Robots are Coming

Robots are Coming

Author & Illustrator:  Andy Rash

Published: 2000

Reading Level:  5th grade and up

Genre:  Poetry

Summary:  This book is a collection of poems with illustrations.  The poems are different things that a reader might be afraid or worry about.  Things such as, X-rays, ghosts, pirates, and the devil, just to name a few.

Pre-Reading Activity:  his book would go with a poetry unit.  Each page has its own pictures and poem to go along with it. 

Post-Reading Activity:   I would have the student think of their own poem and have them write and illustrate their own poem.  We would then compile all of the student's poem to make our very own poem book.

Reflection:  I did not like this book at all.  I did not pre read the book as I should have before reading it to my son and I was appalled at the poems.  Here are just a few of the things that I did not like: The Robots overdose on caffeine, Dr. X uses X-Ray vision to see our Bras and underpants, a blood thirsty pirate murders the other guy, a voodoo doll curse hurts us, the Devil buys our soul, the evil hypnotist causes us to kiss a girl and have no memory of it but feel sorry afterward, it goes on...  I was very disgusted by this book and do not think it should be marketed to children.  Although I did learn one thing from this book, always read a book introducing to your child and/or students.

Author Andy Rash

Andy Rash was born on a mountain top in Tennessee, educated in the swamps of Georgia and the canyons of New York, and lives with his wife and son in the wilds of Brooklyn. He has illustrated for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, Entertainment Weekly and The New Yorker. He writes and illustrates children's books.(amazon.com)

Kisses

Kisses

By:  Nanda Roep & Marijke ten Cate
Published:  Front Street Books, Inc. 2004

Grade Level:  Kindergarten and up

Genre:  Lovable fiction

Summary:  What does Lisa want from her dad before she goes to bed?  She wants a kiss.  But when dad questions what kind of kiss they think of all different kisses from a witch, a butterfly, a grandma, a mom, a vacation, a monster, a circus, a birthday, or an Eskimo kiss.  So what kind of kiss does Lisa really want?  You will have to read the story to find out.

Pre-Reading Activity:  Have everyone draw or talk about their bedtime routine. What does it include?  Does it involve getting water?  Does it involve a bedtime story?  Does it involve a snuggly bear?

Post-Reading Activity:  Have children pick a page of the story and draw a picture of that kind of kiss using their family members.

Reflection:   This is a really cute story with few words.  This is great for younger children or early readers.  It really shows the bond between a father and son. It also shows the sarcastic, funny side of the father.

Author  Nanda Roep

It was very hard to find information on this author in that much of the information written about her is in Dutch, her native language.  This is a quote from Nanda translated from Dutch, "I would like to stress that publishing is a small business-with large range Nanda. We enjoy the world, and need not to possess. We work with a small team of mostly the same people, the productions come on enthusiasm (and sleep deprivation;)."

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving

Author & Illustrator:  Dav Pilkey

Publisher:  Orchard Books, 1990

Reading Level:  Ages 4 and up

Genre:  Lyrical, Prediction, Sympathy

Summary:  Many are already familiar with The Twelve Days of Christmas, this is a story of that nature with a spin.  It is about children going on a field trip to a turkey farm right before Thanksgiving.  You see, the children distract the teacher and turkey farmer, and all that are 10 pounds heavier board the bus to go home.  As the children get home, the farmer is surprised to see all of his turkeys gone, while the children all have a special guest at their family meal where they eat veggies, jelly, and toast.  So the question remains, what happened to the turkey's?

Pre-Reading Activity:  Give each child a paper plate and have them draw on it what they will eat for Thanksgiving Dinner.  Make a chart of what they all say.  **hopefully turkey is one of them so that they can connect to the story**

Post-Reading Activity:  Have children write 5 paragraphs and entitle it 'Twas the Night Before My Birthday.  Because all children are familiar with their birthday it will be an easy connection.  

Reflection: I enjoyed this story as it showed just how much caring and compassion the children had.  The children really cared about those turkey's and what would happen to them if they left them there.  This is such a cute story to read before Thanksgiving, but kind of makes you feel guilty for eating turkey on Thanksgiving. 

