Counting in the Garden is a lovely counting book incorporating the beauty of nature into mathematics. The watercolor illustrations are fanciful stemming from the author's/illustrator's background as a textile designer. Children will benefit from the higher level vocabulary included in the short sentences for example, "three dogs frolicking in the posies."
Matthew and Tilly could be from many of the neighborhoods where my students live in Brooklyn. My students relate to these two friends because they look like them, live in a city, and have similar problems. Matthew and Tilly are best friends most of the time. Sometimes they get in fights though. One day Matthew and Tilly get in a fight because he took her drawing. They are determined not to be friends anymore and go all day without talking. However, they are lost with no one to play with. They give up on their anger and return to their friendship. This book reminds me of the way children play all day. One minute they love each other and the next they are not talking. In a situation like that, this book could help students realize they still want to be friends.
Jones, R. and Pecks, B. (1991) Matthew and Tilly. Penguin Books:
This book of similes shows animals that represent feelings like “nice as a bunny” and “shy as a shrimp.” Some of the similes used are old sayings like ‘strong as an ox”. The illustrations work with your imagination to show what the simile might look like. The cover shows a little boy riding a cricket because the simile is “quick as a cricket.” A website with curriculum connections: http://library.uncc.edu/files/5/cimc/pdfs/units/quickcricket.pdf
The peddler in caps for sell teaches our students how to read color words because the caps are gray, brown, blue, and red. He carries the caps on his head, so everyone can see them. One day he walks out of town and decides to take a nap. When he is sleeping, the monkeys in the tree take his caps. He tells the monkeys to give the caps back, but they mimic him by raising their fists or shaking their hands. He has to trick the monkeys into giving them back by throwing his hat unto the ground. Then, the peddler went back to his normal lifestyle of selling caps.
Slobodkina, E. (1968) Caps for
A little boy is watching nature from behind the grass. The rhythm of the insects makes a great read-aloud. This book provides a great way to get younger children excited (not that they aren’t already) about insects. The rhyming in the book captures your attention as it progresses from day to night with the different kinds of insects that follow their normal pattern.
Fleming, D. (2001) In the Tall, Tall Grass. Holt:
The story of a young Jewish boy, this book is set in a time when being a Jew meant death or imprisonment. This is a story of hope. Jacques and his father travel to take part in the Seder, a Passover meal. When recitiing the four questions, the older men begin to add answers to the questions that deal with the present trials they were facing. The story explains what the Seder is well enough that a non-Jewish person can begin to understand its importance in the Jewish culture. This is an important book for Brooklyn because of the different cultures that merge here. We need to be cognizant of each culture.
Nib is the young subway mouse who dreams to find the Tunnel’s End that he hears about during his favorite time of the day, story tiem. When he decides to leave home and find it, the other mice say he is crazy because it only exists in the stories; however, Nib leaves to find it anyways and finds a lady friend to go along with him. After being chased by other mice, they eventually find the end of the tunnel and stay forever with their children telling stories about the inside of the tunnel.
Reid, B. (2005) The Subway Mouse. Scholastic:
This book is part of a series featuring Gilbert, a little opossum, and his adventures. This book is set around Thanksgiving. The students go on a field trip to Pilgrim town and Gilbert gets stuck being partners with Phillip, whom Gilbert thinks is a tattle-tale. So, of course, when Gilbert gets locked in the bathroom Phillip rescues him and everyone becomes friends again. This is more of a friendship story than a Thanksgiving story although it gives a few facts about Pilgrims.
The Thanksgiving Story tells about the journey of the Hopkins family from England to America on the Mayflower. It tells of days of waiting on the boat. The mother has a son during the long journey. When they make it to America, it talks about making a community and settling. It portrays the relationship between the Native Americans and settlers as unblemished. It would be interesting for a class to compare this story to more recent accounts of the events that took place.
Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving is a parody of a familiar Christmas story that most of us remember very well. This new holiday book portrays a bus of children on a field trip to a farm sometime near Thanksgiving. The children enjoy playing with the turkeys, but then find out the turkeys are to be chopped up with an ax. The children decide to hide the turkeys in their clothing and sneak them off the farm. Instead of eating the turkeys, they have them as their guests at Thanksgiving dinner. The rhyme and rhythm of this book create a pleasurable reading experience. This could be a way to talk about the treatment of animals in your classroom.
Through a question-and-answer format, this book gives a ton of information on Thanksgiving. Topics include: the first Thanksgiving, Pilgrims, Mayflower, Indians that helped the pilgrims, and who celebrates this holiday. My students really enjoy the jokes at the end of every chapter.
This poetry anthology is great for children. The poems are all relatively short and readable. A variety of topics are available throughout the book. Some of the poems rhyme while others don't. It is great to share with a class at any time during the day or the school year. It has many poems children could perform with instruments or act out. It also has the Keep a Poem in your Pocket poem!
