Frogs

This great nonfiction story about Frogs was written by Nic Bishop. It was published in 2008 by Scholastic. It is intended for readers ages 4-8.

Nic Bishop is very passinate about his may intrests. He has other books that include red-eyed tree frogs, chameleons, spiders, and lizards. He does the photography in all his books and hold a doctorate degree in biolocial sciences.

This books is great for children who want to learn more about different species of frogs. It has vivid pictures and depictions of different types of frogs all over the world. With some informational texts explaining where frogs and toads are found. With a glossary and index it helps children understand the different types as well as where to find the information within the books. This is a great earning tool for children, so they can earn the differences between what is a frog and what is a toad.

Bishops use of photography in this text really brings out the fascinating colors of the many different types of frogs and toads. With it's blend of the history of frogs and the photos within any children would be memorized by these interesting creatures. As a avid frog lover, I really enjoyed seeing the many species throughout and learning some interesting facts along the way.

Thought Provoking Questions:

• What is the difference between a frog and a toad?
• What continent are frogs not found on?
• Where are the most bones found in frogs?
• Have you ever eaten frogs legs before?

Motivational Activity:

One activity that can be done by using this book would be to have the children compare and contrast the differences and similarities between frogs and toads. They can list different things they learned about each using a venn diagram. They could also do one talking about the differences between fictional and nonfictional frogs. You could incorporate the story of Frog and Toad by Arnold Label and have the children take notice of the differences there too. 

Reference:

 Frogs Hardcover – January 1, 2008. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2016, from http://www.amazon.com/Frogs-Nic-Bishop/dp/0439877555 

Monster Poems for Monstrous Kids

Monster Poems for Monstrous Kids was written and illustrated by Melinda Kinsman. It's intended for children  ages 3-8. It was published in 2014 by  CreateSpace Independent and is a 4th edition.

Melinda originally wrote a book of poems for her six year old niece. Never thinking about publishing or illustrating them herself, but with new technology of ebooks. She has been able to do both in just a short time. Since Melinda has a problem requiring her to lay down a lot, she finds herself laying down creating her books in her bed with the help of her iPad.

This book gives great details about monsters for young readers to learn about. Many are great rhyming poems and the colorful illustrations match the silly and cute poems.


When I first started reading this book, I thought that the pictures were created by children themselves, because they are drawn so simple and silly with bright and colorful colors. They really help bring the poems to life and draw you in to hear about all these different monsters. This not so scary take on them really makes this poetic book worth it for kids.

Thought Provoking Questions: 

• What types of poems do you see in this book?
• How can we tell the difference between rhyming poems and free verse poems?
• Do we see alliteration in the poems in this book?

Motivational Activity:

Children can create their own monsters and then create a poem about their monsters to go with it. They can chose between writing a rhyming poem or a free verse poem. This gives the children a chance to be creative and use their imagination in creating their monsters and their own poems. 

Reference:

 Chenille stems Archives | Fun Family Crafts. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2016, from http://funfamilycrafts.com/tag/chenille-stems/

 Monster Poems for Monstrous Kids: Illustrated Children's Book of Poems, About Monsters Who Live Under the Bed and in Lots of Other Places Too! ... 3-8) (Top of the Wardrobe Gang) (Volume 4) Paperback – Large Print, October 19, 2014. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2016, from http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Poems-Monstrous-Kids-Illustrated/dp/150090144X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books 

How Full is Your Bucket

How Full is Your Bucket was written by Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer
 and illustrated by Maurie Manning. Published in 2009 and is intended
for readers ages 3-5.

"Tom Rath is one of the most influential authors of the last decade. He studies
 the role of human behavior in health, business and economics. Rath writes 
and speaks on a range of topics, from well-being to organizational leadership.
 He has written several international bestsellers, including the #1 New York
 Timesbestseller How Full Is Your Bucket? In 2007". (Barnes and Noble)

This is a great story about a little boy named Felix. His grandfather tries
 to explain to Felix that everyone has a bucket. When their bucket
is full, they are happy, but when their bucket is empty they feel sad or
angry. Felix thinks his grandfather must be kidding, but little does
he know he will soon see differently. Throughout the day he starts to 
see how his interactions with others can fill or deplete their buckets.
By the end of the day he starts to understand that filling others
buckets in return makes him feel good too. Yet, when he is negative
and empties their buckets, it too has an effect on him. 

This story is a great way for children to understand that for every action 
there is an equal or opposite reaction. They can learn to respect their friends 
feelings, and in doing so will better their day too just as Felix did. Maurice
Manning did a great job with his use of colors and captions, really 
bring this metaphor of filling your bucket to life.

Thought Provoking Questions:

• Do you believe that your interactions with your friends and family really have an effect on how they feel? Why or why not.
• Did Felix really care in the beginning of the story about others as he did in the end?
• What is something you could do throughout today to make someone feel better?

