Lemon The Duck

Lemon The Duck

Author: Laura Backman

Illustrated By:  Lawrence Cleyet-Merle

Genre: Fiction Picture Book, Comedy and Humor

Grade Level: First Grade and up

Theme: Understanding, compassion, teamwork, accepting differences

Summary: This story started as showing a classroom that was hatching eggs in an incubator in their class.  They had 4 eggs and the children could hear the ducklings peeping.  All of the four ducklings hatched; Peaches, Lemon, Daisy, and Chip Chip.  Lemon was different than the other ducklings.  She had white on her head and she didn’t stand or stretch out her necks like others.  The teacher, Mrs. Lake, called the doctor and he had said that Lemon might just need a little more time.  All of the ducklings were growing up... Lemon still could not stand or walk, she would tumble over.  Mrs. Lake took Lemon to the doctor, Lemon had a balance problem.  The doctor informed the teacher that there were things you could do to make the duck stronger, but she may never walk.  The other ducks got to go to a Mr. Web’s lake and Mrs. Lake and her students got to take care of Lemon.  They took special care of Lemon and even had a stroller so they could take Lemon for walks and they would give her baths in a bathtub.  Lemon was a natural swimmer.  They would take Lemon to see her siblings at the lake, but they would loose interest because Lemon could not play like they could.  The children however, would give Lemon “oodles” of love.  They would hold food behind Lemon to strengthen Lemon.  The classroom all thought of ideas to help Lemon stand up.  Balloons, pillows, food, etc.  Holly, a student in Mrs. Lake’s classroom, spotted a doggy life vest and she brought the vest to school.  The children would hold the handles and Lemon could stand and walk.  She could now be on her own and get her own food.  The children soon learned that Lemon would always need them and they would always need Lemon.  This book helps kids understand that just because a person or animal as a handicap it doesn't make them any less of a person/animal.  This book also teaches children to show compassion, to look for creative solutions to problems and that being different doesn't mean being less special.

Pre-Reading Activity:  This book would go great if you actually had an incubator with eggs waiting to be hatched.  This would be a good book to explain if all of the eggs did not hatch or if one chick was different from the rest.  Or you could use this book after the eggs were hatched and ask the children, “are any of the chicks different from the others?”

Post-Reading Activity:  Wonderful vocabulary in this book:

incubator 

oviparous 

animals 

tuft
pinfeathers 

webbed feet 

veterinarian 

down
adopted 

waterproof 

siblings
oil gland
sling
chorus
flock

Break the children into groups and have them work together to understand the meanings of the words as used in the context.  

Here are some “deeper” questions as well:

How would you feel if you were not able to do the things your friends and family could? 

How could you help someone who was disabled?

How are individuals with disabilities the same as everyone else?

Having worked with Preschool children so much I couldn’t help but think of these activities either:  feather painting and tissue paper eggs

Reflection: This book was brought to my attention during a class when we were discussing disabilities.  I immediately fell in love with it.  I think it is beautifully written and was even more impressed when I found out it was based on a true story.  What a great way to introduce disabilities to children.

About the Author

Laura Backman

This story is actually written about Laura’s experience as a teacher and what happened in her classroom.  Her story, Lemon the Duck, is dedicated to her father who passed away from Multiple Sclerosis.  

Mouse Shapes

Mouse Shapes

Author:  Ellen Stoll Walsh

Genre: Fiction, PIcture Book

Grade Level: Preschool to 2nd grade

Published Year:  2007

Theme: Math, Geometric Shapes

Summary: This adorable picture book follows three mice as they are trying to escape a cat.  The mice end up finding shapes while hiding from the cat.  The mice then decide that they should trick the cat by making mice out of shapes.

Pre-Reading Activity: Talk about different shapes and have pre-cut shapes of all different colors and sizes available for the children to play with.  Have them work in a group of three or four children to create different things using their shapes.

Post-Reading Activity: Have the children trace shapes on construction paper and glue these shapes onto another piece of paper and have them label all of the shapes they used.

Reflection: Very cute book with endless possibilities for post-reading activities.  This book could be used for younger children or for a refresher for older children. I love that the author is from Rochester, New York and you could use this for a geography lesson and show your children how close Rochester is to us (assuming you are in Syracuse like me).  

About the Author

ELLEN STOLL WALSH is the author and illustrator of many award-winning early concept books for young children, including Mouse Paint, Mouse Count, and the Dot and Jabber trilogy. She lives near Rochester, New York. (amazon.com)

Interesting Things I Found:

 found on firstgradealacarte.blogspot.com

Brown Bear

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What D0 You See?

Author: Bill Martin Jr. 

Illustrator:  Eric Carle

Genre:  Fiction, Board Book, Picture Book

Published Year:  1967

Grade Level: Preschool to 2nd grade

Theme: Colors, Animals, Prediction, Repetition

Summary: This beloved book involves colored animals that see other colored animals.  It's unique repetition makes it easy for children to follow along and read along.  All of the illustrations are made out of colored tissue paper.

