Picture Book Month: Hunters of the Great Forest

Hunters of the Great Forest
by Dennis Nolan
Roaring Brook Press (October 28, 2014)
Audience: Ages 4 to 8 years old
Reviews: Publisher's Weekly | Kirkus
IndieBound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads:
On a warm night, a band of hunters sets out on a journey. As they travel over hills, through thickets of trees, and around mountains, nothing will keep them from their ultimate goal. What that goal is may surprise you. Dennis Nolan's remarkable, imaginative illustrations lead the way in this wordless picture book about an epic journey.

Wordless Picture Books:
I love wordless picture books.  When done well, wordless picture books should be read multiple times because each time will result in the reader noticing new details and having a slightly different understanding of the story. Wordless picture books can also make any reader feel successful. It doesn't matter if someone is a confident reader or not. A wordless picture book is not a simpler book just because it has no words. Instead, the reader must spend time looking at all of the details in order to not miss important elements of the story. 

Dennis Nolan imaginative story of tiny hunters forging out into the world is a delightful read. With each reading, I have discovered new details and developed a deeper appreciation for the level of storytelling contained within the pages of this book. 

Hunters of the Great Forest is among one of my favorite wordless picture books of 2014. Check out the Macmillan Publisher page to see some interior shots of this book.

November is Picture Book Month and I am excited to share a different picture book each day this month.

So, what are some of the wordless picture books that are your favorites?

November is Picture Book Month

November is picture book and for a picture book fanatic this is a good thing. For more information about Picture Book month and for great posts, check out Picture Book Month A Celebration.

I am celebrating the month of November and Picture Book Month with a picture book #bookaday post.  Each day, I will post a fiction and nonfiction picture book selection of the day.   

Kid Sheriff and the Terrible Toads
by Bob Shea; Illustrated by Lane Smith
Roaring Brook Press (October 2014)
Audience: Ages 4 to 8
IndieBound | WorldCat
Activity Guide

Description from GoodReads:
Drywater Gulch has a toad problem. Not the hop-down-your-britches, croaking-all-night toad kind of problem. The thievin', hootin' and hollerin', steal-your-gold never-say-thank-you outlaw toad kind of problem.
 
Then hope rides into town. Sheriff Ryan might only be seven years old, and he might not know much about shooting and roping. But he knows a lot about dinosaurs. Yes, dinosaurs. And it turns out that knowing a thing or two about paleontology can come in handy when it comes to hoodwinking and rounding up a few no-good bandits. From Bob Shea and Lane Smith comes this hilarious picture book, Kid Sheriff and the Terrible Toads. 

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Some books are just a fun read and Kid Sheriff and the Terrible Toads is simply an enjoyable read. Check out Mr. Schu's Watch.Connect.Read post for additional information and a link to an interview with author Bob Shea by Colby Sharp.  

How are you celebrating Picture Book Month?

Apples, Pumpkins & Read Alouds

When I first began teaching, October was the month where I focused on apples, pumpkins and leaves. Despite being in Southern California and the temperatures sometimes being in the 80's in October, I was still a New Englander at heart. I wanted students to experience some of the things that made me think of fall. 

Several weeks ago, one of the teachers I work with and I spoke about working together on a special lesson. Her students were studying apples. Here was an opportunity for me to look for some new and revisit some old books about apples to find the perfect one to read aloud for her class. My twitter friends (Carrie Gelson, Paul Hankins, Mary Ann Scheuer, Cathy Potter, and a few others) were great at recommending a number of titles. After looking at so many books, I fell in love with Apple Pie ABC by Alison Murray (Disney-Hyperion, 2011).

I loved the phrases and vocabulary in this book.  It would be perfect for what I wanted to do. Of course, it was no surprise that students loved the book.  With a little effort on my part, I found a book that worked perfectly as a read aloud and could be an instructional opportunity. However, students thought of it just as a book that we were having fun reading. 

After reading the book, we had fun making a special snack. Since apple pie can be a bit time consuming to make and requires a lot of equipment (like an oven) that we don't have at school, I thought about another option - Apple Nachos. Yum! Thank you Alethea for introducing me to Apple Nachos. Here is the original recipe from Allyson Kramer, and check out this great post where Alethea created more variations.

I love that the recipe is really simple and we could talk about some great action words like slice, arrange, drizzle, and sprinkle. 

It appears that Apple Nachos are so good that students couldn't help licking their plates. 

After enjoying our apple snack, we gathered around to generate some words and phrases to describe how they tasted. Students would be able to use these words and phrases later for journaling.

At the end of the day, I received a special text message from the teacher. Students had told her "we don't want to go home, school is fun, and I don't get to do things like this at home". Now, that is what I want to hear after a lesson. 

As I searched for books to read with students, friends on twitter recommended books. And I was also reminded of old favorites. Here are some newer and older apple, pumpkin, and leaf books that jumped out at me from the pile....

Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell (Aladdin, 1998)

Apple by Nikki McClure (Abrams, 2012)

Apple Cake: A Recipe for Love by Julie Paschkis (HMH Books for Young Readers, 2012)

Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall; Illustrated by Shari Halpern (Blue Sky Press, 1996)

The Apple Orchard Riddle by Margaret McNamara; Illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Schwartz & Wade, 2013)

How to Make An Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman (Dragonfly Books, 1994)

The Apple Doll by Elise Kleven (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007)

How Do Apples Grow? by Barbara Maestro; Illustrated by Giulio Maestro (HarperCollins, 1992)

Apples for Everyone by Jill Esbaum (National Geographic Kids, 2009)

Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert (HMH Books for Young Readers, 2005)

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert (HMH Books for Young Readers, 1991)

Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden by George Levenson (Tricycle Press, 1999)

How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara; Illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Schwartz & Wade, 2007)

Why Do Leaves Change Colors? by Barbara Maestro; Illustrated by Loretta Krupinski (HarperCollins, 1994)

Leaves by David Ezra Stein (Putnam Juvenile, 2007)

Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie by Jill Esbaum (National Geographic Kids Books, 2009)

From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer; Illustrated by James Graham Hale (HarperCollins, 2004)

What are some of your favorite fall books?

2014 Picture Book 10 for 10: New and Old Favorites to Start the School Year

Cathy Mere of Reflect & Refine: Building A Learning Community and Mandy Robek of Enjoy and Embrace Learning are hosting the 5th August's Picture Book 10 for 10 event.  This is my third year participating in this event and I can't wait to check out everyone's posts. 

Recently, I was speaking with a principal friend, and talking about the importance of picking the right read alouds for the first few days of school.  I was able to share how a read aloud can set a tone and support a classroom in the direction that they have agreed is the right one. Additionally, I like to give out books at the beginning of the year to principals or teachers and work hard to select ones that will have meaning to the a particular administrator or instructional coach or teacher.

As a result, I began to think about books that I would use to with classes (regardless of the age group) and here are my top 10 (well if you count the covers there may be 11, but I won't tell if you don't) in no particular order.

Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson; Illustrated by E.B. Lewis (Nancy Paulsen Books, October 2012) - Every time I have read this book, I am struck by the fact that you can indeed be too late in responding with kindness.  However, I do hope that students, like Chloe, will chose kindness and friendship every day.

Oliver by Birgitta Sif (Candlewick Press, October 2012) - Oliver is a little different.  He does not quite fit in, but there is a friend out there for everyone. I love Oliver and children like Oliver need to be supported in celebrating their differences but also in making connections to others. 

Enemy Pie by (Chronicle Book, September 2002) - Every year children have classmates that they have trouble friending or even being in the same class with.  Enemy Pie deals with this issue in a fun but thoughtful way.  It remind others about how to treat other people and how to make new friends.

New Girl...and Me by Jacqui Robbins; Illustrated Matt Phelan (Atheneum, July 2006) - This is the first of several that I discovered through Carrie Gelson at There's a Book for That. This book looks at the ups and downs of of learning how to make a new friends, especially with the new student in the class.

The Story of Fish and Snail by Deborah Freedman (Viking Juvenile, June 2013) - This story by author/illustrator Deborah Freedman is about friendship but more so about courage and taking risks needed to learn.

Bluebird by Bob Staake (Schwartz & Wade, April 2013) - Though this is wordless, there is so much that students can discuss about what does it mean to care and be kind to one again.

The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig; Illustrated by Patrice Barton (Alfred A. Knopf, October 2013)- The perfect story to talk about how some children are very shy and even at times feel invisible; however, I enjoyed when Brian pairs up with Justin to collaborate on a project and how that provides success and a lesson for others.

Inside My Imagination by Marta Arteaga; Illustrated by Zuzanna Celej (Cuento de Luz, April 2013) - This is another recommendation from Carrie Gelson.  In a time, when we talk about creativity as a critical part of learning, we still don't always know what to do with it when children's thinking goes outside the box.  Great book for discussing imagination and creativity.

This year, I specifically was looking for books that would embrace the characteristics of 21st Century Learning.  The three books listed below will be books that I try to get into the hands of many teachers and administrators this year.

What Do You Do With An Idea? by Kobi Yamada; Illustrated by Mae Besom (Compendium, February 2014) - What happens when you attend to and feed your idea? This is a lovely book about nurturing an idea and watching it take wings.

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires (Kids Can Press, April 2014) - Probably one of my absolute favorites on this list.  It looks at creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking and also gives us some lessons on how to deal with our own frustration during times of great creativity.

Going Places by Peter and Paul Reynolds (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, March 2014) - Peter Reynolds joined by his identical twin in writing a story about critical thinking, communication, creativity and collaboration.  Below is an animated video celebrating those traits. 

Hopefully with posts like this we will be able to encourage more and more teachers to use picture books with older students and to also think about what books we select and how they set the tone for our year of learning.