The Book Search

I'm always surprised when kids think that picture books are just for little kids.  Many of the picture books that are coming out have complicated story lines and big vocabulary, which may or may not be appropriate for really little kids.  The ones in this review are meant for really little kids. The first one is by one of my favorite authors, Henry Cole.  We had an author's visit from Henry back in April and my students talked about it for weeks.  He is very engaging and so much fun.  His latest picture book is called "Spot, the cat".  It's a wordless picture book and tells the story of a day when boy leaves the window open and his cat goes out for walk.  The pictures are black and white pen and ink drawings and are so detailed that this book probably won't make a good read aloud, you need to be able to take your time and examine the pictures closely so you can see every little thing.  I suspect this one will want to be read several times, over ...

Don't you just love a good picture book?  They have a power all their own.  Even the biggest kids can be held captive by a good picture book and often a good picture book can make a point more quickly and effectively than a chapter book or even a short passage.  Here are a few that might help you make a point. The first one is called "The Storybook Knight".  It's by Helen Docherty and if there was ever a cuter knight, it's hard to picture.  Leo is a prince who's parents really want him to be a knight.  Leo would really prefer to read.  The day comes when his parents hand him a sword and a shield and say "Get going" so Leo gets on his faithful horse Ned (who appears to always be hungry) and goes out to hunt the dragon.  When Leo starts to find some of the dangerous creatures he's been reading about, he has a different plan for fighting them than maybe his parents had in mind.  It has a great message about being true to yourself and the power...

Today we had an author visit from Henry Cole.  Henry Cole is an amazing illustrator as well as a terrific author-he's written and illustrated over 100 books!  We got ready for his visit by reading some of his picture books like these. This one is a  wordless picture book about the Underground Railroad.  This is one of my favorites to show kids that picture books are awesome.  Even for really big kids.   Or this one about Caroline who moves to a new neighborhood and is inspired to create a wildlife sanctuary in her yard.  My students loved this one! This one made us think about Henry as a researcher and writer, just like us!   My little kids loved this one that was really about point of view.  We did a little project where we traced our hands-their little ones and my big one.  They thought that was hilarious! My bigger kids can't wait to start reading this brand new one by Henry! And the bigger...