Clinton Gregory's Secret

 
Clinton Gregory's Secret
Written and illustrated by: Bruce Whatley
Abrams, 2008
32 pages
Picture Book

            Have you ever had a huge secret that you didn't want to tell a single person or seven secrets just from last week? Well Clinton Gregory does. On Monday he wrestled a dragon and on Thursday he taught a triceratops a new trick!  See what all else happened during the week by reading Clinton Gregory's Secret.

            Bruce Whatley is an amazing writer and illustrator.  As an adult he does a great job capturing the imagination of a young child.  Ever page is a double spread, just the pictures alone will capture the attention of many students.  Whatley uses lifelike detail on all of his pictures.

            I would use this story as a retelling to have my students tell me what happened each day. Then I would also us it to assess my student’s knowledge on how good they knew their days of the week. Lastly I would use it as a science lesson to tell my students about dinosaurs and reptiles.  First the students will separate into groups of five and sit at a table with multiple books about reptiles and dinosaurs. Then the students will have a piece of paper that will have two columns on it with one being titled reptiles and the other dinosaurs. The students will have to find different types of each and put them under their titles.

Alice the Fairy

Alice the Fairy
Written and illustrated by David Shannon
The Blue Sky Press, 2004
30 pages
Picture Book

  
            When you were a kid did you ever think you were a fairy?  Well Alice did!  She uses her magic wand to change frogs into princes and even disappear!  To Alice being a fairy is very useful, even though some of her spells don't always come out the way she wants them too.  Have a fun and exciting journey using your imagination with Alice in Alice the Fairy.

            This is David Shannon's ninth book he has written by himself.  He wrote this book for his daughter, Emma and his wife.  Shannon uses paint media to make the illustrations in this book.  I love how this book is a double spread and the print used in this book is big and easily read.  In this story, Shannon made it to where Alice is the one telling the story from her point of view.  So children can easily relate to it.

            I would read this book to my children in my classroom and then have them use their imaginations and write their own stories if they were fairies.  Next, I would have my students draw pictures to go along with their stories.  Lastly, I would have each of my students tell their own stories to the whole class.  Then I would have them sit at their tables and allow them to talk about their stories with their classmates.  I would also let them pick their favorite page and we would display them on a wall in the hallway.

This Is the Sunflower

This Is the Sunflower
Written by Lola M. Schaefer
Pictures by Donald Crews
Scholastic, 2000
22 pages
Picture Book

 

This is a great book that teaches children facts about how a plant grows.  The sunflower is very important to humans and animals.  Children will learn that sunflowers are more than just a pretty flower.  They will learn how every part of the sunflower can be used in this book.

            Sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers.  I love their beauty and eat sunflower seeds.  I enjoyed learning many new facts about the entire plant.  I was amazed to learn that there are seventeen different birds that feed on sunflowers.  By reading this book you will learn how the entire sunflower plant is used.

            Donald Crews illustrations help the reader relate to see how tall and straight the sunflower stands.  I liked how the houses and tress were crooked in comparison to the tall plant.  The medium used in this story is watercolor and the text type is Futura Bold.

            I could teach a science class a lesson on the five senses from this book.  One of the science lessons would be how the seed would grow in the ground.  I would also introduce the children to the variety of birds that feed from the sunflower seed.  I would also have sunflower seeds for them to eat and they would learn to use all their five senses of taste, touch, smell, see, and hearing.  Some of the sunflower seeds would be cracked and some whole.

 

 

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons
By: Eric Litwin
Created and Illustrated by: James Dean
Harper, 2012
30 pages
Picture Book

 

 Have you ever had a favorite shirt and some of the buttons fall off? Well Pete the Cat has one with four totally groovy buttons.  He even sings a song about it!  Does Pete the Cat cry when one of his buttons fall off?  Goodness, no!  Let's count down together and see how many buttons he has left in Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons.

            As a child, I would have loved to read this book!  James Dean did a wonderful job creating and illustrating this book.   Pete the Cat is such a colorful book.  Almost every page is filled with bright extravagant colors.  Even the text is in multiple colors.  This book also has a song that goes along with the story.

I could use buttons with the students during small group and let the students make their own shirt before I read the book and allow them to take buttons off each time he lost a button for a math lesson.  I could also allow the kids to count along with Pete as he loses buttons.  I would keep track of the buttons lost on the board and allow the students to do the math in their groups and then let one student write it on the board.  Then another math lesson I could do is have the students make patterns with different buttons after I draw them on the board.   

Jake Stays Awake

Jake Stays Awake
Written & Illustrated by Michael Wright
Feiwel and Friends, 2007
32 pages
Picture Book

            Have you ever been woken up by your child climbing into bed with you?  Where you can never fall back asleep?  And no matter how many places you try to sleep with all three of you it just doesn't seem to work?  In this story, Jake can't seem to fall asleep unless it's in his parents’ bed. But then his parents think long and hard and come up with this great plan.  Will the plan work?  You'll never know unless you read Jake Stays Awake.

            When I discovered this book, I thought it would be a great book for parents who are struggling to get their children to sleep in their own beds.  I am glad I picked this book up because I can read it to my children when they start acting like Jake.

            Michael Wright used animation for this story.  He did a great job at creating such lifelike features in this book.  Many of the illustrations were double-spread, with very few being single. The text was spread throughout most of the illustrations.

            I would use this book at story time and have my students retell the story back to me, by using different props that represented each place Jake and his parents slept.  For example, having pictures of Jake's parents bed, the roof, and so on glued to a Popsicle stick.  Then I would also use it as a math lesson and have my students count all the random places they tried to sleep on.  Finally, I would have my students write their own stories and tell me where all they would like to sleep at with their parents if they were having a hard time sleeping alone.  I would also allow them to draw pictures to go along with it to be an art activity.