Today is Take Your Child to the Library Day! Get out those library cards at get thy self and children (don’t have any, borrow one or more from a mom needing a break), and get to the library. Check out the new books, the old books, storyhour, and everything else your local library offers. Today’s …
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By: Keith Schoch ,
on 2/20/2013
Blog: Teach with Picture Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: tall tales, Because of Winn Dixie, culminating activities, teaching units, Kid Lit Blog Hop, novel units, activities, celebrations, Add a tag
I'm pleased this week to be part of Kid Lit Blog Hop #10, a well-attended online party of some of the most dedicated and talented children's literature bloggers around. So in the spirit of parties, I've provided some ideas below for how to bring some celebration into the classroom.
Most of us meticulously plan how we'll begin and carry out our novel studies and units, but the culminating events are often an afterthought. Should our novel study simply end with a test? Is that any way to honor this glorious novel which we held so closely to ours heart these past four, five, six weeks?
The culminating activity could also involve a combination of these. Many years ago, we arranged to see a private showing of the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (before it was even opened to the public), as that movie was premiering just as we completed the novel. Talk about great timing!
Novel: Because of Winn Dixie
Theme: Identity
Party Overview: This is a gathering of new friends, based upon the party which Opal and Gloria throw at the end of the novel. In the novel, the gathering takes place in Gloria’s overgrown backyard, and the food and drinks are an interesting orchestration of many hands.
Look: Since the book’s party was held at night, all lights in the classroom were off. Each desk contained a brown bag filled partway with sand, containing one battery operated candle. These were in place of the
luminaria which Opal created for her party. Some white Christmas lights were also hung. Several students printed out or collected dog pictures which they posted around the room, just as Sweetie Pie Thomas had at the party; after all, "every party needs a theme."
Sound: Taped recordings of crickets played throughout the party. Later, a thunder soundtrack was added to create the approaching rainstorm. The music teacher played guitar and led us in a few songs, just as Otis did at the party. We also played some bluegrass and country music when we weren't singing ourselves.
Taste: “Dump Punch,” pickles, and egg salad sandwiches were on the menu, just as they were at Opal’s party. Since the students made the sandwiches themselves, they were much more willing to try them!
Smell: A spring scented air freshener was placed on the vents. It made the whole room smell like a Southern garden (at least, how we imagined it might smell). The air freshener had never been used before
in the class, and was never used again, which made that smell unique.
Feel: In keeping with the “new friends” theme of the party, we brought in another class to share the theme. The closeness of that many people in that setting we created made the party truly memorable.
Genre: Tall Tales
(especially as influenced by American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne, Cut From the Same Cloth: American Women of Myth, Legend, and Tall Tale by Robert D. San Souci, and Big Men, Big Country by Paul Robert Walker)
Theme: Larger Than Life
Party Overview: An old fashioned, lumber-jack type breakfast.
Look: The students ate at one long table, which was set up in a glassed-in foyer on a snowy day in January. Red and white checked table cloths and old-fashioned lanterns set the scene. Also, students were dressed as their favorite tall tale characters, or as tall tale characters of their own creation from a unit writing assignment. Book boxes (book shaped dioramas containing summaries and a three-dimensional scene) were hung nearby.
Sound: In the background was a recording of traditional American folk songs played on fiddles and banjos. Later, students read aloud their original tall tales.
Taste: Students enjoyed a Paul Bunyan sized meal of pancakes and bacon, washed down with hot chocolate. Twenty students (and some parent helpers) ate over 80 pancakes and 80 pieces of bacon!
Smell: The food was cooked there, in that room, from pancake batter that students made from scratch. The smell of pancakes and sizzling bacon mingled with pine shavings which were sprinkled on the ground to give it that “woodsy” smell.
Feel: The blustery cold day visible through the windows, contrasted with the warm food inside, made for a close, comfortable gathering.
By: Keith Schoch ,
on 2/9/2013
Blog: Teach with Picture Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: storytelling, fairy tales, animals, research, narratives, biographies, mentor texts, first lines, tall tales, writer's craft, habitats, author's voice, author's craft, exemplars, author's style, Add a tag
When we read a truly wonderful picture book, one whose words resonate as much as the pictures themselves, we should take the opportunity to stand back and ask ourselves, "How did the author do that?" And more importantly, How can we get our students to find their own strong voices in writing?
David Shannon's recent picture book Jangles: A BIG Fish Story harkens back to the day of the traditional Tall Tale. Tall Tales, characterized mainly by their penchant for hyperbole (that is, their tendency to exaggerate to the point of lying!) developed a boastful and boisterous voice over time, due to the fact that many of the original Tall Tales were spread orally. Each subsequent teller would add his or her own embellishments (as well as quaint colloquialisms), resulting in crowd-sourced versions of the tales that were rich in both authentic voice and vocabulary.
And to be sure, you'll find the "They say..." phrase in Shannon's book as well, since, while the facts of any Tall Tale might not be verified empirically, they must undoubtedly be true, since so many people agree on them.
The story itself is an engaging narrative, with an ending that requires a bit of inferring on the reader's part. The story also begs the question, "What would you have done in his place?" Close rereadings can reveal simile, alliteration, personification, and many other wonderful literary devices masterfully woven into the tale.
