The Brainstorm Vol 32

I've been posting this newsletter in house for only the ICS teachers, but I've had several people recommend I move it to a more public venue. So yes, this is the first public issue of The Biweekly Brainstorm, (now simplified to just The Brainstorm because I sometimes do it more frequently) but it is the 32nd issue ever created. I'll be posting back issues for the public as time permits.

The Biweekly Brainstorm
Books that can be used in multiple classes K-12.

Picture Book Resource

I am a Frog by Mo Willems
Gerald is very much disturbed when Piggie shows up claiming to be a frog, ribbitting, and hopping around. He is even more disturbed when he finds out that Piggie just turned into a frog 5 minutes ago. What if he spontaneously turns into a frog?! Piggie explains that the situation is not as dire as Gerald fears and encourages him to give his imagination a little exercise. 
Willems' Elephant & Piggie series is one of those new series of books that make me feel like my childhood was seriously deprived because I didn't have these books available. They are always humorous, and Mo Willems is a artistic genius with facial expressions and comic timing. The words are just icing on the cake. So this a a great pick for art classes, special education classes talking about understanding facial expressions, and it's a sure winner for speech and drama classes looking for a quick exercise. It also lends itself nicely to a little discussion about pretend vs. real for a target audience just beginning to be able to tell the difference.

Nonfiction Resource

Mysterious Patterns: Finding Fractals in Nature by Sarah C. Campbell, photo. by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P. Campbell 
I bet you can count on one hand the number of books you've ever seen about fractals, let alone books about fractals for kids. I think this is the only one I've come across. Campbell does a spectacular job of explaining what fractals are in easy to understand language, and uses examples from nature to illustrate the concepts. The engaging text is accompanied by fantastic, colorful photographs. And it's a quick read. So if you need a way to integrate reading into math, or engaging nonfiction in reading, or studying patterns in nature, or exploring fractals in art this is a great book for any of those classes.

Graphic Novel Resource

In Real Life by Cory Doctorow & Jen Wang 
Graphic novels tend to automatically be shelved under the fluffy/fun/lackingdepth in many minds. But this one definitely begs to break that misclassification. Anda joins an online multiplayer game, and what starts off as just a fun past-time becomes something more. She joins Sarge in a campaign to stop gold farming, a practice where people are hired to play the game and collect gold that is then sold to lazier players who use real money to buy upgrades that would normally take numerous hours of playing time. The cheating enrages Anda, and she has no qualms virtually killing these gold farmers. But before killing one of the gold farmers, Anda actually talks to him and finds out he is a teenager named Raymond who has to play the game twelve hours a day just to have money to survive. Anda suggests Raymond strike for better treatment, but she later finds out it only results in him getting fired and in an even worse situation. Instead of giving up, Anda keeps working to help Raymond and others like him on the other side of the globe via the online world. 
If you're looking for a way to start a debate or engage teenagers in a conversation about human rights issues and how they can get involved, this is a great book to help. It's also a good way to start a conversation about how the arts can influence society. (Content note: the book does have one character who uses moderate swearing and some strong profanity on every third page or so, so not recommended for those under 13 or so.)