Pumpkin Soup

Book Title: Pumpkin Soup

Author(s): Helen Cooper

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Helen Cooper

Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

Copyright Date: 2005

Genre: Contemporary realistic fiction, audiobook

Brief Annotation: In their cabin in the woods three friends make pumpkin soup like clockwork every day until one day when Duck decides he wants to be the one to stir the soup. After being denied this job, Duck storms away in a huff and it doesn't take long before Cat and Squirrel set out through the woods to find their friend. 

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 5--I really enjoyed this book because of the feeling of autumn that you get listening to the audio recording! The book and subject matter all hint at autumn, but the rustling of the leaves and the howling wind makes you feel as though you're there in the woods.

Readers who will like this book: Readers who are beginning to develop friendships will really enjoy this book. They will be able to identify with the squabbles that happen between friends and will be able to contribute to solutions for solving disagreements.

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: Have you ever had a job to do in a big group before? Did you want to change your job? Who would you go to? 

Clementine

Book Title: Clementine

Author(s): Sara Pennypacker

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Marla Frazee

Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children

Copyright Date: 2006

Genre: Contemporary realistic fiction

Brief Annotation: Clementine is an 8-yr-old girl who is having quite the week. Despite being naturally mischevious, albeit with no ill-intention, she's always getting scolded and reminded to behave and pay attention. During this rough week, not only is Clementine feuding with her best friend Margaret, but she's also in the principal's office....a lot! Despite the mishaps, Clementine finds redemption as she puts her creative energy to use and becomes a hero in the Great Pigeon War!

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 5--This was a very cute book, and an easy, fun read. There are simple illustrations throughout, which I think would make it a good selection for a read-aloud. This book gives validation to the ups-and-downs that kids go through (instead of just those grown-ups and their difficult lives) and shows how a girl who can never seem to get it right just might come out on top!

Readers who will like this book: Readers who will enjoy this book are young children who enjoy getting into longer books that they can really relate to. It seems like an easy read to me, but one that you can't wait to get back to during D.E.A.R time.

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: Have you ever had a fight with a friend? What about with a family member? What had to happen so that you could get over that fight?

Mr. Popper's Penguins

Book Title: Mr. Popper's Penguins

Author(s): Richard and Florence Atwater

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Robert Lawson

Publisher: Little Brown and Company

Copyright Date: 1938

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction (animal) novel

Brief Annotation: A fan of polar exploration by night and a house painter by day, Mr. Popper writes to his hero, Admiral Drake, who sends him an antarctic penguin in return! After turning their refrigerator into an ice box, the penguin starts to drop in spirits! Before they know it, the Poppers have a whole house full of penguins. To earn their keep, Mr. Popper attains his dream of working with penguins, even if it is as unconventional as as a performing vaudeville act of penguins!

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 5--This book was just as enjoyable to read as I remember it. What a fun topic--penguins in the house! It's a great reminder that kids can grow up to work with anything they're passionate about.

Readers who will like this book: Readers who will like this book are those who love working with animals! Elementary students are at a very fun age where they can get passionate about a particular species or breed, so indulging in a grown-up with the same passions can be fun!

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: If you got to live with one animal, which would it be? Would you live in their home or your home? How?

Over on the Farm

Book Title: Over on the Farm

Author(s): Christopher Gunson

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Christopher Gunson

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Copyright Date: 1995

Genre: Poetry, counting, contemporary realistic fiction

Brief Annotation: Over in the (field, wood, pond, etc) lay a happy mother animal who is looking for her babies. Readers can count the baby animals over in the particular area of the farm and enjoy listening to the rhythmic cadance of the sentences.

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 5--This adorable book is targeted towards pre-k students, which is perhaps why I liked it so much, but the illustrations are soft and bright, and all the animals are detailed so nicely. The book uses concepts of rhyming and counting, and always begins with a variation of the phrase 'over on the farm.' Over on the hill, over in the wood, etc.

