Snowflake Bentley
Jacqueline Briggs Martin (1998)
Caldecott Award
One book I want EVERY ONE to know about is Snowflake Bentley!! It may be my passion for science speaking, but this book is SO AWESOME. It tells the true story of Wilson Bentley, the first man to really investigate and research...SNOWFLAKES! This is a kid friendly story that does not make it seem like you're just reading a boring biography. The illustrations are awesome and the story is intertwined with societal and science issues and concepts. It is an interesting and great read! I used this book as part of my text set to help aid in learning the concept of precipitation! I would use this book in a 1-6 classroom though. We would look at the science of snowflakes, draw our own, discuss how to become a scientists, the scientific method, and much more. Besides illustrations, the book also uses Bentley's real life pictures of snowflakes that he took with his microscope over a hundred years ago!!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Owl Moon
Owl Moon
Jane Yolen (1987)
Caldecott Award
After all this talk about Jane Yolen and Owl Moon, I FINALLY picked it up! (It was on my intend to read list as well...) This book and its illustrations tell the story of how a little girl goes owl hunting with her father. IT describes the scenery, the sounds, and how the girl feels about seeing her first owl and what it is like spending time with her dad. I thought this story was interesting, because how often is it that you hear about someone going owling? I have certainly never heard of it1 I would use this in a 1-3 classroom. We would discuss what types of things we do during the winter and things that we like to do with our friends, siblings, and parents. We would journal about this and share with each other. We could also discuss things that make us a little nervous, and how we can overcome those things! It's a simple book with great meaning and illustrations behind it.
Jane Yolen (1987)
Caldecott Award
After all this talk about Jane Yolen and Owl Moon, I FINALLY picked it up! (It was on my intend to read list as well...) This book and its illustrations tell the story of how a little girl goes owl hunting with her father. IT describes the scenery, the sounds, and how the girl feels about seeing her first owl and what it is like spending time with her dad. I thought this story was interesting, because how often is it that you hear about someone going owling? I have certainly never heard of it1 I would use this in a 1-3 classroom. We would discuss what types of things we do during the winter and things that we like to do with our friends, siblings, and parents. We would journal about this and share with each other. We could also discuss things that make us a little nervous, and how we can overcome those things! It's a simple book with great meaning and illustrations behind it.
The Lion and the Mouse
The Lion and the Mouse
Jerry Pinkney (2009)
Caldecott Award
In an interesting twist, Jerry Pinkney's version of Aesop's classic fable The Lion and the Mouse, tells this classic story through pictures only! I LOVED THIS BOOK! Every greatly detailed illustrated page tells the story of how the mouse and the lion become friends and save eachother. I would use this in a k-6 classroom and the students would either write their own stories using the pictures from this book or create a reader's theater, where they will be responsible to telling the class about this story by writing a script and acting it out. This book is so awesome, and I want every classroom teacher to have this in their classroom! This book's illustrations are beautiful and starts on the cover pages, before the story even begins. I was weary about this book before I opened it up. There was no title on the cover, so I was confused as to what was going to be instore for me. One of the things that drew me to this book, however, was just the fact that all that is on this cover is just the lion's face, while on the back is the mouse. It really intrigued me and caught my interest!
Jerry Pinkney (2009)
Caldecott Award
In an interesting twist, Jerry Pinkney's version of Aesop's classic fable The Lion and the Mouse, tells this classic story through pictures only! I LOVED THIS BOOK! Every greatly detailed illustrated page tells the story of how the mouse and the lion become friends and save eachother. I would use this in a k-6 classroom and the students would either write their own stories using the pictures from this book or create a reader's theater, where they will be responsible to telling the class about this story by writing a script and acting it out. This book is so awesome, and I want every classroom teacher to have this in their classroom! This book's illustrations are beautiful and starts on the cover pages, before the story even begins. I was weary about this book before I opened it up. There was no title on the cover, so I was confused as to what was going to be instore for me. One of the things that drew me to this book, however, was just the fact that all that is on this cover is just the lion's face, while on the back is the mouse. It really intrigued me and caught my interest!
One Fine Day
One Fine Day
Nonny Hogrogian (1971)
Caldecott Award
One Fine Day is a story about a fox, who after traveling on a hot day, gets very thirsty and drinks a woman's pail of milk. She is not pleased, so she chops his tail off! He is embarrassed by this, so he pleads with the old woman to sew his tail back on. She will, on one condition: if he gives her back her milk! In order to this, the fox goes on an adventure of meeting people that could help him, if they get something in return as well. It seems like everyone will only give something if something is returned, until the fox meets a generous farmer who is willing to help the fox with out asking for anything in return. The fox eventually gets his tail sewn back on. I would use this book in a K-1 classroom. We would use this to talk about manners and right and wrong. We learn how we should ask before using or borrowing things, and why that is polite. We will talk about consequences and why people would be upset if things were taken from them without asking. I enjoyed this book's illustrations as well. The whole covers of the book are one big illustration and their are pictures before and on the title page as well. This is an indication of a quality picture book.
