Jan Thomas Rocks!

 Is Everyone Ready for Fun? By Jan Thomas

Grades PreK-2

Three cows get wild and crazy on chicken's sofa dancing and wiggling much to his chagrin. But they finally have a great idea that even chicken loves...a nap!

Can You Make a Scary Face? By Jan Thomas

Grades PreK-2 

  A bossy ladybug doling out orders is what this interactive book is all about.

If you're looking for a quiet, calm story hour with your students DO NOT choose the Jan Thomas titles above. If however you're looking for some chaos, some noisy, silly boisterous fun, step right up! Jan Thomas writes brightly colored, short books that are perfect for the PreK and Kindergarten crowd. They are interactive and completely zany. I love reading them with my kindergarten students and they love being able to get their wiggles out. Just don't say I didn't warn you about the noise level!

Heroes of the Surf

Heroes of the Surf By Elisa Carbone

Grades 2-5

This is an action-packed historical fiction picture book that grabs the reader and doesn't let go until the final page. On April 22, 1822 the British Steamship Pliny was headed for New York City from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and crashed off the shore of New Jersey on May 13th. This story, based on a true event, tells about the crash, the passengers (including children) on board and the eventual rescue by the US Life Saving Service (now US Coast Guard). All of the passengers survived the crash and this happy ending, along with the vivid storytelling makes for such a great read aloud. Looking for an adventure story to recommend to a student or a good example of historical fiction to use as a mentor text with your students? You've found it.

The afterword gives further information about the ship and rescue for your history buffs.

April Fool, Phyllis!

April Fool, Phyllis! By Susanna Leonard Hill

Grades K-3

Punxsutawney Phyllis returns! This is the second Phyllis book by Susanna Leonard Hill and it is a great read aloud to do with your elementary aged children the week of April Fool's Day. Phyllis predicts that a blizzard is coming and warns her family that they should cancel the annual treasure hunt. Her family thinks she is trying to play an April Fool's joke and doesn't heed her warnings. When the blizzard arrives as predicted it's up to Phyllis to help everyone get safely back home. Luckily she is up to the challenge.
Bonus: In the back of the book there is an entire page devoted to the history of April Fool's Day and how it's celebrated around the world.

Lesson Idea: In the story Phyllis, her siblings and cousins solve riddles while they are on their treasure hunt. Write some riddles for your students leading them to certain books in the library. 

Example: Who eats more food every day for a week until he ends up with a bellyache?

The Very Hungry Caterpillar!

Otto the Book Bear

Otto the Book Bear By Katie Cleminson

Grades K-3

Otto is a book fair with a secret. When nobody i looking he comes to life and leaves his book. He loves when children read his book, but one day something awful happens. The family that owns Otto's book moves and leaves his book behind. Otto doesn't like being alone so he sets off on an adventure. Luckily he finds a new, wonderful place to call home, a library! Now lots of children read his book and he isn't lonely anymore. Adorable story and would pair well with Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen as some fun beginning of the year library read alouds.

The Boys

The Boys By Jeff Newman

Grades 1-4

Wow! This is an almost wordless book, other than the days of the week at the tops of the pages. A small blond haired boy watches the neighborhood boys playing baseball at the park. He is too shy to ask to join and he stands behind a tree. Wednesday, discouraged, he packs up his baseball bat and grabs a loaf of bread to feed the pigeons. He goes to the park again, but this time he sits next to four old men who hang out together on the park bench. The men's expressions show that they are not too happy he is sitting with them instead of playing with his peers. On Thursday the boy shows up again with bread to sit with the old men and this time he has combed his hair like them and is wearing a bow tie, windowpane plaid pants and is carrying a cane. As the week continues the men are able to get the boy to start playing baseball with them, and then with the boys his age. The last day shows him playing baseball in the park with the old men cheering for him on their bench.I think this is a fantastic wordless book to use with young students and have them take turns narrating what is happening on each page.

Curious Critters

Curious Critters By David FitzSimmons

Grades K-6

Phenomenal! Vivid photographs, uncluttered pages, bright colors, amazing close-ups, this is what an animal nonfiction book should like. The photographs themselves are stunning, but what really made this book unique was how David FitzSimmons then wrote a first person narrative of what each animal was thinking when being photographed.

