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The Pets You Get!

 

Written by Thomas Taylor

Illustrated by  Adrian Reynolds

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A guinea pig may be soft and cuddly but nowhere near as exciting as a dog.  Dogs can do so many fun things.  Too bad big sisters think they are not as clean or quiet as guinea pigs.  But then there are bears.  Who wouldn’t want a bear as a pet?  They would be great company when watching the sunset.  But big sister thinks they are too big to snuggle up with at night.  Why would you ever want a boring pet that sleeps most of the time when you can have a dragon?  A dragon that breathes fire from his nose?  Totally awesome!  That sister!  She says dragons are make-believe and then she, gasp, kisses her guinea pig!  YUCK!  Why would you settle for a boring guinea pig when there are so many exciting pet possibilities?  You could choose a panther, rhino, dinosaur or a snake.  But no, sister still thinks guinea pigs are the best pets and she puts her pet guinea pig on brother’s knee.  Hey!  This guinea pig is not quite as boring as he thought.  It jumps and runs.  It plays chase, well more like catch although it is not so easy to catch.  That guinea pig is really, really good at hide and seek.  What a great sister!  She is sharing her guinea pig with brother….although he still thinks a dragon would be a great pet.

The wonderful illustrations in this fun book would make decoding easy for any second grade child as picture cues are very clear (CCSS 2.RL.7).  As a read aloud, this book would be fun for both the reader and the listener.  The changes from boring pet guinea pig to wildly exciting, fire breathing dragon make expressive reading almost as easy as breathing.

Although Thomas Taylor authored The Pet’s You Get, he is also an illustrator.  You may have seen his first commissioned work, the cover of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. That tidbit alone makes it worth picking up this book to see what other sorts of creativity are rolling around in this imaginative mind.

  • Pets You GetTitle:  The Pets You Get!
  • Author:  Thomas Taylor
  • Illustrator:  Adrian Reynolds
  • Publisher: Andersen Press USA
  • Reviewer:  Sandi Waymire
  • Hardcover:  unpaged
  • ISBN: 978-1-4677-1143-2
  • Genre:  fantasy

It’s a Mitzvah, Grover!

Written by Tilda Balsley and Ellen Fischer

Illustrated by Tom Leigh

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Hello, everybodeee!  Grover is in Israel and learning all kinds of things.  He struggles a little with Hebrew words, but not with the idea of finding ways to make the world a better place.  Grover and his new friends will be doing a mitzvah, which is doing something nice for others.  Brosh, Avigail and Mahboub along with Grover work in their neighborhood park after a storm left it a mess.  The local grouch, Moishe doesn’t want any part of a mitzvah.  Too much time, too much trouble!  So the kids get to work without him, even mixing paint and having a little lesson on colors, Sesame Street style.  The playground is beautiful with the freshly painted equipment and the trash gathered into bags.  Moishe can’t stay out of the trash.  When he separates the trash from the non-trash, Grover points out that recycling is a mitzvah.  Moishe’s day gets even worse.  Grover and his friends aren’t grouches.  They know it’s time to wash up.

The power of Sesame Street is put to work presenting Jewish concepts and Hebrew words as well as using familiar characters to show the universal truths of the Jewish faith.  It is a good read aloud for either a lapsit or for a class.  It would fit into a unit on Israel or for Character Counts.  Have students list the kinds of mitzvahs they could do in their school or neighborhood as a literacy activity.  The solid second grade reading level makes this suitable for second graders to read to either younger reading buddies or to make their own audio book.  The publisher’s website has many activities on their blog, which could give educators ideas for how to use this books in the Shalom Sesame series (http://karbenbooks.blogspot.com/).

