The Little Old Lady Who (Said She) Was Not Afraid of Anything

Fear is a part of life. How we face our fears (or don't face our fears) determines whether we live life fully or live on the fringe of life. We learn to start dealing with our fears as children.

What do young children fear? They often fear separating from parents to attend preschool. They might be afraid of the dark, or of flying insects. Because they engage in magical thinking, they are able to embrace the notion of Santa Claus or The Tooth Fairy. Magical thinking has a dark side, however, allowing children to believe that monsters inhabit the world with us.

Fairy tales often present sinister scenarios, bringing childhood fears to life. One of the reasons fairy tales have been popular for hundreds of years is that they allow children to safely explore their fears and in the end, witness the triumph of "good" over "evil."

I love fairy tales. I loved them as a child and I love them as an adult. As an adult, however, I have a problem with the preponderance of female villains and victims. The villain usually takes the form of an evil stepmother or wicked witch. The victim is usually a beautiful but personally powerless princess who ultimately needs rescuing.

This week all three classes are reading and discussing The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything written by Linda Williams and illustrated by Megan Lloyd. The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything is a wonderful modern-day fairy tale with a strong female protagonist who faces her fears and solves her own problem.

Don't be fooled by the titled. (The children weren't.) The LOL was most definitely afraid, but she kept her cool and took command of the situation. The book provides enough tension to push the preschool thrill button, but never crosses over to truly scary. Its enormously satisfying conclusion leaves the reader smiling, and just a bit more personally powerful than he or she was at the beginning of the story.

To read more about this subject, check out Mentor Monday -- Horror: How Much Is Too Much? posted on October 26th over at The Write Sisters, the blog on writing for children.

CPG Kids Respond (Added CPG in on 10.29.09)

Aria: The little old lady just went out to get seeds and pumpkins. The shoes go CLOMP, CLOMP. She said, "I'm not afraid of you, Shoes!" She saw pants and she go, "I not afraid of you, Pants!" She run away and then a shirt did CLOMP, CLOMP. And the gloves go CLAP. The pumpkin smiled and the pumpkin go CLOMP. Then she run away. She was staying home and the door knock. She said, "What do you want, you things?" He want to scare her. And she said, "Go scare the crows." He turn into a scarecrow and all the crows fly away.

Teagan: She said, "I'm not afraid of you, Shoes." The scary pumpkin face went, WOOO! WOOO!  She saw that scary pumpkin face and she run away real fast. The shoes go CLOMP, CLOMP. She said, "What do you want?"

Ryan: She was hot 'cause she was red. [The LOL was rather red-faced in the illustrations.) She said, "I'm going to pick some blueberries." She heard footsteps. CLOMP, CLOMP, CLOMP. She said, "AAAH! I'm not afraid of you!" And she runned in her house, and said, "Oh, okay. You can stay with me. I'm not ascared of you! Okay!" And they put it all on like a scarecrow.

Brady D.:  She going go outside and walk. But it keep getting darker and darker. CLOMP, CLOMP. The pants said, WIGGLE, WIGGLE.  A shirt said, SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE. A hat said CLOMP, CLOMP, CLOMP. A gloves said CLAP, CLAP, CLAP. And a pumpkin said BOO, BOO! She was running really fast.  Then she was sitting down. Then she open the door and then, "I'm not scared of you!" Then, "You can be a scarecrow." Then they scared all the crows. The end!

J.J.: I like the whole book when she went for a walk, and the little old lady wasn't afraid of anything. And the clippity, cloppity shoes didn't scare her. And the pants chased her and she bumped into a shirt, and gloves, and hat and a pumpkin. And then they came in and they tried to scare her and when she looked out the window was a scarecrow. I liked that!

Aiden R.: It was about a little lady. She heard a noise -- shoes!  The shirt was in the way. She said, "I'm not afraid of you!" The scary pumpkin did BOOO! [Flipped to final illustration.] It's a scarecrow!

Aidan C.: The little old lady got scared by a pumpkin. She went in her house and somebody came knocking. She whispered something in his ear, "You can't scare me!" She woked up and then there was a scarecrow.

Lindsey liked the story!

Alec didn't feel like talking about books today.

EK Kids Respond

Brooke B.:  I liked it when the old lady saw the big spooky pumpkin face that went, BOO! BOO! I liked it when she was running inside her cottage. I liked it when she heard the KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK on her door and then she opened it and she saw one clomping pair of shoes, one shirt go SHAKE, SHAKE, one pair of pants go WIGGLE, WIGGLE. And I liked it when one tall black hat went NOD, NOD, and I liked it when the pumpkin head went BOO! BOO!  And then I liked it when the little old lady whispered into the pumpkin's ear and said, "You can be a scarecrow!"

Daniel: The little old lady who was not afraid of anything I think was afraid of the pumpkin. I know what she whispered in the pumpkin's ear. "Go out in the garden and be a scarecrow!" I think that's what she whispered. And I also think he's ruining the garden with his feet. And I also think the crows are going because of him.

Dev: I like that part with the little shirt there.

Allison: The lady's walking out her cottage. She hears the shoes clomping. She says, "I'm not afraid of you!"

Keegan:  There's no such thing as all of the dancing shoes, the pants, the shirt, everything. Even the pumpkin. It's all made up. Even the pants don't do whatever they do. Shake, wiggle. Even that thing that says, BOO! They wanted to scare her, but I don't know why. I think they just wanted to scare her for fun. She was not scared of anything. Nothing scares me. Not even a giant pumpkin.

Brady:  A little old lady was running away from the shoes and the pants. She was sitting in her rocking chair in the cottage and they knocked at the door. They said they're there to scare her. She said, "I'm not scared of you." The little old lady whispered in the pumpkin's ear to go outside and be a scarecrow. He was a scarecrow.

Brooke N.: She wasn't afraid of anything. She heard CLAP, CLAP and she heard WIGGLE, WIGGLE. She's running away to her college [cottage]. She's looking behind her chair because she heard a knock on her door. She saw everything that was following her. Everything was trying to get in her house. She looked out the window and she saw a scarecrow. They made a scarecrow.

Hayden: The little old girl was not afraid of anything. She hear some shoes clomping in behind her. And she look behind her and she saw a pair of shoes. She just keep walking back to her house. She saw a pair of pants, but she didn't be afraid of the shoes or the pants. She almost kick the pants out of her way. When she kick them away they backed up and ran to the lady. And she saw a pair of a big white shirt and it might can't fit on her because she already have a dress. And the pants and the shoes follow her all the way to the shirt. And the pants and the shoes were jump into the shirt because they were afraid of the gloves because they go CLAP, CLAP, CLAP and hurt all of their ears. And look!  I see a hat! And the hat's behind the gloves 'cause he didn't know he'd been hiding a pair of gloves. The shoes and the pants and the shirt and the gloves and the hat and the girl have a parade all the way back to her house. A pumpkin going to fall out of the tree and go in the lady's way. And the shoes and the gloves and the shirt and the pants and the pumpkin face knock her over onto the floor. So when she falls all the nuts and leaves [in her basket] fall down to the floor. The lady hear a knock on the door and she thought, "Should I answer the door?" And the lady said, "No, I can't." She answered the door and there been shoes, and a shirt and a pumpkin head and gloves and a hat.  So she whisper something to the pumpkin's ear. She said, "Make a scarecrow!" So a lady look out her window and she saw all the clothes fall off the scarecrow. And you know what else happens? The scarecrow falled down 'cause he's leaning.

Leah:  She was running 'cause she was scared 'cause she didn't want all these to scare her. Then she was scared of the pumpkin 'cause he said, BOO! BOO! She was running in her cottage. Somebody knocked on the door. She speaked in the pumpkin's ear, "Go make a scarecrow."  The next morning she woke up and she saw a scarecrow. And it scared all the crows away.

Bella:  I like when they were all like running behind the lady. I like when she saw the hat and gloves. I like the scary pumpkin. We got a lot of pumpkins on our step. 'Cause we got a garden and one got aten by the worms. My mom squished them, though. They ate our tomatoes, too, did you know that? [Turns attention back to the story.] I like when she was rocking. Then she heard a knock on the door. All the pants and the gloves and the shoes and the pumpkin and the shirt were at the door. I like when he turns into a scarecrow.

Sophie:  The little old lady was not scared of anything. It was the shoes and the pants and the shirt and the gloves and the hat and the pumpkin -- they were all following her. And when she got in the cottage she heard a knock and she opened the door and she whispered to the pumpkin to be a scarecrow.

