How to use this Page

*Concept book, preschool to kindergarten
*Forest creatures as main characters
*The layout is one of the best parts of this concept book. It’s a cute idea and well executed!

Short, short summary:

Each pair of pages asks, “Who is in the forest, dark and deep?” and then there is a circle cut-out previewing the next page and animal. For example, there’s a bird, squirrel, and fox. Each animal has a page with a rhyming answer, such as: “Foxes on the prowl–creep, creep, creep.” The end talks about nocturnal animals. There’s a lot to look at and explore with this book–especially for young children.

So what do I do With This Book?

1. You can talk to young children about the forest habitat and what plants and animals they would find there. You can also ask questions like, “Would a penguin belong in this book?” You could even do a KWL (Know, Wonder, Learn) chart if you wanted to further the study of this habitat.

2. Ask children to predict what the next page will say based on the cut-out circle pictures and the predictability of the repeating text and rhyming words.

3. Talk about the difference between nocturnal and diurnal animals after reading the last page of the book. What animals do children see in the last illustration? Are all of those nocturnal animals? What does this mean?

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*Picture book for preschoolers through first graders
*Baby wombat as the main character
*Rating: Another cute book by Jackie French, who wrote, Diary of a Wombat too.

Short, short summary:

When baby wombat is finally finished sleeping, he goes out to play. He finds a friend–a baby human. Soon mother decides they need a bigger hole, and baby tries to problem solve. Eventually their little friend finds that bigger hole. Told in a cute style, such as: Later morning: Ate. Afternoon: Slept.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. If your students/children don’t know what a wombat is, then talk about this and also read them DIARY OF A WOMBAT. You can do a K-W-L chart before reading this book–what do you know about wombats? What do you wonder about them? And then when you are finished reading, what did you learn about wombats?

2. Let students keep a diary of their week. What I like about this book is it makes it look so easy to keep a diary/journal. You don’t have to have large, flowing paragraphs. You can just write: Morning: got on bus, talked to best friend. Got to school, turned in homework, picked as line leader. etc. Students can even include illustrations as part of the journal.

3. Students/children can work on their prediction skills with this book. You can do a day-by-day prediction, such as: “What do you think the wombat will be doing tomorrow morning?” You can also do a prediction when they are digging the big hole. Where are the wombats going to end up at the end of the book? Students should use the illustrations as a guide to help them figure out where the wombats are going to end up.

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I am very excited to let people know about this book! It is perfect for music teachers and kids who love music. The best part is the author, Mayra Calvani, is giving away one copy of this book to a lucky commenter. So, for a chance to win this book, leave a comment below by Sunday, Feb. 20 at 8pm CST. Please only United States and Canada addresses. Now, on to the book. . .

*Picture book for preschool through second grade, fantasy
*A mouse as the main character
*Rating: What a clever idea for a picture book, and the illustrations by K.C. Snider are so cute, too!

Short, short summary:

Frederico the mouse lives in the workshop of the famous violin player, Antonio Stradivari. He likes to watch Stradivari create his famous Stradivarius violins. He practiced playing the big violins at night when he was alone. One night, Stradivari hears him, but the mouse doesn’t know. After that, the luthier works on a very small and special project, which the mouse is dying to figure out what it is.

So what do I do with this book?

1. Use the material in the back of the book for extension activities. There’s a bio about Stradivari, a search-a-word puzzle, violin vocabulary, and a matching game.

2. Let students predict what they think Stradivari is working on. Ask them to support their predictions with clues from the text.

3. Study instruments in the string family. Ask students to create posters and make a list of distinguishing characteristics. Listen to the string family if possible!

Don’t forget to leave a comment below for the contest!

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photo by Randy Son of Robert www.flickr.com

*Contemporary picture book for preschoolers through 2nd graders
*The LOUDS (a very fun family) as main characters
*Rating: The Louds Move In! is a funny picture book full of cute illustrations.

Short, short summary:

The Louds Move In! by Carolyn Crimi starts when guess what? The Loud family moves into a very quiet neighborhood on Earmuffle Street. The Louds walk loud–”stomp, stompity, stomp”–and eat loud–”chomp, chompity, chomp”–and even play loud–”thump, thumpity, thump.” All the quiet neighbors just can’t take the loudness anymore, and so they call and then write the Louds a note. However, it doesn’t seem to make a difference. One night, the quiet neighbors go over to the Louds’ house to talk to them about their loudness, and there is nothing but quiet. They figure the family must have FINALLY gotten the message. However, the neighbors start to hate the quiet, and they have to figure out a way to get the Louds back to being loud again.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. One of the 6 + 1 traits of writing is word choice. This is a great picture book to use with children to discuss word choice. From the sound effects to the characters’ names to the action verbs, Carolyn Crimi has used specific word choices that makes her picture book sparkle. Ask children to tell you some of their favorite words in the story. Point out how she is making the characters shout or bellow or yell, and how these words match her story. Make a list of specific words she uses that children like, and hang these words in the room for them to use in their own writing.

