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*Picture book, preschool through 2nd grade, humorous
*Harry, a little boy, as main character
*Rating: Harry Goes to Dog School is right up my family’s alley. My 2-year-old LOVES “woof-woofs,” and this book teaches a lesson in a subtle way–the grass is not always greener on the other side. Although for just one day, I wouldn’t mind laying around, chewing on my bone. . . (smiles)

Short, short summary:

Harry wants to be a dog. He is driving everyone crazy in the family by licking his sister instead of kissing her good night, growling and chasing a cat up the tree, and growling at his oatmeal. His parents decide to send him to dog school. At first, he loves it. He is the star of the class–rolling over and fetching. However, he isn’t so crazy about lunch or nap time. His dog teacher says she can use some help, and he likes that but it is exhausting. He soon misses all the things that boys love to do–play baseball, watch TV, and eat chocolate ice cream! He decides, on his own, that he would like to be a boy and go to regular school–most of the time. . .

So, what do I do with this book?

1. You can teach children to make a pros and cons list with this book. What are the pros of being a dog? What are the cons? What about the pros of being a kid? The cons? Then talk about how people use pros and cons to solve “real” problems–like what to play at recess. You can use this to solve a problem in your classroom or school.

2. Because the text doesn’t come right out and tell students why Harry decides he wants to be a boy again, this is a good discussion point. Students have to infer! from the illustrations and text what is going on in Harry’s mind and even in his parents’. This is a great way to introduce inferring to elementary-aged students.

3. Do your students/children ever wish they could be someone else? Start with this “story” starter: If I could be someone/something else for one day, I would choose . . . (Examples: the President, a dolphin, my mom, a teacher, my baby brother, a cat, etc.) Then they copy their sentence down on their paper (older students can write a few detail sentences, too) and draw an illustration to go with it.

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*Picture book, (contemporary concept book), for preschool to first graders
*Boys as main characters
*Rating: If Waffles Were Like Boys (illustrator: Scott Magoon) is an interesting book that really captures children and their imagination. It is obviously targeted toward boys, but girls could read it and write their own version!

Short, short summary:

If Waffles Were Like Boys, “breakfast would be a battlefield” is how this book begins. This is the text pattern throughout the entire book. If________________ were like boys, ____________________________________________. Another example from the book, “If hot dogs were like boys, picnics would be rodeos!” There are very few words on each page and bright and colorful illustrations.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. This book is perfect for a shared writing activity, such as If _______Were Like Girls, then ____________________________. Or you could even do animals: If _________________-Were Like Dogs, then _______________________________________________. Children can illustrate their own sentence.

2. Let students make predictions on what the author wrote before turning the page. So, after reading a few to get the pattern, state: “If cars were like boys, then __________________________.” Ask students to fill in the blank with some statements that makes sense and see if anyone can guess what the author wrote.

3. The illustrations by Scott Magoon are so cute in this book and clever, too. For example, check out the hot dog and rodeo section. What is making up the rodeo animals in the illustrations? Why? Discuss as many pages as you can.

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*Concept book for preschoolers/kindergarteners
*Little “pirates” as main characters
*Rating: Pirate Nap: A Book of Colors is so cute and perfect for the little guys and gals in our lives who are learning their colors AND fighting to take a nap!

Short, short summary:

Danna Smith tells us about the colors in our little pirates’ lives, using fun rhyme, while Valeria Petrone fills in the blanks with cute and clever illustrations! For example, let’s look at GREEN. “Mark the spot. We must be brave! Find GREEN treasures in a cave.” The illustration is of the two boys finding green boots in the attic. The story continues as the boys enjoy being pirates, and their mother tries to round them up for a nap. Who will win this power struggle?

So, what do I do with this book?

1. Whether you are reading this to a room full of preschoolers or to your own at home, you can find pirate treasures in the room that are the same color as some of them in the book. What do you have in your room that could be considered a YELLOW treasure? What about GREEN? Make a list together.

2. What rhyming words do your little guys hear when you are reading this book to them? Ask them to raise their hands or point to the page every time they hear a pair of rhyming words. See if they can name some of the pairs when the book is over.

3. Pirate vocabulary runs rampant through this book. Many of your young pirates may know words like “mast” or “loot.” But others might not. Make a list of the words you think are pirate words before you read the book. After you read it and share the illustrations, see if children can define any of the words, using context (text and illustrations).

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*Picture book, preschool through 2nd grade
* A silly goose as the main character
*Rating: Silly Tilly is my kind of picture book. It is filled with all sorts of fun and rhymes and vibrant illustrations.

