December 26, 2012
Our #6 story of 2012 is about the life of one of the giants among children’s nature writers, Jean Craighead George.
Yesterday was a very special day, because I went to the memorial service for the great writer Jean Craighead George. She died this year at age 92, and her daughter Twig told me that her mother had still been writing up until four days before her death. Isn’t that wonderful?
Jean grew up in a family of naturalists, in a house full of rescued wild animals. She once told an interviewer that when she started kindergarten she was shocked to discover that she was the only child who had a turkey vulture for a pet! She wrote in an essay for "Children’s Books and Their Creators": "I have discovered I cannot dream up characters as incredible as the ones I meet in the wilderness."
Jean was an outdoorswoman her whole life, and many fellow authors and editors who spoke about knowing her yesterday described trips they made with Jean to visit the wolves in Yellowstone National Park, to the great aquarium in New Orleans, and to observe whales migrating in Alaska. Amy Kellman, a librarian from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and a longtime friend of Jean’s, quoted a line from one of Jean Craighead George’s books in which she was describing a peregrine falcon named Oxie, who "did things her own way." Kellman said that she always thought Jean was describing herself when she wrote about the independent falcon.Her son, Dr. Craig George, is a Senior Wildlife Biologist in Barrow, Alaska, working with bowhead whales. Craig told the gathering that just a few years ago his mother camped with them on unstable ice, at minus 20 degrees, during the bowhead census. "She was absolutely fearless," he said.
Jean Craighead George wrote more than 100 books. The most famous one was JULIE OF THE WOLVES. Have you ever read it? It is a wonderful story about a girl known as Miyax in her small Eskimo village; to her friend in San Francisco, she is Julie. When Miyax runs away from her village, she finds herself lost in the Alaskan wilderness. In danger of starving to death, Miyax survives by copying the ways of the wolves. She is soon accepted into their pack, and when she finally returns to her old life, she struggles to decide who she is - Miyax of the Eskimos—or Julie of the wolves?
Here is a passage from the story:
Miyax stared hard at the regal black wolf, hoping to catch his eye. She must somehow tell him that she was starving and ask him for food. This could be done she knew, for her father, an Eskimo hunter, had done so.
Jean Craighead George was a great supporter of the Wolf Conservation Center near her home in Chappaqua, New York.
At the end of yesterday’s memorial service, stories, we all sang "This Land is Your Land"......and then Twig asked for a minute of silence.
As we sat quietly, the doors in the back of the auditorium opened and a trainer leading a white wolf entered the room. We all rose to our feet as this gorgeous creature, from the wolf sanctuary that Jean Craighead George loved, took the stage and looked at us all. It was magical.
I admired Jean as a writer and a person. She was, and still is, an inspiration to my own writing. She will always remain one of the towering figures in children’s literature, one of the inspirational models for the rest of us in her field.
Photo: Rocco Staino / School Library Journal
Posted by: Seymour Simon
December 25, 2012
One of the really special things about being a children’s author is that you receive many letters and notes from readers who love your books. This year I received a note that was so sweet and wonderful, I decided to publish it here for others to read, and have named it #7 in the list of best stories of the year. Thank you, Lilly in third grade!
Hi. i’m Lilly. I am nine and in third grade. I love your non-fiction books especially BIG CATS. My favorite animal is a big cat, it is the cheetah. I am kind of obsessed with cheetahs. I would love if you could answer some questions I ask you…what’s your favorite animal, How many pets do you own, What city do live in. Could you please send me a few pictures of animals. Have you ever encountered a cheetah? You are so inspiring to me… you inspire me to do what i love. You say we should protect wildlife which i agree. I have an acrostic just for you…
Spectacular
Eccentric
You have a beautiful heart
Marvelous
On my mind every time I see an animal
U r awesome
Rescuing animals in words
Somebody to know
Inspiring
Magnificent
One of my favorite authors
Notice how wonderful you are at writing
Thank you again for your lovely letter and wonderful acrostic. I’m so touched and pleased at what you wrote, Lilly. Cheetahs are great big cats and they are fascinating. I’ve only seen cheetahs in zoos and I’m afraid that I don’t have pictures of the animal to send to you. I only use photos of wild animals that are taken in the wild (not in zoos) in my books, so I get the photos from scientists who study the animals in nature.