2. Before children discover that the Louds really didn’t change but went on vacation, ask them to predict what they think will happen at the end of the story? Why are the Louds so quiet? Did they listen to the letter? Did they want to change to make their neighbors happy? Ask students to use clues from the illustrations and text to make a realistic prediction.

3. Children can do a fun art and writing project with this book. Take a piece of drawing paper and divide it in half–on one half students draw themselves doing a loud activity they like. On the other half, they draw a quiet activity. Discuss how most people are both quiet and loud, depending on the situation. Then ask students to write a sentence or paragraph (whichever is age-appropriate) explaining their illustrations.

Are you part of the Louds?

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photo by shoshanah www.flickr.com

*Picture book for preschoolers through second graders
*Princess Bess as main character
Rating: Little girls who love princesses will love Princess Bess Gets Dressed, especially little girls who love princesses and underwear! (Now, I’ve peaked your interest, right?)

Short, short summary:

Princess Bess has a busy schedule. She has to dine on muffins with the queen, go to dance class, attend a joust, play chess, and much more. For each task or event, she has to change into a different outfit, of course, but she’s got a secret. She really likes to wear one thing best–and she doesn’t tell the reader what it is until the very end of the story. Well, and I’m not going to tell you either!

So, what do I do with this book?

1. This is a great book to practice prediction skills. In the beginning, Princess Bess tells readers that she has a secret about what she likes to wear best. But then she never gets to tell us because she is so busy. So ask students or family members to predict what her favorite outfit is. Write down predictions. Read the end of the book and see who is right.

2. Princess Bess Gets Dressed has a lot of fun rhymes. Ask children which pair of rhyming words is their favorite and then create your own sentences with these words. For example, one pair of rhyming words in the book is chess and dress. You could make up a sentence like: When I wear my blue dress, I like to play chess. Students will have fun making up new sentences with Margery Cuyler’s words as a starting point.

3. Ask students what their favorite clothes are to wear. Do they have a favorite shirt? Pajamas? Shoes? Send a note home to parents and ask them to bring in a photo of their children dressed in a favorite outfit. Children can paste or tape this photo to construction paper, write a sentence or two about their clothes, and decorate the paper for a unique wall display. If children forget photos, have a camera available, so you can take a picture of the student. You can easily do this activity at home with your children, too, if you home school.

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photo by peasap www.flickr.com

*Picture book for preschoolers through first graders
*Little boy and pirate girls as main characters
*Rating: The Night Pirates is a fun read full of imagination and playful language!

Short, short summary: Tom is a nice little boy who is trying to go to sleep. But he hears shadows outside his window, and he wonders if they could be monsters or trolls? Nope, they turn out to be pirates; and what I love about this is that they are LITTLE GIRL pirates!!! And even better, they don’t care that Tom is a little boy. They invite him to come along on their adventure anyway. They have to steal the front of his house to disguise their ship, but no big deal! Who will ever know? This is one of those great, clever picture books with a twist at the end shown through the illustration. Children will ask to have The Night Pirates read to them again and again.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. The language in this book is so fun from page one! “Down, down, down the dark, dark street they came.” “Up, up, up the dark, dark house they climbed.” Children will love to read the book out loud with you, especially the repetitive parts. They may even like acting it out–tiptoe down the street, pretend to climb up the house, and stay as quiet as mice.

2. As a shared writing activity, ask students what else the girl pirates and Tom could disguise their ship as. How about the Empire State Building, Arch, or Grand Canyon? You can get big, silly, small, or funny. Make a list on chart paper, assign one to each student, and ask them to write/draw about disguising the girls’ ship with their place.

3. Teach a prediction lesson with this book. Most people will think when the girls and Tom get to the pirates’ island that the pirates will capture them or be mean to them. But the opposite happens. So, before you read the part about what happens to the pirates, ask students to predict what they think will happen. Ask them what they are basing their predictions on (probably movies or books they’ve read like The Pirates of the Carribean).

If you have read this book with your students, let us know here. We always want to know what your children/students liked about it or what activities you did!

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