Annalee: She went out. She found shoes. She's running away from them because the pumpkin's saying, BOO! She locked the door. She opened the door. She's whispering in the pumpkin's ear. The pumpkin made it into a scarecrow.

Arthur:  This is my favorite part. The scarecrow was scaring all the crows away, but I like all of it.

John:  The little old lady came upon some gloves that went CLAP, CLAP and a hat that said NOD, NOD. The little old lady was going at a fast pace to her house because she was scared. I think the scariest part was when the pumpkin was, BOO! BOO! She whispered into the pumpkin's ear and said, "You should go outside and scare the crows away." I like it that there was a scary pumpkin face that scared all the crows away.

PK Kids Respond

Emelyn: I like she being scared of the WOOO pumpkin. I like she said, "Get out of the way, Clomp Shoes!"

Emmett: [Looking at final scarecrow illustration.] See the post-ez that go all the way up here? The scarecrow just built its own things.

Brady L.: The lady bumped into a shirt. She bumped into two gloves and a hat. All these followed her. The scary pumpkin said, BOO! The lady runned as fast as she can. Then she rocked in her rocking chair. And she heard a knock on her door. And then she put her arms like this [akimbo] and she said, "I'm not scared of you!" And then the pumpkin said, BOO! The lady whispered and telled him a secret to go outside and be a scary scarecrow.

Eva: A little lady was scared because she was scared of the pants and the pumpkin face. I like this part because she was scared like this, "Aaaah! Aaaah!" and she ran away. She heard two knocks on the door. She answered it, "I'm not scared! I mean business!" And she whispered to the pumpkin, "If you can't scare me, go outside and scare the crows!" And she looked out her window and there's the scarecrow.

Summer: The shoes were following her. The pants wiggled in front of her. She said, "I'm not afraid of you!" There was a shirt in front of her, and then she said, "I'm not afraid of you!" Then she saw gloves and a hat, and then she said, "I'm not afraid of you!" She saw a pumpkin that was a head and then she put her hand on her hat and runned home. Someone knocked on the door and then she was going to open the door, and then she opened the door. She saw shoes, pumpkin, gloves, a shirt and pants. They wanted to scare her. She said, "I'm not afraid of you!" Then she told the pumpkin to scare the crows away. She saw the pumpkin out in the garden.

Acadia: They can't walk without people. [The shoes, pants, etc.] That's so silly! The pumpkin said, BOOOO! BOOOO! and that scared her. She runned and runned. Where did that come from? [The pumpkin in the tree.] I don't know where that comed from.

Kaitlyn: Two big shoes thumped. She said, "I'm not afraid of you!" They were following her. Then she saw one pants RATTLE, RATTLE. She bumped into a shirt and she said, "I'm not afraid of you!" She saw two gloves CLAP, CLAP, CLAP and a hat. And then they followed her back home. Look it! There's the pumpkin! She saw the pumpkin up in the tree. WOOOO! WOOOO!  She went home. There was pants on the other side [standing on her doorstep] that she saw already and the pumpkin. She told the pumpkin to scare the crows away and not scare me.

Camryn: The little old lady wasn't afraid of anything. She heard shoes TAPPING, TAPPING, TAPPING. Something was in her way. Then WIGGLE, WIGGLE, WIGGLE.  Then SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE. Then the hat said, NO, NO, NO [nod, nod, nod]. And then the pumpkin said WOOO! WOOO! And then she scrammed home! Like the pretend monsters scram at my house. And then she rocked in her chair by the fire. Then her hands were on hips and she unlocked the door and all the things came home with her. She whispered, "Make a scarecrow."

Mack: The little old lady that wasn't afraid of anything said she wasn't afraid of anything. She walked away from the cottage and then she saw some shoes that walked all by theirselves. And then pants, and then a shirt, and then she started go home and then she saw a humongous pumpkin that went BOOO! and that scared me. And then they all did their stuff together and they totally scared her out. And then she ran in her cottage and then the knock and then she opened it and then that thing that moved by itself came in and then it turned into a scarecrow and scared all the crows away and then the end.

Mikayla: Those guys [shirt, shoes, etc.] were trying to get her because they like her. She's sad 'cause they following her.

Katherine:  She heard everything -- the shoes, the pants, the shirt, the gloves and the hat. She was going home and they were all following her. The pumpkin said, BOOO!  She ran! She rocked in her rocking chair, sitting by the fire. She hears a KNOCK, KNOCK on the door. They all come out. She whispers in the pumpkin's ear then he's a a scarecrow.

Christel: It was about pumpkin scary. Shoes came and they went CLOMP, CLOMP. And the little old lady said, "Get out of my way." And then a pair of pants came, and she said, "Get out of my way, pair of pants." And then a shirt came and said WIGGLE, WIGGLE. And she said, "Get out of my way, you pair of shirt!" And then she saw a pair of gloves and a hat, and they went CLAP, CLAP and NOD, NOD. And then they followed her. And then a pumpkin came and said, BOOO! BOOO! And then everything came and she went, "Aaaaaaah!" And then she ran, ran, ran until she got home inside her house. She rocked and she rocked and she rocked and she rocked. And then this was my favorite part. Everything she saw when she was on her adventure are in her home. She said, "Go outside and scare the crows!" She looks kind of freaked. And then this part, I thinked this was her shirt on her bed and she's using it as a pillow. And this part, he was happy to scare the crows.

Teeny Tiny Blog Entry

CPG kids respond to The Teeny Tiny Ghost by Kay Winters and Lynn Munsinger.

Ryan: He looked like a Grandma. He was like, "Aaaah! Who's that? I look like a Grandma myself!" He looked like a scary monster, too.

Brady D.: A little guy was trying to get scared from the bad guys. The ghost scared himself when his friends were trying to go in the door to scare him.

Aidan C.: The other ghosts were trying to scare him. He puffed and puffed and puffed and then he said, "Do not come in the place!" It was just his ghost friends. They were dressed up.

Maeve:  It was just his friends, it wasn't a witch. They dressed up as Halloweens. They flew up to the trees. There was a clown on the tree.

Aria:  He was scared of his friends. He was in there [the grandfather clock] 'cause he was hiding. The teacher give him a hug. They were flying in the sky.

J.J.: I like the kitties. I like the ghosts and his scary OOOOOs. I like the whole story.

Aiden R.: Ghosts went to school. He scared hisself.

Olivia: Rat-tat-tat! [At the door.] The ghost friends trick-or-treat.

Teagan: His friends are knocking at the door. He didn't know it was his friends. He feeled scared. He turns into a big ghost, and he WOOOOOED and he WOOOOED and he WOOOOED! And everyone cheered for him. They gave him a big costume.

Bob liked the sailor ghost the best of all.

Lindsey liked the fairy princess ghost the best of all.

Ready . . . Set . . . Write!

Today is The National Day on Writing, and blogging at The Picture Book Project is the perfect way for my 4 and 5-year old students to participate. We'll be discussing Littlebat's Halloween Story written by New Hampshire author Diane Mayr and illustrated by Gideon Kendall.

Littlebat and his mother live in a small colony in the attic of a country library. He discovers a small hole in the attic floor, which allows him to peek in on storytime. He can't see the pictures, and wants desperately to fly down for a closer look. Quite by accident, Littlebat drops in on storytime, and panic ensues. When he escapes into the attic, his mother tells a shaken Littlebat that he must wait for "changes" before he can go safely into the library for storytime.

See if you can figure out what those changes might be from reading the children's comments.

EK Reponses

Daniel: He should listen to his mom. She said, "Don't get too close to see the pictures." He went like that -- ZOOM! The kids yelled and everyone was afraid. On the bug pictures, I didn't know that bats eat the same thing as frogs. I think that I didn't know that.

Keegan: That's cool -- they can hang upside down. I like the fact that they can hang upside down. It's weird. Bats can fly, and we can't, 'cause they have wings. They were scared that the bat was going to hurt them. I would be pretty brave. I would try to catch it. I'm pretty fast. I bet I would be faster than a bat.

Hayden: It's about fly away and everybody was scared of it and the teacher flapped it with a book. And then a kid went under the table. Littlebat been scared and the mother been happy and say, "It's okay, Baby."

Brooke B.: I liked it when Littlebat poked his head through the hole in the ceiling at the library. He thought he should go look and see what was happening. I liked it when he fell through the hole at the library and everyone was scared. And then his mother said, "You shouldn't do that." I liked it when he was acting to be a paper bat.

