Bad Day at Riverbend (Chris Van Alsberg)

 

Chris VanAlsberg is brilliant.

Goodreads says:
Master artist and storyteller Chris Van Allsburg presents a surrealistic journey into the imagination. This provocative story within a story leads readers to ponder the realities of fictional worlds and the lives of the characters who populate them. Riverbend was a quiet little town, the kind of place where one day was just like all the rest and nothing ever happened. Occasionally the stagecoach rolled through, but it never stopped, because no one ever came to Riverbend and no one ever left. The day the stagecoach stood motionless in the center of town, Sheriff Ned Hardy knew something was terribly wrong. What was the mysterious substance on both coach and horses? It would not come off. Soon it was everywhere in the tidy little village. Something had to be done, and Sheriff Hardy aimed to do it. From two-time Caldecott winner Chris Van Allsburg, creator of Jumanji and The Polar Express.

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild (Peter Brown)

Some of my students are reading Wild Robot and so they recognized Peter Brown's name right away. I think he's brilliant!

I introduced this book by telling them it has a "play on words". We talked about what it means to go wild and the commonly understood definition is that it is someone acting crazy. As we read the book, the ah ha moments happened right away for students. Mr. Tiger actually decides he's tired of being prim and proper and starts to walk on all fours. Then he goes off into the wilderness (eeek!).

We also noticed that all the animals that were acting prim and proper were in dull colors of grey and brown. As the animals noticed Mr. Tiger being "wild" they started to follow suit and they started being more colorful. The color comes into his life when he actually starts doing what he was meant to do.

A great picture book example of contrasts and contradictions. We do not expect this from a tiger!

Goodreads says:

Are you bored with being so proper?
Do you want to have more fun?
Mr Tiger knows exactly how you feel. So he decides to go wild.
But does he go too far?
There is a time and place for everything...even going wild.

Emily's Blue Period (Cathleen Daly)

Every year I read a story with my student's about Picasso in a unit on imagination. This would be a great addition to that part of our unit. The feelings Emily has a realistic and could provide for a great discussion on children's experiences. She makes connections with what she knows about Picasso's art with her own life. Children could draw or write after about experiences in their own lives that bring about different feelings.

Goodreads Summary:

Emily wants to be an artist. She likes painting and loves the way artists like Pablo Picasso mixed things up.Emily's life is a little mixed up right now. Her dad doesn't live at home anymore, and it feels like everything around her is changing.

“When Picasso was sad for a while,” says Emily, “he only painted in blue. And now I am in my blue period.”

It might last quite some time.

The Day The Crayons Quit (Drew Daywalt)

You know, I've never thought about how crayons feel about what we use them for. This book is hilarious and makes you think of things from a whole new perspective. As a matter of fact, it would be a great story to introduce the concept of perspective or voice! Every crayon has his/her own character that, when I was reading it, I said, "Hey! I bet blue (or green or red or whatever) would really feel that way" ...especially those poor naked crayons who had their paper torn off! It might also be fun to read at the beginning of the school year when kids are opening up all their new supplies. I'd read the story and remind them to take really good care of their supplies because you never know how they're feeling!

Seriously, this book will make you laugh out loud.




Here is the GoodReads summary:

Poor Duncan just wants to color. But when he opens his box of crayons, he finds only letters, all saying the same thing: His crayons have had enough! They quit! Beige Crayon is tired of playing second fiddle to Brown Crayon. Black wants to be used for more than just outlining. Blue needs a break from coloring all those bodies of water. And Orange and Yellow are no longer speaking—each believes he is the true color of the sun.
What can Duncan possibly do to appease all of the crayons and get them back to doing what they do best?