I'm the Best

Cousins, L. (2010). I'm the Best. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press-     

  ISBN # 978-0-7636-4684-4

-       The Summary of the Book

In the story, there is a dog who believes he is the best at everything. A lady bug, mole, goose, and donkey are the dog’s wonderful friends; however, although he loves his friends, he still thinks he is the best. He competes with his friends and keeps saying that he wins. He says he is the best because he is better than everyone of his friend. And of course, his friends get so frustrated and wish they were as good as the dog. However, they find their own strengths, and the dog regrets with tears, and feels sorry for that he has been mean to his friends. His brilliant friends generously forgive him, say that he is the best at having beautiful fluffy ears, and give him a big hug. The story ends with a humor that the dog recovers his confidence saying that having beautiful fluffy ears is the most important, so he is the best.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

-       The Reason That I Chose this Book for Three to Five Year Olds

I chose this book for three to five year olds because of its message. Young children often get too competitive, and want to be the best at everything. I believe there is nothing wrong with being competitive as long as one does not look down on others. This book invites children the concept that everyone has his strength and weakness. At the end of the story, the dog says he is still the best, but he does not look down on his friends. He learns and respects that others have their own strengths, and finds his own strength. I would like to introduce to the children the balance that the dog learns becoming the best while respecting others.

Also its illustration is why I chose this book for three to five year olds. The book is roughly sketched with a black crayon, and colourfully painted in water colours. Also, its letters are sloppily written in a black crayon as if it was written by the children. The messily sketched and brightly coloured illustration resembles children’s drawings, and that encourages the children to engage in the book more easily. Throughout the whole story, the playful and energetic illustration stimulates curiosity and interest.

-       Provocation

As a provocation for this book, I would put some pictures of the animals on the wall. For example, I will hang the pictures of the dog with floppy ears, goose with paddling legs, mole digging the hole on the wall. Animals not only from the book, also many other animals and even men’s pictures can be used. For instance, the picture of an elephant grabbing food with his nose, or the picture of a girl balancing on a ball can be used. As looking at these pictures, the children may be curious about what they are doing, and they may wonder what the connection between the pictures is.

-       4 Different Ways

This book can be presented in many different ways, and I especially chose the felt board, finger puppets, shadow theatre, and children participating in the skit. While I am telling the story, I will stop and wonder with children, when the dog says he wins to the mole (“I wonder how does the mole feel like? If I were him, I must be sad”), and when the dog says to the ladybug that he wins (“I wonder, does ‘big’ always mean you win? If I am small, that means I lose? Is being small better sometimes?”), and when the mole says to the dog that he win (“I wonder, how does the dog feel like right now?”).

1.     The felt board story

The felt board can be made with a presentation board and felt. Those can be purchased at Michaels, but to lower the cost, instead of a presentation board, a cardboard can be used if it is big enough. The pictures of the characters should be laminated to avoid getting wet or crumpled. It becomes more approachable to the children to engage and participate to the story. You can get your paper laminated at Wal-Mart and Staples.

2.     The finger puppets

The puppets can be made with felts and wiggle eyes. The dollar shops sell them, but some dollar shops have limited variety of felt colours. On the other hand, Michaels has many colour selections although it cost higher than dollar shops. Every puppet should have its characteristic; for instance, the dog should have big floppy ears, the lady bug should have antennae and wings, the moles should have bright pointy nose and long claws. There are also ready-made puppets are sold, but it is hard find the characters from the book. However, if you do not mind changing the characters or manipulating the story, IKEA sells an animal finger puppets package including a snail, rabbit, moose, elephant, lion, frog, tortoise, and so on.

3.     The shadow theatre

The shadow theatre can be made with a thin white paper stick on a large frame. The frame can be any frame not in use at home, and the thin white paper can be purchased at any craft shop. And the puppets can be made with a thick black paper with a thin and long stick which is the handle to manipulate the puppet. Thick black papers and thin and long sticks can be purchased any dollar stores. The side view is the best to bring out the animals’ characteristics except the ladybug. Also, the light is needed for the shadow theatre, and it can be any desk lamps.

4.     The children participating skit

The children participating in the skit should be the very last way of the presenting the book because the children need to be familiar with the story. In this story, only five children are needed; however, we can manipulate the story, and add more animals, so that more children can participate. For the props, masks for those characters are needed, and there are many websites that provide the masks for children:

www.moleplace.com/images/the_mole_mask.jpg (provides the mask for mole)

Also, Google image search provides good examples for the masks. A foam board and elastic band for the ear string can be purchased at dollar shops and craft stores.

-       Extensions

1.     Exploring what I am the best at – As we go through this book, we notice that everyone has different strength. Every child finds what he or she is the best at and draws or takes a picture of it. After drawing, we will hang the pictures on the wall with their name. So we can look at it when we come to the centre.

2.     A relay of compliment on others strengths – From the first activity, the children find their strengths and have chance to look at other’s too. This activity is to practice what they have known about others. In a circle time, the teacher may start complimenting the child next to her, and then the child complement the child next to him, and the next child will continue to pass on the baton of complement.

3.     Making an album “We’re the best” – As we know each other’s strength, why cannot we make an album for ourselves? We can use the pictures from the first activity. Put the child’s name and what she or he is the best with the picture; for example, “I’m Ji Ye, and I’m the best at being my mom’s best daughter”.

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Critical issues books

Fred Stays with Me!

Cofflet, N. (2007). Fred Stays with Me. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

ISBN: 0-316-88269-0

This is a book about a girl whose mommy and daddy has divorced, and they don’t live together anymore. The girl, who has a dog named Fred, sometimes lives at daddy’s house and sometimes at mommy’s house. This story shows how she has different life styles in these two places, but still gets to be with her dog; even though he is sometimes a troublesome for her. For example, her father gets mad when Fred eats his socks, and her mother gets annoyed because the neighbor’s poodle barks at Fred. But no matter what, Fred stays with her wherever she goes; and she is happy about it.

