Tuesday, April 28, 2020

South Carolina ELA Standards for Grades 3/4/5

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Teachers need readily available resources with rich figurative language in order to provide authentic examples for their students and deliver quality instruction about author's craft.
This collection will provide an elementary school library with a good start to building an excellent collection.


South Carolina ELA Standards for Grades 3/4/5

Monday, April 27, 2020

My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks by Hanoch Piven

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Piven, H. (2007). My dog is as smelly as dirty socks and other funny family portraits. Random House.

A girl is given an assignment to draw a picture of her family, but she is not quite satisfied with it.  She uses similes to better illustrate them and found objects to create a more complete picture. 

Kirkus Reviews

Library/Classroom Use:  This book, and a sister title by the same author, My Best Friend is as Sharp as a Pencil, can be the exemplar for a collaborative unit between art and ELA. Students can use found objects to create self-portraits, family or friend portraits based on the similes that they write.  The books is also an example of the creative process as the narrator continues to add and edit her work.  The library could also provide this activity in a maker space as an extension.  Additional cross-curricular ideas can be found here.


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Sunday, April 26, 2020

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen


Yolen, J. & Schoenherr, J. (Illus). (1997). Owl moon. Philomel Books. 

A young girl goes on a magical nighttime adventure with her father looking for owls.  Won the Caldecott Medal in 1998. 

Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews

Enjoy this video version from YouTube as well!




Saturday, April 25, 2020

Snow by Cynthia Rylant


Rylant, C. & Stringer, L. (Illus). (2008). Snow. HMH Books for Young Readers.

A young girl and her grandmother enjoy the beauty and wonder of a snowy day. Snow is  described as having different "personalities." The text is in the form of lyrical poetry.


Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, School Library Review, Booklist

Friday, April 24, 2020

Cricket Magazine


Wimberly, L. (2016, March). The secret. Cricket, 43(6), 10-15.

Cricket is a literary magazine for children that includes many genre of fiction texts, literary nonfiction, and poetry.  The story cited can be found in this sample issue and is rich with figurative language.  

Goodreads

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Some Smug Slug by Pamela Duncan Edwards


Edwards, P.D. (1996). Some smug slug. Katherine Tegan Books.

This humorous tale of a slug that is quite over confident is full of alliteration. There is a hidden "s"on each page.  Also a good mentor text for using context clues to determine meaning of unknown vocabulary.

BookList, Publishers Weekly

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena


Pena, M. & Robinson, C. (Illus). (2015). Last stop on market street. G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers.

A young boy's grandmother gently teaches him about life through answering his many questions and helping him notice the beauty and kindness all around them.  Winner of the 2016 Newberry Medal, as well as a Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor book.

Horn Book, Kirkus Reviews

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown


Reynolds, A. & Brown, P. (Illus). (2012). Creepy carrots! Simon & Schuster.

This Caldecott honor book can be used as an introduction to the idea of personification, but there's also other figurative language as well.  Jasper the rabbit takes his carrots seriously, but when he starts seeing them in unexpected places, he starts to think something creepy is happening to him.  

School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly

Monday, April 20, 2020

Locomotive by Brian Floca


Floca, B. (2013). Locomotive. Atheneum.

This Caldecott award winner follows a family as they travel west on the transcontinental railroad.  It has many examples of onomatopoeias, as well as personification (the train)

School Library Journal, Booklist

Library/Classroom Use:  This text is an exemplar of how words and illustrations can communicate different information, yet work together artistically.  For middle elementary students, I would use the maps to pivot into a study of westward expansion and the transcontinental railroad.  For primary students, creating a classroom A-Z book with vocabulary (railroad) words from the story could be an extension.  Floca discusses his writing process and how he adjusted his story midway when he found factual information about the time period that did not work in his story (see this article for more information). 

More Parts; Even More Parts by Tedd Arnold

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Arnold, T. (2004). Even more parts. Penguin Group.
Arnold, T. (2001). More parts. Dial Books.

These hilarious continuations of the original Parts book by the author of the Fly Guy series contain many examples of idioms. The illustrations reflect the literal meaning of the idioms instead of the actual, cultural meaning, to great comic effect.

School Library Journal

Library/Classroom Use:  Studying idioms with these books is a must.  Activities such as illustrating the literal and actual meanings of idioms (possibly collaboratively with art), researching the history and origin of the idioms from the books, acting them out in pairs like charades, and using them as story starters are all possibilities.  An author study on Tedd Arnold would also be popular at the elementary level. 

Sunday, April 19, 2020

Butterflies in my Stomach and Other School Hazards by Serge Bloch

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Block, S. (2008). Butterflies in my stomach and other school hazards. Sterling.

This rare narrative book with idioms tells the story of a young boy on his first day of school.  The simple illustrations convey what the actual idiom would look like (being in a pickle for missing the bus shows the bus as a pickle) which can lead to rich conversation about the idioms' true meanings.

School Library Journal, Booklist

Saturday, April 18, 2020

Crazy Like a Fox: A Simile Story by Loreen Leedy


Leedy, L. (2008). Crazy like a fox: a simile story. Holiday House.

Rufus the fox speaks in silly similes and gets his friend, Babette, to chase him all over town.  Eventually, he leads her to her surprise party. This story is packed full of similes, and they are illustrated exactly as they are described (ex. Babette's head on a hornet when she is as mad as one).

