Wordless Picture Books

Hogrogian. N (2009). cool cat. NY: Roaring Brook

ISBN-13:978-1-59643-429-5
ISBN-10:1-59643-429-5

This book is a very sweet book about a cat "cool cat" who is tired of living in a dirty barren wasteland. So cool cat decides that he will paint a paradise, so off he goes painting and throughout the book many of the other animals come to help cool cat paint the paradise,That will be for everyone who wants to live or play in the beautiful paradise they all helped to paint.
I found that the illustrator of the book really captured the story, so all the pictures look as if cool cat has painted them himself, and that is one reason I believe that this story is good for 3-5 year old children, because they can make the connection that cool cat has made the book himself. Also I believe that the book is perfect for this age group is because they get to see all the animals working together and everyone one is happy when they reached the goal they desired.

Provocations
1. Paint brushes can be placed around the room where they normally are not suposed to be, same with photocopied pictures of cool cat can be stuck all around the room so the children can see these objects and explore them.
2.A big picture of the barren wasteland can be put up in the morning before the children arrive so they can see it when they are playing, then while the children are sleeping at nap time the picture can be changed from the wasteland to the paradise so again the children can see it while they are playing. Then when the story is read to them they can make the connection between the picture and the book.

Three ways to present the story.
1. Read the story with the children and encourage them to ask questions and wonder (each page can be used for wondering)
2. Act out the story and how all the animals are working together nicely to reach their final goal.
3.I think this story can easily be done as a felt board, the characters are simple enough that they can be made by the teacher or animals can be collected from many differnt felt stories and brought into this one.

Extensions
1. One extension that can be done with the children is that we can teach them about keeping their enviorment clean and a happy place for everyone. One way this can be done is by teaching them about recycling or taking them on a nature walk to explore and taking in the beauty of our world.
2. This book is really good for doing a big group project, that involves everyone. One big project that can be done is story, where each child gets a page to decorate and when its all finished we can put them all together and then have the children each take a turn telling the story. Or the same idea of a group project the children can all do a big piece of artwork that they can hang on the wall so they can see it and the teacher can encourage the children to make a story about their artwork that they can tell their partents.
3.Because there are many animals in this story, one option is doing a theme on animals and there natural habitats. One way the children can learn about this is by going on a walk to a pet store and learning about the animals in the store, but on the way to the store they can look to see if they see any animals, and if they know what they are and anything else about them.