Going Birding
A great horned owl.
(Photo: Jim White)
Summertime brings all sorts of wildlife—especially birds—to backyards and nearby parks. Birding, or watching birds, doesn't require any special equipment (though you might find binoculars to be helpful). So slap on some suntan lotion and invite a friend or parent to join you on a birding expedition! To make your adventure even more scientific, take a sketchbook and pencil with you to draw the birds you see.
Your Very Own Bird Guide
What birds live in your area? What do they look like? For an online bird guide chock full of info—and complete with recordings of bird calls—visit The Great Backyard Bird Count.
Attract Birds to Your Backyard!
If you don't feel like strolling through a park to find birds, why not build a birdfeeder in your yard? It's easy! Just roll a pinecone in peanut butter and birdseed. Tie a piece of yarn to the pinecone, and have a parent or guardian hang your feeder from a tree. Make sure the pinecone feeder is out of reach from hungry predators—like cats.
Spotlight on Owls The next Harry Potter book is due on store shelves this summer! Get up to speed on your owl know-how at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
- Scholastic Store
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Sunrise Over Fallujah
The Scholastic Store 
Sunrise Over Fallujah
by Walter Dean Myers
Scholastic Summer Challenge Book Pick.
Operation Iraqi Freedom, that's the code name. But the young men and women in the military's Civil Affairs Battalion have a simpler name for it: WAR.In this new novel, Walter Dean Myers looks at a contemporary war with the same power and searing insight he brought to the Vietnam war of his classic, "Fallen Angels". He creates memorable characters like the book's narrator, Birdy, a young recruit from Harlem who's questioning why he even enlisted; Marla, a blond, tough-talking, wisecracking gunner; Jonesy, a guitar-playing bluesman who just wants to make it back to Georgia and open a club; and a whole unit of other young men and women and drops them incountry in Iraq, where they are supposed to help secure and stabilize Iraq and successfully interact with the Iraqi people. The young civil affairs soldiers soon find their definition of "winning" ever more elusive and their good intentions being replaced by terms like "survival" and "despair. "
Caught in the crossfire, Myers' richly rendered characters are just beginning to understand the meaning of war in this powerful, realistic novel of our times.
$17.99
Learn more about Walter Dean Myers.
books;hardcover books;hardcovers | Ages 12 and Up
Ages 12 and Up $17.99
- Teacher Store
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Inch by Inch
The Teacher Store 
Inch by Inch
by Leo LionniBy the author-illustrator of the Caldecott Honor Book, Swimmy, this story is perfect for seasonal or measurement units, starring a worm who "inches his way out" of being eaten by a series of birds. "Arresting, original and imaginative." - Booklist
$5.95
Paperback Book | Grades K-2
Grades K-2 $5.95
