A Picture Concept Book

Paulina P. (for Peterson)

Cinar, Lisa.  (2008). Paulina P. (for Peterson).  Vancouver, BC: Simply Read Books.

This picture was obtained from: http://huggerboo.typepad.com/hugger-boo/kids-books/

“Paulina P. (for Peterson)

loves the letter P, indeederson.

If a things starts with a P,

Paulina loves it instantly!”

-page 2 from Paulina P. (for Peterson) by Lisa Cinar

A Little about the Book:

Paulina P. (for Peterson) is a great book to use to teach children all about the letter P.  The book uses fun rhymes, which create amazing flow and helps children read harder words.  All of the ps in the beginning of words are a different color, which makes them easy to spot out. 

Paulina P. (for Peterson), is about a girl cat who only likes things which start with the letter P.  Paulina cannot understand how her other friends like other things which do not start with the letter P.  At the end of the book, Paulina is more accepting of her friends liking other things, which start with the letter P, but will not change to be like her friends.

The Illustrations:

The illustrations look as if a child drew them.  A variety of different means are used to create the illustrations from crayons to real life pictures, patterns and computer created pictures.  The pictures are all bright and loud which makes them perfect for younger children.  The letter p is also incorporated in many of the pictures.

Themes:

·          The letter p

·         Individuality

·         Accepting others

Age Level:

Paulina P. (for Peterson) is great for children between the ages of 3 and 7.  The book has great uses for teaching children rhyming, about the letter p and words, which start with p.

Personal Response:

I enjoyed this concept book.  I enjoyed the story and the repetition of the letter p throughout the book.  The pictures are very amusing and interesting to look at.  Although I did not like some of the pictures as I thought the method used to create them was tacky.  For example, the picture of the pirate ship and the other little creatures made from blocks on page 10 is tacky to me, although some children may enjoy it.

Teacher Ideas:

Language Arts

Read the story to the children.  When you finish reading the story, discuss with the children what letter was talked about in the story.  Ask children questions about the letter p such as:

What words start with the letter p?

Can you draw the letter p in the air?

What letter comes before the letter p?

What letter comes after the letter p?

Art

Have children create pictures about the letter their name starts with combining different techniques used in the illustrations throughout the book.  Children may use patterns, crayon drawing, and magazine pictures or whatever other techniques they would like. 

Information about Lisa Cinar:

Click here to learn more about the author 



Halloween Night

Halloween Night

Fiction picture book

Murray, Marjorie D.  (2008). Halloween Night.  New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.

This picture was obtained from: http://www.harpercollinscatalogs.com/harper/511_1321_333039353731.htm  

“Stiff-legged zombies awoke from the dead,

As moth-eaten mummies arose from their beds.”

                                             -page 3 from Halloween Night by Marjorie Murray

A Little about the Book:

Halloween Night is a rhyming story about a witch and other monsters making a Halloween party for the tricksters.  The Witch prepares a brew, green creepies make treats and treat bags, and ogre and Olaf put together a buffet for the guests.  When the tricksters arrive, they run away screaming because all they wanted were treats, and instead were invited into a party full of monsters.

The book is based somewhat on “The Night Before Christmas”.  

The Illustrations:

The illustrations are absolutely amazing.  My favourite picture is when the tricksters are walking on the path on pages 13 and 14.  You can see faces in the trees if you look closely.  In addition, the tricksters’ costumes are just amazing! 

All of the pictures remind me of a cartoon show.  They seem to pop off the page at you.  The illustrator, Brandon Dorman, did an excellent job at creating the perfect Halloween pictures.

Themes:

•  Halloween
•  Throwing a party
•   Monsters, Witches and Goblins

Age Level:

Halloween Night is great for kids between the ages of 4 and 9.  Children can easily understand the story, and love the illustrations.  When I read the book to two four year olds, they absolutely loved the book. 

