Ernie's Big Mess

Author/Illustrator: Sarah Roberts/Joe Mathieu

About the Author:

Sarah Roberts is a published American author. She has written children's books such as Ernie's Big Mess.

Genre: Fiction/Life Skills
Grade Level: K-2

Synopsis:
Bert and Ernie are best friends that live together. Ernie is very messy but Bert is very neat.  When Ernie leaves a big mess on the floor and then walks away from it Bert gets really angry and yells at Ernie to clean up.  One day Bert said that he wished he lived alone sometimes.  Ernie decided it was time for him to pack up and leave because Bert wasn’t happy with him anymore.  Ernie stopped by a few of his friends beds but none of them seemed to work out.  Big Bird’s was full of sticks and Grover’s was too small.  Finally Ernie laid down by Oscar’s trash can, when Bert came walking down the street to find Ernie.  The two friends were able to make up and Bert agreed to help Ernie learn to clean up after himself.

Pre Reading Activity:

Before reading have the children discuss in a small group what they think will happen with Ernie’s big mess.

Post Reading Activity:

After reading have the students write what they would have done if they were Bert or Ernie.  Would they change anything or do something differently?  Also, ask the what is the right thing to do?

Reflection:

I think this book would be good to have in a classroom because it relates to children’s everyday lives.  Most parents are constantly asking their kids to clean up their room because it is so messy.  This may teach them the lesson that sometimes being too messy is not good. Also, being mean to people who are messy isn’t nice either.

Mine! A Sesame Street Book About Sharing

Author/Illustrator: Linda Hayward/Norman Gorbaty

About the Author:

Linda Hayward is the author of a lot of Sesame Street books. She has also written the Sesame Street Dictionary.  She had her first book published 30 years ago and before that she was an elementary school teacher.

Genre: Life Skills
Grade Level: K-1

Synopsis:
Little Ernie and little Bert will not share with each other.  Every time one of them has a toy they keep it away from the other and say “mine!” But when they want to play with the red wagon alone it’s no fun.  Then little Ernie and little Bert begin to play with their toy phones and realize that they can play together. Ernie pulls Bert and then Bert pulls Ernie and they have such a fun time playing together.

Pre Reading Activity:

Before reading have the children play with each other and observe the way different students act.  Then ask the students what it means to share with their friends.

Post Reading Activity:

After reading ask the students what would have happened if Ernie and Bert shared from the beginning.  Also have them tell you a time when they shared with a friend or a sibling.

Reflection:

This book is great to have at home or in school for young kids because sharing is a big issue at the young ages. Kids like to keep their toys all to themselves and it can hurt the feelings of classmates and siblings.  Teachers and parents should team up and teach this lesson to children because of how important it is to their social growth.

My Five Senses

Author/Illustrator: Margaret Miller

About the Author:

Margaret Miller is an American author. Not only has she written children's books but she is known for her photography. All of the pictures she has used in this book are of kids that she knows.

Genre: Life Skills
Grade Level: K-1

Synopsis:
This book is about our five senses. It goes into detail about different things that we can do with each of our senses. This book has pictures to go a long with each page also to show what our senses can help us do.

Pre Reading Activity:

Before reading ask your children to see, smell, taste, touch and hear something.  Then ask them if they know what helps them to do all of those things.

Post Reading Activity:

After reading have the students write something that each of their five senses helps them do. This exercise must include their own ideas and not ones they found in the book.

Reflection:

This book makes learning the five senses very simple. Because it uses words that very young children will understand.  It also has real photographs that will help the children relate to the book.  

My Mom Can't Read

Author/Illustrator: Muriel Stanek/Jacqueline Rogers

About the Author:

There is not a lot of information about Muriel Stanek online. I do know that she is a published children's author of multiple books.

Genre: Life Skills
Grade Level: 2-4

Synopsis:
This books is about a first grader named Tina who is learning how to read in school.  She goes home to ask her mom for help but she brushes it aside.  Through the rest of the day Tina and her mom get around town without Tina's mom having to read anything.  When Tina tells her mom she is having a really hard time reading her mom tells her that she missed so much school that she never learned to read.  Tina's teacher sends them both to a center that helps both children and adults learn to read.  Tina and her mom are thrilled that soon they will not have a hard time getting around because they will be able to read.

Pre Reading Activity:

Ask the students if their moms or dads read to them, and what kind of books they read.

Post Reading Activity:

Discuss with the students about the book, ask them if they remember what was hard for Tina and her mom to do because they couldn't read.  What else do they think would be hard to do if you can't read?

Reflection:

I was very touched by this story.  I think this story is good to read to children because it helps them understand that not everyone is lucky enough to have a mom or dad that can help them read or do any of their school work.  This also teaches them how important it is for them to learn how to read so that they can get around and one day they will be able to help their children read.

I'm Growing!

Author/Illustrator: Aliki

About the Author:

Aliki has written both fiction and non-fiction children's books. She writes based on her experiences or her desire to find out about the topic.

Genre: Life Skills
Grade Level: K-2

Synopsis:
This book describes what it's like when a young child is growing.  It tells about what happens to your body when you grow and also what happens inside your body when your growing.  

Pre Reading Activity:

Have the students discuss what they believe happens when you grow. Make a list on the board so they can see it while they are reading the story.

Post Reading Activity:

Before reading the book have the students bring in a picture from when they are younger and take a picture of them now.  After reading the story have the students write a sentence or two about the differences from then and now and paste the picture on that sheet.

Reflection:

This book is a good book for young children because it easily explains what it's like to grow.  I think that this would help kids to get excited to get bigger and stronger and teach them how important it is to take care of your body as it is growing.  The pictures in this book help to get the message across for any students that may have trouble reading the words.