Looking Forward

Whew!  It's h-o-t, hot here!

And it's going to stay hot and humid for most of the week.

Welcome, summer.

I am the first to admit I am not a fan of being hot.  Give me a nice sunny, 75 degree day with a cool breeze and I am content.  So I guess this week, I'll stay inside and read!  Nothing better!

Funny enough, I just found a book that I love - and it's all about fall!

Ivan's Great Fall is a cute little picture book that I can't wait to share with my {future} class on the first day of school.  Ivan is a little boy who loves summer!  He loves the long days full of adventure, baseball, and fun - and he's not looking forward to fall.

This story is a great read aloud for the first days of school.  I think kids and teachers alike all relate with Ivan's love of the freedom that comes with summer.

But the best aspect of this book is the format.  With the exception of the beginning and the end of the story, the rest is quotes from famous poets.  Super creative!  Everyone from William Blake to Emily Bronte to Ernest Lawrence Thayer is quoted.  Not in entirety, but enough to move the story along.  Each page tells of an adventure Ivan enjoys.

Every year, my kids write poetry books.  This would be a great book to revisit at the beginning of the unit.  I can totally see my kids writing a similar book on a topic they love and using the more contemporary poems by poets they love - Sara Holbrook, Shel Silverstein, Judith Viorst to name a few.

from A Giraffe and a Half by Shel Silverstein

If you haven't read these authors, do so.  They are great!

What a great way for kids to explore poetry with a purpose!




What are your favorite kids' poets?  More importantly, is there room for poetry in the CCSS?

Witches

Witches

Cheryl Christian

Wish Williams (illustrator)

August 2011

From preparing a special brew to flying through the skies, this group of witches is preparing for Halloween.  The most creative aspect of this story is the juxtaposition between the text and the pictures.  The text describes the creepy, scary things witches do, and without the accompanying illustrations, might be a bit spooky for a very young audience.  But the illustrations lessen the fright factor by showing readers from the beginning that this is a group of children trick-or-treating and celebrating Halloween.

WITCHES is meant to be read by a very young audience.  It is written in rhyme, and the pictures are gorgeous.  I can imagine my students reading it to their younger prayer partners at Halloween.  

Buy it at Barnes & Noble

Fall Mixed Up

Fall Mixed Up

Bob Raccka

Chad Cameron (illustrator)

September 2011

"Every Septober, every Octember..." starts a fun romp through my favorite season.  Everything is mixed up, but the narrator doesn't seem to notice.  It was engaging and I couldn't wait to see what would be mixed up next.  The illustrations were fabulous and added another layer of silliness to the story. 

At my school the 5th graders participate in a year long Nature Scopes program, and this book fits perfectly into the introduction of the Fall section of their journal.  In younger grades, teachers could use this book as a discussion about the changes fall brings; perhaps illustrating a 'mixed up' change as well as a 'true' change and writing paragraphs or captions for their drawings.

I loved this book and will be adding it to my collection as soon as it becomes available!

Buy it now from Barnes & Noble