How to use this Page

Roses are Red, Your Feet Really Stink is one of my favorite Valentine books–especially when I was teaching. I read it to my class every year! Diana deGroat illustrated and wrote the book–such a talent. Here’s a summary of the story: “When Gilbert writes two not-so-nice valentines to his classmates, his prank quickly turns into pandemonium. But there’s always time for a change of heart on Valentine’s Day. This warm and funny book about a favorite holiday also provides a subtle message about forgiveness and being a good friend. Ages 5 up.” Besides using this book around Valentine’s Day, you can also use it to talk to children about how words can hurt and how to be a good friend. An activity you can do with this book is to exchange names among classmates and have students write a “nice” Valentine to the student whose name they received. You can talk to them about finding specific things, instead of general things, like, “I really like how you always help me with my math problems.” or “You are so good at kickball–you always kick a homerun.” Students can write their messages and decorate them before passing them out.

The Yuckiest, Stinkiest, Best Valentine Ever written by Illinois author Brenda Ferber and illustrated by Tedd Arnold is a new picture book that is a real treat! If you are familiar with Tedd Arnold (Parts), then you know he is an illustrative genius. Brenda is a wonderful writer, and the two together make a terrific team. Here’s a summary of the story: “Leon has a crush. A secret crush. A dreamy crush. A let-her-cut-in-line-at-the-water-fountain-crush. And he’s made the perfect valentine. But the valentine has other ideas. ‘Love is yucky, kid! Valentine’s Day is all about candy!’ The card yells before leaping out the window and running away, leaving Leon to chase it across town, collecting interested kids along the way. Saying ‘I love you’ has never been so yucky or so sweet.” Brenda provides all sorts of resources on her blog for how to USE her book. She has a Q and A with her about things like why she wrote the book, how she named her character, and more. She also has an ACTIVITY KIT you can download for free (love this!). You can find all of this at this link: http://www.brendaferber.com/yuckiest-stinkiest-best-valentine-ever.php

Here’s a link to both books on Amazon! Have fun this Valentine’s Day and hug someone you love!

For today’s Monday post, where I like to highlight a book or organization that is spotlighting or helping girls and women around the world, I have chosen Extraordinary Girls (Charlesbridge Publishing). The photos alone are fantastic, showing girls of different ages and races, smiling and doing amazing things. It targets girls in the upper elementary/lower middle school grades and speaks directly to them, which I love!

Extraordinary Girls is divided into different topics such as “Different Ways to Learn,” “Making a Difference,” “Religion and Spirituality,” “The Arts,” “Sports and Play,” and “Friendship.” Within each of these sections are photographs of real live girls doing something positive related to the topic. Also, each section highlights a girl who is active in this field/topic in the real world. Take for example in the “Making a Difference” section, young girls can read about Arlys Endres, from the United States, whom when she was 10 years old became an advocate for “herstory.” This means she wanted to fight for women’s stories–women who were important to American history–to be heard such as Susan B. Anthony. She joined the Susan B. Anthony campaign to reinstall statues of Anthony and two other feminists in the Rotunda (U.S. Capitol building). She wrote more than 2000 letters and raised almost $2,000!

In “The Arts,” Alexandra Nechita is highlighted. She is from Romania and has been painting since she was four years old and creates abstract art where she tries to express herself. By age 11, she published a book of her art work.

The book reminds me a little of a magazine format–which young girls should really like. They can skip to the sections that they are most interested in or read the book from cover to cover. This would be a perfect non-fiction selection for a mother daughter book club or for a fourth grader to do a book report on. I found my copy at our local library or you can order one online! Teachers and homeschoolers, you will LOVE the list of adjectives in the two-page spread after the title page. I would love to see a poster of it hanging in every classroom and library!

photo by foxypar4 www.flickr.com

*Picture book for preschoolers through second graders
*Bea the sheep as the main character
*Rating: Be unique is the message in Bea Rocks the Flock, and this book’s illustration and cute sheep make it unique, too.

Short, short summary:

So, what do I do with this book?

1. Bea Rocks the Flock is all about being unique and following your own interests. Ask students to name one thing that makes them unique such as: they are a yellow belt in karate or they take ballet lessons or they have a rock collection. After each student has shared one thing that makes him unique and you have written it on a piece of chart paper, then children should draw an illustration of themselves doing the activity and copy down the sentence from the chart paper.

