South Park Book Talks: Resources for Teaching Outdoors Feb. 2015

Resources for Teaching Outdoors Feb. 2015

Three years ago, inspired by one of my own children's elementary school teachers, I made a resolution to take my kindergarten class outside at least once a week. Not just outside to play, but outside to learn. To take my teaching outdoors and integrate our nature experiences into our work in the classroom as well. Rather than considering our outdoor time as a field trip or a well deserved break from classroom routine, I wanted this time to be an integral part of our learning and I wanted to integrate all aspects of curriculum into our outdoor experiences- to teach in nature not just about nature. This year our school added a Nature Kindergarten program and I have been excited to work with my new colleague and help provide library resources for her program. Through my experiments over the past few years and my collaboration with other teachers at this environmentally conscious school, I have developed some useful lesson plans and resources for taking curriculum outdoors and for linking those outdoor experiences to meaningful work in the classroom. I will be presenting these great picture book resources - some new and some old standbys- at the Tapestry Conference on Feb 20th, 2015.

Thank-you to School House Teaching Supplies in Victoria and KidsBooks in Vancouver for giving me some reader's advisory time. Funding for purchasing these books was provided through the Times Colonist Raise-a-Reader program.

Here is a list of some of my favourites:

(These books and others can be found at South Park Family School's library catalog under Nature Kindergarten in the 'public resource lists'.)

If you find a great way to use any of these books, please share it in the comments section below.

Experiencing the Outdoors

Playing


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As you develop students' connection to the environment close to your school, reading poems from A Stick is an Excellent Thing: Poems Celebrating Outdoor Play by Marilyn Singer may give some reluctant students ideas about the possibilities of outdoor play. It is also a good resource to use for the 'connect' reading comprehension power espoused by Adrienne Gear.

While we are on the topic of poetry... Guyku: A Year of Haiku for Boys by Bob Raczka and illustrated by one of my favourites, Peter Reynolds is a joyful resource for poems about risk-taking and outdoor play - and it is certainly not just for boys.

Haiku by the creator of Zen Shorts Jon Muth fills this insightful book "that reminds us that our own human nature is not separate from all of nature". A great book for personal connections and discussions about emotions. Could be used for a Haiku unit, too.

Speaking of risk-taking... taking students outdoors is a perfect time to consider the importance of reasonable risk-taking. Truly exploring and enjoying outdoor activities often includes a small amount of risk. Teaching students how to feel comfortable trying new things and stretching their comfort zones - whether it be touching mud or climbing a rock - is an important part of taking learning outdoors. That old favourite, Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt gives us a fun starting point for talking about risks: what is reasonable and what precautions we should take.
(Available in French)

This Nancy Hundal book is great for making connections to students' personal experiences, awakening memories of joyful times outdoors, or inspiring role playing games outdoors or in. The descriptive language is a perfect lead-in for journal writing too.

I got this book sight unseen as a promo from the publisher - wow, was I lucky! Mattland by Hazel Hutchins is a treasure trove for outdoor play - and discussion. I used it with Kindergarten and Grade 2/3 buddy classes to inspire collaborative play in the sand pit on our playground. A little water and we had a wonderful, cooperative afternoon! The story portrays an afternoon in Matt's life from a Matt's eye view. Matt has just moved into a new neighbourhood and he knows no-one. All he can find to play with is the junk in a vacant lot. As he creates a community from the junk, another pair of hands joins him. When the flooding rain threatens to wash away Mattland many hands arrive to help save the day. Discussions about friendship, loneliness, self-reliance, empathy, thoughtfulness, imagination - it just goes on and on. Not to mention the mapping possibilities....

A fun book by Peter McCarty about a group of children going outside to play football on a fall evening. Could be used to begin a discussion about things you can play outdoors, why it is important to play outdoors, what students enjoy doing outdoors....

Marie Louise Gay's Stella and her brother, Sam, know how to play outside. They have all sorts of adventures.

Listening

Rainbow Crow by David Bouchard begins with a request for the reader/listener to truly listen and gives instructions on how to prepare yourself for true listening including bending to touch the earth. The story itself is riveting and had five year olds at the edge of their seats as they waited to hear if the crow would survive her quest to the sky world. In the end, Crow is rewarded for her personal sacrifice to save the other animals. As well as a great book to read to introduce a study of crows, this piece explores many of the Seven Sacred Teachings and could lead to a lot of discussions around social responsibility and being the person you want to be. (Available in French).

Jane Yolen's classic Owl Moon is a wonderful lesson in listening, and learning to endure some discomfort in order to experience something new (a necessary skill when learning outdoors in all weather). Both kindergarten classes have used this book this year to introduce quiet watching and also produced some beautiful art inspired by trees in the moonlight.

I originally encountered A Story for Bear by Dennis Haseley as one of Adrienne Gear's Reading Power suggestions. A young woman spends a lonely summer at the old family cottage and gradually makes friends with a bear who appears to silently watch and then listen to her read. This story reinforces the idea of being still and quiet and letting nature make the decisions about what will happen next.

Tony Johnston and Jim LaMarche teamed up to create this appealing book with double page illustrations depicting a girl watching the changes of fall from her vantage point in her special tree. "I am quiet, quiet. The red fox is quiet, quiet. We share this place." This book could be used for a retelling activity about the things animals do in fall, a point of view writing activity describing the view from a certain spot in the playground during recess or over a seasonal change, a discussion about the importance of observation skills.

