Bently, P. (2008). That’s Not My Sister!. United Kingdom: Parragon.
ISBN 987-1-4075-0876-4
Manny and Molly are brother and sister young moose. Molly suggested playing a game of “Hide and Seek”. Manny will count to twenty while Molly hides. During his search he met many other forest animals who tried to help him find his sister. It took a while for him to finally find her. When he found her they switched roles and he ran off to hide so that she and the other animals would look for him.
This book is suitable for three to five year olds because the children would know about hide and seek. Also, the pictures are very lovely and have pretty colors. Another attractive feature is the fold out pages that children of these ages would love to open. This activity would involve the children and make them part of the story telling rather than being passive listeners.
The illustrations are mainly done in water colors and colored pencils. These techniques create a comfortable and gentle mood which would encourage the children to be drawn in and want to be interested in the story. Each animal in the story is shown to be unique characters. Their facial and body expressions could help the children know what is going on in each particular moment. I was mainly attracted to this book because of the simple and gentle illustrations. There are no sharp lines and great attention given to details.
I would show the children the book and tell them what it is about. Next I would ask them who has a sister or brother. Then I will ask them who knows what hide and seek is. Then maybe I would have them play a short game of hide and seek. After the game I would ask them what their favorite animal is. Another activity could be to bring pictures of the animals in the story, tell the children their names so the children would have a better familiarity with the characters in the book.
Using small pieces of felt I cut out the animal’s shapes and also their hiding places. I will go through the story placing the characters (boy moose, girl moose, grandpa moose, hare, owl, beaver, bear and porcupine), two trees, a pile of logs, an outline of a cave, and a pile of leaves on the board.
2)Shadow Theater
nTo create this, I will use a very thin cardboard box. I will cut out a frame. This will be my stage. Then I will decorate the outer edges to create the appearance of curtains. The next step will be to attach a piece of clear plastic to the frame, behind which the action of the story will be shown. Lastly, the characters will be cut out from heavy black paper. Each animal will have a hole into which I will insert a wooden chopstick. I will act out story moving the characters by the stick.
3)Can Story
nAnother method of presenting the story will be to use recycled pop cans. The cans will be washed and covered with colored paper decorated with each character. I will act out the story using the cans.
4)Hair Bands Story
nI would use this method after at least one of the above presentations. I will make hair bands with the head of each character glued to the hair band. The children would then act out the story. Once the original story has been told they would then tell it their way.
Three Possible Extensions:
1)Hide and Seek
nOnce they are familiar with the story one way of extending it is to have a game of “Hide and Seek”. The first step would be to show them a short video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHtQRQ3C-8M) that shows through music how the game is played. Then I would ask them who knows how to play the game. I would ask the ones who know to help the ones who don’t know. Everybody would go outside to a back yard or playground and then I would divide the children into small groups and limit both the time and the area of the game. The story would probably become very vivid in their minds.
2)Familiar with Animals
nUse the felt board or real pictures of animals in order for them to identify each animal in the story then they will put the felt animal on the felt board. Another activity would be to ask them to tell me and the other children about the places and things such as the pile of leaves, the cave, the pile of logs and the actions of the animals’ actions such as crying sneezing in the story book as well. At the same time, I would have pictures of the real habitats of each animal and ask them where the animals actually live; for example, does Beaver live under a pile of logs or in a pond?
3)Coloring
nThe final extension would be to cut out the animal’s shapes and have the children color them. The animals could be whatever color the children desire. Once the shapes are colored I would give the children the ears and tails to attach with glue. They could take their animals home.
Yahgulanaas, N, M.(2010). The little hummingbird. Greystone Books.
ISBN : 978-1-55365-533-6
The little hummingbird is such an insignificant animal in the forest. One day the forest was on fire. All the creatures fled away from their homes except a little hummingbird. She picked up a single drop of water from a lake nearby in her beak and dropped the water off onto the ferocious fire. She continued to fly back and forth between the lake and the forest without any complaining. All the other animals wondered what the tiny bird was doing. The little hummingbird replied, “ I am doing everything I can.”
This book tells a parable with origins among indigenous people of South American. I like to read this book for 3-5 years old children because the story is simple ,easy to understand but its meaning is significant. The story encourages every one to take responsibility to protect the environment.