 I think this book is very informative for 3-5 years old children since it has a message that even though it’s hard for children when their parents don’t live together, life can still be fun and enjoyable, and in this case, what makes it enjoyable is that this girl consistently has Fred with her to keep her company no matter which house she lives at.

The cover of the book is very interesting, you can see right away that the girl and her dog are very good friends. The book uses short, simple sentences, which make it easier for children to understand and the pictures are very detailed adding a sense of reality to the story.


I can scan some attractive pictures from the book  that show her life at mommy’s house and how her life at daddy’s house. I can place them in the classroom, on the wall, and see what discussions they evoke among the children.

Ways to present the story:

-Magnet board: I can use a cookie sheet as a board, and I can put a small piece of magnet behind the characters (girl, daddy, mommy, Fred), which can be made of laminated pictures (from the book or hand drawn), or pictures on cardboard. You can also have different objects from each house, for example, you can make a bunk bed magnet from her one room and then a normal bed magnet for her other room.

-Felt board: It is nice to present the story by felt board since we have different objects from mommy’s and daddy’s home that we can present. You need to make the main characters, such as the girl, daddy, mommy, and Fred, out of felt or other materials that are easy to cut. You can also make felt objects from mommy's house and from daddy's house. All these materials can be found at Michaels, the dollar store, or potentially bought premade from 3H Craftworks.
 
-Reading the book: You can read the book, while stopping on certain pages to wonder about what is going to happen next, for instance when the dog does silly or annoying things, you can ask the children what Fred might do next.
 
Extensions:
 
-Art: You can ask children to draw two different rooms, and they could be any two, one from mommy's house or daddy's house, if their parents are separated, and if not, they can draw one from their house or one from grandma’s house, or the second room can be a room they would like to have. You can also ask children to include things they really like about their room/s or what they would like in their room/s.

-Game: You can draw each object that was related to each of the two homes in the story, on small pieces of cardboard. For example, you can draw a bunk bed on one piece of cardboard, and a regular bed on another, or a slice of pizza, that she eats at mommy’s house, and a peanut butter sandwich that she has at daddy’s house. You can also provide two baskets, one with a mommy sticker on it, the other with a daddy sticker on it, so children know which is which. Then you can spread the cards on the floor, and ask the children to put each card in the right basket. This is an activity that is good as a memory game for children.

-Children participation: I can get the children to talk about what pets they have or would like to have and why at their parent's house. I can also ask them how a pet could be a good friend to them?

Critical issues book

It's Not Fair!

Harper, A. (2007). It’s not fair. New York: Holiday House, Inc.

ISBN: 0-8234-2094-0

The story is about a girl whose parents bought home a new baby, and she is not very happy about it. Since all the attention goes to this new baby, and people do everything for him, she now has to do everything by herself therefore she thinks it’s not fair. On the other hand, sometimes she thinks it’s good to be the older one, since she can do something that her baby brother is not allowed to do, or he is not able to do yet. For example, she can walk on her own, or go out and play with her friends while her baby brother is not big enough to do so.

I think this book is very suitable for 3-5 year old children since having a young sibling is a very common occurrence among 3-5 year olds. In some cases, a new born baby at home can be a reason for the older sibling to begin acting out because they feel left out. In some cases, when parents bring home the new baby sibling, the older sibling might feel like he/she is not being paid attention to as much as he/she was before, and may find this unfair; but after a while they may get used the idea of being a big brother or sister.

This book is very attractive for children since it’s filled with bright colors, and the pictures are very large and attractive. There are also some sentences that are repeated a couple of times, which lets children become familiar with it, and this gives them an opportunity to become involved in the story, by repeating the repetition, every time you read the story. So when you read it for the second, third, fourth, etc, they might guess which sentence comes next.

Before children come to the center you can put up some pictures of basic baby items, like bottles, pacifiers, etc. Then you can ask the children who uses these items, thus getting them prepared for the story about a new-born baby.

Ways to present the book:

-Felt board: I can present the book by using a felt board; I can make characters from the story; the girl, her parents, and the new born baby, out of felt. In the story, there are different places, such as a park, a play ground, etc, so I would make sure all these places were included as well, so that children can visualize the story better. You can buy the materials for this story board at Michaels; or you can see if its available ready made at 3HCraftworks.

-Puppet: I can make puppets of the various characters in the story (girl, her parents, new born baby). The puppets can be made with felt, fabrics, or other materials, like stuffed dolls. The supplies can be bought at a thrift store, Michaels, or dollar store.

-Audience participation using masks: I can make masks for the main characters, such as the mother, father, girl, and baby brother. This gets children more involved during the telling of the story. Children are always ready to role play. One way to make the masks is by cutting out photocopies of the main characters from the story. Laminating them and then cutting out holes where the eyes and mouth would be. Then I can punch holes on either side of the mask and use elastic so that when the child puts it on, it doesn’t fall off.

Extensions:

-Song: I find songs or nursery rhymes about new born babies and sing it with children.

-Discussion: I can also have a discussion about siblings, asking questions and getting feedback from those in the class that have younger siblings. I can bring up some questions for children to think of. For example: what they most like about being an older sibling or how they felt when their baby brother or sister came home

-Art: I can also ask them to draw a room for their new baby brother or sister with whatever she/he needs to have in his/her room. If someone or several children in the class do not have a younger sibling I would ask them to create a room for an imaginary one.

Critical Issues book

A pillow for my mom


Sgouros, C. (1998). A pillow for my mom. New York: Houghton Mifflin company.


ISBN: 0-395-82280-7


This is a book about a girl whose mother is sick, and she is not able to tell her story any more. The mother gets worse and has to go to the hospital. The daughter misses her mother very much, and decides to make a pillow for her so that her mother can put her head on it, and feel more comfortable. So she made it and gave it to her mother. After a while her mother dies, so whenever the daughter misses her mother, she puts her head on that pillow to help her feel better.