And the illustrations! Fans of David Shannon know from earlier books such as A Bad Case of the Stripes and How Georgie Radbourn Saved Baseball that his pictures are lush and vivid and sculpturesque. Whenever I'm explaining to my students that their own illustrations should be saturated with color, Shannon's books are among the exemplars I share.
Tall Tale boasting would be inappropriate for this genre, of course, because as Dizzy Dean (and others) would say, "It ain't bragging if you can do it." Instead, the prose here is more lyrical, and almost poetic:
Students will come to appreciate the power of repetition, parallel structure, and flow in such lines as: 
In the tradition of this age old tale, Prairie Chicken Little by Jackie Mims Hopkins chronicles the over-reaction of one prairie chicken who thinks the sky is falling, or more accurately, a stampede is coming!
The onomatopoeia, the rhymes, and the word choice (such as "hightail it") combine to create a voice that matches both the book's setting and its levity. The book's fun is well supported by Henry Cole's splendid pictures. You might recall seeing his handiwork in Three Hens and a Peacock, mentioned here in a previous post.
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By: Jenny Miller,
on 12/10/2010
Blog: Where The Best Books Are! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Christmas books, 2010, Graeme Base, tall tales, Anne Isaacs, books about pretending, Dust Devil, The Legend of the Golden Snail, Add a tag
By: Camille,
on 11/9/2010
Blog: Book Moot (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: tall tales, loud read alouds, Add a tag
Holler Loudly by Cynthia Leitich Smith, illustrated by Barry Gott. Dutton, 2010
Yesterday and today I volunteered in our school district's Promise to Read community/school outreach program. I visited two schools and read to second and first graders.
Thank you to the divine
By: Betsy Bird,
on 8/26/2010
Blog: A Fuse #8 Production (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Anne Isaacs, picture book folktales, Uncategorized, Paul O. Zelinsky, tall tales, 2010 reviews, folktale review, Caldecott 2011 contender, Add a tag
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By: Kristopher and Crew,
on 4/6/2010
Blog: Rodents Of Unusual Size (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Writing, Short Stories, New England, Tall Tales, Stormalong, Riverman, Add a tag
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By: janet reid,
on 2/7/2010
Blog: Voices from the Inglenook (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: video book reviews, tall tales, Library Jeopardy, Add a tag
Also in the Library this week...
Kindergarten--Kindergarten missed library this week but for a very good reason--our Annual Cold Spring Talent Show. Congratulations to the kindergarteners who participated!
First, Second, and Third Grade--This week we started one of our favorite events in the Library-- The California Young Reader Medal competition. Each year 5 books are nominated by children and librarians throughout California and students in these grades get the chance to vote for their favorite. Think of it as the Academy Awards for children's literature in California. In the Primary Catagory we have great nominees this year, including one that was written by a Santa Barbara author and the wife of the architect who designed our beautiful library! Beginning this week students in these three grades will hear the nominees, one each week. The choices this year are:
My Life As A Chicken by (our local author) Ellen Kelley and illustrated by Michael Slack
A Frog Thing by Eric Drachman
Do Unto Otters: A Book About Manners by Laurie Keller
Velma Gratch and the Way cool Butterfly by Alan Madison and illustrated by Keven Henkes
Millie Waits for the Mail by Alexander Steffenmeier
Fourth Grade-We concluded our Tall Tales unit by reading Sally Ann Thunder Ann Crockett by Steven Kellogg. Once again Mr. Kellogg had provided fantastic illustrations to accompany his story of t
By: janet reid,
on 1/25/2010
Blog: Voices from the Inglenook (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: video book reviews, tall tales, Add a tag
Congratulations to Red Dot Book Club member Devan for being our first video book reviewer this year!
(This was a short week in the Library due to the Martin Luther King Holiday....)
Kindergarten--Kindergarten just had checkout this week due to the wonderful Dancing Drums assembly.
First Grade-First Graders were treated this week to Steven Kellogg's version of Jack and the Beanstalk. I can still remember the chills I got when my father used to read the "Fee, fi, fo, fum" part and I had a great time reading it to the students this week. It is so reassuring to see that even our students of today with all their video input and sophistication are still absolutely transfixed by this old fairy tale. Mr. Kellogg's illustrations are fantastic and are a huge part of the appeal of this version.
And congratulations to 19 first graders who are now proud members of the Bookworm Club!
Second Grade--What if you woke up one morning and you were covered with stripes in every color of the rainbow? In David Shannon's A Bad Case of Stripes, Camilla Cream finds herself in this unbelievable dilemma. After enduring several unsuccessful cures, she finds that being true to herself and not worrying about what others think of her is the answer. This book, like all of Mr. Shannon's, wraps its subtle but powerful message is a delightful story enhanced by fantastic illustrations.
