Vanilla Ice Cream, Bob Graham

Vanilla Ice Cream is a picture book written by Bob Graham.  It is an interesting book and one that even I had a hard time understanding.  At the begging the book is about a little sparrow who unlike the other sparrows goes on an adventure and ends up in a big city.  That is where the bird meets a little girl named Edie Irvine who discovers vanilla ice cream for the first time.  It was a good book I just do not really understand the main point of the book.

If I were to use the book Vanilla Ice Cream in my classroom I would use it to teach my students about perspective.  After we read the book I would talk to students about the birds perspective and "birds eye view" and how it sees everything from above.  In order to bring this home to students I would have them write a journal entry as if they were a bird and what they see throughout the day,  For that reason and activity I would have this book in my classroom.

The Lion and the Bird, Marianne Dubuc

The Lion and the Bird is a picture book written by Marianne Dubuc.  It is a sweet book about a friendship that occurs between a bird and a lion when the bird gets hurt and left behind in the Winter.  When Spring comes the bird leaves the lion goes through the rest of the seasons alone.  The next Winter the bird returns and the book comes full circle.  This is a good picture book to use in the classroom.

I would use The Lion and the Bird in my classroom to integrate ELA with science.  Since this book talks about all four seasons I would do a read aloud of this book and as a class we would create an anchor chart, and as we get to a new season we will talk about and write down the characteristics of the seasons.  Then I would give students a piece of paper divided up into four quadrants and in each quadrants they would draw a picture and write a sentence about each season.  This is a great book to use to teach about seasons that I will have in my classroom.

What Do You Do With an Idea, Kobi Yamada

What Do You Do With an Idea is an inspiring picture book written by Kobi Yamada.  It is a book about a little boy who has an idea.  Kobi Yamada makes the idea a literal thing that needs food, attention, and love.  The idea is bright and yellow while everything else in the book is shaded in pencils and black and white.  During the book he wants to give up on the idea.  Then the whole book becomes colorful and he realizes that an idea can change the world and he can change the world.

This is a really great book to use with students.  I think that What Do You Do With an Idea lets students know that it is okay to be themselves and have their own unique idea because one day that idea may change the world.  To go along with this book I would have students write down an idea that they have and draw an illustration to go with the idea.  On half of the page have the picture be in black and white showing the process of coming up with the idea, and then the other half in color showing the idea happening and changing the world.  I would also use this book to go with writing and showing students that no matter the idea it is a good idea and do not give up on it no matter what other people tell you.  I really like this book it teaches students to dream and let their ideas flow, it is something I want to use in my classroom. 

There is a Bird on Your Head, by: Mo Willems

There is a Bird on Your Head is a picture book written by Mo Willems.  It is a book with great illustrations and it is written almost like a comic book because the text is written in speech bubbles.  The book is about an elephant and a pig and the elephant has birds on his head.  The whole book is dialogue between the two characters.  Mi Willems is a great author,

There is a Bird on Your Head is a great book to use when teaching students about point of view.  With the different speech bubbles you can point out which character is saying and feeling what.  Teachers can point this out and use it as an example for students.  If I were to use this book in my classroom I would have students draw two characters with speech bubbles and have them write a different point of view for each character.  This would be a great activity for students to be able to be engaged and practice point of view.

The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters, Janet and Allan Ahlberg

The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters is a unique picture book that is full of letters, brochures, and postcards that you can actually take out of envelopes in the book and read.  Like Mirror, Mirror it is about fairy tales and the characters sending letters, brochures, and postcards to one another.  In the end it kind of comes full circle because the character who sent the first letter receives the last letter in the book.  It is a book that students would like especially with being able to take things out of the envelopes.

I will certainly use The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters in my classroom.  I would use it to teach students how to write letters and address envelopes.  I would teach them how we write dear put the recipients name and then a comma, then we write the message, then we write sincerely, and the writers name.  I would pull out the letters from the book to show them as examples to show students.  You could also use this with a community helpers unit and teach about the mailman.  This is a fabulous book.

Mirror, Mirror by: Marilyn Singer

Mirror, Mirror is a picture book of poems.  Each page has two poems on the page.  The poems are versions of the classic fairy tales that kids read like Rapunzel.  The poem on the left is a normal poem telling the story from beginning to end.  While the poem on the right is the poem telling the story from end to beginning.  There are also two illustrations to go with the two poems.  It is a really cool picture book that students would like.

This book would be great to use to teach students about poems especially since it is about fairy tales that students know and they can already kind of know the tale but just see it in poem format.  The teacher can show students the poem as an example.  As an activity I would have students pick a fairy tale and have them write about it in poem format and then do the same thing except this time from end to the beginning like in the book Mirror, Mirror.  They could also add illustrations to their poems.  I love this book and think it is great for the classroom.
 

Babymouse For President, Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

Babymouse for President is a graphic novel.  It is written like a comic book but it is long enough to be considered a novel.  Babymouse for President is about a mouse who is running for school president.  The book takes her through the journey of announcing that she was running, making posters and promises to people, participating in a debate with other candidates, and all the way to the election day.  It talks about platforms and qualities that candidates take.  This is a great book that can teach students a lot about the election process.

There are many ways that you could use Babymouse for President in the classroom.  It is an essential book to use when teaching about elections because it teaches students about the process in a way that they can relate to.  I would use the book to teach about math because it talks about counting the votes in order to see who wins and ranking the candidates in order of the voting results.  I would use this book to teach about writing and an activity I would do would be to have students write a new page in the book and make sure it relates to elections, illustrate it, and use speech bubbles.  Babymouse for President is a great book that is used to integrate many different subjects and is a book that I will have in my classroom library.