April | 2021 | julie rowan-zoch

Author: JonArno Lawson
Illustrator: Piet Grobler
Publisher: Groundwood books, 2019
Age: 4-8
Themes: playgrounds, language, diverse community
Opening: “(lettering that looks like code).” “What is she saying?” “I’ll translate.”

Summary: (from the publisher) This story begins with an old woman telling a tale to a group of children in a playground. One of the boys can’t understand what she is saying, so another offers to translate. The old woman’s tale is inspired by the Tower of Babel story. Told entirely through dialogue, moving back and forth between the old woman’s tale and the exchange between the two boys, this story raises questions about what divides us and what brings us together, in spite of all our differences.

I like this book because: the reaction! I just shared this book with a friend and former biologist and the look on her face reading the first page was priceless! disgust and laughter in the first paragraph! we were just talking about education reform, and THIS book epitomizes the approach we would like to see, coupling fun with learning! Solid facts with hilarious humor – and many other levels of practical knowledge. PERFECT!

Resources/activities: check and see if your local or school library has books in other languages, or bilingual books. Go ahead and “judge them by their covers”. Try and read them aloud, even if you don’t know what you’re saying! It can be fun to try. Now try and decipher what those words might be, based on the language skills you already possess. So many words in English have been borrowed and transformed from other languages, so you might be surprised that you recognize some! Do the pictures seem to help you understand?

For more Perfect Picture Book Friday picks with teacher/parent resources, check out the list on Susanna Hill’s blog HERE.

Posted in Perfect Picture Book Friday

Author: Sue Heavenrich
Illustrator: David Clark
Publisher: Charlesbridge, 2021
Age: 4-9
Themes: flies, counting, humorous non-fiction
Opening: See image below

Summary: (from the publisher) Thirteen flies become tasty snacks in this clever reverse counting book about predators and prey. Science meets subtraction as a swarm of flies buzzes along, losing one member to each predator along the way. Includes a guide to eating bugs, complete with nutritional information for a single serving of flies.

Resources/activities: pick one of the 13 ways and delve deeper – choose the predator you like the most, and the one that grosses you out the most! And be sure to share your knowledge at the dinner table! Spring is here and so are other insects. Take a walk and note what plants they are attracted to and discuss why you think so; look it up to see if you are close with your assumptions. Make a fly puppet from an old sock (the one that lost its pair), buttons, some stuffing, and pipe cleaners.