Heron and Turtle

Heron & Turtle

Author and Illustrator Valeri Gorbachev

Philomel 2006

40 pages

Fantasy Children’s book

                I choose this story because the differences of the two animals intrigued me. I’m glad that I picked this book. This is a story about two unlikely best friends. Turtle and Heron lived next door to each other. Turtle and Heron like to do fun activities with each other. However there are certain obstacles that make it challenging for a turtle and a heron to accomplish together. However being the best friends that they are they find a way to overcome the obstacles that are in front of them. What might you ask is the differences that they might have? Well you won’t know unless you read about the two best friends in Heron & Turtle.

                The illustrations in this picture are wonderful. They help tell the story beautifully. The text is easy to read and it follows a normal pattern across the page. The illustrations do go across the pages, and that allows the reader a larger more detailed picture of what the illustrator is trying to depict. The medium used in this book is watercolors, colored pencils, and ink. I think that student’s would be drawn to the pictures as well as how the story is laid out.

                Classroom connections for this story could be character connection. Talking about differences in people, and what a heron is. Most students probably do not know what a heron is. So the teacher could teach a mini lesson on what exactly a heron is. The students then can compare and contrast a heron to another bird that they already knew of such as a flamingo or a pigeon to show that birds are different. The story is all about differences. This is an extremely lesson to teach our students now. They need to know that even though someone is different than us does not mean that we cannot be friends or that they cannot work together to accomplish tasks. The students can write about what makes them different than others. The students have to write something that makes them unique. Once they write what makes them unique the class can put every ones differences together to make a beautiful picture of a flower, or another item. This will also teach morals and kindness to our students. Lastly the students can connect to either the turtle or heron. They then will write about why they chose that character and what makes them alike in certain ways. This also will show that even though people are different we can all be connected. 

The little red hen.

The little red hen

Author and Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

Dial 2006

32 pages

Fantasy Children’s book

               

This is a new take on the old story The little red hen.  In this story the hen finds some seeds and asks her buddies the short brown dog, the thin grey cat, the tall black goat, and the round pink pig for advice. They tell her that it is wheat seeds and will make wheat for bread. The hen then goes through planting and caring for the wheat as well as her young babies. None of hen’s friends will help her along the way. Her friends are lazy and just want to sit around. However when it comes time for the bread to be baked and eaten who do you think shows up to help the little red hen? If you want to find out you need to read this new spin on an old tail in The little red hen.

                The illustrations in this story were a little old fashioned. I know that this is a revamp of an older story so they did not want to stray too far away from the original I feel though the illustrations could have been a little better. The animals were depicted in a correct way and looked like normal animals except that they could talk. The text in the book was mostly on the top of the page, however the text color changed depending on what character was talking. That was a nice touch I thought it gave the readers a chance to know who was speaking in two different ways. The illustrations in this story were created by pencil, colored pencil and watercolors. Jerry Pinkney has won numerous awards for his illustrations and children’s books.

                Classroom connections for this book could be about characteristics, bread making, and connecting to the characters. Students can get in groups and talk about how the hen’s friends and hen’s attitude and characteristics. The students can talk about what they would do if they were hen and their friends acted that way and vice versa. You can teach a science lesson on how to make bread and the steps that are involved in it. The teacher also if available can make homemade bread in the class with the students. This will also allow them to really connect to the work that is involved in making bread so they know how Hen was feeling. Lastly the students can connect to hen. They can write about how they would feel if they were hen, and if they would have also not let her friends eat the bread when they didn’t help the process. Or the students can write about why they think that the other animals did not want to help hen. Not only is there study related activities that can go with this story there also are morals that can be addressed.

Big Bugs

Big Bugs

Author Seymour Simon

Illustrations Various Photographers

Chronicle Books, 2005

40 pages

Non Fiction Picture Book

           

If you are curious about big bugs than this is the perfect book for you. I chose this book because I thought that it would be interesting for the boys in the classroom. This is a book that has everything that you would want to know about the bugs that are considered to be “Big”. From the bird eating tarantula to the Atlas moth, it has them all. This book is perfect for your students who are interested in learning about creepy crawly bugs. This book is also perfect for describing and labeling insects. This is an informational book with details about insects and even shows their actual size on the page. I think that is neat because it will allow students to really see how big the insects are.

The illustrations in this book were pictures. The pictures taken of the insects were very vivid and close up. I think that this is crucial in order to really portray the parts and details of the insects. The text on the pages is normal on the side and the top. The text font is easy to read and is not a special font. The pictures on the page go across the page and take up the whole page. I think that the big pictures on the page are fun for younger students. The big pictures also give crucial details of the bugs.

