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You have accessed the blog site for Choosing and Using Books for Children. Throughout the term we'll use our blog to record the books we read and the ideas we have for using them when we're teachers. By the end of March, our class will have read at least 280 books. Happy reading!

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One important recommendation:
Create your documentations in a separate Word document, then cut and paste in a blog post.

Basic Documentation

Book Title:

Author(s):

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist:

Publisher:

Copyright Date:

Genre:

Brief Annotation:

Your Rating (1-5) and why:

Readers who will like this book:

Teaching Strategy from Tompkins or Yopp & Yopp (you'll link a strategy to at least 10 of your 40 books) :

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud:

Optional, but noted as extra effort:

1. Interest Level (age):

2. Grade Level Equivalent (grade):
Use book wizard to help with the previous 2 areas


3. List awards

4. Does this book have a book trailer? If so, cut and paste the web address here.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Gathering: A Northwoods Counting Book

Book Title: Gathering: A Northwoods Counting Book


Author and Illustrator: Betsy Bowen


Publisher: Little, Brown and Company


Copyright Date: 1995


Genre: Picture Book – Counting


Brief Annotation:


Bowen takes us through Northwoods in twelve steps. In spring, everything is coming back to life and it’s time to get to work. It’s time to plant and get ready for harvesting. Summer is the shortest season, but that’s when most of the food needs to be harvested and canned so the family can enjoy blueberry pie in the middle of December. Summer’s also the time to make some fun memories before the winter months freeze all of the lakes and rivers. Once the weather gets a bit cooler in the fall and winter, it’s time to close everything up, and enjoy the fruits of their labor with so rhubarb pie and wild rice soup.


Your Rating (1-5) and why:


3.5 – Bowen’s wood cut prints are definitely distinguishable and perfect for the seasonal motif in the story. I also liked reading about how a farming family gets by in such a cold part of the state! I don’t know if I would use it as a read aloud with a big group because it gets a bit wordy, which makes the counting aspect of the book seem kind of insignificant. I thought that since there were twelve steps, each page would be dedicated to a month, but it jumps around a bit, focusing more on the seasons.


Readers who will like this book:


Readers interested in life in the Northwoods would enjoy this book.


Question to ask about this book before a read aloud:


Have you ever been up in the Northwoods? Which season was it?


1. Interest Level (age): 5 and up


2. Grade Level Equivalent (grade): 1.0

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1 comment:

  1. Suzy Kaback & FamilyMarch 31, 2012 at 5:44 AM

    I really like this book--it reminds me of Maine, where I grew up. As I was reading your summary, I was thinking of textsets (my mind always goes there) and I thought about Leaf Man (Ehlert), Sugaring Time (Lasky), Owl Moon (Yolen) and One Wish (can't remember author) and A Child's Calendar (Updike). The first 4 are seasonal, the last is one that spans the whole calendar year (like Northwoods). I see this collection as a more careful study of the seasons, a thoughtful discussion that might provoke conversation about how where we live affects our perception of seasonal changes and what's to enjoy about each time of the year.
    Thinking of this book as part of a textset might be your solution to how to use it with kids (not a great read aloud, but a good match with other books with the same topic). Do you know if Northwoods is nonfiction?

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