The book is painted by renowned artist Michal Nicoll Yahgulanaas, who has a unique Haida Manga style. It is a hardcover book and is printed on durable thick paper. The story of the book evokes questions about why the tiny hummingbird is willing to take such a huge responsibility. After reading the book, I hope children can identify themselves with the tiny bird and appreciate every little right action they can do. I think children will enjoy the book because the content of the story is attractive and all the animals are painted in a distinct style. I was drawn to the book after I read story about Nobel Peace Prize Laureat Wangari Maathai who is a real life little hummingbird . Her action has inspired millions of people in Kenya to protect the environment.
Provocation:
I will print out the little hummingbird picture and tape it on the wall. I would not say anything for a few days, just observe children’s reaction. The other provocation is to praise a child for doing a good thing by giving him/her a little hummingbird card. Children will relate good actions to the hummingbird card, it will help them to understand the parable of the book.
Four ways to present:
1) Box Sets
I have painted story pictures on three sides of each box. There are 4 boxes in total. I will start telling the story from the biggest one .Then I pull the medium size box out and pile it on top of the biggest one ,I will continue to tell the story till I talk about all the pictures on the smallest box. When the story is finished , I will pile up all the boxes with the bottom sides facing the audience .On these sides a totem pole is painted.
2) Felt Story
Felt board (black)
Felt characters: I will make felt images of the characters in the book : hummingbird, elephant, beaver, frog, birds, squirrel, rabbit, wolf, owl, bear.
3) Storyvine
I will draw or scan pictures on white paper and laminate all the characters so that they can be clipped to a clothes line. I choose this method because I think this story is good to present out of doors, in the woods or forest . Children will then have a real experience connected to the story.
4)To tell the story
I will tell the story with the book and meanwhile play for the children some sounds like the noise of fire cracking and animals running etc. I can give each child a piece of paper to crumple like fire cracking and instruct them to pat on the ground to make the sound of animal running. After I read that “all the animals huddled at the edge of the forest and watched. All except for one.” I will set the book aside and ask, “Who is that one and what is she doing?” I hope the image of the tiny bird will cause sharp contrast to the superhero that children might have. Later children will realize that if they take responsibility , they also can do extraordinary things.
Three possible extensions:
1) Create a book called “I am a little hummingbird.” Children can draw pictures about what things they can do or let others take photos about them. It will encourage children to take responsibility and be proud of doing little things.
2) Field trip to Aboriginal Museum . Children may wonder about the images on a totem pole. The trip will expand their understanding of Native culture and art . We also can build our own totem pole by using various materials.
3) Discuss the end of the story and talk about story of Laureat, a “little hummingbird” in real life. Encourage the children to make their own special thank-you card and mail it to Laureat.
The little hummingbird on PhotoPeach
Morgan, M. (2006). Dear Bunny. United Kingdom: The Chicken House.
ISBN 043974833X
This is a sweet and kind bunny love story. The two shy bunnies live across the hill from one other and wish to meet so they decide to write a letter to each other and put it in the hollow log for the other one to find; eagerly they await the others reply. One bunny even adds some leaves and petals for the other bunny to munch on. Meanwhile the weather turns to rain and a family of mice are getting very wet in their nest so they go looking for a warm, dry place to rest. They come across the hollow log and discover it is the perfect place to make a cozy new shelter. They tear and chomp the letters as well as use the leaves and petals to make a delightful nest. When the rain finally stops the two bunnies are saddened to find no reply to their letters in the hollow log. The mice realize they have torn up the letters to make their nest and decide to solve the problem by pieces together one final message for the bunnies. When the two bunnies read the message they are full of joy and love for each other and a somewhat difficult situation is pleasantly resolved.
I want to share this book with 3-5 year olds because I find it warm and inviting. When I opened the front cover I found an exquisite page of what looks like handmade paper infused with natural plants and fibres. It reminded me of how much I love the feel and beauty of handmade paper. The ink colours throughout the book are gentle but vibrant with depth added to the images through shadows and “textures”. The book has a scrap book effect created from small cut out pieces of plants and flowers pasted about. The illustrator has outlined her cartoon style drawings in black pen and created adorable animal characters with faces that express a variety of feelings and emotions that children can readily relate to within their own friendships and relationships. The author uses a simple yet descriptive style of writing including making some words come to life such as the sound of the rain and keeps the story at a length children can fully engage. I appreciate that the story presents children with the rich language of kindness and love in an accessible tale (no pun intended) as they connect parallels to their natural environment through elements of weather, seasons and the animals that call it home.
