Teens
Teens Blog
Virtual Field Trips to the Forests of China & Borneo
Today's virtual field trips will take you deep into the wilds of Asia and Indonesia. You'll see amazing landscapes and encounter interesting animals. You'll learn a lot, but you'll definitely want to learn even more! Keep exploring with the help of the provided book list.
Explore China's Great Forests
Join our expert scientist Yue Wang, a conservation planning officer for The Nature Conservancy, on a virtual field trip across the world to two stunning provinces in China—Sichuan and Yunnan—where we will explore majestic forests, towering mountains, and other iconic landscapes. While examining the role these vital natural areas play in the carbon cycle and climate change, as well as the benefits of reforestation, we will learn about the magnificent creatures who call these habitats home: giant pandas, golden snub-nosed monkeys, and the elusive and odd-looking takin.
Access the teacher guide.
Borneo: The Symphony of the Rainforest
Join science writer Justine Hausheer as we embark on a Virtual Field Trip to Borneo, the third largest island in the world. We’ll explore a compelling question: How can we use science and acoustic technology to care for the land and protect the plants and animals in one of the world’s most biodiverse regions? On this journey, we’ll learn how experts are using cutting-edge science to find out how healthy the rainforest is—and to discover where it needs some help! Scientists at The Nature Conservancy have developed ways to record and listen to the sounds of the forest to determine how many different animal species live there.
Find the accompanying teacher guide on The Nature Conservancy website.
BOOKS AVAILABLE AT HOOVER PUBLIC LIBRARY
All About Indonesia: Stories, Songs and Crafts for Kids by Linda Hibbs (2013-ebook on Hoopla)
Camp Panda: Helping Cubs Return to the Wild by Catherine Thimmesh (2018)
China: A History by Cheryl Bardoe (2018-ebook on Hoopla)
Explore China: A Mulan Discovery Book by Charlotte Cheng (2020-ebook on Hoopla)
Forest Biomes by Louise & Richard Spilsbury (2018)
Indonesia by Gouri Mirpuri and Robert Cooper (2002)
Indonesia by Lisa Owings (2013-ebook & audiobook on Hoopla)
Let's Explore China by Walt K. Moon (2017-ebook on Hoopla)
Orangutan by Suzi Eszterhas (2013)
Panda Rescue: All about Pandas and How to Save Them by Kitson Jazynka (2016)
Pandas: All the Latest Facts from the Field by Ruth Strother (2019)
Rainforest by Sean Callery (2011)
Tropical Rainforests by Seymour Simon (2010)
Unfolding Journeys: Following the Great Wall by Stewart Ross & Victor Ngai (2017)
Watch Me Grow: Ape by Lisa Magloff (2006)
2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature
And the winner for Young People's Literature is . . . King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender!
Twelve-year-old Kingston James is sure his brother Khalid has turned into a dragonfly. When Khalid unexpectedly passed away, he shed what was his first skin for another to live down by the bayou in their small Louisiana town. Khalid still visits in dreams, and King must keep these secrets to himself as he watches grief transform his family.
It would be easier if King could talk with his best friend, Sandy Sanders. But just days before he died, Khalid told King to end their friendship, after overhearing a secret about Sandy — that he thinks he might be gay. “You don’t want anyone to think you’re gay too, do you?”
But when Sandy goes missing, sparking a town-wide search, and King finds his former best friend hiding in a tent in his backyard, he agrees to help Sandy escape from his abusive father, and the two begin an adventure as they build their own private paradise down by the bayou and among the dragonflies. As King’s friendship with Sandy is reignited, he’s forced to confront questions about himself and the reality of his brother’s death.
FINALISTS
King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender (ebook & audiobook on Overdrive, audiobook on Hoopla)
We Are Not Free by Traci Chee
Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh
When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson & Omar Mohamed (ebook & audiobook on Overdrive)
The Way Back by Gavriel Savit
LONGLIST
Lifting as We Climb: Black Women's Battle for the Ballot Box by Evette Dionne (ebook & audiobook on Overdrive)
Apple (Skin to the Core) by Eric Gansworth
Trowbridge Road by Marcella Pixley (ebook on Overdrive)
How We Got to the Moon: The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science Behind Humanity's Greatest Adventure by John Rocco
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas (audiobook on Overdrive)
See the winners in all categories on the National Book Awards website.
