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Author: Tomie DePaola
Title: Pancakes for Breakfast
Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers, 1978.
Grade Level: Primary (K-2)
Summary: An old woman attempts to make pancakes for breakfast, but meets challenges along the way when she realizes she doesn't have enough supplies and when her pets get involved.
Strengths: One strength of the book is its illustrations. The illustrations are colorful and fun. There are enough details in the pictures to tell the story without overwhelming the reader. In some parts of the book the illustrations mimic a cartoon strip style while in other parts DePaola utilizes double page spreads to tell his story. Another strength is the simplicity of the story. Despite having no words, the story is easy to follow and understand, yet still fun to read.
Concerns: My only concern with wordless books would be younger readers not comprehending the story. Using wordless books opens many possibilities for supplemental activities, but require guidance when young children first begin to use them. Constant reinforcement of the story while reading this book would help children fully grasp and understand the story.
Classroom use: Wordless books allow for children to create their own text to the story or create their own wordless stories. By stopping the story a few pages short of the ending students can be responsible for creating pictures to appropriately end the story and then see how Tomie DePaola actually ended his story! Since words are not a prerequisite in this genre, younger students can enjoy making their own books by creating related pictures resulting in their own story without worrying about writing or correct spelling.
(image from Amazon.com)
Author: Lois EhlertTitle: Fish Eyes: A Book You Can Count On Publisher: Voyager Books/Harcourt, Inc., 1990
Grade Level: Primary (K-2)
Summary: The books follows the fulfillment of a person's wish to be a fish. Ehlert then proceeds into a counting book that counts up to ten using fish.Strengths: The illustrations are bright and beautiful of the different fish. Ehlert utilizes double page spreads of bright, exotic fishes to capture the audience's attention. Another strength is the placement of the text. In the beginning Ehlert uses page turns to grab the reader's attention and once the counting begins makes sure to use both the number and the number word. Another strength is the small gray fish on the bottom of each page. In the counting part of the book the fish helps students understand simple addition by stating how much him plus the number of fish on each page would make.Concerns: While I praised Ehlert's use of the gray fish on the bottom of each page, the fish is hard to see as well as the accompanying text. Students or teachers may not necessarily see the gray fish to be able to utilize the simple addition provided. I know that I did not see the little fish until I read the book a second time.Classroom use: The arts are a clear transition from the colorful illustrations of Ehlert to the classroom. Students could make their own fish or colorful counting books. Students could also make their own counting books using an animal they wish they could be.(image from Amazon.com)
Author: Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
Title: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1989
Grade Level: PreK-K
Summary: Children learn the alphabet and practice rhymes as they follow the adventure of the entire alphabet trying to climb a coconut tree.
Strengths: One of the strengths of this book is the colors. The book is bright, fun and engaging. Another strength is that the letters are brightly displayed as well as printed in the text in bold print, which helps children identify the letters with ease. The final strength is the introduction of new vocabulary such as, "skit skat skoodle doot, flip flop flee..." which makes learning the alphabet fun.Classroom use: Chicka Chick Boom Boom has been recorded on CDs, which is always a fun activity for students to be able to hear the story read to them. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom with the audio CD can also be transformed into a learning center activity, which allows children to practice identifying letter names and letter sounds. Another activity would be to create a classroom coconut tree full of the alphabet letters as the letters are introduced to the class.(image from Amazon.com)
Author: Stephen T. JohnsonTitle: Alphabet City
Publisher: Penguin Group, 1995
Grade Level: Primary (K-2)
Summary: Stephen T. Johnson uses pictures of objects found in major cities to review the alphabet. Staircases, Cathedrals, traffic lights, and gardens are just some of the objects used to inspire young readers to learn the alphabet.
Strengths: Some of the strengths include the photographs and the creativity associated with the objects chosen to represent the alphabet. This is the first book I have found that has interpreted the alphabet by using real-life objects of items found in a city, which made the book very interesting. The incorporation of these items also allowed for the book to be used for older children, not merely Kindergartners learning their letters.
