The Adventure

The Adventure is in the Rip Squeak and Friends book series. The book is about Rip and his little sister Jesse and their friends Abbey, who is a kitten, and Euriphides the frog. They set sail on a ship to set out for an adventure. Soon fog sets in and Rip is convinced that the adventure is ruined. Little does Rip know that the adventure is just beginning. Along the way the crew meets an unlikely friend and they have a grand adventure.

I think that this book would be suited for middle elementary because the book deals with peer group acceptance and imaginative adventure. 


The book touches on differences and acceptance between friends. I think that it would be a great book to have the students read independently and talk about in a book club setting in the classroom. The book would also be beneficial in assessing comprehension because of the events that take place. I had my children read the book and found this by asking questions. My oldest, who did not read the book like he said he did, could not answer key questions about the text. My youngest, who did a picture walk, was better able to answer key questions but not precisely. 


I also think it would be suited for children who are interested in adventure or pirate books. This book could also be interesting for girls who would not usually choose a pirate themed book because of the female characters.

Martin's Big Words: The Life of Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin's Big Words is a fantastic book about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. It starts out when Dr. King is a child and the life events that shaped his life. It is a wonderful story that would be great to read during Black History Month or around Dr. King's birthday but I also think that it could be used anytime you have a lesson that incorporates acceptance, love, and perseverance. 

I think that this book while great should be read to an older age group because of how it addresses the topic. I would gauge this text at a 2nd grade and above level. I think that even if you do not have a lesson that you are using it for it is a great classroom book that should be read by children. 

The text could also be paired with a unit on the civil rights movement in the South. It can help address a topic that can sometimes be difficult to explain. In the book it addresses how the African-American community reacted to Rosa Parks being arrested after not giving her seat up on a bus to a white man. 

The artwork in the book is also visually stimulating and appropriate for the subject. I would recommend this book to any and all who have an interest in human rights and want to pass that on to children.

Dinos in the Snow!

Dinos in the Snow! is a wonderful winter book. The book is about the different things Dinos can do in the snow. They have snowball fights, build snowmen, and much more. I think that this book has great illustrations with a great use of color. The pictures look like they are watercolor paintings and very vivid. I paired a snowflake watercolor painting to teach after this book was used for a separate lesson and it worked out well to show the kids examples from.

There is a lot of good vocabulary in this book as well if you are trying to introduce new words. If you are going to teach it though make sure you get the children version of the definition so that the words are understandable. In the book the word slalom is used and the actual definition used words that were at too high of a level for the intended audience of this book.

As I said I taught a lesson that paired with this book. I used it in a 2nd grade class and I was pleasantly surprised at how well the kids responded to the text and the vocabulary. All of the children were engaged and interested in the subject and had great conversations when they paired up for discussion. I used this text in a writing lesson and had the students draw a picture of what they like to do in the snow and then write a sentence about the picture.

Even though I used this text for 2nd grade I think that it would be appropriate for younger children as well because the Dinos are drawn in a non-scary way. There is also some rhyming in the text that could be used in a lesson.

Mammoths On The Move

Mammoths on the Move by Lisa Wheeler is a wonderful book about the migration of the woolly mammoth. The book starts out with an introduction to woolly mammoth and proceeds into their migration south. It talks about the different aspects of the herd and the dangers they encounter on their journey. 

The book is a cleverly put together rhyming book that combines facts with word play. With a fresh and original outlook it makes learning facts about mammoths fun and interesting for children from Pre-K to 3rd grade. 

This book would be a great introduction for a unit on the Ice Age or more specifically the mammoths. This text could also be used for it's great use of vocabulary on the Ice Age or if you were introducing synonyms. The book uses words like, "Stepping, stomping, marching, tromping.." (Wheeler, NP). The book can also be used in a lesson on rhyming words. 

"The oldest mother led the way

across the steppes both night and day.

The females followed in her tracks,

majestic glaciers at their backs." 

(Wheeler, NP).

With having the last words in each line rhyme it will be easy to point them out to children.

The illustrations in this book are also unique. I think that children will enjoy the pictures as much as they will love the story that goes along with them.