I would recommend the book for Kindergarten to Grade 4.  I believe children in the higher grades will not appreciate the book as much.  Children in Grade 3 should easily be able to read this book by themselves around Halloween time.  Some children in Grade 2 may be able to but some of the words are advanced for a Grade 2 student to read by them self.

Personal Response:

I enjoyed the story a lot.  The whole book is fun in a spooky way.  The illustrations are entertaining.  Between the stories flow and the pictures, I fell in love with the book.  I would recommend Halloween Night to everyone, and will definitely use it in my own classroom around Halloween!

Teacher Ideas:

Physical Education:

While you read the story to the children have them move like the different creatures in the book.  This is great for younger children.  It helps them use their imagination to move their body in a variety of different ways.

Language Arts

Read the story to the children.  When you finish reading the story, discuss with the children what happened in the story.  Afterwards have the children write what they think the tricksters would say to their friends and family about what they saw when they looked in on the monsters party. 

Purchase Halloween Night Here:

Click here to purchase Halloween Night

Strega Nona

Strega Nona

A Children’s Picture Book

dePaola, Tomie.  (1975).  Strega Nona.  New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

This picture was obtained from: http://saras-shoebox.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html

“She sang,

Bubble, Bubble, pasta pot,

Boil me some pasta, nice and hot,

I’m hungry and it’s time to sup,

Boil enough pasta to fill me up.”

-          From page 6 of Strega Nona

A Little about the Book:

The folk tale Strega Nona is about a grandma witch who has a magic pot, which can make large amounts of pasta.  The witch says a verse and the pot starts filling up with pasta.  When the pot has produced enough pasta she says another verse and blows the pot three kisses, the pot then stops.  The witch needs help around her house so she hires Big Anthony.  One day Big Anthony sees Strega Nona use her pot.  He runs to town and tells everyone about the pot; of course, everyone tells Big Anthony he is telling a lie.  Then one day Strega Nona goes to the mountains.  Before she leaves, she instructs Big Anthony to stay away from the pot.  However, Big Anthony decides to show everyone he is not lying and starts making pasts from the pot.  Everyone eats until they are full.  Big Anthony goes to stop the pot but does not know he has to blow three kisses to the pot.  The pot continues to make pasta, until Strega Nona comes back and stops the pot.  By this time the pasts has started taking over the town.  As a punishment, Big Anthony is required to eat all the pasta.

The Illustrations:

The illustrations remind me of an old Italian town.  Strega Nona is a plump older woman who resembles a witch, but also a loving grandmother.  The boy reminds me of a peasant who is a very hard worker.  The illustrations are very mellow in color.  There are no flashy pictures.  In fact, all of the pictures are very simplistic drawings, which could be recreated by older children. 

The illustrations do a great job at telling the story.  Children would be able to look at the illustrations and understand what is happening without reading the story themselves.

Themes:

·         Following instructions

·         Folk tales

·         Magic

·         Respect

Age Level:

Strega Nona is great for children between the ages of 5 and 9.  The book is very easy to read and understand.  The pictures are not bright and flashy so children under the age of 5 may not appreciate them very much.  The story is not full of developing information; it gets straight to the point so the younger children can easily grasp what the story is about.  Children can also use the pictures to retell the story without reading the words.  This is great for familiarizing students with the way picture books work.

Personal Response:

I had never read Strega Nona before.  Although I had heard many positive remarks about the book.  After reading Strega Nona, I fell in love.  I enjoy the simplistic story, which has magic in it but does not include the typical witches, goblins, and vampires.  I find in today’s literature witches are portrayed as bad and evil.  It was a relief to see in Strega Nona a witch did not harm people but helped people. 

I found the story about the magic pasta pot to be very cute.  The lesson of respect and listening to ones elders is a great one for students to learn.  After reading Strega Nona, I came up with millions of discussion questions to use with kids.  Strega Nona is a classic story, which will easily survive for many years. 

I would suggest Strega Nona to everyone.  It is a great story to share with your kids, read on your own, or use in a classroom.

