And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon

And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon 

by Janet Stevens , Susan Stevens Crummel

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001

Summary:  After the Dish and Spoon run away together, the cat, cow, and dog of said nursery rhyme set out on a quest to find them.  Along the way, they visit haunts from other nursery rhymes, such as Humpty's Wall, Jack's  Beanstalk, and the Big Bad Wolf's home in the deep, dark forest.  Armed with a map and hilarious puns and idioms, the trio race against time to save the ending of their verse.

Lesson:  I have used this for various lessons.  Today, I used it with the lower elementary grades as a review of their map reading skills.  In the past, I have used it as a support of the kindergarten teachers during their nursery rhymes unit.  It could also be used to teach idioms and puns. 

Level:  K - 3rd

Down by the Cool of the Pool

Down by the Cool of the Pool 

by Tony Mitton , Guy Parker-Rees (Illustrator) 

Scholastic, 2002

Summary: A frog, duck, pig, and friends dance themselves silly until they crash and splash into the cool pool. 

Lesson:   Based on its name, I was expecting a rhyming book,  but it was more than that.  It is filled with action verbs and onomatopoeias.  With K-2,  we made a dance of the action verbs and livened up the story.  With older kids, I would have talked more about onomatopoeia.

Level: K-2nd

Hey, Al

Hey, Al 

by Arthur Yorinks , Richard Egielski (Illustrator)
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1989 Caldecott

Summary:  Al's life is routine and plain, until he opens the door and is transported to a tropical island.  As he enjoys himself and relaxes, he becomes one with the island. 

Lesson:  A teacher was looking for a book to model word choice in replacing the overuse of  "he said".  In this book, Al squawks, croaks--anything but "says". 

Level: K-3rd

Skin Like Milk, Hair of Silk

Skin Like Milk, Hair of Silk: What Are Similes and Metaphors? 

by Brian P. Cleary , Brian Gable (Illustrator) 

Lerner Publishing, 2009

Summary:  A rhyming book that uses humor to show the difference between similes and metaphors.  Full of examples, the pictures help the reader to imagine comparison made by the figurative language. 

Lesson:  The 5th graders were doing a creative writing assignment in class.  After using this book to understand the writing technique, I grouped students with poetry books and asked them to find more examples. 

Level:  2nd-6th