Picture+Books+to+Use

Our library has a variety of picture books that can be useful in many grade levels. I thought I would start featuring one book per week that may be relevant to many classes. I'll especially be looking at some of the award winning books and nominees that are available in the library. Many of these I will have read to the primary grades during library time.

//Snow// has beautiful artwork and descriptive language as it describes a current hot topic, snow. This book would be great to use for writing poetry about snow or to talk about personification.
 * Snow by Cynthia Rylant**

Here are some math problem ideas as well:

about 1/2 inch an hour, how many hours will ti have to snow for you to stay home tomorrow? down fast at two inches every half hour. How long until you get to go sledding? snowball fight by 2:00 and it usually takes you a half and hour to get there. When should you leave to not miss a single snowball?
 * If school will be cancelled when there are six inches of snow on the ground and it is snowing
 * Mom says she will take you to the sledding hill if you get at least a foot of snow. It is coming
 * Walking in the snow takes twice as long as usual. You want to get to your friend’s house for a

These ideas and more can be found at: http://ksbillmartinaward.wikispaces.com/Snow


 * 14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy**

14 Cows for America is a nonfiction book, telling the story of a man from Kenya who had come to the United States to study medicine. He returned home for a visit shortly after 9/11, taking the story of the unimaginable home to his village. Cows are the center of life to his people. Upon sharing the horrors of 9/11, his village wanted to do something to help the United States so they invited a US diplomat to visit and presented him with a gift of 14 cows, showing that no nation is too big to need help and no nation is too small to be able to help. Truly a great story, and a quick read.

This book has its own website with extensive discussion guides, social studies, science and writing activities, art lessons and more: http://14cowsforamerica.com/index.html

The Bill Martin Jr. Award wiki also has a few ideas: http://ksbillmartinaward.wikispaces.com/14+Cows+for+America

Problem Solving 14 Cows on Vacation: • The 14 cows given to the American people by the Maasai love their peaceful home in Enoosaen, but they’re ready for a little adventure. They want to visit New York City! The cows have never traveled before and they need your help. Will you be their travel agent? Come up with three different plans to get all 14 cows from their remote village in Kenya to New York City for their trip. How much will each plan cost? Don’t be afraid to use your imagination. Follow-up questions: What challenges did you encounter in imagining these plans? Do you think the Americans and the Maasai made the right decision to keep the “American” cows in Enoosaen?