Read Aloud Plan: Little Critter by Mercer Mayer

Mayer, Mercer. Just a Little Critter Collection. New York, NY. Golden Books. 2005.
Mayer, Mercer. The Smelly Mystery: Little Monster Private Eye. New York, NY. Inchworm Press. 1998.


One of my favorite books growing up were the Little Critter books by Mercer Mayer. I bring these books with me when I go to watch Terra, and she absolutely loves them. Particularly, she likes the ones that feature Little Critter's younger sister, such as in Just a Nap, When I Grow Up, and Me Too! It was really hard for me to pick just one book for this activity, because usually when it is time to read before Terra's nap, she grabs every single Little Critter book she can find. I have even started going to the library to find more that I don't own for us to read. I also discovered some of Mercer Mayer's other book series, such as Little Monster Private Eye. Terra really likes these books as well, especially The Smelly Mystery, about an Evil Smell Switcher who is running all over town switching smells! I think that the best part about this book is that kids can't wait to find out what's going to happen!

I think that Terra mostly likes these books because they are fun and relatable. I remember loving these books when I was younger, especially I Was So Mad, and When I Get Bigger. You can really understand what the character in these stories is feeling, and realize that you feel, or have felt that way at some time. In I Was So Mad, absolutely nothing is going Little Critter's way, so he decides that he should move away. However, as he is trying to leave, his friends come over to see if he can play, so Little Critter decides he will run away tomorrow, if he is still just so mad. I can remember thinking I should run away when I was little, and I know as kids the silliest things make us so mad! I also know that especially with Terra, if she doesn't get her way it's time for a temper tantrum! Also, with When I Grow Up, and When I Get Bigger, I think that kids really like these books because every child wishes that they could grow up and do grown up things, like stay up late and do things all by themselves. I also think that Terra enjoys the Me Too! book because it is predictable. Every time Little Critter tries to do something, who comes up behind him but his annoying little sister saying "Me Too!" so then Little Critter has to help her or share. How annoying right? But Terra knows that every time Little Critter tries to do something, like use his skateboard, his sister is going to say... "Me Too!" so Terra can chime in and say that part of the book. Just A Nap is also a really cute story about a little girl who finds just about every distraction in the world to keep her from taking her nap. "But I just wasn't sleepy..." she says, which Terra tells me pretty much every time it's time to take her nap. I think that one thing that is interesting is to see how the characters reflect the way kids actually are. I think it will be fun for Terra to look back at these books and say "Hey, I remember feeling this way!" just like i do now.

Yum! Mmmm! Que Rico! Craft Lesson

For this craft lesson, I think this would be a great way to incorporate geography and history for "Where does this come from?" The book already gives great examples of foods and where they originated and what they are used for, but students could choose a food that interests them (either out of the book, or one that they come up with on their own) and research where it comes from, as well as its journey through time. For example, where would you find a cocoa bean to make chocolate? Who came up with the idea behind chocolate? When did chocolate practically become a staple in the United States? I think this would be interesting for students because they would be able to pick a topic they already want to learn about, as well as learn a lot of unknown facts about their favorite foods. Actually, two of my other classes had been talking about using geography as "where does this come from?" such as our clothes, cars and tools, and then using this as a map to figure out the way other countries live, and I think this would be a really fun and creative way to get kids interested in different cultures.

For the activity, once students have done their research, the class could make their own book of foods. Students would write the information that they learned in a paper format, and then draw their own pictures. Students could incorporate each other's findings into a huge class book that they could share. That way the students would have something to take home and keep when they wanted to learn new facts about other food that the rest of the class researched.

Children's Literature, Briefly

Chapter 9..... Traditional Fantasy

Traditional fantasy deals with folklore and stories that were originally told orally and passed down. In fact, no one knows exactly where these stories originated or who first told them. i really like the differences and similarities that the stories share between cultures. For example, almost every country has a version of Cinderella, but each story incorporates a different touch that reflects the society and culture of each country. I actually took an Anthropology class that compared each of the different versions. We talked about Yeh-Shen, who has a magical fish that helps her get to the ball, and the Spanish version, Little Gold Star, where the fairy god mother is the Virgin Mary. Both of these stories not only tell the traditional tale of Cinderella, but also give you little clues into what is important to these cultures.

