Press Here

Title: Press Here
Author: Hervé Tullet
Illustrations: Hervé Tullet
Published: Tullet, H. (2011). Press here. San Fransisco: Chronicle Books.
Themes: Art, cause and effect, pattern, following instructions

While I was in my kindergarten placement the kids were just enchanted by this book. As soon as we read it through once they'd want to go through it again! Just as though they were playing with an iPad, children (myself included) are just enthralled with this interactive book. What happens when you press the yellow dot? What happens if you tilt the book the the left? And then to the right? What happens when you clap?


Classroom Ideas:
- Have your little ones make their own Press Here cards; a yellow dot on the outside and various dots on the inside. Allow some time for them to test each others cards. There's a free .pdf here.
- Give each of your children a large dot of their own and help follow along while you read. They can shake or tilt their dot whenever asked!
- Read this book alongside The Dot (Reynolds) -- have a Dot-filled day!!
- Do some dot art - can have the students look at colour and mixing colours
- Have your kindergarteners create their names in dots - most of them are probably working on letter formation so this is a new and exciting element

- Sidenote: there's a fun little iPad app that kids can play with 
- SideSideNote: another fun interactive book is Tap the Magic Tree


This book is enjoyable for all! Pick up a copy of Press Here today!!

Math Curse

Title:Math Curse
Author: Jon Scieszka
Illustrations: Lane Smith
Published: Scieszka, J. (2006). Math curse. New York: Scholastic.
Themes: math, days of the week, time, addition, subtraction, measurement, bar graphs, interpreting data, multiplication, fractions, conversion, skip counting, money, percentages 

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One of the worse thing a student can hear is "You know, you can think of almost everything as a math problem." That's where it all began. As soon as the nameless student heard this from his teacher everything in his life became a math problem. Find out how you too, can break the "math curse".

I think just saying "Jon Scieszka" should sum up how zany this book really is. One of my favourite things about this book is the variety of math problems -- each page presents a new "math curse".

Classroom Ideas:

- Have a class discussion about how stress affects our lives.

- Assign groups of students a different math problem from the book. After each group is completed, have them present their answer to the "curse" to the class.

- Have students create their own word problem. Maybe even put together your own "Math Curse" book.

- Talk about the one line in the book "...you can think of almost everything as a math problem." Have students look for math in the newspaper. Have them share their newspaper clippings to the class. 

- Each page of this book can really be a mini-lesson of its own. Consider using this book year-long to introduce new math strands.

Accidental Alphabet

Title: Accidental Alphabet
Author: Dianna Bodner
Illustrations: David J. Small
Published: Bodner, D. (2004) Accidental alphabet. North Vancouver, B.C.: Walrus Books.

Themes: alphabet, alliteration, rhyming, personification, tongue-twisters

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Follow 26 misadventures characters as they teach important abc alliteration, including coughing camels, Iggy the Iguana, lazy llamas and  rowdy roosters.

Can I just say how much I love these illustrations; they're so complex?! Within picture are hidden alphabet letters and dozens of other things beginning with that letter. The pictures are humorous and the writing compliments it perfectly. I can JKs/SKs finding these rhymes hilarious; they'd love it!

Classroom Ideas:
- Use this book as an introduction to alliteration. After reading the book, read it a second time, this time have your students stand up or jump on the spot when they hear alliteration. 
- At the back of the book is a list of questions; one for each page. Have you students investigate the picture and see if they can discover the answer 


Can you think of anymore fun alphabet activities?

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Title: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Author: Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator: Bargram Ibatoulline
Published: DiCamillo, K. (2006). The miraculous journey of Edward Tulane. MA: Candlewick.
Themes: adventure, love, childhood

WOW. This was the first book I've read by Kate DiCamillo.....and it definitely won't be my last! Edward Tulane is a china rabbit who resides with a little girl named Abilene. One day Edward experiences one of the worst things for a toy.....he gets lost. As Edward journeys through the deep ocean, garbage dumps, and traveling with a hobo, he learns the most important lesson of all....how to love.

To be completely honest with you, there's a point in this book where there's death and child abuse occurring. I sobbed like a baby. And as such, I would probably recommend this book for children Grade 3 and up.

Classroom Ideas:
- This is such a great book to explore more sophisticated vocabulary with (ex: jaunty, unsavory, exceptional)
- Explore the character development that Edward goes through.....as the pages progress, how is he changing? Students could compare how Edward was at the beginning of the book to how he was at the end.
- The author does not explicitly tell the reader what time period the story is taking place in. Have your students gather the clues and make an inference about the time period.
- Edward encounters many different owners during the journey of the book. Create characters profiles for each of the different owners and compare how Edward felt about each one of them.
- Have students pick one of the many owners that Edward has over the course of the book. Have them write about Edward from their point of view. (ex: How would Abilene describe Edward?)
- Reader's Theatre script for Chapter 22 found here.  
- There are SO many other books I thought of as I was reading this book. The Velveteen Rabbit, Pinocchio and Knuffle Bunny are just a few.


