GeoNova Ocean Maps
GeoNova Province Maps
GeoNova Region Maps
GeoNova State Maps
GeoNova Territory Maps
GeoNova Thematic Maps
Jazz Makers: Vanguards of Sound
Postwar America: A Student Companion
Pyramids
The Boy of Chancellorville and Other Civil War Stories
The Mystery of the Egyptian Mummy
The Presidency of the United States: A Student Companion
The Middle Ages: An Illustrated History
USA in Space
Weekly Reader Graphic Biographies Series
Weekly Reader Graphic Histories Series

Find books by selecting the Books icon on eLibrary Elementary's main page, and scrolling down to the Weekly Reader titles from the alphabetical list.

See many of the graphic novels displayed and explained in our Fall video podcast!

Why are graphic novels important?

Geared for Beginning and Struggling Readers: Graphic novels are age-appropriate and ideal tools, with their imaginative story lines and captivating illustrations.

Classroom-Friendly: Graphic novels engage varied learners and listeners while building complex reading skills, increasing comprehension skills, and illuminating history with interesting and entertaining narratives. They're powerful tools to motivate and engage reluctant readers who often shun traditional texts.

Safe, Reliable and Relevant to the Curriculum: The acclaimed Weekly Reader series of books is geared specifically for elementary levels. Accelerated Reader-approved and correlated with curricula, each series is comprised of multiple books. High-interest titles combine easy-to-follow text with remarkable images to spark students' interest in reading.

New eLibrary Format: eLibrary Elementary's new viewer-friendly slideshow format and capabilities includes a page image of the PDF with previous and next links. Expandable images, full-size image links, and a link to the TOC (table of contents) are also incorporated. The TOC provides a link to each document, as well as a link to the books' PDF.

Map & Flag Collections

Find maps by selecting the Maps icon on eLibrary Elementary's main page, and scrolling down to the GeoNova titles from the alphabetical list.

A commonly recited Elementary and Middle School theme is the cultivation of map-reading skills. This crucial skill-set helps children learn geography via five central themes: Locations, characteristics, relationships, patterns, and regions. GeoNova Maps offer myriad ways to illustrate and teach map skills to beginning and struggling learners.

Explore the hundreds of maps loaded on eLibrary Elementary, via City, Continent, Country, Ocean, Province, Region, State, Territory, Thematic, and the newest collection from GeoNova: FLAGS! Find Flags by selecting the Pictures icon on the main page.