Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Numbers Big and Small

Posted on May 28, 2014 by carriegelson

It’s Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday!

I recently read this very exciting numbers book to my class: How Many Jelly Beans? A Giant Book of Giant Numbers written by Andrea Menotti and illustrated by Yancey Labat (published 2012)

Two siblings explore large numbers while talking about how many jelly beans they would like or might be able to eat. (1 000 in a year seems doable suddenly when spread across a yearly calendar = just 2 or 3 a day) The jelly beans are visually displayed on each page – 10, then 20, then 25, 50 . . . 100, 1 000, 10 000, 1 000 000!! Every time the number gets larger, the jellybeans on the page get smaller. Such fun! Especially the last fold out that really does show a million jellybeans. My kids all got up and gawked and oohed and ahed. It was a “math aha” moment. “So that’s what a million looks like!”

Sharing this with my class got me thinking about what beginning number books have been recently released to share with younger children. I remember that my own children used to love counting and number books and I have been planning to add more of these titles to our buddy reading collection for when the Kindergarten class comes up to read with us. Children love to count together and explore numbers. At my public library I was lucky enough to find . .

Baby Bear Counts One by Ashley Wolff (published 2013)

This title blurs fiction and nonfiction but I am including it here because it is such a delightful title. A beautiful counting book about forest animals preparing for the winter. Colourful pages with perfect counting opportunities. One woodpecker. Two squirrels. Three beavers. Four . . .

Numbers Everywhere by Elliot Kaufman (published 2013)

Are there numbers everywhere we look? This book shows us that there are – some in print, some in shapes, some in nature. Photographs of numbers everywhere in our world. Would inspire a number finding walk!

1 cookie, 2 chairs, 3 Pears: Numbers Everywhere (A Clever Concept Book) by Jane Brocket (published 2013)

Count from 1 to 20 via bright and colourful photographs of everyday objects – some we encounter often and some more unusual. I like the way numbers are grouped to help us associate counting strategies (“Five is useful for counting how many toes on a foot“) Will invite lots of counting and grouping objects found on each page.

Thanks to Alyson from Kid Lit Frenzy for the inspiration to read and share more nonfiction picture books in 2014!

My goal is to read 65 nonfiction picture books for 2014. Progress: 67/65 complete!

Monday December 30th, 2013

Posted on December 29, 2013 by carriegelson

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Join Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers and share all of the reading you have done over the week from picture books to young adult novels. Follow the links to read about all of the amazing books the #IMWAYR community has read. One of the very best ways to discover what to read next!

Oh how I love, love, love the reading time the holidays afford! Doesn’t hurt that my #nerdlution goal is to read aloud daily to my children (from the novel we are reading). We just skipped Christmas day because I was ill and family events took up much of the day. Other days we made up for it and read in front of the fireplace for hours! We now begin our third novel since #nerdlution began, The Vengekeep Prophecies by Brian Farrey.

I have made some “hang out and read picture books” visits to my local library with my daughter. My 10 favourites of the week:

Joone by Emily Kate Moon

I first heard of this title back during the picture book 10 for 10 event – some lovely fellow blogger recommended it to me as my list was all about books with a theme of connections across generations. This title is about Joone and days passed with her grandfather and her pet turtle, Dr. Chin. Rock collecting, swimming in the pond, reading to Grandpa – a story of sweet little moments.

Ladder to the Moon written by Maya Soetoro-Ng and illustrated by Yuyi Morales

Wow. An emotional, beautiful, significant read. A story of connection between female family members that spans generations and mortality. Images are stunning. The author’s and illustrator’s notes in the back reveal much more to this story.

Wow! Ocean by Robert Neubecker

I wish I had this book before I took my children to Hawaii for the first time. Bright colourful ocean scenes for children to get lost in! So many pages that just really are WOW! moments. Like the jellyfish page. The pull out page on whales. A page of rays. And so many details not to miss – like the nurse’s cap on the nurse shark. I used an earlier Neubecker title Wow! City to inspire an art project – art ideas just leap off the page of this one too!

Baby Bear Counts One by Ashley Wolff

Another must own title if you have little ones or grandchildren. A beautiful counting book about forest animals preparing for the winter. Colourful pages with perfect counting opportunities. One woodpecker. Two squirrels. Three beavers. Four . . .

The Pig on the Hill by John Kelly

Two neighbours. One, stodgy and set in his ways. One, creative and expressive. Much humour as the story unveils.