I think this book is good for 3-5 year olds as its simple and the pictures are large enough that they maintain childrens attention, as well as being large enough to see the daughters facial expressions, and thus, see her emotional reactions. One of the important messages that this book has for children is that it teaches them how, in these sad situations, children can help themselves to feel better. As we see in this story the daughter made a pillow for her mom, and after she lost her mother, that pillow gave her a feeling that her mother was still with her. This helps children to understand that comfort can come from something that was special to the family member that passed (in this case a pillow), and that something can then become something special to the child that lost that family member. This, then can help the child to better be able to handle the death of their family member; it will never replace the family member, but it can bring the child closer to them through triggering happy memories.

The Kissing Hand (Critical Issues)

The Kissing Hand

Penn, A. (1993). The kissing hand. Washington, DC: Child & Family Press.

ISBN: 9780878685851

“The Kissing Hand” is about separation anxiety. A little raccoon, named Chester, was very sad because he didn’t want to go to school. His mother tried to reassure him that he will be ok, by telling him a secret about the kissing hand. So when he feels sad at school and feels like he misses home, Chester is to place the palm of his hand, which his mommy kissed, against his face, so that he can feel her warm kiss wherever he is. He is so happy and excited about his family tradition, that before he goes to school he gives his mom a kiss in the palm of her hand so that she has a kissing hand too.

I would use it for 3-5 year olds as many of them are still going through separation anxiety when leaving their family to go to school or daycare.
The illustrations are calm and soothing, and the colours used are warm colours to evoke a sense of a reassuring, soothing emotion.

You can provoke interest in the story by putting a picture (blown up to poster size) of the cover page (the mommy raccoon kissing baby Chester raccoon’s hand) somewhere on the wall, in the classroom, where the children would notice it. Don’t say anything about it; just let the children talk with themselves about it. Then during circle time begin reading the book, but with the cover page covered.

Ways to read this book:

1. You can use felt (a felt mommy and baby raccoon, a felt tree, felt grass, other felt animals, like a rabbit, a tortoise, an owl, a mouse, and a fox, and a moon). You can make the pieces yourself or you can see if it is readymade at 3H Craftworks.

2. You can use puppets (one for mommy, one for baby), either make them out of stuffed raccoons yourself or you can see if 3H Craftworks has them already pre-made.

3. You can also tell the story with the children, by letting each child be an animal from the book. With masks for each animal, seen in the book, and 2 sticky foam hearts for the palms of hands of the child that is the mommy raccoon and the child that is the baby raccoon, you can let children act out the story as you say it. Most of these crafts can be found in most craft stores like Michaels, or the Dollar store.

Extensions:

1. You can get all the parents or family members that drop their children off at school to kiss the palm of their hand and to get the children to kiss the parents or family members palm of their hand. And anytime the child feels like they miss their family, you can get them to hold their hand up to their cheek. Make sure before you do this, that it is ok with the family as some religions or cultures might not be ok with it.

2. Just like the raccoons hand had a heart shape in the middle of it, you can get the children to trace their hand on a piece of paper, get them to cut it out with safe scissors, and then get them to stick a heart shape (which you can either get them to make themselves or have them pre-cut) in the palm of their pre-cut hand so that they have their very own kissing hands to play with and to give their parents.

3. You can ask the children if they know anything about raccoons. Then you can bring in some books about raccoons, as well as discussing what nocturnal means, as there will probably be a few children who will ask why the raccoon is going to school at night. You can also talk about which other animals are also nocturnal.

4. Here are some pages with plenty more ideas on how to either provoke, read, or extend “The Kissing Hand”
www.teachingheart.net/kissinghandideas.html
www.vickiblackwell.com/kissinghand/index.htm
www.kinderteacher.com/Kissing-hand-activities.htm

One (Critical Issues)

One

Otoshi, K. (2008). One. San Rafael, CA: KO Kids Books.

ISBN: 9780972394642

“One” is a book about bullying. Blue and his friends constantly get bullied by Red, until One comes along and makes them all realize that they all count and they all need to stick up for themselves. They all stand up to Red, which makes Red feel very small. They, then ask Red if he wants to count with them, and then they all become friends.

This is a great book for 3-5 year olds as it includes bright colours, and numbers so that they can easily participate in the story and stay engaged. The language is also very simple and easy to read.

The illustrations are wonderful, yet so simple. They are just bright colours of what looks like circles of paint. The colours of the each circle are included in the actual words, where if they say the name Blue or Red, the actual word is the same colour as the name. The circles of coloured paint turn into numbers of the same colour, illustrating that everyone counts and no one should be left out. I was drawn to this book because of its simplicity and how it was able to illustrate wonderfully, a very critical issue in schools. I liked how a little blob of paint can take on a character and become more than just a blob of paint.

To provoke interest in the book I would put a giant red circle on one side of the classroom and a small blue, orange, purple, green, and yellow circle on the other side of the room. I would ask the children why one circle was on one side of the room and why the rest were on the other. I would also ask them why one circle was bigger than all the rest. Then later on the same day or the next day I would put the grey number One right next to the big red circle, with the rest of the coloured circles a little ways behind it and then ask the children what he was doing there.

There are many ways one can read this book.

1. You can use a felt story, which would be really simple to make yourself with coloured felt; you can buy from the dollar store, or find out if 3H Craftworks in Vancouver BC has one readymade.

2. You can read the story and stop on P. 5 and ask the children why Blue did not like being himself when he was around Red. Then you could stop on P. 11 and ask the children what is going to happen next. Then you could stop again on P. 17 and ask the same question, as to what was going to happen next. Then again on either P. 26 or P. 27 or both you can ask the same question again. This gets children involved in the story and helps them come to conclusions on their own and gives them a better understanding of how bullying hurts people’s feelings.

3. You can also use props, where each child gets to be a different colour. You can use different coloured shirts, which you can buy from a thrift store or make yourself by dying white t-shirts, and then painting the correct number associated with the colour on the back of the shirt. These supplies can be bought at Michaels. Or you can just simply use paper plates with the colour on one side and the number associated with it on the other, these supplies can be bought at the dollar store.

