Who Said Coo?

Written by: Deborah Ruddell

Illustrated by: Robin Luebs

Suggested for: Children Ages 2-8

Themes: Fiction, Poetry, Character Education

Summary:

     Lulu the pig is trying very hard to get some sleep when she keeps getting disrupted by noises outside of her window. Each time she tries to investigate where the noises come from and then she tries to go back to sleep. After being disturbed several times, Lulu shoo's the birds outside of her window. This time she hears another sad noise, a boo hoo. Lulu realizes that she hurt the birds' feelings and appologizes to her friends. She invites them in for some cocoa and then they all try to go to bed. This time they are startled by rooster's cock-a-doodle-doo. Lulu politely asks him to come back at two, and the rooster is happy to do so.

     Children will enjoy this story because it of its simple language and rhyming scheme. The pictures are simple but give the characters human-like qualities. It is wonderfully entertaining and would make an excellent bedtime book for young children.

Suggestions for the Classroom:
     This is a wonderful book to share with pre-school and kidergarten aged children to highlight ryming words. Children will enjoy pointing out rhyming words throughout the story; the words rhyme consistently throughout the selection: coo, who, moo, shoo, two, and you. This book also points out the importance of using good manners, a point which can never be emphasised too much with young children.
*Pre-Reading Avtivities: Chilren will listen to a rhyming song, where they will identify rhyming pairs and non-rhyming pairs using hand gestures.
*During Reading: Stop throughout the story and have children identify rhyming words.
*Post-Reading Activities: Have students draw a picture about their favorite part of the story.

About the Author:
     Deborah Ruddell grew up in Illinois with her twin sister, Robin, and three younger siblings. She always had playmates to be creative and express herself with. She comments that she enjoys her job because it allows her to do all of the things that she most liked about growing up: doodling, daydreaming and watching the world go by. Being the youngest of five children, I would imagine that Deborah spent a great deal of her time entertaining her siblings and this may have encouraged her to pursue a career in writing children's poems. Oddly enough, her twin sister is also a children's book author and illustrator. Ruddell maintains her own website complete with activities for children, a listening library, and teaching guides.

About the Illustrator:
     Robin Luebs also grew up in Illinois with her twin sister, Debbie (yes, the author of this book), and three younger siblings. She and Debbie enjoyed oppotunitites to paint together on their porch as children; her mother was very supportive of her daughters creative exploits. Robin has always enjoyed creating pictures, and because of her mother's support and encouragement she has continued to make this an important part of her life. Robin, like her twin sister, is lucky because she is able to continue doing something that she loves for a career: writing and illustrating children's books. Robin Luebs also maintains her own website which includes a gallery of her work, information about her, and fun activities for children.

When Will it be Spring

Written and Illustrated by: Catherine Walters

Recommended for: Children Ages 3-7

Theme: Science

Summary:

     A young bear cub, Alfie, anxiously waits for his first Spring to come. While hibernating with his mother for the winter, Alfie is restless for Spring to arrive and is afraid that he will oversleep. He is looking so hard for the things his mother describes that he keeps tricking himself into thinking that he sees these signs of Spring. Each time Alfie wakes up his mother from her slumber, she quickly learns that he was mistaken and he is put back to bed. One final time, Alfie wakes up to see that Spring has finally arrived but he quickly falls asleep in a field of flowers.

     This is a perfect book to read after a long winter, like those that we have here in Central New York. Children are eager, just like little Alfie, to see the first signs of Spring and to get out into the warm sunshine. Children in pre-school and kindergarden will be likely to have some of the same misconceptions as Alfie in thinking that Spring has come. The children will enjoy making predictions and reading on to see if they were correct. They very much will enjoy the ironic ending, where Alfie finally falls to sleep after seeing that Spring has come.

About the Author:
     Catherine Walters has written several books about Alfie Bear, including: Are You There, Baby Bear?; Time to Sleep, Alfie Bear; Where Are You, Alfie Bear; Let's Play, Alfie Bear; and Play Gently, Alfie Bear. She has also written The Magical Snowman and Max and Minnie. When Will it be Spring? has also been published in a Spanish version.

Suggestions for the Classroom:
*Pre-Reading Activities: Discuss with children: What type of things make you think of Spring? Write their thoughts down on the board/paper (butterflies, flowers, sunshine, etc.).
*During Reading: Give students the opportunity to make predictions about what Alfie sees through the cave door (using sticks with the students names would be helpful to give each student a chance to share).
*Post-Reading Activities: Have students draw a picture of their favorite activity to do on a beautiful Spring Day.