Readers who will like this book: Readers who will like this book are young animal lovers who are excited about counting all the babies!

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: Have you been to a farm? Who lives on a farm? What could we do if we visited a farm?

Piggins

Book Title: Piggins

Author(s): Jane Yolen

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Jane Dyer

Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers

Copyright Date: 1987

Genre: Contemporary realistic fiction, mystery

Brief Annotation: Piggins is a beloved butler who is serving a dinner party. When his hostess' brilliant diamond necklace goes missing, it's up to Piggins to find the clues, illuminate the perpetrator, and recover the goods!

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 3.5--I haven't read many juvenille mysteries, but this one seemed like it had a little too much superfluous detail mixed in with the essential elements of solving the mystery. If young readers were trying to solve the mystery along with Piggins, they would certainly need some direction.

Readers who will like this book: Readers who will want to re-read this book are those who appreciate gorgeously illustrated pages full of fancy ladies in gowns and jewels. If an adult is directing the reading, kids who enjoy being involved in the story can help Piggins sort out who-done-it.

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: Have you ever been a detective before? What were you looking for? How did you find it?

The Mitten

Book Title: The Mitten

Author(s): Jim Aylesworth

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Barbara McClintock

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Copyright Date: 2009

Genre: Contemporary realistic fiction

Brief Annotation: Grandmother knits her grandson a pair of great big warm woolen mittens every year before winter. When he loses one of them in the snow, several forest animals use it as their home for the night to keep warm! It's so toasty that, one by one, a bear, a fox, a rabbit, a squirrel, and a mouse all squeeze in until......POP! When the boy finds the shredded mitten the next day he sets out to get some more to share.

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 4--This was a cute book, and had a lot of great opportunity for interactive read-alouds. The characters that squeeze into the mitten have the same dialogue whenever a new character appears and asks to share the warmth, so kids could enjoy the predictability of the text and the eventual sharing and hospitality.

Readers who will like this book: Kids that will enjoy this book are animal lovers! There are great illustrations and doing the voices/noises of each animal would be a fun way to read this book together.

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: What do we wear when it's cold outside? Have you ever thought about what animals wear? What can they do to stay warm?

King & King

Book Title: King & King

Author(s): Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Betsy Stromberg

Publisher: Tricycle Press

Copyright Date: 2000

Genre: Folktale

Brief Annotation: Tired of ruling for a long time, the Queen decides it is time for her son, the Prince, to marry. After flying in many princesses and not finding any of them suitable, the Prince finally feels a stir in his heart. It is for one of the princess' brothers! Relieved that her son has found happiness, the Queen blesses the marriage and the two princes rule the kingdom together as King and King.

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 4--This book is short, simple, and to the point. The illustrations are a little unorganized and hodge-podge (collage and watercolor) for my taste, but the short tale of forced-courtship turned-happy ending is good in my opinion. The Queen doesn't even blink twice when Prince selects a Prince instead of a Princess.

Readers who will like this book: Children who have read one fairy tale after another will probably enjoy this book. It has many of the classic elements with a fun twist!

Teaching Strategy: Story Retelling (Tompkins, p. 119): I picked story retelling because it allows for 1:1 time between the student and the teacher. While the main concepts are assessed (characters, setting, events), additional comprehension is formally omitted from the evaluation. I would be interested to hear if the child had more to say about the story or other things they noticed. There's also a nice avenue to discuss how it is the same or different from other fairy tales. I wonder if the student would comment on that on their own....

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: What do we know about princes and princesses? Have you ever thought about what would happen if a prince didn't want to marry a princess, but someone else instead?

Number the Stars

Book Title: Number the Stars

Author(s): Lois Lowry

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: ---

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Copyright Date: 1989

Genre: Historical fiction

Brief Annotation: Young Annemarie Johansen and her friend Ellen Rosen are adolescent girls living under Nazi rule in Denmark in 1943. When Ellen's family is forced to flee to avoid relocation, the Johansen family takes Ellen into their home to pose as one of their own daughters. The friendship between the two girls is strengthened as the Johansens work with the Danish Resistance to escort the Rosens across the sea to safety until the end of Nazi occupation.

