The Colors of Us

The Colors of Us

By: Karen Katz

Age: 4-8

The Color of Us  is a book multicultural book about a girl named Lena.  Lena talks about the people in her life and the color skin that they have.  She does not assign colors like black or white but rather cinnamon, honey, leaves in fall, and more.  Lena discusses how each person is different and special.  

Theme: Multiculturalism is an important aspect of this book in the sense that it teaches children that there is no such thing as just black and white.

About the Author:
Karen Katz is a true artist at heart.  She has worked designing costumes, doing graphic design, been a fabric artist, and has been a quilt maker.  She believes that these careers have helped her in becoming a children's book author and illustrator.  Ultimately, her inspiration for writing children's book was her daughter, who she adopted from Guatemala.  
 

Pre-Reading Activities:

Have children look at their skin color then tell them to look at their friends.  Do you and your friends have the same color skin?  Have a discussion with them that nobody is the same color and we are not simply back or white.  To deeper explain this to the students, show them a piece of white paper and a piece of black paper.  Do you know anybody that has this color skin?

Post-Reading Activities:  
Have students decide what color they are and what some things are that may match their skin color.  Then, gather paint or multicultural markers/paper and have students  create a self-portrait to display within the classroom.

Counting Kisses

Counting Kisses

By: Karen Katz

Ages: Infant - Preschool

This is a book that uses the story of a mother and her baby to encourage counting.  Starting at ten, the mother counts down to one.  In doing this, each number is associated with different types of kisses. 


Theme: This book teaches students about counting in a loving way.

About the Author:
Karen Katz is a true artist at heart.  She has worked designing costumes, doing graphic design, been a fabric artist, and has been a quilt maker.  She believes that these careers have helped her in becoming a children's book author and illustrator.  Ultimately, her inspiration for writing children's book was her daughter, who she adopted from Guatemala.

Pre-Reading Activities:
Have students discuss who they say goodnight too and how they do this.  Students will have the opportunity to share their bedtime rituals as well as hear others. 

Post-Reading Activities:
Students can look around the classroom to find different things they want to count.  Students can use one object or assign different objects to different numbers.  After, students should count their objects and can draw pictures to go along with it.

Mouse Paint

Mouse Paint

By: Ellen Stoll Walsh

Ages: Infant - Preschool

Mouse Paint is a great book to help children learn about colors.  Mice play in paint and in doing so, they mix the colors.  This leads to the creation of new colors.  Students are excited to see what colors blue and red make, yellow and blue, and yellow and red. 

Theme: This story focus on colors and how to make new colors.

About the Author: 
Ellen Stoll Walsh both writes and illustrates her books.  She first started writing books for her son and then decided to share her books with other children.  Growing up Walsh was exposed to literature by her mother.  They would cuddle in bed together and her mother would read books; she would change her voice to imitate different characters.

Pre-Reading Activity:

Have students make predictions about what they think will happen in the book.  Then, as the teacher is reading, have student predict what colors will be made.  Students should also be encouraged to name each color they see.

Post-Reading Activity:
Have students do their own painting.  Students can use paint, or colors transparencies, to try to mix different colors.  Students can experiment to see what colors make new colors. 

Chryanthemum

Chrysanthemum 

By: Kevin Henkes

Ages: 4-8

Chrysanthemum is a book about a girl who loved her name until she went to school and her classmates made fun of her name.  Chrysanthemum ends up learning her name is as great as her parents have told her when a teacher all the students adore says she likes the name. 

Theme: Social-emotional is a theme of this book when it teaches students to be proud of who they are.

About the Author:
Kevin Henkes became a writer and illustrator when he was nineteen years old, his first book was published in 1981.  He now lives with his wife, son, and daughter.  He has his drawing table in his own studio where he does his where he continues to work.

Pre-Reading Activity:
Have students talk about their names.  Students should be encouraged to talk about what they like about their name, if they are named after anyone in their family, ect. 

Post-Reading Activity:
Help students look up the meaning of their name.  Also, have students count how many letters are in their name and compile a graph with the class.

Hands Are Not For Hitting

Hands Are Not for Hitting

By: Martine Agassi

Illustrated by: Marieka Heinlen

Ages: 3-6

Hands Are Not for Hitting is a great book for young students who have problems learning not to hit.  This book shows students a variety of things they can do with their hands, besides hit.  Students love this book because they can try each activity as it is being read to them.

Theme: Social-emotional skills are taught within this book when children are learning different things they can do with their hands.

About the Author:
Martine Agassi is a clinical therapist and an experience behavior consultant.  She writes this book and a variety of books like it to help children learn positive things that they can do with their hands, teeth, ect.

Pre-Reading Activity:
Have students brainstorm a variety of things that they can with their hands.  Students will be excited when they see the things they listed repeated in the book.

Post-Reading Activity:
Provide situations for the students and ask them what they would do (ex. If a friend takes the toy you were playing with, what would you do?).  Students will show that they know what to do in a situation that makes them angry. 

Stranger in the Woods

 

Stranger in the Woods

By: Carl R. Sams II & Jean Stoick

Grade K-4

Awards:  

2002 Early Childhood News Director's Choice Award 

2001 International Reading Association Award in the Younger Reader Category 

Benjamin Franklin Award for Best Children's Picture Book.

There is a big snowstorm in the woods.  After the snow has fallen, the animals spot a creature they do not recognize. They warn each other before they decide who will go and check it out.  When they do, they realize that there is food waiting for them.  This is a great book to help teach students about the variety of animals that live in the forest during the winter.  Students can look at real photographs of animals opposed to the drawings they see in most books.

Theme: Winter and wildlife are the main themes of this book.  Students learn about what animals live in a winter wonderland.


About the Authors: 
Carl R. Sams II & Jean Stoick are award winning photographers.  They used their pictures as inspiration for this book.   The couple has explored Northern America and have taken a variety of pictures in these places to share with the world. 


Pre-Activity: 
Teach students about different types of animals that live in the forests even when it is cold and snowy out.  What season is this?  Who do you think the stranger is?

Post-Activity: 
If there is snow, have the students get into groups and make their own snowman.  Provide materials for the students to use for their snowman.  If there is no snow, have the students use materials in the classroom to make their own snowman.  Have them draw different things that they could use to feed the animals in the woods.

One Mitten

 

One Mitten
By: Kristine O'Connell George

Illustrated By: Maggie Smith

Preschool-Grade 1

One Mitten is one of my students favorite books.  The book is about a girl who uses her imagination to use one mitten in a variety of ways.  When she finds the matching mitten, she goes on to discover more things she can do with her mittens.  Students enjoy this book because they can relate to the girl and it encourages them to use their imagination. 

Theme: Imagination is an important part of this book by teaching children that they can pretend that different objects are anything.

About the Author: 
Kristine O'Connell George fell in love with children's poetry when she took a class at UCLA.  The class was taught by Myra Cohn Livingston who became her mentor.  Along with writing children's poetry and books, George "served as poetry consultant for PBS's Storytime, is a board member for the Children's Literature Council of Southern California, and received an International Reading Association "Celebrate Literacy" award from the Foothill Reading Council." Finally, she is "member of educational and writers' organizations including PEN and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators." George is now a teacher at UCLA and loves to share her passion for children's literature.

Pre-Reading Activity:

Gather students around to discuss how they pretend.  The teacher can ask students what they like to pretend to be and what they like to pretend to do.  Also, the teacher can point out objects around the classroom that they know the students pretend play with.

Post-Reading Activity:

After reading the book, gather a variety of different objects.  Students should be encouraged to use their imaginations to come up with things they can do with each specific object. (This can also be used as assessment to see that students are using their imagination).