Possible extensions:

1. You can let the children free play with the props, and let them explore or expand the story of bullying on their own.

2. You can ask the children if they have ever had their feelings hurt and have a discussion with everyone as to how the situation could have been resolved where no one felt hurt or left out in the end.

3. You can ask each child what their favourite colour was and get them to draw on a paper plate (their favourite colour), then each child can role play or act as their colour, as in their colour is their costume and a character they can take on.

4. You can also have 10 numbers, each a different colour, then get the children to say the colour and number they see, and so as to not get them to see, for example, a blue number one every day, you can change the colours of the numbers so that there are 10 colours and each has a turn to be associated with all 10 numbers. So in the end you should have, for example 10 “one’s”, each a different colour, and so on. You can get the material for this at any dollar store, and it would be best to laminate them if you plan on letting the children play with the numbers.

Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs (Critical Issues)

Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs

dePaola, T. (1998). Nana upstairs & nana downstairs. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.

ISBN: 0399231080

ISBN: 9780399231087

“Nana upstairs & Nana downstairs” is a story about death. Tommy would go visit his grandparents (they all lived in the same house) every Sunday afternoon. He would play games and eat candy with his great grandmother (Nana upstairs), while his grandmother (Nana downstairs) would bake sweet treats for him. Then one night, when Tommy was only 4 years old, Nana upstairs passed away. Tommy was very upset. Then when Tommy was all grown up his Nana downstairs passed away.

I would use it for 3-5 year olds as the illustrations are soft and simple, and the language used is simple and short enough that their attention will not be lost.
Soft colours were used for the illustrations to evoke very sweet and then sad emotions. The soft coloured illustrations help to portray the gentleness with which to approach the subject of death.

As this book is about death, we do not want to provoke or extend it as it can be a very touchy subject for children in your centre that may have experienced death of either a pet or a family member. If there is a child in your centre that has just experienced the death of a grandparent, this book would be very appropriate to either read with them alone or with a very small group of children. When you read it you want to keep your voice calm and soft, to keep with the mood of the book. You also want to pick a very soft part of the room, like a couch or a place with pillows on the floor. Give the children an opportunity, either during the story, if they really feel like they need to, or after the story, to talk about their experience with death.

Critical Issues Books

Whoever you are

Fox, M. (1997). Whoever you are. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt, Inc.

ISBN: 978-0152007874

Regardless of the differences between people around the world, there are similarities that join us together, such as pain, joy and love. An excellent approach to teach a child to be part of the world by introducing this story. The full page illustrations by Leslie Staub are charming and rich with a jewelled border that draws the reader's attention. This book teaches children the similarities and differences among cultures and ethnicity. Fox uses a simple and rhythmic phrases to convey that everyone is the same. This book is suitable for 3- 5 years old because it uses short and easy text to bring out a significant message for preschool children that everyone's heart is identical no matter how you look like or where you are around the world. Canada is a multicultural country therefore it is important for children to learn that there are different groups that bring us together. This book is definitely a comforting book for children to adapt the diverse society.

Provocation:

• Teacher can post up photos of family pictures from different culture groups (e.g. Chinese, Japanese, Russian, African, Italian). Listen and allow children to engage conversations
• Ask children if their families are diverse. If yes, allow them to tell others where their mommy or daddy is from.

Presenting the book:

• Colour photocopy and blow up the pictures from the book, tell the story using poster boards
• finger puppets/puppets: use different puppets from different cultures and allow children to learn that they're the same although their skin colors is different (you can make your own puppets with felts or purchase them from 3H craft on 4th Ave- they have hand puppets but you can request them to order finger puppets)
• Felt board story: Make your own characters from different culture groups (you can buy felts from the dollar store to make your own character or buy them from 3H craft)

Extensions:

• Print online (google under images for different ethnic groups) for images of different cultures, laminate it and hide it around the class for children to find pairs of the same groups
• Teacher can find some music from different ethnic groups, and allow children to listen while they draw or paint their family pictures (Library is a good resource for Music)
• Children can bring them family pictures and tell other children who's in their family and where they're from

Critical Issues Books

The Ant Bully

Nickle, J. (1999). The Ant Bully. New York: Scholastic Press.

ISBN: 0590395912

With huge and bright pictures along with small words that catches reader's attention, this book is great for teaching young age children of what bully is about. Nickle illustrates this boy, Lucas that always get make fun of by the neighborhood bully, Sid. His helpless reaction in return picks on ants. As a result, the ants shrink Lucas into their size, so he can learn what the ants do daily to survive. This book is great for children, it teaches them to put themselves in other people's shoes and allow them to realize bullying is not acceptable. Although some words might be a little difficult of younger preschool children (insult, thundered, Lucas's sentences, labour), children can easily understand and figure out these words by looking at the pictures. Older children, 4 and 5 years old will have no problem understanding this book.

Provocation:

• Display a poster with the cover of the book. Have children discuss why this picture is there. Let them engage and listen to their conversations
• Ask the children if they know what bully is, if some of them are not familiar, teacher/ other children can explain to them

Presenting the book:

• Finger puppets: you can draw/ print/ photocopy pictures of Lucas, ants, the queen ant, Sid the bully, Lucas's father, laminate and stick them on a felt finger puppet.
• Stop and wonder at i) when the ants had enough, ask the children "I wonder what the ants are going to do to Lucas? ii) I wonder what the ants make Lucas do when he's guilty? What is Lucas's father going to do with the ants and miniature Lucas? (There are no page numbers in this book)
• Magnet Story: you can draw/ print/ photocopy pictures of Lucas, ants, the queen ant, Sid the bully, Lucas's father and other backgrounds, then stick them on magnet sheets. Use a cookie sheet to tell the story with the characters (magnet sheets can be purchased at the dollar stores or stationary stores)

Extensions:

• Discussion on whether the children have ever experienced bully, have children share their stories.
• Ant field trip: have children out for an ants search, and learn/find tracks of ants.
• Ant research: children can look at some ants Non-fiction books, study and learn more about ants. They can also draw pictures of ants. (Teacher can borrow books from the library)

Critical Issues Books

Mommy, where are you?

