Up, Tall and High!

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Title: Up, Tall and High!
Author: Ethan Long
Genre: Fiction- comedy and humor
Grade level(s) appropriateness: PreK-1
A brief synopsis/review: Divided into three short "chapters," this book portrays three birds who either want to be up, tall, or high. In the first chapter, a short peacock proves that he isn't tall, but is not small either. In the second chapter, a bird helps his penguin friend to fly by attaching balloons to his body. In the third chapter, two birds want to live up in the same tree, but their weight causes the tree to fall down.
Theme(s): Friendship and teamwork
Noteworthy features or issues with text:
* Lift-the-flap book sparks reader interest! Makes reading interactive and humorous.
* Supports beginning readers to read independently
* Repetition of the words- "Up," "Tall" and "High" increases automaticity
* Large font size- easily readable
* High-frequency vocabulary (sight words) used
* Contains 3 short "chapters"- well-organized and structured story
* Colorful illustrations- appeal to the reader and portray the story being told
Teaching ideas: The book can be used for Reader's Theater, in which students take on the roles of each character within the 3 "short" chapters- reading with expression. The book could also be used for a quick lesson on sight words to increase word recognition. A vocabulary lesson on the words: up, tall, and high as well as their opposites: down, small, and low, could also be implemented.
Curriculum tie-ins and/or related activities:
Read aloud suitability: Yes, this book can easily be read aloud to your students. The inside flaps serve as a great visual aid to make predictions about the story while also sparking excitement during the read aloud.
Connections to other texts/content areas: The illustrations resemble Dr. Seuss' stories- vibrant and friendly characters. 
Other additional comments: The book is a 2013 winner of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. 

Ethan Long shares the backstory for creating Up, Tall and High!:
http://www.teachingbooks.netbook_reading.cgi?id=8425&a=1