Brooke N.:  A bat popped out of the hole. He wanted to listen to the library. He thought the butterfly was a moth, and it was weird, and he freaked out. And the library was trying to die him with a library book. And then he saw his mommy.

Brady K.: I liked all of it. I liked this page because there's a bat. They're trying to kill it.

Leah:  It was funny when the children screamed of the bat. It looks all creepy, that page. All the bugs look all dark. And do you know what was the funniest one? I thought the frog was a crocodile!

Sophie: The kids were scared of the little bat. The teacher waved her book and tried to shoo the bat away. The kids were yelling and one kid was hiding. Littlebat was worried and scared.

John: Littlebat wanted to see the stories up close. He couldn't because people might hurt him. Littlebat's mother was worried that he would get hurt. She said don't go down in there. I thought that page was exciting because he was flying around in the library. The librarian just swooped her book at him. The kids were yelling and screaming. If a bat came in my house I would open the door and let it out the garage. I like this page because it had all of the costumes. My favorite one is the guy with the mask.

Bella: I liked it when he was sticking his head out to see the pictures of it. I like when they were all running 'cause they were afraid of the bat. I think the bat was scared of them. The mom [bat] said, "Don't go so close."

Annalee:  I liked it when he was asleep. I liked it when he sleeps in there with his mama. The mama's putting her wings around him.

Arthur: My really favorite part is the changes was there. The kids saw the little bat and they thought he was a decoration. But my really favorite part was all of it.

Allison:  I like the bat flying in the air. The kid's putting her hands up to her ears 'cause of Littlebat. He wanted to see the pictures.

PK Responses

Eva:  I like the baby bat because he didn't get smacked by the book. I liked when they were dressed up. That's a dinosaur. This is a witch.

Camryn: He falled and he landed right in the room. They yelled and the lady almost smacked him. That was funny. I love it when the bats hang upside down. The lady thought it was a decoration.

Mack:  My favorite was this girl on the table. The bat was scaring the children. He [the bat] feeled worried. He got safe with his mom. It was Halloween and the kids thought the bat was a decoration. I think this girl  [the librarian] thought it was a decoration, too. At the end he [the bat] was reading a book.

Emelyn: The bat's right there and they got surprised. She's going to get hurt. [A frightened girl standing on a table.] She's going to fall on this book and get her head hurt.

Katherine: I like this one because I like the decorations. The kids are reading. The bat wants to see the pictures. I like the page when he was hanging down like a decoration.

Kaitlyn: [Looking at an illustration of Littlebat peeking through the hole in the ceiling.] I didn't know necks could stick out that far. He started falling from the book. The bat fell and he would get hurt from the book if it swinged at him. He'd get a ginormous book boo-boo on his belly.

Acadia:  The changes came and baby bat comed out and listened very quietly.

Christel:  It looks like he was falling through the hole. And I liked it when he fell down. That was funny. Those books were supposed to be on the bookshelf.  And that guy was looking up at the bat. He looks kind of scared. And it was really funny when the boy with the book on his head.They were scared of the bat 'cause they didn't like him. They're trying to hide. She's trying to smack him. [Flips to night pond illustration] I didn't know what that was. Oh! It's a night caterpillar. Cool! I liked the moon's look. And I liked that right there. [I asked what "that" was.] I have no idea! [Told her it was a moth.] Oh! [Flips to another illustration.] I liked the fireworks and there were 2 bats hanging outside.

Brady L.:  I like this page because the bat was falling down and the kids were going crazy. She's [the librarian] screaming.

Mikayla: That girl [the librarian] whacked that bat. They're sad because she doesn't like the bat.

Summer:  That one [Littlebat] fell in. They screamed. 

Emmett was very busy creating pattern block patterns and didn't feel like talking about the book today.

Watch our for those fish, Old Bear!

Children in EK, PK and CPG read Old Bear by Kevin Henkes this week. When the reader meets Old Bear he is settling into his winter hibernation. Henkes takes the reader through the four seasons using the bear's hibernation dreams as his vehicle. The fantasy/dream illustrations were especially appealing to the kids. I was intrigued by the children's interpretations that the dream cub feared the fish. The bear is depicted clinging to a tree and looking over his shoulder at the fish in the river. He, obviously, is stationary and the fish are moving in his direction. The fish all have their heads out of the water and appear to be looking at the bear. The bear's mouth is hidden by his shoulder, leaving the reader to put his or her own spin on the bear's emotional state. The kids are seeing the bear as victim and the fish as aggressors, which I find fascinating.

CPG Responses (added in on Friday, October 16, 2009)

Aidan C.: He's sleeping in a croke [crocus]. When he was sleeping then he woke up and he ate honey.

Ryan: I like where he was eating the blueberries because it has to be rain. I see a little bit of rain. He ate blueberries from the ground. I see blueberries that he ate. He's like, "Oh! It's raining blueberries. I'm going to eat them because I like them!" I see a flower up in the sky. I think it's a cloud flower. And he said, "Hey! I want that bear!" This page was red, orange and brown. And the bear's climbing the tree because he doesn't want to get catched by the fish and aten by the fish and to bite him on his bum. He'd go, "Owwww!"

Brady: He is eating the blueberries because he's eating blueberries and the flowers are coming back. He is climbing on a tree because the fish is trying to get him. It's my favorite. And winter is coming because the snow is coming back and it's cold. And the sun is on still. And in winter he sleeps and sleeps. And it comes back [spring] and no snow comes.

Olivia:  He's sleeping in the flower. [Turns to front end papers and points.] The brown end papers. [Flips to back end papers.] I want to see the purple.

Alec: He dreamed about berries. It's raining berries. He's putting them in his mouth.

J.J.: I liked it when he was dreaming that he was in a giant crocus. I liked it when it was raining blueberries, too, and he was catching them. I liked it because he sees the rainbow fish and he might jump in and eat one. He might catch one right in his claws.

Aiden R.:  He was sleeping. He was sleeping in the flower. It's raining blueberries. He's sticking his tongue out. He's trying to eat the blueberries. He's trying to climb up that tree because he's trying to find some food. I think he's trying to look for some doodleberries. They're purple.

Aria:  He's dreaming that it was summer. He's sleeping, sleeping a lot. He's eating the blueberries in the clouds. I think the fish going to eat him. He's going to get away from the fish. [Flips to winter dream scene.] I like this part. I like this white part -- it's snow. I like snowflakes. I like to stick my tongue out to get them. My hands get cold in the snow. My dog's only scared of bears. Maggie have sharp teeth.

Maeve: I like the sleeping. I liked it when he sleeped in the flower. I liked when he ate blueberries in the waterfall. He's trying to get the fish. He's going to fall into the water.

Linsdey: He's sleeping. He's in the tree.


EK Responses

Allison: It was snowing. The bear was dreaming. There he's in the flower. It's raining blueberries. I like blueberries.

Leah: He slept through winter. He wished that he was a little bear. He dreamed of the raining was blueberries. And he wished that everything was orange and yellow. And he like to climb up trees. Bears are very good climbers up trees. They sleep through winter and when they wake up in the morning they walk around and think, "Oh! This is summer!"

Brooke N.: They sleep in the winter. He's sleeping in the flower and he wish he was a little bear.

Brady: He dreamed. He was dreaming that he was a cub again. It rained blueberries. He was a polite bear 'cause he covered his mouth when he yawned.

Annalee: I like that one [illustration] because I like snow. He's sleeping in a flower. It's raining blueberries. He's trying to eat them.

Sophie: I liked when the cub was sleeping in the flower. It was so cute! And he was eating blueberries out of the sky. And the sun was a daisy! It was so funny! And I like the colors of the fish and the bear thinks the fish are trying to eat him because look it!  He [dream cub] just hopped [onto the tree]!

John:  I liked that there were raining blueberries in the sky. And I like when at the last part when it was spring again and it was very nice and stuff because some of the trees had leaves that were going down. And I liked it when he's just smelling everything. And I like when he blinked and sticked his head out. That's all.

Arthur [Talked mainly about his own personal bears, placing them right in the story.]: My bears are hibernating. One is Heavy Bear, but it's not the one I'm talking about. I call my black one Black Bear. I really like this bear [Old Bear] because both of all my bears at home are hibernating. And all mine animals are sleeping in flowers and trees. That's what their first dream that they dreamed about. Then they dreamed that blueberries were raining. And then they dreamed about all the fish were out and all my bears could catch the fish. And then they dreamed about it was snowing. Then they slept. And then they yawned and then they opened their eyes and then it was walking and then it dreamed about purple was everywhere. And then they dreamed about there was flowers everywhere. That's all I want to tell you about.