Purchase and Read Reviews on Amazon.com

Spanish Version

Two of Everything

A Chinese Folktale

Retold and Illustrated by: Lily Toy Hong

Recommended for: Children Ages 4-8

Themes: Folktales, Social Studies

Summary:

     Mr. Haktak and his wife were poor and modest farmers who worked very hard. One day while working in his fields, Mr. Haktak was digging and hit something hard. When he was able to dig far enough to see the object, he observed that it was a large brass pot. Perplexed on how this brass came to be in his field and go unnoticed, Mr. Haktak decided to take the pot home to his wife with hopes that she could find a use for it. Mr. and Mrs. Haktak by accident realized that this pot had a special gift, anything that feel inside was copied leaving the copy with two of any object put inside. Furthur accidents insued and by the end of the story there was also a second Mr. and Mrs. Haktak. The Haktak's decided to embrace these new friends into their lives and soon both couples had just enough of all that they needed to live out their days.

     Children will enjoy this story because it is exciting to imagine a magical pot that doubled everything that you put inside. The children will also enjoy the humorous story of the Haktak's falling into the pot and coming out with a twin. As this story is also a Folktale, it has a wonderfully happy ending which the children will enjoy.

Suggestions for the Classroom:

*Pre-Reading Activity: Show the students the cover of the book Two of Everything. Ask the students to make predictions about what the book may be about? What clue may the title give us about the story?

*During Reading: Have students make predictions throughout the story: What will they use the pot for? What will they put in the pot next? What will the Haktak's do with the gold coins that came out of the pot? What will happen next (after she looks in the pot)? What will Mr. Haktak do with two wives? etc.

*Post-Reading Activity: Model for students writing a journal entry using the story starter: If I had a magic pot, I would _________________. Students will then create their own journal entry using the story starter on the board with your example to reference. Students should include a picture in their journal entry.

About the Author:

     Lily Toy Hong grew up as one of nine children in a Chinese American family in Salt Lake City Utah. She has written and illustrated several children's books, which she credits has always been her intended career. She now lives with her husband in Marray, Utah.

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The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales

Retold by: Dawn Casey
Illustrated by: Anne Wilson

Recommended for: Children Ages 9-12

Themes: Folktales, Social Studies, Science and Character Education

Summary:
     The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales is a collection of folktales from across the world which have an emphasis on the Earth and caring for it. This collection include folktales from: Australia, Nigeria, the American Southwest, Bali, Kazakhstan, India and Wales. Along with each folktale is a description of the culture of the area which the tale comes from and a learning activity to extend lessons learned within the folktale.
     Children will enjoy these stories as they will enjoy the opportunities to be exposed to stories from other cultures, the tales are very descriptive, they would be able to predict many of the events in the story, and they all have happy endings. As a read aloud, these stories would give wonderful opportunities for visualization. The activities selected to go along with each folk tale would also be fun ways in which for the children to tap into their creative energies and furthur connect to the stories and cultures.

Suggestions for the Classroom:
     This book could be used in several different ways within the classroom beyond learning simply about Folktales: 1) to extend Social Studies units when studying about different cultures and countries of the world; 2) to extend Science lessons about the Food Web and Food Chain; 3) to educate students about recycling, conservation and waste in connection with Earth Day, and 4) as a Character Education piece (as stories deal with themese of Respect, Responsibility, Caring, Giving, and Manners).
     For this selection, I would personally choose to include this book as part of an Earth Day Unit which I would plan for the month of April combining both Science and the study of different cultures. I would first discuss with the students the fact that Earth Day is a holiday held every year in the United States of America on April 22nd. On Earth Day we celebrate the earth by doing extra to care for our environment, however, all over the world different cultures have been celebrating the Earth in different ways. I would also make a list with the children of ways in which we can help to care for the Earth (recycling, cleaning up after ourselves, riding the bus instead of driving, etc.) in order to see what their Schema is.