To provoke interest around the story I would wear my regular clothing but also wear bunny ears. Appealing to their sense of wonder, the children would notice the change in my usual appearance and question as to why I am dressed up like a bunny. I would also do some bunny things like hop to the book shelf or eat a carrot at snack to get them thinking like bunnies and raise their interest. I may even write a letter.
Ways of presenting the book:
1.Clay story-I would have plain clay already split into pieces roughly the size for each object needed to create throughout the story and place them around the table. I would then begin to tell the story at the same time shaping the clay into the characters and objects. These clay images would be created in a very simplistic and representational way and would act out the story. In this way each time the story was done the objects would look somewhat unique and it would be fun to have the children give ideas as to how they could look. The clay can be purchased from Opus Art Supplies.
2.Paint a story-I would have an easel and enough large pieces of paper to flip for each scene (about 15). I would use large bull clips at the top to secure the papers but still be able to flip them up and over the top after painting each scene. I would need colours of paint ready and mixed in clear jars (light grey, green, purple, brown, dark grey, blue, pink, yellow, and black) and various sized paint brushes. I would paint very simple images to represent each scene in the story as I tell it and then flip the paper to start the next one. The easel can be purchased from Ikea, the bull clips from Staples and the other craft items can be purchased from Michaels.
3.Shadow box story-I would create a shadow box with a cardboard box and parchment paper and then create the silhouettes of the characters and objects in construction paper covered with mactac paper and attach them to skewers. I would darken the room and have a lamp shining from behind to illuminate the screen as I performed the story. The craft items can be purchased from Michaels, the parchment paper and cardboard box from a grocery store and a lamp from Canadian Tire.
4.Visual acting-I would collect all the props to tell the story (2 stuffed animal bunnies, 3 small pieces of paper, 2 feathers for pens, a hollow birch bark log, fake and real flower petals, fake and real leaves, 5 cat toy mice, a rainstick for the rain sounds, a little nest made of raffia and moss. The craft items and bunnies can be purchased from Michaels, the hollow birch bark log, real flower petals and real leaves I collected from the forest, the rainstick I made in class and the mice from a pet store,
5.Audio recorded-I would have a couple of people use animated voices to read as a character from the book and play various recorded sounds such as rain, mice squeaking, etc. while I recorded it. I would then burn it onto a CD to play for the children either just for listening or even along with turning the pages of the book. The sounds can be purchased from itunes and the CD and recorder from Staples.
6.Interactive drama and self watching-I would have 2 sets of bunny ears, 2 feathers, 3 large pieces of paper, 2 feathers for pens, a play tunnel for a hollow log, fake flower petals, fake leaves, about 3 sets of mouse ears (adapted from bunny ears), rainstick for the rain sounds, a cardboard box for a nest. Then video them performing the story so they can experience the acting out and then watch themselves doing it on the video. The craft items can be purchased from Michaels, the bunny ears from a dollar store near Easter time, I made the rainstick in class, Ikea for the play tunnel and Future shop for a box and camera to video.
During the reading of the story I would stop when the mice are trying to find a new shelter to keep them dry and wonder where a mouse might find shelter. This way the children could imagine being a mouse and think of places they might hide. I would again stop and wonder when the mice realize they have torn up the letters and the bunnies are very sad. This way the children can think of some solutions to the problem and empathize with their emotions. I wonder what they are going to do? I would not chunk this book because it is not very long and there isn’t really an appropriate place to stop as it would be too close to the end of the story.
Expanding from the story:
1.Making paper – Inspired by the background illustration from the story as well as the process of writing letters on paper. Making paper is a very interesting and easy method. First collect scraps of paper from the recycling, etc and have the children rip it into small pieces. Add warm water to a large rectangular tub and add the torn paper. The children will really enjoy mashing and squishing the paper until it is all soft and mixed together. Next use window screens or paper making screens and dip them under the floating mush, then pull up and let the water drip through the mesh until you are left with a thin layer of the mixture covering the screen and put the screen on top of a towel near heat or in the sunshine to dry. They will have to dry overnight. The next day peel the newly made paper of the mesh and use to make books or letters. The children will learn about recycled paper and have hands on experience.
