Melinda Luke

The Waterwitch and her Yuk Yuk servants return to trouble those peace-loving underwater Snorks again in this second picture-book adventure, following upon The Snorks and the Waterwitch. Determined once again to wreak havoc, and to conquer Snork City, the witch steals all of the Snorks' kelp, and uses it to concoct a potion that erases memories. Trying it out first on Allstar, the manager of the salt mines which keep the ocean at the right level of salinity, she intends to use this first victim to ensnare the others, but little does she know that her spell will be of short duration...

One of two Snork picture-books published in 1984, the same year that the animated television show featuring these colorful underwater creatures with a snorkel-like appendage on their heads first debuted, Allstar and the Witch's Spell sees a return of the Waterwitch, who first appeared in the picture-book released the previous year (the aforementioned The Snorks and the Waterwitch). This character is, of course, the reason I sought out these two books in the first place. As someone raised in a television-free home as a younger child, I never watched this program, and was in fact ignorant of its existence until discovering these titles through my perennial search for witchy picture-books, which are always of interest to me. In any case, I found this one much like the first: not really my wheelhouse, in terms of aesthetic style, but somehow nostalgically appealing (even though I never watched the show). I think I would primarily recommend this one to those who are fond of the television program, and wish to revisit these characters.… (plus d'informations)

This book is a fictional story about a young boy that really wants a dog but needs to prove he's responsible to his parents, so he starts a pet sitting business. But once he's taking care of the fish and the ducks, he puts them in the sun and the water turns green. Through talking to a new friend, keeping a notebook, and doing some investigation, he finds out that the sun combined with the food made algae grow, turning the water green.
This book is awesome. It addresses misconceptions, demonstrates a science notebook, is engaging, and has really great science content, all presented in a package that is familiar to a lot of kids: wanting to prove they're ready for a pet.
I would use this in a life science unit. We would investigate water from a pond or lake in class, looking at it's different colors and looking at it under a microscope. We could then read this book and address the science content of our investigation.… (plus d'informations)