Teacher Ideas:

http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/67422.aspx

This website provides a variety of social, math and language arts ideas for teachers to use when using the book Strega Nona as a unit plan.  There are some great ideas for using maps, sorting, and feelings.  This website provides great activities for children in Kindergarten and Grade 1.

http://kupferbergcenter.org/revelations/teacher_guides/strega_nona_tg.pdf

This website provides a variety of art ideas for children in Kindergarten to grade 3.  There are also instructions on how to create a play.  This website also provides various social and math lessons for students.  This is a great website to get various art ideas from. 

Watch Strega Nona Here:

Click here to watch Strega Nona 

Our Song: The Story of O Canada, the Canadian National Anthem

Our Song:  The Story of O Canada, the Canadian National Anthem

Non-fiction picture book

Kuitenbrouwer, Peter.  (2004). Our Song: The Story of O Canada, the Canadian National Anthem.  Montreal, Quebec: Lobster Press.

This picture was obtained from: http://www.lobsterpress.com/title.php?id=101

“Pierre Trudeau, then Prime Minister, announced to the crowd that the national anthem was the best present the country could have on its birthday.”

-page 21 from Our Song:  The Story of O Canada, the Canadian National Anthem

A Little about the Book:

Our Song:  The Story of O Canada, the Canadian National Anthem, teaches the reader the history behind the song O Canada.  The book includes where the song originated, who introduced the song, who created the lyrics, the music, and who made the French and English versions of the song.  The book also includes timelines of Canada’s history between the years of 1880 and 1980.  The book also includes the current lyrics of Canada’s national anthem and all the other lyrics sang before the song became Canada’s national anthem.

The Illustrations:

I absolutely love the illustrations.  Each page has leaf prints as the background, and characters that look like they were created from plasticine.  In addition, the pictures seem to pop out at the reader, almost as if they were three-dimensional.  All of the pictures are cartoonish but at the same time shows important symbols of Canada. 

Themes:

·          O Canada

·         The history of O Canada

·         Canada’s history

·         Songs

·         Music

Age Level:

Our Song: The Story of O Canada, The Canadian National Anthem is appropriate for children between the ages of 6 and 9.  Although the reading level of the book would be Grade 3 to Grade 5.

Personal Response:

I absolutely loved this book.  I found the information to be interesting and very informative.  I would use this book in a classroom, not only does it introduce students to the history of the song O Canada, but it also provides students with historic facts about Canada. 

The illustrations are amazing.  Even though the illustrations are cartoonish, they still provide a certain sense of seriousness, which allows the book to be educational.  My favourite picture is on pages 18 and 19.  I love the moose, raccoon, and dogs.  I also enjoy the incorporation of the music symbols in the actual pictures.  Throughout the book the use of the leaf imprints for the background are also very interesting.  I found it adds to the picture and provides an additional Canadian symbol for children to talk about.

Teacher Ideas:

Our Song: The Story of O Canada, The Canadian National Anthem is a great book to use in Social Studies.  Teachers can introduce a unit about Canada’s history using this book.  Students can use the history of O Canada as building blocks for other important historical events. 

Social Studies

• Have the students research one of the historical events presented in the timelines. 
• Have the students create lyrics to a classroom national anthem, and have them vote on the anthem.

• Have the students create a play based on Our Song: The Story of O Canada, The Canadian National Anthem.

Music

• Have the students sing O Canada.  

• Show students the lyrics of other versions of O Canada, and have them sing these versions. 

• Teach students how to play O Canada on a musical instrument.

Art

• Have students use Plasticine to create a Canadian. 

• Have students create leaf prints.  Give each student a piece of paper and a pencil.  Have them go outside and place the paper on top of the leaf and shade on the paper.  They should get an imprint of the leaf.  Students can use different colour pencils, or different leaves to make a picture.

• Take the students outside to pick out a bunch of leaves.  Then give students a piece of wax paper.  Allow students to arrange the leaves on their papers.  Than place another piece of wax paper over top of their sheet, and go over it with an iron until the two pieces of wax paper stick together.