Children's Literature, Briefly

Chapter 12.... Historical Fiction

I really liked the point that this chapter made: Text books don't always do their justice! All texts books can really do is skim over something briefly, while inserting dates and not talking about the people who were actually there. Text books also don't give you different perspectives, they only talk about the "Americanized" version of a tale. In this way, history books falsify history because they aren't giving you the complete story. When someone does actual research into an event, such as pilgrims and colonization, that person would learn that the Native Americans probably were not the savages that the history books makes them out to be.... and that maybe the colonists were not so nice either.
This chapter also mentioned some great books that I remember loving, such as the Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen, about a young Jewish girl who goes to open the door for Elijah during Passover and ends up being transported into the Holocaust and meets one of her ancestors. I always thought this was the coolest book, and ever since then I always wanted to have a Jewish Passover so I could open the door for Jehovah too! This book not only taught me about the Holocaust, but about Jewish culture and traditions as well. Another book this chapter mentions is Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry. I just always loved Lois Lowry, but this book was also great because it dealt with times in history, but it wasn't sugar coated like a text book would be.

Read Aloud Plan: ABC by Dr. Seuss

Seuss, Dr. ABC. New York, NY: Random House, Inc., 1960.

For my read aloud, I again read to the little girl that I watch, who is three. For another class I already had to use the Dr. Suess's ABC's, so I decided to use that book with her as well. I really liked this book because it teaches the concept of uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as incorporates pictures so that the kids reading know what is coming. Terra already knows her letters and is learning how to write them, so I thought I would use this book to see if she could pick up on the small words. Like, at the beginning of each page the text says "Big B, little b, what begins with B?" So I tried to get Terra to recognize the word BIG and have her "read" the beginning of each page.
I think that this is a good book for kids learning how to read and learning their letters because it is a fun book for those who don't understand yet, but it is also fun for those learning to read to pick up on the rhyming and picture clues. I think she also likes being able to read parts of the book on her own, so that she is more involved with the story. It also seems to be fun for her to know what is coming, like when "Silly Sammy Slick sipped six sodas" he gets.... "sick, sick, sick!"

Yum! Mmmm! Que Rico!

Mora, Pat. Yum! MmMm! Que rico!. Illus. Rafael Lopez. Madison Avenue NY: LEE & LOW BOOKS Inc., 2007.

I had mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I thought that the haikus were really creative and the pictures were AWESOME, but on the other hand some of the food that the book talks about were boring. I read this book to the little girl that I babysit, and (ok, i know she is young!) but I am pretty sure that she had no idea what a papaya was, or knew why in the world you would eat a prickly pear. I felt like the author had a good idea going with this book, but that she could have done a lot more with the book. Of course my favorite two were the one's about chocolate and chili peppers! I felt like the description of them through the haiku hit what eating these things is really like. I also liked the information about the different foods, but I think that part of the book would be for older children.

Children's Literature, Briefly

Chapter 11..... Contemporary Realistic Fiction

I really like the quote at the beginning of this chapter: "There are three rules for writing a good novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are." I think this makes a good point that there is no exact recipe to a good story.
One of the best characteristics of this category of books is that it is the most relatable to readers. Have you ever felt like the person you are reading about could be your best friend? A lot of the books that this chapter mentions are books that have relatable and fun characters that people enjoy to read about. This was a fun chapter because I got to reminisce books that I read when I was in middle school, such as ones by Lois Lowry, Judy Blume, and Louis Sachar.

My Many Colored Days Craft Lesson

Discussion: Everybody has "Many Colored Days", but not everybody knows how to express their emotions in the appropriate way.
After reading My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss, have the kids discuss the different emotions that they remember from the book. Then ask them what kind of events make them feel happy, or sad, or angry or busy as a bee! Then we could talk about how their feelings make them react, such as if they yell or get frustrated, and talk about whether these reactions are appropriate.

Activity: After our discussion, have the children write a short story or draw a picture about the way they should handle a situation when they get angry, or scared (etc.) After they finish their picture, they can share with the class. This way kids could come up with the right behaviors on their own, without being told what is right or wrong.