                The classroom connections for this book are endless. You can have a science, writing, and art. For science you can pick a bug out of the book and focus on it for the week.  The students can break up into groups and do research on the bug. The students can find more information on the bug and then bring it back to the group. One group can do where the bug lives, what they eat, their survival skills, etc. This will allow the students to collaborate with each other and also critical think. The students also can do writing on the different parts of the bug, and their characteristics. They then can share them with the class. Lastly the students can create their own bug. The students can be given various objects and have to use what they have to make their own bugs. It will be fun to let the students use their creativity to make their own twist or spin on a certain bug. You can then display them around the classroom. 

What do you do with a tail like this?

What do you do with a tail like this?

Author and Illustrations by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

HMH Books for Young Readers 2008

32 pages

Nonfiction Children’s book

                This book is a wonderful informational as well as critical thinking book for younger students. I chose this book because of the catchy title. In this story the readers are given a question such as “What do you do with a mouth like this?” The readers then are shown pictures of certain animal mouths, on the next page they are then shown what animal it is and what they use that certain body part for. This book is a friendly way for students to be exposed to new and different animals that they are not used to seeing. Have you ever wondered what a where a whales ears are? Or what’s cool about a horned lizard? If these interest you, you have got to read What do you do with a tail like this?

                The pictures in this story are made by using a cut and paste collage. I think that they did a good job putting the animals together. The pictures are very realistic, but in a kid friendly way. The text and pictures are spread out across the page. The text goes upside down, sideways and in circles. The pictures also go from one page to another and they even go off of the page. I think that this book would be a good book for younger children to read, once they have gotten the concept of print down. I think that otherwise it might be hard for them to understand why the print moves all over the page.

                The classroom connections with this story could be science, vocabulary, and writing. A Science connection could be having the students pick an animal that they like the most out of the story and then describing it. This builds critical thinking as well as allows them to pick something that interests them. The students can draw a picture of the animal that they have chosen, or could even just write different things that they found interesting about it. A vocabulary lesson could be very beneficial with this story. There are numerous words in this story that the students can break down, define, and use in their classroom conversations. In the back of the book there is a glossary of the animals that are discussed as well as some great vocabulary words. The students also can pick out some of the words that they have questions about and then you can have a classroom discussion. Writing also can go with this story. The students can write about two different animals in the story that are alike or different and tell things about them that supports their idea. The teacher can pick how many different things that the students need to write about depending on the grade level.

Chameleon, Chameleon

Chameleon, Chameleon

Author Joy Cowley

Illustrated by Nic Bishop

Scholastic, 2005

32 Pages

Non Fiction Children’s book

                This is a great nonfiction book for the younger students in the classroom. Boys would really enjoy this book. I choose this book because I wanted to broaden my horizon on the books that I read.  In this story there is a lonely chameleon that goes on a sort walk through the wild to try and find food. During his walk he encounters several different animals some who are harmless and some that are dangerous to the poor chameleon.  On a search for food it shows how slowly and carefully the chameleon moves from tree to tree. The chameleon finds another tree but he encounters a guest at the top of the tree. Will this guest be friendly to the chameleon or not? You won’t know unless you read Chameleon, Chameleon.

                The illustrations in this book were photographs. The photographer Nic Bishop did a wonderful job capturing the up close essence of the chameleon and the changes he makes in his color. The pictures and text on the page varies from page to page. The text is friendly for students to read, and the pictures are bright in color. I think that this book did an excellent job of portraying how a chameleon looks as well as moves. I think that this book would appeal to students Kindergarten if it is read to them, and up to third or fourth grade. This book also has some great vocabulary words that can be tied in to a lesson.

                There are numerous classroom connections that can be made with this book. You can teach a Science lesson on Chameleons. The students can get together in groups and be given certain parts of the chameleon that they are to focus on. The different categories could be the camouflage effect they have, what they eat, how they travel, the characteristics of their skin.  The students can then come back to the class and discuss what they discovered about the chameleon. An Art/ Science connection could be you could have the students color a chameleon to blend into a certain project. The students could create a specific wildlife science and they have to hide a chameleon in the picture of where the chameleon would live based on the information that they have learned. Lastly the students can label a large chameleon chart. This will let the students discuss and discover all the different parts of the chameleon. This is great for students because it connects them visually and with text to something in real life. The possibilities that can go with Chameleon, Chameleon are endless and I think that this is definitely a book that I will add to my classroom library.