Falling for “Falling for Rapunzel”
“‘Rapunzel, Rapunzel, throw down your hair!”
She thought he said, ‘Your underwear.'”
Like the old game of Telephone, messages get garbled in Falling for Rapunzel, a fractured fairy tale by Leah Wilcox and Lydia Monks. Each time the prince calls up to Rapunzel in her tower, Rapunzel misunderstands. Throw down her locks, or her dirty socks? This silly rhyming book fits beautifully into a fairy tale unit, but I like it as a snort-inducing read for Valentine’s Day. After reading this book, play a game of Telephone with your class and see how messages can change from ear to ear. Or give your students prompts to supply goofy rhymes:
“The prince called out, ‘Climb down the vine!’
Rapunzel threw …..”
For more fractured fun, check out Waking Beauty by the same team.
Read MoreGuess Again!
I read Guess Again by Mac Barnett and Adam Rex to a kindergarten class and they laughed so hard I worried about the potential wetting of the carpet. Mac Barnett’s verses set kids up to guess the seemingly simple answer:
“Who’s got white teeth and fiery breath
And scares Sir Frank the Brave to death?
This frightened knight must stop his braggin’.
Who’s spooked our knight? That’s right! A….” (turn the page)
“Dentist, Dr. Larry Roberts.”
Adam Rex’s goofy pictures add to the fun. What look like the shadows of sheep on a page turn out to be abominable snow monsters, and the floppy-eared shadow nibbling carrots in the garden? Why, it’s Grandpa Ned! Your rhyming pros will be delighted with the silly, unexpected answers, and they’ll want to “Guess Again” and again.
You can work this book into a science unit on shadows and light. Let little ones experiment with objects and materials: which ones create shadows and which ones won’t? Using flashlights in a darkened room, let kids trace shadows of objects on white paper, and then use art materials to transform the shadow-shape into something new!
Read MoreA Valentine Story You’ll Love!
If you’re planning ahead for Valentine’s Day ideas, “1 2 3 Valentine’s Day: a counting book” by Jeanne Modesitt and Robin Spowart is great for preschoolers and kindergartners. The rhyming text helps build phonological awareness, and little ones get to count to ten as the mouse delivers Valentine’s Day gifts to his friends. The visual of the corresponding number of hearts at the bottom of the pages is a nice touch. My fellow librarian and early literacy champion, Ms. Marge, uses this in storytime, and brings a big red box with her. In the box she has one of each item the mouse delivers – a silk rose, a paper heart, etc. – that she pulls out as she reads. Try reading the story to your young ones, then let them retell the story and pull out the objects from the red box. Your active, “body smart” kids will love it!
Guess Who Is Out of the Den?
