I am very excited to let people know about this book! It is perfect for music teachers and kids who love music. The best part is the author, Mayra Calvani, is giving away one copy of this book to a lucky commenter. So, for a chance to win this book, leave a comment below by Sunday, Feb. 20 at 8pm CST. Please only United States and Canada addresses. Now, on to the book. . .
*Picture book for preschool through second grade, fantasy
*A mouse as the main character
*Rating: What a clever idea for a picture book, and the illustrations by K.C. Snider are so cute, too!
Short, short summary:
Frederico the mouse lives in the workshop of the famous violin player, Antonio Stradivari. He likes to watch Stradivari create his famous Stradivarius violins. He practiced playing the big violins at night when he was alone. One night, Stradivari hears him, but the mouse doesn’t know. After that, the luthier works on a very small and special project, which the mouse is dying to figure out what it is.
So what do I do with this book?
1. Use the material in the back of the book for extension activities. There’s a bio about Stradivari, a search-a-word puzzle, violin vocabulary, and a matching game.
2. Let students predict what they think Stradivari is working on. Ask them to support their predictions with clues from the text.
3. Study instruments in the string family. Ask students to create posters and make a list of distinguishing characteristics. Listen to the string family if possible!
Don’t forget to leave a comment below for the contest!
*Picture book, humorous fantasy (tall tale), for preschoolers through second graders
*A rancher and his wife are the main characters.
*Rating: Meanwhile Back at the Ranch is one of my favorite books to share with children. (It’s by the same author as The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash.
Short, short summary: Rancher Hicks is bored on his ranch. Nothing much ever happens. So, he drives the 84 miles to the town of Sleepy Gulch for some excitement. (It’s not called Sleepy Gulch for nothing!) Meanwhile back at the ranch. . . his wife Elna has quite a day. The president comes to visit, she strikes oil, and her aunt leaves her her entire estate. Meanwhile back in Sleepy Gulch. . .a turtle crosses the road and the slowest game of checkers ever is being played. Meanwhile back at the ranch. . .all the cats have kittens and all the horses have colts. Meanwhile back in Sleepy Gulch–well, you get the picture. When Rancher Hicks returns from his big adventure in Sleepy Gulch, he is in for quite a surprise!
So, what do I do with this book?
1. Meanwhile Back at the Ranch by Trinka Hakes Noble is a great book to share with students when you are teaching the 6 + 1 traits of writing–the trait of organization. The organization of this book is very obvious–each page you are either in Sleepy Gulch or at the ranch. The word MEANWHILE is used as a transition. So, you can talk to students about different ways to organize stories, essays, and reports. You can talk to students about using transition words. This book can lead into many discussions and writing exercises for the trait of organization. (It’s perfect for homeschooling lessons on these subjects, too.)
2. Have students write their own MEANWHILE story. One of the most fun is. . .MEANWHILE BACK IN THE CLASSROOM. Students pretend like they are Rancher Hicks and leave the classroom one day to go somewhere they think will be more exciting. MEANWHILE back in the classroom, students create stories where famous people come to visit or they win prizes or the teacher allows recess all day, and so on.
3. Discuss with students: What makes this book a fantasy or a tall tale? Can all of those events happen to Elna in one day? Talk to students about what makes this book a fantasy. Create a list. Talk about hyperbole and exaggeration and how Trinka Hakes Noble uses these to create humor in her picture book. How do the illustrations add to the story?