  • Its a MitzvahTITLE: It’s a Mitzvah, Grover!
  • AUTHOR: Tilda Balsley and Ellen Fischer
  • ILLUSTRATOR: Tom Leigh
  • PUBLISHER: Kar-Ben
  • REVIEWER: Risa Brown
  • EDITION: Hardcover, 32 p.
  • ISBN: 978-0-7613-7562-3
  • GENRE: Picture book, Judaism

Claude in the City

Written and Illustrated by Alex T. Smith

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Claude and his best friend, Sir Bobblysock, a very bobbly sock indeed, set out on an adventure and make a splash in the city. Claude, a dog with a long face and a beret, lives with Mr. and Mrs. Shinyshoes, who leave Claude and Bobblysock alone every day. After the humans take off for work, Claude blocks traffic because he doesn’t understand  horn blowing. He examines groups of pigeons. He finds a shop with many kinds and colors of berets and buys every possible combination. He goes to an art gallery and foils an art thief. He is the hero of the day and is recognized by the mayor, though Mr. and Mrs. Shinyshoes don’t understand how. Next, Claude takes a trip to the hospital in an effort to find out what’s wrong with Sir Bobblysock. At the hospital, Claude is recruited to help a group of wrestlers suffering from a mysterious illness. Of course, all is well at the end.

Imaginative and exciting illustrations are important parts of this story. As a dog, Claude doesn’t talk much, but he has many expressions. The themes of pure silliness, humor, and striking out on your own fit in well with the second grade reading level. There is enough repetition to aid in comprehension, but not enough to get tedious. For more fun and reading activities, check out Smith’s blog at http://alextsmith.blogspot.com/, which includes his sketchbook, or Claude and Bobblysock’s own blog at http://claudebooks.blogspot.com/. Apparently, Claude’s fans like to dress like Claude and have their own Sir Bobblysock.

  • Claude in the CityTitle: Claude in the City
  • Author and Illustrator: Alex T. Smith
  • Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Hard cover: 94 pages
  • ISBN: 978-1-56145-697-0
  • Genre: Middle grade, Humor

 

The Little Prince: The Planet of the Night Globes

Adapted by Guillaume Dorison

Artistic Direction by Didier Poli

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Antoine De Saint-Exupery’s beloved masterpiece gets updated. The Little Prince (http://home.pacific.net.hk/~rebylee/text/prince/contents.html) is one of the most loved books on the planet. Five years ago the author’s estate decided to revive the story with a series of new adventures presented in a graphic novel format.

What is a graphic novel? Will Eisner describes it as “sequential art, ….a series of illustrations which, when viewed in order, tell a story.” A graphic novel is story and art tied together. Educators, parents,and  librarians are realizing the readability factor that a graphic novel has. Readers as young as first and second graders are drawn to the wonderfully drawn illustrations and stay to read the words.

The format has changed, but the characters stay true to the original. There the Little Prince was responsible only for his tiny planet — Asteroid B612. Now he feels himself responsible for other stars and planets too. In The Planet of the Night Globes the Little Prince comes up against the Globes — strange creatures who seek food in the dark of the night. When Laudion, the lamp maker, lights up the city night and day, the Globes cannot get to their food. The townspeople perceive the Globes as a threat.

The Little Prince and Fox get to the bottom of that mystery. Laudion is shown for what he is, and also shown what he can be. “You’re not my enemy, Laudion. My real enemy is the snake, who took advantage of the fear that was eating at you and making you so miserable.” Laudion performs the last heroic deed that saves the planet.

“We’re always afraid of what we don’t understand. Courage doesn’t mean getting rid of our fear, but finding a way to rise above it.” The philosophy of the original continues in the new graphic stories. A worthwhile addition to all reading lists.