Gore, L. (2009). Mommy, where are you?. New York: Ginee Seo Books.

ISBN-13: 978-1-4169-5505-4
ISBN 10: 1-4169-5505-4

This is an excellent book for children with anxiety or having attachment issues with their parents. It illustrates a little mouse, Ozzie that wakes up one morning, and find that his mommy wasn't there. He then went out searching for her everywhere and finally realize mommy is at home preparing breakfast. This book is filled with soft and colourful acrylic paintings on the entire page. The vocabularies used are simple and suitable for 3-5 years old. The repetition of "There you are!" throughout the book allows children to participate and join in as the teacher is reading the story. As the little mouse went out to search for his mom, the flapping cut-out page that the object is hiding underneath is a peeking mechanism of the creature that will be revealed on the next page. This book shows the attachment that a child is with his mother, as well as anxiety that children might have when they wake up without seeing their mother.

Provocations:

• Display a picture of little mouse and mommy mouse. See how children will interact and engage questions and conversations.

Presenting the book:

• Reading the book, stop and pause at each illustrated cut-out page and allow children to guess who is hiding on the next page. Ask children: I wonder who's hiding behind the rock, fence, flowers? etc)
• Felt board story: Cut out animals needed (worms, rabbits, squirrel etc) and the object the animals are hiding behind (for example: tree, rock, lake, fence). It would be easier to draw/color photocopy, then laminate the pictures and stick felts on the back)
• Audience participation: Have one child act out to be the mouse and out looking for his mother. Other children can each represent one animal by curling themselves up and the mouse has to guess what animal it is. (Teacher can make animal masks with paper plates for animals needed)

Extensions:

• Hide different animals in the classroom, have children find the same pair of mommy and baby animals.
• Children can make their own book on where their mommy is hiding
• Art project: Children can paint their own mommy and baby animals with acrylic paints (Teacher can google colouring images "animals")

Critical Issues Books

Two Homes

Citation : Masurel . C ( 2001 ). Two Homes . Massachusetts : Candlewick Press.,

ISBN # : ISBN # : 0 – 7636 – 0511 – 5

About The Book : This is great book for children whose parents are getting separated, are separated, getting divorced or are divorced. It portrays that it is okay for some children to have “two homes”, and possibly an extended family. It leaves one with the image that no matter where they live they will always be loved. Children who are in this situation can relate to it, as it is simple to read and easy enough to understand. It lets children see that they can be loved by both parents, even if those two parents do not live together anymore.

Why I would choose this book for 3 - 5 years old :  Because the book was written in a very simple language, the pictures are interesting and easy to look at . It helps children, who are going through a separation/divorce that there are other children out there going through the same thing, and that it's ok. It helps children to understand that no matter how much or little they see each parent, their parents still love them dearly. It also helps them to see that they can enjoy themselves at both houses (their moms’ or their dads’ house). It is good to read this book during circle time as all the children seeing and understanding what types of situations other children in the class might be in, and that it’s ok because both their parents still love them.

Comment on illustration : The cover of the book is interesting , as it clearly represents that there are two homes. The smile of Alex's face on each page, whether he in with his mommy’s house or daddy’s house , portrays that no matter where he is, he is happy and loved . The different look of his rooms , bathrooms , brushes , chairs , etc., is well presented and clearly displays what his favourite things are and are not in each home. The sizes of the pages are large and easy for children to see.

Background Knowledge: Print picture of a boy , a man , and a woman ( from the book ) . Print pictures of two different homes ( from the book ) . Enlarge the pictures . Place them in the middle of a circle at circle time . The boy is holding the man’s hand and standing next to one home , and the boy is holding the woman’s hand ; standing next to another home. Then I will start reading the story , while children can look at these pictures on the floor and relate them to the little boy’s life in the book ( the pictures that I print are from the book, in this case it’s much easier for children to relate to stories when I use the actual pictures from the book, especially with provocations) I will ask the children “why this boy is in one house and in the other?”

Three ways to present the book :

• Felt Story - felt pieces are : the little boy ( Alex ) , Mommy and daddy , two homes , chairs , tooth brushes , coats , boots , other little boys and girls ( Alex’s friends) , and a bed . These pieces can be handmade ( materials can be found in the Dollar store, Wal-Mart , or ready - made at 3H craftworks) .
• Story Basket : Inside the basket we have : the little toys of a little boy , a woman and a man , two small ( different looking chairs ) , two different toys for mommy and daddy's homes, some plastic food , and 2 little tooth brushes . ( these items can be found at the Dollar store , Michaels , Wal-Mart , Gift shop stores, Toy R Us , etc ) . Children can use the basket and play the story on their own and in their own unique ways, as well as role playing. 
•  Reading the book : The teacher can read the book , while stopping at different pages and asking questions. This way children are more involved and will usually remain focused and interested in what’s going to happen next. For example, the teacher can stop on page 14 and ask, “ I wonder what else Alex does at daddy house?” and "what else does he do at mommy's house?". Or you can stop on page 18 and ask, “ I wonder what Alex might keep at daddy's house?, and "I wonder what else he might keep at mommy's house?”.

Three Possible  Extensions for Learning :

•  Prepare supplies for making a house , different shapes of blocks for children to build two different homes for the little boy in the book (Alex). Then they can bring some toys or use the accessories from the story basket mentioned earlier, to play within each home. They can use the accessories any way they want or they can add new ones and create a whole other adventure that Alex could go on at mommy's house and then at daddy's house.
• Children can draw the different rooms they might have, and different things they might use, at the different houses they may have stayed at (this can include other parent, grandparents', friends' house, etc). If they have only stayed at one house, then they can create their very own dream bedroom; what would they want it to look like and what would they want it to contain.
•  Children can also take turns being Alex and role playing with the other children what it is like or would be like living at one home and then the other. Children can grow on this and the family does not have to consist of only a dad and then only a mom; Alex can suddenly have siblings, pets, new moms and dads, wherever the children want to take it.

