Duck! Rabbit!
Those of you who know me know I have a huge author-crush on Amy Krouse Rosenthal. I think her books are brilliant, and Duck! Rabbit! by AKR (as I like to call her) and Tom Lichtenheld gets me every time. Is this character a duck? A rabbit? Neither, or both? Two unseen narrators debate just what this critter is, and we realize that it’s all in how you look at it.
This book is a cool lesson in perspective. You can work the science angle if you’re doing a unit on the five senses and talk about how we see things. Get little plastic magnifying glasses, binoculars, or sheets of colored transparent plastic and let little ones experiment with looking through them. Share optical illusion books and art by M. C. Escher. Talk about how differences in perspective mean that we can have differences of opinion, too. We can see things from different points of view, and one way is necessarily better than the other. Share Duck! Rabbit! and see what happens!
For more information, visit Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s website: whoisamy.com or Tom Lichtenheld’s website: tomlichtenheld.com.
Read MoreOne Dark Night
It’s October, and you want to read a not-too-scary book to get in the Halloween mood. But what if Halloween isn’t something you celebrate? At our public library, we have many patrons who don’t want a story with witches and ghosts. So, what can we read to get us shivery and snuggly? One Dark Night written by Lisa Wheeler and illustrated by Ivan Bates.
Mouse and Mole live “in a wee little house, in a wee little hole” but one dark night, they venture out into the woods. Meanwhile, “in a big giant lair, near a big giant glen” a big giant bear is growling – and hungry. As the two wee animals travel in the dark, the giant hungry bear gets hungrier. What will happen when Bear finds wee Mouse and Mole? “You’re late!” he grumbles, and the three go back to Bear’s lair for a big giant feast.
I like the juxtaposition of the wee little creatures and the big giant bear, as well as the happy surprise twist on a story that gives us just enough suspense. After you talk with the students about what they thought would happen and what actually happened, divide the class in two groups to act out the story as you reread it. Let the Mouse and Mole kids stand against one wall and tiptoe from it when you read their scenes. Let the Bear kids stand against the opposite wall and take big giant steps forward during their scenes. Kids can even say the lines of the characters after you in wee or giant voices. The two groups will meet in the middle of the room for the Bear kids to announce “You’re late!” and they can all come back to your gathering spot together. And if there happens to be a wee little treat waiting there for them, even better!
For more information, visit lisawheelerbooks.com.
Read MoreMINE!
When I first saw MINE! written by Shutta Crum and illustrated by Patrice Barton, I thought it’d be fun to use with my little ones in storytime. After all, it’s about two toddlers (and the cutest, drooly puppy) learning how to share a pile of toys. So, it’s a book for toddlers, right? But then I thought of how my kids giggle over laughing baby videos on Youtube. Who doesn’t love silly, little babies? MINE! is a great book to build early reading confidence for preschoolers and kindergartners. The text is simpler than simple: “Mine!”, “Mi-“, and “Woof!”, and the pictures are so cute. Before reading this book, ask your listeners if they have little brothers, sisters, cousins, who are grabby. Chances are, you’ll see lots of hands waving and heads nodding. Read MINE! to the group and let kids share stories about babies they know, or stories about themselves as babies. Then, let your readers who need a confidence boost practice this story to perform for Readers’ Theater. It is such a fun, easy read, you’ll have all your readers saying MINE!
For more information, visit shutta.com or patricebarton.com.
Read MoreGuess Who Is Out of the Den?
