picture book – Peaceful Reader

Prairie picture book shares great knowledge.

Plant a Pocket of Prairie

Phyllis Root and Betsy Bowen

2014

University of Minnesota Press

This is a gorgeous book. Every elementary school needs a copy of this bright and colorful work of art. It begins…

“Once prairie stretched for thousands of miles an ocean of flowers and grasses, a sea of sky, home for bison and elk, prairie chickens, burrowing owls, five-lined skinks, Plains garter snakes, and Ottoe skipper butterflies.”

The book challenges us to think about prairie and its disappearance in our world and challenges us the reader to plant a prairie be it big or small and if we were to cultivate a prairie, what would come and share in that bit of space? A ruby-throated hummingbird, monarch butterfly, or Dakota skippers might show up…

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The last four pages give full descriptions of prairie history, how to actually plant one, and animals that thrive in a prairie eco-system. This book can be used as a read-aloud or a starting point for research or the beginning of a major project. Use it, read it, love it. Betsy Bowen and Phyllis Root: can you add to this title and make it an ecosystem series?

Friday Feature-Book Lover's Books

Today I have three books about one of my favorite subjects…books. Books about books! Two are new finds and one is a favorite. I would love to hear your favorites!

1. Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile (2011) by Gloria Houston; ill. by Susan Condie Lamb

This hardcover just came in my Scholastic order and I knew from the cover I was going to like it. Miss Dorothy loves books and people at a young age and she decides to become a librarian. Her dream is to be the librarian at the “fine brick library just like the one where she checked out books in the center of the town square in her hometown in Massachusetts.” She goes to library school at Radcliffe, graduates and gets married. Her husband wants to live on a farm in the Blue Ridge Mts, far away from her hometown. Her dream changes but she still becomes a librarian, sharing books with lots of mountain people. The illustrations are beautiful, capturing the Appalachian countryside with great color. I read it aloud to one class and they were quiet and thoughtful by the end. It is based on a true story from the author’s recollections of Miss Dorothy’s bookmobile.

2. The Wonderful Book (2010) by Leonid Gore

I love many of Gore’s books-they are quirky. This one is no exception. Several animals find a book in the forest and invent ways to use the object. Rabbit makes it into a house, bear makes it into a hat and the mice use it for table. When a boy comes upon the book and begins to read it the animals find out the true purpose of the book. As the animals nestle down to listen to the story it reminds me how many children automatically tuck into your side as you begin to read. Very charming!

3. Miss Smith’s Incredible Storybook (2003) by Michael Garland

If you haven’t experience Miss Smith’s fabulous storybook you need to find it at your library. She is a funky brand new teacher and she takes the boredom out of any day by reading from her amazing book. While she reads (and students eyes get big as saucers) the stories come alive and suddenly the characters are next to the kid’s in class. A perfect way to illustrate how our imaginations work as we read! When I read this aloud last week one student said “Mrs. Holt, you need to get a book like THAT!”

What new treasures have come alive for you this week?
Happy April Fool’s Day! I played one great trick on a class and was delighted to pop back in to their classroom and say “April Fool’s”-they laughed and laughed!!

January's Sparrow by Patricia Polacco

I ordered this in my last Titlewave order without knowing anything about it, other than the cover art was striking. Usually I only order books I’ve read a review about, heard about or have looked at myself personally at the public library but because I have such good faith in Patricia Polacco-I oredered it with out a preview.

Once again Polacco’s book overwhelmed me, brought me to the brink of tears and showered me with great joy. This is the amazing story of the Crosswhite family, a slave family, working for a terrible master in Kentucky. After January, a family friend/brother figure is captured, returned back to the plantation then beaten by local slave traders in front of the family-it is more than they can bear. That and the secret knowledge that their sons are soon to be sold at auction gives the Crosswhite’s reason to flee the plantation even knowing what it will mean if they are captured.

This book highlights the Underground Railroad stations as well as Marshall, Michigan, a town where many residents disagreed with slavery and the Crosswhites get used to this taste of freedom, staying there for several years. Ultimately they must rely on the neighbors surrounding them as well as white townspeople to save them from recapture. If you haven’t had a chance to read this; this would be the perfect month to use this for a readaloud.

the Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett

Jan Brett is excedingly talented both as a writer and an illustrator. Many illustrators have their own hook but she goes beyond that with her side panel foreshadowing illustrations. A few monthes ago I did a small Jan Brett unit with first grade students. We read a bunch of her books and explored the freebies on her fabulous website and then we moved on and read other stuff. Forever those students will know a Jan Brett illustration when the see it as they showed me this past week when we read The Three Snow Bears, Brett’s retelling of Goldilocks and the 3 bears, set in the Artic. We were reading it because we’ve been reading books about snow, snowmen(people) and this amazing book fit with that and it was a great mini-quiz.

Students could tell within several pages that it reminded them of another story they knew…Goldilocks but as many said, she has different colored hair! Well, yes, in this one she is Inuit with dark hair and a huge snowsuit on it. Many loved the dogsled, huskies and igloos…that was new to them. When I explained to them what an igloo was, one student exclaimed “Oh, yeah-I live in one of those!” They love to assimilate, don’t they. I haven’t used any of Brett’s materials with this book before but I notice she has a whole Arctic mural you could use with a class. By the way students passed their author recognition “quiz” as I heard many comments like “Oh, look I can see what’s coming next” as they see in the end panel picture. That and they loved staring long and hard at the detailed illustrations.

Find Jan Brett’s website-here.

Have you read this one or others of Brett’s? Which are your favorites?

