Susie Wilde on Children's Books - Teacher Favorites

Published February 3, 2008

When it comes to children's books, teachers
want bang for their buck. So they love books that cover many teaching
areas at the same time. This not only saves money and time, but more
important, a book that speaks to children on a variety of subjects with
elements of science, math and language arts, for instance unifies
learning. In teacher talk this is called "crossing curriculum."

At
a continuing education class at Meredith College that I taught in
December, I brought in a slew of recently published nonfiction and
fact-based fiction books.

The
teachers arranged themselves by areas of study, and arts, science,
social studies, math and language art teams considered the books as we
whirled them around the room. The teams considered curriculum
connections and chose the books they thought most useful.

Here are their top five favorites.

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Beetle Bop

Denise Fleming

Harcourt, $16, preK-2

Bright,
bold colors stretch across double pages to portray all kinds of beetle
species, habitats, life cycles and rankings in the food chain. The
author's rhythmic text is just as colorful, as she uses gerunds,
alliteration, adjectives and more to describe the beetles' bustling
activity. The book has a 12-bar blues pattern and is a great
introduction to bop-music of the '50s. The exciting writing is a
natural lead to creating bug puppets to act out the book's wild action.
The book's patterns could give rise to graphing and sorting exercises
in mathematics.

###

Oscar and the Frog: A Book About Growing

Geoff Waring

Candlewick, $11.99, K-2

This
new series melds science and story as a cat and frog venture forth in
the world and discuss observable facts. In this book, they examine
growth as they view and discuss life cycles of frogs, fish and seeds.
The arts team found drama in the movements of characters and thought
that pairing this book with "Carnival of the Animals" by Camille
Saint-Saens would bridge literature and music. Math discussion centered
on examining elapsed time and size comparisons. The social studies
experts saw that the book could inspire timelines or studying change as
a character trait. In terms of literature, the book provides examples
of first-person narrative and clarification writing, as well as a
well-integrated text and graphics.

###

Where in the Wild? Camouflaged Creatures Concealed � and Revealed

David M. Schwartzand Yael Schy

Tricycle Press, $15.95, K-4

"Ear-tickling"
poetry, proclaims the cover and so the language arts team went nuts
over how spectacular the poetry was in both sound and sense. Each poem
is placed on a full page facing a camouflaged setting on a fold-out
page. Unfolding reveals the animal that hides within the setting. The
poems use diverse techniques, including alliteration onomatopoeia and
rhyme. Each poem includes a nonfiction element covering content areas
such as animal study, habitats and landforms, symmetry and patterns.
The arts team noted that the book includes textures and impressionistic
paintings and provides a way to study hidden musical themes.

###

One Thousand Tracings

Lita Judge

Hyperion, $15.99, 3-6

This,
the author's first book, was inspired by an attic discovery: a dusty
box holding "yellowed envelopes from all over Europe containing foot
tracings of every size." Her family had sent shoes to those in need in
postwar Europe. Her lyrical telling creates a strong personal
narrative. The social studies team loved seeing comparisons of the
United States and Europe in the postwar era, studying supply and demand
and lack of resources, and examining facets of history such as Victory
Gardens. The arts team saw a way to introduce Big Band music and talk
about the history of commercial design. Math lessons included
measurement, and science uses included discussing basic needs and how
seasons affect people.

###

Another Book About Design: Complicated Doesn't Make It Bad

Mark Gonyea

Holt, $19.95, 3-6

In
short visual chapters with playful phrasing, the graphic artist
differentiates design elements such as foreground and background and
explains how to create unity of design. Children mad for comics and
graphic novels can learn how images work. The arts team found
connections to Op Art, as well as studies of depth and perspective, use
of negative and positive spaces and computer design. The math team saw
geometric shapes, patterns and inscribed and circumscribed shapes. The
book lends itself to a scientific study of primary and secondary
colors. The language arts team noted the concise writing and sequential
organization.