O Canada song Information Here:

Click here to hear the current English version of O Canada

Click here to hear the current French version of O Canada

Click here for the different lyrics of previous O Canada songs

Stuart Little by E.B White

Stuart Little

A Children’s Novel

White, E.B. (1973).  Stuart Little.  New York, NY:  HarpenCollins Publishers.

This picture was obtained from: http://www.109things.com/list/My-Favorite-Childrens-Books/9BKYFNUDAZ01

“Stuart noticed one boat that seemed to him finer and prouder than any other.  Her name was Wasp.  She was a big, black schooner flying the American flag.”

^{-                      page 32 of Stuart Little}

A Little about the Book:

Stuart Little is about a mouse that was born into a human family.  Throughout the book, Stuart meets many new friends and goes on many exciting adventures.  Stuart gets to be the Captain of a ship, drive a car, and even fly with a bird.  Stuart makes many friends along his adventures.  Stuart even has to deal with numerous obstacles, including the family cat Snowbell, and being dumped on a ship, which takes garbage out to an island. 

The Illustrations:

All of the illustrations are in black and white.  Each picture takes up about a quarter of the page they are on, but are in detail.  Stuart Little looks like a real mouse, not the cartoon character seen in the Columbia Pictures movie version of Stuart Little. 

My son and I both enjoyed the pictures and discussing what Stuart was doing in them.

Themes:

·         adventure

·         family

·         friendship

·         overcoming obstacles

Age Level:

Stuart Little is a good book for children between the ages of 8 and 10.  The book contains some words, which will be a struggle for children younger than this age level, and possibly even some children who are between the ages of 8 and 10. 

The storyline is very easy to follow and very engaging.  I read the story to my 4-year-old son, and he absolutely loved it.  Some of the words need to be explained to him, or replaced with a similar simpler word but overall he understood Stuart Little.  The story itself can be read to a very young audience but would be recommended for children between the ages of 8 and 10 to read by themself.

Personal Response:

I really enjoyed Stuart Little.  At first, I was apprehensive about reading the story.  I had seen the Columbia Pictures movie version of Stuart Little and was not a fan; therefore, I thought I would feel the same way about the book.  I found the book to be amazing and one hundred times better than the movie.  E.B White did an excellent job at bringing to life a mouse and allowing readers to sympathize and relate to it.  The book is full of adventures, and action.  Each chapter brings forth a new experience for Stuart Little and makes the reader love Stuart even more! 

I would definitely recommend Stuart Little to everyone.  It is a great book to share with your children.  I am definitely going to have a copy available for students to read.  I also highly recommend reading the book instead of watching the movie.  The movie does not do the book justice.

Teacher Ideas:

http://www.theatreiv.org/guide/stuart.pdf

This website provides an activity book to use for children in Grades 1 and 2 after reading Stuart Little to them.  The book has math, language arts, science, and social studies activities.  These activities would help create a well-rounded Stuart Little unit which encompasses all of the subject areas.  You could even add some physical activity by playing a cat and mouse game (you could refer to it as Snowbell and Stuart).  The following is a link to a safe Cat and Mouse game to play with children:

http://www.theideabox.com/Cat_and_Mouse.html

Listen to a Passage from Stuart Little Here:

Click here to listen to a passage from Stuart Little

The House in the Night

The House in the Night

A Caldecott Award Winning Picture Book

Swanson, Susan M.  (2008).  The House in the Night.  New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Picture

This picture was obtained from http://reviews.rebeccareid.com/caldecott-corner-the-house-in-the-night-by-beth-krommes-2009-award-winner/

“On the moon’s face shines the sun.”

-page 20 of The House in the Night

A Little about the Book:

The House in the Night won the Caldecott Award in 2009 for its illustrations.  The book is a nighttime verse for children.  The House in the Night depicts there is always light in the dark.

