An Emotional Menagerie: Feelings from A to Z

Happy National Poetry Month!

I always loved calling attention to Poetry Month in both the public and school libraries because there's no much potential for sharing poems and interacting with an often-overlooked form of literature. I had fun choosing lesson plans relating to poetry for different ages, and An Emotional Menagerie: Feelings from A to Z is brimming with wonderful potential lessons.

Before sharing my lesson ideas, it's important to establish the quality of this book just as a read-aloud. Even if you don't tie lessons into it, these poems are meant to be read to a classroom of students. The book is listed as being for ages 5+, but coming from a Montessori background had me envisioning reading these poems to Early Childhood students (as young as 3).

The book has an emotion assigned to each letter of the alphabet, and each emotion is described with animal qualities. These animals are amazing choices for each emotion; even as an adult reading it on my own, I was impressed with how the animal qualities truly described each emotion. A monkey is naughty, a chameleon changing its colors is uncertain, just for a teaser.

Each poem is six stanzas long, but each emotion gets its own spread, so you can hold the book up as you're reading and the children can take in the vivid illustrations. (I love that each emotion gets its own spread because there's no reading ahead to the next emotion!)

When you use this book with younger students, you can show them the picture of the animal, have them name it, and ask students to share what they know about the animal. After reading the poem aloud, you can ask the students to share what they know about the emotion, or if they've felt it. Then you can discuss how the emotion and the animal relate to each other.

I think this book would be great to use when discussing emotions with younger children. It could also be incorporated into lesson plans if you have a letter of the week since there's an emotion for every letter of the alphabet. The book could also be used as a tie-in when you're studying animals since the emotions and animals match so well.

With older elementary students, I feel like there are several ways to approach this book. You could plan lessons and storytime based on the letter, emotion, or animal. A, for example, is Anger, with a roaring lion. You could read the A poem with Lion Lessons by Jon Agee and compare and contrast the lions. Or you could read it with My No No No Day by Rebecca Patterson and talk about anger.

You could also open the floor up for discussion about emotions before you even open the book. Go through the letters and see what emotions students can name for each letter. Once they guess the emotion that is used in the book, you can then have them brainstorm what animal they think would be associated with that emotion and why. 

I also had a creative writing club with older elementary and middle school students, and I think this book provides great jumping-off points even for that age. You could ask students to think of an emotion for a certain letter and have them write a poem about it. After reading some of the examples from this book aloud, you could ask them to think of an animal, and write a poem about emotions they associate with the animal. For an extra challenge, you could ask them to choose an emotion and write a poem using only words that express that emotion, or only words that start with the same letter as that emotion!

This book is one of those gems that not only gives you a great read-aloud for the classroom or storytime, but also is full of potential lessons for a variety of ages. It's enjoyable to read and will be even more fun to share with students to help activation their imaginations while cultivating emotional awareness.

Quindlen

I read Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen in 2011. It's a book that followed a woman as she left her abusive husband, bringing her son along as they started a secret new life. There were vivid flashbacks, but also a lot of current action. It had a good narrative structure, but overall felt very stream-of-consciousness, which worked perfectly.

As the woman adjusted to her new life, you were living day-to-day right along with her. When she was struck by fear of her husband finding her, you were jolted into that emotion as well. It was very powerful, very realistic, and very suspenseful. The prose was beautiful in many parts, but never too flowery. The characters were realistic and likable, and I found myself thinking about them even after finishing the book.

I read this book at the perfect time because I was struggling with a story I was writing. It was a story told in three or four parts (I was undecided at that time), and the main character was a wife leaving her husband. This really helped me get into the minds of my characters and get immersed in that world. I finished the set of stories and it's still one of my favorites, and I credit this book for helping me through it. (Along with Foo Fighters' "The Pretender"... long story!)

Kevin Wilson

Kevin Wilson is the author of The Family Fang, Perfect Little World, and Tunneling to the Center of the Earth. He's quickly become one of my favorite authors, but I especially love his short stories. I had a chance to see him speak at a local university, and he was down to earth and very level-headed about being a writer. After being in an MFA program, I've started to hate stories with that typical MFA-touch of having no real resolution, and no real point. Kevin Wilson's short stories are the opposite of that. They bring up interesting, bizarre ideas and make you think, and leave you with your imagination in overdrive.

My two faves!

The Family Fang: The Fangs are a family of artists, creating pandemonium in public and filming the confusion. Kind of like a four person flash mob, before there were flash mobs. Annie and Buster participate with their parents as children, but as they grow up, they grow tired of a life of hoaxes. Both children move on, but when they’re down on their luck, they come home. Their parents ask them to participate in one final artwork, but can the kids give up all they’ve worked for towards getting away from this life? Very amusing, deep, and interesting. Wilson is a must-read.

