To allow the brain to focus on the information in the illustrations, this reading will look only at the illustrations and the information they provide to the reader. There are no right or wrong answers in this reading. If the pages are not numbered, page 1 is the first page of text.
*Before you begin to look at the illustrations, talk with your child about infinity. Find out what is already known about infinity. How does your child imagine infinity?
(infinity: endless space, time, or number)
ABOUT THIS BOOK: INFINITY AND ME
By Kate Hosford
As I was searching for an informational text to reinforce some of the math concepts introduced in The Boy Who Loved Math, Infinity and Me popped up a couple of times. Reviewers loved this book about young Uma who wonders about the concept of infinity……….What is it? This creative and interesting book is the result of Kate Hosford’s children asking her about infinity. She couldn’t find an appropriate picture book to answer the question to the satisfaction of her four and six-year-old children.
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The purpose of this reading is to bring together the information in both the text and the illustrations. The discussion and activity options focus on analyzing the main idea, theme, character traits, setting and how all of the story elements fit together.
During this reading your child and you will read the story all the way through. Two ways that you can add fun and improve recall during this reading are:
~You may switch roles and become the listener and the questioner as your child “reads” (retells) the story to you. Assist your child in matching the retelling of the story to the illustration. Help your child pay attention to the details in the illustration to know when to turn the page.
~Your child and you may alternate the pages you “read” to each other.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE
by Laura Numeroff
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie has been on best-seller and “favorite” lists since it’s publication in 1985. Ms. Numeroff has followed it with a series of over a dozen titles that follow a circular tale of cause-effect events that result from such simple gestures as a generous little boy offering a mouse a cookie. This popular book is imbedded in our culture from a mention in the Harrison Ford movie Air Force One to being praised by former First Lady Laura Bush and First Lady Michelle Obama. The humorous storyline has been the basis for plays and musicals that have been enjoyed by children all over this country. Over four million copies of this book have been sold. www.goodreads.com has tallied over 115,000 ratings.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: A TREASURY OF CURIOUS GEORGE
by Margret and H.A. Rey
Please notice that this delightful collection of eight original stories is inspired by the creators of Curious George, not written by them. I looked at the numerous collections, boxed sets, etc. containing Curious George stories. This option is the best. The book is strongly bound for the heavy use that it will receive as your children come back again and again to spend more time with George and laugh at his delightful antics. The illustrations are done in watercolor and charcoal with the main characters remaining unchanged.
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The man with the yellow hat hasn’t changed his style of clothing, and George is still referred to as a monkey, even though he is a chimpanzee. (Monkeys have tails. Chimpanzees don’t.)
The storyline follows the original pattern of the Reys and the illustrations tie well to the text. The man in the yellow hat takes George to a place where George gets in trouble. At the end of the story, the man in the yellow hat appears in time to ensure a happy ending. The repetition of the story structure enables your child to compare multiple stories and facilitates an easy retelling of the different stories.
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The focus of this reading is the text and vocabulary.There will be many opportunities in this reading to connect the information in the illustrations to the information in the text. These connections add meaning to the text. Remember the inferences you made about feelings and possible conversations.
*Read the pages before you ask the questions.
*The author uses a variety of punctuation marks and special type to place special emphasis on certain words and sentences. Making these words sound more important helps to deepen the comprehension of the story.
Page 51:
*Note that each Curious George story begins with the same sentences: “This is George. He was a good little monkey and always very curious.”
~funny: curious, strange, or peculiar. Think of the First Reading. What is the funny noise? Discuss that funny doesn’t mean amusing or humorous here.
Pages 52 – 53:
~Point out that QUACK is in special type. The exclamation mark (!) is, also, used.
These are directions given by the author to make these words sound more important than the other words and sentences.
~The dash (—) tells the reader to make a long pause.
~Who is making all of the QUACKing sounds?
Pages 54 – 57:
Read this series of pages.
~funny: amusing, humorous. Why does George think the ducklings are funny?
~waddle: to walk with short steps, rocking from side to side. Do you think the mother duck waddles? George tries to waddle. Try to waddle. Can you think of other animals who waddle?
~What does this sentence mean: “Ducklings were something new to George.”?
~What had George never seen in the park before?
Pages 58 – 59:
Point out and use the punctuation marks (—, !) and italics to make certain words and sentences sound more important.
~Why does George forget about the ducklings and stop?
~resist: to withstand, stay away from. What is it that George could not resist?
Pages 60 – 65:
As you read these pages, point out:
~the ellipsis on both pages 61 and 63. (. . .). Make a pause to build suspense before you turn the page.
~a long pause for the dash (—).
~On page 61, rumbling: deep, heavy sound, like thunder. What is causing the rumbling sound?
~On page 64, tilt: to lean or slant. Why was the truck bed beginning to tilt?
~On page 65, BIGGER is in special type. Make this word sound more important.
~Why was the fun gone?
Pages 66 – 69:
Read the pages.
~Why are the gardeners standing “with their mouths wide open”?
~How did they know “just what had happened”? What evidence did they see?
~What is the familiar sound that George heard?
Pages 70 – END:
~Why are people “enjoying the park more than ever before”?
~What might the man in the yellow hat and George be doing in the last illustration?
As you enjoy the other stories in the treasury:
~Point out and discuss the importance of the punctuation marks and special type to make the story sound more interesting and provide help to improve understanding.
~Stop at appropriate places to predict what will happen next.
~Pick a couple of interesting vocabulary words to discuss in each story. Vocabulary in Curious George and the Dump Truck: curious, funny (used with two meanings), resist, waddle, rumbling, and tilt
~Look for examples of George being curious.
The focus of this reading is to read the story and talk about new vocabulary. There will be opportunities in this reading to connect the information in the illustrations to the information in the text.
*Read the pages before you ask the questions.
Pages 1 – 11:
~On page 2, now that we know that Laszlo is afraid of the dark, use the look on his face to infer whether the sun is rising or setting. (It must be setting because Laszlo looks afraid.)
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The focus of this reading is to read the story and talk about new vocabulary. There will be opportunities in this reading to connect the information in the illustrations to the information in the text.
*Read the pages before you ask the questions.
Pages 1 – 11:
~On page 2, now that we know that Laszlo is afraid of the dark, use the look on his face to infer whether the sun is rising or setting. (It must be setting because Laszlo looks afraid.)
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ABOUT THIS BOOK: THE DARK
by Lemony Snicket
“The voice of the dark was as creaky as the roof of the house, as smooth and cold as the windows..…”
Lemony Snickett personifies the dark in this creative children’s book as he tackles the common childhood fear of darkness. The main character, a boy named Laszlo, lives in the house, and the dark lives in the basement. However, one night, when his night-light fails, the dark comes to Laszlo’s room. The dark helps Laszlo overcome his fear of darkness, and Laszlo stops being afraid.
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The purpose of this reading is to bring everything together: the text, the vocabulary, and the illustrations. The discussion and activity options focus on analyzing the main idea, theme, character traits, setting and how all of the story elements fit together.
During this reading your child and you will read the story all the way through. Three ways that you can add fun and improve recall during this reading are:
~You may switch roles and become the listener and questioner as your child “reads”(retells) the story to you.
~Your child and you may alternate the pages you read to each other.
Read more...