ABSTRACT
Children everywhere know that the secret of wisdom is to be curious about the world, to open up their senses and see, hear, taste, touch, and smell life’s treasures. March and April are usually broken up by state tests and spring break, but with spring in the air, it’s a great time to dig into nonfiction—particularly any topic related to the natural world. Monday morning the meeting area is a sea of books about snakes, dolphins, gemstones, sharks, kittens, puppies, wolves, the ocean, shipwrecks, the human body, flowers, space, earthquakes, astronauts, cowboys, ballerinas, dinosaurs, soccer, volcanoes, bugs, and big trucks. Children are surprised to learn that depending on their purposes for reading, they don’t have to read the text in order. Children synthesize and share their learning in a variety of ways.
