Falling For Rapunzel

Falling for Rapunzel

Written by: Leah Wilcox

Illustrated by: Lydia Monks

Puffin, 2005

32 Pages

 

​In this story, Wilcox takes the beloved Rapunzel story and twists it into a brand new outlook. When a nearby prince hears Rapunzel’s cry from afar, he races to save her only to find she had been crying over her un-silky hair. The princes calls for her to throw down her long flowing locks, but she is so far up, she thinks he is in need of a pair of socks! What else will this crazy story lead to?

 

​The illustrations in the book make the story even more hilarious. Monks adds in a few extra things to giggle at, like the modern cities and airplanes in the back ground, and even a familiar story book character or two. The illustrations are very bright, fun, and cartoon like. Some of the images in the pictures are extremely textured, with realistic patterns mixed in with the fantasy-like drawings.

 

​I would use this story for a math game with a small group in a younger grade. I would have them count the number of forest animals they found throughout the story and then document them and compare answers between group members. This story would be a fun science experiment when learning about how far distance travels. I would have the class go outside and get a far distance away, as far as Rapunzel’s tower was up in the air. Once a good distance apart, I would have one student yell a sentence, and see if the other student understands what the first student had said. I would keep a document of the funny answers to share once we returned to the classroom. I would also to a language arts activity and have the students compare and contrast the well know Rapunzel story to this new quirky Rapunzel story!

The Princess and the Pig

The Princess and the Pig

Written by: Jonathan Emmett

Illustrated by: Poly Bernatene

Walker Children’s, 2011

32 Pages

 

​Emmett uses a very different approach in this fun and fancy fairytale, a young princess somehow exchanges lives with a little down on the farm piglet. The King and Queen are beyond furious, while the farmer and his wife are thrilled for their new blessing, forgetting the girl was ever a pig. The princess grows up happy and free on the little farm, but the tiny pig does not have the same fate. The King and Queen have a lot on their hands trying to make a miserable pig a lovely princess. How will the little pig ever be happy?

 

​The illustrations in this story are very surreal digital drawings. The colors and lines really set the mood for this whimsical fairytale. Bernatene uses a great deal of detail to make sure the very different lifestyles of the Royals and the farmers are captured. The princess’ carefree life is truly shown, while the little pig’s sadness and chaos is as plain as day in the pictures.

 

​I would use this book for a language arts activity, of course, it’s a fairytale! I give a quick book talk and then have my students write a short essay about what they think caused the princess and the pig to switch places before we read the story. I would let some of them share their ideas to document on the board while we read. I would read this book before doing a science experiment based off of how the pig and princess got switched. I would ask, is it really possible for the pig to fly back up that high from the force of the princess hitting the haystack?

I would also use this book for a Reader’s Theater play. Have the students read the story in small group and give out parts such as; farmer, princess, pig, narrator, queen, etc….  The students could even rewrite the story where the princess and the pig never switch places. What would the pig’s life be like? How would the princess be different?

Poetry: Water Sings Blue

Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems

Written by: Kate Coombs

Illustrated by: Meilo So

Chronicle Books, 2013

36 Pages

 

​In this collection of poems, Kate Coombs depicts the essence of the beach with such beautiful  words. In the 23 poems of this book, you get the full beach experience complete with a little bit of fun and humor. One of most beautiful poems in the story is “Song of the Boat”. In this poem Coombs describes the stillness of the ocean and the calmness away from the shore. In “Sea Urchin” you see Coombs humorous side when a sea urchin falls in love with a fork. No matter the type or length of the poem, the words flow right off the page with ease and grace.

​Meilo So uses lovely blues and pastels to illustrate the story. The pictures of this book were the first thing that caught my eye. Every page is filled is gorgeous watercolor paintings from the shores of the beach to the bottom of the ocean. So captures the beautiful words Coombs wrote with her paintings. The words of the poems are placed thoughtfully so that they do not take away from the illustrations. After closing the book, the whimsical images of the ocean are still with you, leaving you with a feeling of calmness and an urge to take a trip to the beach.

