Here's a Little Poem

Title: Here's a Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry   
Collected By: Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters   
Illustrator: Polly Dunbar
Publisher: Candlewick Press 
Publication Date: February 2007 
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Poetry 
GoodReads Summary: Sit back and savor a superb collection of more than sixty poems by a wide range of talented writers, from Margaret Wise Brown to Gertrude Stein, Langston Hughes to A. A. Milne. Greeting the morning, enjoying the adventures of the day, cuddling up to a cozy bedtime — these are poems that highlight the moments of a toddler’s world from dawn to dusk. Carefully gathered by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters and delightfully illustrated by Polly Dunbar, HERE'S A LITTLE POEM offers a comprehensive introduction to some remarkable poets, even as it captures a very young child’s intense delight in the experiences and rituals of every new day. 
What I Think: It’s really hard to judge a collection of poems because there are bound to be some poems that I don’t like as well as others. I do have to say that the majority of these poems I really enjoyed. I kind of like this kind of anthology because there are different authors included instead of the same author writing many poems. There seems to be more variance in the poems even though they are grouped into similar topics.

I’m starting to realize more and more the impact the illustrations have on my perception of a book. This book is warm and welcoming from the beginning. The colors are bright but muted at the same time. There is so much color in this book but a kind of color that I want to curl up in. It might have as much to do with the colors as the cover image. The image of the sun on the cover radiates the mood of the book.

I really enjoy poems for children that are about common things that children can relate to. Things like birthday parties and rain and going to sleep. These poems were fun to read a loud and share with my own kids. I love how the words slipped off my tongue and sounded musical. Obviously, a poem should have some kind of rhythm to it and most of these poems really do demonstrate that. There are so many great poems to grab from this collection to share with kids and to use as mentor texts. I love Silverly for it’s use of personification and even to look closely at adverbs. This book contains a wealth of mentor texts!

Read Together: Grades Pre-K - 5 
Read Alone: Grades K - 5 
Read With: BookSpeak by Laura Purdie Salis, Julie Andrews' Collection of Poems, Songs and Lullabies selected by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton 
Snatch of Text:   

Soggy Greens

John Cunliffe

"Oh, soggy greens, I hate you,

I hate your sloppy slush;

And if my mum would let me,

I'd throw you in a bush.

Oh, apple pie, I love you,

I love your crunchy crust;

And if my mum would let me,

I'd eat you till I bust."

Candles

Wendy Cope

"Three little candles

On a birthday cake.

Count them very carefully

So there's no mistake.

We counted three and there's no doubt -

Now it's time to blow them out."

Silverly

Dennis Lee

"Silverly,

Silverly,

Over the

Trees,

The moon drifts

By on a

Runaway

Breeze.

Dozily,

Dozily,

Deep in her

Bed,

A little girl

Dreams with the

Moon in her

Head."

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections, Visualizing, Predicting  
Writing Strategies to Practice: Descriptive Writing, Onomatopoeia, Alliteration, Imagery, Rhyme, Personification, Parts of Speech   
Writing Prompts: Use the parts of speech pattern from "Silverly" to write your own poem that mimics Dennis Lee's style.  
Topics Covered: Childhood, Milestones, Life 

Piggies In The Pumpkin Patch

Title: Piggies in the Pumpkin Patch     
Author: Mary Peterson and Jennifer Rofe 
Illustrator: Mary Peterson
Publisher: Charlesbridge 
Publication Date: July 2010
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book   
Summary: The romping piggies venture all over the farm! 
What I Think: While this is a simple book, I love all the language that is packed into it. This is a perfect book for little ones working on prepositions like over and under but also great for older students working on using those grand $100 words like peek and sneak instead of overused words like look and walk. The illustrations are fun and the pigs are funny. It's fun to predict where these guys will go next! 
This would be a fun book to read and then have kids write about their own day or even write a class book about what they do for the day and incorporate prepositions and $100 words. Even better, this book is great for students who are learning English as a second language because it can give them access to how prepositions are used appropriately and also provide the visual to help them acquire some of the more obscure prepositions in English. As a Spanish speaker, I know transferring knowledge and use of prepositions from Spanish to English is not always easy because it seems like English does have many more prepositions with some zany rules as how and when to use them.
Read Together: Pre-K - 5
Read Alone: Pre-K - 5 
Read With: Over in the Meadow by Ezra Jack Keats, In the Small, Small Pond and In the Tall, Tall Grass  by Denise Fleming, Under, Over, by the Clover: What Is a Preposition? (Words Are Categorical) by Brian P. Cleary, Behind the Mask: A Book about Prepositions (World of Language) by Ruth Heller, If You Were a Preposition (Word Fun) by Nancy Loewen,
Snatch of Text: 

"Piggies in the pumpkin patch

peek

and sneak,

under crinkly, clean sheets,

over growing,

green beans, 

behind snoring, sleepy sheep,

into the clover field."

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections, Making Predictions 
Writing Strategies to Practice: Personal Narrative  
Writing Prompts: Write like the author of Piggies in the Pumpkin Patch and tell about your day - where do you go, maybe around your house, around your school? Use $100 words and prepositions! 
Topics Covered: Farm, Animals, Adventure, Parts of Speech - Prepositions, $100 Words 
Translated to Spanish: No

 

Blue Chameleon

Title: Blue Chameleon     
Author: Emily Gravett 
Illustrator: Emily Gravett 
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 2010 
Genre/Format: Fiction/Picture Book 
Summary: A lonely chameleon tries to find where he can fit in.  He tries to make himself look like other animals and objects, until he finally finds out he is happiest being himself. 
What I Think: Sometimes the simplest books can convey strong meanings and this book is definitely an example of a book like that.  The subject of fitting in and figuring out who you are is relevant to anyone.  I’m finding that I’m still learning who I am even as an adult.  Chameleons are such interesting animals to begin with in the fact that they can change colors to match their surroundings.  It works perfectly that the author uses a chameleon as a symbol for how we as people might change to fit in with different people or in different situations. 