Hayden: I like that one. Winter and fall is come together and he make a lovely pillow in his den. He thinking of dreams and the winter blowing the leaves in his den. He think he is sleeping in the big flower and he pretends it's spring. Then he think a rain is blueberries and he going to eat them all up and he get a tummyache. Butterflies are going to find a lovely place and they're going to get blueberry juice all over them. And he's going to think of a fish dream. The bear is afraid to go in the water because he don't want to be eaten up by the fish. He's climbing the tree 'cause he wanna be safe. He think of dreams and he sitting in the snow and he really wants to catch snowflakes on his tongue. And he thinking of he really love the sun in his eyes. He making a big yawn because he wake up so nice and early in his den. And when he wakes up he didn't remember anything anymore.

Brooke B.: I liked it when he was dreaming that he was a cub and it was spring. I liked it when Old Bear was dreaming that it was raining blueberries. I liked it when he was dreaming that it was fall again and the fish were rainbow colored. I liked it when he was dreaming that it was winter again. I liked it when he was dreaming when it was winter and he said the stars were all colored. I liked it when he woke up and it was spring again.

Dev: I like the front part. Snow and leafs are falling down on him.

Daniel: It was silly when it rained blueberries! The bear was that big [referring to the dream cub sleeping in a crocus] and if a person stepped on it it would be squashed into maple syrup. That would be funny. I like that yellow fish a lot. If I was that big and the bear was really that big and I didn't see it I would probably step on it. Imagine a bear eating it's own head! [Comment made while viewing an illustration consisting of 4 different views of the sleeping bear's head.] It would be funny. This [back]end paper's purple and this [front] end paper's brown.

Keegan: I like this page. I like the fact that the flowers are beautiful. And that looks some kind of like a dandelion. And it's weird.  He's sleeping in a plant. It's weird. It's raining blueberries.

Bella:  I like when he was winter and it was all the color in the sky. I like all the colors on this page, like the green and the yellow. Like the grass is green over here. I like the purple and the yellow and the big crocus he was sleeping in. Note: When we discovered that Bella's dress was almost a perfect match for Old Bears' back end papers, we just had to take a picture for the blog.

PK Responses

Christel:  I liked all the blueberries and I liked the sun. It was pretty funny. The butterflies were my favorite animal. And I loved the bear inside the flower. I liked the little stars and the snow all over the trees. And I think he was watching the sun go down.

Brady L.: A bear was dreaming about he was a little cub. And he was dreaming about snow and the rain was blueberries. And all the leaves changed and the fish turned colors. And the stars turned colors.  And then he yawned and then he waked up. And then he opened his eyes. And then he was going look for food. [Old Bear was actually a gift from Brady L. last year! Thanks again, Brady L.]

Camryn:  He's falling asleep. He's dreaming, too. I love that page when he was a little cub! It's so cute. He's sleeping in a little flower, and he's so funny. I love that. It was raining blueberries! He was freaking out! Everything was orange and brown and every color. Yellow. There was stars and snow.

Acadia:  I like those a lot [colorful stars] because it matches my green and purple leaves on my dress. [Flips to illustration in which Old Bear awakens in spring.] He blinked and blinked and blinked.

Emelyn: I like him yawning and putting his paw on his mouth. That's what I do when I wake up. [Flips to an illustration with the dream cub sleeping in a crocus. Points to the cub and laughs.] Bear in a flower!!

Eva:  He was dreaming he was a little cub sleeping in a flower. I like the blueberries because he wished he was a tiny cub licking the blueberries and eating them. The fish are swimming around the ocean and he was climbing the tree. He was funny!

Summer: He's sleeping in a flower. They're raining blueberries. The fish are colored.

Kaitlyn: He was digging a lot. He was soft sleeping. And then he was dreaming about flowers and being a cub. It was raining blueberries. And he was dreaming the sun being a sunflower. And the leaves were butterflies. And then he was dreaming about the colors and like about rainbows. He doesn't go out of his house. And he sleeped and sleeped and sleeped and sleeped. And then he yawned and yawned. And he woke up. And then  it was real. His dream was real. And he's walking away to get food. He went out the book on the front. [Illustration on the dedication page depicts the back half of Old Bear. He looks like he's walking out of the book.]

Mikayla: He was sleeping in a flower. Then it was raining blueberries. He stick his tongue out. He's going to catch the blueberries. He's gonna eat it. Fishies going to get that little bear. I'm not afraid of fishies. I got a Super Hero cape. [Flips to another illustration.] It's a winter day. Bears don't run in the snow. They just sit there. He put his paw on his mouth because he's tired. Then he sticked his head out. It was a rainy day.

Emmett:  He's sleeping right now. He keeps sleeping then he sleeps in the flower. And it's raining blueberries. He's trying to get them in his mouth.

Katherine and Mack are still not feeling well and did not attend school this week. Feel better, girls!

Last Week in Review

Firefighters and cats and dogs.  Oh, my!

Last week we started a 2-week unit on fire safety in EK and PK, and we'll be reading many fire-themed books. On Monday the EK children read I Am Fire written by Jean Marzollo and illustrated by Judith Moffat. Some of the children responded below.

EK Responses

Sophie: I liked this book. I already knew before we talked about Stop, Drop, and Roll because I already learned about it. I really want to be a fireman and I really went to see a fire truck and did the hose and I went in the fire truck.

Brooke N.: I liked it. They were doing a fire drill at school. [Flips to another illustration.] Someone saw a fire over where the leaves. [Flips to another illustration.] She went out without her shoes because [the house] was on fire.

Hayden:  I liked it. A girl and a puppy went outside and helped the brother get away from the fire.

Daniel:  I know the words Stop, Drop, and Roll and I know on this page if the door is all blocked by fire and the windows weren't blocked you can go out the windows. And on this page I didn't know that leafs could go on fire. And I know if there's a fire you should go on your hands and knees. And I think he [boy in an illustration] was really big so he shouldn't play with matches, he would know you shouldn't play with matches, or you shouldn't play with cigarettes.  And I know that you put a marshmallow on your stick when you're roasting marshmallows.  And I know that there's only three words -- nine, one, one. At home we have a wood and screen attached to the wood to keep us away from the fireplace. And I have seen fireworks on TV and when I was upstairs and Mom was reading a story in my bed I heard them. [Turns his attention to another illustration.] The puppy is too close to the grill and the girl is right next to the mom. I liked it except the fact it made me remember on the computer it was a video like Land Before Time, but it wasn't one it was a one where he could spit out fire and he could also eat it. I didn't like it because it made me think that I was eating it without being trained.

Brooke B.:  I liked it when the dad was reading a bedtime story to the kid. And I liked it when a boy blew out the candles. And I liked it when they were watching the fireworks together. I liked it when they practiced the fire drill. I liked it when they did a fire drill at school. I liked it when the kid told a grown-up when she saw a pile of leaves burning. I liked it when a boy crawled under the smoke. I liked it when that boy dropped, stopped and rolled. I liked it when they went camping and roasted marshmallows. I liked it when the girl called 9-1-1.

Dev: I liked that part. [Kids having a fire drill at school.]

[On Monday the EK kids also reread THE STORY OF FERDINAND written by Munro Leaf and illustrated by Robert Lawson.]


The PK children still needed to vote for their favorite animal, dog or cat. On Monday the PK children read two books: Clifford's Tricks written and illustrated by Norman Bridwell, and Caldecott Honor Book Green Eyes written and illustrated by A. Birnbaum. They voted, and the vote tallied up at 8 for dogs and 5 for cats.

Christel:  I liked the Clifford book best. I liked it 'cause Clifford rolled over the truck and when he went WOOF loud. The girl fell in the water. It was a good thing the dog saved the girl. And I liked it when Clifford was the best dog ever. And Clifford really is a good dog. Well, sometimes he doesn't do the right things we want him to do 'cause sometimes he's naughty.

Camryn liked Clifford's Tricks:  I liked Clifford. She [a girl walking on the railing of a bridge] fell in the water because she was doing something dangerous. Her foots were up there [on the bridge railing] then her head was upside down [as she fell from the bridge]. Her dog tried to save her but he couldn't because he wasn't big. Clifford saved them.

