The Chicken Chasing Queen of Lamar County

 TITLE: The Chicken Chasing Queen of Lamar County

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Janice N. Harrington/Shelley Jackson

PUBLISHER:  Farrar, Straus and Giroux PUBLICATION DATE: 2007

GENRE: Fiction Picture Book READING LEVEL:  5 years old

BRIEF OVERVIEW:

A young African-American girl who lives on a farm has a hobby of catching chickens however there is one chicken named Miss Hen who is “unattainable”. The girl makes it a goal to catch her.

However when she finds on that Miss Hen is a mother to many baby chickens she decides to protect them instead of catch them.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY:

As a first grade class for a physical activity we could play a game of tag. Assign some children to be the chickens and the other group to be the farmers. The farmers have to chase and catch the chickens.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: (Maya Newsome, Valdosta State University ECSE)

LABELS: chicken, African-American author, female character

Why the Sky Is Far Away

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Mary-Joan Gerson/ Hope Meryman

PUBLISHER: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 

PUBLICATION DATE: 1974

GENRE:Traditional Books- Non Euro   READING LEVEL:  1st Grade

BRIEF OVERVIEW:

The sky was once so close to the Earth that people cut parts of it to eat.

One person’s waste of the sky’s resources caused it to move far away and the people had to learn to plant and harvest.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY:

On Earth Day, we could read the this story and then talk about why appreciating nature is so important. Students would then make a list of how they can treat their world better.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: (Maya Newsome,Valdosta State University ECSE)

LABELS: Nigerian, Africa, Nature, Sky

Older Brother, Younger Brother

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Nina Jaffe/Wenhai Ma

PUBLISHER: Viking Children's Books       PUBLICATION DATE: 1995

GENRE: Traditional Books - Non Euro   READING LEVEL:  9 years old

BRIEF OVERVIEW: 

The books chronicles two brothers – Nolbu and Hungbu.

After their father dies, the older brothers mistreats the youngest and kicks him out of the home.

Due to the younger brother’s kindness he survives and his family thrives

Eventually when misfortune strikes the oldest brothers, the younger must help despite the evil deeds done to him.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Hungbu receives good fortune because of the magic seeds he plants. As a class we can study how plants grow and what it takes to cultivate a crop. We could even have an ongoing project or responsibility to take care of a “class plant”.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: (Maya Newsome, Valdosta State University ECSE)

LABELS: brother, asian, family

The Curious Garden

 

TITLE: The Curious Garden

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Peter Brown

PUBLISHER:  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers   PUBLICATION DATE:  2009    GENRE: Picture Book         READING LEVEL: Ages 3-6

BRIEF OVERVIEW: Small boy discovers a struggling garden and decides to try and bring the garden back to life.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: The students will go outside and discover something that is growing. The students will write about how they think this living object ended up where they found it.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Curtis Watson, Valdosta State University ECSE

LABELS:  Community, Gardens

I Need My Monster

 

TITLE: I Need My Monster

AUTHOR: Amanda Noll ILLUSTRATOR: Howard McWilliam

PUBLISHER: Flashlight Press    PUBLICATION DATE:  2009              GENRE: Fiction Picture Book  READING LEVEL: Ages 5-8

BRIEF OVERVIEW: This story is about a little boy who unlike most children is not really afraid of the monster under his bed, but he needs his monster to sleep.  Unfortunately his monster has gone fishing.  Several new monsters show up but none are good enough for the little boy.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: After the read aloud students will draw their favorite monster.

Awards:  Golden Sower Primary 2011-2012

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Curtis Watson, Valdosta State University ECSE

LABELS: Award-winning, Fiction, Monsters.

Whose Ears Are These?

 

TITLE: Whose Ears Are These?

AUTHOR: Peg Hall ILLUSTRATOR: Ken Landmark

PUBLISHER: Nonfiction Picture Books     PUBLICATION DATE:  2011 GENRE: Non-Fiction    READING LEVEL: Ages 2-4

BRIEF OVERVIEW: This is an informational text about different animal ears and the specific things they use their ears for.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Matching activity – students will match the picture to the clue regarding the different animal ears from the text.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Curtis Watson, Valdosta State University ECSE

LABELS: Senses, rabbit 

Honestly, Red Riding Hood was Rotten

 

TITLE: Honestly, Red Riding Hood was Rotten

AUTHOR: Trisha Shasken ILLUSTRATOR: Gerald Guerlais

PUBLISHER: Picture Window Books  PUBLICATION DATE:  2011  GENRE:Traditional Books (Euro.)             READING LEVEL: Years 4-8

BRIEF OVERVIEW: The story of Little Red Riding Hood as told by the Wolf.  The wolf’s side of the story is much different than Little Red’s side.  He says that she wasn’t a very nice little girl.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Students will compare and contrast this story to the original using a graphic organizer/ story maps.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Curtis Watson, Valdosta State University ECSE

LABELS: Point of View, Comparison

The Elves & the Shoemaker

TITLE: The Elves & the Shoemaker

AUTHOR: Jacob Grimm ILLUSTRATOR: Jim Lamarche

PUBLISHER: Chronicle Books                 PUBLICATION DATE:  2003

GENRE: Traditional Books (Euro.)         READING LEVEL: Grade 1-3

BRIEF OVERVIEW: A poor shoemaker and his wife are visited by two elves during the night. The elves make many beautiful shoes for the shoemaker to sell and become rich.  The shoemaker and his wife return the favor by making clothes for the elves.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: After the read-aloud students will tell a partner about a time they did something nice for someone without expecting something in return.  Students will then write about their experience.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Curtis Watson, Valdosta State University ECSE

LABELS: Helping, Fantasy.