Skippyjon Jones

Skippyjon Jones

by Judy Schachner

Dutton Juvenile, 2003

Summary: Skippyjon Jones is a Siamese Kitten whose creative imagination is always leading him to exciting places and landing him in hot water.  In this story, he imagines he is the great chihuahua sword fighter El Skippito.  He joins a band of chihuahuas  and defeats the Bumblebeeto Bandito. 

Lesson:  I love to talk to kids about using their imagination.  Part of this lesson was to extend last week's lesson about Animals and the Dewey Decimal System.  Another part was to have them use context clues.  Based on the text and pictures, I asked them what they thought the truth was behind the Bumblebeeto Bandito's existence.  Some said a real bee was in the closet, some said a picture of a bee.  A few noticed the candy and guessed pinata. 

Level:  Pre-K - 3rd

Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?

Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? 

by Bill Martin Jr. , Eric Carle (Illustrator)

Henry Holt and Co., 2006

Summary:Using repetitive patterns, endangered animals are asked which animal they saw, a different animal for each page.  

Lesson:  My primary purpose for reading this book was as a springboard into a lesson teaching students where to find the non-fiction books in the library.  First we talked about the different  between the wild and domestic animals, then about their placement in the library.  Since this book features endangered animals, it was an opportunity to teach the animal names, in both English and Spanish.  We also talked listed which animals would:  run, swim, or fly?

Level: PreK - 2nd

Ah, To Be Young Again......

After school, I was standing at Bus Duty with my clipboard as the children filed in.  One of the kids recognized me.  "Hey, I saw you in the library."  I should hope so after several story times and helping kids check out books for four weeks.  He continues on with a question:  "You work?"

Struck speechless by a seven year old. 

My Trip to the Zoo

My Trip to the Zoo

by Mercer Mayer

School Specialty Publishing, 2002

Summary: Little Critter visits the zoo along with his mom, dad, and little sister.  

Lesson: I did this lesson with the Pre-K classes.  With each page we acted and sounded like the animals depicted.  We also talked about what other animals you might see at a zoo.  Students then picked an animal outline to color. 

Level:  Pre-K -1st

Check out Barnes and Noble's "Online Storytime"

Every month, Barnes and Nobles features a children's book read by the author or other noted celebrity.  This month, Anna Dewdney reads  Llama Llama Home with Mama.  Previous months' recordings are available, such as Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible,No Good, Very Bad Day and The Kissing Hand. 

Check it out here:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/storytime/ 

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

Clifford's Pals

Clifford's Pals
by Norman Bridwell

Summary:  Clifford and his pals play in a construction site, where it is dangerous.  After several narrow scrapes, where Clifford has to break machinery and anger the workers, they decide to stop playing there and return to a safer place to play. 


Lesson:  One of our school-wide expectations is to "Be Safe".  After reading this book, we talked about why it was not safe to play at a construction site.  We also suggested some safe places to play. 

Level:  PreK-1st grade