"Near One Cattail"

Near One Cattail

Written by: Anthony D. Fredericks

Illustrated by: Jennifer DiRubbio

Published by Dawn Publications in Nevada City, California in 2005

ISBN: 1-58469-071-2

Genre: Informational Text

Reading Level: Grade 4

Activity Level: Grades 2, 4

Summary: This is an accumulating story. It is somewhat like the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" in that when you get to the end of the book, you are reading everything you have read before.

In this work there exists a preface about the wetlands and field notes about all of the creatures in the back of the book. Each time a new creature or element of this place is introduced to the reader, its name is in bold print so that it makes a striking impression on the reader and separates itself from the other creatures previously described in the work.

The final page of this book says "Here's a medley of critters who swim, soar or crawl in this sog-soggy home that protects one and all. It's a marvelous place to cherish and preserve" (p. 24), thus, sending a conservation message to all the children who read this work!

Response: I really like the accumulating nature of this book because it is both informative, as repetition is akin to studying the wetlands in this book, and great for intermediate readers. Once an unsure readers has mastered one line of this work, he or she has really mastered several lines of print since they are often repeated, which can give the reader a great sense of accomplishment!

The illustrations in this book are absolutely amazing! Each one is a beautiful two-page spread in, probably, acrylic paints. The colors are strikingly beautiful and the illustrations make one feel as though she is in the wetlands with the girl in the book. They make you want to reach out and touch the creatures the author writes of!

Teaching Connections: For younger children, they may need help with some of the larger words in this book, so it would be best to have the teacher read this to them and the follow the reading with a discussion about the animals and their habitats (2nd grade NC curriculum).

For older students, such as fourth graders, this could be a book for them to read in order to begin their research on the wetlands or for their teacher to read to them to being a unit on such places and on conservation. The teacher could also read this book to her class and then separate them into groups and assign each group to research one of the animals in the story for that lesson.

What Students Learn: Students learn about wetlands, conservation, and many interesting creatures from this book and the activities discussed above.

Image retrieved from: http://www.thereadingwarehouse.com/thumb.php?src=products/158/9781584690702.jpg&wmax=187&hmax=187

"Where Is the Cake?"

Where Is the Cake?
Written by: N/A
Illustrated by: T.T. King
Published by: Abrams Books for Young Readers in NY in 2004
ISBN: 978-0-8109-1798-9
Genre: Picture Book
Reading Level: N/A
Ages: Grades K-4 (This book is definitely targeted more toward younger children--Kindergarten--, but could definitely be used for older students as well. Please see "Teaching Connections" below.)

Summary: This book is a complete work of solely illustrations; it is comprised of no words at all. Basically, there are a couple of people who have a cake sitting in their backyard on day while they are working and two creatures come up and take it from them. Throughout the book the rightful owners of the cake chase the thieves through the town until the cake is eventually tossed, accidentally, into the lake. Luckily, a frog retrieves it, the thieves are reprimanded, and the cake is shared with the remainder of the townspeople.

Response: I really love this book. It is so very simple, yet I feel that there is a lot a teacher could do with it.

The illustrations are wonderful and fairly humorous as only lady even bashes the thieves over the head with her pocketbook. (Make no mistake, that page is meant to be humor as well and the book is still suitable for young children.) I believe that the illustrations are watercolor and the illustrator used muted tones for his backgrounds, but more vibrant ones for his characters.

Teaching Connections: I would use this book in any K-4 classroom, but change the method I used it slightly to fit the age group. For each group I would put the book on a document scanner/projector and project the pictures onto the screen in the front of the classroom so everyone could see it. For the younger children I would have them create the storyline of the book and I would write what they suggested on the board or overhead. Then, I would make copies of it and bind it for the class as the story we created together so that they could each have their own books. Then, perhaps they could draw their own illustrations as well, since the pictures in the actual book are copyrighted. For Kindergartners, first, and second graders I would maybe only go through a couple of pages per day with them, but with the older children I would project the images on the front of the classroom, or maybe have enough copies of the book for it to be a station in my class, and have each student create his or her own story from the illustrations. I would encourage them to share their stories with the class so that we could learn how each person interprets things differently.

What Students Learn: From this book and lesson students learn right from wrong, sharing, and how to write a story (grammar, punctuation, how narratives and illustrations are linked).