Third Grade--In order to learn about the literary concept of plot, third graders heard Tomi de Paola's enchanting book Adelita. Before reading the story I asked the students to summarize the plot of a Cinderella story which they did easily. Then as we read Adelita we compared and contrasted the difference i
By: David Elzey,
on 10/19/2009
Blog: The Excelsior File (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: biography, random house, schwartz and wade, john hendrix, abraham lincoln, deborah hopkinson, tall tales, storyography, Add a tag
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By: Sue Morris @ KidLitReviews,
on 2/5/2016
Blog: Kid Lit Reviews (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Greatest Guru in All the World, Jojo Wood, Timothy Johnson, Children's Books, adventure, Chapter Books, Series, books for boys, Debut Author, tall tales, Booktrope, 3-Stars, Add a tag
Blog: Kid Lit Reviews (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Greatest Guru in All the World, Jojo Wood, Timothy Johnson, Children's Books, adventure, Chapter Books, Series, books for boys, Debut Author, tall tales, Booktrope, 3-Stars, Add a tag
By: Keith Schoch ,
on 2/20/2013
Blog: Teach with Picture Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: tall tales, Because of Winn Dixie, culminating activities, teaching units, Kid Lit Blog Hop, novel units, activities, celebrations, Add a tag
I'm pleased this week to be part of Kid Lit Blog Hop #10, a well-attended online party of some of the most dedicated and talented children's literature bloggers around. So in the spirit of parties, I've provided some ideas below for how to bring some celebration into the classroom. Most of us meticulously plan how we'll begin and carry out our novel studies and units, but the culminating events are often an afterthought. Should our novel study simply end with a test? Is that any way to honor this glorious novel which we held so closely to ours heart these past four, five, six weeks?
I would recommend that we plan a culminating activity to close our units. In its simplest form, the culminating activity might be:
- a film version of the book (even a bad adaptation!),
- a theatrical version of the book,
- a magic or variety show,
- a reader’s theater production of scenes from the book,
- individual or group art, writing, or cooking projects,
- presentations of writing and other projects based upon the novel,
- a call to action or service, or
- a theme-based party.
The culminating activity could also involve a combination of these. Many years ago, we arranged to see a private showing of the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (before it was even opened to the public), as that movie was premiering just as we completed the novel. Talk about great timing! But as we viewed "sneak peeks" on the Internet, I saw that my students were mesmerized by the costumes and armor of the four main characters. We therefore launched into an art/research/tech project creating family shields complete with heraldic symbols which reflected each student’s personal traits and
preferences as well as those of their families. The bulletin board display of these shields later appeared on the website of Walden Media, a co-producer of the movie. Kids were pretty psyched to see that their creations had a world-wide audience.
preferences as well as those of their families. The bulletin board display of these shields later appeared on the website of Walden Media, a co-producer of the movie. Kids were pretty psyched to see that their creations had a world-wide audience.
If you choose to throw a theme based party, I suggest you focus on the five senses. Below are two plans illustrating culminating events which my class has celebrated in the past (back in the good old days of third and fourth grade).
Theme: Identity
Party Overview: This is a gathering of new friends, based upon the party which Opal and Gloria throw at the end of the novel. In the novel, the gathering takes place in Gloria’s overgrown backyard, and the food and drinks are an interesting orchestration of many hands.
Look: Since the book’s party was held at night, all lights in the classroom were off. Each desk contained a brown bag filled partway with sand, containing one battery operated candle. These were in place of the
luminaria which Opal created for her party. Some white Christmas lights were also hung. Several students printed out or collected dog pictures which they posted around the room, just as Sweetie Pie Thomas had at the party; after all, "every party needs a theme."
Sound: Taped recordings of crickets played throughout the party. Later, a thunder soundtrack was added to create the approaching rainstorm. The music teacher played guitar and led us in a few songs, just as Otis did at the party. We also played some bluegrass and country music when we weren't singing ourselves.
Taste: “Dump Punch,” pickles, and egg salad sandwiches were on the menu, just as they were at Opal’s party. Since the students made the sandwiches themselves, they were much more willing to try them!
Smell: A spring scented air freshener was placed on the vents. It made the whole room smell like a Southern garden (at least, how we imagined it might smell). The air freshener had never been used before
in the class, and was never used again, which made that smell unique.
Feel: In keeping with the “new friends” theme of the party, we brought in another class to share the theme. The closeness of that many people in that setting we created made the party truly memorable.
(especially as influenced by American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osborne, Cut From the Same Cloth: American Women of Myth, Legend, and Tall Tale by Robert D. San Souci, and Big Men, Big Country by Paul Robert Walker)
Theme: Larger Than Life
Party Overview: An old fashioned, lumber-jack type breakfast.
Look: The students ate at one long table, which was set up in a glassed-in foyer on a snowy day in January. Red and white checked table cloths and old-fashioned lanterns set the scene. Also, students were dressed as their favorite tall tale characters, or as tall tale characters of their own creation from a unit writing assignment. Book boxes (book shaped dioramas containing summaries and a three-dimensional scene) were hung nearby.
Sound: In the background was a recording of traditional American folk songs played on fiddles and banjos. Later, students read aloud their original tall tales.
Taste: Students enjoyed a Paul Bunyan sized meal of pancakes and bacon, washed down with hot chocolate. Twenty students (and some parent helpers) ate over 80 pancakes and 80 pieces of bacon!
Smell: The food was cooked there, in that room, from pancake batter that students made from scratch. The smell of pancakes and sizzling bacon mingled with pine shavings which were sprinkled on the ground to give it that “woodsy” smell.
Feel: The blustery cold day visible through the windows, contrasted with the warm food inside, made for a close, comfortable gathering.
