Joseph had a Little Overcoat

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat 

by Simms Taback

Penguin, 2000 Caldecott

Summary:  In this cut-out book, Joseph begins the story wearing a colorful overcoat.  As it becomes worn, with each page, he recuts the fabric to create a new, smaller garment.  From a vest to a scarf, he continues with each page until there is only enough fabric to cover a button. 

Lesson:  As part of Earth Day, we talk to the students about "Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle".  This is a great story to model how to reuse materials.  Instead of throwing away something when we are finished with it, we can find new uses.  A crafty follow-up would be to have them turn items into new products.  For example, with some string and the bottom half of a plastic bottle, they can make bird feeders.  Old cans can be decorated and turned into pencil holders.  Scrapped paper can be decorated into bookmarks.  Let your imagination sore!

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

Silly Tilly

Silly Tilly 

by Eileen Spinelli , David Slonim (Illustrator) 

Cavendish, Marshall, 2009

Summary:  Tilly is a silly goose, the silliest animal on the farm.  After the animals become too annoyed, Tilly starts to act seriously.  But then the animals realize how much they miss the silliness.

Lesson:  Sometimes you just have to be a little silly, especially in kindergarten.  It had rained for an entire week, and the students were very restless with no outside play.  I read this book and then we did silly physical antics like funny faces and jumping around.  It was a fun play day at the library.  Before sending them back to class, though, we talked about appropriate times for silliness, like Tilly had to learn. 

Level: PreK - 2nd

Kid Tea

Kid Tea 

by Elizabeth Ficocelli , Glin Dibley (Illustrator)
Cavendish, Marshall Corp., 2007

Summary:  Each day the bathwater changes to a different color of tea as the colorful dirt (brown mud, purple popsicle juice, yellow paint) washes off.  A book that makes bathing fun instead of a chore for the kids.  Topics include colors, days of the week, hygiene, and beginning science (solutions).  

Lesson:  A teacher was looking for examples of writing using colors in his writing unit about adding details. I suggested this book.  It could also be used to teach colors to younger students, days of the week, hygiene, and beginning science (solutions). 

Level: PreK-2nd

Online Book: Edward and the Pirates

Edward and the Pirates

David McPhail
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 1997

Kids.AOL.com

Summary:  Edward loves to read; and when he reads, his imagination runs wild.  But when he reads a book about treasure maps, real pirates come to claim their booty.  Will Edward give up the book?

Lesson:  This online book is found on AOL Kids, along with several other stories.  As the narrator reads the story, the words are highlighted for the student reading along.  I chose this of all the stories because it showed the power of reading.  Afterwards, we made a list of the types of adventures it would be fun to read about.  Then the students used the online catalog to search for books about the subject they chose.  [I did this the week after teaching how to use the online catalog.]  This story is found at AOL Kids

Level:  PreK-3rd

The Snowy Day

The Snowy Day

by Ezra Jack Keats

1963, Caldecott Medal

Summary:  Waking up to a snowy day, a young boy enjoys playing in the snow. 

Lesson:  2010 Read for the Record title. When I decided our campus would contribute in the Read for the Record event, my students were elated to be part of something that was worldwide.  Instead of reading the book to them, I decided to make it feel more global by showing the online book version.  The images were bigger and easier to see, so afterwards, I talked about the Caldecott Medal for artwork in a book.   

Level:  PreK - 2nd

Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse

Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse 

by Rebecca Janni , Lynne Avril (Illustrator) 

Penguin, 2010

Summary:  Nellie Sue is a cowgirl who needs a horse. And when she gets a bike for her birthday, she uses her imagination to ride her horse around the neighborhood.  Full of whoopin' and hollerin', and a good ole time. 

Lesson:  This was completely impromptu--the children realizing it was my birthday insisted we read a birthday book.  I had just gotten this one in a delivery, so I read it to them.  The girls loved it; the boys were at first put off by all the pink, but then became involved with her crashing down the hill and lassoing the other kids.  Afterwards, we had fun sharing what we imagine when we ride a bike, or go down a slide, etc. 

Level:  PreK-2nd

Chalk

Chalk

by Bill Thomson (Illustrator) 

Cavendish, Marshall, 2010

Summary: In this wordless picture book, three kids use their imagination to make their chalk drawings come to life. 

Lesson:  The story was told by allowing each student to interpret a page of the story, since there are no words to the story. At different junctures, students were asked to predict what would happen next.  Students then went outside to draw on the sidewalk with chalk (can color inside on rainy days).  Book can also be used to show perspective, as the drawings are highly realistic and from a multiple of levels.

Level:  PreK-2nd