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 5--I love, love, love this book! I remember reading it in elementary school and re-reading it for this project was such a joy. You don't have to be a WWII history fan to enjoy the tale of friendship and heroism that is displayed between these two young girls and their courageous families. It tells the tale of wartime occupation from a child's perspective, yet does not take any responsibility away from her due to her age.

Readers who will like this book: Readers who will like this book are those who enjoy reading about adventure! The girls are as active a part of the Resistance as any adult, and their success rate ends the book on a happy note.

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: Do you have a best friend? Are they the same as you in every way? Maybe their family is different, or their religion, or their culture. Who would you be willing to stand up to fight for your friend?

Harlem

Book Title: Harlem

Author(s): Walter Dean Myers

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Christopher Myers

Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

Copyright Date: 1997

Genre: Poetry

Brief Annotation: Harlem is a poem that talks about the colors, sounds, and feelings of taking the A Train down to Harlem. The illustrations are a combination of ink, gouache, and collage, which really add to the hodge-podge multi-culture feel of the book. 

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 2--The poem does not flow well page-to-page, which makes me think that it would be difficult to read to a group of young students. Splitting students into smaller groups to examine parts of the story would be more manageable, but as a read aloud I would not choose it.

Readers who will like this book: Readers who will like this book are those who are fascinated by in-depth illustrations. Those who are auditory listeners may enjoy the rhythm, but those who read for story content or continuity will be disappointed.

Teaching Strategy from Tompkins or Yopp & Yopp (you'll link a strategy to at least 10 of your 40 books) : I would use a combination of Story Boards (Tompkins, p. 116) and Gallery Walks (Tompkins, p. 38) for this book. I would split up each two-page section that describes an aspect of Harlem per small group and ask them to look at the illustrations that accompany the words. If they would illustrate the same way, then try to replicate it. If they would do it differently, go for it. We would then line up how our storyboard would look and talk about the feel we get from our book versus the actual book.

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: Do you know where Harlem is? It's part of a big city, sort of like where we live. When you go into the city, what do you hear? What does it feel like to be part of such a big city?

List Awards: Caldecott Honor Book

Germs Make Me Sick!

Book Title: Germs Make Me Sick!

Author(s): Melvin Berger

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Marylin Hafner

Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers

Copyright Date: 1995

Genre: Non-fiction

Brief Annotation: The book talks to the kids as it explains that, sometimes, you go to bed feeling fine and then wake up feeling sick! This is because germs are around us everywhere we go. Without creating a new generation of hypochondriacs, this book does a great job of explaining what germs are, the most common spots to find them, how we catch them, and how we can try to stay away from them!

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 4--This is as good a book as I have found for explaining the concept of 'germs' to kids in my classroom. The book has great watercolor illustrations and frequently changes topic within the story so that there's always something new to look at and talk about as it pertains to our germs and our bodies. It's a little bit long, but can be used when talking about all aspects of health with young kids--from candy and cavities to covering our sneezes.

Readers who will like this book: In my experience, readers who will like this book are those who like to 'police' others in the classroom about using kleenex and covering their coughs. Other students who have had colds, coughs, and runny noses will hear things that have happened to them in this story

Teaching Strategy from Tompkins or Yopp & Yopp (you'll link a strategy to at least 10 of your 40 books) : Venn Diagrams (Tompkins, p. 129): Venn diagrams and T-Chartsare great to use with books that compare and contrast things. I would use a T-Chart for a class brainstorm post-reading to list things that Keep Us Healthy and things that Don't Keep Us Healthy.

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: Before I read this book I ask who has had a runny nose or the 'sniffles and sneezes' before. Then I use a spray bottle to squirt some water into the air like I had sneezed--the kids watch it soak a piece of paper a friend holds in front of me. Then I 'sneeze' with the spray bottle again but hold a kleenex in front of the 'sneeze' and watch how much less water hits the paper. This could be done before or after reading the book.

