Ten Little Caterpillars

Title: Ten Little Caterpillars

Author: Bill Martin Jr truly was "America's favorite children's author." He wrote for almost 60 years. His first book was called The Little Squeegy Bug-The Story of the Firefly published in 1945.

Publisher: Beach Lane Books (2011)

Genre: Fiction

Grade Level:K-3

Brief Synopsis: This is a story about ten different caterpillars that do different things. At the end the tenth caterpillar turns into a butterfly.

Theme/Skill: Science/ Taking the children through the life of the different caterpillars/Counting

Pre-activity: Create a KWL chart on the board before reading the book with the class.

Post-activity: Add information of what the students learned to the L section after reading the story. Discuss the different life cycle of a caterpillar through a diagram on the overhead projector.

My Refection of the book persuading people to read it:

I liked this book because it shows the different types of caterpillars their are. I also like how the book can involve the students by having them count. I also enjoyed looking at the illustrations throughout the book. This story also provides a very dynamic visual stunning illustrations.

The Snowy Day

Title: The Snowy Day

Author: Ezra Keats was one of the most important children's literature author of the 20th Century. The Snowy Day was a Caldecott-Winning book.

Publisher: Viking Juvenile (1996)

Genre: Fiction

Grade Level: 1-2

Brief Synopsis: This is a s tory about a little boy taking an adventure through the snow. When he returns home he tells his mom all about his adventure. When he goes to bed that night he has a dream that all the snow has melted away. When he wakes up he realizes his dream was not true because it was snowing out.

Theme/Skill: Activities throughout the winter season/Language Arts/Science

Pre-activity: Create a concept map about the activities you can do in the winter time.

Post-activity:Have the students write three to four sentences about their favorite winter activity. They can then draw a picture of their activity and share it with the class.

My Refection of the book persuading people to read it:
I have loved this book ever since I was a young child. I have always enjoyed my mother reading it to me. I think it is a great book for children who live in Central New York because they can relate to the snow and the little boy in the story. I also like this book because as an educator you can do so many activities after reading the story to your students.

The Happy Day

Title: The Happy Day

Author: Ruth Krauss was born on July 25, 1901 in Maryland. She was a graduate from Parson School of Design.

Publisher: HaperCollins (1989)

Genre: Fiction

Grade Level: 1-3

Brief Synopsis: This is a story about field mice, bears, snails, squirrels and ground hogs that sleep throughout the winter.

Theme/Skill: Hibernation cycle/ Science

Pre-activity: Create a concept map using the word Hibernation. List all the words the students come up with when they think of the word Hibernation.

Post-activity: Have the student choose an animal that hibernates and have them create a timeline of that animals hibernation process.

My Refection of the book persuading people to read it:
I really enjoyed reading this book! This book can be used as a filler in the classroom that children will be interested in. It is a great book to read to your students about the hibernation process.

Hello, Fish! Visiting the Coral Reef

Title: Hello, Fish! Visiting the Coral Reef

Author: Sylvia Earle was the cheif scientist for the U.S. National Organic and Atmospheric Administration from 1990-1992. Sylvia earned her B.S. degree from Florida State University in 1955, her M.S. in 1956 and her PhD in 1966 both from Duke University.

Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books (1999)

Genre: Non-Fiction

Grade Level: 1-4

Brief Synopsis: This is a story about the different fish in the sea. It explains the different types of fish in the tropical sea. It also mentions where the fish are found and what they do. For example it consists of twleve different types of fish that surround the reef.

Theme/Skill: Tropical fish survive in the sea/Fish Species/Science.

Pre-activity: Discuss with the children that different types of fish live in different types of climates to survive. For example saltwater or lakes.

Post-activity: I would have the students write two facts about their favorite fish that was mentioned in the story. They would then draw their favorite fish that they wrote about and share it with the class.

My Refection of the book persuading people to read it:
This is a great science book about fish. It has great in-depth pictures of fish for the children to enjoy! I also liked it because it is a non-fiction science story, which is hard to find for the elementary level students. I feel this story motivates children to learn!

Duck & Goose

Title: Duck & Goose

Author: Tad Hills grew up in Norwell, Massachusetts. Tad had a love for wildlife and nature. He grew up surrounded by many acres of fields and forests. All the grown-ups in his life encouraged Tad's creativity. He spent a lot of time with his grandmother who was an artist.

Publisher: Schwartz and Wade (2006)

Genre: Fiction

Grade Level: 1-2

Brief Synopsis: This is a story about a duck and a goose that fight over an egg that they found. Eventually they decide they both can take care of it when it hatches. So they sit and wait till it hatches. They both eventually realize it is not an egg it is a ball.

Theme/Skill: Sharing/Getting Along/Language Arts & Science.

Pre-activity: Bring in an egg and a ball. As a class we will use a T-chart to compare the two objects.

Post-activity: In the students journals they will write about the importance of sharing. When finished I will choose a couple of student to read aloud their response.

My Refection of the book persuading people to read it:
This is a great book to read to your class in the beginning of the year because it shows the importance of sharing and getting along. The characters have great expressions and are very sweet towards one another. I think every teacher should read it to their class at the beginning of each school year.

Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?

Title: Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?

Author: Eric Carle's art work is in collage technique, using hand-printed papers, which he cuts and layers to form bright and colorful images. Bill Martin JR graduated with a bachelor's degree and taught journalism, drama, and English at high schools in Newton and St. John, Kansas.

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (2011)

Genre: Fiction

Grade Level: 1-3

Brief Synopsis: This is a story about animals, a child and what they see. Each time an animals sees something that animal sees something else, which leads to the child seeing all the animals. For example the panda bear is asked what it sees and the panda bear says it sees a bald eagle soaring by him.

Theme/Skill: Animals/Science & Language Arts.

Pre-activity: Discuss with the class all the different types of animals that are in the world by making a concept map on the board.

Post-activity: After reading the book compare and contrast are list of animals compared to the animals mentioned in the book. The students can also create a venn diagram my comparing their favorite animal to an animal that was listed in the book.


My Refection of the book persuading people to read it:
I think this is a great book for teachers to read to their students because of the detailed pictures. I also like how their are a lot of activities that teachers can use to go along with the story. Overall, I enjoy sharing it with students!

Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?

Title: Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?

Author: Eric Carle first book published was 1,2,3 to the Zoo. He was born on June 25, 1929 in Syracuse, New York to German immigrants. He moved to Germany when he was six years old with his parents in the mid 1930s. In 1942 Eric moved back to the Unites States to New York City with only $40 to his name.

Publisher: HarperCollins (2005)

Genre: Fiction

Grade Level: 1-3

Brief Synopsis: This is a story about different types of animals having a mother. It goes through how mothers love their babies just like our mothers do. It shows pictures of animals as a baby. At the end of the book it lists the animals and the different names that are used for each animal when they are a baby.

Theme/Skill: Wild animals/Science/Language Arts/Family Members

Pre-activity: Asking the students, if they have ever been to the zoo? What was their favorite animal while visiting the zoo? Then I would go on to explain how every animal has a mother, just like how all of us humans have a mother.

Post-activity: Using a venn diagram the students compare and contrast two different types of animals that were mentioned in the book. Then if we have time I would have the student share their venn diagram.

My Refection of the book persuading people to read it:

I feel this is a great book for children to see that even animals have mothers. It shows children how important mothers are in our lives. It also helps children learn the different names of animals when they are babies.