Ohio Crawfish: Do you want to know something really cool? If any of my legs get hurt, including my giant claws, I can grow new ones. Pretty neat, huh? Now, enough chitchat. Back off!

From Eastern Screech-Owl to Red Flat Bark Beetle, there are lots of unusual animals to learn about and study. In the back there are some more cool things to check out. Each animals has a short paragraph telling a little more about it, plus there is a two-page spread of life-size silhouettes so that the animals can be compared in size to each other.

Lesson Seed: Have students bring in a photograph of their own pet, or find a photo of an animal from a magazine, and then ask them to write first-person narratives from the animals' perspectives.  Take this project a step further and have students do short research reports to go along with their photos as well. They can use an online encyclopedia to look up a few facts and then combine this nonfiction writing with their fiction writing for a really interesting project.

How Washington Does The Gingerbread Man

It's my tradition each December to read four or five different versions of the Gingerbread Man to my third graders. Then we make gingerbread houses in the library. It's the unit I look forward to the most each year and all my younger students can't wait until 3rd grade so they can have a turn to do this fun unit. Here are some of the versions we read. I mix it up each year picking whichever stories I am in the mood to read.

 

The Runaway Rice Cake By Ying Chang Compestine

Grades 2-5
This version takes place in China. It is longer than the other versions and has more difficult concepts and vocabulary too. Three brothers and their parents are poor and make a rice cake for the New Year. It runs away only to be eaten by a poor old woman. Upon hearing what happened to their food, their generoud neighbors come by with offerings. Sharing what little they themselves have to eat. The food starts to magically replenish and it is assumed that the woman was a god in disguise and is rewarding the family for their kindness.

The Matzo Ball Boy By Lisa Shulman

Grades 2-5

This version is written with some Yiddish words and it's about a Bubbe (grandmother) who is lonely and makes a Matzo Ball Boy for Passover to keep her company. He runs away and is chased by a Rabbi, a Yenta (village gossip), and the tailor. Though he outsmarts the fox he meets an untimely end in a bowl of soup when he trusts a poor married couple in the forest who invite him in for dinner.

The Gingerbread Boy By Richard Egielski

Grades K-3

This version takes place in New York City which my students enjoy since we're in north Jersey and they go into the city frequently with their families. He is chased by subway musicians, construction workers and a policeman mounted on a horse in Central Park.

Runaway Radish By Janice Levy

Grades K-3

This is a version that takes place in Mexico. The radish is about to be carved for a radish festival and runs awak. Along the way he is chased by a donkey, a chef making mole sauce, and a mariachi band.

The Gingerbread Girl By Lisa Campbell Ernst

Grades K-3

This is the only version we do where the gingerbread is a girl. This is one of my students' favorites because she outsmarts the fox in the end and she is a very sassy character.

The Gingerbread Cowboy By Janet Squires

Grades K-3

This version follows the traditional storyline, but the characters the gingerbread cowboy meets along the way are specific to the wild west which makes it fun to read. He sees long-horned cattle, lizards, etc.

The Gingerbread Man Retold by Jim Aylesworth

Grades K-3

This is the version I start with each year. All the other version we read are then compared to this one. We do discuss that typically the fox tricks the gingerbread man while crossing a river and eats him which is different than this one. other than that it's a pretty traditional version. 

 

The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School By Laura Murray

Grades K-3

This is a new version I bought for the library this year. The students liked how it was written in more of a comic book layout, but was still really easy to read aloud to the class because it wasn't too cluttered. The gingerbread man survives in this version too and the students who make him even build him a gingerbread desk and house so he can stay in their classroom as their friend.

Two or three weeks before we make the houses I send a letter home to the parents letting them know we'll be making gingerbread houses, telling them which day and time their students have library and also what they will need to bring in for the project. Each child has one adult helper come that day to assist in building the house. Lots of grandparents and dads come in which is really nice. It's a very simple project because they just cover an empty milk or juice carton with frosting and then graham crackers. Then the rest of the period is spent decorating the houses with any candies, icing or sprinkles they have brought. The kids share with each other and have a lot of fun being creative.  Here are some of the houses my 3rd graders made this past week.