2.Investigating mice and where they live - How do they stay dry and what do they use to make their nests? Watch short video clip of a real mouse snoring. Have books about real mice and their lives available around the classroom. Take a nature walk outside to areas where mice live and take pictures of what we think would make a good nest. The children can imagine they are little mice getting curled up in their warm, cosy, nests for nap time while playing some gentle rain sounds.
3.Real animal discovery - Take the children to the petting zoo to feel bunnies, listen to their sounds and see them hop or have a pet mouse in the classroom.
Inkpen, M. (2011). Wibbly pig has 10 balloons.
Hodder Children’s Book.
ISBN #: 978-1-444-90266-2
Summary:
This book is about Wibbly Pig who has ten balloons. He is nice to his friends and wants to share the balloons with them. When his friends ask for a balloon, he gives it to them on the condition that they do not take his favourite teddy bear balloon. Tiny Pig took the big heart balloon; Scruffy Pig took the purple balloon; Spotty Pig took the blue balloon. Pig Ears, Big Pig, Pig twins and Big Pig’s sister’s friend also took some balloons. Then Big Pig’s sister showed up and wanted the pink balloon with the bow. However, she is very careless and she lets the other balloons go as she grabs the pink balloon. Wibbly Pig is sad because he is left with no balloons. At the same time, Tiny Pig returns with his big heart balloon and wants to return it to Wibbly Pig, but unfortunately it exploded. Wibbly Pig and Tiny Pig are both sad so they sat in the park for the whole day until the sky is dark. Suddenly Tiny Pig sees something floating in the sky, it is the two balloons that Big Pig’s sister let go earlier. They both climb up higher on the monkey bars and managed to get them back, and in the end they are both happy because they both have a balloon.
Why this book?
This book is suitable for three to five year old children because of several reasons. First, this book contains colourful pictures on each page to attract children’s attention. Children often like books with colourful pictures instead of just black and white. Second, it can also help children practice simple math while counting down the balloons, and third, children often fight for toys when they are playing together, so throughout this story, children can learn a lesson about sharing with friends.
Comments on the illustrations:
Mick Inkpen is the illustrator of the book - as well as the author. He uses lots of different colors to attract children attention. Although there are ten characters in the story, they are all different in size and have different characteristics. Children can easily tell the difference between the ten pigs. Also the size of the book is big enough for children to see all the words and pictures in the book.
Provocation:
I will print out four pages from the story book: Wibbly Pig holding ten balloons, Wibbly Pig holding eight balloons, Wibbly Pig holding three balloons, and Wibbly Pig having no more balloons. The provocation for this story book is going to separate into four days. Each day I will post one of the pictures of Wibbly Pig on the wall and not say anything. Children will then notice the difference of the balloons and attract the children to be more interested about the story.
Four ways to present:
1.Felt board: Use a black felt board as background, and use different colors felt for ten pigs and ten balloons. First, I will use tracing paper to copy out ten pigs and ten balloons, and then I will trace it onto different colors of felt and glue it together.
2.Magnet box: I will find a magnet box and paint a garden as the background. Then I will print out the picture of ten pigs and ten balloons, and stick a magnet at the back of each character. I will also laminate each picture and glue it on a cardboard so it will not break so easily.
3.Finger puppet: I will print out some pictures of pigs and balloons then make my own finger puppets follow the instruction of the website below. But instead of felt scraps, I will use paper and laminate it. http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/animal-finger-puppets-660765/
1.Teach children to make their own hand made book. Each child will follow instructions and cut the paper into five long pieces. Then fold the five pieces of paper into half. Instructors can help to hole punch one side so they can use a ribbon to hold the papers together. After making the book, children can draw numbers on each paper and create their own number story book.
2.Song and finger play:
Ten little fingers One little, two little, three little fingers.
Four little, five little, six little fingers.
Seven little, eight little, nine little fingers.
Ten fingers on my hand.
Ten little, nine little, eight little fingers.
Seven little, six little, five little fingers.
Four little, three little, two little fingers.