Pre-Reading Activity: Talk about animals and the different colors they are.

Post-Reading Activity: Have the animals of the book precut and use it as a memory game to see if the children can put the animals in the order they were in in the book.  Then have them recite the book using only the cutouts as props.  Or you can have the children sit in a circle and go around the circle saying the words of the book.  An example, just substitute the colored words:

Devon, Devon, what do you see?

I see Veronica, looking at me.

Veronica, Veronica, what do you see?

I see Carlos looking at me.

For older children have them write their own story about things they see at home.  

Reflection: I love this story and have read this book to my son since he was a newborn.  It was so great that he can now read it to me.  I often used this story in my PreKindergarten classroom as a read-aloud and would have the children read along with me.  I also used the song version for a nap-time song.

About the Author

Bill Martin Jr.

Bill Martin Jr truly was "America's favorite children's author."   He wrote for almost 60 years (Yes, his first book, The Little Squeegy Bug--The Story of the Firefly, was published in 1945). He was the author of the classic text Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do you See?, which was illustrated by his dear friend Eric Carle, as well as more than 300 other books for children. Through the years he gave children some of their favorite books, including Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you Hear? (also illustrated by Eric Carle)  The Ghost-Eye Tree, Barn Dance, Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom and many more. His classic work, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, now in board book form, is at the top of the Publisher's Weekly Bestseller list. His basketball thriller, SWISH, co-authored with Michael Sampson, is an exciting basketball tale, written in classic Martin Rhyme\Rhythm style, that features girls' basketball.  Six new Martin/Sampson book are now available: (Rock It, Sock It, Number Line; The Little Squeegy Bug, Trick or Treat?, Caddie the Golf Dog, I Pledge Allegiance, Chicka, Chicka 1,2.4! and Little Granny Quarterback.  Read them today!  A new vesion of Chicken Chuck came out in 2005, and I Love our Earth was published in 2006. Other Martin books that he completed before his death will continue to be released in the years to come. (www.billmartinjr.com)

About the Illustrator

Eric Carle

Eric Carle is acclaimed and beloved as the creator of brilliantly illustrated and innovatively designed picture books for very young children. His best-known work, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has eaten its way into the hearts of literally millions of children all over the world and has been translated into more than 50 languages and sold over 33 million copies. Since the Caterpillar was published in 1969, Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote, and more than 110 million copies of his books have sold around the world.

Interesting Things I Found:

This is the video version of the song that I would use for my PreK children at nap time.  

Just to point out it does say mother instead of teacher at the end because of copyright issues

Author Bill Martin reading his story

First Lady Michelle Obama reading this book

  Found on pinterest.com   

   Found on pinterest.com Brown Bear I Spy

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Author:  Eric Carle

Genre: Picture Book, Fiction

Grade Level: Preschool and up

Published Date:  1981

Theme: Sequential, Days of the Week

Summary: The very hungry caterpillar is munching through the pages in this adorable tissue paper illustrated book.  As the caterpillar goes through the days of the week, each day has a numbered treat for him.  At the end we find out exactly why the caterpillar was so hungry.  He turns into a beautiful butterfly and the butterfly consists of all of the colors of the food he ate.

Pre-Reading Activity: Study the lifecycle of a butterfly.  

Post-Reading Activity: Talk about the different numbers and foods in the book.  You can have groups of 2 draw a food that they enjoy and make a classroom book.  For example, The Very Hungry Second Graders.  I would also have my students write a story about a butterfly and use this outline for a draft.

Reflection: I love this story and I love the other books by Eric Carle.  This story is so cute and even after I have red this story hundreds of times I just recently noticed that the butterfly at the end of the book is the color of all of the foods that the caterpillar ate throughout the book.

About the Author

Eric Carle

Eric Carle is acclaimed and beloved as the creator of brilliantly illustrated and innovatively designed picture books for very young children. His best-known work, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has eaten its way into the hearts of literally millions of children all over the world and has been translated into more than 50 languages and sold over 33 million copies. Since the Caterpillar was published in 1969, Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote, and more than 110 million copies of his books have sold around the world.

Interesting Things I Found:

 My cousin did this for her son's first birthday and she handed out these invitations...

Is Your Mama A Llama?

Is Your Mama A Llama?

Author: Deborah Guarino

Genre: Children’s Fiction

Grade Level: 4 years and up

Theme:  Rhyming

Year of Publication: 2004

Summary:  In this rhyming tale a llama makes his way through the forest searching for his “mama.”  He encounters many animals along the way and asks them, “is your mama a llama?”  At the end, he finds his mama whom is a llama and she tells him “YES,” and let’s him know how silly he is.

