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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!

Two important protocol actions for EVERY post:
1. Underline or italicize all book titles (choose one formatting style and stick with it--underline OR italicize for all book titles)
2. Add your name in the "label" box before you post each documentation.

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.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Smartypants (Pete in School)



Book Title: Smartypans (Pete in School)


Author(s): Maira Kalman


Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Maira Kalman


Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons


Copyright Date: 2003


Genre: Picture Book


Brief Annotation:


Poppy Wise’s pup, Pete, gets lonely staying at home all day, so decides to tag along to school. Even after breaking many rules and angering many teachers, everyone thinks Pete is wonderful and not to mention incredibly smart since he ate the principal’s copy of Everything you need to know about Everything.


Your Rating (1-5) and why:


4 – Even though this is a pretty silly story, there are some big themes. For instance, we all make mistakes, just admit it. Sometimes rules aren’t the best solution. Sometimes someone you think is a curmudgeon is actually quite a sweetheart. It’s another clever story told by Kalman, inspired by her own pup, and she even puts a pop quiz in the back of the book. Question #10 says: “How many mistakes did you make today? Please write your name on a piece of paper and list mistakes made today in detail and send to

Maira Kalman

c/o Putnam 345 Hudson St. New York, NY 10014

If you didn’t make any mistakes today, I will eat my shoes! (Just like Pete)


Readers who will like this book:


Dog lovers, students who tend to bend the rules, daydream, and have a fun and vivid imaganation.


After Reading Activity:


Respond to Kalman’s pop quiz questions!


Question to ask about this book before a read aloud:


Have you ever felt like there are just too many rules?


1. Interest Level (age): 5-8


2. Grade Level Equivalent (grade): 3.7

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3 comments:

  1. Suzy Kaback & FamilyFebruary 2, 2012 at 11:51 AM

    I love question #10. I always encourage teachers to create a "culture of trying" in their classrooms--if we're not willing to take risks, make mistakes, be wrong, or stay curious, we'll never have this culture in place.

    I also like your pre-reading question. I'm sure you'd get a pretty unanimous answer from young kids. Have you read Officer Buckle and Gloria? It would make a great companion to this book.

    Are you reading Kalman for your author study?

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  2. Jessica EatonFebruary 4, 2012 at 7:19 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. Jessica EatonFebruary 4, 2012 at 7:20 PM

    I've seen Officer Buckle and Gloria, but I haven't read it yet. I'll keep that in mind!

    I am reading Kalman for my author study - I'm really enjoying her work and I'm looking for more things by her. Her nonfiction is great and I heard that her adult novel, The Pursuit of Happiness, is awesome.

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