Baseball Saved Us

Book Title: Baseball Saved Us

Author(s): Ken Mochizuki

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Dom Lee

Publisher: Lee & Low Books

Copyright Date: 1993

Genre: Historical fiction

Brief Annotation: This story of a young Japanese-American boy is told in first person as his family is relocated to an American internment camp during the 1940s. To keep spirits up, the Japanese-American families in "Camp" build a baseball field to distract and unite members of their culture during this dark period in American history. The young boy has never been a talented athlete, but he manages to channel his anger at the guards into his baseball game and ends up as a star. When his family goes back to their neighborhood and old schools post-1945 the young boy uses his new-found confidence to defy anybody to make him feel ostracized on a personal or athletic level.

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 4--I've never heard a story like this for children before. I'm a huge twentieth century American history buff, and I know that I would have liked this book even as a child. I like that it's told in first person and doesn't end after the families are released from the internment camps. The young boy carries the lessons he learned in Camp with him onward in life.

Readers who will like this book: Readers who are interested in history (obviously) will like this book. Rough patches in American history can be a difficult topic to tackle in the classroom, and I think the first-person delivery will function as a kid explaining what it felt and looked like to another 'kid' (the reader) will be very effective.

Teaching Strategy from Tompkins or Yopp & Yopp (you'll link a strategy to at least 10 of your 40 books) : Questioning the Author ( Tompkins, p. 88): This strategy teaches students to develop 'queries' to develop comprehension, rather than just fact recall after a story. Teachers can ask questions to tackle larger issues underlying what the author says verbatim, like "What is the author trying to tell us with this story," "Why is the author including this detail," or "Why do you think the author chose to write about this experience?"

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: What sports do you all enjoy playing? What do you like about playing on a team? Can you think of some times having a 'team' around you would help you?

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Book Title: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Author(s): Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Lois Ehlert

Publisher: Beach Lane Books

Copyright Date: 1989

Genre: Concept book (alphabet)

Brief Annotation: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom uses a rhythmic way of reading the ABCs as they 'climb up the coconut tree.' The letters climb up the tree in order, like 'here comes f, followed by g!" There is a visual on every page of the lowercase letters making their way up the tree. When the letters all get to the top they're too heavy, so they fall down and have to climb up again! This time the 'grown-ups' (uppercase letters) help their little ones patch themselves up (skinned-knee d and loose-tooth t, etc) and try to climb the tree again.

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 5: This is one of my favorite books to read to kids, especially after they're familiar with the traditional alphabet song. Kids can learn a new tune to go along with their letters. I like that it shows the letters in normal font, not as another character bent into what the letter should look like.

Readers who will like this book: Readers who will enjoy this book are those learning their letters and working on their alphabet songs!

Teaching Strategy from Tompkins or Yopp & Yopp (you'll link a strategy to at least 10 of your 40 books) : Alphabet Books (Tompkins, p. 4): I am envisioning using this book with a pre-primary or kindergarten audience to help learn letters. I thought an alphabet book where students could draw or color in the letters and then write what happened to them on the way down the tree would reinforce letter knowledge. Since they will already be familiar with the story, students could decorate each letter page and write a sentence featuring the target letter about what happened to that letter in the book. For example, on the 'J' page the student might write, "The J Jumped out of the tree."

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: Who knows the ABCs? Did you know there's another song with the ABCs in it?! See if you can figure out which letter I'm going to read next!

Mother Goose: A Collection of Classic Nursery Rhymes

Book Title: Mother Goose: A Collection of Classic Nursery Rhymes

Author(s): (selected by Michael Hague)

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Michael Hague

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Copyright Date: 1984

Genre: Poetry

Brief Annotation: This collection of classic Mother Goose nursery rhymes includes nearly 60 pages of short rhyming tales, sometimes only four lines in length. Most all of them are beloved and very recognizable, such as Old King Cole. Each tale has a painted picture to accompany it.

