Vamonos! Next Stop: Mexico by Ginger McDonnell

Bienvenido a Mexico! Welcome to Mexico! Everywhere you go, there is something new to see.

And there are many familiar things to see as well. Like the United States, Canada on our northern border, and Mexico, on our southern border, all three countries are part of the continent of North America. All three nations share many things in common: a tall range of mountains which we call the Rockies, extend down their middle, forming the "backbone" of all the three countries. All have long, rocky and sandy coastlines on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, all three three have tall forests and dry central plains between their coasts, and many familiar wild animals--coyotes, black bears, pumas (mountain lions) live and roam and back and forth over all three countries. But being further south, the climate is warmer in Mexico

Some plants and animals are different.

There are even pyramids there!

Yes, unlike the Native Americans of Canada and the United States, those of Mexico left vast cities built from stone, with wide avenues, houses, temples, palaces, lakes, canals, and tall pyramids--tombs for their rulers like those of Egypt, all sights that attract millions of tourists to visit Mexico.

In one of a first introduction to the countries of North America, Ginger McDonnell's Teacher Created Materials - TIME For Kids Informational Text: Next Stop: Mexico - Grade 2 - Guided Reading Level J (Teacher-Created Materials/Time for Kids) provides primary-level text and many color photos of the sights of Mexico, from tall saguaro cactuses to the skyscrapers of the capital, Mexico City,  of the country which calls itself Los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, the United Mexican States. As an introductory book for nonfiction readers in the primary grades, McDonnell includes a photo glossary of terms and a chart of Facts about Mexico, handy for simple research projects for the early grades.

 Pair this one with its companion book, Next Stop: Canada (TIME FOR KIDS® Nonfiction Readers).

Digital Dialog: Wumbers by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

"Would you like some honey to swee10 your tea?"

"Yes. That would be 1derful. Oh, and I just love your 2-2!"

"It's words from numbers!" proclaims the cover of Amy Krous Rosenthall's and Tom Lichtenheld's new collaboration, Wumbers (Chronicle Books, 2012). Using numeral digits to as stand-ins for syllables, Rosenthall fires off a series of these lingo-digital cre8ions that just get more in10sely funny as she rolls along. Illust8or Lichtenheld provides comic visual cues to help with readers figure out the wordplay, in a cross-curriculum game that will have math and language arts teachers laughing along.

Even music teachers can get into the act!

She's learning to play the 2ba.

"Tigh10 your mouth... then 4ce out the air."

"2T!"

Kids already into texting will be in the 4front, f8ed to take to this game in10sely right from the first page, but the rest won't w8 long before they, 2, will be exhilar8ed to join in, cre8ing their own Wumbers. So don't w8 and don't be l8!!

And to ex10d the top-r8ed fun, pair this 1 with Rosenthall's gr8 altern8 wordplay book, This Plus That: Life's Little Equations, and don't 4get the old master who started this all off, William Steig and his never overr8ed cla6, C D C ? and C D B!

2dles!