Historical Fiction - "The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle" by Avi

In 1832 Charlotte Doyle, 13 years old  girl from the upper class, is making a voyage from England to Providence, Rhode Island, to be join her family. She is a guest on the "Seahawk" vessel, manages to make a few friends of the crew and get their respect, but in the end no one can help her but herself. She is put in a terrifying condition from the moment of boarding the ship, and the whole situation is only getting worse with time, but she is learning a lot about classes, authority and justice, and most importantly, how to survive. Those experiences change Charlotte from soft and naive to tough and mature. In the end, a life on land with her family makes her agitated so she decides to return to ….

Another delightfully written historical fiction, a great adventure on the Pacific Ocean, a picture of 19th century places and classes with scrupulous details about life on board and how it worked – including sketches of the "Seahawk" vessel and ship jargon. My 11 years old daughter appreciates all, the history, the lessons within, and the engagement the book brings with its mystery adventure. Readers of all ages and genders can enjoy this book.

To listen an audio-book go to TCCDMovie https://youtu.be/RUxGnjUX8qQ 

About the author:

Avi is a pen name for Edward Irving Wortis. That name Edward Irving Wortis received from his twin sister as a kid. Avi was born in 1937 in Brooklyn, NY. He has created many fictional favorites such as The True Confessions ofCharlotte Doyle, Nothing but the Truth, and the Crispin series. His work is popular among readers all ages. 

To read more about Avi go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avi_ 

To visit Edward Irving Wortis’ web go to https://www.avi-writer.com/about/about.html

Always On A Look Out For a Good Book

My eleven-year-old daughter found “The Most Deserving Newbery” list created by Goodreads and she uses it as a great book guide.

Check the list https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/521.The_Most_Deserving_Newbery  

Good Writer for YA - Morgan Matson

Morgan Catherine Matson, pseudonym - Katie Finn, is a best-selling American novelist. She writes humor, young adult fiction.

Visit her web https://www.morganmatson.com/about/

Author Morgan Matson was a procrastination queen until she got a grip on her life. She explains why Big Decisions are necessary - and life changing …“Decisions, decisions...and why you need to make them”

https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2016/may/04/decisions-decisionsand-why-you-need-to-make-them

BOOKS

Save The Date by Morgan Matson, 2018

"Charlie's sister is getting married. Everyone is coming home--all her older siblings. It'll be just like it used to be. One last weekend together before her parents sell the house. Charlie doesn't want to think about college next year, or things changing--she just wants to make this a perfect weekend. What could go wrong? Well. First the wedding planner quits. Then the house alarm won't stop going off. Charlie's biggest crush shows up unannounced. There's a missing tuxedo, an unexpected dog, and a neighbor bent on destruction. Not to mention the event planner's assistant, who is surprisingly, distractingly... cute. And that's before things get really crazy. In all the chaos, Charlie will learn more than she ever expected about the family she thought she knew by heart. And she'll realize that sometimes, trying to keep everything like it was in the past means missing out on the future."--Page [2] of cover.

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson, 2016 – review

‘This book has absolutely everything from adorable dogs, pool parties, rebuilding family relations, friendships getting complicated to love interests’

Guardian children's books site teen reviewer

THEUNEXPECTED EVERYTHING  

Since You've BeenGone by Morgan Matson - review

‘A heartwarming story of loss, taking risks, new beginnings and self-discovery along the journey’

  

Second ChanceSummer  by Morgan Matson, 2012 – review

Taylor Edwards’ family might not be the closest-knit—everyone is a little too busy and overscheduled—but for the most part, they get along just fine. Then Taylor’s dad gets devastating news, and her parents decide that the family will spend one last summer all together at their old lake house in the Pocono Mountains.

SecondChance Summer

Amy & Roger’sEpic Detour by Morgan Matson

Amyand Roger's Epic Detour 

Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson  

A heartwarming story about a girl taking chances, being a little rebellious, new beginnings and self-discovery along the journey.

‘This book was a laugh-out-loud-on-one-page-and-then-cry-on-the-next kind of book for me, a real emotional rollercoaster’

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/morgan-matson/since-youve-been-gone/

Since You’ve Been Gone, review

https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/aug/07/since-youve-been-gone-morgan-matson-review

Great Writer - Gordon Korman

Gordon Korman is the #1 bestselling author. He has written more than 80 books which have sold more than 28 million copies in a career that has spanned four decades.  