I’m not sure I have a single favorite wild animal, but I do enjoy reading and writing about them. The first book I wrote and that was published when I was an adult was a book about animal behavior and I’ve written dozens of books about all kinds of animals since then.
I live near New York City, and although I don’t have pets any more, I do miss my dog Nova and my two cats, Mittens and Newty Fruity. In fact, I have started to keep and breed fish again, because I realized that I have missed having pets!
Loved to read your poem.
Isn’t it amazing to read about Big Cats?
Lover of animals
Like me, a protector of nature
You made my day with your writing!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
December 24, 2012
#8 on our list of the Top 10 Stories of 2012 is an amazing science news story. More than a year after the massive tsunami in Japan, debris from the huge waves started to show up on the West Coast of North America. This blog post was a Writing Wednesday exercise, and the story moved many readers to write about their own feelings.
Welcome to Writing Wednesday! Every week there is a new opportunity to publish your own creative writing on the Seymour Science blog. This week, we are asking you to read a science news story about a long-lost soccer ball, and then answer a question about that story.
The Facts:
It is a good thing that Misaki Murakami’s name was on his soccer ball. He thought it was lost in last year’s tsunami in Japan, but it was returned to him after it washed up on an island in Alaska last weekend.
15-year-old Misaki Murakami was home when the tsunami struck Japan in March 2011, and he grabbed his pet dog and ran to safety on higher ground. His family lost everything, including their house, and have been living in temporary housing ever since.
Misaki and his family members have been looking for their belongings, but the soccer ball is the first thing that has been found. His name and the name of his school were written on the ball with a Sharpie because this was not just any old soccer ball. It was a goodbye gift from his teacher and classmates when he had to change schools seven years ago. He has kept it next to his bed ever since.
Your Assignment: Once you have read and understood the story above, answer this question. Why was it so surprising that Misaki got his soccer ball back, and why was it important to him?
YOUR WRITING:
One of our regular correspondents, Will B. in Ohio, wrote: It was surprising he got his soccer ball back because that is like trying to find a needle in a big pile of needles….like the size of Texas! I saw the Tsunami in video. I cannot imagine finding anything after that. The ball was important to him because his friends gave it to him.
Many kids from a school in Pennsylvania also wrote about this story, and why finding the ball was so important.
To Misaki Murakami, the soccer ball is a suprise present from his classmates and his teacher seven years ago when he had to go to a new school.That is why the soccer ball is so important to him.It was on a island in Alaska that is really far away. — Joyce
It was suprising that he got his soccer ball back because water could have carried it anywhere! It was special because his friends gave it to him. — Bradley
It was his favorite thing and he lost it. Someone found it in another continent. He was so happy that his soccer ball came back. —Sean
I THINK IT IS AMAZING because it washed up very far away from him. I know how you feel because I lost something that was special to me too!! : ) — Bryn
It was suprising to him that he found his ball because it was like 100000000000000000000000000 miles away. That is a real cool fact. I would love to know who found the ball???? — Ryan
Posted by: Seymour Simon
December 23, 2012
Every December we finish the Seymour Science blog by counting down the Top 10 Stories of the Year. We choose stories that lots of readers commented on, stories that were very important in science news, or in this case, a blog post full of terrific kid writing.
#9 on our list was written by a group of first graders in Menands, NY. Working with their teacher, Ms. Sposito, this little class spent an afternoon uploading photos of themselves with my books and telling me what they liked about what they were reading. These are first graders…..brand new readers and writers doing all this good work. And their writing was fun to read, too!
Abbi and Sabrina wrote: We loved your KILLER WHALES book Seymour Simon. We liked the part about the blowhole. The picture of the pod looks like a group of whales huddling together to have a meeting. How did you get the photo under the water?
Toby and Varun are fans of AMAZING BATS: We like how you added all the facts about the different kinds of bats. How do you know this much about the gigantic flying fox?
Leilah and Mady learned some surprising things from BABY ANIMALS: We loved your Baby Animals book. We were amazed when we read that a humpback whale is 12 feet long at birth. We were also surprised to find out that baby garter snakes don’t live with their mothers.
Alicia, Roshni and Brody wrote: We read your book AMAZING BATS. We loved it! There were some parts we really liked. We thought it was disgusting but cool when we read that the ghost bat eats rats. We wondered, does the little brown bat’s stomach hurt when it eats 600 bugs an hour? We think it is silly to sleep upside down!
