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*Picture book preschool through second grade
*Three important pigs as main characters
*Rating: Hogg, Hogg, & Hog will be a hit with kids because it’s silly, and there are a lot of animal sounds. It will be a hit with adults because it’s clever with tons of little details to notice and point out in the illustrations.

Short, short summary:

Hogg, Hogg, & Hog have made it in the BIG APPLE! They are an important firm in the big business world. And why? Well, they made “The Oink” popular. Everyone is oinking thanks to those three. But as with any fad or trend, it quickly dies out. To stay on top, Hogg, Hogg, & Hog have to come up with something else. They think back to their roots on the farm and remember, “Baa! Quack! Ribbit!” So, guess what the next fad is? People just can’t get enough of those three big pigs. But soon, their old life sneaks up on them, and Sheep, Duck, and Frog come to get what is rightfully theirs. So, the hogs have to make a little change to their business plan, and soon they become. . .Hogg, Hogg, & Hog & Partners.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. I don’t want to reveal everything that happens at the end of the story–as the surprise will be ruined. But there’s a list of animals and sounds at the end. Children can look at this list and add to it with animals that are not already in the book or on the list. At first, try to keep the animals to ones they may find on a farm. Then if they want to get silly, let them! This is a PERFECT activity for a preschool classroom or a preschooler stuck at home on a rainy day.

2. Children might not get “the next big thing” or how things trend like adults will when reading this book. So talk to them about this. What is a “big thing” right now? What’s popular? How do people find out about the next big thing? You might have to help them get thinking about this in terms of toys. What is the toy that everyone wants? How did you find out about it? Then expand to other popular items.

3. Compare and contrast urban (city) life vs rural (farm) life. This is usually a social studies objective in third grade, so you could even use this book as a fun introduction to the unit in third grade. But with younger children, this is also a good activity. You could use a Venn diagram and do a shared writing activity. After you make the Venn diagram together, students can draw a picture comparing and contrasting rural and urban life.

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photo by Swami Stream www.flickr.com

*Picture book, contemporary urban fable, for preschoolers through first graders
*Young boy as main character
*Rating: How to Heal a Broken Wing’s beautiful illustrations tell this heartwarming story along with a few simple words.

Short, short summary: A little boy finds a bird with a broken wing in the middle of the city. He convinces his mom to let him take the bird home and fix its wing. With his parents’ help and a lot of time and patience, the bird heals. The family takes the bird back to the spot where they found it and let it fly away. Here’s what Bob Graham (author and illustrator) has to say about his book How to Heal a Broken Wing: “I wanted to show that there is still hope in a coming generation of children who have curiosity and empathy with the world around them, and that care and attention can sometimes fix broken wings.”

So, what do I do with this book?

1. Books like How to Heal a Broken Wing where illustrations tell a large part of the story are perfect for use in the classroom or with home school students. Your children or your students can provide the text for the illustrations that Bob Graham did not. You can work on dialogue and punctuating dialogue as a shared writing activity. What are the parents and the little boy saying to each other about the bird’s broken wing? Children can also write about what the boy or even the bird might be thinking in their reading response journals.

2. How to Heal a Broken Wing is considered an urban fable. So a good discussion to have with children about this book is, “What should you do if you find a wild animal hurt? Who should you call or tell?” It’s always a good idea to call your local humane society even if they can’t help because they will have numbers for who to call. Children should NOT touch these animals, and adults should always wear gloves. Use Bob Graham’s book to start a safety discussion.

3. What else can time and patience do? Although you will be reading this book to younger children, you can still talk to them about how this book has a message that time and patience can do remarkable things in our world–look at the Grand Canyon. Make a list with your students. If they are having trouble getting started, you could help them think about things that grow–such as time and patience to get a seed to grow into a seedling OR time and patience to teach a dog to sit and so on.

Have you read this book?

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