One of My Favorite Picture Books

             I found this week's blog to be particulary difficult because it was hard for me to choose a picture book. There are so many wonderful children's picture books that I absolutley love. When I go to Barnes and Noble I find myself going straight to the children's section and exploring all the great quality books. I usually leave with 2 or 3 at a time and continue to add to my collection. After searching through my collection, I decided to blog about The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. The book is about a caterpillar from birth to when it becomes a butterfly. The caterpillar becomes hungry and each day of the week; mon, tues, wed, etc, he eats a certain number of food items. He eventually becomes so full that he has a stomachache. After eating all that food, he becomes very fat and soon turns into a beautiful butterfly.
              The best part about this book is that as the Caterpillar eats throughout the story, there are actual wholes to show that the caterpillar has eaten. I love this book because of the colorful and tactile illustrations. The book is a good quality picture book because it contains the 3 R's (rhyme, rhythm, and repetition). The pictures all match the text and it also promotes interactive discussion in the classroom.
         I have used this picture book with my first grade class and it was very interactive. Thre children respond well to the story and are able to go along with the rythm and say what is going to happen next. It is a great resource in teaching several types of lessons. It could be used for science (when you are teaching about butterflies), for patterns, and also to teach the days of the week. The rhythm used in the story makes the book memorable and fun for children to read and listen to. The illustrations help the book come alive.
        I love this picture book because there is so much that it can be used for.  I remember reading this story as a child and it brought back a lot of memories. I hope that many of you enjoy reading this book as much as I did! It is definitely going to be used in my classroom library!

Award Winning Children's Book

               For this week's assignment, I was able to find a Caldecott Honor Book entitled, Why the sun and the moon live in the sky by Ephinstone Dayrell and illustrated by Blair Lent. As I looked at the cover, before even reading the book, I thought to myself that the book seemed very interesting. I enjoyed taking a picture walk through the book. Since the book had won for it's illustrations I thought it appropriate to analyze the creative photos. I now knew why the book had been a Caldecott Honor.

             As I read, I immediately became engaged in the story. Everything about it was inviting to me. When I am teaching my class it is important that I choose books that will keep them engaged and ready to learn. The idea that the sun, the moon, and the water were human-like will help students connect to the reading. This story is an African folktale about how the sun and the moon were placed in the sky.

            There are many ways that I would be able to use this book in my classroom. One lesson can be either a text to self connection, text to text connection, or a text to world connection. I would also be able to use this book when teaching about folktales. This book can be read aloud during the mini-lesson and be used as a guide for the students. I was pleased that I chose this book and I am also very interested in building up my library with other award winning books. I am excited to continue reading!