Golem

By David Wisniewski (1996)

This is a very complicated book. Complicated in text, complicated in illustration, and complicated in subject matter. That is not to say that it is bad, but possible not for younger children. It is a story about religious persecution of the Jews in Prague in the 1500's. The story is derived from Jewish folklore and religious passages. It involves a rabbi bring a clay golem to life to protect the Jews in Prague. As I said before, the text is complicated, but somehow seems correct for the story. I can't know for sure, but the dialect seems as though it would be accurate considering the setting. The Illustrations look to be cut out of paper and photographed. They are impressive to behold, and the earthy tones onces again seem to fit the setting and the tale.

I could see this book being used to show another example of religious persecution that isn't as well known as the Holocaust. It could be the jumping off point for a discussion on acceptance and appreciating an individuals background and heritage. Another strategy would be to use the book as an example of folklore.

A River Ran Wild

By Lynne Cherry (1992)

I really enjoyed this book. It is about a river near the east coast. The book describes the history of the river through different time periods. It is a realistic fiction book, and does a good job of weaving a tale using facts about the people who lived in the area over the years. Besides the main illustrations of the story, each page of text is surrounded by small illustrations of different things concerning the text on that page such as animals that would live by the river, or tools that people would have used at different times living around the river.

The book sends a great message to students about environmental conservation. It is a sad story because the river becomes so polluted it cannot support life. However, this spurs citizens to petition to get laws passed that regulate pollution of bodies of water. The book ends with the river being restored and inhabitable again.

This book is essentially a social studies lesson. It addresses modern day issues such as environmental conservation and pollution, but also touches on issues of the past such as settlers taking land from the Native Americans. There is a lot going on in this book, and it could be used in many different ways.

A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk, A Forest of Poems

By Deborah Ruddell (2009)
Illustrated by Joan Rankin

Where as Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow stays fairly close to the facts, this books takes some liberties with nature in order to produce more humorous poetry. Personally, I prefer the more factual poetry of the other book, but thought that this book would be good to use along side it in order to give students a different take on nature poetry.

The same goes for the illustrations in this book. Many of the paintings are very realistic looking, but then there are others that have badgers writing letters, and squirrels getting pedicures. I just don't appreciate them as much as illustrations that have character and still stick to the facts.

I would never use this book by itself in the classroom, but it is a good companion book to Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow.

Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow

By Joyce Sidman (2006)
Illustrated by Beth Krommes

This is one of my favorite books that I have read over the last three weeks. It is a nature poetry book. Although I am not a huge poetry fan, I really enjoyed the poems between these covers. Part of what made me appreciate them so much was the terrific explanation on the pages follow each set of poems describing in detail the natural situations that the poems refer to. The illustrations played a big role in my enjoyment of the book. They are what looks to be some sort of ink resist style. The black ink details are wonderful and really make the colors pop.

I thought that this book would be great to show students how they can take observations that they have made of happenings in the natural world and turn them into poetry. I can envision showing students this book, having them write down some observations of nature. Converting those observations to poetry. Then, to top it off, doing an art project using a similar style. The book was a great inspiration to my text set.

Listen, Listen

By Phillis Gershator (2008)
Illustrated by Alison Jay

Step outside and listen, listen. You'll most likely hear some of the sounds mentioned in this book. Listen, Listen is all about the sounds of the outdoors. The writing is simple and short focusing on making sounds that you will hear in different seasons. The illustrations are there to help students picture the animals and scenes that they are hearing.

This would be a very fun book for younger students, and is one that you would definitely want to read aloud. I think it would even make a great candidate for a choral reading. Students could also add to the story, describing other sounds that they here throughout the different seasons, or in different locations. I also enjoyed the back of the book where the author identifies things you can observe outdoors during each of the seasons; also list that students could add to.