Critical Issues Books

Family Book

Citation : Parr.T ( 2003) The Family Book . New York , NY : Time Warner Book Group.,

ISNB # : 0 – 316 – 15563 – 2

About This Book : This a book about different families, as in how people can be different because they do not have a same cultural backgrounds. Different families speak different languages, have different beliefs and celebrate different holidays based on those beliefs; some people have one parent , some have 2 fathers/mothers, some are black, brown, white, etc. Some families live in different countries, and some live very close to each other. Families are big or small . Thus, the book teaches us about different people and different families in our society, that may have come from various places around the world .

Why I would choose this book for 3 - 5 years old : I would choose this book for 3-5 year olds because it is educational, in that it teaches them about how people around the world and around us, within society, are different; how even the families of the children in a center are different, and that’s ok. There is at least one or two children in a center whose parents are going through or have already been divorced, who have had to experience death within the family (even a parent) , who are living with grandparents, who are adopted, and the list goes on, including children that celebrate different holidays. This book can help educate children as to the reasons why children and families may be different from each other. And with this book children can learn about the variety of families, as well as how to respect them all.

Comment on illustration : Todd Parry chose a great way to introduce and teach children about different types of families. The words are typed in bold colors, which make it more attractive for children to look, as they are interested in bold, bright colors. It is also easy to read, as the language and sentences used are simple and appropriate for both young and older children. The simple designs and bold colors create a general mood that is happy and interesting, as the book explains about how some families are different from each other and how, even though they may be different, they can have similarities as well ( e.g. celebrating happy occasions). It would be a great book to keep children interested and focused on it, as each page brings a novel, different family. They may also be able to relate to some of the families in the book, and this can also keep their interests and provoke mini discussions about families, while reading the book.

Background knowledge : I will print the cover of the page ( size of a poster ) and tape it on the board where I sit and read a book to children during circle time. As they enter the class in the morning they are able to see the poster and talk about it with their fellow classmates. As we start reading the book ( the cover of the book won’t be visible ; as I will cover it with a piece of white paper ) . Before I read the book , we will have a small group discussion about the poster that they see on the board.



Three ways to present the book :

• Felt Story . Print picture of types of families from the book, glue felt or sandpaper on a back of the pictures , this way the picture will attach to a felt board. As you read the story you can show children different types of families on the felt board. ( Felt set can be found at 3H craftworks) and if want to make by yourself , the pieces can be found in Wal-Mart and/or at the Dollar store. 
•  Print some pictures of different characters from the book , glue a magnet to the back of the pictures, use a magnet board or cookie sheet to play with the different characters from the book and allow children to explore and to learn more about families which are different than their own ( white glue and magnet sheet can be found in the Dollar Store , Michaels , and Wal-Mart ) .
• Puppets: with a use of puppets we can present different characters of the book ( e.g. fish family , teddy bear family , bird’s family , elephant’s family, black , white, or brown families , etc ) . Puppet set can be made by hand ( materials from Wal-Mart , Fabric Stores , and/or ready made from 3H Craftworks ).

 Three possible extensions :

•  Bring something from home that is unique to your family, culture, heritage, etc, that you can share with the group during circle time as a sort of show and tell, if they can’t bring the object, if it’s too delicate, important, etc., they can bring a picture of it to share with the group. 
•  Bring a CD with songs from the different cultures in your own class (if you know them, you can ask either the children or the parents). Play the CD so that everyone can hear how songs are sang in different languages, this is especially fun if you have a large variety of cultures in your classroom. You can also give the children shakers, scarves, drums, etc, so that they can move to the music. If your class does not have a variety of cultural backgrounds to go off, then you can just introduce the different cultures yourself, using the songs sang in different languages, that you have chosen, and then explain to the children where each came from. The CD's called "World playground", "African playground", etc. are great places to start if you care looking for a CD that displays songs from various cultures or just one culture.
• Family Craft ! Use various different art supplies, like different colored paper , buttons , glitter , felt , fabrics , markers , glue, etc. and ask each child to create or design their own family.

Critical Issues Books

Billy Bully

Citation :  Galan. A ( 2009 ) Billy Bully : A school – yard counting table. New York , NY: Scholastic.Inc.,

ISBN # :  978 – 0 – 545 – 11012 – 9

   Describing  the book content : This is a book about bullying. Billy Bully does/says things to his friends, which are mean and hurt their feelings; therefore he loses them one by one. Finally he is left by himself, and nobody wants to play with him anymore. He decides to get his friends back one by one by doing nice things for/to them. It is also a great book in terms of teaching children how to count from 1-10 and backwards from 10-1. As they are listening to the story, they can count the number of Billy’s friends, which are going down , because Billy is being a bully. Then when Billy Bully finds out that he is lonely and nobody is there to play with him , he goes back to his friends , he does/says nice things to them to make them feel better, and he slowly befriends everyone again (here the children could count the number of Billy’s friends from 1-10 when all of his friends are back at the playground with him) .


   Why I would use it for 3 - 5 Years old : I would use this book for 3-5 year old children because it is a very educational book in terms of how we can think about our friends’ feelings. Sometimes it is good to say nice things to our friends, to help them, to share things with them, to listen to them, to wait for them, and to show them how to do things. This book teaches children that Bullying hurts people’s feelings and when we constantly hurt our friends’ feelings then they will not want to be our friend anymore. But if we change the way we treat our friends then we can gain their trust back and we won’t be lonely anymore (just like Billy did) . In terms of teaching children how to count , I think children love to participate when someone is reading a book to them, therefore, getting the children to count the numbers with you gets them engaged and interested with the material you are reading.
  
