Great Book Collection

I have chosen to write about the Little Critter Book collection by Mercer Mayer. This collection is great for children of all ages. Within the collection there are hundreds of books. There are books that go along with holidays such as Christmas, Valentines Day, and Thanksgiving and there are also books that teach valuable lessons while still making you laugh. I would love to use these books as a theme to my classroom someday because there is a book that could match any occasion. Each book is fairly short so it would make a great starter or final thought for the day. Another great thing about this collection of books is that they also come in Spanish for students that may be bilingual or ESL students. There are also Writing, Spelling and Phonics workbooks that are printed with the Little Critter characters to make learning fun.

Great book to start off the school year especially with kindergartners

The Kissing Hand, by Audrey Penn, is a great book for the start of a school year. As we are approaching the start of another school year, I thought this would be good to share with future teachers. This book is about a little raccoon going to school for the first time. His nerves are with him as he does not know what to expect. He is very afraid of missing his mother who he is so use to spending the night with. His mother gives him a special way to feel her with him at school. She kisses his hand and wraps his hand around the kiss. Now every time he uses his hand or looks at it, he is reminded of how his mother is thinking of him. I think this would be a great book to read to kindergartners during the first weeks of school. They could easily relate to the feelings of the young raccoon in the book. After reading it, the students could talk about special things that they do with their parents. They could discuss little moments that are special to them that other people probably do not do.

Boy by Roald Dahl

I chose this book to share even though it is not a picture book because it was one that i really enjoyed as a student. I remember when this book was read to me by a teacher and how everyone in the class thought it was so funny. For a long time i thought it was the funniest book and i really think that, that was due to the way my teacher read it. But i think that everyone should explore this book and share with their classes because it is so cute!!

Storyline Online

http://www.storylineonline.net/

I know that we had already discussed this last we but I've been using it all summer at my summer camp. I absolutely love it. Storyline Online was created by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation. The website is fantastic. It allows the children, or students in our case, to listen an view the book being read by some one famous whom they may recognize. That just the intriguing thing about this website.

The story recording include the actual illustrations from the book but also commendatory from the reader. When I view The Bad Case of Stripes with my children at work the first week I was very impressed. Sean Astin does an excellent job drawing the children into the story while, incorporating something interesting about himself. Some of my children at work actually wanted to try eating lima beans but we weren't having them for lunch so they were disappointed.

I also really like the lesson plan ideas and activities that are included with every story. This website is really a great way to open students up to technology and a new and fun way to present literature. I think that most higher elementary students would enjoy creating their own reading video to present to kindergartens or preschool classes.

Resource: Flowing Well Park

Flowing Well Park is located in Carmel, Indiana which is on the north side of Indianapolis. The address is 5100 E. 116th St. I highly recommend visiting this wonderful park not only because of its aesthetically pleasing surroundings, but because this is an ideal area for many useful puposes. For example, one can simply use the serene enviornment for relaxation, lesson planning or studying. This would be a great place for a field trip that could be focused on life biology as there is a wealth of life and nature. Personally, I visit this park often and think that Flowing Well Park is one of Indy's hidden gems. You should go check it out this summer or fall, you will not be disappointed.

Amelia Bedelia

This fun, animated collection of books is great for the classroom. It showcases figurative versus literal phrases we commonly use in the English language. Amelia Bedelia is a very literal lady. When she is asked to make a sponge cake she puts real sponges in it. When she played baseball with friends, she ran to her house when she hit a home run! Children will enjoy her literal interpretations and the ciaos it stirs up. Teachers can use these books as a way of assessment for both the reading skill level of a student and their ability to understand author's intent. Here is a link to view all the books that are a part of this hilarious collection. http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/kids/gamesandcontest/features/amelia

Sheep in a Jeep

I decided to choose this book, Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw, because it was on display with other young children's books at my local library. The cover caught my eye mostly because it just looks really silly; animals driving a vehicle is always a winner! This is a book with hilarious illustrations that correlate directly to the text, which can help the reader figure out parts of the story that may be difficult for them to read. In addition to looking at illustrations as a reading strategy, Nancy Shaw has employed rhyming throughout the entire book, giving struggling readers another strategy that they can use to figure out unknown words. Another reason that I really liked this book was because it showed the importance of working together as a team: the sheep worked together to get their Jeep going, but when they couldn't, the pigs helped them out. This is a book that would be great in a kindergarten classroom, perhaps during a read-aloud time. I think it would be great to discuss with the students what they think the sheep could have done differently to make their excursion just a bit smoother.