Emelyn liked Green Eyes: I liked this kitty book. I like he slipping down the box. [Flips to another illustration.] All the animals thought he was a little lion in the jungle.

Emmett liked Green Eyes:  He's like a tiger.

Eva liked Green Eyes:  Because he has green eyes and he could climb out of his small box. I liked when he was in the grass like a baby lion.

Katherine liked Clifford's Tricks: I liked the Clifford one because Clifford and the other dog saved the little girl.

Kaitlyn liked Clifford's Tricks:  Her dog was a little less smarter. The girl with the yellow dress. But Clifford -- no. Not that smart. He didn't know anything. And he barked so loud people were arguing. He rolled over on the police car. [Flips to last illustration.] And then they both hugged them. [Emily Elizabeth and her new friend hugged their dogs.]

Acadia liked Clifford's Tricks:  Because Clifford saved them.  I like them because they like them. [Emily  Elizabeth and her new friend both like their dogs.]

Mack liked Green Eyes: I like the kitty best because her name was Green Eyes because she was a kitty. When she was [getting bigger] her box was getting bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger.

Mikayla liked Clifford's Tricks:  That book silly.

Summer liked Clifford's Tricks best.

CPG Kids Read for the Record

Thursday, October 8th was Jumpstart's Read for the Record day, and children across the country read Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Even though we read this book early in September, we reread it in CPG in order to participate in this important event. On Friday, we read Little House, Little Town by Scott Beck.

Ryan spoke about The Very Hungry Caterpillar:  I like this picture because he eats one apple on this day, and two pears on the other day, and three . . . What are these again? [Me: plums] 'Cause he ate the plums and he ate the strawberries and he ate the five oranges but he was still hungry. So he ate the chocolate and the ice cream and the pickle and the cheese and one slice of salami and a lollipop, and pie, and a sausage, and a cupcake and the watermelon then he had a bellyache. 'Cause he ate those leaves but I don't know why he cut the holes out to pretend he ate them. Then he was a big fat caterpillar then he was a butterfly and that's it.

Aidan C. spoke about  The Very Hungry Caterpillar:  Part of it was when he was in a egg. Part of it was when he popped out. When he ate all the things he had a stomachache. When he feeled better he ate part of a leaf.

Alec talked about Little House, Little Town:  He didn't have a helmet. She's scared of the dog. They're climbing up the tree. She ate an ice cream. He's [a dog] trying to pull the chain.

Olivia spoke about Little House, Little Town: The baby had a different face. [We had commented that the baby looked like he had a grown-up face.] [Turns to an illustration of boys riding bikes.] Riding bikes! They didn't have a helmet. [Flips to another page.] She's getting ice cream.

Arthur talked about Little House, Little Town: [Looking at title page.] My favorite is that part because the baby looks like he has a man's face. I think this is the end because the baby is standing up and saying, "Hey!" [Flips to another page.] I like this page because there was a dog in the page and ice cream. [Flips to another page.] But my really favorite page is when they leave their bike out. [Flips to another page.] No. My REALLY favorite page is that there was a lot of buildings.

J.J. spoke about The Very Hungry Caterpillar: I like that part because it's funny because the egg -- it looks like a rock! And I like this when he ate through these, and again, and again, and again, and again, and AGAIN!  I like the WHOLE book!

John talked about Little House, Little Town: I liked about it that it has when all of the guys were riding on bikes. And I liked that when the grocer was trying to make a tower with these cans. And I liked that the girl was going to get ice cream. And I liked that they put on the sprinkler. And I liked when the girl was finishing her ice cream cone. And I like when it was all quiet in the church and everything and it showed the church and everything. And that's it.

Bob wanted to talk about You Can Name 100 Trucks by Randy Chewning, a book he pulled off the shelf and "read" on his own. Bob points to a building on fire and says, "Fire!" Points again and says: "School bus.  Fire truck."

Teagan didn't feel like talking about books this week.

NOTE:  We had 5 children absent in CPG on both Thursday and Friday this week.

Apparently Cats Rule.

Yesterday the CPG children read Circle Dogs written by Kevin Henkes and illustrated by Dan Yaccarino. Today they read Caldecott Honor book Green Eyes written and illustrated by A. Birnbaum, and then voted for their favorite animal. The election results were as follows: 4 votes for dogs and 6 votes for cats.

Brady and Ryan discussed the books together.

Brady: Circle Dogs was my favorite because them were circley. I love the black one.

Ryan:  I like the black one, too. And I do like that one, too. [Green Eyes]

Brady: Cat one for me, too, because it has green eyes.

Ryan: Mine's because I like that one, too. [Green Eyes] I like green.

Brady: I do to. Green's my favorite.

Ryan: Hey! I thought you like purple.

Ryan: I do. And green, too.

The rest of the children discussed the book individually with me.

Aria:  I liked Green Eyes. He was a little cat. I like the chickens. I like the end pages -- grass, sun, winter, fall.

J.J.: I liked it because the Circle Dogs were sleeping in a circley way. [Flips to another illustration.]  Digging! I liked that part, too. I liked the story.

Maeve:  I liked Green Eyes because he jumped out of the box. He's trying to get the mouse, but it wasn't a mouse. It was a leaf. He jumped and tried to get it, but he was thinking about it. He was sleeping near the radiator because the snow was going to fall on him and he'd get cold.

Olivia: [Olivia liked Circle Dogs best.] They smell bones. They wake up the people.

Aiden R.: [Aiden liked Circle Dogs best, too.] It turned into a circle. They digged in the yard. They were licking people.

Lindsey: [Lindsey picked Circle Dogs as her favorite book, and the orange dog as her favorite character.]

Aidan C.:  [Aidan liked Green Eyes best.] She climbed in the box. She run around the tree. She was watching the man walk the cows. [Milk the cows.]

[Teagan didn't feel like talking about books today, and the rest of the children were absent from school.]

Check This Out

I also contribute to The Write Sisters' blog, and posted a Mentor Monday post on September 28th entitled Know Your Reader. I included an excerpt from The Picture Book Project and recommended that the authors reading The Write Sisters visit The Picture Book Project to research their picture book audience. I think you might find some of the comments from a few children's authors interesting.

THE STORY OF FERDINAND: Snotting and Butting and Kicking

[Today we read THE STORY OF FERDINAND written by Munro Leaf and illustrated by Robert Lawson in 1936.  John was the only child to contribute today, because he missed discussing GROWL BEAR yesterday. I asked him to pick his favorite, and he wanted to talk about THE STORY OF FERDINAND. He actually flipped page by page through the book as he talked.]

EK John: I liked it because it had a big "O" [the first word of the book is ONCE, and the O is giant in comparison to the rest of the font] and a tall tower. And I like it because Ferdinand was eating a little grass. And I liked when all of the bulls were just butting around and stuff. And I liked when Ferdinand was walking to the cork tree. And I like it when he was just relaxing at the cork tree. And I like when his mother was going to ask if he was lonely. And I like when he said, "I'm not lonely." And I liked when the mother was just walking away. I liked this page because it marked how old he was. And I like it when he was just sitting under the tree calmly.

And I like it when they saw they could have been chosen to the bull fight. And I like it because all the men were wearing funny hats. And I liked it when all the bulls wanted to be chosen. And I liked this page because he sat on a bee. And I liked it when he had his eyes wide opened because he was sitting on a bee. And I liked it when he just jumped up because the bee just stung him. And I liked it when he was snotting and butting and kicking.

And I like when they were pulling him to the ring. And I like when they were all bringing him to the ring. And I liked when the girls had the flowers in their hair. And I liked it when they brung out everything to make them mad, and I liked everything else that they wanted to make him mad with. And I liked it because they bring out the sword and he [the matador] was smiling a lot. And I liked the one where Ferdinand just peeked out of there. And I liked it when he was walking out to the ring. And I liked it because he was just sitting around smelling the flowers. And I liked it when all the men were so mad. And I like that guy [the matador] was so sad.  And I liked it when he was going to leave the ring. And I liked it when he was just sitting under the cork tree.

I liked it in the front [cover illustration] when he was in a different color red instead of white. In the black and white pictures when they [the baby bulls] were running there was some black on the grass and they [the bulls] had some black spots on them. This was very old and I like painting in the olden days.

