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!