Read Up! Five More, Full of Fun

One of Christian Robinson's wonderful collages from Rain.

I really love today's batch of books; they are fun-fun-fun, but each with valuable concepts to share & practice (in addition, I mean, to the most important one: READING IS FUN).  I've kept these around for a few weeks, sharing them at any storytime I could, and knowing they would be welcomed back during repeat readings. Check these out!

Chicken, Chicken, Duck!

Nadia Krilanovich

This is a sort of a chant, with (almost) nothing but animal animal names & sounds.  Try reading this slowly, letting the little ones help you name the animals & make the sounds--and then when you get to the quacker, yell out, "DUCK!"  So simple, so fun.

Up, Tall and High!

Ethan  Long

The moment I caught a glimpse of Long's colorful birds on the cover, I knew I had to read this book!  In three very short stories, with an economy of words, the feathered friends demonstrate how tall they are, & how high they can fly (or not)--with some flap-up-or-down pages along the way to add silly fun to the proceedings.  For younger kids, this is a chance to play with vocabulary & opposites; for all ages, this is a whole lot of smiles & surprises!

Rain

Linda Ashman & Christian Robinson

Herein lays the chronicle of a run-in between a happy young boy & a grumpy old man.  

Which mood will win out?  Christian Robinson's artwork, a mix of collage and paint, is beautiful, evoking in many ways the work of Ezra Jack Keats. As I do with Keats's work, I find myself staring at each image, studying the construction of the many wonderful layers.  When you read this book together, discuss the details--not just of the art, but of the attitudes of the characters, and how they change.

Stuck 

Oliver Jeffers

Hey, this is the second "Read Up" in a row featuring a book by Oliver Jeffers!  Stuck begins with a kite getting stuck in a tree, and doesn't end before there's just no room up there for more.  Floyd, the kite flyer, does have some good ideas for how to get the tree down: a ladder, for instance, seems just the right choice.  Too bad that instead of leaning the thing against the tree & climbing up, he throws the ladder up at the kite!  The story gives children (and adults) the opportunity to predict what may happen next, and talk about what Floyd should have done at each turn!

My Little Sister Ate One Hare

Bill Grossman & Kevin Hawkes

"Gross-man" is right, in this long-time favorite of mine--and one perhaps best left for ages 5 & up (school-ages absolutely love it; eat it up, you may say).  The first page of text will give you a pretty good idea of what's to come:

My little sister ate 1 hare.

We thought she'd throw up then and there.

But she didn't.

Plenty of delicious rhyming as we count all the way up to 10 peas:

But eating healthy foods like these

Makes my sister sick, I guess.

Much fun comes in chanting repeated phrases together, and in guessing what's, um, up next.

Check these books out! Have fun with them, & let me know what you think. Do you have any favorite books about animal sounds, or kite flying, or healthy eating--or whatever? Please let me know! 

Click on this link & READ UP!  I have many more great books to share with you!

Storyteller John Weaver

Check out the new book: How to be a Storyteller: Essays and Advice on the Art of Storytelling (link HERE)!

Read Up! And be Yourself.

In my most recent "Read Up" entry, I shared a fun book with a them of individuality, and said I'd be sharing my ideas of other books that would go well together for a "same" theme.  Well, here they are, starting with the book a repeat of what I wrote about that jumping-off book from the last-time around!




The Hueys in The New Sweater Oliver Jeffers
 "The thing about the Hueys...was that they were all the same."  All the same until one of them--Rupert--knitted himself a sweater; now he was different.  Before long, everyone would be different--in the exact same way!  It's fun to see the lightbulbs go on over many kids' heads as I share this one. At a recent storytime, I paired this book with Extra Yarn, due to the link of new sweaters popping up everywhere. 

 

The Sneetches and Other Stories
Dr. Seuss The Sneetches have a VERY class-conscious society.  The Star-Bellied Sneetches, of course, think they are the best--leaving the non-starred as easy victims to a new huckster in town.  Before long, though, everyone's out a lot of money!  They eventually do learn a lesson, though, and there's plenty of Seuss rhyme along the way!













The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Pinkwater
and 
The Araboolies of Liberty Street by Sam Swope & Barry Root
I love to read these two together whenever I can!  Both begin in neighborhoods where the houses all look all the same--and when the bland uniformity is threatened, H.O.A. behavior is launched!  I love the dreaminess of Pinkwater's version, and the many opportunities to yell out "I'll call in the army" from the Swope & Root work!

 It's Okay to Be Different
Todd Parr
In a world where people are singled out for ridicule for their differences, we need more creators like Todd Parr.  The wide range of cheerful, colorful differences illustrated here can launch a parent/teacher & child off in all of the other, wonderful ways people can be different.

I'm not sure about the whole "eating macaroni & cheese in the bathtub," though.

 A Penguin's Story
Antoinette Portis
Edna the penguins world is nothing but black, white, & blue--and she knows there must be something different out there.  Edna eventually finds a little color, and it brings excitement to the entire community!  One reaches the end of the book sensing that the penguins' adventure is only just starting.

Yoko
Rosemary Wells
It's a widely-held belief that children are afraid to taste new foods.  Well, their parents are horribly fearful, too!  When Yoko is teased for bringing sushi to school, grown-ups in the storytime audience will often smile & say, "sushi is so good!  I love sushi!"  Okay, smugsters--but would you try natto?  Two things: 1) don't be afraid to try new things, and never say "yuck" about something you've never even tried; 2) if you don't like it, try it again sometime!  But in the meantime, be respectful toward people who do like it.  For instance, I hate macaroni & cheese mixes, but I try not to make a face around people who seem to love the stuff.  I do need to work harder at my poker face, but I do try.  Usually.



Check these books out! Have fun with them, & let me know what you think. Do you have any favorite books about individuality, or trying new things--or whatever? Please let me know!

Click on this link & READ UP!  I have many more great books to share with you!

Storyteller John Weaver

Check out the new book: How to be a Storyteller: Essays and Advice on the Art of Storytelling (link HERE)!