A Look at Picture Books Past

EK and PK children will look at picture books written at least 50 years ago today and tomorrow. Today we read Growl Bear, written and illustrated by Margot Austin and first published in 1951. This story grabbed every last child in both classes and held their attention from endpaper to endpaper. It was republished as A Friend for Growl Bear in 1999, newly illustrated by David McPhail. We read the original, with black and white illustrations.

Usually when I read a book illustrated in black and white, at some point somebody will stop me and mention the black and white illustrations and ask why they aren't done in color. Only one child mentioned the illustrations, and that was after the reading while he and I were discussing the book. Rather than lament the fact that they weren't done in color, Keegan loved them. I consider this a sign that the story completely entranced the children, and that the black and white illustrations worked perfectly with the story.

Growl Bear looks at how people (as portrayed by the animal characters) perceive one another, and how misunderstood intentions can lead to harsh and hurtful reactions.

As you read through the responses, keep in mind that when a child says he or she liked it when something bad happened to the bear, they aren't approving. They're reacting to the strong emotion within the story, and to their own emotional attachment to the bear.

EK Responses

Sophie:  I liked it because the guys hurt the bear. They were really angry and they started pushing him. They thought he was going to eat them because bears eat different animals and I liked the bear. He wanted to say, "Hey! I'm not going to hurt you. I just want a friend." He wanted to play with somebody, and they didn't because they thought he was going to bite somebody but he didn't. He just wanted a friend! He just said, "Grrrrr!" because he couldn't say anything because he's a bear and he just can't talk. And he was too little to talk.

Annalee: I liked this book because I liked Mouse.

Allison: He wanted friends.

Keegan:  I like it 'cause it's very old. What I like that's my favorite is the color -- black and white. The bear wanted a friend. Everybody was afraid of him because of his growl. He didn't know how to talk because he was very little.

Brooke N.:  All the people didn't like him because he wanted a friend and the rabbit throwed him in the pond. He wanted a friend and nobody would let him be a friend. I liked it.

Brooke B.:  I liked it when he got hit with the nut by the squirrel. I liked it when he got pushed into the pond by the rabbit. I liked it when he was sitting on the mailbox. I liked it when Old Owl slammed the door in front of the bear's face. He thought mouse would come out and play with him so he sat on a log then he standed on his head then he laid on his back, but mouse wouldn't come. Then he hanged on a branch, and then mouse comed and the branch started to break and then he fell on his head. Then he said, "I know. Maybe the songbirds will play with me." Then he climbed up on a tree and then the songbirds flew around his head and then he got so dizzy that he fell off the tree. I liked when his friends were all standing in his front yard and then they played and played and played.

Bella: I liked it cause at the ending I liked it when they were running around the tree. They were friends.

Brady:  I liked it. He was trying to find a pal. He kept saying, "Grrrr." That means he'll bite. He wasn't really going to bite.

Allison:  I did like it. The mother was going to give cookies.

Hayden:  Him friends didn't like him because he say, "Grrrr!' 'cause he a bear.

Dev: He was grrrrring. I liked the book.

Daniel: I liked the words and I loved the baby. I didn't like the way his friends were acting. When he came up to see the rabbit he was pushing him in the river. They all did mean things to him. When he went grrrr they run away from him because they thought he was going to eat them. He couldn't say anything else because he's a baby. The owl said that you shouldn't be afraid to him because he wasn't going to eat them. The mom brought cookies out while they were all swinging. It was a happy one.

PK Responses

Emmett: I like this page because they're all playing at his house.

Mack: I liked this book because the Owl slammed the door and he opened it a little and then the bear started crying a little . . .

Eva joins in: And then he cried a lot. This is my favorite part because Owl said he couldn't talk yet and be nice.

Mack: And my else favorite part is when Owl came over into his house.

Katherine: I liked it because at the end they started to chase.

Emelyn: He was crying because Owl was so mean.

Acadia: I like the endpapers. I liked when he was waiting and waiting for the little mouse. I don't have mouses in my house. They live in little holes in your house. Do you have mouses in your house?

Me: Gee, I hope not.

Acadia: I like this one [illustration of all the little animals playing together] because his friends are not scared anymore.

Camryn:  He was sad because he wanted someone play with. Someone was doing something busy. They were folding laundry. I love this page [Mother Bear bringing cookies to Growl Bear and his friends at the end of the story] because I love it so much.

Kaitlyn: At the first page he walked with his Teddy Bear. Then he was there to Rabbit's house, to his friend Rabbit. And then he went to the mouses' house. I liked where the mouse ran away 'cause he was catching the mouse. He bunked his head and he started crying. Then he knocked on Old Owl's door again and then he said, "Grrrr!" Old Owl said, "I told you to stay away." He started crying. He went home and his friends waited and waited for him to come out and play with them. They played tag. Growl Bear was happy.

Mikayla:  The mouse ranned over there. He was chasing the mouse. The mouse was sad if the bear grabbed him in his hand. [Flips to another page.] That mommy bear chases that rabbit give him some cookies. And I like the wolf [squirrel] because he's not ascared of anything.

Summer looked through the book and pointed out her favorite illustration in which Mother Bear is bringing cookies out to the little animal friends.

More CPG Thoughts

Today we read Caldecott Honor Book The Stray Dog by Marc Simont. I asked the children to pick their favorite book we read this week to discuss.

Olivia: I like that doggy.  He is Willy.  I like Willy every time. He's my favorite pet dog. [I asked her how she felt when the dog catcher caught Willy.] That was bad! He has to go to the dog patch. So he got his leash. [The girl gave the dog catcher her hair ribbon, telling him it was Willy's leash.][Olivia points to the boy, who is removing his belt and telling the dog catcher it was Willy's collar.] He could save him!

Teagan: I liked this [Kitten's First Full Moon] best because the kitty jumped in the pond. I like this one. The kitty's climbing up the tree. She's a poor kitten because she fell down to get the moon. She's trying to get that moon. She thinks it's a bowl of milk. She's trying to drink the milk. She jumped in the pond. First she went on the grass. Then she jumped in the pond. [Flips to another illustration.] The bug got in her tongue. It was funny! The firefly.

Lindsey looked very carefully at the covers of Kitten's First Full Moon and The Stray Dog. I asked if she liked the dog book best, and she just wasn't quite sure. I asked if maybe she liked the cat book best. She smiled and said, "Yes!"

Aidan C.: I liked it because I liked the bathtub one. They have a dog in it with people. The girl was scrubbing the dog. The boy was turning up the water. [Turns to Willy-in-the-dog-catcher's-net illustration.] Hey! He didn't get his tail!

Maeve: I liked this [Kitten's First Full Moon] best because he licked the bowl of milk. I liked it because he jumped in the water because he wanted to get that milk. He thought it was milk.

Aria: [Ryan is looking over Aria's shoulder at the illustration.] I like the catcher one. I like it. I like Winnie. Winnie wags her tail a lot. [I ask who Winnie is.] Winnie lives at Aria's house. I like the sun setting. [In one of the illustrations.] I like this one. [Illustration shows the dog catcher chasing the dog.] He is dead.

Ryan: No! He's just hiding.

Aria: He got caught. The girl give her ribbon. [For a leash.] The boy is just like this. [Illustration shows the boys holding up his pants because he took his belt off to use as a collar. Aria pretends to hold up her pants and laughs.]

Ryan: [Looking at the bathtub illustration in which the kids are in the tub bathing the dog.] So the kid's hair is funny! [Flips to another illustration.] Look! "Here's his leash!" [Said in a sing-song voice, as if he -- Ryan -- is the boy in the story.] He's holding up his pants so they don't fall down and bring a policeman. I like the boy the best. He chased the dog.

Julianna: My favorite part was the dog catcher trying to catch the dog. It was funny! I was trying not to laugh.

Brady D. and Bob were not in school today, so they'll contribute to next week's CPG entry.

Random CPG Literacy Note: Teagan announced that he was making end papers while tracing circles on paper in a Mickey Mouse pattern in the writing corner. These are the moments that I live for in my teaching life!

CPG Children Share Their Thoughts

On Thursday, September 24th, the CPG children read the 2005 Caldecott Medal winner Kittens First Full Moon, written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes. Because today was our first visit with Miss Mary from Project Nature, I only had enough time to discuss the book with four of my students. I'll post what the rest of the children had to say tomorrow.

 Aria: I liked the kitten one because I do like the moon and the house and the cups and the milk. I liked this one. [Illustration in which the kitten climbed a tree in an attempt to reach the moon, which it had mistaken for a bowl of milk.] The kitten got all sad and got all wet. I like all the kitties. I got Sammy and Summer and Sophie. They're kittens. I like the tree one. Her got scared. And she can't reach the moon and climb and climb. I like the house one and I like the sleep one.

