Brighten Beyond Belief

On December 13, 2011 Scholastic launched a new site dedicated to Teaching with Brian Selznick.  Materials are aimed at third through fifth grade and sixth through eighth.  Subject tags are:  language arts, science, social studies, arts and creativity.

One of the highlights of the site is a virtual tour of the American Museum of Natural History located in New York City.  Founded in 1869 this museum plays a significant part in Selznick's newest title, Wonderstruck.

The tour lasts just over fifteen minutes with Selznick introducing each of the four parts:  Welcome to the Museum, The Wolf Diorama, The Giant Anopheles Mosquito and The Ahnighito Meteorite. 

There are additional activities and ideas for discussion about The Wolf Diorama, The Giant Anopheles Mosquito and The Ahnighito Meteorite.

Continuing down through the site following a short bio of Selznick is information and a study guide about the book, Wonderstruck with reviews. Included in this section are two interviews with Brian Selznick about his work, Kid Reporter and Instructor.

A similar format is used for his Caldecott Award winning book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret.  Information about The Hugo Movie Companion (which I can personally attest to being interesting and loaded with facts) is followed by the movie trailer for Hugo.

Concluding this study and guide are even more activities grouped by language arts, science and social studies relative to Wonderstruck plus four more links.

Educators will feel like they've struck gold at this site, but then I felt the same way reading Brian Selznick's books; treasures of untold wealth for generations to come.