Roberta, Author at Wrapped in Foil

May 12, 2010May 12, 2010

Reading Marathon at MotherReader

Are you doing anything special the weekend of June 4-6, 2010? If not, you might want to participate in the Fifth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge at MotherReader. Read books from fifth grade level up for a 48 hour period during that weekend and blog about it. Sounds like a fun event, with prizes and everything.

One teacher said she is participating in the event as a way to show she reads herself (on her own time), and to get her students interested in reading. What an awesome idea! Maybe your students could help you pick the books to read.

Hum, I wonder if I should try it? I’m only flying across country in the middle of that weekend. Something tells me it would be best to try for next year. I will be checking in, though.

Let me how it goes if you try it.

May 10, 2010August 6, 2015

Gardening With Children

With the increasing popularity of gardening, let’s look at a classic book: Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together with Children by Sharon Lovejoy.

This book has been a family favorite. Lovejoy’s creativity and obvious joy in her subject make it a unique treasure among gardening books. So much more than a simple how-to plant a garden, children learn to experience the garden with all their senses. Their interest is engaged in complex and multi-layered ways. Hollyhocks aren’t just tall plants with pretty flowers; they are forts or hideouts, dolls and even snacks.

Not only is this book filled with accurate and fun information about gardening, but also the creatures you find there. For example, under “Harvest Treats for the Birds & Bees” on page 36, Sharon Lovejoy gives instructions for a simple “Stalk Hotel” as a place for pollinating insects to nest. This is a wonderful way to re-purpose a part of the garden that might otherwise be tossed away (more on small carpenter bees.) As an entomologist who has led bug walks for kids, I love her “Explorer’s Kit” on page 137.

I could go on and on at all the wonderful things in this book. If you haven’t already seen it, I highly recommend you take a look at it. There’s something in it for everyone to love.

Related Activities:

Kitchen scrap gardening – look in the left column for links to activities.

Theme gardens

Theme garden books

Germination test to do with children

More germination experiments

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (May 1, 1999)
ISBN-10: 0761110569
ISBN-13: 978-0761110569

(Affiliate link to Amazon)

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. For more information, stop by Picture Book of the Day which is hosting today’s carnival.

April 28, 2010April 28, 2010

Three Servings of Fairy Tales

Today we have a menu of fairy tales for children served up three different ways. For the readers that like their fairy tales meaty with a fair bit of gore, then Yummy by Lucy Cousins is just what they are craving. For young readers seeking short and sweet, then You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman and Michael Emberly (illustrator) might be the right flavor. Finally, jaded palates looking for something completely unfamiliar, might be woken up a bit by The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith (illustrator).

Yummy looks like the most conventional of the three, at least at first glance. It is written and illustrated by Lucy Cousins, the author of the delightful Maisy the mouse series. The illustrations are simple and colorful. Yet a few pages into “Little Red Riding Hood” you discover this isn’t your watered-down fairy tale. Instead of sending Granny off to the closet, the wolf eats her right down with a big, hearty “Gulp!” Turn the page and the wolf’s head goes flying. Now your imagination is put to the test as out pops Granny and Little Red Riding Hood.

One of the reasons that these fairy tales have survived for generations is that they appeal to the emotions. If they were too bland, then they wouldn’t be memorable. Lucy Cousins has made sure that her version is robust, full of zest and humor. This version is the only one of the three to follow the folktales closely enough to be filed in the non-fiction section.

For the youngsters ready to read aloud, You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together is a perfect choice. Written for two voices, the poems are not simply fairy tales retold, but are fresh, clever versions. The two parts can be read by two children or an adult and a child.

One of the charms of this book is that the characters in conflict finish up reading together in the end of each fairy tale. For example, although the wolf does eat Little Red Riding Hood’s grandma, he soon coughs her up again and they all end up going out to lunch. The princess has a fine argument with the pea, but in the end they work it out. A few people may grumble this is political correctness gone awry, but the author has actually realized that when two people are reading together, they assume the parts they are reading. Children, in particular, need to be brought back together as readers so they leave the book on a congenial note. Brilliant!

The fresh illustrations by Michael Emberley are also appealing. The children look quite modern and are easy to identify with. The look compliments the light fun of the text perfectly.

As the title suggests, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, is a different course altogether. This Caldecott Honor book takes all your expectations about what a book of fairy tales should be like, and turns them upside down (sometimes literally). Characters wander about, conventions are ignored, it is truly a crazy, wildly funny and extremely creative book.

Adding to the oddities, are Lane Smith’s dark and wacky illustrations. Part collage, partly from another planet, it is hard to imagine such a riot of a book with any more traditional illustrations. This book will surely appeal to the toughest readers to engage.

If you are teaching a language arts class, then comparing these three books of common fairy tales is an enlightening exercise in how each author has an unique voice. Using the same basic ingredients, these three seasoned writers have produced three very different “meals.”

Bon Appetit!

For more information:

Yummy

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 128 pages
Publisher: Candlewick (August 11, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0763644749
ISBN-13: 978-0763644741

You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (May 1, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316146110
ISBN-13: 978-0316146111

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 56 pages
Publisher: Viking Juvenile; 1st ed edition (October 1, 1992)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 067084487X
ISBN-13: 978-0670844876

All three of these books were either personal copies or from the library.

April 26, 2010September 6, 2010

Cloud Forest Insects

Hold onto your hats, you are about to enter the cloud forests of Central America. You will be traveling with scientist and adventurer Randall Barnes. Hope you brought your insect net, because you are going to be hunting eight exotic and beautiful insects. You need to bring back specimens for an exhibit at the museum, so keep a sharp lookout.

That’s the exciting feel of The Field Guide to Insects: Explore the Cloud Forests by Paul Beck. With a glorious mix of photographs and colorful illustrations, each page has the look of a nature journal written in the field. The cover is textured to make it feel worn. You can almost smell the dampness and hear the monkeys screeching.

Even better, each page is full of amazing facts to read about each insect. That is, to read if you can keep from opening the enticing pouches attached to the pages. Inside each pouch is a model insect to assemble. I have to admit my son had those open in a flash and we had the diorama in the back all set up before reading the rest. The models are excellent for kinesthetic and visual learners. Both will be highly engaged by this book. The most reluctant reader you know will not be able to put this book down, if they are at all interested in nature or adventure.

The Field Guide to Insects: Explore the Cloud Forests is coming out this summer, and would be perfect for one of those days when the kids say, “I’m bored. There’s nothing to do.” After making the models, setting up the diorama and reading, they are sure to be inspired to go on their own bug hunts and to make their own nature journal. The book is so filled with creativity and imagination, it is guaranteed to stimulate all sorts of stories and projects.

I already had found and loved Tarantulas Inside and Out, published by SilverDolphin. Now I have seen this one, I am totally enamored with their books. They are absolutely wonderful!

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Silver Dolphin Books (June 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1607100932
ISBN-13: 978-1607100935

Note: Although Amazon lists the reading level as ages 4-8, the book says it is for ages 8 and up, which would a better estimation. I would say that assembling the models does require a certain amount of fine motor skill and those younger than 8 would probably need assistance from an adult. The author is not afraid to use advanced entomological terms, either.

This book was provided for review by the publisher.

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. For more information, stop by Picture Book of the Day. This week’s post is at Check It Out.