                                               

How I Became A Pirate

This week I read How I Became A Pirate by Melinda Long. The illustrations are by David Shannon which add a great deal to the story. The story is about a little boy named Jeremy Jacob and how he becomes a pirate on Braid Beard's ship. There is a natural progression to the story that takes children on a fantastic adventure and then reminds them why they love their families. 

The story line is not exactly original, boy goes on adventure and then gets homesick, but it is a fresh take on the idea. The story takes place on Braid Beards pirate ship out at sea and is told from the point of view of a young boy named Jeremy Jacob. It has an adventure theme that is sure to excite any young boy and maybe some adventurous girls. 

I read this book to my 7 and 8 year-old children and their friends. My youngest and his friends thought it was funny and were very interested in me reading it, especially my attempt at pirate voices, but my eight year-old was not that into it. He actually kept asking off topic questions and was clearly not engaged. For that reason I would say that the book would be suitable for 1st or 2nd graders. 

The characters are stereotypical to what children envision pirates to be but it fits well with the story line. Many of the characters are revealed through narration and conversation by/with Jeremy Jacob. The Jeremy Jacob character goes through natural development and growth as he realizes that he misses home. 

From an educational stand point I would pair this book with an art project or a lesson dealing with emotional development. You could also use this book to teach literature since it has a clear plot and setting with interesting characters.

I would relate this book to the movie Hook that was an adaptation of the Peter Pan adventure. I think that it provides children with a sense of adventure and wonder that only a well written piece of literature can do. 

Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!

The book I am writing about is Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come! This book is about a little boy named Henry who is about to enter his first day of kindergarten. I addresses his excitement and also his fears of the first day like many children experience. He starts out excited to get to his first day and then the fear he has of the unknown.

I think that this book can be used as a book read to kindergartners on their first day of school to spark discussion of how the kids are feeling. I think that it could be a helpful tool in getting the children to realize that the feelings they have about their first day are not just their own but shared with their peers. I think that It will also been good for the emotional development of the children. It can get the children working on skills like awareness of one's emotional states and detecting other's emotional states by asking questions like, "How do you think Henry is feeling?" and "Do you think that Henry is the only one who feels this way?"

There is also a page in the book that says, ".... and almost tied his shoes." (Carlson, NP) I think that this can be used to spark a discussion with the children that they do not need to know everything when entering their first day, that we as teachers will help them learn the things they do not. There is also a page later in the book that can solidify this concept.

I think while having these discussions there is a page where the teacher can also facilitate a discussion about making new friends. Some of the students may be friends already but many will not. Having this discussion can help ease the anxiety children may have about not knowing the each other.

10 Little Rubber Ducks

10 Little Rubber Ducks was written by Eric Carle after he read a newspaper article about rubber ducks getting lost at sea. On the inside page of the book Eric Carle wrote, "I could not resist making a story out of this newspaper report." There is a torn picture of the newspaper article he is referring to. The story is about how 10 little rubber ducks get lost at sea. Each page has a duck and what they encountered on their voyage out at sea with the 10th little rubber duck finding a unique home.

The first thing that I noticed about this book was that the artwork was unique and visually stimulating. Each page is illustrated by Eric Carle using his unique painting style. I think that children and adults alike can appreciate each individual painting.

I have read this book to my own children and they have always loved the story. When I read it to them I would have them count the ducks out loud to work on their number sense and one-to-one correspondence. This book also cover number sense in relation to ordinal numbers. The book can also be used for color recognition discussion. All of these concepts are appropriate for Pre-K thru Kindergarten.

For first grade this book can be used in support of vocabulary, specifically verbs. The book uses sentences like, "A flamingo stares at it.", "An octopus blinks at it.", and "A turtle glides past it." (Carle, NP) As a teaching tool you can have the children act out the verbs like stare, blink, and glide to give them a better understanding of the meaning. You can also spark discussions about flamingos, octopuses, and turtles among other things.

The final topic that I think can be addressed with a class is acceptance. With the unique home that the 10th duck finds you can have a class discussion on differences and fitting in.

Overall I think that this is a very good and useful children's book that can be utilized in many different ways for a variety of topics from mathematics to emotional development.