I read this for a school-age storytime. It's an epistolary story told completely through letters, primarily from Arfy the dog who is searching for a nI read this for a school-age storytime. It's an epistolary story told completely through letters, primarily from Arfy the dog who is searching for a new owner. There's a great back-and-forth between Arfy and each household who denies him until ultimately he receives a happy ending with an owner. It's great to demonstrate the different ways letters can look and how mail works. The kids really liked this book, and they used clues from the pictures to guess whether or not the house to which Arfy was writing would reply yes or no....more
Creators Kelly DiPucchio and Christian Robinson collaborated on Gaston and its sister book Antionette, both chaI read this for a school-age storytime.
Creators Kelly DiPucchio and Christian Robinson collaborated on Gaston and its sister book Antionette, both characters who appear in each other's story. Antoinette is about a poodle pup in a French bulldog family who doesn't know what her special skill is. One day at the park, a poodle family loses one of its puppies, and Antoinette searches and searches and tracks down the pup, ultimately running into La Louvre and saving the puppy from a perilous fall. Years later, she has a family with Gaston and is the best police dog in Paris.
I like this book. Thematically, it is different from Gaston. This one is more about believing in yourself, I think? I like Gaston better than Antionette, and so did most of the kids. Interestingly, this one was published in 2017, and Gaston was published in 2014; I think this one could have tried to parallel the other book a little more to connect them, but it was fine....more
Creators Kelly DiPucchio and Christian Robinson collaborated on Gaston and its sister book Antionette, both chaI read this for a school-age storytime.
Creators Kelly DiPucchio and Christian Robinson collaborated on Gaston and its sister book Antionette, both characters who appear in each other's story. Gaston is about a French bulldog pup who doesn't quite "look" like he belongs to his poodle family, so when they encounter Antionette's French bulldog family, he and poodle Antionette swap places. However, just because it looks right, it doesn't feel right, and they miss their original families. Ultimately, family and belonging is about how it feels, not how it looks. And, the end fast forwards to Gaston and Antionette having puppies. This book takes place in Paris.
I really love this book. At first, the kids thought Gaston was a bunny, until I explained they're intended to be French bulldogs (but yes, they do look like bunnies). I liked how one kid noted, "Gaston doesn't like to rough-house with the other bulldogs because that's not the behavior he learned." In terms of the writing, I love the names of the dogs, and I also like when DiPucchio writes, "Would you like to see them again?"
In terms of how this connects with Antoinette: I like Gaston better than Antionette, and I think this one does a better job of connecting the two books. Interestingly, this one was published in 2014, and Antoinette was published in 2017; I would have expected the other one to come first based off the feel of the reading experience....more
I read this for a school-age storytime. I read both this and Jon Klassen's The Rock From the Sky.
It Fell From the Sky has gorgeous monochromatic illusI read this for a school-age storytime. I read both this and Jon Klassen's The Rock From the Sky.
It Fell From the Sky has gorgeous monochromatic illustrations and selective use of color. The story is about greed and features a spider who gatekeeps access to seeing the wonder-ful marble. It seems this story is best suited to an older child, such as elementary age.
It's fun to read this alongside The Rock From the Sky because there is much to compare and contrast about these stories, such as the themes, the illustrations, and the narrative. For the craft, we did plastic "discovery jars" and each kid got to choose a rock, a marble, and a feather that we inspected with a magnifying glass and added to our jars. I told them that they could add future wonders and discoveries they found to their jars....more
I read this for a school-age storytime. I read this alongside Terry and Eric Fan's It Fell From the Sky.
The Rock from the Sky is an off-beat pictureboI read this for a school-age storytime. I read this alongside Terry and Eric Fan's It Fell From the Sky.
The Rock from the Sky is an off-beat picturebook split into five sections of mini-stories that work together to create a larger narrative. It's a little longer and definitely best for an older child, such as elementary age. It features suspense, dialogue, and subverting expectations. There are lots of activities and worksheets available through Candlewick Press, so I definitely recommend checking out those free resources online, as well as watching Jon Klassen's few-minute interview about this book (in which he describes his inspiration for this story, like Alfred Hitchcock's work).
It's fun to read this alongside It Fell From the Sky because there is much to compare and contrast about these stories, such as the themes, the illustrations, and the narrative. For the craft, we did plastic "discovery jars" and each kid got to choose a rock, a marble, and a feather that we inspected with a magnifying glass and added to our jars. I told them that they could add future wonders and discoveries they found to their jars....more
I read this for a School Age Circle Time for 5-8 year olds. (The kids I had for this session were all 6 years old.)
This book is not just a book but a I read this for a School Age Circle Time for 5-8 year olds. (The kids I had for this session were all 6 years old.)
This book is not just a book but a game. The one girl had read this before, and when she saw I would be reading it, she FLIPPED OUT (in a good way). But, I was able to show her something new she hadn't seen about this book though: the image beneath the dust jacket printed on the actual hard cover. (If you know, you know.)
