So You Want to Be President by Judith St. George
This book is absolutely fantastic!!! It’s fantastic because it is so chocked full of facts about our presidents…some meaningful and important, some just fun to know! The illustrations really add to the text and are so enjoyable on their own.
We are planning a big trip this summer and one of our destinations includes Washington, D.C. This book is especially helpful, because I want my children to know some facts about our former presidents and the white house. We have this book in our collection at home, and I have always enjoyed it and enjoyed reading it to my children, but I think that due to our pending trip this book has taken on new significance to me. I also thing that it is pertinent that our students learn some history, and what better way to learn it than to make it fun and entertaining!
I can compare this book to, So You Want to be an Inventor. The style the author presents information is similar to So You Want to Be President, with a lighthearted, whimsical presentation of facts of famous inventors. Again, the illustrations only add to the book!
I don’t think I learned anything new, this book just reinforced previous knowledge: that concepts need to be presented in a fun way for our students to really benefit from them! We enjoy when Professional Development opportunities are fun and engaging, well so do students! When a lesson or concept is presented in a fun way that engages them, what better way to catch their attention and get some learning in too…which Judith St. George does a wonderful job doing!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
#3 Caldecott Book
Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
I thought that this book did a good job of presenting facts about William Bentley. To me, it was a little boring and it’s not one that I would choose for myself to read, but I can see the value in it. The illustrations fit the text to a “T”, and I really enjoyed how the author put the “facts” on the edge of the page.
I do think the season had some effect on my reaction to this book. I am so dreadfully tired of winter (even though we haven’t had much snow!), and of course this book has snow and winter on the majority of its pages. I am beyond ready for spring and summer to glide on in!!! Also, I am not much of a biography reader. I know that they have their place and importance in our reading, but I’d rather have the fun read with a moral/lesson.
I have never read a book by Ms. Martin, except Snowflake Bentley. Therefore, I have no way to compare this to another book. I did look up her books at Barnes and Noble, and found one in particular that stuck out, Banjo Granny, which is a delightful little tale about a grandmother’s determination to get to see her grandbaby. The book is spiced up with a little bluegrass reference, which adds to the book.
This book reinforced to me that biographies are important to our students! I knew that, in the back of my head, but every now and then it needs to be reinforced since these books are not my favorites to read.
I thought that this book did a good job of presenting facts about William Bentley. To me, it was a little boring and it’s not one that I would choose for myself to read, but I can see the value in it. The illustrations fit the text to a “T”, and I really enjoyed how the author put the “facts” on the edge of the page.
I do think the season had some effect on my reaction to this book. I am so dreadfully tired of winter (even though we haven’t had much snow!), and of course this book has snow and winter on the majority of its pages. I am beyond ready for spring and summer to glide on in!!! Also, I am not much of a biography reader. I know that they have their place and importance in our reading, but I’d rather have the fun read with a moral/lesson.
I have never read a book by Ms. Martin, except Snowflake Bentley. Therefore, I have no way to compare this to another book. I did look up her books at Barnes and Noble, and found one in particular that stuck out, Banjo Granny, which is a delightful little tale about a grandmother’s determination to get to see her grandbaby. The book is spiced up with a little bluegrass reference, which adds to the book.
This book reinforced to me that biographies are important to our students! I knew that, in the back of my head, but every now and then it needs to be reinforced since these books are not my favorites to read.
#2 Caldecott Book
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback
The first, and most obvious thing that I liked about this book is that it has a moral to it. Reading for pleasure if wonderful, and so many times books are just for fun…which again is great. But every now and again, you run across a book that is fun and has a moral! Especially in today’s society, I think I it is important that our children realize that you can make something out of nothing! I also enjoyed the cutouts on the pages that showed what he had turned the overcoat into. It gave you something to look forward to when turning the page.
When I first heard the title, I was expecting it to be something along the lines of Joseph’s coat of many colors…the bible story. It surprised me that is wasn’t. Because I have children of my own, and work with a lot of at-risk students, I think this story is so important…that it really doesn’t matter what you have (a lot of our students do not have much). If you try you can make something out of it! I also want my own children to learn this concept. I don’t want them to think that they have to have a lot to be happy.
I did not realize that he was also the author of This is the House that Jack Built. We have that book at home and my children LOVE it! They especially love the illustrations which are similar to this one. We also have the version of There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.
I think I learned, or at least was reminded, that fun books can have good, worthwhile morals to them. Sometimes, at least in my head, books that have morals tend to be boring and to preachy. This book showed me that they can be fun and meaningful. Teaching about frugality is more and more important in today’s society.
The first, and most obvious thing that I liked about this book is that it has a moral to it. Reading for pleasure if wonderful, and so many times books are just for fun…which again is great. But every now and again, you run across a book that is fun and has a moral! Especially in today’s society, I think I it is important that our children realize that you can make something out of nothing! I also enjoyed the cutouts on the pages that showed what he had turned the overcoat into. It gave you something to look forward to when turning the page.
When I first heard the title, I was expecting it to be something along the lines of Joseph’s coat of many colors…the bible story. It surprised me that is wasn’t. Because I have children of my own, and work with a lot of at-risk students, I think this story is so important…that it really doesn’t matter what you have (a lot of our students do not have much). If you try you can make something out of it! I also want my own children to learn this concept. I don’t want them to think that they have to have a lot to be happy.
I did not realize that he was also the author of This is the House that Jack Built. We have that book at home and my children LOVE it! They especially love the illustrations which are similar to this one. We also have the version of There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.
I think I learned, or at least was reminded, that fun books can have good, worthwhile morals to them. Sometimes, at least in my head, books that have morals tend to be boring and to preachy. This book showed me that they can be fun and meaningful. Teaching about frugality is more and more important in today’s society.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