LaTrell and E-Sonne wrote: We loved your book KILLER WHALES. Whales are cool because they swim really fast and are so huge! We learned that killer whales eat fish.
Jayden, Lyam and Alyssa liked the same book: We think the Killer Whale book was amazing! We did not know that whales can breathe on top of the water. We think it is cool that whales use flippers to steer and turn. How did you make the book?
Alexa and Reem wrote: Hi Seymour Simon. We are glad that you are coming this week because we love your Seymour Simon books! We love to read your BABY ANIMALS book. We liked learning about ducklings. We hope you make more books. See you on Thursday.
Aditi, Shafe, Alexis and Kamellia like BABY ANIMALS, also. They asked: How do you know so much about baby animals? We are so amazed by your books! We want people to read your books. We found out that baby animals are surviving all over the world. They are living things. Have a nice trip coming all the way to Menands.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
December 22, 2012
Every December we finish the SeymourScience blog by counting down the Top 10 Stories of the Year. It was very difficult to choose the ten best stories of 2012, because there was so much wonderful writing contributed by my readers. You are all getting better and better at reading blog articles and making them even better by sharing your own writing - I am very proud of you!
A VERY
"CHILLY"
GORILLA
Our number 10 most popular story of the year was about Yakini, a newborn gorilla.
It’s not just humans that find the doctor’s stethoscope is too cold when we go for our checkups. Look at Yakini’s face when the cold instrument touches her skin as she is being examined at the Melbourne Zoo, in Australia. I think we all know that feeling!
This post was so popular that we had comments from around the world.Helena, from Spain, wrote: "WAW! He is the cutest gorilla i have ever seen!"
Lauren from the UK, who read this story on the Science Fun to Go iPad app, wrote: "He is soooo cute I just want to cuddle him! Seymour Simon I love this app it’s amazing! I love u not literally but u know what I mean lol"
Several readers were worried, wanting to know if the baby gorilla was sick. No one needs to worry. Just like human babies, gorilla babies also get regular checkups from their doctors, who are called veterinarians.
This story was part of the "Cool Photo of the Week" series, which appears most Tuesdays on my blog. If you would like to see many more "Cool Photos," click on this link to see three years’ worth!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
December 19, 2012
We are working like busy little Elfbots this week at SeymourSimon.com, preparing our annual TOP 10 STORIES OF 2012 Countdown.
If you haven’t joined us before, please be sure to check Seymour’s blog every day from December 22 until December 31. We will be featuring readers’ favorite stories of 2012, along with your comments.
Some of the best stories of the year were written by our readers, feature reader artwork, or have great comments from you all. So be sure to check and see if your story or your writing made the list!
Happy holidays, everyone! As a holiday treat, we’ve left a video preview of the new Christmas eBook elfBOT down below. Enjoy, and we’ll be back on Tuesday, January 1 with the first "Cool Photo" of 2013.
elfBOT (video preview)
Posted by: Liz Nealon
December 18, 2012
We noticed in last week’s AWESOME SCIENCE WORD contest that a number of you chose minerals, which often have beautiful crystals and are cut into what we commonly call “gems” or “jewels.”
This is a photograph of crystals of the mineral Callaghanite. It was named in honor of Dr. Eugene Callaghan, who was the Director of the New Mexico Bureau of Mines, in honor of his work studying magnesite deposits. This mineral contains magnesium and is typically found in an area with a magnesium deposit.
For those of you who are interested, the chemical formula for callaghanite is Cu2Mg2(CO3)(OH)6•2(H2O). Can you say that three times fast?
Posted by: Seymour Simon
December 14, 2012
Thank you to everyone who entered the MY AWESOME SCIENCE WORD contest. We enjoyed seeing the choices you made and reading your writing using those words.168 people entered this contest - that is a lot of excellent research and writing!
As promised, we have selected two winners of this contest, and both will receive an autographed copy of the new edition of Seymour Simon’s SCIENCE DICTIONARY, being published by Dover Books on December 19th. We chose the winners at random, using a very cool random number generator website called Random.org.