Kirkus Reviews

Friday, April 17, 2020

Night Noises by Mem Fox



Fox, M. & Denton, T. (Illus). (1989). Night noises. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

An elderly woman, Lily Laceby, sits by the fire with her faithful dog one evening, dreaming of days gone by.  Interesting (and somewhat scary) noises come from outside, alarming her dog. In spite of the suspense, there is a happy ending with her family and friends surprising her with a party.

Kirkus Reviews


Thursday, April 16, 2020

Dangerously Ever After by Dashka Slater

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Slater, D. & Docampo, V. (Illus). (2012). Dangerously ever after. Dial Books.

This princess is not like typical princesses; she likes dangerous, scary, and sometimes, ugly things.  The average person (or prince) might need armor to go in her garden. When a prince gives her a gift of roses, she sets off on a journey to find out how to grow them herself.

Publishers Weekly

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Black is a Rainbow Color by Angela Joy

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Joy, A. & Holmes, E. (Illus). (2020). Black is a rainbow color. Roaring Brook Press.

This beautiful tribute to all of the ways black is beautiful speaks in metaphor. A young girl tells of what black means as a color and a culture. The author's notes explain that her daughter questioned why she was called black when her skin is brown; this book was Joy's answer to that question.

Horn Book, Booklist

Library/Classroom Use: This book can be used as a foundation for Black History month explorations.  The excellent notes explain the cultural references from the text, such as the one to raisins from Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem."  Gathering these materials, displaying them, and sharing them during library visits give the month structure and many points for enrichment.  This text can be used in the classroom as a mentor text to write in metaphor of one's own personal color.  Older students can explore the meaning of ethnonyms with the list provided in the end pages.

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Library Lil by Suzanne Williams

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Williams, S. & Kellogg, S. (Illus). (1997).  Library Lil.  Puffin.

In the spirit of Paul Bunyan and other tall tales, Lil is not your ordinary librarian. From her childhood, she has always been extraordinary, but she meets her match when a bike gang comes to town with a leader who doesn't like to read.  Full of hyperbole, humor, and Steven Kellogg's incomparable illustrations (not to mention a librarian hero), this book entertains as well as instructs.

Kirkus

Monday, April 13, 2020

Orion and the Dark by Emma Yarlett

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Yarlett, E. (2015). Orion and the dark. Templar.

Orion is a boy with a lot of imagination and many fears, but the biggest one is the dark. He tries strategies to conquer them without finding a solution until one night, the Dark takes him on an adventure and changes how he sees the world.  

School Library Journal

Sunday, April 12, 2020

Betty's Burgled Bakery by Travis Nichols

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Nichols, T. (2017). Betty's burgled bakery. Chronicle Books.

This "alliteration adventure" has a graphic novel feel to the illustrations due to the characters and speech bubbles.  An animal detective agency tries to track down the culprit who is guilty of taken treats from Betty the Panda's bakery. This was obviously written to teach alliteration, but manages to be entertaining as well.

Manhattan Book Review

Saturday, April 11, 2020

Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming

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Fleming, C. & Karas, G. (Illus). (2002). Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!  Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

A determined farmer tries to keep some pesky rabbits away from his garden with some creative and ever-escalating ideas.  Who will win in the end? This book is a fun read-aloud with plenty of examples of onomatopoeia. 

Publishers Weekly

Friday, April 10, 2020

My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother by Patricia Polacco

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Polacco, P. (1994). My rotten redheaded older brother. Simon & Schuster.

Polacco tells a semi-autobiographical tale of a brother and sister who do not get along, that is until an event occurs that changes their relationship forever.  The text includes similes and inspiration for those challenged by their siblings.

Kirkus

Library/Classroom Use: This book is a must to be included in an author study of Patrica Polacco's works. Comparing and contrasting with Thunder Cake, tracing her family history through her stories, and exploring how themes of food and home are woven together from her memories are just a few ways to connect to Polacco's canon.  Thematic units involving family (especially siblings) and wishes could also be used.  One resource I would definitely use is this video reading:


Thursday, April 9, 2020

Magnificent Homespun Brown: A Celebration by Samara Cole Doyon

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Doyon, S. & Juanita, K. (Illus). (2020). Magnificent homespun brown: A celebration.  Tilbury House.

A lyrical story about a girl's appreciation of nature and all of the shades of brown she sees reflected in her own beauty.  The rich vocabulary is a joy to read aloud and creates many teachable moments for similes, imagery, alliteration, and personification.

School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Sunday, April 5, 2020

Project Reflection

I chose the topic of figurative language as an extension of a challenge I have faced as a teacher: how to help my students understand and remember what words like "onomatopoeia" and "alliteration" mean.  I have searched for and used some texts to show them, but I thought about how having a ready-made list would have made my task much easier.  That is one of my primary goals for when I become a school librarian, to support my teaching peers by providing the resources they need when they need them. I decided to focus on picture books because they can be used with all ages of elementary students for instruction.  One challenge in compiling this list was trying to use recent publications; many recommendations that I found from teachers, reviews, and publishers were of respected but older books such as Owl Moon.  I decided that quality literature from any age that supports educational standards has a place in the elementary school library.

In addition to selection tools such as School Library Journal, Kirkus, Booklist, and Publishers Weekly, I found that Goodreads was a better source of information than I had realized.  I appreciated the diverse opinions found there that gave me an overview of the books, as well as helpful comments about the types of figurative language or special features the books had. I found a few regular reviewers whose voices were especially interesting and helpful in my choices.  One conclusion I have made is that librarians need other librarians, teachers, and readers in general to help in making selection decisions.  It is too big of a job to do by one's self.  

This collection is one that I will keep and continue to update as I find new examples of figurative language. It is a resource that will be useful to me as both a classroom teacher and librarian.