​I would use this book throughout a science class when learning about sea creatures because this book contains several different types. The illustrations would give the students an idea of the size of the creatures, like the whale from “Blue Whale” hovering above a shipwreck. I would use this book for a language arts lesson and have students write their own poem about their favorite part of the beach. I would encourage them to use whimsical words and throw in some nonsense words too.  I would use this for a math lesson as well by having the students find how many different animals there are throughout the book and how many of each one.

This book won the 2013 Hopkins Poetry Award.

Poetry: Sticks n' Stones n' Dinosaur Bones

Sticks n’ Stones n’ Dinosaur Bones

Written by Ted Enik

Illustrated by G.F. Newland

Pixel Mouse House, 2013

42 Pages

 

​Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh are two paleontologists from the late 1800’s that are competing to find the very best dinosaur bones in an era known as “The Bone Wars”. In this very whimsical book, you follow these “instant enemies” while they do the unthinkable to each other just to get ahead in the paleontology world. To what ends will they go to just to find the biggest bones of these prehistoric creatures? Using clever rhymes, Ted Enik captures the revenge seeking bone diggers true selves and uncovers the world of paleontology.This is the first book of Enik’s Unhinged History Book series, so keep your eye out for more coming soon!

 

​G.F. Newland captures the rivalry of Cope and Marsh perfectly in his beautiful and fun illustrations of the prehistoric story. He goes back and forth between soft colors and bold colors. Some pages are light, like they were colored softly with colored pencils. The rest of the pages are brighter and the lines are thicker. These images look like they were drawn with acrylics. Newland does an amazing job at putting the story into action. No two pages are ever the same in this book. Every page is drawn out specifically to what is happening in the text. Some pages are very detailed with newspaper articles and creative backgrounds, while others are simple and straight to the point. G.F. Newland never disappoints in his illustrations, and this book is no different. You are sure to be entranced in the fantasy-like pictures of the book!

 

​This book would be a wonderful book to use during a science or history lesson when learning about the dinosaurs. I would use this book to explain the time era that dinosaur bones were really starting to be studied more deeply. Not only is it informational, but it is a different take on just an everyday story about a historical event. This book would also be beneficial when talking about paleontologist and what they do.  I would also use this book to familiarize the students with a poetic writing and rhyming, since this is not just a typical book of poetry and has an actual plot. I would use this book as a writing activity as well. I would use it as a prompt and example before having the students create a poetic story about their favorite time of history.

Poetry: It's Weird to Grow a Beard

                   

 

 It’s Weird To Grow A Beard

Written and Illustrated by Neal Fox

CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2013

60 pages

Children’s Poetry

 

​If you are in the need of a good laugh or a silly story, It’s Weird To Grow a Beard is sure to do the trick. In this book there are 17 different poems that are sure to make you fall in love with their goofy characters. The poems range from a cat trying to sing with a frog stuck in its throat to a sandwich so tall that an astronut could take a nap on it! This book teaches children about friendships, rhyme, and good deeds all while teaching them how to grow the most bizarre beard ever seen!

 

​The illustrations in this book are very simple. They are done mostly on a computer based program, and with ink. The pictures are very bright and bold, with colors like fire engine red and granny smith apple green pouring throughout the book. Neal Fox is the illustrator of all 39 images throughout the book. The illustrations are the focal point on most of the pages with the text wrapping around them. The fun images go right along with his whimsical poems.

 

​I would use the peom about the mile high sandwich in an upper grade math or science measurement lesson. I would have the students figure out the actual distance from earth to the moon then convert it into miles, or simply find it in miles. Then we could figure out how many feet it would be, then inches and so on and so on. I would also use these these poems in a Kindergarten or 1st grade lesson about rhyming words. I would print the peoms off onto separate pieces of paper and have the students highlight the rhyming words. Lastly, I woud use the “It’s Weird To Grow A Beard” peom for a writing activity in a third or fourth grade classroom. I would have the students create a new stanza of the peom with new things coming out from this mans whacky beard, then let them illustrate and share with the class!