Children's Picture Books

In the future I will probably talk about some of my favorite picture book illustrators, but for now, I'll just tell you that one of my all-time favorites is David Wiesner. The montage at the top of this post shows covers of some of his books. He tells his story through his artwork, with very few words, if any. Several titles have won the coveted Caldecott Award, most recently, my personal favorite, Flotsam. (Of course, it seems that his most recent book is always my favorite.)

Why You Should Read Children's Books as an Adult

by Jen Robinson http://jkrbooks.typepad.com/blog/

• It's fun.
• It keeps your imagination active.
• It strenghtens your relationship with the children in your life who read.
• It sets an example for the children in your life, making them more likely to become readers.
• It clues you in on cultural references that you may have missed (both current and classical).
• It's fast. Children's books are usually shorter than adult books, so if you don't think you have time to read, you DO have time to read children's books.
• It allows you to read across genres. Children's books aren't limited to mystery OR science fiction OR fantasy OR literary fiction. They can have it all.
• It's like time travel -- it's an easy way to remember the child that you once were, when you first read a book.
• It's often inspirational -- reading about heroes and bravery and loyalty makes you want to be a better person. And couldn't we all do with some of that?
• Did I mention that it's fun? Source: Jen Robinson's Book Page, 2005.

A very wonderful list, but I would add three more:

• Children's books are written with children in mind, so the plot moves along in a way designed to keep the reader's attention.
• Children's books are written with children in mind, so they usually have purer content.
• And the one I always mention to anyone who will listen: The art work in picture books is jaw-dropping. Some of the very best artists and illustrators can be found inside the covers of picture books. Sometime try to read a picture book just by the illustrations. Imagine an illustrator reading the copy for a future picture book and then working up 32 pages of artwork...each illustration designed in a way to flow with the text and hopefully capture the essence of the author's intent.

Immigration Unit for Third Grade

Third grade does a huge immigration unit, usually toward the end of the school year. In collaborating with the teachers, I selected some books for read-alouds during the past few weeks. The first one, Small Beauties: The Journey of Darcy Heart O'Hara, is not in my school collection but I read a review about it somewhere and was able to reserve it through the St. Louis County Library system. This is a wonderfully sweet book about a little girl, who in the midst of hardships in her native land of Ireland, is able to find the beauty in simple things. Her collection of special items, sewn into the hem of her dress is cherished by her family when they settle into their new home in America. Be sure to read the author's note at the end of the story for an interesting surprise about the genesis of this story.

Author: Elvira Woodruff -- Illustrator: Adam Rex

The second week I read two books. "She could have picked a chiming clock or a porcelain figurine, but Miss Bridie chose a shovel back in 1856". So begins the story Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel. We follow Miss Bridie as she leaves her home and family behind to travel to America. This not only is a story about immigration, but also about the usefulness of the shovel as it comes into play throughout Miss Bridie's life. Author: Leslie Connor -- Illustrator: Mary Azarian

Next up, Henry and the Kite Dragon, a Missouri "Show Me Book" nominee a few years ago. This story, a lesson in tolerance and understanding, takes place between two neighborhoods in New York : Chinatown and Little Italy. Written well, with stunning illustrations, the message is "there are always two sides to every story." Author: Bruce Edward Hall -- Illustrator: William Low

And, the third week, capping the unit off, students watched a "Reading Rainbow" episode from the Sea to Shining Sea: Stories of America DVD entitled "Watch the Stars Come Out." This is an inspirational episode, beginning with footage of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, through LaVar Burton's field trip up the scaffolding around the Statue of Liberty during it's restoration in the mid-1980s (look for the Twin Towers in the background), to an ethnic fair in New York city. Neil Diamond's "They're Coming to America" as the backdrop for the final footage in this episode was particularly moving to me. The students and their teachers really enjoyed this DVD.

