Choosing and Using Books for Kids

Welcome!

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:

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.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Alphabet Under Construction

Book Title: Alphabet Under Construction

Author(s): Denise Fleming

Illustrator/Photographer/ Artist: Denise Fleming and David Flowers

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Genre: Contemporary realistic fiction

Brief Annotation: This is an alphabet book led by a hardworking mouse. The mouse works his way through the alphabet, constructing each letter. He carves the C and levels the L. The name of each job he does on the letter starts with the letter. The letter he constructs are capitals but the name of the job is written with a lower case letter.

Your Rating (1-5) and Why: I rate this book a three because it has great illustrations. I did not like that the letter the mouse is constructing and that is emphasized is the capital letter.

Readers who will like this book: I think most preschoolers and kids who like construction books will enjoy this book.

Teaching Strategy from Tompkins or Yopp & Yopp : I think this book would be a good book to start a word wall with since each letter of the alphabet is represented here. Prepare a blank word wall from construction paper. Divide the paper into 24 boxes and label with each letter of the alphabet. Introduce the word wall with several key words prewritten on it. Students write the word in the correct box on the word wall. If a word is misspelled, it is corrected because the word wall will be used in future activities. Add words as needed. Students can refer to the word wall for future writing activities.

Question to ask about this book before you read aloud: What types of things do construction workers build? What jobs do they have?

Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?

Book Title: Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?

Author(s): Bill Martin Jr.

Illustrator/Photographer/ Artist: Eric Carle

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Brief Annotation: Illustrations and patterned text show the reader 10 endangered species. Each animal presents the next animal to the reader with a rhyme. At the end, all the animals are watched over by a dreaming child, who is their best hope for the future of their species.

Your Rating (1-5) and Why: I rate this book a four because it has a text that young readers can figure out with the help of the beautiful illustrations.

Readers who will like this book: Beginning readers and animal lovers will love this book.

Teaching Strategy from Tompkins : Choral reading (page 17) is a good strategy for this book because the book is patterned and rhythmic. I think having a leader read the rhyme and the rest of the class reading the “what do you see” part would be a great approach to choral reading this book. The teacher or student leads. The class and leader should rehearse the first two animals and then start over and go all the way through.

Question to ask about this book before you read aloud: Do you know what it means when an animal is endangered?

Aesop's Fables

Book Title: Aesop’s Fables

Author(s): John Cech

Illustrator/Photographer/ Artist: Martin Jarrie

Publisher: Sterling Publishing Company

Genre: Folktale

Brief Annotation: This book is a retelling of the classic Aesop’s fables. These stories are beautifully retold for the next generation’s life lessons. The stories are short a sweet and use animals to show children how to make choices and the consequence of children’s decisions.

Your Rating (1-5) and Why: I rate this book a four, because the illustrations are cute and so are the fables.

Readers who will like this book: I think most kids will find some fables that they like in this book.

Teaching Strategy from Tompkins : Grand conversations (page 43) would be a great strategy for this book because each fable or several fables with similar morals could be a separate conversation, or the class could split up into groups and each group takes a different fable. If you choose the group strategy, split the class into small groups and have them read their fables in their groups. Students write down main ideas or draw a picture that represents the moral. Have the class come back together and form a circle. Each group reads their fable and shares what they thought the main idea was. Then the group asks the class for other ideas they got from the fable. Teachers ask questions to guide the students. Conclude the conversation and continue to the next group.

Question to ask about this book before you read aloud: Have you ever learned a lesson from someone else’s mistake?

Mother Goose

Book Title: Mother Goose

Author(s): Will Moses

Illustrator/Photographer/ Artist: Will Moses

Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group

Genre: Folktale

Brief Annotation: This is an original recreation of the celebrated book Mother Goose. Young readers will meet the Old Woman Who Lives in a Shoe, Hickory Dickory, Little Boy Blue, Three Little Kittens and many more. The rhyme is beautifully familiar and the art makes these age old stories come to life.

