Don't Trust Fish (Neil Sharpson)

 

I'll read any Dan Santat book....even if he's the illustrator and there's a different author. This book is so great. It starts by simply stating facts. When it gets to fish it talks about all the ways fish are absurd...and it's hilarious. 

This would be great book to talk about genre. Everywhere I look it says it's fiction, but I'd be willing to teach that it's informational non-fiction!

Also, when stating the facts, every sentence is a subject opener. It would be fun to re-write this book using different types of openers. 

Goodreads says:

An absurdly laugh-out-loud funny picture book about the villainy of fish, illustrated by National Book Award-winning creator Dan Santat

Why, dear reader, must you NEVER EVER trust fish?

1) They spend all their time in the water where we can’t see them.
2) Some are as big as a bus—that is not okay.
3) We don't know what they're teaching in their "schools."
4) They are likely plotting our doom.

This nature-guide-gone-wrong is a hilarious, off-the-rails exploration of the seemingly innocent animals that live in the water.

This Is Not That Kind of Book (Christopher Healy)

This story made us laugh and laugh and laugh. It ends fabulously. It has fairy tales, robots, pirates, animal characters, talking food, a detective and letters for an alphabet book. It is a great book to read and laugh about especially when children have a good understanding of genre. Brilliantly written!

Goodreads says:

This is a book that answers all the kids who have ever posed the question What kind of book is it?

This clever alphabet book... Wait, that's not right. This original fairy tale... Nope. Mystery? Joke book? Superhero story? Pirate adventure? This delightful mash-up features every kind of character found in the picture-book universe--all in one book. Just when the reader is convinced the story is going in one direction, it spins off in another.

Ever-changing illustrations keep pace with the rapid reversals, and the setting shifts with nearly every turn of the page. Truly inventive, here's a picture book that can be anything you want it to be!

Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas (Lynn Cox)

This is a lovely story of a determined elephant seal named Elizabeth. We loved the story! There were lots of gasps and worried looks when she'd crawl out on to the road to sun herself. We especially loved the picture of her when she returned back to the city again.

We had a great discussion about genre. This is based on a real story and so it has elements of non-fiction (facts) and elements of fiction (beginning, middle, end, parts are from someone's imagination, characters, setting and plot). We discussed what a book would be like if it was a non-fiction story about Elizabeth. It might have real pictures and you could probably start anywhere in the book and understand the information.

Signposts:
Again and again: She returns to her home despite numerous attempts to re-home her

Tough Questions:
Should someone really do this to an animal? Do we really know what is best?

Contrasts and Contradictions:
Elizabeth surprised everyone by not staying with other elephant seals they tried to re-home her with and instead, returning to the city to sun herself on the road.

Goodreads says:

World-renowned swimmer and bestselling author Lynne Cox and Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator Brian Floca team up to bring us this inspiring story of an elephant seal who knew exactly where she belonged.

Here is the incredible story of Elizabeth, a real-life elephant seal who made her home in the Avon River in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. When Elizabeth decides to stretch out across a two-lane road, the citizens worry she might get hurt or cause traffic accidents, so a group of volunteers tows her out to sea. But Elizabeth swims all the way back to Christchurch. The volunteers catch her again and again—each time towing her farther, even hundreds of miles away—but, still, Elizabeth finds her way back home.

Includes back matter with information about elephant seals.

Fairy Spell (How Two Girls Convinced the World that Fairies Are Real)

I read The Fairy Ring, which is the same story, this years ago and just recently came across this picture book. I thought I'd read it to my class because we have been talking about genre and I thought this would be interesting because of the mix of something not real (fairies) and a true story.

Big fail!

Turns out their belief in fairies in strong enough to make this very confusing. At the end, one said, "Mrs. Ackroyd, I can't decide if fairies are real or not now, but I think I am going to still believe they're real."

I dropped the genre discussion.

Goodreads says:

The true story of British cousins who fooled the world for more than 60 years with a remarkable hoax, photographs of “real” fairies. Exquisitely illustrated with art by Eliza Wheeler as well as the original photos taken by the girls.

Read Anything Good Lately? (Susan Allen and Jane Lindaman)

This would be a great introduction to a lesson on genres or the importance of reading. 26 different ideas for kinds of books and where to read them. Great illustrations!

Goodreads summary:

Readers, have you ever thought about the many kinds of books or periodicals or brochures or other things that you read? This charming picture book takes you on an alphabetical stroll through a surprising variety of forms that you reading can take--and suggests some very nice places where you can do that reading.