I hope you get a chance to pick up a copy of this book to read, it's truly a treasure.

- Brooke

Not a Box

Title: Not a Box

Author: Antoinette Portis
Illustrations: Antoinette Portis
Published: Portis, A. (2006). Not a box. Toronto : HarperCollins.
Themes: imagination, prediction

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Have you ever given a gift to a little one and when they open it, they're more excited about the box than the actual gift? This book is a little memory of that. From a race car to a rocket ship, this little bunny imagines this box to be anything he wants.

Classroom Ideas:
- If you can, get ahold of a large refrigerator box. Take it into your JK/SK class and see what they can imagine it to be - will it be a puppet house, a rocket ship, a lemonade stand...? The possibilities are endless!

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- Host your very own BYOB (Bring your own box) event! Have students bring in their own boxes to decorate and be creative with.
- The lady at this blog has some fantastic ideas to do NAB yoga - genius!
- Have the kids guess the next stage in the book as you are reading 
- Give each child a piece of paper with a square (box) drawn on it. Give them 10-20 seconds then have them FREEZE and switch papers. Repeat. Discussion: have the kids talk about how the idea was changed from person to person.
- And of course, you could always check out Not a Stick by the same author

What could you do with Not a Box?

- Brooke

Knuffle Bunny

Title: Knuffle Bunny

Author: Mo Willems
Illustrations: Mo Willems
Published: Willems, M. (2004). Knuffle bunny. New York: Hyperion Books.
Themes: childhood, loss, family, adventure

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Trixie ventures out on a special errand with her dad to the laurdomat. As a toddler, Trixie enjoys helping her dad put cloths into the machine and put the coins in their slot. As the two travel home,Trixie realizes that her beloved bunny was left at the laundromat. How will Trixie get her stuffed animal back? Will she ever see Knuffle Bunny again?

My JK/SK class totally LOVED this book! Any why wouldn't you? The illustrations are spectacular; Willems places his cartoon-ish illustrations in front of iconic New York scenarios. This is the first of the Knuffle Bunny trilogy; Knuffle Bunny Too and Knuffle Bunny Free.

Classroom Ideas:
- This is a fantastic book to do some text-to-self connections. Who hasn't lost something in their lives? Even my JK's were able to tell me of a time when one of their toys went missing, how they felt and what they did to help find it. 
- Have students write about their favourite toy using descriptive detail.
- This would be such a great book to have students do some work at retelling.
- Have students create their own art inspired by the book. Give students a black and white scenery and have them place their own characters on top.
- Create a character map for Trixie -- check out the two sequels to see how her character develops through the years.
- Have students compare Knuffle Bunny to other iconic books about stuffed animals, such as Corduroy and The Velveteen Rabbit. Have students create a Venn Diagram to discuss the similarities and the differences.



How can you not love this book?

The Lion & The Mouse

Title: The Lion & The Mouse

Author: Jerry Pinkney
Illustrations: Jerry Pinkney
Published: Pinkney, J. (2010). The lion & the mouse. New York: Little, Brown and Company: Books for Young Readers.
Themes: wordless, friendship, kindness, Aesop fable

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In award-winning artist Jerry Pinkney's wordless adaptation of one of Aesop's most beloved fables; an unlikely pair learn that no act of kindness is ever wasted. This story shows us that even the King of the Jungle needs help, and a tiny mouse can be that helper. With vivid depictions of the landscape of the African Serengeti and expressively-drawn characters, Pinkney makes this a truly special retelling, and his stunning pictures speak volumes. Even though there are no words in this book the story about kindness still comes through. 

This is one of my most beloved picture books in my entire collection; the exquisite 2010 Caldecott Medal winner. Pinkey's illustrations need no words at all; they are so intrinsic and detailed in their own right.

Wordless books, when done properly, have a valued role within our classrooms. This book especially is a fantastic introduction into the concept of visual literacy; how can the illustrations help us know what's going on? What do the character's body language and facial expressions tell us?



Classroom Ideas:

-  Have multiple people "read" the story. Have students reflect on the question - How was the story different from the way I understood the story?
- Using a pad of sticky notes, have students create a dialogue for the characters. What are the animals saying when they're together? What are they thinking when they're alone?
- Create a T-Chart on a piece of paper. On one side write the word "Mouse" and on the other side write the word "Lion". In each column, write down character traits of each animal. How are they different? How are they the same?
- If you were to interview one of the main characters, who would you interview? What would you ask them? Create an interview between you and one of the characters. Have students either record this interview or act it out in front of the class.
- Have students turn to their favourite picture in the book. What visual cues (hints) are present that let the reader know what is happening in the story?
- Can you think of another pair of animals that would make good main characters? Have students create their own wordless book with these characters.
- Reflection question: 
a) The Lion & The Mouse demonstrates “the golden rule”. The golden rule is “do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.” What does this mean? Why is this a good rule?
b) Why do you think the author chose to include animal sounds as the only words in the book?