*Pre-Reading Activities: I would choose one story from the book to read to them (maybe on a week as part of an Earth Day Unit), in this case it will be Grumpy Gecko, which is a Folktale from Bali. I would read to them the section about Bali, which describes the culture of Bali asking them to close their eyes and visualize what Bali looks like as I read the description. I would the students to take a moment to describe their vision to an elbow parter, in a few minutes they would then switch roles and hear from their partner. If possible, I would then show them a picture of Bali to compare to the picture that they had in their minds. I will also give the students a moment to let them ask any questions they may have before I being to read the selection.
*During Reading: I would read the selection to the students once without interuptions, asking them to try to visualize the characters and their actions as I read (set a purpose for reading).
*Post-Reading: As a class, we will fill out a flow-chart to show how each characters' actions had effected one another.
I would also use this story again the next day as an opportunity to do Reader's Theater with the students, giving them all parts to perform. We could practice these roles throughout the Unit and invite parents and family members to come in on Earth Day to observe our performance of Grumpy Gecko.

About Dawn Casey:
     Dawn lives with her family in England and has published two books with Barefoot Books (The Great Race:2006) and has previously worked as a primary school teacher and in publishing. She has always enjoyed folklore and believes that it looks deeply at who humans are within.

About Anne Wilson:
     Anne also lives with her family in England and has illustrated four projects for Barefoot Books (Storytime:2005, The Great Race:2006, and We're Sailing Down the Nile,2007). She gets the inspiration for her pictures from the traveling experiences which she has had in her life. Anne Wilson graduated with her MA in illustration from St. Martin's College of Art in London.

Buy or Read Reviews of the Barefoot Book of Earth Tales on Amazon.com

There's No Place Like School

Selected by: Jack Prelutsky

Illustrated by: Jane Manning

Recommended for: Children Ages 4-8

Themes: Fiction, Poetry, Picture Book

Summary:

     A collection of 18 children's poems by a varitey of authors on various school day topics such as: counting down the minutes to recess, a malfunctioning water fountain, getting called on by the teacher, show-and-tell, and what is really in the school lunch? The poems, combined with Manning's illustrations, provide a humuorous look into a child's view of a shool day.

     Children will enjoy these poems as they can relate to the topics. The rhyming patterns are simple and the the pictures amusing. Pretlutsky definitely had an understanding of young children when he chose the poems to include in his book. Children will not be able to keep their eyes off of the pictures as they listen to the rhymes.

Suggestions for the Classroom:

     This would be a wonderful book to use with children when teaching rhyming words and poetry. The poems are simple and young children can relate to the topics. While each poem has to do with school, there are a wide varitey of topics within the book to provide more inspiration for the children.

     This book would also be wonderful to use with children to practice the skill of making predictions. Students who do not have the skills to read this book independently would definitely be able to guess to the topic of each poem due to the wonderfully elaborate pictures.

*Pre-Reading Activities: Dicuss with children how to identify if words rhyme (they have the same ending sounds). Begin a list with the children of rhyming words on the board. Tell them that "Poems are stories that use sometimes use rhyming words. Today I am going to share with you a Poem that has rhyming words."

*During Reading: Select one poem from the book to share with the students (The Drinking Fountain). Show students the illustrations before you begin to read. Give students any opportunity to tell you what the predict the poem will be about. You may ask leading questions to get the desired response (a drinking fountain): Where is the little girl? How do you think she get wet? Then Read the poem to the students. Point out to the students that often the pictures give us good clues to what the story may be about.

*Post-Reading Activities: Ask students if they were able to hear any rhyming words. As they identify rhyming word pairs, write them on a Post-It note and put it in the book. If necessary, read the poem again, stopping after each set of four lines to ask students for rhyming word pairs.

After practicing this for a few days, using a different selection from the book each day, I would model writing a rhyming poem with the students. Then I would give them an opportunity to write their own rhyming poem about school, completed with an illustration. I would save a copy of each students poem and make our very own collection of poetry.

About the Author:

    Jack Prelutsky admits that as a child he never did like poetry and he likens it to a teacher who made it "about as exciting to liver". Instead he loved to draw pictures and later in his life began to write poems to go with his pictures. While others fell in love with his poems, they unfortunately did not fall in love with his pictures. He has proudly written poetry for 30 years and continues to inspire children with his poems (I imagine that this is his audience due to the experience he had as a child with poetry) Prelutsky maintains and interactive website that caters to both children and adults, complete with: poems, letters he has received, a biography, pictures of his family, sports trading cards that he has made which are complete with poems, and lesson plan ideas for teachers.