Children's Literature Autobiography

When I think about reading, I think about how I used to read all the time. I would sneak a flashlight under my pillow and stay up until all hours of the night waiting to get to the end of my book. I could never wait to see what was going to happen. Yes, I admit that I went through the Sweet Valley High /Babysitter Club/ Boxcar Children phase, but two of my favorite authors were also Mary Downing Hahn and Lois Lowry. I couldn’t keep my hands off of their books! Particularly, my favorite books by these two were Stepping on the Cracks, The Anastasia series, and Sam Series. I remember in the third grade my teacher read to us All About Sam, and we couldn't get enough! I always wished that the library would carry more of their books so that I could read all of them.
One of my earliest memories of reading was when I was just learning to read, and my Granny took me to the bookstore to pick out a book as my Birthday Present. After carefully looking through many books, I remember that I chose Clifford’s Book of Jokes and Riddles. I also remember thinking while I was growing up that it was such a privilege to go to the library. My mom used to take my brothers and I to the Public Library after school and I remember being so excited! We used to spend hours there just looking at all of the books. One of my favorite books that I used to love to read with my brothers were the Little Critter books. One of our favorite Little Critter books was the Christmas book, because there was a recipe for Christmas Cookies in it.
In Elementary School, I remember one of the coolest things that we got to do was have Read-Ins. A Read-In meant that we got to come to school with our sleeping bags, some snacks, juice boxes, and a backpack full of books! We got to spend the whole day reading and sharing books with our class mates, it was a dream come true! I also remember that my school participated in a Book-It program, which meant we got to go to Pizza Hut for free pizza every time we filled up our Book-It Badge. Over the summer, our local movie theater had a similar program, where if you read a certain amount of books, you got to come watch a free movie each week. It was so great to get rewarded for doing something I already loved to do!
Growing up, my family also used to spend lazy Sunday afternoons together in the living room reading various books and newspapers. As kids, we would always fight for the comics, but we also liked to read my dad’s collection of Calvin and Hobbs comics. Reading has just been a huge part of my life, as well as my family’s, which I feel has helped to encourage my love for reading. Once I hit Middle School, I began getting into more Fantasy books, such as A Wrinkle In Time, The Giver, and The Chronicles of Narnia. Another one of my favorite books in Middle School was Bridge to Terabitha. This book was one of the first coming-of-age stories to touch me because of the strong emotions portrayed in the story. Whether it is between the wild imaginations of the two characters, or to the traumatic ending, this book tells a great story of two courageous children that the reader will always remember.
In High School, we began to read more modern literature, such as The Great Gatsby and Slaughterhouse 5. My junior year of high school I was introduced to one of my favorite books of all time, The Catcher In the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. I could not put this book down! In fact, I read it 3 more times in a row when I was done with it. A few years ago, when I found out that absolutely none of my friends had read this book, I gave it to them as a Christmas present. I just could not believe that anyone had gone through their life without being able to read it! I just loved the free thought and randomness of the book, mostly because I am an extremely random person. I also loved all of the points that the main character, Holden Caulfield, makes in the book about “phoniness.” I remember in my class, after discussing this book, that everybody either loved the book like I did, or they just couldn’t get through it. As much as I loved this book, I could see how it would be frustrating for some people to get through, especially since you can’t put your finger on a specific event that happens. Really, I think that the main point of this book is the coming of age, and character’s identity. After reading this book, it left me wondering “Is Holden Caulfield really the crazy one…or is everybody else crazy?”
As of now, I do not make much time for casual reading, due to my busy schedule. I am, however, excited about one of the current books that I just bought called, Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs, and Some Other Things… which is a book of short stories by authors Lemony Snicket, Nick Hornby, Jon Scieszka (The Stinky Cheese Man), and Jonathan Safron Foer. I have started on the first two stories, which I really liked, and I am excited to finish it. I think this would be a good book for anyone to read, no matter what age, because I think with the contributions from Lemony Snicket and Jon Scieszka, even older kids would enjoy this book.
And while you will not catch me staying up until all hours of the night trying to finish a good book, I do very much still enjoy reading. Some of my favorite authors right now are Chuck Klosterman, Kurt Vonnegut, and John Irving. Most of my reading time right now is spent dedicated to homework, or to reading to the little girl Terra that I watch. I try to read to her any chance I get. In fact, when I went home for ChristmasI brought back a collection of books that I used to read (including Little Critter) so that Terra could read them as well, and she loves it! I also try to take her to the library when I can so that we can pick out more books to read. Terra really likes the David series, especially David Gets in Trouble. And come to think of it, all this talk about how important reading is for children, it makes me wonder why we don’t do away with text books and emphasize reading literature in college as well!

Children's Literature, Briefly

Chapter 10.... Modern Fantasy


This was a neat chapter because it reminded me of all the books that I enjoyed to read when I was younger, but that I would have never thought to call it "Fantasy". I guess that when I always think of fantasy I immediately think of science fiction. However, this chapters covers all the different elements that Modern Fantasy includes, such as Magic, Other Worlds, Good Vs. Evil, Heroism, Special Characters, and Fantastic Objects. In fact, Science Fiction is more defined as being futuristic more than anything else. But with Modern Fantasy, the story elements still have to have a strong and a believable character that examines human issues, even if that main character happens to be a talking horse. It has also been found that most modern fantasy novels are written as a metaphor to reveal a truth. Some of the books that this chapter mentioned that I always loved when I was younger were The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Winnie-The-Pooh, The Giver, and Wait Til Helen Comes.