Short, short summary:

Silly Tilly is a very silly goose. For example, she takes a bath in apple juice. She took a nap in scarecrow’s pants and packed Piglet off to France. And the other barnyard animals are just plain tired of her silliness. She stops her antics, and then Hetta Hen realizes she hasn’t laughed since Silly Tilly did something silly. So, the animals apologize, and we get to see our lovable goose right back at her silliness.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. You cannot ignore the rhyme in Silly Tilly. Before reading, ask students to raise their hands if they hear any rhyming words. Ask them to remember at least a pair and tell it to you to write on chart paper when the story is over. Students/children can brainstorm more words that rhyme with the ones in the book. For an “advanced” discussion, what is Eileen Spinelli’s rhyme scheme?

2. When Silly Tilly changes whom she is for her friends, everyone suffers. No one is happy. This is a pretty deep concept for kids to understand, but oh so important. Use the characters in this silly book to get kids to see how important it is for each of them to 1. be themselves and embrace their uniqueness and 2. not expect other people, especially their friends, to change to please them.

3. Kids will have SO MUCH FUN making up their own silly things that Silly Tilly can do on the farm. You can either help them with the rhyming words or just do it with creativity–not worrying about the rhyme. Students can write down one of the silly things and illustrate it. Put these together in a class book–a Silly Tilly sequel.

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*Picture book for preschoolers through first graders (younger picture book)
*Young hippo as main character
*Rating: I’m a huge fan of Bob Shea. I love Dinosaur VS Bedtime. This book is super cute, too, and it has something for parents and kids–I’m always a big fan of those.

Short, short summary: This young hippo has one smart (and fun!) daddy. Young hippo doesn’t want to do what he is supposed to, like get dressed or get into the car when it’s time to go to Grandma’s. So, Daddy pretends like he doesn’t know how to get in the car or get dressed, and his son must show him how. Of course, young hippo loves this, and Daddy gets his goal accomplished, too without a fight. (HMMM, is Bob Shea trying to tell us something here as parents/teachers or what?) Oh, Daddy also shows parent and child having fun together, like with the hose and giving each other plenty of hugs. It’s a great daddy/kid book!

So, what do I do with this book?

1. Kids will want to share all sorts of fun things they can do with their daddies or mommies or grandparents like the hippos do in the book. You can turn this into a shared writing activity with the sentence stem: With my mommy (daddy,etc), I like to __________________________. Students can write the whole sentence and illustrate it.

2. Discuss with your students/children things that they help adults do either at home or at school, similar to the young hippo in the book. Make a list of all the things that they can do and hang it up.

3. The illustrations in this book are so wonderful. Children should take time to study them and discuss them, especially all the crazy things Daddy does.

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photo by peasap www.flickr.com

*Picture book for preschoolers through first graders
*Little boy and pirate girls as main characters
*Rating: The Night Pirates is a fun read full of imagination and playful language!

Short, short summary: Tom is a nice little boy who is trying to go to sleep. But he hears shadows outside his window, and he wonders if they could be monsters or trolls? Nope, they turn out to be pirates; and what I love about this is that they are LITTLE GIRL pirates!!! And even better, they don’t care that Tom is a little boy. They invite him to come along on their adventure anyway. They have to steal the front of his house to disguise their ship, but no big deal! Who will ever know? This is one of those great, clever picture books with a twist at the end shown through the illustration. Children will ask to have The Night Pirates read to them again and again.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. The language in this book is so fun from page one! “Down, down, down the dark, dark street they came.” “Up, up, up the dark, dark house they climbed.” Children will love to read the book out loud with you, especially the repetitive parts. They may even like acting it out–tiptoe down the street, pretend to climb up the house, and stay as quiet as mice.

2. As a shared writing activity, ask students what else the girl pirates and Tom could disguise their ship as. How about the Empire State Building, Arch, or Grand Canyon? You can get big, silly, small, or funny. Make a list on chart paper, assign one to each student, and ask them to write/draw about disguising the girls’ ship with their place.

3. Teach a prediction lesson with this book. Most people will think when the girls and Tom get to the pirates’ island that the pirates will capture them or be mean to them. But the opposite happens. So, before you read the part about what happens to the pirates, ask students to predict what they think will happen. Ask them what they are basing their predictions on (probably movies or books they’ve read like The Pirates of the Carribean).

If you have read this book with your students, let us know here. We always want to know what your children/students liked about it or what activities you did!

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