*Funny, realistic picture book for preschoolers through first graders
*Preschool boy as main character
*Rating: Parts by Tedd Arnold can easily become your favorite book–as a kid and as an adult.
Short, short summary:
This poor boy thinks the glue that is holding him together is not working. He find pieces of hair in his comb. Something fell out of his nose, and he is sure it is his brain. Then there’s the skin on the bottom of his foot, and the last straw–his teeth–how will he eat? He gets some masking tape to try to hold himself together; but finally, his parents remember to tell him that this is a normal part of growing up!
So, what do I do with this book?
1. The first time you read it to children see if they think something is really wrong with him or if this is just the body’s way of growing. Ask children if these similar things have happened to them, and give them a chance to tell their stories (so allow for some extra discussion time when reading this book aloud!).
2. We all know at the end of the book that the boy has found ear wax, but can your students make a creative story about what he really found in his ear? For preschoolers, you can do this as a shared writing activity and each student can draw their own illustration. For first graders, they can write a short ending to the story. Encourage them to be creative with what the boy found in his ear! 
3. Use this book in a health unit to talk to students about what is really holding our body together–bone, muscles, skin, blood vessels, etc. etc. For younger students (such as two or three-year-old kids), you can talk about the parts they can see!
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:
Bea is having a hard time in the flock. She just doesn’t do the same things as all the other sheep. One day, she gets fed up and decides to leave and go to New York City. In the city, she gets several ideas of how to spend her life, but none of them seem to work out so well. She enters a dog show and dyes herself pink. She wins the most unique sheep, and this gives her a great idea. Bea goes back to the flock and convinces them that being unique is not so bad after all.
Bea Rocks the Flock by Victoria Jamieson will leave each child in your classroom or your home happy to be unique!
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!
A Curious George Coloring Book is now available for the iPhone (and, I’m assuming, the iPod) via PBS Kids. It includes 48 unique coloring pages that feature Curious George and his friends. (You must have iTunes installed to download it. You must also reside in the US, it seems, to download it; it wasn’t available in the Canadian iTunes store.)
I like the idea of making activities relating to picture books, and reinforcing the joy of a good book.
What do you think?
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