A winner for teaching about how a bill is passed in our state government

I found this amazing book in Infosoup. It is appropriate for middle school readers. In this book, Mr. Tiffin (the educator) gets his students interested in creating a bill for a state cookie. There are a lot of steps to deciding such an idea and those are explored in the story. Among them are the committee process, the debating process, and the voting process. It is hard to come to consensus! What a good lesson! Ideas can come from any citizen, no matter what their age. Crafting a good idea means getting input from a lot of people and being willing to compromise. The state cookie they came up with reflects that: Apple Cinnamon Maple Syrup Oatmeal Cookie

Overarching lesson: Our state governments represent who we are. It is important to be a knowledgeable and active citizen. 

Fact: In Alabama, the Trinity Presbyterian School's (fourth grade class) cookie bill passed into law in 2023! The official state cookie is called the Yellowhammer. It has oats, brown sugar, and lots of pecans. Oat and pecans are grown in Alabama. 

 

A little lesson about how books can share a title!

Lovely book about the farm animals having a barn dance with scarecrow as the fiddler. The language in this book is rich. The "skinny kid" who joins in the dance is so cute and the kiddos laughed that he was going to bed in the MORNING (after). 

Look at the cover and realize that pig, horse, and sheep are going to have some accidents during the barn dance. Hovering owl will have something funny to share at the end of the book. 

It was fun to show participants at story time that books can share a title! Two children's literature GIANTS were the creators: Bill Martin Jr. and Pat Hutchins. 

 

Perfect, we all have been there!

 That situation where you think you have a brilliant idea and many people are discouraging (including one who does not have enough time for you) but you triumph because your idea "clicks" with just the right person it was meant for!
Yes, that is basically the gist of this fabulous picture book. I love picture books written on two levels: one for the child readers and one for the (accompanying) adult readers!

Yum!

 My personal craving for fruit in winter drew me to this fantastic book! In it, the reader learns about 9 fruits that are not native to the United States. What a cool way to learn about other places and climates! It is fun to learn the 9 names (and descriptions) and how they might be available in a Chinatown market near you. Fun!

MLK Jr. tie-in

 I was glad to learn about this piece of history. The attention paid to finding the cart and making it beautiful was so touching. All of the people who attended Martin Luther King Jr.'s funeral surely showed how beloved and respected he was. We learn about the mules who pulled the cart named Ada and Belle. A small ordinary story that has layers of meaning--how extraordinary positivity and kindness and attention to detail can be!
*The Dreamscape 7 minute video based on this book was lovely, too. c)2013

Wow--neat story!

 This book is cool because it teaches three things in a neat package of a story. The illustrations practically jump off of the page! The book is written in the style of haiku.

At the beginning of the book there is a "billboard" featuring the three lessons.

1) Haiku: A short form of poetry from Japan consisting of three lines, with a 5/7/5 syllable pattern.

2) Kaiju: A Japanese word meaning "strange creature".

3) Ah-Choo: A word used to represent the sound of a sneeze. This type of word is also called onomatopoeia.

A beautiful version of THE MITTEN

 

There are many versions of THE MITTEN. I was happy to discover this one which is Ukranian. The pastels used in the illustrations are gorgeous and evoke the feeling of deep winter. There are six animals in the story and they cleverly named. These are fun to say with readers as they help retell the story: 

Mistress Mouse~Frog Limpyleg~Rabbit Fast-on-Foot~

Fox Goldenfur~Boar Flatnose~Master Bigfoot