My 11 years old daughter recommends “Restart” by Gordon Korman - Psychological Fiction 

“When a middle school bully suffers amnesia after a bad fall, it gives him the chance to start fresh, but rebuilding his life is an uphill battle when everyone else still remembers the sins of his past. Eighth-grader Chase Ambrose attempts to reconstruct himself based on what his friends and family tell him, but the more he learns about how he mistreated others, the less he likes the old Chase. Unable to play football while he’s healing, Chase joins the video club, whose members have good reason to distrust him. And while his former self did community service at a local retirement home, the new Chase comes to enjoy spending time with the residents—especially a grumpy veteran whose stories he values. In this compelling and sometimes humorous tale of nature and identity, Korman (Slacker) offers an intriguing exploration of the potential for redemption. By telling the story from multiple perspectives (Chase’s, as well as those of several classmates), he conveys a complex, thorough picture of Chase’s influence and impact on those around him. Ages 8–12. Agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown. (May)” form Publishers Weekly 

https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781338053777?permamore 

Gordon Korman is an author of three books in The 39 Clues series as well as eight books in his Swindle series: Swindle, Zoobreak, Framed, Showoff, Hideout, Jackpot, Unleashed, and Jingle. His other books include The Toilet Paper Tigers; Radio Fifth Grade; Slacker; Restart; the trilogies Island, Everest, Dive, Kidnapped, and Titanic; and the series The Hypnotists and On the Run. He lives in New York with his family and can be found on the web at gordonkorman.com 

The Galileo Thermometer – Gift Better Than Computer Game or Electronic Gadgets

                       Cold - below  60 F       Comfortable - between 72 F and 76 F

In 1593, Galileo Galilei invented a rudimentary water thermoscope, which is now known as the Galileo Thermometer. For the first time, the temperature variations could be measured.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_thermometer

“If an object is denser than a liquid, it will sink in that liquid. If an object is less dense than the liquid, it will float in that liquid. Such an object will partially sink until the weight of the liquid it displaces becomes equal to the weight of the object. This means that some of the object will protrude above the liquid surface. 

Hot - above 84 F

Comfortable - between 68 F and 72 F 

Cold - below  60 F

The clear liquid inside the Galileo thermometer is not water, but is another liquid, typically ethanol, whose density varies with temperature more than the density of water does. This makes it more sensitive to temperature changes which makes it a better predictor for temperature than water. As the temperature of the surroundings changes, the temperature of the thermometer and liquid inside changes in order to match this temperature. This affects the density of the liquid, which then causes some bulbs to rise and some to sink to the bottom. The bulbs that rise are less dense than the liquid, and the ones that sink are more dense than the liquid. 

The bulbs are sized so as not to jam with each other as they move up or down in the tube. They are either at least half the size of the inner tube diameter, in order to maintain their stacking order, or their size is much less than the inner tube diameter, in order to allow them to freely pass each other as they move up or down.

In some thermometers, if there are some bulbs at the top of the tube, some at the bottom, and one floating in the gap, the one floating in the gap tells the temperature. If there is no bulb in the gap then the average of the values of the top and bottom bulbs gives the approximate temperature. In other thermometers, the lowest floating bulb gives the approximate temperature.”

Abstract comes form  Real World Physics Problem

https://www.real-world-physics-problems.com/galileo-thermometer.html 

Importance of Parent-Child Relationship - A Hero

Parents play vital role in holistic development of the child. Parents are the mentors of the child and have an immense contribution and responsibility in shaping child’s personality.

By Basia P, 2018

Parents are the child’s first role model. Children behave, react and imitate same as their parents. Parents play important role in encouraging and motivating their kids to learn. Good parental support helps child to be positive, healthy and good life long learner. Children acquire skills at the very early stage of their life if the parents are responsive and understanding.

To read more:

Parent-Child Relationship: Why Is It Important and How to Build It by Kalpana Nadimpalli,

https://www.momjunction.com/articles/helpful-tips-to-strengthen-parent-child-bonding_0079667/#gref

The Enduring Importance of Parental Involvement by Lily Eskelsen Garcia and Otha Thorton

http://neatoday.org/2014/11/18/the-enduring-importance-of-parental-involvement-2/

Lifelong Benefits of Debating

Decades of academic research have proven that the benefits that accrue as a result of engaging in debate are numerous. 
Speech and debate provides students an opportunity to 

• develop skills in research,
• critical thinking, 
• organization, 
• persuasion and 
• communication.

Students learn to accept constructive criticism from judges in each round and use it to improve their future performance. 

By Basia P, 2018

Debate provides experiences that are conducive to life-changing, cognitive, and presentational skills. In addition, through debate debaters acquire unique educational benefits as they learn and polish skills far beyond what can be learnt in any other setting. At the very least, debate helps learners to see the power of deploying rational, reasoned arguments and compelling evidence in action. It enables them to elucidate their standpoint through utilizing rhetorical eloquence. It instills in debaters a great sense of poise and confidence. It teaches them the skills of researching, organizing, and presenting information in a compelling fashion.

In general, the benefits of debate include:

1. Gaining broad, multi-faceted knowledge cutting across several disciplines outside the learner's normal academic subjects.
2. Increasing learners’ confidence, self-control, and self-esteem.
3. Providing an engaging, active, learner-centered activity.
4. Improving rigorous higher order and critical thinking skills.
5. Enhancing the ability to structure and organize thoughts.
6. Enhancing learners’ analytical, research and note-taking kills
7. Improving learners’ ability to form balanced, informed arguments and to use reasoning and evidence.
8. Developing effective speech composition and delivery.
9. Encouraging teamwork.

Check "12 Ways Debating Will Help You for the Rest of Your Life," St. John's-Ravenscourt 

https://www.studyinternational.com/news/12-ways-debating-will-help-you-for-the-rest-of-your-life/