One finger on my hand.
Ask each child to bring their favourite toy to the centre and share with other children. At the beginning of the day, I will make a name card for each child and when they arrive; they can put their toy beside their name cards and also look around and see what toys the other c
Wibbly Pig has 10 balloons on PhotoPeach
Wood, A. (1992). Silly Sally. New York: Red Wagon Books. Harcourt Brace & Company
1.ISBN #: 0-15-201990-1
2.A paragraph describing the book content. (This paragraph is to be in your own words and not simply taken off a bookstore site.)
Silly Sally walked backwards and upside down when she was on her way to town.
Along the way, she met many different, but silly animals - a pig, a dog, a loon, and a sheep.
They marched towards town in a most unusual way. Sally danced a jig with the pig, and then Sally and the pig played leapfrog with the dog. Next, Sally, the pig and the dog were singing a tune when they met the loon. At last, when they met the sheep, Sally and her companions fell asleep with the sheep. Neddy Buttercup, a man who wore an unusual green costume, came walking forward, and right side up! He tickled Sally and her friends to wake them up. What happened when Sally tickled Neddy Buttercup? Everyone giggled, and they all stood up. Finally all her friends including Neddy Buttercup went into town walking backwards and upside town. What about the people inside the town? They too walked backwards and upside down.
3.A few sentences describing why would you use it for three to five-year olds?
It contains only one sentence on each page, the simple phrases and rhyming words are repeating throughout the book changing characters and movement words. Short sentence structure allowed for children to learn to literacy skills itself. The vocabulary in this book is extremely simple to understand and playful for ages three to five children. I think some words like “leapfrog” and “tune” that children probably would not be familiar with. However the rhyming of words provides us to build phonemic awareness. The rhyming words is represented a action word “pig” and “jig”, “dog” and “leapfrog”, “loon” and “tune”, “sheep” and “asleep”.
4.A comment on the illustrations should also be included. Example: How are the illustrations made? What medium was used?
The illustrations are full of bright and mild colour. The background colour is primarily yellowish on water colour basic. The yellow colour provides a warm and happy feeling when I read this story.
I thought Silly Sally was a fun little story with great full pictures to look at throughout. Wood gave each characeter their own white page when introduced to the story. They also had their own little rhyme to bring out their own feature. I also enjoyed all the bright colors that were in then this story that helped show the main characters own vibrant personality.
I liked this story personally because it was silly and quirky its own way. The pictures were fun to look at too. I like the Dr. Seuss vibe of simple rhymes for kids to follow along with. The one thing I really liked a lot with this story is what a fun read aloud in your classroom it could be. The class could act out what each character did in the(less)The illustrator gave each animal character their own white page, it helped us to show the variety of characters own vibrant personality. When I saw each character, I was curious how Audrey Wood described silly dog and silly loon. If I draw a silly animal, how can I represent silliness?
What mood do they evoke? Why would the children enjoy them? Why were you drawn to them?
Reading this book makes me silly and happy. From the beginning, I try to remember the first feeling of upside down. It was a unique experience. Children love to explore new things and they enjoy what they found. They might repeat upside down over and over again.
Silly Sally also included a provocation showing a little hidden hint. We can expect what animal comes next during Sally went to town. I think that these kinds of predictable book make children to keep focus on the story and encourage their wonderings.
5.How would you build background knowledge or provoke interest for the children in the book before you present it? What provocations would you use? How would you go about using the provocations?
1)Hang a picture upside down or put a book upside down on a shelf.
Children might ask a teacher put the picture or the book right side up. They may notice upside down is unusual way. Ask them what can you see when the picture is upside down.
Children might see other things- they might focus on background or might find more details.
2)In an activity time, I tickle children’s feet and hand.
Ask feeling or ask “Is it delight or bothering? “
3)Ask what silly means?
During the playing time, I can ask a child to make a funny face or a funny gesture.