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 3: For a generic Mother Goose book, this collection has nice illustrations. Sometimes I wish the short snipets were longer, but I'm not sure how much liberty can be taken to add on to the tale. Maybe that's something a class could do (add another verse).

Readers who will like this book: Readers who will like this book are those struggling with poetry, since the rhyming pattern and prose is easy and familiar.

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: Who has heard a Mother Goose poem before? When did we hear them growing up? Can you remember any? Who do you think Mother Goose was?

Smoky Night

Book Title: Smoky Night

Author(s): Eve Bunting

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: David Diaz

Publisher: Harcourt Books

Copyright Date: 1994

Genre: Historical fiction

Brief Annotation: When the violent Los Angeles riots break out one night in a young boy's neighborhood, he and his mother must learn to band together with their neighbors, even though they are of different cultures and backgrounds.

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 5: I loved this book! Perhaps it's my natural draw to historical events which foster social change and cultural cohesion, but I thought that this book explained conflict in a way that many young children can understand, and perhaps even identify with.

Readers who will like this book: Readers who will like this book are those in the classes I teach, who have experienced trauma like this in their own lives and need some way to make sense of it or simply say to the teacher, 'that happened outside my house last weekend, too.' I definitely plan on bringing this book to my school. Also, I loved the illustrations!!

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: Smoky Night, what a title! When do we see smoke? What do we think of when we see smoke? How would a dark, smoky night make us feel?

Circus

Book Title: Circus

Author(s): Jack Prelutsky

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Arnold Lobel

Publisher: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc

Copyright Date: 1974

Genre: Poetry

Brief Annotation: I enjoyed this book of poetry because it is also sort of like a story. The book introduces readers to all the different actors in the circus ring, and entertains with brilliantly colorful cartoon illustrations on every page. There every other line is rhymed in a 1 & 3, 2 & 4 pattern, so the rhythm is very upbeat and flows nicely.

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 4.5: I love the illustrations and the fast-paced rhyming! I think a good read-aloud teacher could keep most kids engaged in this slightly-lengthy book.

Readers who will like this book: Readers who will like this are those that are engaged through listening. It's fun to both read and listen to.

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: Who has been to a circus? What might we see there? See if you can pick out your favorite character from this book and tell me some things that they do!

The Hare and the Tortoise

Book Title: The Hare and the Tortoise

Author(s): La Fontaine

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Brian Wildsmith

Publisher: Franklin Watts, Inc.

Copyright Date: 1966

Genre: Fable

Brief Annotation: After an argument about who was more clever, the tortoise challenged the hare to a race. Lacking impulse control, the hare stopped to eat some carrots, as he had a large lead on the tortoise. He then laid down and fell asleep! The hare did not notice as the tortoise, traveling 'slow and steady' crossed the finish line ahead of the quick and careless hare.

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 4: I love this old fable. The lesson is still something I remind myself of when trying to complete an arduous task where I lack patience. Though this particular copy of the story is decades old, I enjoyed the brightly painted pages.

Readers who will like this book: Readers who will like this book are young animal lovers, and maybe those who enjoy pulling little tricks on people!

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: Who do you think would win in a race, a fast 'hare' or a slow 'tortoise'? (vocabulary expansion!). Have you ever beat somebody faster than you in a race? How did you do it?

King Midas

Book Title: King Midas

Author(s): Demi

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Demi

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Copyright Date: 2002

Genre: Myth

Brief Annotation: This myth tells the tale of greedy King Midas who shuns the Greek Gods and their wisdom, only to appear more a fool when he is given the ears of a Donkey at the hand of Apollo after King Midas wrongs him. When King Midas returns something of value to the Gods, they grant him any wish. He foolishly wishes for everything he touches to turn to gold, but finds this act of greed makes everything impossible, from hugging friends to eating food. He must appeal to the Gods to reverse this hasty act of greed.