Are you ready? Here are the winners of Seymour Simon’s Awesome Science Word contest:
Individual Winner: Jack B., Quarry Hill Elementary, Ms. Dubell’s class
Awesome Science Word: jet streamDefinition: Jet streams are strong winds that effect the weather.
Why you think it is awesome: I think jet steams are awesome because they go 100 - 300 miles per hour.
Use the word in a sentence: I hear about jet streams on the weather channel and at airports.
Classroom Winner: Mr. Perlman’s Class, Eleanor Roosevelt Elementary School
Awesome Science Word: Rainbow Definition: A Rainbow is a colorful, half shaped circle that appears after it rains and gets sunny outside.
Why you think it is awesome: We think rainbows are awesome because they have all of our favorite colors.
Use the word in a sentence: I see a big colorful rainbow in the dark blue sky!
Congratulations to everyone who entered. Be on the lookout for another blog post, because we enjoyed the work you did for this contest so much, we are going to publish some of your writing for everyone to read.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
December 13, 2012
Seymour’s visits to the Pennsbury schools are continuing; he spent yesterday at Makefield Elementary School in Yardley, Pennsylvania.
In preparation for his visit, the Makefield students watched a video about Seymour Simon, read his autobiography, used his books in their art classes and explored nature.
Mrs. Renee Pope, the Makefield Elementary School librarian, told us: "We are a certified green school with a green roof, solar panels, a learning garden (the fruits and vegetables are used in our cafeteria when harvested), and many things inside the school that reduce the use of energy and our carbon footprint. We are building benches from trees cut down for the recent renovation. We had them milled and dried so we can use them to make our benches!!"
Seymour was presented with an amazing book (thicker than your arm!), with a letter to Seymour Simon from every student in the school about what they observed in the school’s Learning Garden. Seymour particularly loved this book because he is always encouraging his readers to get outside, to look, listen, hear, smell and observe the wonderful nature that is all around us. This school is full of SeeMore Explorers!
We don’t have enough room here to share them all, but here are some examples of both the beautiful artwork posted around the school and the excellent writing compiled into this book, THE NATURE OF MAKEFIELD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
DEAR SEYMOUR SIMON….
I saw rocks. - Adam, kindergarten
I found a praying mantis. - Scarlett, kindergarten
I saw a purple flower. - Adrianna, 1st grade
There were bees. - Christian, 1st grade
I herd crickets. I smelled flowers. I wish I can play and I want to live hear. It is a fun place. LOVE IT HEAR!! And I love Nature. - Nina, 2nd grade
Being outside makes me feel good. I see a butterfly. I smell flowrs. I wish I could smell more things. If I was looking up from the grund to the sky I would see the botum of a flower. - Maggie, 2nd grade
I feel on the out side of my body is cool air. I wish we had more flowers. I smel basil and choclit mint. I believe nature is cool. - Noah, 2nd grade
I heard birds chirping. Being outside makes me feel free. I saw a yellow watering can. I tasted fresh mint. I wish I had a garden like this one. I never experienced something like this. - Avery, 3rd grade
I hear the calm wind and the rustle of the leafs. I see bold pretty flowers. I wish bees grew 20 feet tall and butterfly wings were 30 feet long. Being outside in the garden makes me feel so happy. - Christian, 3rd grade
I saw a praying mantis, a butterfly and a bee. It was so fun. - Jeffrey, 3rd grade
One day I experienced nature Makefield learning garden. I see pretty flower. I hear bird cheering believe nature. - Ashlynne, 3rd grade
I saw a woolly bears that made the garden very love able. There were plants that...
read morePosted by: Liz Nealon
December 13, 2012
Hi, everybody. Because Seymour Simon’s visit to six of the Pennsbury district schools was postponed until January due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy, there seems to be a little confusion about when the AWESOME SCIENCE WORD contest ends. Students who had a visit from Seymour Simon this week - that would be the Quarry Hill, Afton, Eleanor Roosevelt, Makefield and Edgewood Elementary Schools - need to enter the contest by midnight tonight. The winners of autographed copies of Seymour’s new SCIENCE DICTIONARY will be announced tomorrow on the Seymour Science blog.
We will run a new contest in January for students who attend Village Park, Manor, Walt Disney, Penn Valley, Fallsington and Oxford Valley Elementary Schools. Seymour Simon is coming after the holidays, and you will have your own special contest then!
Posted by: Liz Nealon