 

Additional Resources:

Biography: http://www.poemhunter.com/antoine-de-saint-exupery/biography/

The Little Prince turns 70: http://www.thelittleprince.com/category/news/

  • Little Prince Planet of Night GlobesTitle: The Little Prince: The Planet of the Night Globes
  • Adapted by: Guillaume Dorison
  • Artistic Director: Didier Poli
  • Publisher: Graphic Universe a Division of Lerner Publishing
  • Reviewer: Anjali Amit
  • Paperback:  56 pages
  • ISBN: 978-1-4677-0738-1
  • Genre: Fantasy

I Came from the Water: One Haitian Boy’s Incredible Tale of Survival

Written by Vanita Oelschlager

Illustrated by Mike Blanc

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Haiti is beautiful island in the Caribbean Ocean. But it is not an easy place to live. I Came from the Water follows the hardships of 8-year-old Moses, who lost his family as a baby when a small river next to his home flooded. Moses’ own life was saved thanks to a basket that floated him to the safety of a children’s village.

The children’s village is an orphanage that provides shelter, care, and schooling for the multitude of children in Haiti who have lost their parents. And though day to day life is good for Moses, he continues to live through upheaval as Haiti gets hit by an earthquake, more strong rains and a Cholera outbreak.

This book takes an unflinching look at life in Haiti, including the reality that some kids in the children’s village go to Heaven.  But the overall message of I Came From The Water is one of survival.  Moses is strong.  He helps aid workers rebuild Haiti and takes care of the other children in the village.  When he grows up, Moses wants to continue helping people by driving a tap-tap – a type of bus.

The beautiful, bright pictures that accompany the simple text support the positive message of Moses’ story.  As do the quotes by Father Rick Frechette, who runs a pediatric hospital, orphanage and other schools in Haiti, and Sister Judy Dohner, who knew Moses personally.

The last two pages provide extra information about the author’s relationship with Moses, Haiti, and the Gonaives flood of 2004.  Photographs highlight the destruction caused by recent floods and earthquakes, show the beauty of everyday life in Haiti, and introduce readers to people who are there to help.

I Came From the Water should be on the reading list of every second grade student.  Learning about Haiti through the eyes of Moses is both humbling and encouraging, and gives teachers an opportunity to introduce students to the lives of children beyond their own borders.

  • I Came from the WaterTitle: I Came From the Water: One Haitian Boy’s Incredible Tale of Survival
  • Author: Vanita Oelschlager
  • Illustrator: Mike Blanc
  • Publisher: Vanitabooks, LLC
  • Reviewer: Yolanda Ridge
  • ebook: 24 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0-9832904-4-5 (hardback)
  • Genre: contemporary, social studies

What’s in the Garden?

Written by Marianne Berkes
Illustrated by Cris Arbo

Winner of the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Award (Children’s Picture Book)

2013 NABE Pinnacle Book Achievement Award

2013 Mom’s Choice Gold Award

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Marianne Berkes has made a habit of writing wonderfully inspiring, ‘interactive’ books for children. The series Over In The….(Forest, Ocean, Jungle, Arctic, Australia) contained detailed information hidden in crisp rhymes. She has repeated the feat in her new book What’s in the Garden?

The book is written as easy-to-solve riddles. The short verse on the right-hand page poses a riddle, but you have to turn the page to find the answer. There is also an easy-to-make recipe associated with that fruit or vegetable. This is the first verse:
  Delicious, nutritious, what could it be?
  In spring there are blossoms all over the tree.
  Red, green, or yellow, with fruit that is round.
  If you don’t pick it, it plops to the ground.
The answer is apple — red, green or yellow. The accompanying recipe describes how to make applesauce. Each full page spread is an accurate, vibrantly colored illustration that draws the reader in. So detailed are the illustrations that you can almost feel the texture of a leaf, the fine hairs along the pumpkin stalk.

One fruit “has a long ear, but never an eye,” another “doesn’t have ears, but does have eyes.” Second grade readers will surely enjoy solving the riddles and making the accompanying dishes.