1)Read the story
What I need :
a.I will wear a white apron and purple dress
How to present :
a.Before turn the first page, I might ask “What is difference from other book?”,
“Do I grab the book a wrong way?”, “Do I read this book upside down?” ,“Is sally flying or jumping”,
b.Showing the first page, I will ask “How can Sally walk “,” I wonder how she can stand with hands “.And then I will ask “what animal can you see?”, “can you find them? Because there are a hidden little details in the first page. If children cannot notice the hidden animals, I would ask and encourage children to be drawn into deeply and carefully.
c.On the second page, I can say “I wonder what the pig is doing”,” Does this pig look happy or not”. The third page I will ask again “Does this dog want to play or sleep”. Each page also has a little hint what comes next in the story.
d.Keep asking what each animal look like.
e.When they fell asleep, I will chunk and ask how they get to town.
f.When Neddy Buttercup came, I will ask how he walk-backward upside down or forward right side up.
g.Before the last page, I will say “How Sally and her friends get to town walking backwards upside down or walking forwards right side up?”
2)Puppet Theatre
What I need:
a.Theatre stand, made with a kind of boots box (it is twice bigger than regular shoes box) or a three- side presentation board.
b.Get rid of its lid and put the background same as the first page of the book ( I can get a background paper from Google’s image search but I prefer paint by myself))
c.Put a piece of green fabric on the top on the box, and put a piece of yellow fabric as a curtain each side of box.
d.Eachcharacter made with felt (I will buy www.theteacherexpress.com) and put long and thick Coke straws which can bend but strong enough in as the puppets. (I need two Neddy Buttercups. One is right side up and other is upside down)
How to present :
a. follow the story.
b. I will use a right side Neddy Buttercup when he came. And then I will use upside down Neddy Buttercup with others while they walking through the town.
3)Story with movement.
What I need :
a. Song CD or cassette tape(I have a cassette tape),
b. Player cassette
How to present :
a. I am sure that children love to sing this song and want to do movements over and over.
b. When children are introducing Silly sally twice, I will go the gym and do a movement with the song
c. I will keep try to be familiar with the song and movement.
d. I will keep practice a movement and action though the internet.
b.Colour them (I prefer to paint with water colour because, this book is illustrated with water colour.
c.Put laminated them.
d.Make two holes up and down each character.
e.I need two thick yawns- one goes up and the other does down.
How to present
a.I need two volunteers to hold the yawn.
b.As I tell the story, I will put two yawn through the hole both side(one yawn goes up holes and the other goes down)
c.Ask them “I wonder who is coming next?” I think children can know which animal comes next as they have heard the story a few times.
d.When Neddy Buttercup came and ticked, two volunteers switch the yawn (under yawn goes up and up yawn goes down). Now all animals and sally walk right side up.
e.Sally and all her friends got to town walking backwards upside down, two children switch yawn again.
1)Extension 1 :
a.I will ask supervisor or owner to have a “Silly Day” like a pyjama day.
b.To celebrate Silly Day, I will turn some pictures upside down.
c.When children come in the class, I will ask do children a few unexpected wacky things. For example, Art is under the table or sit beside a chair.
d. I also can say draw a picture with other hand. If a child is a left-handed, try to draw right hand and a right handed person can use left hand.
e.Or I might ask children wear a shoes other side. It might be unique feeling and they will enjoy it.
2)Extension 2 :
a.Make a bulletin board named Silly Board.
b. Bring a camera and take a children’ silly face or funny face as much they can make. It will be a delight moment for them.
c.Put the silly and funny face pictures on the board.
3) Extension 3 :
a.In the yoga class or in the free activity time (if the child care does not have a yoga class), try to stand up side down.
b.The younger children might need help or they bend their waist and head down.
c.Ask what they can see.
d.Encourage them to tell the difference when their head down, how about their hair? And what the feeling is.
Bonwill, A. (2011). I don't want to be a pea! Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 978-0-19-278017-1
I don't want to be a pea! is a story about friendship and compromise. Bella the bird and Hugo the hippopotamus are best friends. They are going to a costume party. They need to decide on costumes to wear, to go as a pair. Hugo states that they will go as the princess and the pea. He will be the princess and Bella will the pea. Bella does not like this idea. She intends to be a mermaid and Hugo will be her rock. Hugo is offended. Hugo and Bella exchange further suggestions, which the other dismisses one after the other. The friends are not happy, and are heading towards a crisis. Hugo's and Bella's bickering leads them to the decision that they will not go to the costume party together, and they both stomp away. After a bit of sad and solitary reflection Bella and Hugo realize that they miss their best friend. They decide to make each another happy, and plan a surprise. Both friends arrive at the party dressed as the pea, so the other could be the princess. They make up and happily celebrate. Bella and Hugo end the story saying "we're two peas in a pod...just as it should be". Friendship has conquered their uncooperative stubbornness.