Motivational Activity:

A great activity for the children to do with this story would be to think about how they could fill the buckets of others around them, and in return fill their own buckets. The students can write about how they could do this and what they believe would cause someone to have an empty bucket. A great homework assignment would be for the children to explain to their parents that they are to think of things to help fill others buckets. Then they could do somethings to fulfill this assignment and have their parents sign off on the tasks that they did. This would be a good homework assignment for the week, as it may be harder to fill within one night. The students could then on Friday explain what things they did and children could compare the different activities they did. 


Reference: 

 How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids Hardcover – April 1, 2009. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2016, from http://www.amazon.com/How-Full-Your-Bucket-Kids/dp/1595620273

 

 How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids. (n.d.). Retrieved February 18, 2016, from http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-full-is-your-bucket-for-kids-tom-rath/1102216761?ean=9781595620279 

Where the Wild Things are

This great fantasy book was written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. It was first published in 1963, but was redone in later by Red Fox. This book is for children ages 3-5 years old

Maurice Sendak is best known for this story of Where the Wild Things are. He first wrote and illustrated this story in 1963 and through the years it has been revamped. Sendak an American writer was inspired after watching Walt Disney's Fantasia.

This colorful and creative story starts off with little Max getting into mischief and being sent to his room. It is here in his room that his imagination runs Wild! He dreams of floating on a boat to an island where he finds the Wild Things. They make him his king as they romp around the island. It is after he bosses around the Wild Things that he starts to miss home, and decides to go back home. Just in time for his mother to have finished supper.

This story is very engaging to young children and is wildly illustrated to go along with it. The use of pastels and darker colors really brings you into this fantasy world. Making this land of imagination even more believable. Children can believe in this world of Wild Things and can see themselves in Max shoes, just wanting to romp around and play. Even though he thinks this is where he wants to be, he soon realizes that he misses his mother and wants to go back home. The emotions the Wild Things show is great to show children a side of empathy with these large and scary monsters.

Thought Provoking Questions:

• Would you be scared coming to a strange island with monsters around?
• Why do you think Max changed his mind and decided it was time to go back home after running around and playing all day?
• Do you see a change in character in Max, or does he stay carefree and mischievous throughout the story?

Motivational Activity:

With the age group this book is geared towards, I found that using a sequences activity would work great. The children can either draw their own pictures or you can print some out for them. They can then put the pictures in order of the events that happened. This is a great way for comprehension of the story and being able to sequence a time of events too. I also found a cute art activity using toilet paper towels. Where the children were able to recreate their own Wild Things and Max. Think this is great because it allows the children to use their own creativity and make their monsters look however they want, and they could even make themselves into Max the king. 

Reference: 

http://activity-mom.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/paper+tube+dolls1.jpg

 Where the Wild Things Are. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2016, from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19543.Where_the_Wild_Things_Are?from_search=true 

The City of Ember

The story The City of Ember is written by Jeanne DuPrau and was named a New York Times bestseller. It was published by Yearling in 2003 and is seen as a Science Fiction book for young readers.

Jeanne DuPrau spends several hours a day sitting in front of her computer thinking of new stories. Although, she has no children she keeps busy with her nieces and nephews. She has been know to say that writing is one tough decision, but is the most rewarding thing she does. To this date she has written four novels, six books of non-fiction, and quite a few essays and stories.

This is the first in a series of books. The story is about a city in which they have stock fulls of supplies to survive on, until those supplies finally start to dwindle and the lights that light the city start to fade.. Children go to school until the age of twelve. It is then that they are given their assignment within the city. Throughout the years, 200 to be exact the city has made it by, but now that things are starting to fade, a young girl and her friends find some interesting information out. They go seeking and find  more than they bargained for. The story lends leaving the reading wanting more and wanting to know what will happen to the city of Ember.

I started reading this story with my children late year, and was drawn into it as an adult. Even though is it rated for young adults, it made for a great story and an ending that kept you wanting more. It brings to life that two ordinary kids from this underground city( which I never really realized until the end, since I came into this story late), could do all this and try to save their city. It gave my students the chance to see themselves in the story and try to see what they were going to do next. Great suspense in the ending!

Thought Provoking Questions:

• Do you think at the age of twelve you would want to go to work and miss out on being a kid?
• What do you think will happen now that Lina and Doon have found the secret of Ember?
• Now that 200 years have gone by, do you think it is safe for the people of Ember to leave the underground city?

Motivational Activity:

A great activity for this book would be to have the children infer about what was going to happen next, now that that Lina and Doon have figured out the secret of Ember. The children can continue on the story and write about what they think will happen with they city. This give the children a chance to be creative and show that everyone thinks differently and has different opinions about what could really happen next. I like that throughout this story it gives you the opportunity to ask your students questions about how they would react to the things that happen and what they would be. Especially for children within this age range.  