Watch the Stars Come Out: author: Riki Levinson -- illustrator: Diane Goode

Sock Monkeys

Last week I read the picture book Sock Monkey Rides Again (Cece Bell) to Connie's second grade class. It was very silly and the kids liked it. This book led to a discuss by Connie and myself about the old sock monkey toys of our youth. Connie and I decided that it would be fun to have a "Make a Sock Monkey" party one evening after school. Hopefully other staff members will join us.

I found this site: http://www.sockcompany.com/index.html to have a good price on the red heel socks. Right now you can get two pair for $7.59. The direct site for these socks is: http://www.sockcompany.com/or1.html

Also, this site: http://www.ciaspalette.com/ has sock monkey fabric. Select "Novelties."

Read Alouds Favorites

I read cowboy-themed books to 1st, 2nd, and 4th grade classes today in preparation for our AR kick-off next week.

The fourth graders loved the book The Toughest Cowboy...great success

First and second graders thought Adventures of Cow Two was very funny and second graders really enjoyed Lasso Lou and Cowboy McCoy

Add these three books to book order.

Picture Books

Donaldson, Julia and Axel Scheffler, ill. - The Snail and the Whale - Donaldson is the author of The Gruffalo, one of my favorites. This one is cute too with the themes of adventure, teamwork, cooperation. Nice story.

Korchek, Lori and Marshall Taylor - Adventures of Cow Too by Cow - A very excited toy cow takes an adventurous trip to a grocery store. This begs to be read aloud as children discover that what the text says does not match the photograph: Cow is in the middle of pineapples in the produce section and the text reads: "Yum, bananas." There are other books in this series.

Beaumont, Karen; Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey, ills. - Duck, Duck, Goose! (A Coyote's on the Loose!) - could be a pre-school, K read aloud choice with an additional book.

More Cowboy-Themed Books

Tucker, Kathy and Nadine Bernard Westcott, ill. - Do Cowboys Ride Bikes? Humorous rhyming answers to fourteen questions about what it's like to be a cowboy.

Wheeler, Lisa and Kurt Cyrus, ill. - Sixteen Cows - Rhyming tale of Cowboy Gene and Cowgirl Sue, whose beloved cows get mixed up when a storm blows down the fence between their ranches. - not sure this would work so well as a read aloud

Frank, John and Zachary Pullen - The Toughest Cowboy: or How the Wild West was Tamed - this is really a neat book, funny with great illustrations; the tough cowboy ends up with a free dog that happens to be a french poodle named "Foofy" - a little crude humor, the kind that boys like, lengthy for a read aloud

Read Alouds

Friday afternoon I read to a second grade class immediately after a very strong storm passed through our area. The loud thunder and heavy rains caused a lot of fear and much crying throughout the building. Taking that into consideration, that the kids were somewhat distracted, they did a good job listening to the two stories that I read:

Lasso Lou and Cowboy McCoy (Failing/Tedd Arnold, ill.) and Old Little Big Beard and Young Big Little Beard (Charlip)

At the end of our time together I asked the students, as I often do, which story they liked best. They vote by show of hands, and the vote was split pretty much in half.

These are both good read alouds, tho' the Charlip book may be too confusing to students below second grade.

Cowboy-themed books

I'm reading through a couple dozen picture books that have cowboys as the main subject. Next week we will kick off our AR reading program and I've offered read-alouds to all classes. The books that I liked the best and that I think will do well as read-alouds are:

Charlip, Remy: Little Old Big Beard and Big Young Little Beard

Sauer, Tammi and Mike Reed, ill.: Cowboy Camp

Failing, Barbara Larmon and Tedd Arnold, ill.: Lasso Lou and Cowboy McCoy

Mitchell, Marianne and Bryan Langdo, ill.: Joe Cinders (Southwestern retelling of the Cinderella story)

Bell, Cece: Sock Monkey Rides Again

Icenoggle, Jodi and Normand Chartier, ill: 'Til the Cows Come Home (pair this with Joseph Had a Little Overcoat)