Book of the Week: Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato

St. Patty's day is almost upon us, and that means looking for a good read-aloud for my students. Tomie DePaola's Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato is an excellent choice for first through third graders. You really can't go wrong with anything by Tomie DePaola, but this book has some great tie-ins that would be easy to do with very little prep.


This book is an excellent choice not only for St. Patrick's Day or folktales, but also for cause and effect. Every action causes as reaction, so I have been charting causes and effects on the whiteboard. And there are some good vocabulary words in there, too. Practice your Irish brouge and check this out!

Picture book of the week: 100th Day Worries

February 22nd is an exciting day for kindergarten and first-grade students: the 100th day of school. Many classes bring in collections of 100 things--stickers, Cheerios,or cotton balls.   This is supposed to be a fun activity for the children and a celebration of the school year.  But for Jessica, the  main character in Margery Cuyler's 100th Day Worries, this day is a source of worry for Jessica.  If this sounds familiar to you, we met Jessica during fire prevention week in Stop, Drop, and Roll.

Jessica can't decide what to bring to school.  She agonizes and waits until the very last day to assemble her collection.  This story lends itself nicely to making predictions of what Jessica will bring, as well as counting by ones, tens, and twenties.  So if you are looking to celebrate our 100th day and sneak a little math in, too, check this out!

Picture book of the week: Groundhog Day!

Gail Gibbons is the queen of non-fiction books.  She has written books about every major holiday (and some minor ones, too), animals, places in the community, and planets.  If you want to introduce a new non-fiction subject to children between kindergarten and second grade, she is the author to look for.

One of her newer books is about Groundhog Day.  I have always enjoyed this American tradition, even if it doesn't logically make sense to me.  If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter.  So basically, if it is a bright and sunny day, we have more snow and cold weather to look forward to.  In my opinion, the reverse seems more logical; if Phil doesn't see his shadow, we can expect more winter.  But regardless, it is a fun American tradition that not all students are familiar with.

Groundhog Day! explains the history behind Groundhog Day, as well as facts and information about groundhogs and hibernation.  Amazingly, groundhogs can move 700 pounds of dirt in one day!  If you want to wow your students with other bits of groundhog trivia, look for this book.  It is accessible, informative, and has Gail Gibbon's trademark watercolor illustrations.

Picture book of the week: Thanksgiving Is...

I love Gail Gibbons.  She can take any non-fiction subject that you wouldn't necessarily find interesting, like the post office, and write a great book about it.  I think that non-fiction is finally getting the recognition that it deserves, in part because of our new reading series, and it makes perfect sense.  If children are going to read, why not read and learn at the same time?  And non-fiction has long been the genre of choice for many boys, so it is great to see their preferences become mainstream.

As I said in an earlier post, I have been discussing Thanksgiving with my students.  Decent non-fiction Thanksgiving books are actually hard to come by, but Gail Gibbons did a great job with Thanksgiving Is...  It has colorful illustations and plenty of opportunities to make text-to-self connections.  If you are looking for a quick but in-depth overview, you won't be disappointed.

Picture Book of the Week: 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving. It is a holiday all about eating and family without the pressure of finding the perfect gift and totally decorating the house. I was born on Thanksgiving Day, actually, and when I was younger, I used to think that the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was just for me. I know better now, of course, but it is still my favorite holiday. And in honor of my favorite holiday, I have chosen a comical book for our picture book of the week: 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving, by Dav Pilkey of Captain Underpants fame. As you might have guessed, it is modeled after the old classic, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. In this version, a class takes a field trip to a turkey farm. While they are there, the students make the connection between the cute clucking turkeys and their upcoming Thanksgiving feast. In the end, the students all decide to have turkey for dinner, but not in the way that you would expect! This is a great holiday read that can be appreciated by just about any age group from kindergarten right on up.