I liked how this story gave a map of the city so you could look at where they were talking about and reference where places were throughout the city. 

Reference: The City of Ember (Book of Ember, #1). (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2016, from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/307791.The_City_of_Ember

Why the Sea is Salty

The story Why the Sea is Salty is a Korean folktale. Written by Rosie Dickins and illustrated by Sara Rojo. It is intended for readers ages 6-9 and was published in Usborne publishing in 2009.

Author Rosie Dickins is a well known published author. With many different stories throughout her career. She not only is an author, but editor of these many children's books. Sara Rojo's use of bright colors and sharp lines help bring this folktale to life in this interesting story about about a thief.

The story is about a thief who steals the king's magic milestone. This magic milestone gives the king whatever he asks for, but in the wrong hands may be more than this thief has bargained for. The thief learns a valuable lesson in this classic Korean tale, that one should not be so greedy and keep your eyes on your own treasures. Within this story the thief is out to sea when he makes a wish and the magic milestone keeps turning and turning up salt. To the amount that it sinks the thief's boat and falls into the sea where is stays to this day, making salt and supplying the sea with all it needs.

I think this story is great, it has some bright and colorful pictures to draw the students in and in return shows a great moral about being happy with what you have and not being greedy. I also like that this story was written for those students who are just starting to read and is printed boldly so that readers have no trouble trying to read the words throughout it. I think it give a nice little twist to why our sea really has salt in it and could make for an interesting science project.

Thought Provoking Questions:

• Why do you think the thief thought he would be happy with the king's milestone?
• Do you think a magic milestone really could fill the ocean with all its salt?
• What would you have done if you were the king? 

Motivational Activity:

This story is a good chance for children to talk about what it means to be too greedy. It also allows for a great science lesson about the salt within our seas. I would like to be able to do a science project for my students to show them how the crystals can form on a rope (like rock candies) and then discuss what it is that really gives our oceans the salt watery taste we taste. We can talk about how animals in the oceans feed off other animals causing them to die, rather then  leaving them alone and allowing them to grow into something beautiful. 

Reference:

 Why the Sea Is Salty. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2016, from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7195348-why-the-sea-is-salty

 Why the Sea is Salty: A Tale from Korea (Usborne First Reading: Level 4) Hardcover – June, 2009 

(n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2016, from http://www.amazon.com/Why-Sea-Salty-Usborne-Reading/dp/0794523080 

The Giving Tree

The Giving Tree by author and illustrator Shel Silverstein.
This book is considered a picture book and is intended for ages
4-8, but the author challenges all readers to read it.

This book made its debute in 1964 and has become one
of Shel Silverstein's best known titles. With it being
translated into many different languages.

Shel Silverstein had a hard time finding a publishing
company that wanted too publish The Giving Tree. As many
companies said his draws were '"too sad" for children and "too simple
for adults"' (wikipedia, n.d.). Finally after listening to Tomi Ungerer he found
a publishing company that would publish his story.

The Giving Tree is about a boy and a tree. Throughout
his life he builds a bond with this tree, that gives
him everything he ever asks for. As a young boy he loves
to play and climb on the tree and in doing so the tree is happy.
This line becomes a repeated theme throughout this story too.
As a young child the boys wants money and the tree suggests that
he take her apples and sell them for money. Next as a young adult
the boy again wants something, a house, and the tree suggests
he cut down her limbs and make a house. As the boys reaches
middle age he wants a boat, and the tree suggests he make
a boat out of her trunk. Only a tree stumps remains
as the story comes towards the end. In this final part the young boy
is now an old man and he again comes to as the tree for something.
She tells him she no longer has anything to give, as she
is only a stump. Being an old man and only wanting a place
to rest, this works well for him and again the tree is happy.

This story has a great moral to be taught to young children.
They can see that all the tree wants is to make the boy happy,
but he never seems to understand how his wants, is slowly
killing the tree. Yet, she is always happy in helping him
in anyway. I believe this can really speak volumes to
our young children about caring for one another, and
how we must take care of each other in order to be
happy.

Thought Provoking Questions:

• Why do you think the tree gives all she has to make the boy happy?
• Can you think of a time in which someone in your life has done something for you that has made you happy? Did you thank them for it?
• What type of relationship do you see, between the tree and the boy? (mother/child, mother nature/ mankind, friendships?

Motivational Activities:

I found this great activity on the web and thought it would be something great for the children to do. The children are first read the story about The Giving Tree. Next, they are told they are going to write an essay with a minimum of two paragraphs. The first paragraph is about someone who this believe is like the tree. Someone who always gives to them personally. They are required to list three things in which that person has done for them. The next paragraph is to describe how they could be more giving, like the person they wrote about. I would even go further with this and ask my students to act on those things and do at least one caring thing for that person, within a weeks time. I think that would bring home even more the concept of what it means to do for others and be caring. 

Reference: 

 (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Tree