And, not to get too off-topic, but I was suddenly reminded of this South Park episode where a talking towel decides to publish a book. At first nobody wants to publish his book because he is a towel, however the towel makes his story relatable to humans and it becomes part of Oprah's Book of the Month Club! Anyway, I suppose this episode involved a "special character" and could be considered Modern Fantasy as well!

Literature Festival

First of all, to be perfectly honest I was dreading going to the Literature Festival. However, after attending I realized how amazing this opportunity was! It was really great to hear such wonderful speakers, especially Janet Wong, and to hear their stories. I have only read a few of Janet Wong’s books, but I like how she has kept them themed. My favorite book so far is Twist: Yoga Poems. I think my favorite part about what Janet Wong had to say as the fact that anyone can, and should, write! Janet Wong mentioned that out of her twenty-something books that have been published, she has written over 200 that were rejected. I think that it is important for children to realize that even famous authors have had discouraging times. This should help children to learn not to give up when they feel that they have failed.
The poems that the children got to read at the opening presentation were also really cute to hear. I think that it is great that children are being encouraged to write poetry in a way that reflects their own personal story. That was another strong point that Janet Wong made. She even mentioned that when she first started taking poetry classes that the teacher never said anything to Wong until the day Wong finally wrote a poem that meant something to her. I think with any kind of literacy and writing, that finding a way to make it mean something to you in a personal way, is the best way to appreciate literature.
I also really enjoyed the break out sessions. I attended the class that talked about how to present books to your class by Karen Humphreys. She gave us some really great ideas about getting kids excited to read, such as using the right body language and questions to get kids to figure out what might happen in the story next. Also, she mentioned getting kids excited by asking them questions. I thought that Janet Wong also did a really great job of this, like when she asked the audience how many of us had grumpy moms or dads. She used this to introduce her poem about a grump, and it got kids excited to hear what she had to say. The biggest key that I learned at this Literature Festival was to find out outlets for each child. Do they like to read, write, or draw? Find ways to incorporate these things into the poems or literature they might be reading. When a child truly enjoys and understands what they are reading, it can help them to be excited about future poems and literature.

Minn and Jake Craft Lesson

Discussion:

Minn is having a hard time. She "feels pigtailed and lizardy and alone." She has just lost her true best friend, she's the tallest student in her class, one of her classmates made fun of her new red high-top sneakers, and she's the only one in class who is an only child. Have you ever felt like you were the only different person in class? Everybody has differences, and it is important to embrace the differences of others instead of trying to hide them. What are some things that make us different? Maybe our haircut isn't in "style" or maybe we can't afford the same style of shoes that everyone has to have. But this doesn't mean we need to feel ashamed. Have the kids talk about the things that they like about themselves, and what they like about their friends as well.

Activity:

Ok, so maybe this might seem a little cheesy, but I always thought that a good motto for kids is the "one put-down equals two put-ups". So, for the class activity we could have the kids make little "mailboxes" and then have the class write one another letters about reasons why they like each class member. I think this would also really tie in with the Valentines Day theme, especially since the characters in Minn and Jake are encouraged to make each other their own Valentine for the whole class, or to not bring any at all. I think this would be a really good activity to get kids to realize that differences make us unique and interesting, rather than a reason to feel embarrassed or maybe have someone else make fun of.

Wet Pet, Dry Pet, Your Pet, My Pet

Seuss, Dr. Wet Pet, Dry Pet, Your Pet, My Pet, Illus. Dr. Seuss. New York, NY:Random House, Inc., 2005.

I also did not know about this Dr. Seuss book, but I thought it was too cute so I chose it for my board book. It's a great book for younger kids because it is full of "pettable pets!" It was also inspired from One Fish, Two Fish, Red FIsh, Blue Fish (if you couldn't tell by the title!) My favorite pet is the on that says "all girls who like to brush and comb should have a pet like this at home", because it is this tiny little pet with HUGE blue hair! it's so fun! I also read this book to Terra, the little girl that I babysit and she really liked the page with the Gak, because you could play ring toss with his antlers and move the rings around on the page. Overall this book is just a really cute idea.

My Many Colored Days

Seuss, Dr. My Many Colored Days. Illus. Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. New York, NY: Random House, Inc., 1996.


I really liked this book... and who knew Dr. Seuss had even written a book like this!?!?! It is a simple story for little kids with a rhyming scheme that goes over...My many colored days! Basically the book talks about how you can feel different ways throughout the week... and then sometimes you feel all mixed up and you just aren't sure how you feel. I think this is a great way to get kids to realize the different emotions we have, as well as realizing that everybody feels different at times. I think my favorite example is the yellow day, when you're a busy, buzzy be! FIrst of all, I like this page because that is how I always feel! But I also love the colors and the illustrations for this page. Especially since the bees are saying Wheeeeeeee!