   Comment on Illustrations : I think the illustrations are very intelligent, they are colourful, bright, and attractive (likely to catch the children’s eyes) . The poetic structure is fun and simple, and if read many times, the children may pick it up and be able to say the story with you. The picture on the cover of the book is very much related to the story. Billy is standing all by himself in the middle of the schoolyard, while all of his friends are around him, staring at him with unhappy faces. Once Billy realized what consequences his behaviour had, he changed his behaviour and was generous to his friends, so they would want to play with him again, as Billy did not like being lonely. It was a hppy conclusion for Billy and all his friends when he learned how to play nicely with his friends

  Background Knowledge : I will draw the picture of Billy Bully sitting on a bench all by himself with a sad looking face. Then I would ask the children why Billy is sitting all by himself, and why he looks so sad ? Then later that afternoon or the next day I will present the same picture of Billy and this time present the picture of all his friends around him looking angry at him, and again ask questions, like why are Billy's friends angry with him? Then on the same day or the next I will read the book to them, thus giving the children more perspective on what the pictures presented prior were all about.

Three ways to present the book :

•  Felt story – there will be a felt board with a green background , with white clouds , a school building , a bench , a slide , a swing , a ball and some sticks . There will be a Cow , sheep, pig, dog , bird, horse , rabbit , duck , cat and a frog . These pieces can be found ready - made ( in a form of a set ) from stores such as 3Hcarftworks , in Vancouver.
• Reading the book to the children . This way you are not only reading a book , but changing your voice , asking questions , stopping and pausing on some of the pages and wondering, with children, about what will happen next. Wondering help provoke further interest in the book.  In this case, I will begin reading the story in my regular voice, but my voice will change as Billy encounters his different friends (Frog , Duck, Rabbit , bird , etc ). For example : I change my voice to the sound of Duck – quack , quack , or to the sound of a Frog – raaaabbit , raaaabbit ........ . I will also extend the words of the numbers to get the children to finish the number, for example, I would say ....his friends are down to fiiiii......; hoping they will be able to finish the word ( five) . As I am counting down the number of Billy’s friends , I stop on page 9 and ask : “ I wonder how many friends he has now ?” and on page 14 I will ask “ I wonder what happens to Billy now?” and then right after that on page 15; I will ask “ I wonder what Billy will do now?”. Wondering with children also helps them to saty focused on the story and keeps their interest in the story. It also gets them involved, where they get to anticipate what will happen next.
• Story Basket : in my basket I will have puppets of all the animals in the story ( cow, bird, rabbit , frog , sheep, dog , cat , pig ) . I will have a little chair or bench , trees and flowers for the school yard, a house which represents the school , a small ball , some really small sticks , and some plastic food ( carrots, apple , cookies ) . I will cover the basket and as I am saying the story I will take out the pieces one by one. I will let the children free play and role play with the accessories from the basket after we have done circle time.

Three possible extensions: 

•  children can color the ready - made picture of the animals in the story , cut around them and hang them on a long piece of string ( like a key chain ) which presents the circle of friendship.
• we can make masks of the animals in the book : children can draw their favourite animal from the book on a white paper plate, and then colour them. Then we can make two holes on either side of the plate, tie elastic from one end to the other so that it fits around each child’s head, so their hands are free, then we can cut out where their eyes would be, and the mouth, if you like, so that they can role play wearing masks. 
•  Counting numbers from low to high and vice versa ! For this activity the children can sit on the floor ( in a circle ) . The teacher holds a ball and plays the music . As the music starts playing the children pass a ball to the person sitting next to them, as each child gets the ball they say the next consecutive number in the sequence. While they are passing the ball , they are repeating the numbers loud ( e.g. 1 – 2 - 3 – 4 ...) , and the numbers can be the amount of children in the class, it does not have to be exactly 10 children, thus you can teach more numbers if there are more than 10 children in the class. As the music stops , whoever is holding the ball ( e.g. child number 4 is holding the ball ) will move from his / her spot and sit in the middle of the circle . When all the children are sitting in the middle of the circle, the teacher then plays the music again and this time children pass a ball to each other counting backwards from the high to low ( e.g. 10 – 9 – 8 – 7, ...) , when the music stops , whoever is holding the ball ( e.g. child number 6 is holding the ball ) , then he/she leaves his/her spot and sits back in the circle !

Books on Critical Issues

Barkow, H., & Brazell, D. (2001). That’s My Mom. London: Mantra Publishing Ltd.

ISBN 1-85269-599-4

This is a wonderful book about what it is like for children who have biracial parents. It follows young Mia and Kai through a few frustrating scenarios where their peers and other people do not realize that they’re related to their mothers. Mia and Kai attempt to work out a plan that will make things easier and in the end there is a comforting message; I am proud and happy with who I am and the way my family is!
In today’s day and age, there are more and more biracial couples. Because of multi-racial cities in North America and immigration, there is a much higher chance of falling in love with someone of a different ethnicity.  Families come in all colours, shapes and sizes and it is important to acknowledge a child’s (not-so-unique) situation if and when it is present in the classroom. This book is good for 3-5 year olds because it has few words and simple sentences, spoken from Kai and Mia’s point of view. The book is mostly dialogue so it would be beneficial not to read too fast and to use enthusiasm when impersonating the voices. This book is very useful because on each page it translates the sentences into Farsi; a language I am personally not familiar with but none the less, it is a feature an educator should look for among a diverse classroom.
There are pictures throughout this book. The illustrations are really colourful and grab the reader’s attention. Some pages are filled with foreground and background, while others are simpler images, just containing the visual needed to portray the scene. I like how well the characters’ faces are drawn.

Extensions:
• A picture: To extend this book I would choose a picture of Mia and her mother, photocopy it, enlarge it and maybe laminate it. This picture would be put up somewhere in the classroom and left for children to find on their own and start wondering what it is and why it is there. The picture will allow for conversation to which will tie into the book.