Does every novel or unit lend itself to this type of activity? Absolutely not. When we read a Holocaust tyhemed novel, for example, a party is NOT appropriate. Instead, we might write an argumentative piece on why the Holocaust should be studies in middle schools (some schools think it shouldn't).
Can we even launch these types of parties anymore, with all the food and festivities they entail? Perhaps not. But I think we owe our students a bit more closure than simply saying, "Please pass your books to the front of the class." As Cesare Pavese once said, "We do not remember days, we remember moments."
Let's give our students one moment to remember.
Can we even launch these types of parties anymore, with all the food and festivities they entail? Perhaps not. But I think we owe our students a bit more closure than simply saying, "Please pass your books to the front of the class." As Cesare Pavese once said, "We do not remember days, we remember moments."
Let's give our students one moment to remember.
What do you do to bring closure to your studies? Please leave a comment below!
7 Comments on Celebrate Something! Creating Culminating Activities for Reading Units, last added: 3/5/2013
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By: Keith Schoch ,
on 2/9/2013
Blog: Teach with Picture Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: storytelling, fairy tales, animals, research, narratives, biographies, mentor texts, first lines, tall tales, writer's craft, habitats, author's voice, author's craft, exemplars, author's style, Add a tag
If we recall the opening lines of some favorite middle-grade novels, we discover that the author's voice begins to take form in just the first few words.
Consider Avi's Newbery winning The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, a fantastic sea yarn in which the protagonist finds herself at the center of a mutiny:
Consider Avi's Newbery winning The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, a fantastic sea yarn in which the protagonist finds herself at the center of a mutiny:
“Not every thirteen-year-old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty. But I was such a girl, and my story is worth relating even if it did happen years ago.”
Or consider the ominous first lines of Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White:
“Where’s Papa going with that ax?” said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.
“Out to the hoghouse,” replied her mother. “Some pigs were born last night.”
“Out to the hoghouse,” replied her mother. “Some pigs were born last night.”
As both novels progress, we immerse ourselves in the narrator's point of view, falling in step with the rhythm of words, the tone, and the exacting word choice.
But neither picture books nor our students' own writing has the luxury of 200+ pages to build voice. It needs to happen much sooner.Here are three picture book exemplars to get us started.
Mentor Text: Jangles: A BIG Fish Story
Mentor Text: Jangles: A BIG Fish Story
Jangles: A BIG Fish Story would serve as an excellent introduction to this literary genre. Author and illustrator David Shannon writes in a style that harkens to the boasts of the Tall Tale tradition:
When I was a kid, Jangles was the biggest fish that anyone had ever seen - or heard! That's right, you could hear Jangles. He'd broken so many fishing lines that his huge, crooked jaw was covered with shiny metal lures and rusty old fishhooks of all shapes and sized. They clinked and clattered as he swam. That's why he was called Jangles.
Jangles was so big, he ate eagles from the trees that hung over the lake, and full-grown beavers that strayed too far from home.
Jangles was so big, he ate eagles from the trees that hung over the lake, and full-grown beavers that strayed too far from home.
Compare that with the beginning of Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee (another Newbery Medal book):
“They say (he) was born in a dump. They say his stomach was a cereal box and his heart was a sofa spring. They say he kept an eight-inch cockroach on a leash and that rats stood guard over him while he slept…They say.”
The story itself is an engaging narrative, with an ending that requires a bit of inferring on the reader's part. The story also begs the question, "What would you have done in his place?" Close rereadings can reveal simile, alliteration, personification, and many other wonderful literary devices masterfully woven into the tale.
And the illustrations! Fans of David Shannon know from earlier books such as A Bad Case of the Stripes and How Georgie Radbourn Saved Baseball that his pictures are lush and vivid and sculpturesque. Whenever I'm explaining to my students that their own illustrations should be saturated with color, Shannon's books are among the exemplars I share.
Extensions:
- To begin a Tall Tale unit, let children read a number of traditional retellings of Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, John Henry, and Slue-Foot Sue. Have them generate the critical attributes of this genre, explaining as well how it differs from (and yet takes cues from) legends, folktales, and myths. Find some online resources at 42explore.
- After reading Jangles: A BIG Fish Story, challenge students to write a Tall Tale about an animal of their choosing. You might consider supplying a simple story map based upon the mentor text which can guide students in their writing.
- Ask students to generate a list of some of their most memorable experiences (circus, baseball game, birth of a sibling, family reunion, recital, getting lost at the mall, etc.). Share the interview with the David Shannon at the Scholastic site. Discuss how personal experiences can often serve as the basis for writing fiction, and then have students choose one of their events to turn into a fictional account.
Mentor Text: Touch the Sky: Alice Coachman, Olympic High Jumper
Another recent picture book which features a strong voice is Touch the Sky: Alice Coachman, Olympic High Jumper. Author Ann Malaspina tells the true-life tale of a young girl who dreams of being the first African-American woman to win gold at the Olympics. Her medals won while competing as part of Tuskegee Institute's famous Golden Tigerettes only increase her determination to reach that goal.
Another recent picture book which features a strong voice is Touch the Sky: Alice Coachman, Olympic High Jumper. Author Ann Malaspina tells the true-life tale of a young girl who dreams of being the first African-American woman to win gold at the Olympics. Her medals won while competing as part of Tuskegee Institute's famous Golden Tigerettes only increase her determination to reach that goal.