About the Illustrator:

Jane Manning has illustrated both children's picture books as well as chapter books, including: The Witch Who Was Afraid of Witches, Pip Sqeak, Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar and Drip Drop. She currently lives in Deep River, Connecticut where she continues to write, illustrate, and take photographs for children's books.

Puchase Book

The Pigeon Wants A Puppy!

Written and Illustrated by: Mo Willems

Recommended for: Children Ages 4-8 years old

Theme: Fiction

Summary:

     Pidgeon very enthusiastically describes how very badly he wants a pet puppy of his very own. He describes all the fun activities that he could enjoy if only he had a puppy of his very own, like: riding on it's back. That is until he actually comes face to face with a real live puppy and quickly changes his mind to really wanting a walrus of his very own.

     Children would enjoy in Preschool and Kindergarten will really enjoy this story because they can identify with the pigeon's enthusiasm for puppies. They will also enjoy identifying the pidgeon's misconceptions about having a puppy and pointing them out as you read. The children will enjoy the simple vocabulary that will allow them to read this book independently as they get into grades 1 and 2.

Suggestions for the Classroom:

     This would be an excellent book to use with children when discussing the difference between wants and needs. It is a wonderful example for children of taking time to decide if a pet woud be the best fit for your home, before you do get it home. It allows for wonderful conversation about what types of responsibilities are involved with caring for a pet.

*Pre-Reading Activities: Create a web with students using what it is that they know about puppies to activate their prior knowledge (schema). Show the students the cover of the book and ask them to predict what it could be about.

* During Reading: Give students opportunities to comment on Pigeon's reasons for wanting a puppy. What would happen if the Pidgeon did ride a puppy?

* Post-Reading Activities: Introduce the students to a picture of a Walrus. Ask the students if they think that a walrus would make a good pet for Pidgeon? Record their answers in a new web. Give the students a chance to pretend that they are Pidgeon and to write a journal entry about a pet that they want, complete with at least one reason why they want that pet and a picture.

About the Author:

     Mo Willems has had a successful career in writing and animating children's television shows: Sesame Street, Codename:Kids Next Door. He has written and illustrated several popular children's literature series which include popular character such as: Pigeon, Elephant and Piggy ans Knuffle Bunny. He also enjoys creating and showcasing his art peices and occasionally gueststars on NPR Radio. He maintatins his own website, complete with a blog and games for children to pay.

Sticky Burr: Adventures in Burrwood Forest

Written and Illustrated by: John Lechner

Recommended for: Children Ages 9-12

Genre: Fiction, Science, Graphic Novel, Informational Text

Summary:

     In this graphic novel we follow the story of Sticy Burr as he struggles to be accepted by the other Burrs. This is a wonderful story about a young burr who enjoys music and art and is teased by his peers, lead by Scurvy Burr, because he doesn't spend his days on adventures that stem from being stuck to things. As a child reads this book they learn that Sticky Burr really does not enjoy being stuck to things, and the trouble that it gets him into. He emurges as an unlikely hero at the end of the book and gains the respect of all the burrs as well as the lightning bugs.

    Throughout the story, Lecher gives readers lessons about the animals and objects that make up the characters in his book. These introductions provide factual information that not only enhance the readers knowledge about its content but also about animals and objects that they will at some point of their lives likely have contact with. The vocabulary used by Lecher throughout the book is challenging and the comic book design of the book can be hard to follow. I would suggest this book to who like to be challenges and who are able to use context clues and additional sources to help with vocabulary that they are unfamiliar with.

     Children will enjoy reading this story because it is a mixture of both factual information as well as fantasy. I believe that it will appeal most to young boys through its comic book layout. Many children will identify with its theme of an outcast who saves the day. The main characters ability to overcome his fears and to help his friends provides them with the predictable and positive outcome that they expect in their stories. This book will hold their interest, and even though they may predict that Sticky Burr will save the day, they will be surprised at the twists and turns that Sticky Burr encounters throughout his days journey.
Suggestions for the Classroom:
     This book would be wonderful to use, with a collection of other graphic novels and comic books, to introduce to children the skills that they will need in order to be successful in reading books of this format. Several copies of this book, along with other lower-level comics, could be used for children to work with independently after a mini-lesson on how to read graphic novels.