Ryan:  I liked it because he saw the milk and he thought the moon was a big milk and I liked it because it looked like it was 150 milk and it was getting bigger and bigger like a snowman because he came and he saw the milk and that's why I like it. I like the part where he saw the milk and he said, "Oh! I want a milk! Oh, ya!" And I liked when he saw the milk but it wasn't. It looked like a big ice cream bowl, but it wasn't."

Aiden R.: I liked the stars. He fell right there. [Illustration in which the kitten jumped into a pond reflecting the moon, which it had mistaken for a bowl of milk.) He gets wet and he looks scared then he got home.

J.J.:  I liked this because she tried to get the moon and she climbed the tree to try to catch it, but she couldn't!

We'll continue our cat/dog theme tomorrow when we read a doggy book.

Miss Mary, by the way, read The Flying Tortoise, An Igbo Tale retold by Tololwa M. Mollel and illustrated by Barbara Spurll.

The Truth About Cats and Dogs

The children will discuss books with me on Monday and Wednesday this week. If you don't see a contribution by your child in the Monday discussion, look for it in the Wednesday discussion.

Our theme this week is Dogs and Cats, and the children will vote for their favorite animal on Wednesday.

On Monday, September 21, 2009 the EK and PK children read and discussed My Big Dog by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel. The author referred to the dog and cat as "it" making it impossible to determine the animals' gender. You'll notice the children freely interchange feminine and masculine pronouns in talking about the animals, especially the cat. Most of the children referred to the dog as "he." The cat was a bit trickier for them.

EK Responses

Brady K.: I liked this book because the dog kept going, SLURP, SLURP, SLURP!

John: I liked it because it had the cat saying, "Everything's all mine!" And I liked it when the dog kept finding the cat and the dog kept slurping and the cat kept trying to get him away, get him away, get him away. And I liked it because it had when the dog kept growing bigger and bigger and BIGGER! And I liked when he was so huge. And I liked when the cat want to run away and the lady took her and the cat thought it would be a nice idea to make the girl take her home. Then she decided it wasn't so nice after all. And when she saw the CAT WANTED sign and she decided to go in there and got pushed out by a broom. And I liked when a boy picked her up but the boy and the girl were fighting over it. And I liked when he had to sleep and then it was raining. And I liked when the dog found the cat and took her home. And I liked when the cat wanted to make friends and share with the dog. And then she would share her dog, and then he licked her. And I liked when we had that voting at the end about purple and blue on the end papers. [When we previewed the book and looked at the end papers, the children couldn't agree what color the back end papers were. Some thought purple, and some thought blue. We took a vote after reading the book. Nine children voted for purple, and 4 children voted for blue.]  And I liked when they showed the light blue at here. [The front end papers.] And there's two more things I like. I liked the outside [cover] at the front. And I liked the outside [cover] of the back. Now I'm done.

Brooke B.: I liked it because when he started out as a puppy and the cat said, "My everything!" And when she said, "I let my owners pet sometimes when I feel like it." And when she said, "I'm tired. I've been up from breakfast. It's almost time for my nap!" And when said, "Here comes my owner!" I liked when she said, "Dog alert! Dog alert! Time to hide!" I liked the part when the cat got licked. And I like when she put crumbs all over the outside to get away from him, but that didn't work. Then she knew she would take him for a walk and said, "I know! I will tie him to a tree." That didn't work. That's it!

Brooke N.: I liked it because the dog found the cat and because he licked the cat. The cat felt weird. I liked it because the dog was getting big. My dog was little before so he had to have a home and we took him from the pet shop to our house. My dog is named King. He's a little bit big dog not that much.

Bella: I liked the pictures. He said that all the stuff is his. I liked the dog. I'm done.

Sophie: I liked it because the girl said, "It's my kitty." She took it from the boy.

PK Responses -- On Monday, September 21st the PK children had a special story guest -- my big lion puppet. Mr. Lion visited to model storytime etiquette such as listening without interrupting. (Mr. Lion interrupts a lot!) He also modeled responding to my questions following the reading, which I'm hoping will inspire the children to really elaborate on their own responses.

Mack: I liked it because it had a cute, little kitty. I liked it when the dog found her crying and he brought her back home. And when the kids said, "It's my kitty! No, It's my kitty!" I liked it when the kitty said, "Could we be friends?" And when the girl dressed her up like a show kitty.

Kaitlyn: I liked it because I like when the cat said, "Can we be friends?" I liked when the dog bited the cat. He was helping the cat. He was saving it. I liked the part when the cat felt very sad. I know she was very sad in this picture. Look at her face. Everything was hers, and she didn't care about the dog.

Katherine: I liked it because of the first part he told himself everything was all his. And I liked it when he hided. I think he hide under his bed, then on the desk, then in the drawer.

Camryn: I liked it because I loved the dog slobbered the cat. I loved the people trying both have the cat. I loved that part! That was funny. I loved the cat get his nails done. The person picking the cat up -- I loved that. I loved the end papers, too.

Acadia: I like it because he said everything was his. That was my favorite. And I liked when the girl was picking him up and she was bringing him home. That was my favorite. I liked this part because he runned away and then he runned out like that from the broom. And because he was sad because the rain was pouring on him. I liked it when the dog was picking him up and bringing him home. I'm done.

Arthur: I liked all of the pages. My favorite part was just like Mr. Lion's [the puppet] when the dog keeped finding the cat.

CPG Children Weigh In On Eric Carle

In addition to Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do You Hear? and The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the CPG children read Eric Carle's "Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," said the Sloth and My Tool Belt. The children reacted to their favorites as follows.

Olivia: The Very Hungry Caterpillar is my favorite because they turn into butterflies then they go into a cocoon and then they turn into a butterfly.

Julianna: I liked the Sloth. I liked it when he was boring. And I liked it when he was hanging upside down. And I liked this [indicates picture] with the monkey and tortoise.

Ryan:  I liked the Caterpillar best. I liked it because he ate so much food and he was green and that was my favorite color. Mom would like the red and she would say, "Ryan! I have that book!" And that's why I like it.

Brady D.: I liked the Sloth because him was keep staying right there and because the animals kept coming back and forth. I liked this one best. [Points to Yellow-Spotted River Turtle on the back end papers.]

Bob: I like the Polar Bear because I like the elephant.

Lindsey wasn't quite sure which book was her favorite. I agreed with her that when it comes to Eric Carle books, it's very hard to pick just one favorite.

Aidan C.: I like the Caterpillar one because we read it. My favorite part was when he was in the egg. If I was a hungry caterpillar, I would eat the lollipop first.

Maeve: I liked the Sloth book because of the night. [I asked Maeve which animal was her favorite, and she pointed to the anteater and the caiman. When I asked why, she pointed to the caiman's teeth and said, "Claws!]

Aiden R.:  I like the Caterpillar because it itches. Polar bears would like that story. If I was a hungry caterpillar I'd eat the watermelon and the cupcake and the candy and the lollipop and the pickle and the cheese and the cake.

Teagan:  I like Brown Bear best because I saw a bird and a bunny and a dog in there. My favorite animal was the purple cat.

Aria:  I liked My Apron because I do. I liked the pages. [Indicates end papers.]  I liked this one. [Indicates page with Aunt Elizabeth making an apron for young Eric Carle.] Her making an apron for her. I liked this one. [Indicates page with the house with the incomplete roof.]

Even More Eric

We continued exploring Eric Carle's books today when we read The Grouchy Ladybug. Once again, I asked the children to pick their favorite Eric Carle book from among those we've read thus far.

EARLY KINDERGARTEN RESPONSES

Leah: I loved The Very Hungry Caterpillar so much! I liked the food part best. I loved that. That was so silly. If I was a hungry caterpillar I would just eat three plums so I wouldn't get a tummy ache.

Brooke N.: I liked The Grouchy Ladybug because there were a lot of people who were big, but she said they were not big enough, but they were big enough. I liked the rhinoceros part because he was trying to eat him but he was too big.

Bella: I liked The Grouchy Ladybug because of the pictures with the little pages and the big pages. I liked all the clocks because the hungry ladybug did all of that. [Points at clocks.] I liked the elephant best because I saw one at the zoo.

Dev: I liked The Grouchy Ladybug because of this one. [Searches out and points at praying mantis illustration.]