Lawn Boy

By Gary Paulsen (2007)

This is a realistic fiction novel about a 12-year-old boy who is given a lawn mower for his birthday. Before he knows it he owns his own lawn service business, and manages fifteen employees. The book is written from the perspective of the boy. I particularly enjoyed the inner dialog of the boy. He struggles constantly with the belief that he has become as successful as he has, and doesn't rightly know how he got there; things just keep falling into place for him. A lot of those things fall into place because of the friendly neighbor of his hippie, stock broker, neighbor Arnold.

Arnold is a key character in the story. Arnold knows a lot about capitalism, and spends a lot of time explaining the system to the narrator (thus to us). It is because of this that I think this book would be very useful in 5th through 8th grade. The book does a tremendous job of explaining our economic system, along with other financial stuff like stocks. This book would make a great introduction to economics for young students, and would hopefully get them thinking about their future.

I See Animals Hiding

By Jim Arnosky (1995)

This Arnosky book revolves around the idea of animal coloration. What I really like about Arnosky is that his written in rich with feeling and description, yet simple enough for any one to enjoy. When talking about nature, he sticks to the facts, never misleading young readers. Arnosky's watercolor illustrations in this book are gorgeous while still being accurate. Arnosky is simply a great nature writer for children.

This would be a great read aloud book for any elementary classroom. Students will have a lot of fun looking for the animals hiding within the illustrations. It would be a terrific introduction to a biology unit on animal coloration and camouflage.

Outdoors On Foot

By Jim Arnosky (1978)

Another great Arnosky book about observations made in nature. This book focuses on feet. I like how he gets into a little of the science behind how feet work, and why different animals have different types of feet. Aronsky uses great drescriptor words to describe the feeling of walking in different situations such as on a beach, in a river bed, and on the snow. Arnosky's illustrations help explain to the reader what he is referring to in the text.

I don't think this book really works as a stand-alone book in the classroom. I used the book in my text set to support the idea of experiencing things outdoors. I believe the text in this book conveys some good ideas on how to record what you experience when you are outside.

Wild and Swampy

By Jim Arnosky (2000)

It is hard for me to believe that this book did not win the Caldecott Award. I love the illustrations in this book. Arnosky mixes sketch style illustrations that he does when he is out in nature with paintings describing the things that he has seen. Rather than a story, the writing style of the book makes it feel like a journal that Aronsky kept when he was out in the swamps.

I would use this book in my classroom to deomstrate to students how they can begin to keep a journal about events that they witness when they are observing nature. As scientist, it is great to have the ability to quickly and accurately sketch things that you observe. I would like to see students begin practicing this at a young age. That way when it comes time for them to keep a science journal, they will not be afraid to use sketches to help in their observations and explanations.

The Lost Lake

By Allen Say (1989)

I really enjoyed this story. It is about a boy who goes to live with his father in the city for summer. The problem is: his father works all the time and never talks to him. One day the father stumbles upon some pictures that the boy has cut out of magazines and hung on his wall. They a photographs of mountains, trees, and lakes. This inspires the father to take his son on a camping trip where they search for their own secluded lake.

On par with other Allen Say books, this is well written and uses his unique style of painted photographs. The books simulates a realistic event, and the dialog is spot on. In the story the boy learns a lot he did not know about his father, and their relationship grows because of the connection they make while out in nature.

When I read this book, I thought it would be great for students to make a collage of photos like the boy in the story does. Maybe they could use their own photos of nature that they have taken, or they could cut photos out of magazines of places they would like to someday visit. It would be a good activity to get students thinking about spending some time in the outdoors.

When It Starts to Snow

By Phillis Gershator (1998)
Illustrated by Martin Matie

As the title implies, this is about when it starts to snow. Why I liked the book is because it focuses mainly on what things are happening out in nature during the winter time. It talks about the habits of wildlife during the winter months.

It is written in a simple lyrical style that lends it to being read aloud. Would be a good book to begin a science lesson during the winter months. I'm sure that students would be able to add the habits of many more animals that live here in Iowa. Perhaps they could draw images that would go along with the animals they think of as a way of adding to the story.