Alice Coachman raced
down the dirt road,
bare feet flying,
long legs spinning,
braids flapping
in the wind...
LEAP!
She sailed over
a tree branch
and kept on running.
down the dirt road,
bare feet flying,
long legs spinning,
braids flapping
in the wind...
LEAP!
She sailed over
a tree branch
and kept on running.
Fields shut.
Tracks shut.
Doors shut
to girls like Alice.
No place to practice.
No crossbar to raise.
Alice and her friends got busy.
Knotting rags.
Tying rags to sticks.
Planting sticks
in the red Georgia clay.
Then her friends stood back
and let Alice jump.
Tracks shut.
Doors shut
to girls like Alice.
No place to practice.
No crossbar to raise.
Alice and her friends got busy.
Knotting rags.
Tying rags to sticks.
Planting sticks
in the red Georgia clay.
Then her friends stood back
and let Alice jump.
Illustrations by Eric Velasquez (trust me, you know this guy; we all have chapter books in our classrooms bearing his work) fill each page, providing not only energy and emotion, but historical context as well.
Extensions:
- Check out the Teacher's Guide at Albert Whitman and Company for discussion questions, cross-curricular extensions, and ready-to-use assessments.
- In connection with biography readings for either Back History Month or Women's History Month, encourage students to rewrite key events from a famous person's life using the lyrical style of (fellow New Jerseyan) Ann Malaspina. Existing lines from chapter books can be reformatted into parallel structures (where possible), although I'd prefer for students to adapt those events or anecdotes they find most compelling.
- If you enjoy Malaspina's writing, which Kirkus Reviews called "spare and elegant free verse," then definitely check out Heart on Fire: Susan B. Anthony Votes for President, another spot-on writing exemplar for young authors, with superb illustrations by Steve James. Susan B. Anthony's law-defying act of voting is little known to students, but rivals the illegal actions of such "criminals" as Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King, Jr. See the classroom guide for this book which was named to the Top Ten of the Amelia Bloomer Project.
In the tradition of this age old tale, Prairie Chicken Little by Jackie Mims Hopkins chronicles the over-reaction of one prairie chicken who thinks the sky is falling, or more accurately, a stampede is coming!
Listen to this text's unique voice as the story begins:
Out on the grasslands where bison roam, Mary McBlicken the prairie chicken was scritch-scratching for her breakfast, when all of a sudden she heard a rumbling and a grumbling and a tumbling.
"Oh, no!" she exclaimed. "A stampede's a comin'! I need to hightail it back to the ranch to tell Cowboy Stan and Red Dog Dan. They'll know what to do."
So away Mary ran, lickety-splickety, as fast as her little prairie chicken legs could carry her.
"Oh, no!" she exclaimed. "A stampede's a comin'! I need to hightail it back to the ranch to tell Cowboy Stan and Red Dog Dan. They'll know what to do."
So away Mary ran, lickety-splickety, as fast as her little prairie chicken legs could carry her.
Extensions:
- In the event that your students are studying other ecosystems such as as rain forests or polar regions, you could adapt this idea, challenging students to create a crisis or calamity, as well as appropriate creatures who would help spread the word. It's a pretty cool way to synthesize students' collection of random facts from a unit into a creative response. Can't you just see a penguin or a toucan as the main character?
- Fractured Fairy Tales are an all time favorite for kids to read, and they're fun to write as well. A recent post at the Peachtree Publishing blog provides some great titles to get you started.
- Have students research any of the animals from Prairie Chicken Little. Some of the real-life critters who populate this book sport some pretty amazing features. A good place to start? The Minnesota Prairie Chicken Society.
Do you have a favorite picture book to teach author's voice? If so, share it below!
And if you haven't entered yet, be sure to get in on the raffle for one of three animal picture books happening on this blog (scroll to the bottom of that page).
And if you haven't entered yet, be sure to get in on the raffle for one of three animal picture books happening on this blog (scroll to the bottom of that page).
0 Comments on Tales to Tell: Exploring Author's Voice Through Picture Books as of 2/9/2013 3:18:00 PM
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By: Jenny Miller,
on 12/10/2010
Blog: Where The Best Books Are! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Christmas books, 2010, Graeme Base, tall tales, Anne Isaacs, books about pretending, Dust Devil, The Legend of the Golden Snail, Add a tag
The Legend of the Golden Snail, written and illustrated by Graeme Base, Abrams Books, $19.95, ages 4-8, 48 pages. A plucky lad named Wilbur sets sail on a wooden chair to find a giant snail from his favorite bedtime story in this grand and wondrous tale. According to the bedtime legend, a Grand Enchanter once cast a spell on a giant Golden Snail that turned it into a ship and forced it to take him wherever he wanted to go. But when the enchanter tired of life, he banished the Golden Snail to the Ends of the Earth so no one else could ride in it. Now, whoever finds the golden galleon must utter a magic verse if he wishes to master over it too. Wilbur can think of nothing more exciting than to be the next Grand Enchanter, so he sets off, with his tabby as his mate, to fulfill his dream. As Wilbur pretends to turn his boat to the wind in his living room, his chair becomes a skiff and the room around him, wide-open seas. Fitted with a captain's hat his mother sewed, Wilbur recites the spell and bravely heads off into the unknown, equipped only with a watering can, a broom, scissors and a corkscrew.
