Mind Stretching Picture Books

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1. Bright, Paul. QUIET! Orchard Books, 2003
Mama Lion was upset that baby Leo couldn't take his nap, the jungle was too noisy! When Papa Lion yelled "Quiet" it got as quiet as...

2. Brown, Margaret Wise. The Diggers . Harper, 2000
Brainstorm reasons to dig a hole.Match ideas with those given in this book. Note the rich language.

3. Capucilli, Alysa. Inside A House That Is Haunted. Scholastic, 2000
Great rebus model.

4. Edwards, Pamela. DinorellaHyperion, 1997
An alliterative stone-age Cinderella. Challenge students to write an alliterative sentence about a fairy tale character.

5. Haan, Amanda. I Call My Hand Gentle. Viking, 2003. K-3
Brainstorm all the positive and negative things a hand can do.

6. Kasza, Keiko. The Mightiest. Putnam, 2003
Three animals who want to be king of woods find someone mightier than they.
Create animal poems:
I had a lion and his name was Glore
I don't know why but he loved to roar.

Classify and write:
A lion has four legs
An elephant has four legs
A bear has four legs
A bird does not have four legs

7. Lobel, Arnold. Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel. HarperCollins, 1979.
A) How can Frog get Toad Qut of bed using a rose, popcorn, pan of water, book, feather or drum?
B) What can Toad add to his bathing suit so that every animal would want one just like it?

Create A Story:
Make A Story Square
Once there was... (character)
Who was...(where)
And then ( problem)
So...solution

8. Marshall, James. George and Martha. Dial, 1996.
A) Find two words that go together (why?)
George, table, Martha, shoes, soup, tooth, mirror, spoon,
B) List things they did in the story .
Use in a London Bridge song.
EX: George and Martha looked in a mirror
Looked in a mirror,
looked in a mirror
George and Martha looked in a mirror
And ate pea soup.

C) Write hippo riddles.
List words that end in ip.
Drip, slip.
Ask a riddle:
What do you call a hippopotamus with a runny nose?
A drippopotamus.

9. Minor, Wendell. Pumpkin Heads, Blue Sky Press, 2000
A visual treat of pumpkin heads. Choose one to complete this pattern: Some pumpkins have their own where they and. Sometimes they go around and sometimes they just. But to this very day some pumpkins have their own.

10. Pilkey, Dave. Kat Kong. Harcourt, 1993
A picture book parody of the King Kong film.
Re-word these sentences keeping the same meaning but not using any word with the letter "E"
A) Suddenly the island began to tremble.
B) There is no way the creature can escape

11. Polette, Nancy. Point of View Fairy Tales. Pieces of Learning, 2002
What if you were the pea the princes sat on? Suppose there was a friendly troll under the bridge?

12. Seuss, Dr. Horton Hatches the Egg. Random, 1979
Debate: Who should get the egg?

13. Shannon, George. Tomorrow's Alphabet , Greenwillow 2000
"A is for seed, tomorrow's apple." "B is for egg, tomorrow's birds."
A) Create a Tomorrow's Cook's Alphabet. Ex: F is for potatoes, tomorrow's fries."
B) Take two of the words from this book and use them in this pattern: Scraps are just scraps until they are sewn together and then they become a quilt.
C) Use the idea of Tomorrow's Alphabet to create Yesterday's Alphabet.
Example: A is for letter, yesterday's airmail. B is for man. Yesterday's boy

12. Shles, Larry. Hoots and Toots and Hairy Brutes & Nose Drops. Squib, Pub. 1990-92 www .hootsandtoots.com
A small owl who cannot hoot saves the day! Elaborate on Squib.. what else could he be?

About Your Workshop Leader
Following 30 years as a teacher, Director of Media Services, Director of Curriculum and Special Ed. Programs, Nancy is a Professor. of Education at Lindenwood University and former Director of the Laboratory School for gifted children, author of 8 children's books and 100+ professional books including Reading Guidance In A Media Age, Developing Methods of Inquiry, School Librarian's Grab Bag, Teaching Critical Reading, Books to Build Brain Power.

For workshop information contact Nancy at 636-272-4242 or visit her web site at http://www .nancypolette.com