I promised a while back to share a few of my favorite winter read-alouds. I got kind of caught up in delivering all of those freebies and sort of forgot about doing this post. So, without further ado, here are three that I think you and your little guys will enjoy!
Betsy Maestro's Snow Day is a quiet book that beautifully capture the anticipation, arrival, and aftermath of a big snowstorm, and how it affects so many aspects of life. This book is awesome for making text-to-text and text-to-self connections! The children returned to this book again and again during self-selected reading. The realistic illustrations by Guilio Maestro are also a good reference for young illustrators, especially for things like heavy equipment for moving snow. This book pushes many children beyond basic snow stories in their independent writing.
Snowflake Bentley is a 1999 Caldecott Award-winning biography. Although its sidebars and some of its vocabulary and concepts can make it a challenge to read aloud, this book is well worth the effort!
Bentley's passion for learning and dedication to his dream make this a great addition to your character-building lessons. You'll hear your little guys saying, "Hey! That's just like Snowflake Bentley!" long after the snow has melted.
.
Snowballs, by Lois Ehlert, uses the author'/illustrator's classic collage style and a simple but very snappy rhyme to get kids thinking about possibilities for snow "people". They'll be inspired as artists by the gorgeous collage selections AND inspired as authors when you flip the book sideways to show how Ehlert deals with the problem of limited page size: "Is this something you could try in your writing?" Make time to give your class the opportunity to make and write about their own imaginative collages. I've seen everything from a Snow Princess to a Snow Motorcycle Guy! Be prepared to use lots of instant tacky glue - these babies are so heavy that it's amazing that some of them stayed up on the wall!
Do you have a favorite snow book that you love to read aloud? Leave a comment to help us all discover a new favorite!
I LOVE the book Snow by Uri Shulevitz. It is almost a wordless book. The pictures are so wonderful and show exactly how the snow magically makes everything beautiful!
ReplyDeleteLaurie
Chickadee Jubilee
Oh, Laurie, I love that one, too! I can't believe how often I begin a read-aloud intro by saying,"Now this is one of my most favorite books of all!" :)
ReplyDeleteLinda