She swallowed some leaves, perhaps she'll sneeze!

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves!

Written by Lucille Colandro

Illustrated by Jared Lee

Scholastic Inc., 2010

31 Pages

Fiction

          I wanted to read There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves!  to find out what the old lady had gotten herself into this time! This is a great series that keeps kids wondering what the old lady is going to swallow next. She swallows leaves, she swallows a shirt to fill it with the leaves, she swallows a pumpkin to wear the shirt, she continues on, swallowing a pole, pants, rope, and then some hay. The old lady finally has to sneeze! When she does, everything she swallowed comes out and creates a pumpkin man!

Lee uses watercolor and pen to create his illustrations. His illustrations are very humorous as is the story. He uses the colors of fall, browns, oranges, yellows and reds to set the scene for the season. The illustrations vary between two page, one page, and framed illustrations. He also varies in the placement of the text, formal and informal are both present in this book. 

This would be a great book to use in language arts when teaching rhyming or sequencing. The students could match words such as bat and that, bumpkin and pumpkin, or roll and pole. Students could explain what happened in the beginning, middle and end of the book. This book could be used as an introduction to a science lesson about leaves. Students could go on a nature walk to collect leaves, and then incorporate art by having students make leaf prints or create collage art out of leaves.This book has not received any awards.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat...Imagine That!

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat!

Written by Lucille Colandro

Illustrated by Jared Lee

Scholastic Inc., 2002

30 Pages

Fiction

          I chose this book because I love the There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed… series of books. They are catchy, outrageous, and kids love them! The old lady, as always, swallowed something and we do not know why. In this case she swallowed a bat! She then had to swallow an owl to shush the bat, she swallowed a cat to chase the owl, she swallowed a ghost to catch the cat, and the story continues on, swallowing a goblin, some bones, and then finally a wizard! She did all of this to get the wizard to cast a spell so she could yell, “Trick or treat!”

It appears that Lee uses watercolor and pen for his illustrations for There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat! The illustrations are very cartoonish. The setting seems to appear gloomy;  this makes the reader feel like it is dusk, and the sun is about to go down. Lee’s illustrations vary between formal and informal text placement, and also varies between whole page illustrations and framed illustrations. 

This book is great for all elementary school grades! It would be great to use in a language arts lesson on rhyming words or sequencing. What did the old lady eat first, second, third and so on? This book would also be great as an open to a history lesson about Halloween since the items she swallows relate Halloween. Art could be incorporated by having students create their own rendition of the old lady, and they could also write their own There Was an Old Lady Who… story. This book did not receive any awards.

The Falling Leaves

The Falling Leaves

Written by Steve Metzger

Illustrated by Jill Dublin

Scholastic Inc., 2002

30 Pages

Fiction

          I chose this book because it looked very kid friendly and I love seasonal books! The Falling Leaves are Red Oak, Orange Maple, Purple Beech, and Yellow Hickory. They know the time to fall off of the tree is coming, and they are all dreaming of where they want to fall. For Red Oak, it is the grass, for Purple Beech, it is a bush, and for Orange Maple it was the blue lake.  As for Yellow Hickory, she was different, she wanted to relax and let the wind take her wherever it wanted. The other leaves did not like her idea, they told her she was too skinny, would fall straight to the ground and get stomped on by a boot. Yellow Hickory began to cry. The wind was angry and blew all the leaves into a mud puddle, except Yellow Hickory. The wind picked her up and she sailed across mountains and valleys and when it was time, the wind placed her in the lake. That was exactly where she wanted to be. 

Dublin uses watercolor and color pencil for her illustrations. Her illustrations are vibrant and are mainly primary colors. The illustrations span across two pages, and she uses informal text placement. The illustrations are very kid friendly and would appeal to younger elementary students. 

The Falling Leaves would make a great science lesson about the seasons and why the leaves fall in autumn. This would also make a great lesson for Kindergarten students to learn about primary colors and then art could be incorporated by creating a drawing an illustration of their favorite thing about fall using primary colors. The students could write a sentence about the drawing to incorporate language arts. This book has not received any awards.

Groundhog Gets a Say!

Groundhog Gets a Say

Written by Pamela Curtis Swallow

Illustrated by Denise Brunkus

Scholastic Inc., 2005

34 Pages

Fiction

          Groundhog Gets a Say is a great rendition to the traditional Groundhog Day story; that is what appealed to me and made me want to read this book.  Groundhog believes that he is more than just a shadow and should be appreciated more. He believes Groundhog Day should be for a week or maybe even a month.  The groundhog is teaching a crow, a squirrel and another groundhog, who just so happens to be a reporter, about the life of a groundhog. He teaches them about the many nicknames he has, such as the whistle pig and woodchuck. He teaches them about the burrow he builds, the animals he is related to, and his predators. He even teaches them his scientific name, about hibernation, and why he is helpful to scientists. Groundhog Gets a Say is a great way to teach children about not only groundhogs but also many other science topics. This is a great read for any age! 

Brunkus’ illustrations are created by using watercolor and color pencil. Her illustrations are bright and humorous. True to Brunkus’ form of illustration, the illustrations are cartoonish, yet realistic in style. The illustrations vary between formal and informal text placement. The illustrations also vary between whole and part page illustrations. 

This book would be great for a science lesson on groundhogs and other similar animals, hibernation, habitats, and animal families. Language Arts could be incorporated by having students write their own version of a Groundhog Day story from the groundhogs point of view. History could be incorporated by learning the reason and history behind Groundhog Day.  This book did not receive any awards.