Themes:  Rhyming, family, friendship

About the Author:

Deborah Guarino, author of the best-selling children's classic, "Is Your Mama a Llama?" (Scholastic, Inc.) is now celebrating her book's 21st year in print. With more than a million copies sold, her playful book's popularity now spans two generations. It's available in five different editions, including a Spanish translation, and has been animated on DVD. It's also been selected by Oprah's Book Club for Kids, included in an episode of the prime-time series "Medium" and endorsed by actress Jennifer Garner, who recently became a literacy advocate on behalf of the Save the Children organization,in PEOPLE Magazine (amazon.com)

Pre-Reading Activity:  Have the children draw a picture of their mother or another special loved one.  Provide the children with crayons, markers, and/or paint.  After the children are done have a couple share their picture while asking them... “What is similar between you and your loved one?  What is different about you and your loved one?”

Post-Reading Activity:  Have the children pick out the rhyming words in the book and write them down on a sentence strip.  Then have the children come up to the board and put the rhyming words in order.  This will allow the children to look back into the book and find the exact words.  This will also help with sequencing.  For younger grades, you can have picture cues of the animals to help the children remember the names of the animals.  

Reflection:  When I was a Preschool Teacher I would read this story daily to the children.  I love rhyming books and this one is one of my favorites.  The children get a kick out of it when he is asking animals that are so different from him if they are his “mama.”  I loved to hear their little giggles as I would read the story.

Mouse Paint

Mouse Paint

Author & Illustrator:  Ellen Stoll Walsh

Genre: Fiction

Grade Level: Preschool to 2nd grade

Theme: Colors, Animals

Summary: This super cute easy read is about three mice who are trying to escape a cat.  These mischievous mice get into some trouble when they start getting into paint and mixing colors.

Pre-Reading Activity:  Show the children a color wheel and discuss how you can mix colors to make up different colors.  Talk about the primary colors that cannot be made: red, yellow, and blue.

Post-Reading Activity: Have the children use paint and make new colors.  There are so many worksheets that you can make.  I have included a couple below.  Also, you can go even farther and get white plastic mice from the Dollar Store and let the children paint them.  I had my Preschool Classroom do this and though it was messy the children LOVE it!!!  We also used finger paint on butcher paper to do this as well.

Reflection:  I love this story and like I said, I used it with my preschool classroom.  We had a  ball with it and were mixing all sorts of colors.  They were so excited and I could not be prouder than when one of the parents came in the next day and told me her son talked about the book all night and remembered what colors the mice made and what colors the mice used to get those colors.  The mom was so impressed and I could not be any happier.  For some reason mice really get children's attention.

About the Author Ellen Stoll Walsh

  ELLEN STOLL WALSH is the author and illustrator of many award-winning early concept books for young children, including Mouse Paint, Mouse Count, and the Dot and Jabber trilogy. She lives near Rochester, New York. (amazon.com)

Interesting Things I Found:

Cool video of Brian reading Mouse Paint:

  

Both found on teacherspayteachers.com

  

Gingerbread Baby

Gingerbread Baby

Author:  Jan Brett

Genre: Children's Fiction

Grade Level:  Preschool and Up

Theme: Rhyming

Summary:  This beautifully written and illustrated story is a retelling of the tale The Gingerbread Man.  In this version a boy, Matti, and his mother are home baking gingerbread cookies.  Matti is impatient and opens the oven early not to see a gingerbread man, but out jumps a gingerbread baby.  Gingerbread baby goes along his way singing:

"I am the Gingerbread Baby,

Fresh from the pan.

If you want me,

Catch me if you can."

The gingerbread baby outsmarts everyone including the mother, father, cat, dog, goats, pigs and others.  The only one able to outsmart this gingerbread baby is Matti as he makes a gingerbread house and traps the gingerbread baby.

Pre-Reading Activity:  Talk about different animals that children have or that children see outside, i.e. dog, cat, chipmunk, squirrel.  Ask the children if, "if you animal got loose outside, how would you catch it?"  Make a chart of all of the different answers that your students come up with.

Post-Reading Activity:  If the children have read The Gingerbread Man, ask them the differences between that story and this story.  Have talk to their elbow partner about a different way that they could have caught the gingerbread baby and then they can write about it. 

And of course, if you read this story around the holidays to your students as I do, I always like to finish with baking or decorating gingerbread babies and/or houses.

Reflection:  I absolutely love this story and all Jan Brett books.  She always keeps us entertained and her spin on books is neat.  I love how she always puts a sneak peak of the next page on the right side of the page before.  This story is truly unique and I like that the gingerbread baby does not get eaten at the end, a more kid friendly version than the gingerbread man.

About the Author Jan Brett

    With over thirty seven million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation's foremost author illustrators of children's books.   Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up.   During the summer her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.  As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, "I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real."

Interesting Things I Found:

My son Bryan and I recently had the privilege of meeting Jan Brett at one of her book signings.  She signed my son's book and talked to him for a bit about cooking and baking, one of my sons interests.  It made his whole day.  Although we had to wait in line for what seemed to be an eternity, It was great that she took the time to have a conversation with everyone that came.

Jan Brett has amazing activities on her webpage for all of  her books:

http://janbrett.com/activities_pages.htm

Wondering why Jan Brett wrote The Gingerbread Baby, find out here...

If you have the time, watch this video of Jan Brett drawing her famous "gingerbread baby":