Before long Wilbur stumbles upon fantastical creatures that are in trouble and, trying to be heroic, comes to their aid. First he waters a wilted bush of blossoming butterflies, then frees a crab the size of an island from a net, and next, saves a school of light bulb fish from marauding earwig pirates. Still, the boy doesn't feel very grand, and the snail is nowhere to be seen. But as Wilbur drifts into treacherous waters toward World's End, he discovers that he'd much rather be a Gallant Captain than someone who chains down another creature. Majestic in size (the book is over a foot tall and nearly 11 inches wide), Base's story looks like it was cast from magic. Epic, lush paintings capture the boy's larger-than-life imagination and by book's end have you soaring vicariously through clouds.
Before long Wilbur stumbles upon fantastical creatures that are in trouble and, trying to be heroic, comes to their aid. First he waters a wilted bush of blossoming butterflies, then frees a crab the size of an island from a net, and next, saves a school of light bulb fish from marauding earwig pirates. Still, the boy doesn't feel very grand, and the snail is nowhere to be seen. But as Wilbur drifts into treacherous waters toward World's End, he discovers that he'd much rather be a Gallant Captain than someone who chains down another creature. Majestic in size (the book is over a foot tall and nearly 11 inches wide), Base's story looks like it was cast from magic. Epic, lush paintings capture the boy's larger-than-life imagination and by book's end have you soaring vicariously through clouds.
Dust Devil, by Anne Isaacs, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky, Schwartz & Wade, $17.99, ages 5-9, 48 pages. That feisty, tornado-wielding gal who outgrew the state of Tennessee in the Caldecott Honor-winning book Swamp Angel settles into her new home, the expansive state of Montana, and makes a few adjustments to the terrain that will have historians laughing themselves silly. In this much-anticipated followup, the ferociously determined Angelica Longrider, nicknamed Swamp Angel, makes her home in Big Sky Country as only a spunky giant can. Isaac once again hornswoggles us to great effect, with cleverly imagined tales of how Montana's pioneer days came about. At first, the Tennessee woodswoman is homesick, and complains that Montana is flatter than a flapjack in a frying pan, and as a result, the sun is waking her too early. So, Angel grabs an armful of mountains from the Rockies (for herself and her neighbors) and plunks them down on the prairie for some morning shade. Now she's ready to farm, but Montana soil is rich and soon the corn is growing so big and fast that cows are being sh
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By: Camille,
on 11/9/2010
Blog: Book Moot (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: tall tales, loud read alouds, Add a tag
Holler Loudly by Cynthia Leitich Smith, illustrated by Barry Gott. Dutton, 2010Field Tested and Passed (with flying colors!)
Yesterday and today I volunteered in our school district's Promise to Read community/school outreach program. I visited two schools and read to second and first graders.
In addition to Dragon, I carried Cynthia Leitich Smith's new book, Holler Loudly
. I enjoyed this addition on the American tall tale cannon but my field tests have confirmed that it is a book that will stay in my "have-book, will-travel" bag for future deployment.
Holler was born with a big voice. There is no "dial down" on his volume control. His parents, teachers, and grandfather and town folk wish Holler would "hush." His voice causes chalk to burst into dust and can upend a fishing boat. Holler can't seem to control himself and wishes people didn't mind his voice. There is a nice moment when Holler realizes that quiet does have its advantages and allows him to hear more. When danger threatens the town though, Holler's voice saves the day. First and second graders appreciated the irony of the town's "thanks" to Holler at the end. . I enjoyed this addition on the American tall tale cannon but my field tests have confirmed that it is a book that will stay in my "have-book, will-travel" bag for future deployment. The students loved Barry Gott's illustrations. His humorous style connected with them. All the children noted the size of Baby Holler's wide open mouth and the carnage his voice caused in his school classroom. The details in the illustrations invite closer looks. The picture of a pig riding away from Holler's voice on the back of a cow at the state fair had the classes laughing.
The book invites participation and, to my delight, I found the second graders clicked right away, with with Gott's oversize text that voices Holler's speech. Unprompted, they began to read Holler's lines, in unison. In fact, at the climax of the story, as Holler booms out a command to the tornado about to swoop through the town, the children were reading together, with expression (loudly.) Several of them covered their own ears as they read.
We talked about "tall tales" and thought about why Holler Loudly could be considered a tall tale character. An additional teachable moment presented itself when they asked about the F&G I was reading from. Ah, yes, what is the publisher's job, boys and girls?
Thank you to the divine
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By: Betsy Bird,
on 8/26/2010
Blog: A Fuse #8 Production (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Anne Isaacs, picture book folktales, Uncategorized, Paul O. Zelinsky, tall tales, 2010 reviews, folktale review, Caldecott 2011 contender, Add a tag
If Pippi Longstocking is a redhead known for her casual legwear, Angelica Longrider (or just “Angel” for short) would have to be considered her blatantly barefoot ginger-headed equivalent. When the Anne Isaacs Caldecott Honor winning picture book Swamp Angel took the stage back in 1994 it was cause for celebration. Here you had an honest-to-goodness new tall tale with a vernacular smart enough to match the pictures, and vice versa. The pairing of Anne Isaacs with Caldecott winner Paul O. Zelinsky was inspired. I was a big fan, yet for some reason I never considered that the book might garner a sequel. Clearly it was ripe for it, but Isaacs and Zelinsky pursued other projects and the thought was all but forgotten. Until now. After 16 years the dynamic duo is back. She’s a wordsmith. He likes to kill himself by painting on wood. Clearly, Dust Devil was meant to be.