The back matter is rich with additional information. “Food For Thought” provides more information on the fruits and vegetables mentioned in the book. Older readers would benefit from this for their projects and term papers. “How Does Your Garden Grow?” describes how a plant starts and what it needs to prosper. Many projects and reading activities can be created from the book as children learn where their fruits and veggies come from. Here is an entertaining song (Dirt Made My Lunch) with the same idea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCeyXW64cns

  • Whats in the GardenTitle: What’s in the Garden?
  • Author: Marianne Berkes
  • Illustrator: Cris Arbo
  • Publisher: Dawn Publications
  • Reviewer: Anjali Amit
  • Paperback: 32 pages
  • ISBN: 978-1-58469-190-7
  • Genre: Picture Book/ Non-Fiction

 

Prairie Chicken Little

Written by Jackie Mims Hopkins
Illustrated by Henry Cole

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A delightful spin on a classic story, Prairie Chicken Little provides a fresh look at how panic starts on the wide open spaces of the grasslands when a nervous prairie chicken spreads rumor of a stampede. With no trees around, there are no acorns falling, but these animals fear a stampede more than the sky falling, so “a rumbling and a grumbling and a tumbling” is enough to cause quite a stir. When Mary McBlicken runs to tell her friends on the prairie about the imminent stampede, they are all aflutter until Cowboy Stan and Red Dog Dan come along to calm them down.

This brightly illustrated book would fit nicely in a unit about different ecosystems of North America or a unit about wild animals. There are also several nice lessons about how prepositions like, “over,” “through,” “around,” and “down” guide our imagination and the storyline. Students may even write and illustrate their own colorful story told with a dozen different prepositions. To test the readers’ comprehension after reading this story aloud, students may describe the problem, what Mary wanted to do about it, and how it was finally resolved.

With such a common story line, there are loads of extension activities for the classroom. For a generous collection of activities, visit http://www.myfreshplans.com/2010-09/chicken-little-lesson-plans/. This site offers activities for the language arts, science, character development, and critical thinking. It also links visitors to several audio versions of the classic tale of Chicken Little. Many may easily be adapted to use with Prairie Chicken Little. After reading this updated story, students may also be encouraged to write their own twist on a different classic tale.

  • Prairie Chicken LittleTitle: Prairie Chicken Little
  • Authors: Jackie Mims Hopkins
  • Illustrators: Henry Cole
  • Publisher: Peachtree
  • Reviewer: Sharon Schulte
  • 
Hardback, 38 pages
  • ISBN: 978-1-56145-694-9
  • Genre: fiction/folk tale/Chicken Little

Noisy Bug Sing-Along

Written and Illustrated by John Himmelman

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Each little bug in this creative presentation has a fresh and intricate image and is identified by the noises it makes. The second grade reader will come away knowing exactly what field crickets look like and have a good idea what their “chirp”-ing sounds like. Colorful two-page spreads follow for tree crickets (reee-), mole crickets(dirt-dirt-dirt), click beetles (click), tiger moths (squeaka), dog-day cicadas (ZZZZ), bumble bees (zzzz), mosquitoes (mmmm), butterflies (…), true katydids (ch-ch-ch), bush katydids (tick-tick-tick zeezeezeezee), and grasshoppers (keraack). Last, the author brings all the sounds together in a vibrant chorus, decorated with sound waves.

The illustrations are at least as important to this book as the words. Most children of this age have probably never stopped to take a close look at or listen to different types of bugs. The detail is unbelievable, with each tiny dirt fragment accounted for in the mole cricket drawing. The bat hunting the tiger moth is very genuine. Even the ear into which the mosquito flies is realistic.

The “Listening to the Noisy Bugs” section provides a lot of possibilities for reading activities. For example, readers can go on the publisher’s website, www.dawnpub.com/our-books/noisy-bug-sing-along, and listen to real bug noises. Then, the reader can test herself by guessing what bug she’s listening to. In “About the Noisy Bugs,” the author shares more about each type of bug. For example, dog-day cicadas have hollow abdomens, like drums. They tighten and loosen the muscles there to make the ZZZZ sound. The author’s website, www.johnhimmelman.com, also has resources to use.

