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

Hello Ocean

Hello Ocean
by Pam Munoz Ryan , Mark Astrella (Illustrator)
Charlesbridge Publishing, 2001

Summary: As a girl visits an ocean beach, she experiences it with all five of her senses. 

Lesson:  A teacher was looking for a book using imagery (sensory language) to show as a model for his writing unit on adding details.  I suggested this book.  Would also be a good book to pair with a lesson about oceans and beaches, especially for children who have never visited the ocean. 

 

Level:  K-3rd

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

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

Guyku

Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys

by Bob Raczka , Peter Reynolds (Illustrator)

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010

Summary:  These poems celebrate nature, as a haiku does, but from a boy's point of view with kites, rocks and mud. 

Lesson:  After enjoying a few samples from the book, students worked on counting syllables.  Then using templates provided by the author online, the students created their own guyku, complete with drawing. 

Level:  2nd - 8th 

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy)

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy)

by Barbara Kerley , Edwin Fotheringham (Illustrator)

Scholastic, 2010

Summary:  Using excepts from his daughter's biography of him, Barbara Kerley creates a biography of Mark Twain's home life and habits.  The final pages provide information on how to research and write a biography.

Lesson:  Used as a resource for teachers who were creating a unit on biographical reports. 

Level:  1st-6th