Book talk: What's Your Favorite Animal? by Eric Carle and Friends

Eric Carle's Fiffi

Think of your favorite authors: they all have favorite animals, just as you do. Remember The Very Hungry Caterpillar author, Eric Carle? He had a cat named Fiffi who loved string beans. Eric could play fetch with her, throwing the string beans! At one point, Fiffi picked up a string bean, walked into a closet, put the string bean in his shoe, and fell asleep, curled around the shoe!

His eye reminds me of the Pigeon's eye!

Remember how funny Mo Willems' Pigeon books are? Mo Willems is just as funny. [Read his favorite animal out loud.] Where is that animal in this picture? [Wait for responses.] Right: it's in the stomach of the snake!

[Show Leopard by Lucy Cousins but cover up her name.] One of the authors loves leopards. Does this illustration style look familiar to you? [Wait.] This author loves red, yellow, and outlining in black. Right: it's the author of the Maisy books -- Lucy Cousins.

Have you read This is Not My Hat or I Want My Hat Back? Jon Klassen has a great, sly sense of humor. I'm not going to tell you his favorite animal, but try to guess it before you read this book. There is a great list of author biographies in the back: you get to see what the authors looked like as children and learn more about them.

What's Your Favorite Animal? by Eric Carle, Nick Bruel, Susan Jeffers, Steven Kellog, Jon Klassen, Tom Lichtenheld, Peter McCarthy, Chris Raschka, Peter Sis, Lane Smith, Erin Stead, Rosemary Wells, Mo Willems. Unpaged. 2014: Henry Holt and Company. Booktalk to K-2.

Book talk: King Jack and the Dragon by Peter Bentley and Helen Oxenbury

If you're like King Jack, you have everything you need to make a castle: a big cardboard box; an old sheet and some sticks; a couple of trash bags and a couple of bricks; and an old blanket.

Now you have to protect your castle against dragon attack. You also have to protect your castle against wild beasts.

But what if your other trusty warriors leave you? Will it be hard to fight dragons all alone? It might be scary to be in your castle in the utter darkness...

King Jack and the Dragon by Peter Bentley and Helen Oxenbury. 2011: Dial Books for Young Readers. 2013 Kate Greenaway medal nominee. Booktalk to PK-2.

Book talk: Fix This Mess! by Tedd Arnold

Isn't Robug adorable?

Robug and Jake

He came in a box. Robug stands for Remote Operating Basic Utility Gizmo. He's basically a vacuuming robot.

Jake is kind of slob, and he was thrilled to get Robug. With a robot like Robug, don't you think your house would be spotlessly clean in a matter of minutes?

Not a hard mess to fix

Jake took Robug over to a messy zone. "Fix this mess," he told Robug.

[Do a robot voice.] "I will fix this mess!" said Robug.



 But the situation got much, much worse. [Show example of the mess just being moved to a different location.] Do you call that "fixing" a mess? I don't.

Thanks a lot, Robug!

What is going on here? Do you all know what the word "chaos" means? It's complete and utter havoc and disruption. Robug has turned this house into a chaos zone! Poor Jake....

Fix This Mess! by Tedd Arnold. Unpaged. Holiday House, 2014. Booktalk to preschool-1st. Good for beginning readers.

Book talk: Buddy and the Bunnies in Don't Play with Your Food! by Bob Shea

If you're a monster, you have to be tough. Buddy the monster is tough, and he can threaten anyone or anything -- including you, so watch out. He saw some little bunnies playing checkers, so naturally he threatened to eat them. Bunnies make such a tasty snack, don't you think?

However, Buddy the monster loves cupcakes, and that's what the bunnies were making, so he ate their cupcakes instead. Did I mention that he played hide-and-seek with the bunnies? He'll eat them later. Yeah, later...


 But first they have to go swimming...

One must nap before eating bunnies...

You know the expression, "Don't play with your food?" Is Buddy playing with his food? [Get input from the kids.] What?! He's not going to eat the bunnies? Are you sure? Well, what kind of a monster doesn't eat bunnies?!?