This is a lovely tale that shows that a good friendship requires compromise. After bickering, the friends offer a gesture of peace when they realize that their friendship is most important. The story is told in a sweet and funny way. There is wit and humor to the dialogue. I don't want to be a pea references well know fairytales, which the child will recognize. The relationship between Hugo and Bella is incredibly believable. A child could relate the characters' squabbling to their own stubborn arguments with friends or siblings. Ultimately, as the story shows, it feels good to make someone else happy.
The lively illustrations add a fantastic dimension to the tale. They are composed of strong black line drawing with large colour blocks and collage. The illustrations are bold, incredibly expressive and capture the audience's attention. Another interesting visual detail is the different fonts that are used for each character.
I will make two laminated posters of the characters. I will place these in the classroom. Later, I will play a game with the children. I will make a stack of cards with a variety of photos of different birds and hippos. Each card will have a question on the back.
For the bird cards I will ask:
- What is special about a bird, which no other animal has? (Feathers)
- What does a bird make for its home? (A nest)
- What is a bird born out of? (An egg)
- Can all birds fly? (Most of them but not all. Some birds can swim, such as the penguin, and some run, like the ostrich.)
- What do most birds like to eat? (Insects, but some like plants and some like meat.)
-What is the world's biggest bird? (The ostrich. It is taller than your mom and dad. It is also the fastest runner)
- What is the world's smallest bird? (The hummingbird. The Bee Hummingbird is not much bigger than an insect.)
For the hippopotamus cards I will ask:
- What does a hippo eat? (Plants. Its favourite is short grasses.)
- Can a hippo run faster than a person? (Yes.)
- Where do hippos like to be? (In the water, its second favourite place is the mud.)
- Is a hippo big? (Yes very. It is as tall as an adult human but weighs more than a car possibly as much as two cars. It is third largest of all land animals, after the elephant and the rhinoceros.)
- Where is a hippo born? (Under water.)
- When does a hippo eat? (All nightlong. During the long hot day they keep cool in the water. After sunset they take a long walk and eat a lot of grass - as much grass as a child weighs.)
- What colour is a hippo? (Grey, but they do expel a natural sunscreen that is red in color.)
I will ask the children to pick the cards from the deck at random. We will answer the questions together as a group. After we answer the question I will affix it to the appropriate animal (with suction cup hooks). Whichever animal gets to five cards first, determines the next activity.
If the hippo wins we will sing an action song:
The Hippo Song (by Eric Ode)
Stomping through the jungle is the hippopotamus - boom boom
Stomping through the jungle is the hippopotamus - boom boom
With sandpaper skin from top to bottomous
Oh how I love that hippopotamus
Swimming in the river is the hippopotamus - splish splash, boom boom
Swimming in the river is the hippopotamus - splish splash, boom boom
With sandpaper skin from top to bottomous
Oh how I love that hippopotamus
Chasing all the monkeys is the hippopotamus - ee ee, splish splash, boom boom
...
Eating all the mangos is the hippopotamus - munch munch, ee ee, splish splash, boom boom
...
Sleeping in the jungle is the hippopotamus - snore snore, munch munch, ee ee, splish splash, boom boom.
...
If the bird wins first I would give children scarves and we would imagine we were birds flying and flapping our wings and dance to Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds".
The next day we would finish the remaining questions and do the other musical activity. I would then introduce our book - I don't want to be a pea.
Once we have read the story together, I have a few alternate ways to share the story with the children.
A) A magnet action play - I will make or purchase the animals, objects and characters in the tale. I will need small figures of a bird, a hippo, a princess, two peas, a mermaid, a rock, a king, a jester, Cinderella, a pumpkin, a wolf, Red Riding Hood. I will also require magnets to glue to the bottom of the figures, a magnet on a stick to move the characters, a box with a slit cut out to place the stick in and a small set of curtains. I will move the figures one at a time through the little curtains as I tell the tale.