Concerns: My two concerns with this book were some of the pictures were unclear on what letter they were representing. I think children just learning their letters may struggle to identify the letters in the pictures. My other concern was that many alphabet books emphasize a correlation between the picture and the letter. For example, showing apple, antelope, or airplane for the letter A. However, this book does not follow this technique. Without this direct correlation some students may struggle to truly grasp the letters introduced in this book.
Classroom use: I think this book would be a great alternative to regularly prescribed alphabet books. I think children from 4-7 can truly appreciate the beautiful pictures as well as the creative way Stephenson introduces the letters. I think this book also lends itself to having students create their own alphabet book that stretches their imagination beyond A is for apple and B is for banana.
* This book is also the winner of the Caldecott Honor
( image from Amazon.com)
Author: Kobayashi IssaTitle: Today and TodayPublisher: Scholastic Press, 2007.Grade Level: 3rd grade and upSummary: A collection of haiku poems by Issa and artistically interpreted by G. Brian Karas.Strengths: The illustrations truly help children understand the haiku poems. I think without the illustrations children would struggle to understand and create a mental image of the poem. I also like the fact that most of the haikus are simple and about topics children can understand, which would certainly help students begin studying poetry, particularly haikus. The poems are short and manageable, which makes this book ideal for children in third grade or older.Concerns: The overall organization of poems into seasons, may make children miss the overall theme of the poems. While the organization may help some children understand the poem easier, one of the complaints of the book is that children get acquainted with a season and it abruptly changes. Also, some of the poems may be too difficult for young children to understand, for example the winter poem where the family is in the cemetery. I think one of the mistakes people make with haikus is thinking younger children can understand them easier because they are shorter, but this collection is a perfect example that haikus are meant for older audiences that are more familiar with poetry. Without a solid understanding of poetry and the purpose of poetry, young readers would truly miss out on these great works by Issa.Classroom use: This would be a great resource for teaching older children about haikus. Students would be able to study the structure of haikus. The topic also lends itself to older students practicing writing their own haikus about the seasons. For younger students, these haikus would be great lesson starters about the seasons or a great book for circle time, providing the opportunity to begin introducing poetry to young students.
*Capitol Choice Award 2008 Winner
(image from Amazon.com)
Author: Donna L. Washington
Title: A Pride of African Tales
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers, 2004.
Grade Level: 2-5Summary: A collection of six African Stories from Ghana, the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, and Cameroon told in the storytelling style.Strengths: This collection offers a great diversity of stories from fables to trickster tales to cautionary tales. Each tale is vivid, exciting, and promotes some sort of moral solution to the problem. I truly enjoy the diversity of types of tales as well as where the stories originate from. The beautiful water color paintings truly help these African tales come to life.Concerns: I think each story must be read and evaluated before being read to children, since all of the stories may not be appropriate for younger readers. While the children may enjoy the stories instances of animals eating other animals or humans as well as other situations that may cause confusion for young children are found in these stories so teachers, parents and librarians need to be aware of the stories before reading them to small children.Classroom use: These stories would be a great introduction to storytelling, particularly African stories. It would be ideal for children to hear these stories in the storytelling technique, which help students truly appreciate these tales for how they were meant to be heard.(image from Amazon.com)
Author: Retold by Eric A. Kimmel
Title: Don Quixote and the Windmills
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004
Grade Level: 1-4Summary: The story is about Senor Quexada who goes mad, renaming himself Don Quixote and sets off on adventures to slay giants, which are actually windmills.Strengths: I think this is great book for young children. It is full of princes, princesses, sidekicks, and grand adventures. I think Kimmel did a great job retelling such a Spanish classic, while keeping it appropriate for children. The illustrations are bright and lively, which helps to tell the story and keep the reader engaged. I also found useful the information the author included at the end of the book about Don Quixote and Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.
Classroom Use: This book would be a great story to do Reader’s Theater with. The students would have a great time re-enacting this story as well as creating the scenery to go along with their play. This book also lends itself to studying other Spanish stories that have been retold for children such as The Last Night: An Introduction to Don Quixote and The Most Magnificent Mosque, which provides background information on Spain.(image from Amazon.com)