While this book does tackle a serious topic, the illustrations make the book simple to understand and so funny.  I love laughing at how closely the chameleon can make himself look like a boot or a banana.  He really does try his best, but he just doesn’t look quiet like any of these things.  The most exciting part is getting to the end and seeing him so excited to realize where he really can fit in.

Because I work with students who are deaf or hard of hearing and sometimes also learning English as a second language, I’m usually looking for books that can develop their language skills or vocabulary.  While the text in this book is very simple and consisting of an adjective and a noun on every page, it does make a great example of nouns and word that describe them.  Most of the adjectives are colors but the author does include, “swirly”, “stripy”, “spotty”, and “colorful”.  I’m always on the lookout for $100 words and this book can introduce the idea.  Kids can come up with their own adjectives even!

Read Together: Pre-K - 12 
Read Alone: 1 - 12 
Read With: Art & Max by David Weisner; Unlovable by Dan Yaccarino, One by Kathryn Otoshi
Snatch of Text:  

“Pink cockatoo

‘Hello

Hello

Hello’”

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Inferences, Making Predictions
Writing Strategies to Practice: Personal Narrative, Expository 
Writing Prompts: Write about a time in your life when you didn’t feel like you fit in; what did you do to try and fit in? Write about something that makes you unique.  Research more about chameleons and write about what you learned about chameleons. 
Topics Covered: Integration – Science, Animals, Chameleons, Parts of Speech, Adjectives, $100 Words 
Translated to Spanish: No, but this is such a simple text that you could translate it. In fact, I think this would be a great way to show the difference between how adjectives are used before the noun in English but after the noun in Spanish.

 

Luka and the Fire of Life

Title: Luka and the Fire of Life: A Novel     
Author: Salman Rushdie 
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: 2010    
Genre/Format: Fantasy/Novel 
Summary: Luka finds himself embarking on a whimsical but daunting quest into a parallel, magical world of his dad's stories in order to save his dad by retrieving the Fire of Life. 
What I Think: I am still completely in awe of the way Rushdie puts words together. His writing is just completely wonderful to me.  This story is more than just beautiful writing though, the plot and characters are great.  How can you not love a dog named Bear and a bear named Dog?  I was cracking up at the two of them and then swept along with the story before I even realized what was going on.  In a way, this book reminded me of a video game where you get caught up in moving from one challenge to the next but at the same time reminded me of The Odyssey as Luka has to maneuver through all the different obstacles presented to him.  I am already excited to read Haroun and the Sea of Stories which is the story of Luka's brother (which I think is a prequel/companion book).
     I wish I could remember who recommended this book or where I heard about it because I feel like I need to talk to him or her about how brilliant this book is.  I could gush about it all day...I might have to reread it because it's just that good.
Read Together: 6 - 12 
Read Alone: 6 - 12 
Read With: Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie, The Odyssey by Homer, Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, The Boy Who Climbed into the Moon by David Almond, Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Snatch of Text: “There was once, in the city of Kahani, in the land of Alifbay, a boy named Luka who had two pets, a bear named Dog and a dog named Bear, which meant that whenever he called out, ‘Dog!’ the bear waddled up amiably on his hind legs, and when he shouted ‘Bear!’ the dog bounded toward him, wagging his tail.” p.1 (first sentence)
Reading Strategies to Practice: Visualizing, Making Inferences, Making Predictions 
Writing Strategies to Practice: Expanding Sentences, $100 Words, Descriptive, Folk Literature, Word Choice, Parts of Speech
Writing Prompts: Find a sentence in your writer's notebook or in one of your writing pieces and revise it by adding prepositional phrases and clauses like Rushdie.   
Topics Covered: Family, Life, Taking Risks, Adventure, Folk Literature 
Translated to Spanish: No

 

Ten Tiny Babies

Title: Ten Tiny Babies     
Author: Karen Katz 
Illustrator: Karen Katz 
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: 2008  
Genre/Format: Fiction-Nursery Rhymes/Picture Book  
Summary:  This is a counting up story about ten roly poly babies!  These babies are busy and the reader gets to join in on the fun!  
What I Think:  I'm a fan of the bright colors and round baby faces in this book!  These busy little babies had me wanting to turn the page.  The rhymes were fun and the actions had me envisioning a class of preschoolers acting out what the babies were doing.  I think this would be great for looking at verbs and also for vocabulary development for English Language Learners.  A bonus - the adorable babies in this book are multicultural!!!
Read Together: Pre-K - 3
Read Alone: 1 - 3 
Read With: Counting Kisses and other books by Karen Katz; Five Little Monkeys Storybook Treasury (A Five Little Monkeys Story) By Eileen Christelow; This Jazz Man By Karen Ehrhardt 
Snatch of Text: "3 bouncy babies jump and...hop!
Along comes another...but he just can't stop! 
Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections, Visualizing 
Writing Strategies to Practice: Word choice - verbs
Writing Prompts: Choose one of the verbs from the story and brainstorm synonyms for that word.  Put them in order from least to greatest.  Write a story about a baby who has gotten out of his or her crib and is on the go, include your interesting verbs in your story!  
Topics Covered: Babies, Family, Multicultural, Counting, Word Choice, Synonyms, Vocabulary Development 
Translated to Spanish: No, but Karen Katz has other baby books that have been translated to Spanish.