Same, Same but Different
by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
A little boy paints a picture of his world in art class. His teacher sends that picture to a little boy who lives a long way away in India. A little boy from India draws the little boy a picture of his world, too. The boys both drew pictures of their worlds(same and same), but they were very different. The little boy from India wants to know what the little boy’s name is. The little boy writes back that his name is Elliot and that he loves to climb trees. The little boy in India writes back that his name is Kailash, and that he loves to climb trees, too. The tree that Elliot climbs has a tree house in it, and the tree that Kailash climbs has monkeys in it. Same thing but different. Elliot writes about his family (his mom, dad and little sister), and Kailash writes about his family, too (all twenty three: mom, dad, brother, grandmother, grandfather, aunties, uncles, and cousins). Kailash also writes about his animals (cows dogs, goats, and chickens), and Elliot writes to Kailash about his dog and fish. Each of the boys also writes about the places where they live, how they get to school, their alphabets, and much more. How many ways are Elliot and Kailash alike? How are they different? Do you think there are other children out in world that live like you do? How do you think that their lives are different?
Mr Benn-Red Knight
by David McKee
Mr. Benn receives an invitation to a fancy dress party. He does not want to go, but he decides that he does not often get the chance for fancy dress. Mr. Benn goes to many different stores, but none of the stores have the kinds of fancy dress that he is looking for. Finally, he finds a little shop in a back lane. When a little man in a funny hat comes out to help him, Mr. Benn asks to borrow the suit of red armor that he had seen in the window. The man suggests that Mr. Benn try it on first. Mr. Benn goes into the dressing room, and the armor fits him really well. When he comes out to show the little man, Mr. Benn discovers that he is in a different place than the shop. When he sees some smoke behind a big rock, he goes to look at what is going on, and he finds a fire-breathing dragon. Mr. Benn has no intention of hurting the dragon, and the dragon sees that Mr. Benn does not have a sword to hurt him with. The dragon then tells Mr. Benn his sad story. The dragon had been the firelighting dragon for the whole castle and surrounding houses. Then a matchmaker showed up and wanted to sell his matches, instead. The matchmaker set small fires and blamed them on the dragon, and after the dragon was banished, the matchmaker ran off the king’s favorite horse and blamed the dragon for it. The dragon also tells Mr. Benn that the matchmaker started selling his matches for a lot of money after the dragon was run off, and the matchmaker had become very rich. Mr. Benn decides to go to the castle to share the dragon’s story with the king. The dragon goes with him, but the dragon hides in the trees so that no one can see him, while Mr. Benn goes inside the castle. Will Mr. Benn be able to convince the king that the dragon was not the one to set the fires? What will the king do with the matchmaker? How will Mr. Benn get back to the little shop to get to the party? Will he still want to go after all of the excitement?
The Three Billy Goats Fluff
by Rachael Mortimer and illustrated by Liz Pichon
Mr. Troll has trouble sleeping under the bridge where the Three Billy Goats Fluff cross two times every day. The troll is upset that he was tricked into thinking that his apartment under the bridge would be a great place to live. The Three Billy Goats Fluff live on the mountain next to the bridge with their mother, who knits with the fluffy fleeces that come off of her three little goats. One day, the troll decides that he has had enough of the three little goats crossing his bridge. He puts up a sign that warns the goats that the next one to “trip-trap” across the bridge will be eaten. The smallest goat cannot read yet, and when Mr. Troll jumps out to eat him, the little goat runs back home to Mother Goat. When the middle-sized goat tries the cross, Mr. Troll jumps out again. The middle-sized goat runs back to his older brother and tells Mr. Troll that they are telling their mother on Mr. Troll. Mother Goat feels sorry that Mr. Troll has trouble sleeping. She comes up with a great idea to stop all of the noise of her Three Little Goats Fluff crossing the bridge. Will Mr. Troll like Mother Goat’s idea? Will he like the little presents that she makes for him?
Superhero Joe
by Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman and illustrated by Ron Barrett
This picture book is written and illustrated like a comic book/graphic novel. One day, Joe hears a cry for help coming from the kitchen. Joe’s father has been attacked by an evil black ooze, and his mother was trying her best to save him. Joe’s mother tells him to bring the “Staff of Power” to help her banish the ooze. Unfortunately, the staff is down in the basement in the dark. Joe knows that he used to be afraid of things like monsters in his closet, the dark, new things, getting left behind, and getting hurt. Then one day, he decided to work on this in his lab. He designed superhero suit with a cape (blanket), anti-gravity (rain) boots, special gloves, and a shield (sauce pan lid). With this superhero suit, Joe feels that he can tackle all of his fears. Joe also has a “Torch of Radiance” (flashlight) that will help him find the staff in the basement. Will Superhero Joe be able to find the special staff and help his mother save his father from the ooze? Will Superhero Joe be ready to answer other calls for help?
No comments:
Post a Comment