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 4: Though there was a bit of superfluous information in the story, the message of humility and selfishness is a good one to send to kids. 

Readers who will like this book: Those studying Greek mythology would probably enjoy the silly tale of King Midas.

Teaching Strategy from Tompkins or Yopp & Yopp (you'll link a strategy to at least 10 of your 40 books) : Clusters (Tompkins, p. 21): Clusters are a fun way to do word-association with a tale, especially a myth, with younger students. Our center of the cluster could be King Midas and our rays out from the center could be different things we think of when we talk about King Midas and his tale. Kids might say that he is selfish (or other aspects of his personality), that he helped the Gods (another sub-topic to branch off), etc. This visual organizer can help unpack the story a little bit more as we talk about the different themes and topics present.

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: If you were given any wish to be granted, what would you wish for? Something for yourself? For others? What would the "best" type of wish be?

Welcome, Precious

Book Title: Welcome, Precious

Author(s): Nikki Grimes

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Bryan Collier

Publisher: Orchard Books

Copyright Date: 2006

Genre: Poetry

Brief Annotation: Two parents welcome their new baby into the world with rhythmic descriptions and experiences of their daily lives.

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 3.5: For a girl who doesn't get into poetry easily, I enjoyed reading this quick cadence of new sensory experiences and love from family. Each page has a large illustration accompanied by just a few lines like, "Welcome, Precious, to the squeaky surprise of a yellow ducky and the glistening mystery of soap bubbles."

Readers who will like this book: Readers who will like this book are those with younger siblings.

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: If you had a newborn baby at home, what would you like to introduce them to in your world?

What's So Bad About Being an Only Child?

Book Title: What's So Bad About Being an Only Child?

Author(s): Cari Best

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: Sophie Blackall

Publisher: Melanie Groupa Books

Copyright Date: 2007

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Brief Annotation: Rosemary is an only child--the only child in her entire extended family, that is. Growing up with everyone's constant attention and affection smothering her, she begins to resent her parents for not giving her another sibling to deflect some of the attention onto. After trying to invite friends over and starting collections of other 'only' things (the last cookie, a lost button, etc), Rosemary rescues a pet. Soon her hobby of rescuing 'only' pets leaves her feeling like she has friends all the time and other distractions for her parents to care for.

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 4: I've never read a story like this before! I thought it was a common topic (siblings) with a creative spin on ways a child can try to solve the problems and loneliness they might face as only children.

Readers who will like this book: Readers who will like this book are ones that are grappling with sibling issues--not enough, too many, a new arrival....

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: Who has siblings? Who does not? What are some things we like and dislike about each experience?

Flotsam

Book Title: Flotsam

Author(s): David Wiesner

Illustrator/Photographer/Artist: David Wiesner

Publisher: Clarion Books

Copyright Date: 2006

Genre: Contemporary realistic fiction, wordless book

Brief Annotation: This is a wordless picture book that follows a boy's day hunting for treasures on the beach. He initially finds a crab, but then moves onto a much more interesting discovery--a camera with film he can develop! The pictures walk the reading audience through what was on the film and then follows the boy as he adds to the collection and tosses it back into the sea for another child to find.

Your Rating (1-5) and why: 2: The illustrations in this book don't follow a consistent format on every page, so even as an adult it's a little difficult to decide which picture to focus on first in order to follow the story. The beginning was straightforward, but then there were a lot of concepts the teacher would have to walk the kids through as the boy makes more and more complex discoveries on the beach. I think a child would have trouble with this book on their own.

Readers who will like this book: Readers who will like this book are those who enjoy reading independently. They can make up their own unique story every time they 'read' the pages.

Question to ask about this book before a read aloud: I would ask children which animal they think is on the cover (it's a close up of a fish). Where do we find fish? Where do you think this book takes place--an ocean? A lake? I would show them the first few pages and ask what else they think the boy might find on the beach.

List Awards: 2007 recipient of the Caldecott Medal