Module 3

 

A Sick Day for Amos McGee

Amos McGee takes his job at the zoo very seriously. He cares for the animals in his special way. But one day he is sick and does not come to work. The animals are not sure what to do. The roles are reversed in this sweet tale of friendship, when they travel to his house to care for him.

Stead, P. (2010). A sick day for Amos McGee. New York: Roaring Brook Press.

My Thoughts:

I cannot begin to express how much I enjoyed this book.  What captured my attention first was the elephant on the cover. As far back as I can remember I have been drawn to elephants. They are my favorite animal and I collect them. The gentle giant.  So I began to read and the story unfolded I just could not put this sweet story down. The fact that this gentleman cared so deeply for these animals was precious. I think one of my favorite illustrations was the animals waiting on the bus. What was going through that bus driver’s mind when he picked up the animals? When they showed up to return the favor that Amos gives them every day was priceless. I will probably buy this one for my personal library.

Review:

Zookeeper Amos McGee always makes time to visit his good friends at work: he plays chess with the elephant, runs races with the tortoise (who always wins), sits quietly with the penguin, lends a handkerchief to the rhinoceros (who has a runny nose), and reads stories to the owl (who is afraid of the dark). Then, after Amos gets a cold, his friends miss him, and they leave the zoo and ride the bus to his place to care for him and cheer him up. Like the story, the quiet pictures, rendered in pencil and woodblock color prints, are both tender and hilarious. Each scene captures the drama of Amos and the creatures caring for each other, whether the elephant is contemplating his chess moves, his huge behind perched on a stool; or the rhinoceros is lending Amos a handkerchief; or the owl is reading them all a bedtime story. The extension of the familiar pet-bonding theme will have great appeal, especially in the final images of the wild creatures snuggled up with Amos in his cozy home.

— Hazel Rochman

Rochman, H. (2010, May 1). Booklist Review. Retrieved from Booklist Online: http://www.booklistonline.com/A-Sick-Day-for-Amos-McGee-Philip-C-Stead/pid=4000787

Activities:

·         Have students act out the story with animal hats or masks.

 



Kitten’s First Full Moon

Summary:

Kitten loves milk. But when something appears in the sky one night Kitten will do anything necessary to get it. Kitten has a rough night trying to get what he thinks is milk.

Citation:

Henkes, K. (2004). Kitten's first full moon. New York: Greenwillow Books.

My Thoughts:

I think that this book was so cute.  I enjoyed how the illustrations were done with the black, white, gray tones to represent the night sky. I think that it portrays that we must keep trying and not give up. The reader starts to feel for the kitten because the kitten is trying with all her might to get that “milk”. She is persistent.

Review:

REVIEW. First published February 15, 2004 (Booklist).

Henkes creates another winner in this simple, charming story about a naive little kitten who mistakes a round, shining moon for a bowl of milk. Kitten laps at the sky’s creamy circle, but she is surprised when she tastes bugs instead of milk. Then she chases the milk-bowl moon through the garden and field to the pond, where she climbs a tree, discovers another milk bowl shining in the water, and dives in after it. Finally, “wet and sad and tired and hungry,” she returns home to find, at last, a true bowl of milk, out of the sky and on the porch, waiting for her. Henkes’ text, reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown’s work in the elemental words, rhythms, and appealing sounds, tells a warm, humorous story that’s beautifully extended in his shimmering, gray-toned artwork. Working in bold black lines and the silvery palette of moonlight, he creates a lovable, expressive character in the determined kitten, and his dramatic contrasts of light and dark capture the excitement of a nighttime adventure. Wise preschoolers may chuckle at the kitten’s folly, but they’ll also recognize the mysterious power of moonlight to transform the familiar world of daytime into something altogether new. — Gillian Engberg

Engberg, G. (2004, May 15). Booklist Review. Retrieved from Booklist Online: http://www.booklistonline.com/Kitten-s-First-Full-Moon-Kevin-Henkes/pid=550548

 

Activities:

·         Talk about moon phases

·         Sequence activity