Having found Tennessee a bit too cramped to suit her, giantess and all around decent gal Angelica Longrider (“Swamp Angel” to some) has headed further into the country to set up shop in Montana. It takes a little settling in, but she’s happy enough and even manages to tame a wild dust storm into a steed worthy of her skills. Good thing too, since that nasty Backward Bart and his band of no goodniks are terrorizing the countryside, robbing good people of their pennies. If she could wrestle a bear into submission, Angel certainly can handle a couple of toughs. But it’ll take smarts as well as skills to put these nasty bandits away. Good thing she’s got her horse.
The first thing you need to know about Anne Isaacs is the fact that her books, all her books, ache to be read aloud. It doesn’t matter if you’re perusing Pancakes for Supper or The Ghosts of Luckless Gulch. Now sometimes they’re a bit too long for storytimes (much to my chagrin) but for one-on-one reading they’re the tops. I mean, there are certain sentences that just beg you to try them on your tongue. Sentences like, “The barn began to shake, the ground to quake, the windows to break, the animals to wake, and everyone’s ears to ache!” Fear not, this isn’t a rhyming text. There are just certain sections where it’s the right thing to do.
While you’re rolling her sentences around in your mouth, there are also Zelinsky’s images to contend with. Painting on cedar and aspen veneer, Zelinsky is meticulous about his process. The result is a book that is rather achingly beautiful. Even if you don’t take to his style, you have to respect the process. The size of the images combined with the tiniest of brush
5 Comments on Review of the Day: Dust Devil by Anne Isaacs, last added: 8/30/2010
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By: Kristopher and Crew,
on 4/6/2010
Blog: Rodents Of Unusual Size (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Writing, Short Stories, New England, Tall Tales, Stormalong, Riverman, Add a tag
A New England Folk TaleAs told by the Riverman Back in the old days, things would happen that you'd never believe now. Why, things that seemed downright magical were commonplace back then. Pigs could fly, birds could talk and farm boys could marry princesses! I know some of it because I was there and some of it because other folks have told me. My name is Riverman, and I tell stories for a living
1 Comments on The Legend Of Captain Stormalong, last added: 4/9/2010
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By: janet reid,
on 2/7/2010
Blog: Voices from the Inglenook (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: video book reviews, tall tales, Library Jeopardy, Add a tag
Mercy Watson Crime Fighter by Kate DiCamillo
A Book Review by Maddi and Olive
Also in the Library this week...
Kindergarten--Kindergarten missed library this week but for a very good reason--our Annual Cold Spring Talent Show. Congratulations to the kindergarteners who participated!
First, Second, and Third Grade--This week we started one of our favorite events in the Library-- The California Young Reader Medal competition. Each year 5 books are nominated by children and librarians throughout California and students in these grades get the chance to vote for their favorite. Think of it as the Academy Awards for children's literature in California. In the Primary Catagory we have great nominees this year, including one that was written by a Santa Barbara author and the wife of the architect who designed our beautiful library! Beginning this week students in these three grades will hear the nominees, one each week. The choices this year are:
My Life As A Chicken by (our local author) Ellen Kelley and illustrated by Michael Slack
A Frog Thing by Eric Drachman
Do Unto Otters: A Book About Manners by Laurie Keller
Velma Gratch and the Way cool Butterfly by Alan Madison and illustrated by Keven Henkes
Millie Waits for the Mail by Alexander Steffenmeier
Fourth Grade-We concluded our Tall Tales unit by reading Sally Ann Thunder Ann Crockett by Steven Kellogg. Once again Mr. Kellogg had provided fantastic illustrations to accompany his story of t
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By: janet reid,
on 1/25/2010
Blog: Voices from the Inglenook (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: video book reviews, tall tales, Add a tag
Shoeshine Girl
By Clyde Robert Bulla
A Book Review by Devan and Olive
By Clyde Robert Bulla
A Book Review by Devan and Olive
Congratulations to Red Dot Book Club member Devan for being our first video book reviewer this year!
(This was a short week in the Library due to the Martin Luther King Holiday....)
Kindergarten--Kindergarten just had checkout this week due to the wonderful Dancing Drums assembly.
First Grade-First Graders were treated this week to Steven Kellogg's version of Jack and the Beanstalk. I can still remember the chills I got when my father used to read the "Fee, fi, fo, fum" part and I had a great time reading it to the students this week. It is so reassuring to see that even our students of today with all their video input and sophistication are still absolutely transfixed by this old fairy tale. Mr. Kellogg's illustrations are fantastic and are a huge part of the appeal of this version.
And congratulations to 19 first graders who are now proud members of the Bookworm Club!
