The Curious Garden

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown can be described as a "go green" type of book. A boy named Liam lives in this very industrialized city with no plant life any where in sight, isn't satisfied with his environment. One day he finds himself snooping around in areas which could possibly lead to surprising discoveries on a stairwell leading up to railway tracks. And at the top, he finds plant life trying to survive in places it has no business doing so; in between the railway tracks. Liam takes on the responsibility of caring for this new found life and each day he goes to a different part of the tracks, he finds more and more plants trying to survive. He nurtures all of it and it thrives in the spring, summer, and fall but is lost when winter comes around. When springtime is finally here again, he goes back to find more and more people caring and further nurturing what he started and before you know it, the whole city is thriving with plant life.

I really enjoyed this story of The Curious Garden because of what the story represents. Children would probably not think twice of the importance of greenery because it is every where and it's taken for granted. But this child only desired more of it after the discovery of a scarce amount. Similar to Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, it directs the significance of a story towards our environment which is rare in literature, at least most literature I've come across. I definitely recommend this book because of the importance of it's message. It's appropriate for students anywhere from kindergarten till maybe fourth and even fifth grade. The story is great and it makes you wonder what will happen next. I really loved the illustrations because they provide the perfect visual for what is described in the story. They may not seem as inviting as other more "bubbly" type of illustrations but I think it's what makes the story great as well.

The Super Hungry Dinosaur

The Super Hungry Dinosaur by Martin Waddell is a picture book story about a little boy, Hal and his dog, Billy. Hal and his dog are playing his yard when a hungry dinosaur comes who wants to eat him. And when Hal says he can't, the dinosaur then says, he's going to eat Hal's dad, mom, and his dog. They go through a chase in Hal's yard and with the help of Billy, they tie up the dinosaur with a hose. After asking "do you give in?" a number of times, the dinosaur finally gives up. He apologizes and cleans up the mess he made in the yard but he is still very hungry. But when Hal's mom brings out a big bowl of spagetti, and the dinosaur his happy. He says good bye to the family and leaves and that is how Hal saved his family from a super hungry dinosaur.

I really enjoyed this story because of how simple it is as well as the fact that it doesn't necessarily teach a lesson but it's an entertaining. It's great for early readers and as a read aloud story for kids in grades from kindergarten to about second grade. You can involve kids with almost the entire story but more, it's a wonderful tool to teach sequencing in a story and the order of events as they occur. Even while I was reading it, I wanted to read only the text on the left then the right page but this book forces you to read all across one line. It only makes sense if you do so this way so it helps to recognize how the story is supposed to be told over what we are used to as readers. The illustrations by Leonie Lord are adorable for this type of story and they tell it as much as the text does because on some pages there is no text but pictures displaying how the chase went between Hal and the dinosaur. I highly recommend this book; it's a cute story and a wonderful teaching tool.

I thought this would be cool to share. This could even be an activity. Gather a lot of different types of foods, some food coloring, even dessert items and enact this story so it makes sense in order as the events occur. I know I'd love to do something like this when I become a teacher.