The squeaky door

Book: The Squeaky Door
Author: Margaret Read MacDonald
Illustrator: Mary Newell DePalma
MacDonald, M. (2006). The Squeaky Door. New York: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 978-0-06-028373-5
“The Squeaky Door” is based on a Puerto Rican folk-song called La Cama - retold in story format by Margaret Read MacDonald, popular author for retelling various folktales. In this tale, when staying with his grandparents, a boy is frightened by the squeaky door to his bedroom as he tries to go to sleep. The little boy keeps telling his grandmother that he is not afraid to be alone on the “big bed”, but he gets scared every time the door squeaks when his grandmother closes it. To comfort him, Grandma puts various animals in bed with him. In MacDonald's retelling, she tries a cat, dog, pig, and horse. When the bed breaks, the boy gets to sleep with his grandparents. The next morning Grandma oils the door, repairs the bed, and the child sleeps soundly after that.
One of the reasons I choose this book, is because I’ve met Margaret Read MacDonald and she’s an amazing story teller; this is a humorous retelling of an old Puerto Rican folktale. I’ve read it so many times at the Centre where I work and to my daughters and it’s always a success. The vocabulary is simple and funny; children definitely get drawn to the book. The animal noises and onomatopoeia, along with the varying speaking tones and dramatic pauses make this book fun to read aloud. After just a couple of iterations, Children were saying the repeating narrative for me and we all enjoyed yelling, "SQUEEEEAK!" I love Mary Newell DePalma’s illustrations; they are extremely hilarious, expressive, and colourful as the boy always has wide eyes that pop open whenever he gets scared and I also loved the animals sleeping in pyjamas, lipstick and eye shades, all tucked in to bed. The repetitive text and lots of noises to repeat encourages audience participation. The text features also a variety of different sized fonts, great to grab children’s attention and an Author's Note at the back of the book lists the Puerto Rican folksong that is the basis of the tale as well crediting a New Zealand storyteller, and a short story version, plus referencing one of several other versions. I would choose this book for 3-5 year olds because it’s a great way to introduce creative play. All the repetition makes this good for beginning readers. I also find that this light-hearted story is about a situation that we all can relate to: trying to help a young child fall asleep in an unfamiliar (or at least, non-routine) place. I see this as a good story time read-aloud, as well as successful one on one book for sharing. The idea of bringing many animals into the house reminds me of “Too Much Noise” by Ann McGovern. This could be used to emphasize sequencing and repetition in stories. Over-the-top humour and a satisfyingly predictable narrative make this tale one that children will likely ask for again and again.
Provocations for this book would be the pictures of the animals that appeared in the story can be displayed around the classroom, and then children can find it and attach them on a Magnetic board. I would also put in the Room a Doll bed, with a doll (Boy) and the stuffed animals that are in the story: a cat, a dog, a pig and a horse. I would say multiple times during the day: “I love the sound of a squeaky door, like this: SQUEAKKKKKKKKKK”.
Four Ways to Tell the Story:
1) Felt story- Felt stories provide hands-on learning and a great opportunity for children to develop self-worth and self-expression. It stretches their imagination and helps in developing the brain and memorization capacity.
To present my story, I need a felt board and the following felt pieces: Boy, Grandma, Big bed, Blanket, 5 pillows, cat, dog, pig, horse, can of WD-40, and a Tool Chest. I’ll find the pictures online and will print it out onto T-shirt transfer paper, iron them on white felt, then cut it.
Using a felt story for this book is a great way to present it; it creates elements of wonder when the children are waiting for the next piece to be placed on the board. Before each animal is brought in; “I wonder which animal Grandma is bringing next?” This will let children extend on their imagination. I won’t chunk the book, because this is not a long story and it also flows so nicely that I wouldn't want to interrupt the flow.
2) Puppets/Stuffed Animals - I will use puppets as another way to present the story after using the felt board with the same group of children, there are many advantages from using puppets as a way of storytelling. Puppets are one of the few toys that have lasted throughout the years as a favourite among both children and adults alike. This is mainly I suppose; because many of the toys on the market are a passing phase and what may be “hot” today will be “outdated” by next week. Puppets however never cease to capture the imaginations of their audiences as they create a fascinating imaginary world. They have the ability to break down barriers providing an effective means to initiate communication. Children who experience difficulties in communication and interaction can be motivated to open up when working with puppets. They can also be used to successfully teach young children about basic good manners, personal hygiene and overcoming the normal fears that small children experience. They can be used to develop children’s reasoning skills, as talking about ideas helps children to clarify their thinking.

