Ice Cream

Ice Cream
Written & illustrated by: Elisha Cooper
Greenwillow books, 2002
40 Pages
Nonfiction

                Have ever heard the saying, "We all scream for ice cream?" Well when I was a kid every time the ice cream man would drive by that's all you could hear.  Have you ever wondered how ice creams made? Or how long it takes?  Well in this story, Ice Cream, Elisha Cooper does an amazing job telling just that in a kid friendly kind of way.
                Elisha Cooper uses small scale art to tell the story through pictures. The text is spread in wild was throughout the pages. Each illustration precisely shows what steps are taken to make ice cream.
                I would have my students find onomatopoeia as one of my activities for this story.  Then I would have my students do a science lesson and create their own ice cream.  Everyone loves ice cream, so why not make some? Lastly, I would have my students find how many different mammals have milk.  I would have them look up different ways that the milk is used, whether it is for their young or for human usages.  

SIT-IN How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down

SIT-IN How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down
Written By: Andrea Davis Pinkney
Illustrated by: Brian Pinkney
Little Brown and Company, 2010
40 Pages
Nonfiction

                "We must... Meet hate with love." Those were the six words by Dr. Martian Luther King Jr. that got them started.  Four men all looking for the same thing... An end to segregation. They set in a "white only" restaurant called Woolsworth. To find out more about their courage read SIT-IN How Four Friends Stood Up by Siting Down!
                Brain Pinkney does a great job at embracing a new artistic style creating expressive illustrations filled with such raw emotions. Emotions that capture the strength, hope, and imagination of these for men and so many others. These illustrations are so expressive that you actually feel like you are experiencing the story as it is told.
                I would use this book as a history lesson. First, I would have the students do research on segregation. Then I would have them reenact this story so that they can see how harsh segregation used to be.  Next, I would have my students write their own story about segregation and what it means to them.  Then I would allow them to draw a picture with it to express their feelings in a different way.  

Balloons Over Broadway

Balloons Over Broadway
Written & illustrated by:Melissa Sweet
Houghton Mifflin Hardcourt, 2011
40 Pages
Nonfiction

                Have you ever wondered who made the huge extravagant balloons in the Macy's day parade? How did someone come up with such a great thing that both young and old wake up early every Thanksgiving morning just to watch these giant balloons come down Main Street in New York City? In this story you will meet Tony Sarg, puppeteer extraordinaire! He came up with the most looked forward to part of everyone's Thanksgiving morning. Have an exciting time reading this biography about how he came to be about in Balloons Over Broadway.
                This book has very engaging pictures.  Sweet does a great job at incorporating media and collages in the illustrations.  This story is educational and engaging for the children. I believe that Sweet did an amazing job bringing this story to life.
                I would first use Balloons Over Broadway for a history lesson and have my students research all the different balloons that have been used in the Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Then I would have my students draw a balloon that they would like to create to be incorporated in the parade.  I would have each of my students then stand up and tell the rest of the class why they chose that particular balloon.  Then I would ask my students to find out how many years the Macy's Day Parade has been going on and how many balloons have been featured in it for a math lesson.

Dragon Howl

Dragon Howl
Written by: Vanessa and Philip Rouse
Illustrated by: Vanessa Rouse, PhD
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013
40 Pages
Fantasy

                Do you ever feel lonely? Like there's no one that wants to be your friend? No matter how hard you try? Well that's how a certain dragon feels in Dragon Howl.  Over time dragon tries so hard to find a friend but everyone's afraid of him, until he meets a brave little boy.  Read Dragon Howl to see how they become the best of friends.
                Vanessa Rouse did a great job illustrating this children's book.  It has engaging colorful pictures that will capture both the children's and adults attentions. The text is incorporated throughout the illustrations, but does not take away from them.  She also does a magnificent job at relating the rhyming text with the pictures.
                For this picture book I would explain to my students about how people are different. Then I would have my students write a short narrative about a time when they have been courageous and went out and became friends with someone who was different from them. I would also explain to my students about how kindness can affect people. Then I would have my students draw a picture about a time when they have been kind.  Then I would end by having. My students write their own tale about a dragon who could never find a friend.

 

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty
Retold by: Mahlon F. Craft
Illustrated by: Kinuko Y. Craft
SeaStar Books, 2002
29 Pages
Fantasy

                Have you ever wondered if maybe the story of Sleeping Beauty wasn't true? That maybe it could have happened differently? Maybe the wicked Medusa didn't exist.. Maybe it was another fairy that caused Aurora to go into a deep sleep? Find out in this retold version of Sleeping Beauty.

                The artwork used by Kinuko Y. Craft is amazing.  Craft did a great job at capturing the beauty of this story and showing it on many of the pages.  The book was prepared by using oil over water over on Strathmore illustration board.  The pictures will capture the attention of both the children and adults.

                For this book I would first have my students compare and contrast this story to the original. I would have them each write three differences and three things they have alike.  Then I would have my students look closely at the pictures and allow them to look on the internet and see if they can find illustrations just like the ones in this story.  Then I would have my students do a math lesson counting to 100. Then if they were older I would have them calculate how many hours she was asleep for those 100 years.