2. In the middle of the book, Bea is trying to figure out what she should do in New York City to pass her time. After the library scene, ask students to give their ideas on what she could do each day. You can even create a class book with these ideas called, Bea Rocks New York City. Students can illustrate the ideas for Bea in the city, and teachers can type the ideas and glue them to each page. Laminate the pages, connect them together with string or plastic binding, and you have a new class book for students to read based on Bea Rocks the Flock.

3. You can actually use this book with older elementary students to talk about one of the 6+1 traits of writing–word choice. Victoria Jamieson uses several specific nouns and verbs to make her story shine. For example, at the end of the book Flossie doesn’t just say she wants to grow flowers, she says she wants to start an organic daisy farm. Choosing the words “organic daisy farm” brings a different picture into readers’ minds than if the author chose to just write “flower garden.” Find several examples of specific word choice throughout the story and discuss them with your students.

And don’t forget the new Rule of Sheepdom. . . .BEEEEEEEEEEE yourself!

photo by Vadim Lavrusik www.flickr.com

*Picture book for preschoolers through third graders, contemporary
*Young boy as main character
*Rating: Looking Like Me is a rhythmic self-esteem-builder journey for young children by father/son duo Walter Dean and Christopher Myers.

Short, short summary: Looking Like Me is basically a list of all the things that a boy/girl can be. For example, in the beginning of the book, Jeremy says: “I looked in the mirror and what did I see? A real handsome dude looking just like me. He put out his fist. I gave it a bam!” Then along comes, Jeremy’s sister and tells him he is a little brother. She puts out her fist and he says, “I gave it a bam! Jeremy and brother, That’s who I am.” Thus the book continues as Jeremy takes the reader through every title that makes up who he is from son to writer to runner. And of course, each time, he gives the person a BAM! Looking Like Me by Walter Dean Myers is a book to read aloud to children over and over again.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. This is one of those books that would be a great activity for the beginning of the school year. Students could write at the top of a piece of paper, “I AM. . .” Then they could make a list of all the “titles” or “people” they are from family relationships to interests to everyday titles such as student or neighbor. You could also cut some letters out of magazines and build the words underneath the I AM with magazine letters instead of written letters to make the list more in the style of Christopher Myers’s illustrations.

2. Speaking of illustrations, the pictures in Looking Like Me are something to study. Each page has a photograph (at least one) under a multi-colored boy. Once you have read the book out loud to children, go back and study the pictures with them. Maybe even make a list of the photos and the words to see if there is any pattern. For example, on the page about being a runner, there’s a picture of an upside-down ketchup bottle and then a drawn illustration of a boy running. Students can even make their own illustrations in Christopher Myers’s style to go with their I AM lists.

3. Looking Like Me is an example of good word choice (one of the 6 traits of writing.) Discuss the specific words that jump out at students and why those are the perfect words to use in this story. Ask students if they think Walter Dean Myers just sat down and got these exact perfect words onto paper the first time he wrote the story. Did he have to play around with the word choice? Why does it make a better book?

Anybody who wants to share an I AM list here. . .feel free!

Technorati code: JCXNC3NYFSJ9

*Picture book for preschoolers through third graders, contemporary fiction
*Elementary-school-aged boy as main character
*You will want to be-bop with Doo-Wop Pop over and over again!

Short, short summary: Doo-Wop Pop by Roni Schotter tells the story of Elijah Earl, who is a shy kid who keeps to himself. He knows there are a few other shy kids in the school like Alishah and Jacob. He likes the janitor, Doo-Wop Pop, who used to sing a cappella be-pop music on stage when he was younger. Doo-Wop Pop notices Elijah and the four other quiet students at the school. One day, he gathers them all after school and teaches them some be-bop moves and talks to them about finding their song. They begin to notice the beats and rhythms around them; and before long, these five friends are performing! A rhythmic tale about self-esteem, friendship, music, and art illustrated beautifully by Caldecott Honor-winning Bryan Collier.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. Read it aloud, read it aloud, read it aloud! This picture book was written for the spoken word. Your students or your children will love to be-pop with you while this book sings to them. This book is a perfect choice when wanting to show children a good example of word choice and finding the perfect words to convey a book’s message and tone!

2. Shy students unite! That’s one of the themes of this book, but it’s also about having confidence in yourself and making friends. Ask students to choose a character in the book that they most relate to. Do they ever feel like Elijah? What about Doo-Wop Pop? Students who can write should journal about the character they are most like. Students who are still at the drawing stage can draw an illustration about themselves being like one of the characters.

3. Doo-Wop Pop is the perfect picture book to use in a music class or to introduce your students to this type of music. You can also talk to students about singing a cappella since that is also mentioned in the story.

Have you read Doo-Wop Pop by Roni Schotter?