The Illustrations:

The House in the Night’s illustrations look like a whole bunch of black lines put together to create a picture.  They are very interesting to look at.  When you look at the illustrations, your eyes move all over the pages following the various angles of lines in each picture.  The only coloring in the illustrations is yellow which depicts the light in the night.

Themes:

·         Bedtime

·         Nightime

·         Light

Age Level:

The House in the Night is appropriate for children between the ages of two and four.  The story is very simple.  The story line would be boring for older children though.

Personal Response:

The House in the Night has very good illustrations.  I enjoyed the use of black lines to create pictures.  I also found the additions of yellow to create the light were very effective.

The story itself was not very interesting.  I found the story to be dull and uneventful.  This is a book, which I would not read again, and would not recommend.

Teacher Ideas:

Art

The House in the Night is a great book to use to show children different methods of drawing pictures.  Children can use lines like those used in the illustrations in The House in the Night to create their own pictures.  I would suggest giving students fine line black sharpies to create their pictures.

Bridge to Terabithia

Bridge to Terabithia

A John Newberry Medal Award Winning Novel

Patterson, Katherine.  (1977).  Bridge to Terabithia.  New York, NY: Thomas Y. Crowell Company.

This picture was obtained from: http http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/afuse8production/2010/03/25/top-100-childrens-novels-13/

“This was the day he was going to be champion- the best runner of the fourth and fifth grades, and he hadn’t even won his heat.”

-page 27 of The Bridge to Terabithia

A Little about the Book:

Jess Aarons is a hard worker, he works hard around the farm, and he works hard at training to be the best runner in his class.  Than Leslie Burke moves into the house beside him.  Leslie turns out to be a faster runner than Jess, but that does not stop a friendship from growing.  Jess and Leslie become best friends.  They even build their own kingdom, Terabithia, in the forest across a creek.  The two are inseparable until one day when Jess goes to Washington with his teacher to a museum and art gallery.  Jess regrets not bringing Leslie along with them, but when he arrives home, his regret is even worse.  Jess’s life changes and so does Terabithia’s rulers.

The Illustrations:

Bridge to Terabithia does not contain very many illustrations.  The ones, which are present, are black and white and depict what is occurring at the time.  The illustrations themselves are very insignificant to the book.

Themes:

·         friendship

·         life

·         being a good citizen

·         Being an individual, and not conforming

Age Level:

Bridge to Terabithia is appropriate for children ages nine and up.  The story does contain vocabulary children may need some help understanding.  Although the story line itself is very is to follow.  Teachers could use this book in Grade four with their students.

Personal Response:

Bridge to Terabithia is a very emotional book.  I am not one to cry very often when reading, but this book had me crying.  Paterson does an impeccable job at creating such a strong friendship that when it’s broken apart it is heart breaking!

My favourite part of Bridge to Terabithia is the end when Jess proclaims May Belle the new Queen of Terabithia.

I cannot say enough about Bridge to Terabithia.  It is a book everyone should read, and possibly reread. 

Teacher Ideas:

http://www.nt.net/~torino/bridge.html

This website is a novel study guide, which teachers can use for Bridge to Terabithia.  There are questions for each chapter, vocabulary words, and an enrichment activity to do.

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/exploring-friendship-with-bridge-981.html?tab=1#tabs

This website provides 6 lesson plans teachers can with Bridge to Terabithia.  The lessons start with students making predictions based on the cover page of the book, and then proceed through start to finish of the reading the book.  The lessons focus on the theme friendship.  These lesson plans do a great job of getting students to think critically before, after and while they read Bridge to Terabithia.

Art

Have students create a shoebox diorama of Terabithia.  Let students be creative and use whatever materials they wish.  You can ask students the following questions to help them think of how they want their diorama to look:

1)      What items did Jess and Leslie use to make Terabithia?

2)      What did some of the pictures in the book of Terabithia look like?

3)      How do you picture Terabithia in your head?

4)      Where was Terabithia located?

The following website gives some information about making dioramas:

http://www.squidoo.com/shoebox-diorama