Read to Me Picture Book Challenge: Around the World

Up, Up, Up
written and sung by Susan Reed, illustrated by Rachel Oldfield
Barefoot Books, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-84686-550-3
Grades PreK-1
Reviewed from purchased copy.

BLURB:

This airborne adventure takes readers ballooning over lands near and far, all the way to the stars. The charming singalong song on the accompanying CD keeps spirits high, while the rhyming and playful text introduces all sorts of settings and vocabulary-building words. Education Market: It includes aerial maps throughout of changing landscapes and seascapes with many items to talk about. It joins Barefoot Books' popular "Singalong Songs" series. Cultural Diversity: It features three children each from a different cultural background.

The bright colors and fun song make this a fun read-a-loud.  I used it with both kindergartners and special needs children.  I felt a little self-conscious doing this, since I sung along with the accompanying CD.  I am not a real great singer, but the students enjoyed it. I received several requests to do it again.  The bright colors and beautiful panoramas give a good introduction to the concept of geography and the variety of landscapes to be seen on our planet.  Recommended for both educational use and just for fun.

Over in the Meadow
sung by Susan Reed, illustrated by Jill McDonald
Barefoot Books, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-84686-543-5
Grades PreK-1
Reviewed from purchased copy.

BLURB:

This traditional rhyming tale takes children on a counting journey through Jill McDonald s colorful meadow scenes, meeting a variety of busy animal families along the way. Children will relish the vivid descriptions of the animals and their activities, from a bumpy mother toad and her baby basking in the sun to a hairy mother spider and her ten children spinning webs in a den.

This book gives a good introduction to the inhabitants of the meadow ecosystem.  Not only are the illustrations darling, but the rhythm of the words and music make it hard not to tap one's toes.  The kindergartners that I shared this with enjoyed it and some of them joined me in singing with the CD that came with the book.  There are lots of discussion worthy topics in this book, everything from what an ecosystem is to how the different animals that live there each contribute to the environment.  There is a small amount of additional information about each animal at the end of the book.  The book also has great interactive potential as a call and response read-a-loud or as a creative drama activity starter. Highly recommended.


Read-to-Me Picture Book Challenge Watering Goal: 9 completed out of 36.