Everyone had fun voting for their predictions (including the parents, who would knowingly vote for the wrong answer). It's filled with silly and energetic humor from the book's host/narrator, Mr. McMonkey. And, the ending is designed to "trick" the reader.
I would have given this 3 stars on my own, but based on how much the kids loved this book, I bumped it up to a 4 stars....more
I read this for a school-age storytime for ages 5-8. I knew the kids would love this one, and they did! There are so many things June 14, 2023 Reread:
I read this for a school-age storytime for ages 5-8. I knew the kids would love this one, and they did! There are so many things to point out about this book, such as the art style and how it contributes to the mood. Plus, it's just really fun to read in a creepy voice. I like how the endpapers in the beginning are similar but different to the endpapers in the back: there are still three "alive" carrots among all the normal carrots, but at the end they're happy because their plan worked! My favorite comment: on the back endpapers, one girl said to me, "The rabbit ate all the carrots in this middle spot so all these words [the copyright information] had room to go."
After finishing the book, I did a story sequencing activity with them. I made cards for the different plot elements in the book and we put them in order together. Then we made a creepy carrot for a craft. There are lots of ideas on the internet on Creepy Carrots-related lessons and activities, so I definitely recommend looking around online for more ways to extend the reading.
March 24, 2023 Original review:
I like this one a lot. The narrative will be better suited to an older young reader (probably kindergarten and up), but the pictures can be enjoyed by any age. They are creepy but not terrifying. Plus, I loved the ending. Love the black border around each page's edges and the color scheme give this the air of a vintage horror film....more
I read this for a school-age storytime for ages 5-8. While I really enjoy this book because it is a true work of art, admittedly June 14, 2023 Reread:
I read this for a school-age storytime for ages 5-8. While I really enjoy this book because it is a true work of art, admittedly I can see it being "boring" for kids but I chose to read this anyway because I wanted to challenge them and see how they interacted with it. When choosing books for my storytime, I make a point to include books with humans, even though it's the animal protagonists who tend to be more popular.
I was so pleasantly surprised with how the kids interacted with this. I leaned into the Whole Book Approach, taking time to study the cover and look beneath the dust jacket first. The story is fairly simple--about a girl and her grandmother picking berries--but the illustrations are so vivid and lush. There are a lot of "hidden" animals on each page, so I encouraged the kids to spot them, and I also prompted them to think about why the creator of the book made certain choices, such as the characters physically blending in with nature. During other pages, I pointed out certain phrases in the text and asked them what in the picture it pertained to. The best part: at the end, when the girl character is older and takes her little sister into the forest, there was a gasp as one kid realized that THAT was who was on the cover beneath the dust jacket: the girl grown up and continuing the cycle. My heart was full after sharing this book with them and I love it even more now!
February 22, 2023 Original review:
This book is a true work of art. Lush, vibrant, alive illustrations, and a story with wonderful roots near and dear to the creator's heart. A pleasure to read....more
I read this for a school-age storytime, and I enjoyed reading this with the kids so much that I read it again the next day for a July 28, 2023 reread:
I read this for a school-age storytime, and I enjoyed reading this with the kids so much that I read it again the next day for a preschool storytime. This is such a great book with a handful of literary allusions to Alice in Wonderland. I love the way the endpapers are a part of the story, and I was able to keep even the youngest kids engaged by telling them that there was a rabbit on every page for them to find. It's just a wonderful story with incredible illustrations. On the last page of the family, I love how there are elements of all the different places she visited. Great!!
February 6, 2023 Original review:
A simple, lovely book about a bored girl who traverses the planet through the transportive magic of reading....more
I read this for a School Age Circle Time for 5-8 year olds. (The kids I had for this session were all 6 years old.) I am excited tJune 7, 2023 reread:
I read this for a School Age Circle Time for 5-8 year olds. (The kids I had for this session were all 6 years old.) I am excited to be offering an "older" storytime this summer so I can share books like this which wouldn't work as well with my typical preschool group. This one is a little longer, and the kids were getting a little restless at the end but hung in there like champs through our thoughtful discussions.
I was really impressed with everything the kids picked up on with this book. There was a lot to talk about, from the way graph paper is used throughout the book, to the recurring imagery of the flowers and what they represent for Aaron, and even the "Easter egg" of seeing other beloved characters in Aaron's class, including Ada, Rosie, Sophia, and Iggy. (I wasn't sure that the kids would have read any other Questioneer books before, but they exclaimed "Ada!" as soon as she appeared.) I loved hearing the kids' thoughts about the story, and at the end we chatted a little bit about dyslexia. So happy I got to share this one with them!
April 8, 2022 Original review:
Words are written in a rhyme scheme. Delivers the story of Aaron from toddler to grade two, in which he is still struggling to read with his dyslexia but loves stories and drawing. The illustrations: I love David Roberts' cartoonish drawing style and the imaginative way he uses watercolor and colored pencil. I appreciated the author's note at the end in which she included a discussion and learning challenges like dyscalculia and ADD. Awesome!...more
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