Perfect Little World: Izzy gets pregnant by her high school art teacher, and isn’t sure what her small town can offer her after graduation. When a unique opportunity presents itself, Izzy has to take part. Even if it means promising ten years to a sociological experiment in which her child wouldn’t necessarily be hers, but raised equally by 18 other people. The story is just as multi-faceted as it sounds, and Wilson’s character development is amazing. I would love to get inside of Wilson’s mind. His stories are so vibrant and creative; beautifully written prose that borders on genre - usually sci-fi - but staying mainstream. I recommend this book to everyone, regardless of reading tastes or general interest.

Tunneling to the Center of the Earth: I'll be honest - the title and cover art grabbed my attention for this book, but I'm so glad it happened that way. These are some of the best, most innovative and interesting short stories I've ever read. The first story pulled me in and each of the following were just as fascinating. Wilson writes in a world where there is a company of stand-in grandmothers for families who aren't ready to tell their children that granny has passed on, where letters must be manually sorted in a Scrabble factory, where a museum of whatnot is a setting for love. Another book I'll be recommending to everyone.

Art Parts

Art Parts: A Child's Introduction to the Elements of Art by Kim Bogren Owen

Art Parts is a fun, simple way to introduce kids to basic elements of art. The book shows examples of lines, shapes, color hue and saturation, texture, and more. There are blank pages next to each "lesson" so the kid has a chance to try their hand at what they just learned. It's kind of like an art workbook, except it's a beautifully bound hardback so kids will be excited to see their art in a real book!

There are resource pages at the end to extend the activities in the book, and help relate the lessons to everyday life. It's fun to help your kid point out different lines and shapes they see in real life, identify colors and light, and more.

I was excited to get this book because my husband is an artist, and I thought he would have a lot of fun introducing these concepts to our three year old. He loves working hands-on teaching art to kids, and this book really helped him figure out how he can break concepts into small lessons that kids can understand and master. I, on the other hand, can hardly draw a stick figure, so I figured this book would just be a father and son experience. But I've gone over it with my son and really enjoyed experimenting with the concepts myself! I think this is a fun, engaging, interactive book for all ages.

If you buy the book, you get access to journal pages so a whole family or classroom can create their own art books! If you've already bought the book, you can get a code to access the pages. If you don't have the book, you can access the journal pages for a fee. Trust me, this book is so engaging, it's worth it to expand lessons and creativity beyond the book!

Disclaimer: The author sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Big Friends #UnlockTheirImagination

October's #kidlitpicks theme is Unlock Their Imagination. So many books came to mind with this theme because picture books are one of the best ways to explore imagination! I thought about books starring imaginary friends, like The Adventures of Beekle by Dan Santat, Dotty by Erica S. Perl, illustrated by Julia Denos, and Imaginary Fred by Eoin Colfer and Oliver Jeffers, which I've featured before.

Recently we've read so many clever picture books that engage children's imaginations, whether the books asks for the child to search for a hidden detail in each picture (Yoo-Hoo, Ladybug!), answer questions posed in the text (Trashy Town), or just broaden their horizons with new vocabulary and interesting illustrations.

On our quest, we found a great book about real friends, Birt and Etho, who use their imaginations to transform boxes into...anything else! Birt loves his best friend and how their imaginations fit together to make all their days fun. When a new boy, Shu, wants to join in with the box-fun, Etho welcomes him, but Birt isn't so sure.

Underneath all of the box imagination fun, Big Friends by Linda Sarah and Benji Davies is a gorgeous, touching picture book about the fragility of friendships and how they can grow.

A great read alike for Big Friends is Not a Box by Antoinette Portis. We have the board book, so it was a natural progression to step up to a bigger, more involved picture book. In Not a Box, a bunny plays by himself, imagining a simple box is a race car, a boat, and more. In Big Friends, two boys play together to imagine what a box can be for them.

Check out other books to #unlocktheirimagination on the homepage @kidlitpicks, and tag your favorite #imagination books to be featured!

Flashback Friday - Storytellers Beginnings

Last Thursday I started a new read-aloud program at the local library. I read aloud to adults with disabilities, and then we talk about the stories and do a craft. Last week, 13 of the adults left with applications for library cards! I'm hoping that the program will expand to teach the adults with disabilities how to use the library more independently. Eventually, I'd love to offer this program to all ages of people with disabilities.

In honor of the program kickoff, I wanted to share posts from a previous program I did for adults with disabilities. I started "We Are Storytellers" - a chance for people with disabilities to write and illustrate their own stories. This entry was originally posted on January 8, 2013.

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     A friend and I were on a road trip in August of 2011. We talked about everything under the sun, from personal lives to hopes and dreams for the future. She told me that she wanted to visit terminal children in the hospital and have them tell her a story. She'd write it down and make it into a book, giving them a creative outlet even while their bodies were being ravaged by disease. She wanted to show them they could still make something, they could use their imaginations and escape in some small way.

