kiddieliter

I had not intended posting on the book If Not for the Cat by Jack Prelustsky until yesterday afternoon and I see Teresa enjoyed the book as much as I did:).  At the YMCA I am a the 1st grade afterschool counselor and I am big on reading to them everyday in our “quiet time”.  I encourage them to bring me books that they have checked out from their school libraries or any from home that they like.  Yesterday one of my boys brought me this book and wanted me to read it.  I thought it was so neat that he had brought me a poetry book since we were discussing them in this class as well as my 345 class.  The book basically had a haiku in the form of a riddle on each page with excellent pictures.  We had a lot of fun talking about haikus and how they worked. Of course they didn’t know what a haiku was  before then and they thought it sounded so cool that they wanted to learn about.  We were clapping out syllables and guessing the riddles and I think they really enjoyed it, even though is was semi advanced for their age level.  At times I had to explain words to them they had never heard, but they usually guessed the animal in the end.   So, I had a real life experience with this book and give it an A+. 

This is a book of collected poetry from Native American cultures. Each of the thirteen moons are represented on the turtles back. The turtle is believed to contain the mystery of the moons and powers each story behind the moons. I loved the poetry and the illustrations were just gorgeous.

This a great story for young girls that aspire to be like mommy. This story is one of  bad things have a great outcome. A little girl who loves attention strolls through town draped in her mother’s beautiful new fabric and the worst happens, its ruined. The outcome of the ruined fabric is great and it lets you know that not all outcomes are again for the worst.

This book by James Marshall was a great way to show children that misbehavior is not the key. The lesson in this story is not to take everything so lightly and not to take advantage of teachers who may appeal to be nicer than normal. In this story the children have no idea whats in store for them as the nice Miss Nelson becomes missing. Will they become enlightened before its too late, just read to find out.

Hey Little Ant by the Hookes was a cute book about a young boy who meets an ant at the park one day.  When the boys sees the any with some leftover picnic food, the boy wants to step on the ant.  The ants pleads with the boy to not step on him and proceeds to explain to the boy how similar they are and that he is taking the food to his family.  The ant convinces the boy to not step on him and they become friends.  This book is also unique because at the end there is a song that corresponds with the book.  This would be a great way to integrate a music lesson along with this book or even just make a fun sing a long out of it.

This story is about a little turtle who just cannot be still. Soon people begin to see Shelley as bad, and he feels all alone. Then one day Shelley goes to the doctor and something amazing happens. He find out he is not a bad little turtle, just hyperactive, and that there are many little turtles just like him. i really like the Moss books because she puts disabilities into perspective for young children. She also uses her books to show the children that they are not alone and that they can overcome any obstacle.

This is a story about young Opus.  Everynight his grandmother has read him the famous book Goodnight Moon.  One night he decides to start adding to the text and make up his own version of the story.  He decides that he wants to travel to the stars and the Milky Way to wish everyone goodnight like in the book.  So he assembles a small crew, and they board their flying machine and head for the stars.  Along the way they meet the toothfairy, visit Washington D.C., pass through Asia, and finally reach their goal.  He later tells his grandmother about his adventure and it inspires her to go on an adventure of her own.

A short biography about jazz legend Louis Armstrong.  It tells about how he was a poor young man growing up in New Orleans.  Every night, the city would come alive with the sound of music.  Louis decided that he wanted to become a musician and started working for money so he could buy a trumpet.  He and his friends sang for coins on the street.  He has a bit of misfortune when he is arrested and taken away from New Orleans.  The jail had a band and he is eventually invited to join and from their learns to play the trumpet and realize his dream.

This is a short story about a young toad named Tyler.  When he hears a great clap of thunder, he takes shelter in a nearby hole.  All of his animal friends try to tell him there’s nothing to be afraid of.  They tell him things like the Milky Way Patrol is shooting their cannons, or the Great Toad is waving a pane of tinfoil.  No matter what they say, Tyler refuses to come out of that hole.