Buddy and the Bunnies in Don't Play with Your Food by Bob Shea. Unpaged. 2014: Hyperion. Booktalk to K-2.

Book talk: Exclamation Mark by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld (Virginia Readers' Choice, 2014-2015)

[As preparation, make a sign of various English punctuation marks and hold it up at the beginning of your booktalk.]

If you were a punctuation mark, which one would you be? A question mark? A comma? A pair of quotation marks? Some of you are clearly exclamation marks, so let me introduce you to a member of your tribe.

[Show opening pages.] At first, our poor exclamation mark did not fit in, poor guy, except when he was lying down and sleeping. When he was awake, he really stood out, and he felt confused and deflated, like a kid with no friends.

But one day he got questioned over and over and over again by question mark. [Bring in some of your favorite questions of hers: "Do you think a snail could go around the world?"; "Am I boring?"; Who's taller, you or me?"]

He got so frustrated with question mark that he yelled STOP! which is SO exclamation marky of him. Exclamation marks are gold-medal winners in yelling, joy, pain, frustration, and all those emotions that take a lot of energy. They can laugh and cry better than the rest of us. Anyhow, question mark LOVED it when he yelled stop. I think those two make natural friends, you know?

Have you now decided which punctuation mark you are?

Exclamation mark by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld. Unpaged. Scholastic Press: 2013. Virginia Readers' Choice, 2014-2015. Booktalk to K-3. This would be a great booktalk for students doing a grammar unit, as well.

Book talk: Peck, Peck, Peck by Lucy Cousins

What's that tapping noise? [Stand in front of a table and tap on it behind your back or get someone else to make tapping noises for you.] Is that a bird? Is there a bird in this library?

It's two woodpeckers! They are beautiful, aren't they? We all know that woodpeckers peck on wood: whether it be trees or the outside of your house. The father woodpecker is teaching his young one to peck holes. Wow! They can really make a lot of noise.

[Display to kids some of your favorite pages.] Uh oh. These are some serious holes they are making. These guys mean business.

What's that you're saying? This book has a lot of holes in it? Agghhhh! I'm going to have to have a talk with this young woodpecker. See what else he does in Peck, Peck, Peck by Lucy Cousins.

Peck, Peck, Peck by Lucy Cousins. Unpaged. 2013: Candlewick. Booktalk to PK-2.

Book talk: Caps for Sale

I hate losing things. We all lose things. You might lose your hat, or your favorite book, or your lunch. You know what's worse, though? It's worse when someone steals your hat, or your favorite book, or your lunch. No one likes a thief.

[Show first page.] This is a peddler. A peddler is someone who sells things, often by just walking around. What do you think this peddler is peddling? Right, caps. Or you could say hats. How do you think he keeps them balanced on his head? A lot of practice, I bet. He's got a checkered cap, gray caps, brown caps, blue caps, and red ones.

"Caps for sale! Caps for sale!" he cries as he walks around. But alas, no one wants any caps. What's a poor peddler to do? I think taking a nap would be a good idea. Look...he's sleeping...for a long time.

[Flip quickly to the picture of him awake, caps missing.] Hey?!!!! Where are his  caps? Did you guys steal them? Well, then, who did? Who on earth would steal caps right off a peddler's head?

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina. 1940/1968: HarperCollins. Unpaged. Children's classic. Booktalk to K-2.

Book talk: Hello! Hello! by Matthew Cordell (2012 New York Times Notable Children's Book)

[For this booktalk, enlist the help of another person – adult or child (doesn’t matter) who holds a handheld electronic device and ignores you as you say “Hello! Hello!” You’ll also need a copy of this book.]

[You approach the other person who is engrossed with his/her device.] Hello! Hello! [You sigh, loudly.]

Okay, I’ll try again. [Walk away from the person, and then come back.]

Hello! Hello! [Sigh.] Fine, I’ll go outside.