     Three months later, I started volunteering at SRVS. I helped out with the art program, which meant I distributed paper, paint, and brushes to the plethora of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities lined up at cafeteria tables - we were a little overwhelmed initially, with about 20 clients and three teachers. As time wore on, I stole moments to sit beside them and talk about their paintings.
     We described animals and the individual would paint them; we'd make the animal's noises when the picture was complete. Some clients worked better when given an example; I'd try to paint my own version of whatever they wanted to draw themselves. (Despite being a graphic designer and volunteering with the art program, my drawing skills are somewhat lacking.) Usually, thankfully!, they requested simpler things: animals, fruits, landscapes with birds soaring over the trees.

     I got to know these people as individuals, but I wanted to understand how their minds worked. I wanted to know their stories. My friend's idea had stuck with me since the year before, and I knew I wanted to implement it in this setting, but I had no clue how. I spoke with administrators at the organization, told them what I wanted to do, and they gave me their blessings. But I didn't know what to do - where to start, what the purpose would be, and how I would reach the finish line.

     It wasn't until January 2013 that I felt ready to start the project. (And I use the term "ready" loosely - I was incredibly nervous, for no real reason.) I now see that was the best possible thing I could do - wait. Get to know the clients, familiarize myself with their personalities, their conditions, their daily lives. Really try to understand where they're coming from and what they're going through before I sit down with them and ask them to write and illustrate a story for me.

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If you're interested, please check out the entire blog at We Are Storytellers!

Battle Bunny

Plot Summary
On his birthday, Alex is given a sickly sweet book called Birthday Bunny by his gran. It must be too boring for him, because Alex takes his pencil to the book and draws all over it, completely changing the story! He modifies the illustrations and changes the text, adding in his own lines as well. Birthday Bunny is quickly transformed into the more interesting and suspenseful Battle Bunny!

Critical Analysis
This book is actually two stories in one - three, if you count the original, yet bland, Birthday Bunny tale! On the surface, there is the story of Battle Bunny, but older readers will be able to appreciate the underlying storyline of Alex changing the book himself.
     The story of Battle Bunny is interesting, but the best part is the illustrations and overall book layout. It’s fun to search each page for what Alex added to the pictures and text. He ever wrote on the copyright page and the back cover. The original illustrations are beautiful, sweet cartoons that looks like a classic picture books. Alex’s additions actually look like pencil marks - you’ll be tempted to take an eraser to them just to see if they’re real!
     This book will inspire children to use their imaginations more - not just when they’re playing by themselves or with friends, but also when they’re reading! It shares a great message that you don’t have to read just the story on the page - you can also make up your own adaptations!

Personal Response
This book was interesting to read aloud to my five-year-old stepson and six-month-old son. They both might be a little too young for it (well, one DEFINITELY is!), because most of the enjoyment comes from seeing what was scratched out. The pictures are greatly embellished, though, so kids can really get a lot from looking at the illustrations and seeing what Alex added on to them. When reading aloud, my fiancé read the main story, and when a lot of a line was scratched out, I said “Instead of…(original text).” It was a little awkward to read that way, but we wanted to make sure my stepson realized the story had changed, and since he asks questions and points things out during storytime, it wasn’t the worst way to read aloud.
     The five-year-old originally didn’t want to read this book - my fiancé and I pushed it on him a bit, because we wanted to see it since we saw Jon Scieszka in August 2014. We thought it sounded like a great book, but couldn’t find a copy anywhere until our last library visit. My stepson got into the book as we read it, and afterwards he played “Battle Bunny” for hours, as if he were a superhero!
     I’m blown away by the creativity of this book! I can’t count how many times I, as an adult, have wished for a story to go just a little bit differently - and I’m sure kids feel the same with picture books! Now they get to see how one book and its illustrations can be easily transformed into something drastically different. Just make sure you remind the readers they can’t draw in books! Since it’s intended for older kids, there is probably little chance of this happening, but you can’t be too sure! But there is a way they can tell their own version of Birthday Bunny…

Connections & Activities
The authors, illustrator, and publishing company behind this book are so brilliant, they set up MyBirthdayBunny.com, where kids can go and explore the pages of Battle Bunny - and make their own version! You can download the book and print off the pages so kids can make their own versions of the story!
     If you’re especially proud of your creation, you can email your work to the site and they’ll share them on the Battle Bunny Tumblr!

Reviews & Awards
Battle Bunny won the 2014 Gryphon Award. Kirkus Reviews says “[…] a great writing inspiration to use on old books headed for the bin.” School Library Journal gave it a starred review, saying“"This is a perfect book to give independent readers who are looking for something a little different. The unique layout and design will inspire creativity in readers.”

Read it for yourself!
Scieszka, Jon and Mac Barnett. 2013. Battle Bunny. Ill. by Matthew Myers. New York: Simon &
Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9781442446731