Annalee: I liked The Very Hungry Caterpillar because I liked the pictures of it. If I was a hungry caterpillar I'd eat pie first and ice cream.

Arthur: I liked all of these books. My favorite was The Grouchy Ladybug because he keeps saying, "You're not big enough!" I liked that it did it like this. [Indicates the differently sized pages.] My favorite animal was the whale because it slapped the tail on the ladybug and the ladybug said, "Ah-h-h-h-h!" And then he put his tail back and that was my favorite part.

Hayden: I liked Brown, Bear, Brown Bear best. I liked the goldfish because it's yellow because I love yellow. I liked the duck because I love yellow a lot, because the ducky is gold and the goldfish is gold.

Brooke B.: I liked The Grouchy Ladybug because when he said, "No, you're not too big!" I liked the hyena best because it reminds me of Izzy. She really likes hyenas and she's my best friend.

Allison: I liked The Grouchy Ladybug because it had a ladybug in it. I liked the skunk best because it's in the book.

John: I liked The Grouchy Ladybug because the nice ladybug offered, but the ladybug said, "Hey, you! You want to fight?" But she said, "Aw, you're not big enough!" And I liked it because it had when the ladybug said to the tail on the whale, "Hey you! You want to fight?" And the tail gave her a big slap. And I liked it because it had the house and the lighthouse. And I liked it because when the ladybug met the wasp and he showed it his big stinger. And I liked when that animal [points to stag beetle] showed him his big claws. And I liked when the mantis wanted to fight and he said, "If you insist." And I liked the bird because I knew it was going to eat the ladybug. I liked the lobster because he opened his claws and I knew he was going to snap him in his claws. And I liked the skunk because he lifted his tail and I knew he was going to release a stinky smell at the ladybug. And I liked that the snake was going to eat the squirrel and the ladybug for his breakfast. And I liked the hyena because he laughed and he was going to eat him. And I liked the gorilla because he was beating his chest and he was going to punch him. And I liked the rhinoceros because he was lowering his horn and he was going to run into him and then he said, "Oh, you're not big enough!" And I liked the elephant and he was showing his tusk and his trunk a long way out. And I liked the whale because he said nothing and I thought that the ladybug was going to run into the water going up out of the whale. And when he said, "Hey, you! You want to fight?" and the flipper said nothing. And when he asked the fin to fight the fin said nothing. And I liked when the ladybug spoke to the whale's tail and said, "Hey, you! You want to fight?" and the tail gave him a big slap and he was flying over where he started and he got to eat some aphids. And then I liked it because the ladybug said, "You're welcome." And I liked that the leaf said, "Thank you!" And I liked the fireflies were dancing around the moon and I liked the moon and I liked the stars. And I liked the green grass at the beginning and at the end. I think Eric Carle wrote nice books. I think he does his art in not a fast way, but in a slow way. I like that art best.

PREKINDERGARTEN RESPONSES

Christel: I liked The Grouchy Ladybug because he said, "You're not big enough!" I liked when the whale flipped the Grouchy Ladybug into the sky. And I liked this part when the lobster tried to bite him. And the skunk looked like he was going to spray. And the snake looked like he was going to eat the ladybug. And I liked this one [hyena] when he looked like he was going to bite the ladybug. And I liked the gorilla! [Christel then turns to the last double-page spread in which the ladybugs share the remaining aphids.] This is my favorite part because he let him share the bugs! And I'm all done!

Brady L.: I like Polar Bear, Polar Bear because it has animals. I like the hippopotamus best.

Camryn: I liked The Very Hungry Caterpillar because it's my favorite. I have some caterpillars in my yard. Their backs go up and down. [Points to caterpillar on cover.] I like his back. I love his ears, too! [Points to caterpillar's antennae.] If I was a hungry caterpillar I would eat the cake and ice cream first.

Mack: I have caterpillars in my yard, you know. My mom found one and she was very colorful and she had a red head and she was so soft and she had little antlers sticking out and she had the legs that she could climb.

Emelyn: [Popping briefly into the conversation.] Miss Murphy! I liked Brown Bear.

Kaitlyn: I liked the Ladybug book and the Caterpillar book. [The rest of Kaitlyn's commentary relates to the Ladybug book.] I liked the nice one and the grouchy one, because the grouchy one said, "Hey! You want to fight?" The nice one said, "Why don't we share?" And they didn't share. I liked that one [sparrow] because he thinked the bird was too big, but it was too small, but it was really big. That one [elephant] was definitely big. He talked to that one [whale's fin] but it wouldn't talk. I liked that it ended up back where he started.

Arthur: [Popping into the conversation.] Why did they put the clocks on the ladybug book?

Miss Murphy: Eric Carle used the clocks to take us through the whole day with the ladybug. The clocks let us see what time the ladybug met up with each animal.

Mack: I really like the Polar Bear book because the polar bear saw the lion. All the kids dressed up like the animals. I like Eric Carle's drawing about the ladybug. I like the caterpillar one because I like his green eyes. I like his legs. This one isn't attached.

Let's Get Started!

The first three books we're reading at Hogarth this year are Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? written by Bill Martin, Jr. and illustrated by Eric Carle, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar written and illustrated by Eric Carle. In our class discussions following the readings, we looked at Carle's illustrations and noted that the endpapers of the Bear books were illustrated with stripe patterns, and the endpapers of the Caterpillar book was illustrated with a dot pattern. References to stripes or dots within the children's comments relate back to that discussion.

In order to get the book discussion ball rolling, I asked each child to pick his or her favorite from among these books and talk about what made that book so appealing. If this didn't prompt a big response, I followed up with questions specific to their favorite book. If they picked either Bear book, I asked which animal depicted in the book was their favorite. If they picked the Caterpillar book, I asked which food they'd eat first if they were a hungry caterpillar.

I'll be posting the children's responses each day this week until all the kids have participated. Here's what some of the children had to say today.

EARLY KINDERGARTEN RESPONSES

Keegan: My favorite was Polar Bear. I liked the front cover. My favorite animal was the peacock because of his spots, and I never seen a peacock.

John: I liked them all because I liked when the zoo keeper came to feed the walrus in Polar Bear and because all of the kids were dressing up like animals. I like Brown Bear because the class was looking at the teacher and the teacher was looking at the fish and looking at the kids. I like The Very Hungry Caterpillar because of Monday, Tuesday and all of that stuff when they flipped over and there kept being more and more food. The Caterpillar one is my very favorite. I liked the way Eric Carle did the end papers. One had dots and one had stripes facing up and one had stripes going sideways.

Daniel: I liked the Caterpillar one best because it had the folds in the paper. I liked it when the caterpillar was a baby and I liked the part where it was a butterfly. It was really pretty.

Brady K.: I liked Brown Bear best because I liked the stripes on the end. My favorite animal was the purple cat because he's purple!

Sophie: I liked Brown Bear best because the teacher was reading the book about animals to the kids. My favorite animal was the purple cat because of the purple. I like purple.

(Note: Neither Brady nor Sophie heard the other one's purple cat preference. Mack in PK also referred to the purple cat. Obviously, this is a very appealing illustration.)

PREKINDERGARTEN RESPONSES

Kaitlyn: I liked the Caterpillar because it was super hungry and he ate too much and he had a stomach ache. If I was a hungry caterpillar I'd eat the apple first.

Katherine: I liked the Polar Bear book because it has a polar bear and I liked the stripes. I liked the zebra.

Eva: I liked the Caterpillar best because it ate a leaf up and then had a tummy ache, that's why. I liked the part where the caterpillar ate up all the food. If I was a hungry caterpillar I'd eat a leaf first.

Emmett: I liked Brown Bear best because it had a goldfish and a yellow duck.

Mack: I liked Brown Bear best because it had the kitten. It was purple. I liked that one. And she was licking her elbow. Meow! Meow! Meow! I can do the sound of her. That made me laugh.

Emelyn: I liked the Caterpillar because it was silly when you said the moon was an egg!

Summer: I liked Brown Bear. My favorite animal was the blue horse and I liked the goldfish.

Acadia: I liked the Caterpillar because I got it at home and it's my favorite book. I like the colors of the circles. If I was a hungry caterpillar I'd eat the pickle.

See You in September

This collaborative effort between me and my preschool students at The Hogarth Country Day School in Epping, New Hampshire will officially start in September. The children and I will post once-a-week book reviews throughout the school year. From time to time, I'll post reviews of my own.

See you in a few short weeks!