Category Archives: Storybox Idea

Go Bananas!

1 Reply

Want a book that every kid in your class can read with expression and enjoyment? Try Ed Vere’s nearly wordless picture book, Banana! I love using wordless and nearly wordless books with young readers. (If you want the myriad of reasons why wordless books are great for building narrative skills, fluency, top-down processing, etc., check out this article by the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement or this one from Education Week.) The facial expressions on the two monkeys are so engaging, and the text is limited to two words: banana and please with either question marks or exclamation points. Read it aloud once to your little ones, and they’ll be begging to read it on their own.  Use it as a lesson on punctuation and how it changes the way we read words on the page. Take two monkey puppets or make monkey masks and let the kids act out the story – even better if you bring in real bananas!

Chew on these great books

Leave a reply

In a recent Remenar Seminar, a principal pointed out that I share lots of stories, but not a lot of non-fiction. That’s something I’m working on – I love fiction, but I know many learners really respond to informational text. So, I’m trying to pair up books on irresistible topics – like bubble gum!

I’m stuck on the bouncy rhyme of Lisa Wheeler’s Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum: “chewy-gooey bubble gum/ icky-sticky bubble gum/ melting in the road/ along comes a toad” who gets stuck. Then a shrew gets stuck, and more animals get stuck – until a truck comes along! What will they do? Chew! And blow a bubble that lifts them from danger, until…

This makes a terrific storybox. Put this book, with its great illustrations by Laura Huliska-Beith, and puppet characters on wooden sticks in the storybox with a container of homemade pink playdough (make sure it’s non-toxic because one of your sweetpeas will probably try chewing on it) to retell the story.

Then, share Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum by Megan McCarthy. It is excellent non-fiction for younger students. The topic is sure to grab their attention, the text is short but interesting and full of fun facts, and the illustrations are large enough for a group read. At the end of the book, McCarthy adds lots more information (like who holds the world record for largest bubble) for kids who want to really sink their teeth into the subject.

Want a super-duper Dubble Bubble science extension? Ask your students, “Do you think bubble gum will weigh more or less after you chew it?” Use the scientific method of forming a hypothesis, listing materials and procedure, controlling variables (everyone chews the same kind of gum for the same amount of time), and see what your results are!

The Red Hen

Leave a reply

This is the kind of book that’s perfect for readers’ theater, a Storybox, or the dramatic play area. It has a straight-forward plot, few characters, and easy dialogue. The Red Hen by Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley is a bright retelling of the classic folktale.  This version is way less wordy than some I have seen (and not used). The Red Hen wants to make a cake, but the cat, the rat, and the frog don’t want to help. Every time the Red Hen asks for assistance, the answer is the same:
‘Not I,’ said the cat.
‘Not I,’ said the rat.
‘Bribbit,’ said the frog.”

Of course, Red Hen is undaunted. “I will do it myself.” And in the end, when the cake is ready to be eaten, Red Hen does that herself, too. I like this version better than some I have seen because the text is short enough for my youngest listeners but the folktale we’re all familiar with has been preserved. The art is large and bold in typical Emberley style, so it works for a group read-aloud. After one reading, all your little ones will chime in with cat, rat, frog and hen. Put this in a Storybox or a dramatic play area with puppets or masks to build those narrative retelling skills, and if you’re feeling culinary like Red Hen, make the recipe included on the last pages. Just be sure you don’t have to make the cake all by yourself.

 

All You Need for a Snowman

Leave a reply

All You Need for a Snowman written by Alice Shertle and illustrated by Barbara Lavallee is one of those “perfect for a storybox” books. The plot is simple – all you need for a snowman is some snow, rolled into one big ball. That’s all. Except…for a middle-sized ball, and a small one, and a hat, etc. The text has a great rhythmic flow and the pictures are colorful and large enough for group sharing. But because it’s all about building a snowman, it’s the perfect book to make a feltboard storybox. Even folks who are craft-challenged like me can cut three white circles out of felt! Ms. Marge, our library’s craft guru, made the feltboard pieces you see below. You can build the snowman piece by piece as you read the story aloud to your group, then hand out pieces to kids to help you build the snowman during your rereading or picture-walk through the book. Not enough pieces to go around? Use a diecut machine to make lots of snowflakes – you need lots of snowflakes to make a snowman! After storytime is done, put the book and the felt pieces in the storybox by a feltboard so little ones can go through the book and make the snowman on their own. Felt pieces, a felt board, and a great book – that’s all you need to make a snowman storybox!

A Valentine Story You’ll Love!

Leave a reply

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!