Second Grade--What if you woke up one morning and you were covered with stripes in every color of the rainbow? In David Shannon's A Bad Case of Stripes, Camilla Cream finds herself in this unbelievable dilemma. After enduring several unsuccessful cures, she finds that being true to herself and not worrying about what others think of her is the answer. This book, like all of Mr. Shannon's, wraps its subtle but powerful message is a delightful story enhanced by fantastic illustrations.
Third Grade--In order to learn about the literary concept of plot, third graders heard Tomi de Paola's enchanting book Adelita. Before reading the story I asked the students to summarize the plot of a Cinderella story which they did easily. Then as we read Adelita we compared and contrasted the difference i
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By: David Elzey,
on 10/19/2009
Blog: The Excelsior File (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: biography, random house, schwartz and wade, john hendrix, abraham lincoln, deborah hopkinson, tall tales, storyography, Add a tag
A Tall, Thin Tale(Introducing His Forgotten Frontier Friend)by Deborah Hopkinsonpicture by John HendrixSchwartz & Wade / Random House 2008If in 2007 a book appeared by a 90 year old author claiming to have been a boyhood friend of JFK, relating an experience where the two as boys nearly drowned in the Charles River of Boston one summer day, where the author saved the young JFK's life and thus
0 Comments on Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek as of 10/19/2009 8:35:00 AM
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By: Administrator,
on 8/18/2009
Blog: Margo Dill's Read These Books and Use Them! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Fractured Tall Tales and Fairy Tales, O'Malley, Kevin, Root, Phyllis, Tuesday Tales, Babe the Blue Ox, Fractured Tall Tales, Kevin O'Malley, Paula Bunyan, Picture Book, Phyllis Root, Paul Bunyan, Reading Skills, tall tales, Creative Writing activities, Elementary Educators, Preschool to 1st grade teachers, Shared Writing, Add a tag
Blog: Margo Dill's Read These Books and Use Them! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Fractured Tall Tales and Fairy Tales, O'Malley, Kevin, Root, Phyllis, Tuesday Tales, Babe the Blue Ox, Fractured Tall Tales, Kevin O'Malley, Paula Bunyan, Picture Book, Phyllis Root, Paul Bunyan, Reading Skills, tall tales, Creative Writing activities, Elementary Educators, Preschool to 1st grade teachers, Shared Writing, Add a tag
by Phyllis Root www.flickr.com
*Picture book for preschoolers through second graders
*Paula Bunyan (Paul Bunyan’s sister) as main character
*Rating: Paula Bunyan is a clever, cute picture book with a twist on the old classic Paul Bunyan tale. Phyllis Root has thrown a little environmental education in there, too.
Short, short summary: Did you know Paul Bunyan had a little (well, not quite so little) sister named, Paula? Well, according to Phyllis Root, he did! And she’s as lovable of a giant as he is. Instead of a blue ox, Paula has a grizzly bear as her sidekick. She spends her days catching 100-pound fish, singing harmony with the wolves, and rescuing her bear from mosquitoes. Things are going along pretty well when Paula notices that all her beloved trees are being cut down and not replaced by some irresponsible lumberjacks. She quickly devises a plan (WARNING! WARNING! Read this section before you read to kids–no big deal, but Paula undresses to her “skivvies”, just be prepared) to get rid of the lumberjacks and replenish the forest.
So, what do I do with this book?
1. One of the easiest activities to do with this book is compare and contrast the story of Paul Bunyan to Paula Bunyan using a Venn diagram. For younger children, you can do this as a shared writing activity. For older children, they can each make their own Venn diagram.
2. Students can write their own Paula Bunyan adventure. You can have them write it as a) a letter from Paula to Paul about an important event b) a journal entry about a day in the life of Paula Bunyan c) in the same voice as the book and another adventure of Paula’s.
3. Students can study tall tales with this book and make a list of characteristics of tall tales. You can also talk to students about exaggeration/hyperbole and why authors use this technique in their stories.
Have you used Paula Bunyan in your classroom? If so, leave us a comment and tell us about it. Do you have a favorite tall tale or fractured tall tale? Let us know!
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These are all such incredible ideas! Thanks for sharing with the Kid Lit Blog Hop. I've bookmarked this post for later reference and I'm now following your blog by email.
Culminating events are much welcome in high school as well. When I taught Great Expectations, I would host a high tea, complete with costumes, tea sandwiches and of course, Mrs. Havisham's wedding cake. The great thing about celebrations with older students is that they can prepare and bring many of the treats. This activity was always a highlight of our year.
I LOVE these ideas. My kids would love to put on a theatrical version of their books. I also like the art project idea. I'm going to try this with the next book that my 9 year old reads. Thanks so much for such great inspiration!
Stopping by as part of the Kid Lit Blog Hop. What an amazing post - loving these ideas :)
Wow! What fantastic ideas. I especially love the bags of sand with the battery operated candle. Fantastic ideas and I couldn't agree more with your statement, "But I think we owe our students a bit more closure than simply saying, "Please pass your books to the front of the class."
Well done with this post. I found you through the Kid Lit Blog Hop.
Wish I was aware of your blog when I was teaching! What great ideas! Visiting from the Kid Lit Blog Hop.
So many great ideas! And I love that a high school teacher is among the bunch, since so much of the fun and celebration of reading seems to dissipate when kids begin reading "for real" in high school.