By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: October 5, 2009
Fall, Autumn, or whatever you prefer to call this lovely season, is here (well, officially at 11:09pm).
With such an obvious visual change as leaves changing colors and falling to the ground, these picture books are some of our Autumn favorites:
THERE WAS AN OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED SOME LEAVES
by Lucille Colandro
Publisher’s synopsis: That wild old lady is back swallowing fall-themed items. What can you make from leaves, clothes, a pumpkin, and rope? That’s right, a scarecrow!
Cartwheel Books | August 1, 2010 | Ages 4-8 | 32 pages
Add this book to your collection: There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves
LEAF TROUBLE
by Jonathan Emmett (Author), Caroline Jayne Church (Illustrator)
Publisher’s synopsis: When he wakes up one morning to find that his home tree is changing, the little squirrel is scared! Why are all the leaves falling off?
Quickly he corrals his sister and they gather up the leaves in colorful pawfuls. But try as they may to stick them back on the branches, it’s hopeless: Yellow, orange, red, and brown, all the leaves keep falling down!
It’s only when their wise mama explains what happens in autumn that the two little squirrels understand the seasons are changing. Green leaves will sprout anew in spring!
The Chicken House | August 1, 2009 | Ages 4-8 | 32 pages
Add this book to your collection: Leaf Trouble
SOUTH
by Patrick McDonnell
Publisher’s synopsis: When a little bird awakens to find that all of his friends and family have gone south for the winter, it takes a surprising friendship with Mooch the cat to help him find his way. This is a wordless and profoundly moving story–by the creator of the beloved comic strip Mutts–that explores being lost and found, crossing boundaries, saying goodbye, and broadening horizons.
Little, Brown Young Readers | September 1, 2008 | Ages 4-8 | 48 pages
Add this book to your collection: South
Easter books for preschool kids and primary students can be fun and give you several activity options to welcome spring!
*Picture book for preschool through second grade students
*Our favorite, old-eating-everything lady as the main character
*Rating: There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Chick is another fun book for young children in this wonderful series.
Short, short summary:
“There was an old lady who swallowed a chick. I don’t know why she swallowed that chick, but she didn’t get sick.” Of course, she didn’t get sick. This lady can swallow just about anything as we’ve learned from other books about her. In this Easter book for preschool kids and elementary students, the old lady swallows a chick, straw, Easter egg, jellybeans, Easter basket, and more. What finally does her in this time? Well, nothing really, she starts to hop, and she meets the Easter bunny!
So, what do I do with this book?
1. With this fun Easter book for preschool kids and primary children, you can either order felt board pieces for a retelling of There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Chick, or you can make your own. Children love to be a part of telling the story, and they can help you manipulate the felt board pieces and retell the story.
2. Lucille Colandro has written another great book that can help young children work on sequencing skills. After you have read the book a few times, ask students or your children what does the old lady swallow first, second, and so on. You can even ask students questions such as: “What happens first–the old lady swallows the straw or the candy?” or “What does she eat after she swallows the Easter egg?” You can extend this discussion by providing a worksheet with pictures of the different objects the old lady swallows out of order. Students would cut these objects out and glue them onto a separate sheet of paper in the correct order.
3. Students may want to write their own class version of this fun Easter book for preschoolers. As a shared writing activity, you could either stick with the Easter theme or switch to another theme such as summer or Independence Day. You will want to help students with the format, such as writing on chart paper ahead of time: “There was an old lady who swallowed a _______________. I don’t know why she swallowed a __________.” and so on. Once you have written a version as a class, you can assign different students to illustrate different parts of your class book. If you do this as a home school project, you and your children can work together to create the book.
Do you have a favorite There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed. . . book?
