A Book or Two: Children's Literature Reviews

Find a perfect children’s book to share or read, and information on new, classic, and favorite children's literature, reviewed by university professors, teachers, librarians, graduate students, and teachers-to-be! Browse A Book or Two by title, genre, or topic! HAPPY READING! This is a closed site, to prevent inappropriate postings. You won't be able to add your own comments. Communication should be sent to the site organizer, Dr. Deb Marciano (dlmarciano@valdosta.edu).

Showing posts with label explore. Show all posts

10/17/14

Fred and Finn

AUTHOR: Madeline Goodey

ILLUSTRATOR: Mike Gordon

PUBLISHER: Evans Brothers PUBLICATION DATE: 2007

GENRE: Nonfiction

READING LEVEL: Ages 0-4

BRIEF OVERVIEW: Fred and Finn are best friends and they go on an adventure together. Finn is too fat and Fred is too thin. Finn always beats Fred to the food.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Have students draw a picture of their best friend.
REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Courtney Taylor, Valdosta State University ECSE

10/11/14

Explore in a Cave

AUTHOR/PHOTOGRAPHER: Dana Meachen Rau/ Romie Flanagan

PUBLISHER: Rourke Publishing
PUBLICATION DATE: 2001

: Describes what you would wear, bring, and see in a cave.: NonFiction Picture Book READING LEVEL: Kindergarten

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Students will write two sentences about what they would wear to a cave, take to a cave, or see in a cave and draw a picture.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Kasey Casey, Valdosta State University ECSE)

LABELS: adventure, explore, nonfiction

9/14/14

How To Catch A Star by Oliver Jeffers

author and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers
Copyright: 2004 Reading Level: PreK-4th grade

Book Description: How To Catch A Star is a captivating story about a young boy with a dream to own a star of his very own. He sets out on a mission to retrieve a star and is determined to hold one in his hand and take it home. Right when he is about to give up, he discovers that sometimes things are not where, or what, we expect them to be.

Integrated Ideas: Students will use the words within the text as well as the illustrations to describe the star found by the boy at the end of the book verses the star he was determined to capture at the beginning and throughout the book. After the book is read, the students will be asked to mimic the teacher as they make objects using only their bodies (e.g., a star, a rocket ship, and other objects incorporated within the story). The students will then create a map of their state using various items and place a regular star in the place of their city/town of their state. Students will also place starfish on the outline of the state that borders the ocean.
Reviewer's name and affiliation: Bethany A. Loggins, Valdosta State University

11/22/13

A Day at the Apple Orchard

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Megan Faulkner (Author) Adam Krawesky (Photographer)

PUBLISHER: Scholastic PUBLICATION DATE: September 2005
GENRE: Nonfiction READING LEVEL: age 5-7
BRIEF OVERVIEW: The book is about the different things you may see, smell, and hear visiting an apple orchard.
INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Students will draw and tell what normally happens during the different seasons. Students will bring apples. Students will taste and smell different apples, and as a class determine the apples they prefer as a whole.
REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Tavia Hundley Valdosta State University

The Umbrella by Dieter Schubert

Illustrators:

Dieter Schubert and Ingrid Schubert

Genre: Wordless picture book

Reading Level: kindergarten-2^nd grade

Book Description:

This is the wordless story of a dog that gets hold of an umbrella on a windy day. The little dog goes all over the world on a fantastic journey that requires no words.

Integrated Idea:

Using the smart board, pull up a picture from the story and have each child narrate what is going on in each picture. Have them write 4-5 sentences about what happened to the dog in the book.

Reviewed by Emily Brannon