[Show pp. 13-14]. Hello, leaf.

[Show pp. 15-16] Hello, bug.

Gee, there’s a lot going on out here. I should probably go outside more often. This stuff seems pretty interactive, and you don't even have to plug it in.

[Show pp. 21-22] Hello, horse! [Turn page, quickly] Oh my gosh! The horse said hello back to me! What is going on? [Turn a few more pages..] Gee, they all know hello…

Hello! Hello! By Matthew Cordell. Unpaged. 2012: Hyperion. Booktalk to pre-K through 2nd. Good readaloud. 2012 New York Times Notable Children’s Book.

Hello! Hello!

Book talk: The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School (Virginia Readers' Choice, 2013-2014)

[For this booktalk, you’ll be acting out one scene from the story. You’ll need a whistle or a baseball hat (something coach-like) and a ball – a soccer ball or anything comparable – and a little paper gingerbread man, missing part of his foot.]

Hi, I’m the coach of the elementary school just down the road, and kids lose stuff in gym class all the time. Just today I found the oddest thing in the world stuck to a soccer ball. I was just bouncing this soccer ball and all of a sudden it started making noises. I looked down, and guess what?

There was a cookie stuck to my soccer ball! And it spoke to me!

“I’m the gingerbread man, and I’m trying to find / the children who made me, but left me behind.”

What kind of children would leave behind a gingerbread man?

So, being the good coach that I am, I advised him to run after the kids, but the story keeps getting weirder and weirder.

The poor little gingerbread man had lost his toe! So he looked for it and finally found it, and he went off limping to the nurse’s office. Gee…I hope he’s okay. I felt sorry for the poor little fellow. Hey, have you seen him lately? I wonder where he is now?

The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School by Laura Murray, illustrated by Mike Lowery. Unpaged. 2011: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. Virginia Readers’ Choice, 2013-2014. Booktalk to primary grades.

Gingerbread Man Loose in the School

Book talk: Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature (Virginia Readers' Choice, 2013-2014)

Before I tell you the title of this book, I want you to think about all the shapes you see out in nature. What’s one shape that you see in plants and flowers, in animals, in the water, and in weather patterns? [Give the kids time to guess.]

If you guessed a circle, you’re very close. The answer is a spiral. A spiral is a shape that curls around a center point.

[Show the first pages with the snake, woodchuck, and mouse.] In this picture we see a chipmunk, a woodchuck, a snake, and a mouse – all curled up into spirals. They’re sleeping or hibernating. [Turn page.] Fitting into a spiral helps them conserve precious body heat and fit into tiny, hidden spaces.

Spirals are also great at protecting what’s inside. [Show page with hedgehog and millipede.] If a hedgehog feels threatened, it rolls up into a tight spiral, so all you see is a ball of quills. Tiny millipedes use the same tactic: rolling up into a spiral, they’ve got an armored external shell as defense.

[Show page with rose, daisy, and sunflower.] The petals, leaves, and seed heads of many flowers grow in spirals – the spiral shape makes the best possible use of space and sunlight: pretty wise!

You can see spirals in whirlpools, in tornados, and in galaxies. [Show page with spiral galaxy.] There are also spirals inside you: 3-D spirals called helixes in your genetic makeup, your DNA. Read more about the cool, smart spiral in Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman.

Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman, pictures by Beth Krommes. Unpaged. 2011: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. Virginia Readers’ Choice, 2013-2014 (primary grades).

Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature

Book talk: A Zeal of Zebras (Virginia Readers' Choice, 2013-2014)

The English language has some craziness to it, especially when you’re talking about groups of animals as one unit.  For example, you can say “a pride of lions,” but not “a pride of pandas.” When you’re using “pride” as a collective noun, it only applies to lions. This is an alphabet book about those weird collective nouns.