• Family Project: After they’ve read the book, the children could get pictures of their parents, talk about them, what they do together, what they love about them (which the teacher could record and include in the final presentation of each project), draw pictures of themselves with their parents and more.

• Puppets: You can present this story to children using people puppets as Mia, Kai and their moms; talking through them and acting out their roles.

Alexander, C. (2008). Lucy and the Bully. Illinois: Albert Whitman and Company.

ISBN 978-0-8075-4786-1

This is a really great book to talk about bullying with the children. It deals with Lucy (the victim) and Tommy (the bully). Tommy begins a routine of purposely breaking Lucy’s belongings and projects. He warms her not to tell anyone, and out of fear she listens. Over the next week Lucy comes home from school sadder and sadder. Eventually she tells her mom and her mom insists on telling the teacher. From then on Tommy was no bully and instead he seemed embarrassed and shy. Lucy befriends him anyway and in the end they both realize they can be friends after all.
Children are constantly faced with conflict and this includes during interactions with their friends and peers. They are at the young age where they’re beginning to find out how to maintain self-control of one’s emotions and how to socialize acceptably and effectively. Challenges such as bullying can be common within the classroom or school setting.  Bringing awareness to this issue is important so that children can hopefully be taught to see from all lenses of the bully cycle (the victim, the bully, the by standard), allowing them the ability to avoid the situation in the present or the future. It also lets you reach out to a child and relate to their feelings.
 The illustrations in this book are large scale, taking up the entire page. The paint is vivid and colourful and is uses simple brush strokes.  The animal characters are cute, and every so often the author has included comments coming from their mouths, allowing the reader to say it aloud or not.

Extensions:
• Art Time: In the book Lucy and her classmates do a lot of art work such as drawing and painting. By giving the children time for their own art offers them the chance to interact with each other through the drawings and put their creativity to use. The children can learn to assist each other, or how to be positive and supportive of the others in the class.

• Picture: In the book there is a picture of the children’s animal models made in art class; including Lucy’s whose was smashed by Tommy later on. I would put the copy of the picture near a shelf with their art projects before I read the book, to see what questions and statements are made in response to randomly finding this.

• Friendship cards: The children can make little cards (or create a present of some sort) for one other person in the class. In the cards they can have friendly pictures or comments so that when they exchange their cards they can feel happy and good about themselves.

Landolf, D. W. (2009). What a Good Big Brother. New York: Random House.

ISBN 978-0-375-84258-0

This is one of my favourites of all the books I’ve chosen. It deals with the issue of bringing home a new baby. This is such a common issue in early childhood classrooms because new born babies are usually born when the first child is still fairly young. In this book Cameron, a little boy, welcomes his new baby sister Sadie, into the world. He goes through three scenarios where Sadie is crying and his parents explain what she needs each time, and then allows Cameron to watch. First it was changing her diaper, then putting her down for a nap, and then feeding her. The fourth time nobody can figure out why Sadie is crying until only Cameron, her big brother, calms her down and makes her smile!
This book has amazing illustrations! The paintings are so beautiful and unique. The artists fill the whole page with bright, colourful representations of the characters and to really add an interesting touch, they made each background into a series of patterns and shapes; a wonderfully abstract visual. What’s more, is they have incorporated one-word descriptions of what is going on in the scene, so even if you don’t read the book, the children can still understand what’s going on by themselves. For example, when Sadie is crying it reads, “waaaaaah!” along the bottom and when she’s getting her diaper changed it reads, “wipe, wipe, wipe, wipe.” This book is a great addition to any daycare and deals with the familiar experiences and/or challenges a new big brother or sister may face.

Extensions:
• Visit: I really like bringing the family into the classroom. The children can go and visit the infant or toddler rooms so they can interact with persons younger and smaller than themselves.

• Discussion: Reading this book to a group of children you know have some experience with siblings and new babies, will up the chances of sparking a discussion about their sisters and brothers, their personal experiences with them, what happened, what feelings arose, what babies require etc.

• Hunt: After reading the book once, you can always read it again another day. Before you do this, perhaps to extend it you could hide a (real or paper) diaper, a bottle, and a pillow.  Get the children to help Sadie (the baby sister in the story) find all the things she needs to stop her from crying. This gets the children actively involved and thinking about what they can do to help take care of a baby.

Stinson, K. (2007). Mom and Dad Don’t Live Together Anymore. Toronto: Annick Press.

ISBN 978-1-55451-094-8

This book talks about appropriate and realistic situations children experience when their parents get a divorce. Made for 3-5 year olds, it explains where mommy and daddy live now, and how the child might spend time with each parent separately; the fun places they might go and things they might do together (in a western society). It poses questions like why the parents divorced and whether or not it is the child’s fault. This book ends with a message of acceptance and comfort knowing that things are going to be this way from now on and that it is ok; helping the children to understand that no matter what, both parents love and care for their child.
Divorce as we all know is a very common occurrence these days. More and more children are forced to go through this experience, including myself, and it can be very difficult on many levels. Geared towards early childhood, this book shows one how to see the “bright side” of the situation. It acknowledges the child’s possible emotions and reassures him/her that they can get through this. The book uses clear cut sentences to talk about a complex issue in a simple way. The Illustrations are good and give the child an accurate representation of the scene. The drawings are well done with some colour. Within several of the backgrounds there is a lot going on, which will allow for children to explore, ask questions and answer questions, beyond the main story line.

Extensions:
• Picture: There is a picture of the little girl in the story when she is packing her bag and looks upset. I think it would be a good one for the children to find and wonder about, posing questions like “why is she so sad?” and “where is she going?” It will help children make a connection between the picture and the book so to remember it.

• House: Buy materials and props and dress-up clothing (old clothes, thrift store, and costumes) and put them out for children to use. Naturally the game house may unfold and if so, the children can learn about their fantasy families through play.

• Felt Board: This book could become a felt board story. It would contain about 10 pieces but the story has a good message. These methods of reading really grab the children’s attention, I find.