B) A child involved felt story - I will need white felt, t-shirt transfer paper, a clothesline and little pegs. I will place the pictures of the bird and hippo, as a princess, peas, a mermaid, a rock, a king, a jester, Cinderella, a pumpkin, a wolf, and Red Riding Hood on the line, as well as a showerhead, some party decorations and footprints. These will all be colour photocopied and transferred on to white felt. As I tell the story the children will help me to place the picture on the felt board.
C) A block story - I will make wooden blocks (20x35x75mm) and affix small images of the characters on each one. I will have a pea pod on the back of each block and each block will be sealed with a water-based sealer. I will stack the blocks in two stacks as I tell the story. When the story reaches the crises I will have two children volunteer to stamp their fists on the table, acting as angry feet. The stacks will fall, showing how anger is destructive. I will finish the story placing the remaining pieces together.
D) A costume story - I will make or buy hats, masks or chest ornaments for all the characters. I will have the children randomly pick out a block from the previous example. That will be their character. As I tell the story the children move to the center of the circle and play the part. I will need grey felt for the hippo, the rock and wolfs ears, green pea felt, feathers for the birds mask, pink fabric for the princess crown, a tiara, gold foil and cardboard for the Kings crown, several colours of felt for the jester's hat, orange felt for the pumpkin, blue felt for the mermaid's tale and red fabric for the riding hood.
This is not a story that I would chunk. One could chunk it at the point where the characters are sad and remorseful, but I would just pause there and wonder with the children. I like the flow of the book and it is also quite short and sweet. Another place that I would stop to wonder are on the title page, pointing at the photograph (I wonder why the bird is riding on the hippos head?). Next would be the first page (I wonder why they say all birds have hippos and all hippos have birds?). I would stop to wonder about all the footprints. I would wonder with them why the animals are so mad and if they are going to the party. At the end, I would wonder why the animals are so happy.
After we have immersed ourselves with this story, I have a few extensions that I would follow with.
A) I would start with our group's "peas in a pod" activity. I would make a giant pea pod out of green construction paper. I then would cut circles to represent peas. On the pea I would attach a photo of each child and she or he would decorate it. The child and I would write a little bit about him or her and what they like, etc. Each pea would be put into the giant pod and placed on the wall. I would laminate it so that the children could handle the pieces as they wish. I would point out that we may all be a little different but we belong together.
B) I would open up a conversation about symbiosis. A symbiotic relationship is one that is beneficial to two different species. I would point out that Bella and Hugo have a relationship that mirrors one that happens in nature. In real life birds and hippos have a give and take relationship. Each animal relies on the other. The bird eats the insects that prey on the hippo and the hippo provides the bird with food and protection.
I would display photos and explain further examples of symbiotic relationships. - - The honeybee and a flower - Flowers provide the bee with nectar for food and the bee helps make seeds for new flowers by carrying pollen from one flower to another. (We could pretend to be bees and flowers buzzing from one to the next).
- Algae and fungi - Together they make lichen. Lichen can grow in places where neither algae nor fungi could survive on their own. (I would bring in real examples and farther I would make a point of pointing out these plants in a nature walk.)
- Sea anemone and the clownfish - The anemone protects the clownfish by hiding it in its poisonous arms. The clownfish gets rid of the anemones parasites and brings back bits of food.
- The badger and the coyote - The badger and the coyote make excellent hunters when they work as a team. The badger is good at digging up their prey and the coyote is very fast and can catch it when tries to run away.
- The olive baboon and the elephant - The baboon uses the water holes that the elephant digs up and the elephant listens to the warnings from the treetop baboons,
C) We would plant peas. I would need English pea seeds, pots, soil, and fertilizer. We would put soil in the pots and sprinkle the soil with the peas, pressing them into the soil. We then cover the peas with more soil and water. We would decorate the pots with images of Bella and Hugo. We would tend to the plants and watch them grow, using sticks as trellises as required.
D) Another extension from "I don't want to be a pea" is to read the stories that the book refers to.
The Princess and the Pea. Although, I would share a modern interpretation of the tale - The princess and the packet of frozen peas. (By Wilson, T.: Scholastic). This is story of a fun-loving tomboy princess not a whiny, fragile one.
I would read Red Riding Hood, and Cinderella. I would share an oral story of a mermaid and one for the king and his jester, while the children draw the stories.