If you have a group of parrots, you can say “a pandemonium of parrots” instead of “a group of parrots.” Isn’t that crazy? Pandemonium usually means chaos or disorder, but if you attach “of parrots” after it, it just means parrots in a group considered to be one unit. Say it with me: “a pandemonium of parrots.”

My next favorite collective noun is “a quiver of cobras.” These are king cobras in this picture here, and as many as 30 to 40 baby cobras are born in a nest made of vegetation gathered by their mother. Obviously, you should never, ever, ever step into a quiver of cobras. Big mistake.

My final favorite example is “a troubling of goldfish.” It should be a “troubling of tarantulas” or something, but it’s not.

Actually goldfish are quite social and like living with other fish. I learned from this book that goldfish have been known to interact with any fish belonging to their species: that’s quite social, actually. They like having friends.

A Zeal of Zebras will also tell you about an unkindness of ravens, a galaxy of starfish, and an embarrassment of pandas.

A Zeal of Zebras: An Alphabet of Collective Nouns by Woop Studios. Unpaged. 2011: Chronicle Books. Virginia Readers’ Choice (primary grades), 2013-2014. This book would also work well for intermediate grades.

A Zeal of Zebras: An Alphabet of Collective Nouns

Book talk: Tiny Little Fly (Virginia Readers' Choice, 2013-2014)

[Do not display the cover or title before you booktalk this one: you are going to make the children guess that you are describing a fly.]

We are going to play a little guessing game involving the main character in our next book. I am going to give you some clues about this character, and you are going to try and guess what type of creature I am talking about. Let’s start.

This character is brave enough to sit on an elephant’s nose.

This character is brave enough to settle on a hippo’s ear.

This character avoided getting hit by a tiger’s paw.

This character can drive you crazy.

This character is a type of bug found all over the world.

This character makes a buzzing sound.

[Allow time for guesses.] You guessed it! It’s a fly, and he’s fast and he’s devious. Read about his adventures in Tiny Little Fly.

Tiny Little Fly by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Kevin Waldron. 2010: Candlewick. Unpaged. Virginia Readers’ Choice, 2013-2014. Booktalk to primary grades.

Tiny Little Fly

Book talk: Over and Under the Snow (Virginia Readers' Choice, 2013-2014)

I want you to pretend that it’s winter, and you’re looking at a white field, completely covered with snow. It’s quiet and peaceful, and there seem to be no animals around. The scene is like a blank sheet of paper.

But there’s an entire secret kingdom under the snow that you can’t see and you can’t hear. This secret kingdom is called the subnivean zone, and it’s a network of small spaces and tunnels between the snowpack and the ground. It’s a small zone but it’s enough to keep a host of animals alive and hidden from your sight.

 If you were a red fox, though, you’d actually be able to hear the sounds of scampering mice under the snow. If you can hear them, you can catch them, fox.

If you were a small vole, you’d use that subnivean zone to slip through tunnels, searching for food, bits of old plants or roots in the ground.

If you were a black bear, the snow wouldn’t bother you: you’d be asleep in a hollowed out tree, or under a log or rock, or even in a cave.

This is a beautiful portrait of an invisible, secret winter kingdom.

Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner with art by Christopher Silas Neal. Virginia Readers' Choice, 2013-2014. Unpaged. Informative author’s note in the back. Chronicle Books, 2011. Booktalk to primary grades.

Over and Under the Snow

Book talk: Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett (Virginia Readers' Choice, 2013-2014)

What would you do if you found a box filled with yarn of every color?

Some of you might play with the yarn. Some of you might ignore the yarn. Some of you might give your parents the box of yarn.

Not Annabelle. She went home and knit herself a sweater, and when she was done, she had extra yarn.

So she kept knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting. Annabelle would knit for anyone or anything – human, animal, or…thing. She’d knit a sweater for a birdhouse or a pickup truck  or a house or a tree.

She enjoyed it, and it added color to her world. I’d say she’s one of the most generous characters I’ve met. Annabelle is so cool. I wish there were more Annabelles in this world.