Lemonade in Winter written by Emily Jenkins and illustrated by G. Brian Karas

This has been on my “to read” list for ages and I loved it as much as I was anticipating. I am such a fan of G. Brian Karas and appreciated all of the muted shades of a snowy winter backdrop. Yes, I love the math connection (although not so good for me as all money pictured in back is American and Canadian money looks much different – we don’t even have dollar bills!) but I loved the story. An idea that grows between siblings and changes and adapts with the weather and various circumstances. Why not a lemonade stand in a snowstorm? Such fun!

While We Were Out by Ho Baek Lee

A little rabbit sneaks through the house while the family is out. And of course, they will never know except for the little surprises he left everywhere. Can you guess what? Very sweet.

Crafty Chloe: Dress Up Mess Up written by Kelly Dipucchio and illustrated by Heather Ross

While I didn’t love this as much as the first Crafty Chloe, I did appreciate the very real struggle of trying to please more than one friend and staying true to yourself. And wow, some pretty creative costume ideas!

Ike’s Incredible Ink by Brianne Farley

A great title for would be writers. No story ideas are coming for Ike. Maybe if he had the perfect ink? He sets out to make it using found ingredients like shadows and the dark side of the moon.

The Money we’ll Save by Brock Cole

This was another of our holiday reads. A hilarious story of a family who decides to save money by raising a turkey for Christmas dinner rather than purchasing one for the occasion. A turkey in a small apartment? You can imagine . . .

Monday January 28th, 2013

Posted on January 28, 2013 by carriegelson

It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Link up to Jen and Kellee’s meme to share all of the great reading you have been doing from picture books to young adult novels.

I tried to limit my picture book list to my top 5 books of the week. That didn’t exactly work out . . . But I did keep it under 10!

The Beasties written by Jenny Nimmo and illustrated by Gwen Millward I found this book quite delightful and when I read it to my class, it cast a magical spell. All about how the story telling of the Beasties helps a little girl settle into her dreams each night in her new big bed in her new room. Eventually, she realized her own imagination can help soothe her into sleep.

The Insomniacs written by Karina Wolf and illustrated by The Brothers Hilts What if you travelled many timezones away and your night and day became all mixed up? What does a life lived at night look like? In this story, it is full of beautiful night blooming cactuses, night beetles, astronomy and moonbathing . . . The perfect blend of a slightly absurd story and stunningly imagined illustrations make this a beautifully unique book. Might not appeal to everyone. I adore it and want my own copy.

The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz and illustrated by Dan Santat This fractured fairy tale was a huge hit in my classroom. We loved the martial arts, the energetic rhyme and super pig power! Read more here.

Oh, No! written by Candace Fleming and illustrated by Eric Rohmann Finally, I got my hands on this title! A perfect book to use to highlight paying attention to the details in the pictures. Can see this being a very popular and requested story time book! I think I would have no problems reading it over and over!

Charley’s First Night written by Amy Hest and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury A story of a little boy and his puppy’s first night at home. Absolutely sweet. This little Henry is the keenest, most attentive new puppy owner out there. Full of love and care.

Baby Bear Sees Blue by Ashley Wolff Oh, this book is just so lovely! It celebrates colour, nature and the special bond between baby bear and Mama. This is a wonderful book to gift someone with a young child. A beautiful book to revisit often.

Oliver by Birgitta Sif Love these illustrations – they match a gentle story that celebrates a child who is really his own person. But sometimes, we are ready to share our world with someone else who moves through life with their own style.

I also read the fantastic Lulu Walks the Dogs written by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Lane Smith These Lulu books celebrate voice – Viorst is one funny narrator, Lulu is deliciously spunky and Lane Smith rounds everything out with his brilliant illustrations. I liked this book as much as the first Lulu and those were some big shoes . . .

I finished two novels this week. Both were on my must read list of 2013.

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson Such a well written novel giving us an intimate view into a young woman’s courageous attempt at securing land in the unforgiving Montana prairie during 1918. Hattie reminds us that we discover what is big and grand inside of us by living the simple and often arduous day to day tasks amongst people who are doing the same. A book of relationships, challenges and beauty. While it certainly took me a while to get to this book (considering it was a Newbery honour book in 2007), at least it will be fresh in my mind when Hattie Ever After is released next month!

On the Road to Mr.Mineo’s written by Barbara O’Connor I adore Barbara O’Connor. I smile when I pick up any of her books. Barbara O’Connor has a way of letting the world slow down. She tells us stories of people, long days, longing, fussing and forgiving where the journey is as important as the destination. As always, I love how her books highlight kid adventure and big personality in small place settings. Calm. Soothing. Happy. Who would think a one legged pigeon could cause such a fuss? Everyone wants him, some are convinced they need him and the chase is on. Reminded me of the feeling in Oliver Jeffers’ This Moose Belongs to Me of how an animal really belongs where it belongs, and not necessarily to anyone.