Happy Friday!!!

Peaceful Piggy Meditation

by Kerry Lee MacLean

2004

This is just the kind of book I love to find and share at Peaceful Reader; one that focuses on how to make our world calm. This book is simple with out being preachy or over-the-top. It begins like this:

“Sometimes the world can be such a busy, noisy place. Sometimes it feels like you always have to hurry, hurry, hurry…”

We feel like that at our house many days and from blog hopping around so do many other families. This book gives you clear reasons why we all could use a little daily meditation and how to fit it in with ease.

“Peaceful piggies know when to take a break, find a spot and just breathe, breathe, breathe.”

This is a great book to help at home and at school, as kids can do this at their desk, during testing, anytime they need to find that power within. We do live in a stressful world-one with many worries for children-and having an activity they can count on to bring them back to a peaceful feeling has gotta be a fantastic teaching tool.

P.S. Kerry Lee does her own illustrations, which are charmingly cute, making her extraordinarily talented!
Browsing around her website I discovered three other titles: Moody Cow Meditates, The Family Meditation Book and Peaceful Piggy Yoga-all available for purchase at her website.

For more information:

Kerry Lee’s meditation website.

Find it here at an IndieBound book store-Peaceful Piggy Meditation.
and while browsing I found this site, Luck Duck Children’s Books, with an awesome list of alternative titles for kids-many of the books I love like The Peace Book by Todd Parr are on this list.

Snowmen, Snowwomen=Snowpeople

(photo courtesy of Snowman Pics)

This first week back at school is always tough-teachers and students are tired. In the Midwest its been cold and will be cold, cold, cold through March. It is a long season for kids to tolerate. To bring a little fun into the first week back and share their holiday break stories, we’ve been talking snowmen and reading books featuring the funny snow creations. Here’s my list of books I’m using with students through January, hopefully giving kids a light-hearted look at winter.

Read this week:

It’s Winter (2002) by Linda Glaser-great alliteration which keeps even the youngest students awake with the fun sounds. Even though this is fiction it has interesting facts and just as the reluctant listener might be giving up their head snaps back at the mention of bats and bees hibernating!

All You Need for a Snowman (2002) by Alice Schertle-I’ve fallen in love with this book and don’t know why I haven’t used it for a read-aloud before. Poetic passages and whimsical illustration keep liitle ones(and me) mesmerized. “Three hand-packed, triple-stacked balls of snow. Hat on top, where a hat should go-that’s all you need for a snowman. Except for…” and the next page gives you another item to add to the big, billowy snowman

To Read:

Snowballs (1999)by Lois Ehlert-This one has always been my go-to book for winter. This year a teacher borrowed it before I had a chance to which may be a good thing as it led me to search anew.

A Snowman named Just Bob (1999)and its mate A Snowgirl named Just Sue (2005)by Mark Kimball Moulton- good, paired set to read together. A bit over the top in cheesy though and long.

Oh! (1999)by Kevin Henkes-in simple form shows the pure joy of winter snow.

Tracks in the Snow (2003)by Wong Herbert Yee-good, mini-mystery showing us a lovely outdoor winter world.

Snowmen at Night(2002) by Caralyn and Mark Buehner-with a little imagination a young boy thinks of fun things snowmen must go off and do while everyone else is sleeping. Classic fun and probably what we will read next week.

Stranger in the Woods; A photographic fantasy(2000) by Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick-Love this story, the kids love the “mystery” and the photos are beautiful!

There was an old Lady who swallowed some Snow! (2003)by Lucille Colandro and Jared Lee-rhyming, rollicking fun and kids cannot resist getting involved in this readaloud.

A Really Good Snowman (2005) by Daniel J. Mahoney-I discovered this charming tale last year and enjoyed reading it aloud because it has such a sweet message about helping smaller siblings out. Cute animal characters compete in a snowman competition. Perfect for 2nd and 3rd grade.

What am I missing? What snowman and winter books are your favorites?

Share your ideas in a comment so I can expand my collection.

Om Baby-Green Books Campaign

by Shamet Horsfield

2010

This is a bright and colorfully-done book with a small, elfin-like, one-eyed creature. “Hi, My name is Om Baby. I am an Om Being from a small community called Omville. I have only one eye because I see the world and all beings as one.” Om is the Sanskrit word and symbol meaning “all that is.” The book has a beautiful fluidity to it, with each picture accompanying simple text.

Om Baby is peaceful.

Om Baby is kind.

Om Baby believes in the power of his mind.

I like what Horsfield was going for but I wanted more. Even the youngest reader can understand so much more and I felt she was just touching the surface of this one-eyed beings feeling toward the earth and the world around us.

I loved this one:

Om Baby eats his greens.

Accompanied by a picture of a green garden, growing carrots, sunflowers, radishes or beets, corn, pumpkins with a sun blazing down. Om Baby is shown eating his greens-like arugula!

Check out Shamet Horsfield’s interesting website. You can sign a petition for peace while you there. She has a good story to tell and as someone on the outside edge myself, I can understand her need to create a book that represents her philosophy. I hope she continues to create, pulling more peaceful ideas into a deeper story.

This review is part of the Green Books Campaign. Click on Green Books to find the list of 200 books being reviewed by participating bloggers today.
This review is part of the Green Books campaign.

Today 200 bloggers take a stand to support books printed in an eco-friendly manner by simultaneously publishing reviews of 200 books printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper. By turning a spotlight on books printed using eco- friendly paper, we hope to raise the awareness of book buyers and encourage everyone to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books.