  • Noisy BugTitle: Noisy Bug Sing-Along
  • Author/Illustrator: John Himmelman
  • Publisher: Dawn Publications
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Paperback: 32 pages
  • ISBN: 978-1-58469-192-1
  • Genre: Picture book, Insects, Nature

 

The Matchbox Diary

Written by Paul Fleischman
Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline

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Candlewick picture books never disappoint! The Matchbox Diary, written by Paul Fleischman and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline, offers second grade readers and up a synergistic blend of old world charm and contemporary youthful innocence and curiosity through an immigration tale with illustrations that will appeal across generations. The Matchbox Diary reminds me of another classic picture book called One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II written and illustrated by Lita Judge.

Ibatoulline’s illustrations are so realistic they look like they could walk off the pages on which they are printed. Through his illustrations Ibatoulline not only captures the heart of the relationship between the little girl and her great grandfather in present day, but he also conveys the challenges and hardships that most immigrants faced when leaving their home country to enter a new one. Each spread consists of an illustration of the object on one side and on the other side is an illustration of an old photo that tells the story behind the object.

Fleischman utilizes a diary of objects versus a writing journal since his young protagonist (great grandfather) can not read or write in English or Italian when he first arrives into the United States. Because he wants to remember every detail of his journey, he collects small objects that represent his experiences and places them in a matchbox for safe-keeping and sharing with future generations.

Fleischman got the idea for The Matchbox Diary from New Hampshire artist, Gary Hamel who exhibited a matchbox diary of a recent trip he had made to Italy. Fleischman was so intrigued by the idea, he got Hamel’s blessing to borrow and reinvent his matchbox concept.

I see endless uses for The Matchbox Diary in the classroom where second grade teachers and up can tap into core subjects like language arts using this book as an aid. Parents and grandparents can use this book to open up a dialogue on their own immigration story. We all come from somewhere, right?

  • Matchbox DiaryTitle: The Matchbox Diary
  • Author: Paul Fleischman
  • Illustrator: Bagram Ibatoulline
  • Publisher: Candlewick Press
  • Reviewer: Annemarie O’Brien
  • Hard cover: 40 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0-7636-4601-1
  • Genre: picture book

Mr. Putter and Tabby Ring The Bell

By Cynthia Rylant

Illustrated by Arthur Howard

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This book is about an old man, Mr. Putter, and his cat, Tabby.  They are great companions and do everything together.  They especially like eating their next door neighbor, Mrs. Teaberry’s, rhubarb trifle, along with her dog, Zeke.

One day, while enjoying fall activities, Mr. Putter hears the ring of a school bell and decides that he misses school, pencils, and books.  He decides to go back to school just for a day.  He asks the first grade teacher at school if he can come to show and tell with Mrs. Teaberry, Tabby, and Zeke.  The teacher tells Mr. Putter that her class loves animals and she is led to believe that both Mr. Putter’s cat and Mrs. Teaberry’s dog, Zeke, can do tricks.  The story continues with lots of funny antics that second graders will love!

Students will love the illustrations depicting the moods of the animals and characters in the book, along with their funny behavior.

What a great story for teachers to use as a read aloud for second graders at the beginning of the year to introduce show and tell time to the class!  It would also be a great book to introduce new readers to chapter book formats.

This book is written by Cynthia Rylant and is one of numerous in a series of Mr. Putter and Tabby books.  The author also writes the popular Henry and Mudge books that most young readers are familiar with and love.

The illustrator is Arthur Howard, who also illustrates the rest of the Mr. Putter and Tabby books.

  • Mr. PutterTitle:  Mr. Putter and Tabby Ring the Bell
  • Author:  Cynthia Rylant
  • Illustrator:  Arthur Howard
  • Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  • Reviewer:  Rebecca L. Wagner
  • Paperback:  43 pages
  • ISBN:  978-0-547-85075-7
  • Genre:  Fiction/Animals/Old age/Autumn
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