Materials:
Puppets: Cat, Dog, Pig, etc...
Stuffed Animal: Big stuffed horse (or substitute any big animal)
Props: Tool box, WD-40
I’ll be Grandma and a boy doll can be the Little Boy. I’ll use a cat, a dog and a pig puppet for the first three animals, (add more if wanted, such as; duck, bunny, etc...) and then bring in a big stuffed horse for the last one (which breaks the bed). Grandma's tool box and a can of WD-40 are the only other props needed. I’ll repeat the same story four times in a week, which means I’ll get it just right by the third time (usually). But sometimes by the time the last one rolls around you’re a little tired of it. So maybe we can switch roles with this story for our fourth performance, with me as Grandpa and a child as Little Girl, it might be a nice change of pace. In the story, a little boy is scared of the squeaky door at his grandma’s house and each time he calls for her she brings an animal in to sleep with him: cat, dog, pig, then horse (or whatever I decide to add). So there’s really not a lot of puppetry involved, just adding them on top of each other. The real strength of the story is the strong pattern which easily elicits participation from the kids and the fun interplay between Grandma and the Little Boy. There are great refrains: the boy saying “Oh, no! Not meeeee!” each time Grandma asks if he’ll be scared. And of course the “Squeeeeeeeak!” of the door.
3) Basket presentation - I love the idea of a having a basket covered with a piece of fabric, that contains all the characters in the story; and as I’m telling the story get help from the children to try to figure out what animal is next to be put in bed with Little Boy.
Materials:
Doll bed, boy doll, grandma doll, stuffed animals such as: cat, dog, pig, duck, bunny, mouse and a big horse or big bear. Also a can of WD-40 and a Tool chest.
4) Story Act Out

Making children act out the story is another way to make the story more interesting, this will be my last method to present the story with the same group of children. Body awareness, coordination, flexibility, and spatial awareness are some of the physical skills a child gains through movement. A child's cognitive skills develops through vocabulary- building and creative problem-solving, while his or her social/emotional self grows through cooperation with others and a growing sense of self-esteem. Movement truly fosters the development of the whole child: body, mind, and spirit. Allowing children to act out the story can also help them improve their speech skills, listening skills, and develop appropriate voice modulation.

Materials
1) I need six T-Shirts. Four for the animals, one for Grandma and one for Little Boy. Each child involved will wear a T-shirt, with either a person (Grandma, boy) or an animal which will be printed on T-shirt transfer paper and ironed on. I will also use a blanket to represent the bed. A can of WD-40, and a Tool Chest.
Children can also use different animals that they want to replace the characters inside the story, I will have some animals printed and laminated, and children can use it around their necks (like a necklace, just wider).This is a great way to provide children’s creativity and imagination.
Extensions for learning:
The first thing that we can do after reading the book is to sing songs about animals, such as “The farmer in the Dell”. This song allows children to imitate different movement and sounds of animals. At the same time music allows children to improve their motor skills, improve their memory and build their confidence. We will also do some finger plays, such as “Doggie's House” and “Piggy on the Railway”, those excite movement, listening and verbal skills.
The second thing that we can do is making animal Masks. For that, we need: Paper (construction, coloured typing paper, craft foam, etc.) Cutting utensils: scissors, whole punch. Tie: Thin elastic cord. Decorating materials: markers, crayons, paints.
Directions:
1. Print mask.
2. Copy mask on chosen material.
3. Cut out masks and eyeholes.
4. Let children color and decorate.
5. Punch two holes on either side of mask.
6. Knot and staple elastic strip through holes, sized to fit the child’s head.

The third thing that we can do is to go on a field trip to the farm. Field trips are a great way for children to learn while having fun. Firsthand experience can provide children with information and a level of understanding that adds elements to their play, enriches vocabulary and enhances their overall learning. If a field trip is not possible (depending on the Children’s Centre location) we can do a Movement activity with the Animals, as we all know Children need physical activity every day. For this activity I will ask the child to make a pose related to the animal and I will take a picture with the stuffed or Puppet animal beside the child, Print it (in 8x10) and laminate it
Children can make not only the pose, but also, the noise of the animal as we hold up the different cards. I will talk to children about those animals (some basic information along with an interesting fact about each animal). This can also be a good starting point for other “farm discussions/activities”.
The squeaky door on PhotoPeach