Monday, September 28, 2009

Maurice Sendak

Another great author is Maurice Sendak. One of my daughter's favorite books is "Where The Wild Things Are."

Where the Wild Things Are is a 1963 children's picture book by American writer Maurice Sendak, originally published by Harper & Row. The book is about the wild adventure of a boy named Max who is sent to his room without his supper by his mother as punishment for misbehaving. Max wears a distinctive wolf costume during his adventures and encounters various strange creatures, the "wild things". Although just ten sentences long, the book is generally regarded as a masterpiece of American illustrated children's literature.
Written in 1963, it was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1964. It also won the Boston globe-Horn Book Award and was an American Library Association Notable Book.

Summary: The book tells the story of Max, who one evening plays around his home, "making mischief" in a wolf costume by chasing the dog with a fork and growling at his mother. As punishment, his mother sends him to bed without supper. In his room, a mysterious, wild forest grows out of his imagination, and Max journeys to the land of the Wild Things. The Wild Things are fearsome-looking monsters, but Max conquers them "by staring into their yellow eyes without blinking once", and he is made "the King of all Wild Things". However, he soon finds himself lonely and homesick, and he returns home to his bedroom, where he finds his supper waiting for him, still hot.

Shortcut to see the book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Where_The_Wild_Things_Are.jpg

Tomie de Paola

Tomie de Paola
Tomie de Paola was born in Meriden, Connecticut in 1934. At age 4, he knew he wanted to become a writer and an illustrator. His mother was an avid book lover and read to him and his brother often. As a child, de Paola would illustrate the books his mother read to him.
By age 10, de Paola was writing books for his younger sisters' birthdays. One of these books was Glimmera, the Story of a Mermaid.
He often draws upon his own childhood experiences in writing books; his Italian grandmother was the model for the grandmother in Watch Out for the Chicken Feet in Your Soup.
Tomie de Paola has published over 200 children’s books over the past 35 years, and has won numerous awards, including both a Caldecott Honor Award, and a Newbery Honor Award. A prolific writer, he has written up to four children's books in a single year.
Tomie de Paola now lives in New Hampshire in a large renovated 200-year-old barn with his four dogs.
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/contributor.jsp?id=3126

The Cloud Book- This fun filled book teaches children about the 10 most common clouds.
Here is a lesson plan to go along with the book “The Cloud Book” by T. de Paola
http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/ylp/Units/Curriculum_Units/95-96/Weather_GChung/cloud_cloud.html
Clouds! Clouds! Clouds!
Title: Clouds! Clouds! Clouds!Subject: Language Arts and ScienceGrade Level: 1/2 grade -- AprilTeacher of Lesson: Gina ChungApproximate Time: 45 minutes to an hour
Objectives
Students will recall the names and descriptions of different types of clouds in a student-generated list.
Students will create a cloud book that depicts the different types of clouds they have learned.
This website http://perfectmelody.tripod.com/readingcomprehensionlessonplanthecloudbookbytomiedepaola/
gives you a reading comprehension lesson using the book
"The Cloud Book"
Click on the shortcut to see an image of the book.
http://www.librarything.com/work/96160

Monday, September 21, 2009

Chapter 3: Understanding What We Read

What I got our of this chapter is that comprehension, vocabulary, and discussion are all a part of learning. In order to comprehend what we read we need to be able to read and understand the vocabulary. From the time we are born to our adulthood we are acquiring vocabulary in order to understand what people are saying. We rely on this stored vocabulary when we are reading. We use discussion to discuss what we read to show whether or not we comprehend and or understand the meaning of what we read. We need to think.

Two New Authors

Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "The Snow Queen", "The Little Mermaid", "Thumbelina", "The Little Match Girl", and the "The Ugly Duckling".
During his lifetime he was acclaimed for having delighted children worldwide, and was feted by royalty. His poetry and stories have been translated into more than 150 languages. They have inspired motion pictures, plays, ballets, and animated films.
“The Ugly Duckling” is a Caldecott Honor Book and one of family’s favorite story.
This book can be used to teach children about morals and judging others. Just because someone is a little different from you or anyone else doesn’t mean they should be treated badly. Click on the following address and it will take you to a picture of the book. Sorry I have been unable to put pictures on this blog site. If anyone knows how to do it let me know. Thanks.
http://www.amazon.com/Ugly-Duckling-Caldecott-Honor-Book/dp/068815932X/ref=cm_syf_dtl_pl_6_rdssss0

Another favorite author of my family is Beatrix Potter.
She was an English author who was best known for her best-selling children's books that featured animal characters, such as Peter Rabbit.
This website http://wiredforbooks.org/kids/beatrix/p1.htm tells the story of Peter Rabbit with illustrations.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter (28 July 1866 – 22 December 1943). The story follows a mischievous and disobedient young rabbit named Peter as he ventures into the garden of Mr. McGregor. Click on the address below and it takes you to the original picture of the orginal book by B. Potter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Peter_Rabbit_first_edition_1902a.jpg

Monday, September 14, 2009

2 Childrens Authors

Ezra Jack Keats
Keats is best known for introducing multiculturalism into mainstream American children's literature. He was one of the first children’s book authors in the English-speaking world to use an urban setting for his stories, and he developed the use of collage as a medium for illustration.
The book featuring Peter, The Snowy Day, received the prestigious Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished picture book for children in 1963.
It features a little boy named Peter exploring his neighborhood after the first snowfall of the season.
The inspiration for Peter came from a Life magazine photo article from 1940, and Keats' desire to have minority children of New York as central characters in his stories. Peter appears in six more books growing from a small boy in The Snowy Day to pre-adolescence in Letter to Amy.
The Snowy Day

Author Ezra Jack Keats

Illustrator Ezra Jack Keats

Country United States

Genre(s) Children's picture book

Publication date 1962

ISBN
0-14-050182

http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/characters/book-thesnowyday.html
This website http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/characters/book-thesnowyday.html has some good teacher resources to use for activities to go with The Snowy Day.

Robert Munsch-
Official website for Robert Munsch is http://www.robertmunsch.com/
"I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living, My baby you'll be."This is the quiet song a mother sings to her newborn son as she gently rocks him back and forth -- he is so sweet and quiet, so good. As the boy passes through the Terrible Twos, the Picky Preteens and Awkward Adolesence, he is not always sweet or quiet or good. He's often just the opposite. Even so, his mother sometimes sneaks into his room and rocks him, no matter big he gets, and sings him the same song.
I tried putting the picture of the books but they wouldn't copy and paste like they did on word.
Two very good books.

Chapter 2

Meeting the needs of all learners is important so that you are able to differentiate your instruction/lesson for each child. Knowing your students influences how you teach them, the books you use, the materials you use. We need to also integrate multicultural diversity in our classrooms. We need to let each student know that whatever their culture is it is acceptable. Children need to learn about other cultures to better understand each other.