"New Clothes for New Year’s Day" | Book Blog 3

Title:  New Clothes for New Year’s Day
Author:  Hyun-Joo Bae
Illustrator: Hyun-Joo Bae
Genre: International
Publisher: Kane/Miller
Copyright: 2007
Number of pages: 32

     This story tells about a young girl in Korea who is excited to dress in her new traditional clothes  that her mother made her for New Years Day. It shows her adorning each piece trying to contain her excitement. At the end of the story there is a page that explains the significance of dressing in these clothes for New Years Day in Korean culture.

     The illustrations in this book are enchanting, and reminiscent of ancient Korean art. The pictures show every ornate detail of her new clothes, and at the end of the book there is a picture of her complete outfit with arrows to show the names and description of each article of clothing.

    

     I would like to use this book with third grade students. After reading the story students will be divided into groups and can then choose from a list of different countries to research their New Year's traditions. After they have gathered their information the students can create posters that tell about their countries traditions. When all the posters have been completed the students can compare and contrast all of the different countries traditions. 

"I Lost My Tooth in Africa" | Book Blog 2

                      

Title: I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Author: Penda Diakité
Illustrator:Baba Wagué Diakité
Genre: Diverse Perspective 
Publisher: Scholastic
Copyright: 2006
Number of pages: 30

     This story follows Amina, as she and her family travel to Africa to visit some of her father's relatives. On the plane ride to Africa she discovers that she has a loose tooth, and her dad tells her that if you lose a tooth while in Africa and stick it under a gourd the Africa tooth fairy will give you a chicken! Amnia does lose her tooth while in Africa, and gets two chickens instead of one! Her chickens lay eggs, but will she get to watch them hatch before they have to leave Africa?

     The illustrations are colorful, inviting, and very detailed. The illustrator is the authors father, so having a book about a family that is written and illustrated by a family makes it even more enjoyable to read.

     I would use this story in a second grade classroom. After reading the book a fun craft to do would be to have the students cut out a tooth shape and write a story of how they lost a tooth on it. You could also make a class graph of lost teeth. Make a graph with all of the months during the school year, and whenever a student loses a tooth, they place a tooth sticker on the appropriate month. At the end of each month, compare the number of teeth lost in each month by creating math problems by asking them questions like, "In which month were the most teeth lost?" or "How many more teeth did we lose in September than in March?".



   

"Walter's Wonderful Web" | Book Blog 1

Title: Walter's Wonderful Web
Author: Tim Hopgood
Illustrator: Tim Hopgood
Genre: Picture Book
Publisher: Macmillan Books
Copyright: 2015
Number of pages:28

     Walter's Wonderful Web tells the story of Walter the spider who is trying to build his first web, but isn't quite getting it. Whenever a gust of wind comes through it blows Walter's web away. Read the book and discover all the different shapes Walter creates while trying to make the perfect web.
     
     The illustrations are bright, inviting, and mimic a crayon drawing. My favorite illustration is the final one where Walter makes his "wonderful web".
     
     I would use this book in a Kindergarten classroom. Walter's Wonderful Web would be wonderful to aid in introducing shapes to kindergartners. For a math lesson, after teaching about each shape, you could give students pieces of white yarn and have them to create the shapes from the book out of the yarn to form their own shape webs.