[Gasp.] Oh my gosh! I can’t even tell you. [Pause for effect.] If I tell you something, will you promise not to get upset? [Or you could make them promise to read the book].

Someone STOLE her box of yarn. I can't say any more than that. You'll just have to read it.

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen. Unpaged.  2012: Balzer + Bray. Booktalk to primary grades. Virginia Readers' Choice 2013-2014.

Extra Yarn

Book talk: These Hands by Margaret H. Mason (Virginia Readers' Choice, 2013-2014)

Everyone take a look at your hands for a moment. Your hands are amazing. There are so many things they can do: tie your shoe, write a story, swing from a tree branch. Your hands give you so many opportunities and so much freedom. But what if your hands were not allowed to do things they could naturally do? Can you imagine living that way?

[Turn to the opening pages of the story.] This young boy is Joseph, and this is grandfather who is helping Joseph to tie his shoes.

[Turn to pp. {3-4}] Joseph’s grandfather is so cool: his hands can play the piano, do incredible card tricks, and throw a great curveball in a baseball game. Joseph’s  grandfather’s got some smart, skilled hands.

But you know what’s really sad?

When Joseph’s grandfather was a young man, he worked in a bread factory, and he wasn’t allowed to touch the bread dough. [Show pp. {9-10}]. Because he was African-American, he was only allowed to sweep the floor and load the trucks. His bosses told him that white people wouldn’t want bread touched by his hands. It’s so sad and unfair.

Luckily Joseph does not live in his grandfather’s world, and his hands will be allowed to do much, much more.

These Hands by Margaret H. Mason, ill. Floyd Cooper. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2010. Unpaged. Virginia Readers Choice, 2013-2014. Booktalk to primary grades. Includes an author’s historical background note.

These Hands

Book talk: Underground by Shane Evans (Virginia Readers' Choice, 2012-2013)

For this booktalk, I’m going to ask you close your eyes and keep them shut. I want you to pretend that you’re a young African-American slave, and you and your family are trying to escape to freedom. You’re terrified. It’s dark, and you have to be absolutely silent and creep out of the master’s house and into the woods. You don’t know which is more horrifying: the journey you’re about to take, or the prospect of getting caught. The other slaves’ eyes are full of fear, and so are your parents. You don’t know where you are going, but you do know that you’ll always travel by night and you must be absolutely silent no matter what. You have to be braver than you think you can be, because now you’re part of the slaves’ underground railroad to freedom.

Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom by Shane W. Evans. Unpaged. Roaring Book Press: 2011. Booktalk to primary grades. Virginia Readers’ Choice, 2012-2013.

Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom

Book talk: City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems (Virginia Readers' Choice)

[For this booktalk, put a sticky tab on the following pages: pages {4-5}: “City Dog spotted something…”, pages {22-23, rainy day}, pages {28-29, frog sits on dog’s nose}, and pages {30-31:dusk}.

[Show cover.] Do frogs and dogs hang out together? [Invite brief discussion.] Okay, so maybe they don’t usually hang out and befriend one another.

But City Dog is unique. [Show pages 4-5] He was out in the countryside, probably on vacation, when he spotted a frog, quietly sitting on a rock. He talked to frog, and it turned out that frog was waiting for a friend. Frogs are like that. [Turn the page.] Frog knows all sorts of country games that city dog does not know, and he’s happy to teach city dog. [Turn the page.] What could be more fun than playing in a creek? [Turn page.] I think this picture is one of my favorite picture book pictures ever: city dog is giving country frog a ride on his head in the creek.

But not everything they do is funny like that. Friendship is made of quiet activities too: enduring rainy days [show pages 22-23], talking [show pages 28-29], and just hanging out [show pages 30-31]. All friendships are special, but there is something unique about the friendship of city dog and country frog.

City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems, pictures by Jon J. Muth. Hyperion, 2010. Unpaged. Booktalk to preschool – 2^nd grade. Virginia Readers’ Choice, 2012-2013.

City Dog, Country Frog