Robin KoontzRezensionen

1. I would recommend this book in a lower level elementary classroom.
2.This book is a song book and goes through the story of a little toy and adds one each time. It uses counting to rhyme its poem.
3.I will definitely use and have this book in my future classroom.

Reading level: 1st-2nd grade
No Awards

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This story falls under the easy to read genre with its controlled vocabulary perfect for beginning readers. It provides factual information about a variety of different animals, which allows the book to also classify as a non-fiction information book. In the story, two very different animals are compared and contrasted. Facts are given on what makes the two animals different and what makes the two animals similar. Not only will that help extend the students' knowledge on the animals at hand, it will also model the concept of comparing/contrasting. If I were to use this book in my classroom, I would either read the book aloud or have them read in small groups. Throughout the story, I would point out the similarities and differences that the animals have. I would also highlight key words that help tell us if the trait is a similarity or difference, like "also" and "unlike" respectively. After reading the story, I would show the students how to create Venn Diagrams with the similarities in the center where each circle overlaps and the differences on the respective side of the animal that they belong to. I think this book provides the opportunity to address an important concept at an understandable and appropriate level for early readers. I truly think this would be great to use in my classroom!

A little girl - nicknamed Bug for her love of bugs - loves to draw bugs, but struggles with math. But suddenly she has incentive: "If everyone does well on the big math test tomorrow, we'll plan a trip to the science museum!" Bug wants to see the bug room at the science museum, so she tries to study, but ends up observing and drawing bugs instead - and collecting lucky crickets. But she realizes that she IS doing math when she counts clusters of insects, and she does well on the test - until her lucky crickets escape.

Bug is sweet, the teacher Mrs. Muskie is reasonably good-humored about the escaped crickets and Bug's creative way of doing math, and all's well that ends well.½

This would be a good book to introduce around the beginning of fall. It is about the harvesting of apples and would pair great with a math story problem about apples or a class field trip to an orchard so that they can learn about the way that our food grows.

discusses the process of composting, how it helps nature, how we can do it
4 books

One feature of this text I like is that, while telling the story of the hurricane, the author chose to intermix fact boxes about other things related to hurricanes. For instance, one fact box talks about how hurricanes are rated. Another one talks about how hurricanes are named. This gives the reader even more information about hurricanes in general. Another feature I liked about the book are the informative illustrations. It was a very interesting choice to include illustrations instead of photographs, but that was probably for the best. In order to keep the book child friendly, actual photographs may have been a little to graphic for young readers. The detailed black and white illustrations, however, provide a more-than-adequate visual for the students. The big message could be to show the power of human beings even in the face of extreme natural disasters.

I find it easier to work through difficult issues through books so I was impressed when my son picked out out this history of Hurricane Katrina written for children. The book does a good job of setting up the history of New Orleans' location and the necessity of levees as well as a primer on hurricanes and other storms. The details about the storm and the flooding are clear and not sugar-coated (without being overly graphic) and it does not shy away from the poor decisions of political leaders. There is also a chapter on the role that climate change played in the disaster. All in all it's a good introduction for children to one of the great tragedies of recent years, but something that may seem a long time ago to them.½

This is a fairytale because it is a retelling of a cinderella story which describes magical and imaginary settings such as when the fairy god mother comes and helps her change into a beautiful girl for the prince before midnight strikes. I could use this book to discuss how many fairytales often have retellings of classic stories such as this and that some countries retell it to their cultural setting. Another way I could use this book is to discuss the importance of being happy and ask my class what makes them happy. The media in this book is mixed media and graphic pictures.

I have mixed opinions on this book. Although this was not my favorite children’s book to read, I thought it did a very good job relaying information to the reader about pumpkin harvests. The words were simple enough for children to understand and some of the more difficult words such as harvest or sprout were put in a small glossary in the back of the book. This was a great extra textural feature in the book. The information was also paired nicely with the pictures. For example, when the book talked about how the pumpkins are planted in a row and grow on vines, the background was covered with detailed pictures showing so. The one thing I didn’t enjoy about this book was that it wasn’t very engaging. The story follows two kids going through a pumpkin patch and on each page they have a thought bubble along with the informational text. While I think the author was attempting to catch the readers attention with these, they make reading the page a little awkward, not knowing what to read first. Overall, the idea of this book was to inform the reader about pumpkin harvests, when and how it occurred and how to pick the perfect pumpkin.

Ages: 4-6
Pierce Public Library
This book is about a family that grows apples. Each year they have to harvest their apples to eat, store and make delicious food.

Told from the view of a cat, it asks why would you want a dog? (The cat claims "Dogs dig. Dogs chew. Dogs throw up in people's shoes.")

I like this book for three main reasons:

1.the minimal text makes it a book that you can slip in to a storytime session

2.the illustrations strike a perfect balance between realism and art (anatomically correct with close-up insets, but artfully and attractively presented with soft edges and complimentary backgrounds)

3.the book answers a question that interests kids
Opposing traits are presented on opposing pages,

"Can you spot the difference between a butterfly and a moth by looking at the wings? Many butterflies have wings that are covered with thousands of bright, colorful scales. The colors help the insect blend in with its surroundings. Spots on its wings can look like large eyes that scare away animals.

Most moths have dull-colored scales that match their resting places. Some moths look like wood or a leaf. This helps them blend into their surroundings."

Text box insets offer more technical information and terms,

"Some animals and insects are camouflaged. That means they are shaped or colored to match their surroundings. Camouflage helps them hide from enemies."

What's the Difference between a Butterfly and a Moth? offers seven differences between the two insects. A pictorial synopsis is included in the back matter, as well as Fun Facts, Glossary, To Learn More, and Index.

There are more books in this series.
www.shelf-employed.blogspot.com

Ages-4-6

Creepy crawly colors is full of slithering,squishing, and pouncing colorful creatures.This pop up book is very detailed in its design.Its not very long but the book is sure to amuse young children.

I think this would be a good book to read to a headstart or maybe even kindergaten because the words are understandable and the pictures of the colorful creatures are explicit.