Your Rating (1-5) and Why: I rate this book a four because I think that everyone can find something they like in this book.

Readers who will like this book: I think most children and adults love this book.

Teaching Strategy from Tompkins: The interactive read aloud strategy would work well here. First introduce the book as a collection of rhymes. Read the selected rhyme aloud modeling fluent and exuberant reading. Then tell the children where they can add sound effects or have them clap the rhyme. The children may also enjoy echoing the teacher line by line.

Question to ask about this book before you read aloud: Who is Mother Goose?

Living Color

Book Title: Living Color

Author(s): Steve Jenkins

Illustrator/Photographer/ Artist: Steve Jenkins

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company

Genre: Non-Fiction

Brief Annotation: The book teaches us which animals have bright coloring. The colors are red, blue, yellow, green, purple and pink. We learn why animals have such bright coloring and how this coloring of scales, shells, feathers and skin helps them survive. There are many reasons the color helps them. It can warn predators, help them hide from their enemies, attract a mate and even signal friends.

Your Rating (1-5) and Why: I rate this book a five because it has very fun and interesting facts, beautiful collage illustrations and is a fun way to learn.

Readers who will like this book: I think adults and children of any age will like this book and learn from it.

Teaching Strategy from Tompkins: The language experience approach (page 60) would be a great strategy to use with this book. First divide the book up into sections by color. Give the children the experience of the animals from that color by reading the book and possible bringing one in or a model of one of the animals. Talk about the experience with the students using prompts. Record the student’s dictation on a chart. Read the text aloud pointing at each word as it is read. Reread the chart together as a class. Make sentences strips so the students can sequence the strips on their own for future practice.

Question to ask about this book before you read aloud: Can you think of any brightly colored animals?

King Midas

Book Title: King Midas

Author(s): John Warren Stewig

Illustrator/Photographer/ Artist: Omar Rayyan

Publisher: Holiday House

Genre: Folktale

Brief Annotation: King Midas loves gold. In fact he loves gold more than anything else in the world. He wishes that he could have a golden touch in order to turn things into gold. A mysterious stranger grants him this wish. King Midas soon learns the Midas touch is not a wonderful power but a nightmare that his greed has granted him. He soon learns that some things in life are more precious than gold.

Your Rating (1-5) and Why: I rate this book a four because it is teaches about greed and regret through a familiar story and whimsical paintings.

Readers who will like this book: Elementary age children will like this book.

Teaching Strategy from Tompkins: Sketch to stretch (page 111) is a good strategy for this story because it will give the students a chance to move past the literal comprehension of the story and think more deeply about the theme and characters. The students read and respond to the story in a grand conversation. The teacher and students discuss the theme and ways to symbolize the theme in the story. The students draw sketches of what the story means to them. Then in small groups they share their sketches. Each group chooses one sketch to share with the class. If the students would like to revise their sketch they may do so.

Question to ask about this book before you read aloud: What does it mean to regret something?

Horrible Harry Cracks the Code

Book Title: Horrible Harry Cracks the Code

Author(s): Suzy Kline

Illustrator/Photographer/ Artist: Frank Remkiewicz

Publisher: Scholastic Publishing Company

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Brief Annotation: Harry is losing his reputation as the school’s great detective since he botched the last mystery. This time he is aiming to fix this. Doug, Harry’s friend tells the story of Harry’s new case to crack the lunch time code. There is a game in the lunch room that one child with a star on his or her tray, wins a treat. The lunch lady is using a special math formula to select which tray will win. Will Henry crack the code? Could Mr. Fibonacci have something to do with it?

Your Rating (1-5) and Why: I rate this book a five because it was a funny and educational.

Readers who will like this book: Kids who like a mystery or comedy will love this book.

Question to ask about this book before you read aloud: Do know any special codes?

Welcome!

Basic Documentation

Sunday, March 25, 2012

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