*Pre-Reading Activities:Model reading cartoons or comic strips with students. Discuss how to decide the order in which to read talking bubbles when there are more than one in a square. Explain to students what a Graphic Novel is. Ask students, what do you think is appealing to people about Graphic Novels? (With any luck you will have a nice convesation about how they are like picture books but more challenging) Model with students by sharing some of the comic strips from the Sunday newspaper.

*During Reading: As students are reading, ask them to keep a journal entry noting what they find challenging about graphic novels and what they find interesting about graphic novels ( a two-column chart). They can also jot down any questions that they have as they read.

*Post-Reading Activities:Think-Pair-Share: Have each student pair with another partner (not necessarily having had to have read the same exact book) and discuss the notes that each made on their two-column chart. Ask them to decide whether they feel that Graphic Novels are (1) too difficult to read or if they are (2) interesting and fun. Give the students time to pick their top three reasons, from their charts and discussions, to suppport their case. Give each partnered group to make a case for their side of the debate as they share with the group.

     After each paired group has had an opportunity to present, have the students take a vote: Are Graphic Novels (1) too hard to follow or are (2) interesting and fun. If there is time, or on another day, give the students an opportunity to make their own graphic novel with their partner.

About the Author/Illustrator:

    John Lechner grew up with six brothers and sisters in a home where the Arts were stressed in their importance. He has always enjoyed music, drawing and writing. One of his many jobs is writing and illustrating his own books, which includes his Sticky Burr series. However, Lechner also works as an animator, musician, puppeteer and an interactive designer. He has even started his own interactive website where visitors can see his movies, view interactive storybooks, and play games that he has designed.

Purchase or Read Reviews of Sticky Burr: Adventrures in Burrwood Forest

Snowflake Bentley

Written by. Jaqueline Briggs Martin

Illustrated by. Mary Azarion

Caledecott Award Winner - 1999

Recommended for Children Ages 4-8.

Genre: Non-Fiction, Science, Biography

Summary:

     This book tells the story of Willie Bentley, who as a child becomes facinated with snowflakes and how each is unique and beautiful in their own rite. Despite how others view his quest, Willie devotes his life to taking photgraphs to share the beauty that he has found in his snowflakes with others. Willie Bentley spends many hours trying to find the right environment to take his photographs. This is an arduous task, being that he has to deal with a fragile muse: broken flakes and melted flakes.

     This story teaches children to celebrate their differences and to look for the right opportunities to shine and sparkle. Children in Central New York will enjoy listening to this story as they can relate to the joy that Willie Bentley experiences as he catches his snowflakes and relate that to their own feelings of excitement about the first snowfall of the year. They will have the opportunity to learn something new, that snowflakes are all different one from the other and will enjoying exploring the validity of this claim.

Pre-Reading Activities:
     Discuss with students what is means to explore: to become familiar with by investigating or experimenting. Activate their prior knowledge of the topic by brainstorming with them the things that they investigate and the reasons why using a t-chart.

During Reading:
     Ask the students : Why Willie is interested in investigating snowflakes? Why is Willie's family is not supportive of his snowflake research? What would you do if you were Willie and your family did not support you? How do you think that Willie feels? Was Willie's research important? What did Willie learn about snowflakes? Why did he want to share his research with others?
Post Reading Activities:
     Go back to the t-chart that we made before reading and add snowflakes to the chart as well as Bentley's reasons for investigating them. Allow students some time to look at W. A. Bentley's books and write a letter to Bentley discussing with him their reaction to his books and his biography. If time, also allow them to  design their own snowflakes and then write words about themselves on their snowflakes; showing how each flake is different just as they are all unique.

About the Author:
     Jacqueline Briggs Martin lives in Ithaca, NY with her huband who is a professor at Cornell. Her son and daughter are now grown and starting families of their own but she credits them as her inspiration for writing children's books. Martin states that she has always had a love for words and wanted to create stories that would appeal to adults and children as they read together.

About the Illustrator:
     Mary Azarian won a Caldecott Medal for her in illustrations in Snowflake Bentley.She began her interest in working with wood cut prints as a fourth grade student, and after a few years of working with a press, and  has returned to using this medium primarily for her illustrations and prints. Azarian uses her wooden forms to make her black and white prints and then hand paints the color aspects of her illustration, a technique that is rare in her line of work. She credits her prints inspiration to her life living on a farm in Vermont with her husband and three sons.

Read Reviews and/or purchase the book

To purchase books of Willie Bentley click the following links:

Snowflakes in Photographs

Snow Crystals