Skippyjon Jones (2003)

     Judy Schachner's Skippyjon Jones  is packed with literacy lessons. For example, this book plays with print. Our eyes are drawn to an enlarged font that rhymes as it dances on the page: "not a mouse or a grouse . . .not a moose or a goose . . .not a rat or a bat . . ." When Skippyjon bounce-bounce-bounces higher on his big-boy bed, the word for this action also grows in a new eye-catching font. A sneeze, "aaaaAAAAAAAHHCHOOOO_PICHU!" flows across two pages. "Yip, Yippee, Yippito! It's the end of Alfredo Buzzito!" and other rhyming verses turn up in italics. The way this story plays with space is dazzling. This book helps children pay attention to print on the page.

    I was so mesmerized by this book that my Picture Book Talk had four lessons and 55 pages! Educate Engage Enrich has a "Skippyjon Jones Writing Lesson Plan" for grades 2-5; Mrs Mac and The Apples has a Skippyjon Jones Cutout Friend for the younger crowd. Teaching Talking is one of many resources that offer Fonts for Personal Use. 

the Salamander Room (1994)

      Anne Mazer's the Salamander Room is lovely practice in future possibility. On the first page, young Brian brings home a salamander he found in the forest. The rest of the story is a conversation between Brian and his mother about how Brian will care for his new pet, there are many examples of the future tense will + verb. "I will carpet my room with shiny wet leaves and water them so he can slide around and play. I will bring tree stumps into my room so he can climb up the bark and sun himself on top. And I will bring boulders that he can creep over."

    Children are expected to feel comfortable using past, present, and future verb tenses by third grade. (Durden, p. 234) TeachFirst has a basic sorting game: Present and Future Verb Tense which would be simple to expand by adding more cards. Fancy Pants Teacher has an activity specifically for this book: Visualizing with the Salamander Room. My Picture Book Talk and Study English Lessons also complement this story. 

*Unspoken (2012)

      Henry Cole's wordless picture book, Unspoken, illustrates the story of a farm girl who finds a runaway slave hiding in a barn. Afraid, thoughtful, and then compassionate, she silently helps in the way she can. When I first "read" this book, I was frightened. The fear on the face of the protagonist is palpable. However, after reading Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, I reread this book with a feeling of sheer terror. Readers and nonreaders of any age can walk through a wordless picture book. Each person will experience it differently, and this can spark conversation. A wordless picture book can bridge generations and communities.  Teach 'N Tex has a graphic organizer specifically for this book. 

   Tania McCartney shares many more wordless books at  "Wordless Picture Books and the Power of Visual Literacy."  And, there's also a two-page guide packed with suggestions at Imagistory's Guide to Using Wordless Picture Books.

    

The Ballad of Booster Bogg (2011)

     In second grade, students learn about "how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song." (Durden, p. 174) A ballad has a rhyme and tells a story--it's both poetry and narrative. ClassroomPoems.com has an example here. Good Human Project has a lesson here.

    In The Ballad of Booster Bogg, 

 "Booster Bogg 

 Is a rambling dog

Who wanders wild and free,

Through alleys and valleys

Over hill and dale

And down to the boundless sea."

Booster is a "mighty fine" dog, but four well-meaning adults fail to domesticate him. Young listeners will enjoy the poetry and large, colorful illustrations. A sprinkling of more difficult vocabulary and idiomatic expressions challenge the average reader. High potential learners can research wild dogs, many roam the world.  (Written in 2016, it's kinda fun to see how my lessons have changed since then.)

Written by Ellen Jackson, illustrated by Christine Mannone 

    

The Weatherbirds (1999)

     The Weatherbirds are stuck floating on the ocean when a giant white albatross explains, " 'You're in the doldrums, dude! . . . Yar, dudes,' said the albatross, ' down here in the doldrums, the wind doesn't blow, but there's some awesome surfing a few thousand metres up.'" Ted Dewan sprinkles his prose with alliteration--in this case dudes, down, and doldrums--lightening up a book packed with background knowledge about how weather works. The Weatherbirds travel through Europe and Africa on their way to Costa Rica in a hot air balloon. Their journey is a colorful science lesson that includes air pressure, wind, acid rain, cloud formations, snow, a tornado, and much more.

Alliteration is the use of the same consonant at the beginning of each stressed syllable, which is often the first syllable in English.  It is a way to play with letter sounds in the first grade. (Durden, p. 135)   Alliteration A-Z  illustrates alliteration with a page full of tongue twisters. 

Ben Has Something to Say (2000)

     In Ben Has Something to Say: A Story About Stuttering by Laurie Lears, readers meet Ben. Ben "did not like to talk because he stuttered." When we see him at the water fountain in school, we need to infer from his expression how he feels--and what he thinks and feels when he doesn't share in class conversations, and when he buries is nose in a book, so he won't have to speak with other children. Furthermore, we should wonder aloud about what other activities Ben may avoid. Ben teaches us about inference as we watch him understand the plight of a neglected dog. Why does Ben remove ice from the dog's water dish and replace it with fresh water? The dogs' fur is dull and matted--what does this imply? Learning about inference is one reason we talk about picture books. My Picture Book Talk for this story is here.

    More information about stuttering can be found at The Stuttering Foundation. 

What Are Friends For? (2020)

 Kindergarteners learn to "identify characters, settings, and major events in a story" (Durden, p. 104), which makes What Are Friends For? by Sally Grindley and Penny Dawn an excellent choice. Jefferson Bear looks very different than his friend Figgy Twosocks (a fox). So it's easy to identify the two characters. The setting is described and illustrated. "We share the sky and the hills and the trees," says Figgy Twosocks.  The places in the forest where these friends play help children talk about detail. The games they play will be familiar and easy for young readers to comprehend and recall. Their disagreement--the conflict in this story--is also a common occurrence for children. This story shows young readers how to dialogue about innocent mistakes, hurt feelings, and apologies. "A friend is forever," says Jefferson Bear reassuringly. You may like Miss G ELD's graphic organizer "Character, Setting Events."  My Picture Book Talk lesson for this story is here .