education: language arts mentor texts for forms of writing k-8

marcia williams captures the great war through a child’s eyes with a fascinating fictional scrapbook including real mementos of the day. meet ten-year-old archie, his family, and best friend in a scrapbook archie has made himself, full of comic strips and plenty of other memorabilia. the year is 1914, and as the great war begins, archie’s scrapbook reflects the war’s impact on his life and on those who write back from the front. marcia williams retains her humor and energy as she employs a new collage style to present an intimate and compelling view of the first world war and its era.

with more than 200,000 books in print, dear canada has fast become the historical fiction series for young girls. it has been two long years since eliza's beloved older brother, hugo, went away to war. caught up in his enthusiasm, she couldn't understand her parent's less-than enthusiastic reaction. now that her other brother jack has also enlisted, she yearns for the safe return of both brothers. if only she had a friend that she could talk to about her feelings....

one-eyed alien frazzle recounts his flying adventures in a new journal (in alien vernacular, of course). he bighearts his little model 7, but as time passes, it starts making strange sounds, and frazzle -- pressured by friends and co-workers -- wonders if he should trade it in. one day, when it goes clunk in the middle of the flyway, it's clear something must be done. youngsters will love the out-of-this-world illustrations depicting worlds rife with all manner of alien life. even more irresistible: an unexpected ending sure to delight careful readers.

this is the diary...of a fly. a fly who, when she's not landing on your head or swimming in your soup, is trying to escape her 327 brothers and sisters who are driving her crazy! even though she's little -- just like her best friends worm and spider -- fly wants to be a superhero. and why not? she walks on walls, sees in all directions at once, and can already fly! doreen cronin and harry bliss, the team behind the new york times bestsellers diary of a worm and diary of a spider, reach hilarious heights with their story of a little fly who's not afraid to dream big. really big.

this hilarious picture book from the bestselling, acclaimed author-illustrator team of doreen cronin and harry bliss tells the adventures of a spider through his daily diary entries. this is the diary . . . of a spider. actually, he's a lot like you. he goes to gym class and has grandparents day at school. but he also spins sticky webs, scales walls, and takes wind-catching lessons. lucky for him, his best friend is a fly!

boys don't keep diaries--or do they? the launch of an exciting and innovatively illustrated new series narrated by an unforgettable kid every family can relate to it's a new school year, and greg heffley finds himself thrust into middle school, where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving. the hazards of growing up before you're ready are uniquely revealed through words and drawings as greg records them in his diary. in book one of this debut series, greg is happy to have rowley, his sidekick, along for the ride. but when rowley's star starts to rise, greg tries to use his best friend's newfound popularity to his own advantage, kicking off a chain of events that will test their friendship in hilarious fashion. author/illustrator jeff kinney recalls the growing pains of school life and introduces a new kind of hero who epitomizes the challenges of being a kid. as greg says in his diary, "just don't expect me to be all 'dear diary' this and 'dear diary' that." luckily for us, what greg heffley says he won't do and what he actually does are two very different things. since its launch in may 2004 on funbrain.com, the web version of diary of a wimpy kid has been viewed by 20 million unique online readers. this year, it is averaging 70,000 readers a day.   f&p level: t

this hilarious picture book from the bestselling, acclaimed author-illustrator team of doreen cronin and harry bliss tells the adventures of worm through his daily diary entries. this is the diary of a worm. this worm lives with his parents, plays with his friends, and even goes to school. but unlike you or me, he never has to take a bath, he gets to eat his homework, and because he doesn't have legs, he just can't do the hokey pokey--no matter how hard he tries.