Author Dav Pilkey

In the business of illustration, design and creative development, Shane W. Evans is a multi-talented artist and visionary who combines his world travels with his art to influence creative expression in others. Evans studied at Syracuse University School of Visual and Performing Arts and graduated in 1993 and began traveling the world. In addition to contract work in illustration, graphic design and web design for major companies, Evans has conceptualized and illustrated numerous children’s books. Many of the books have been featured in the media such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, NBA Inside Stuff, Reading Rainbow and Late Night with David Letterman. Shane has received much acclaim within the children’s literary field for his work on children’s books such as "Osceola," "The Way The Door Closes," "Shaq and the Beanstalk" and "Take It To The Hoop Magic Johnson." His accolades range from being honored by First Lady Laura Bush at the 2002 National Book Festival, The Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and The Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Non-Fiction for Children. (www.shaneevans.com)

From Publisher's Weekly:

"Patterned as a parody of the celebrated Clement Moore poem, this story of eight baby turkeys unfolds with joyous abandon and crackling vitality, as eight children embark on a Thanksgiving field trip that will change their lives forever. They are breathless as they catch sight of Farmer Mack Nuggett for the first time: "He was dressed all in denim, / From his head to his toe, / With a pinch of polyester / And a dash of Velcro." The exuberant turkeys--Ollie, Stanley, Larry, Moe, Wally, Beaver and Groucho--catch the children up in raucous barnyard antics until the merriment is quelled by the sight of the ax. Deeply touched by the turkeys' plight, the children--who have grown mysteriously fatter and have feathers sticking out from under their clothes--board the bus to go back to the city. The next night, family silhouettes can be seen--each with a grateful turkey guest--as "They feasted on veggies / With jelly and toast." This humorous, lighthearted story is adorned with bold, bright illustrations that convey a sense of wacky high-spiritedness sometimes lacking in traditional holiday fare." 

The 13 Nights of Halloween

The 13 Nights of Halloween

Author:  Rebecca Dikinson

Publisher:  Scholastic, 1996

Grade Level:  Kindergarten and up

Genre:  Rhyming, lyrical, repitition

Summary:  This cute song like book follows the likings of the old folk song The Twelve Days of Christmas.  Instead of Christmas we follow a goblin that gives us a treat for Halloween each day concluding with a big old Halloween bash.  

Pre-Reading Activity:  I would read this book before Halloween.  I would also ask what is associated with Halloween.  We would then work as a class and make a list on the board of things associated with Halloween.

Post-Reading Activity:  See how many of things that were represented in the book were on a list.  You can also break the students into teams of two.  Each team has to write one thing that the goblin brought on a sentence strip.  Then the class has to work together to put the Halloween things into order.  

Reflection:  I like the "catchiness" of the tune and it is very easy to follow.  Most have already heard "The Twelve Days of Christmas," so it is really an easy read to follow along.  My son loves this story as it has all the spooks and surprises that Halloween has to offer.  

Author Rebecca Dickinson

Rebecca was born in boise, Idaho and was the middle child of 5.  Her family moved frequently and she grew up in the great northwest-settling towns all over Washington, California, Alaska, Montana, and then back again to Washington.  Her love for books and drawing began early on and some of her influences are Maurice Sendak, Roald Dahl, Jim Henson, and Dr. Seuss.(amazon.com)

We're Going On A Bear Hunt

Author: Michael Rosen
Illustrator:  Helen Oxenbury

Published:   1993

Reading Level:  Ages 4 and up

Genre:  Fiction
Theme:  Repitition

Summary:  This fun to follow tale follows a family's excitement as they wade through the grass, splash through the river, and squelch through the mud all in hopes of finding a bear.  What will happen when they finally encounter a bear. Read this book to find out...

Pre-Reading Activity:  Show the children the cover of the book.  Ask them to make predictions as to what this story is about.  Also ask them why they think someone would want to go on a bear hunt.  

Post-Reading Activity:  I found this activity while looking online and I just fell in love with it.  We're going on a monster hunt.  Or you could easily turn it into a scavenger hunt. Have the children read and search for clues throughout the classroom and/or school.