Nonny Hogrogian (1971)
Caldecott Award
One Fine Day is a story about a fox, who after traveling on a hot day, gets very thirsty and drinks a woman's pail of milk. She is not pleased, so she chops his tail off! He is embarrassed by this, so he pleads with the old woman to sew his tail back on. She will, on one condition: if he gives her back her milk! In order to this, the fox goes on an adventure of meeting people that could help him, if they get something in return as well. It seems like everyone will only give something if something is returned, until the fox meets a generous farmer who is willing to help the fox with out asking for anything in return. The fox eventually gets his tail sewn back on. I would use this book in a K-1 classroom. We would use this to talk about manners and right and wrong. We learn how we should ask before using or borrowing things, and why that is polite. We will talk about consequences and why people would be upset if things were taken from them without asking. I enjoyed this book's illustrations as well. The whole covers of the book are one big illustration and their are pictures before and on the title page as well. This is an indication of a quality picture book.
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
Mordicai Gerstein (2003)
Caldecott Award
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers is a true story about a man who walked across a tight rope in August of 1974. This tight rope was not strung between two ordinary objects--it was strung across the Twin Towers that once was the World Trade Center in New York City! I had never heard of this event, and found it amazing that this had once happened; I learned something new! I think this would be just a fun book to read to a class of 2nd and 3rd graders and get them thinking about what types of characteristics or skills a person needs in order to do such a thing! I understand that the WTC is nonexistant now, but that could even spark a discussion about September 11th and we could talk about American history/current events. This book's pictures tell the story without even needing to read the text. There are a couple of pages that you can even pull out to emphasize how big the buildings were and how long the rope was! It is a fun and engaging read!
Mordicai Gerstein (2003)
Caldecott Award
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers is a true story about a man who walked across a tight rope in August of 1974. This tight rope was not strung between two ordinary objects--it was strung across the Twin Towers that once was the World Trade Center in New York City! I had never heard of this event, and found it amazing that this had once happened; I learned something new! I think this would be just a fun book to read to a class of 2nd and 3rd graders and get them thinking about what types of characteristics or skills a person needs in order to do such a thing! I understand that the WTC is nonexistant now, but that could even spark a discussion about September 11th and we could talk about American history/current events. This book's pictures tell the story without even needing to read the text. There are a couple of pages that you can even pull out to emphasize how big the buildings were and how long the rope was! It is a fun and engaging read!
Fables
Fables
Arnold Lobel (1980)
Caldecott Award
This book is a compilation of stories about personified animals and their endeavors in their lives. They are very short, about a page each, and really interesting. As the title suggests, these stories are all fables, and at the end of each story a lesson learned or proverb that should be considered is written at the bottom of the page as to what should be taken away from this story. I think this book is very challenging, and should be used in a 5th-6th grade classroom. Lessons that would stem from this book are, learning about fables, what kinds of messages do authors write about, how to identify the message, writing your own fable, etc. I like that this picture book can be used in upper elementary, as well. This book is a Caldecott Award winner, and the pictures definitely prove why. These pictures really capture the main scene in the story, and before we even begin to read the fables, I would ask my students what they think this fable is going to be about and why. I highly, highly, recommend this story for all upper elementary school teachers' bookshelves--I know I will get it for my classroom!
Arnold Lobel (1980)
Caldecott Award
This book is a compilation of stories about personified animals and their endeavors in their lives. They are very short, about a page each, and really interesting. As the title suggests, these stories are all fables, and at the end of each story a lesson learned or proverb that should be considered is written at the bottom of the page as to what should be taken away from this story. I think this book is very challenging, and should be used in a 5th-6th grade classroom. Lessons that would stem from this book are, learning about fables, what kinds of messages do authors write about, how to identify the message, writing your own fable, etc. I like that this picture book can be used in upper elementary, as well. This book is a Caldecott Award winner, and the pictures definitely prove why. These pictures really capture the main scene in the story, and before we even begin to read the fables, I would ask my students what they think this fable is going to be about and why. I highly, highly, recommend this story for all upper elementary school teachers' bookshelves--I know I will get it for my classroom!
A Story A Story
A Story A Story
Gail E. Haley (1970)
Caldecott Award
The book A Story A Story tells how Ananse acquires all of the Spider Stories. Ananse is a figure in African culture who is said to be the originator of very many fairytales and folklores. If anyone has heard of a Spider Story, it is most likely to have come from this man! This book is interesting in that it tells the story of how he came to acquire these stories, he did not just make them up! This book is very action packed about how Ananse collects three items in order to present to a god that supposedly has all of the stories that he wants. To go along with the story, absolutely beautiful pictures accompany the text on each page! Before the text even begins, the story begins by the first illustration that is on the page before the title page. It is really intriguing and makes the reader excited to begin the story! I really enjoyed this book. One thing that is neat about this book is that it encourages readers to read it out loud. If I did this in my classroom, we would go around the room and take turns reading. The book has a preface that states that African words sound like their meanings in this book, so you might be able to figure out what the word means by pronouncing it! I think this would be interesting and engaging for my students, and they would want to read this book--especially out loud! Literature is not meant to be silent, so this would emphasize and demonstrate that literature can be understood when it is spoken, acted out, sung aloud, etc. I would use this in a 3rd to 4th grade classroom.
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