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Author: Philip C. Stead
Genre: Fiction- comedy and humor
Grade level(s) appropriateness: K-2
A brief synopsis/review: The story is about an old man named Amos McGee who visits his animal friends at the zoo: the elephant, the tortoise, the penguin, the rhinoceros, and the owl. But one day he wakes up sick and is unable to go to the zoo and see his friends. However, his zoo friends come to visit the sick Amos at his house, and he is so glad to see them. They play hide-and-seek together and enjoy each other's company until they all go to bed at night.
Theme(s): Disease/ illness, animals, kindness, and friendship
Noteworthy features or issues with text: The illustrations are created by hand using woodblock printing techniques and pencil.
Teaching ideas: Students could talk about when did something helpful for a friend or a family member (text-to-self connections). I think this book could also tie in well if your school was planning a field trip to the zoo. Students could take note on how the animals at the zoo are similar and/or different to the illustrations in the book.
Curriculum tie-ins and/or related activities: For science, learning about different zoo animals- exploring different types of animals: mammals, amphibian, reptiles, fish, birds, and insects and then comparing and contrasting these groups.
Read aloud suitability: Yes, this book can easily be read aloud to your class.
Connections to other texts/content areas: A few books that teach kids about kindness are: Hey, Little Ant by Philip and Hannah Hoose, How Do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends? by Jane Yolen, and How Kind by Mary Murphy.
Other additional comments: Illustrator Erin Stead won the 2011 Caldecott Medal for her illustrations in the book.
Check out Philip Stead's webpage for more information about his books and to view his current blog: http://philipstead.com/
I bought this book for my nephew! Such a wonderful, heart-warming story. I think it shows how to be a good friend.
ReplyDeleteSounds like such a cute book! I'll have to keep it in mind when I have a class of my own! I like your teaching idea about using the text-to-self connection as a tool to have children discuss how they have been kind to their friends. I think that this is a great activity to use for character education.
ReplyDeleteI read this book for my blog too! I loved it - a very easy read and an excellent book on friendship.
ReplyDelete