Reflection:  I love, love, love this book.  We would always use this book and the song to go along with it as an activity to explore the classroom.  We would do a dance with it and had hand motions for every page.  The children love the repetition and love to follow and read along :)  You can see the motions on this video:

Author Michael Rosen

Michael Rosen, an English poet, scriptwriter, broadcaster, and performer, has been writing for children since 1970. He lives in London with his wife and five children. (amazon.com)

The Lorax

The Lorax

Author & Illustrator:  Dr Seuss

Published

Grade Level:  any

Reading Level:  2nd grade and up

Genre:  Environmental Conservation

Summary:  This is such a cute story of a tale of rhythm and rhyme along with a story that will make everyone think about their role in nature.  The Once-ler, the narrator, was always carless, had a disregard for nature and was extremely selfish.   When he learns he can make "sneed's," the hottest selling thing since Tickle Me Elmo, out of truffula trees he depletes the whole forest.  Now, the natural beauty of the truffula tree's are no more.  Then comes a child who has a seed and wants to save all of the truffula trees.

Pre-Reading Activity:  This would be a great story to introduce when talking about seeds, trees, or preservation of forests.  I would make a sneed out of footed pajamas and wear it to class.  I would have the children guess what I was wearing and what it was made of.  

Post-Reading Activity:  Have students write about something that they could invent that would change everyone's lives.  I would make this project so that students would have plenty of time to do research and see just what they could do and what has not already been invented.  I mean, 20 years ago, who would have thought bottled water would sell, everyone has water coming out of their faucets already?  This book has endless activities.  They could even think of quirky names for their products, after all, everyone needs a sneed.  Also, I think the movie is really good and you can use this as a follow-up to the book.  It really defines the characters.  

Reflection:  I used this book for a PAL, partnerships about literacy, program years ago for my day care center.  The whole day care read and did projects on the book.  The younger children loved the made up words and the older children loved the idea of inventing something no one else had thought of.  It could be used across grade levels and the art projects along with it are endless.

Author Dr. Seuss

Who hasn't heard of Dr. Seuss?  Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr Seuss, was born in 1904.  His mother, Henrietta Seuss Geisel, often soothed him to sleep by chanting rhymes remembered form her youth.  Dr. Seuss credits his mother for his ability and desire to create the rhymes for which he became so well known.

Where The Wild Things Are

Where The Wild Things Are

Author & Illustrator:  Maurice Sendak

Published:  1963

Reading Level:  Kindergarten and up

Genre:  Children's fiction

Summary:  Author Maurice Sendak offers a tale of suspense, action, and fun, with this story about a young boy named Max who wears a wolf suit to bed. Max has been naughty and is sent to bed without any dinner. The real adventure begins with the forest growing and creatures appearing as wild and free. Being wild with the wild things can be tiring, as Max discovers on his adventure. As things begin to happen in his room, creatures appear that are a cross between scary and funny.

Pre-Reading Activity:  I would say this to my students, "I would all like you to close your eyes and picture yourself walking through the jungle.  There are vines hanging, trees higher than you head, and sticks and stones all over the ground.  Now picture coming face to face with some sort of animal that you have never seen before.  It is 10 times the size of you.  What would you do?"  I would have them talk to their elbow partner about it and then have some share with the rest of the class

Post-Reading Activity:  I love this worksheet idea:

I would also use the sheet above and have the students write about a dream that they have had.

Reflection:  When first reading this book I was not a fan.  It took me a couple of times and to be honest listening to the audio version helped.  The children fell in love with the cd and we played it a lot and we would march around the classroom having our own "wild rumpus" party.  There recently was a movie made of this book and I have to say the book is much better!

Author Maurice Sendak

Best known for his children’s books, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE and IN THE NIGHT KITCHEN, Maurice Sendak has spent the past fifty years bringing to life a world of fantasy and imagination. His unique vision is loved around the globe by both young and old. Beyond his award-winning work as a writer and illustrator of children’s books, Sendak has produced both operas and ballets for television and the stage.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Polish-Jewish immigrant parents, Sendak was a frail and sickly child. Spending much of his young life indoors, he turned to books at an early age. His view of the outside world was often limited to the family that came to visit him and the little that he could see from his window. It was during this time that he began to draw and to allow his imagination to run free. At age twelve, he went with his family to see Walt Disney’s FANTASIA. This animated world, constructed completely of invented characters and fantasy, had a great influence on him. (pbs.com)