Review Musical verse mingles with watercolor and ink illustrations that portray everyday objects in extraordinary ways. Black, white, and Asian children are featured throughout in contemporary, albeit imaginative, settings. The verse begins by describing familiar dwellings for people and animals. “A web is a house for a spider/A bird builds its nest in a tree. Soon, the descriptions become more imaginative. “A husk is a house for a corn ear/A pod is a place for a pea”. Fraser’s detailed pictures keep pace as the verse becomes more abstract. “A throat is a house for a hum . . .” Grounding the outlandish dwelling suggestions is the recurring line, “A house is a house for me”, which provides cadence and structure just when the verse begins to careen out of control. Children will lose themselves in the illustrations and will enjoy time alone with this book, even before they can read. The book is timeless. Themes Stories in Verse, Dwellings, Humor Application This is the perfect companion to a first or second grade curriculum. Teachers can use the concepts for writing exercises in compare and contrast or descriptive sentences. It can also be used in a literature lesson on making text-to-world connections. Although the book is catalogued as fiction, it offers non-fiction concepts such as habitats and dwellings, which could be used to support Common Core Standards. Read-alikes
Baker, Jeannie. Home Pinkwater, David. The Big Orange Splot Rylant, Cynthia. Let’s Go Home: The Wonderful Things About a House Author Website: http://www.maryannhoberman.com/index.html References Birdsall, A. (n.d.). Books about homes and houses [book list]. Retrieved from http://www.familyreading.org/great-ideas/read-aloud-book-lists/books-about-homes-and-houses/ House is a House for Me [cover image]. Retrieved from http://www.maryannhoberman.com/images/books/house_cov.jpg House is a House for Me [image]. Retrieved from https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ac/0d/28/ac0d2876e919d94865b4f94157b26a50.jpg Teacher Vision. (n.d.). Prior knowledge: A house is a house for me [lesson plan]. Retrieved from https://www.teachervision.com/lesson/prior-knowledge-house-house-me TitleWave. Retrieved from http://titlewave.com
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Review How Much is a Million re-imagines difficult mathematical concepts with outrageous analogies and informative illustrations. Three complex numbers –million, billion, trillion - are broken down in imaginative ways to help children conceptualize the inconceivable. “If you wanted to count from one to one million . . . it would take you about 23 days”. Kellogg’s energetic watercolor and ink illustrations support concepts with depictions of children of various race and skin tone acting out the calculations. For a book about math, there are almost no numerals. Instead, formulas are displayed through narrative and pictures such as a hot air balloon that floats through seven pages of pinpricks representing a million tiny stars. End papers include an author’s note explaining the mathematical calculations used to come up with the crazy scenarios. Themes
Math Counting Application Although it was first published in the 1980’s, the book supports the Common Core State Standards as well as S.T.E.A.M. learning. The story would be a great read-aloud in early grade classrooms and school library programs. Many schools celebrate Hundredth Day on the hundredth day of school, which is a great opportunity for collaborative math projects based on the formulas explained in the end papers of How Much is a Million? Read-alikes Scieszka, J. (1995). Math Curse. Schwartz, D. M. (2003). Millions to Measure. Author Website: http://davidschwartz.com/ Illustrator Website: http://www.stevenkellogg.com/ References: How Much is a Million [image]. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books/about/How_Much_Is_a_Million.html?id=6bwabAPYM7YC&source=kp_cover How Much is a Million [image]. Retrieved from https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/518ZT9VD05L.jpg How Much is a Million [lesson plan]. Retrieved from http://lessonplanspage.com/mathhowmuchmillion-hundrednumbersense2-htm/ Titlewave. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.titlewave.com/search
Review Sparse, rhythmic text is integrated into colorful, dynamic illustrations, which appear to be digitally assembled from bright, textured paper. Objects, set against a solid colored background, are easily recognizable, though some pages depict items that might be new to young children, like cassette tapes. Most pages feature expressive people of many skin tones and cultures playing instruments, singing, dancing, or listening to music. The illustrations successfully depict people from many races and cultures without making assumptions. One page shows a black woman rocking out on electric guitar, while another depicts two women in headscarves listening to music on headphones. Yet another shows a family – two dark-skinned men and a little girl – dancing. A glossary of musical terms completes this delightful book and adds interest for both the child and adult reader. Indeed, this book would be fun for music lovers of all ages. Themes Music Opposites Application The compact size and pictorial information make the book ideal for young children to browse on their own, but this book would also work for a small storytime audience because the bold illustrations are visible from a distance. It would be especially relevant to a music and movement program. Read-alikes
Elhert, L. (2010). Lots of Spots. Harper, C. (2008). ABCs. McClure, N. (2015). In. Author Website: http://pitchfork.com/staff/brandon-stosuy/ Illustrator Website: http://www.amymartinillustration.com/ References Music Is . . . [Image]. Retrieved from http://d28hgpri8am2if.cloudfront.net/book_images/onix/interior_spreads/9781481477024/music-is-9781481477024.in01.jpg Music Is . . . [Image]. Retrieved from http://d28hgpri8am2if.cloudfront.net/book_images/onix/cvr9781481477024/music-is-9781481477024_hr.jpg Titlewave. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.titlewave.com |
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