Ordinary People Change the World Book Chats and Xavier Riddle Celebration

I serve as the PBS NC Rootle Ambassador for one of the counties I serve. My role as a Rootle Ambassador is to promote PBS resources to parents and children through engagement events twice a year. 

I like to focus on PBS Kids shows that are book based (see Dinosaur Party and Clifford the Big Red Dog Party) or that fit in well with the library's collections (see Party Like the Kratts and Cat). Given that I decided to host a series of book chats that focused on the Ordinary People Change the World book series by Brad Meltzer and wrap up with an Xavier Riddle Celebration. The PBS Kids show Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum was inspired by the book series. 

I pulled resources from PBS Kids, PBS Kids for Parents, PBS Learning Media, and the Book series website. 

I chose a book chat format as opposed to a book club format so the kids could read any more in the series and talk about it. At the time of the book chats, there were 32 books in the series. 

At the first book chat, we talked about the following books: Amelia Earhart, Helen Keller, Harriet Tubman, Sacajawea, Marie Curie, Neil Armstrong, and I. M. Pei. I pointed out the comic book style of the illustrations and the timeline and real photos at the end of the books. 

Together we looked at the Harry Houdini Biosketch and the Anna Pavlova Biosketch from PBS Learning Media. The kids took home the following in addition to the Biosketches: 

• Harry Houdini Sentence Starter (PBS Learning Media)
• Anna Pavlova Venn Diagram (PBS Learning Media)
• "Let's Talk" and "Let's Do" Conversation Cards for Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum (PBS Learning Media)
• Hero for a Day (PBS Learning Media)
• Who's Your Hero (OPCTW website) 
• Xavier Riddle Story Cubes (PBS Learning Media)

At the second book chat, we talked about the following books: Jane Goodall, Harry Houdini, Albert Einstein, Gandhi, and Temple Grandin. Together we looked at the Cleopatra Biosketch and the Theodore Roosevelt Biosketch from PBS Learning Media. The kids took the following home in addition to the biosketches: 

• Cleopatra Sentence Starter (PBS Learning Media)
• Theodore Roosevelt Venn Diagram (PBS Learning Media)
• Biosketch Template Condense Version (PBS Learning Media)
• OPCTW Book Series List (I created this!)
• Neil Armstrong Postcard Activity (OPCTW website) 
• George Washington Carver Coloring Sheet (PBS Kids)
• Drawing with Leonardo da Vinci Activity Sheet (PBS Learning Media)

At the third event which was a celebration of the TV show, we went over the Leonardo da Vinci Biosketch from PBS Learning Media and the kids took the following home:

• Leonardo da Vinci Sentence Starter
• Leonardo da Vinci Venn Diagram 
• Activity Page (PBS Kids)

We ended the event with a character scavenger hunt. I got the images from the printables and coloring pages on PBS Kids for Parents.