I admit to being a big fan of Big Bear and Little Bear since my own children were young (long ago now) but Martin Waddell's Let's Go Home Little Bear still holds up as a great read aloud that inspires students to really listen to the natural sounds around them. This book is a good lead-in for sound scape activities like those described in Wild BC's Get Outdoors. After the exploration students could make their own book with "Plodders", "Ploppers" , and "Drippers" made from sounds in your own school yard.

Michel Rosen's classic We're Going on a Bear Hunt and it's companion Bear's Day Out are great for acting out outdoors - we often chant "squelch, squirch" as we tramp through muddy places. These books also lend themselves to sound scape activities and post walk writing activities.

George Ella Lyon's What Forest Knows describes what Forest knows through the seasons in a forest. It is not clear if Forest is a person or the forest itself until the end of the book when a close up illustration of a dog reveals who Forest really is. "Make friends with a path threading through the woods. Listen. Look. Sniff." this book is fun to re-read and find the dog in each illustration. This text could be used for inspiring phrases like those used in the book - Forest knows growing, going forth; Forest knows waking, opening up....

Looking

Chih Chen's award winning On My Way to Buy Eggs is a beautiful description of a young girl's walk to the store that turns into an imaginative adventure - discussions of observation, perspective and imagination will flower.

Caroline Woodward's true story about walking to the school bus stop alone on a dark and snowy morning explores how a child might imagine the world around her. (Available in French).

I read Laura Seeger's Green just before entering a dense cedar grove. We discussed all the different greens around us and then I challenged the students to come up with names for all the different browns we would see while playing under the cedar trees - mud brown, dead leaf brown, fairy brown, stick brown, bark brown, wet wood brown.... They had a great time. Next we will search the pastel boxes for different browns to create some art, or maybe make our own Brown book for the classroom. (Available in French).

Kevin Henkes imaginative tale of how Old Bear experiences the seasons explores a different type of seeing - with our imaginations. Crocus as tall as buildings and blueberry rain cover the pages. Read this book without showing the pictures and have the students draw what they imagine from the words, then reveal Kevin Henkes' interpretations. Hmmm, I guess this book is good for reinforcing listening skills too. (Available in French).

Show and Tell Bunnies by Kathryn Lasky was a lucky garage sale surprise for me. Clyde's odd show and tell (a dust ball from the corner of the basement) turns out to be a wonderful lesson in observation. As the day progresses something wonderful happens to Clyde's dust bunny - tiny spiders emerge and float away to new lives. Not everything is what it appears - sometimes we need to look closely and wait.

A Sense of Place

Douglas Wood's A Quiet Place explores all the different places children might find their quiet place.

This simple pattern book follows the form "I love Canada because..." with examples of natural places. This book could provide a good pattern for creating a book about why students love their special natural place.

Caring for the Environment

A child friendly explanation of what it means to be green. Rana DiOrio offers many ideas for children to make a difference and care for their environment.

Things to Explore...

Rocks

In If You Find a Rock Peggy Christian's child-centered descriptions of different types of rocks - from skipping rocks to resting rocks - are paired with Barbara Hirsch Lember's beautiful photographs of children interacting with rocks in nature. Perfect for an introduction to exploring rocks in your environment - and to a drawing and writing exercise describing and naming their rocks.

Everybody Needs a Rock by Byrd Baylor, illustrated by Peter Parnall outlines the ten rules for finding a special rock. My colleague, Carol Eby, shared this book with me. An oldie but a goodie about the connection we can feel to a rock that is 'just right'. The writing is poetic and could lead to student writing projects about other things they find on your nature walks. This book is also a great lead in for discussing descriptive language and for considering why students chose a particular object as 'special'.

If you get on a roll with rocks, you might want to include A Rock is Lively, one of a series of collaborations between author Dianna Hutts Aston and illustrator Sylvia Long including A Seed is Sleepy, A Butterfly is Patient, and An Egg is Quiet (A Nest is Noisy is scheduled for release in March 2015- I can't wait!). All of these books are breathtaking and include basic (and some not so basic) facts about each topic in text boxes cleverly woven amongst a sparse text of short metaphorical sentences. These books can be enjoyed on many levels and bear re-reading again and again.

A few of these laminated guides are a great addition to your nature walk backpack. These field guides have clear photos of pebbles commonly found in our area with short descriptions. Available at the UVic book store.

Rain

Etta Kraner's series Exploring the Elements, including Who Likes the Rain?, Who Likes the Snow?, Who Likes the Sun? and Who Likes the Wind? are wonderful examples of "I Wonder" questions for starting Wonder Walls or Wonder Journals - or just for generating questions before a trip outdoors. Makes a walk in the rain more fun too :)
Note: These books are also available on Tumblebooks for pre or post-excursion classroom experience.

This colourful Usborne book by Anna Milbourne and Sarah Gill follows a group of children on their rainy day walk. It includes a few facts about rain, but not as in depth as Who Likes the Rain? The simple narrative is perfect for practising sequencing and beginning, middle and end retellings.

I found Michael Laser's The Rain in a little book store in Ucluelet (on a rainy day). This book follows a family on their rainy day from the children's walk to the father's rainy commute and mom's cosy indoor day exploring everyone's different experiences of the rain - all positive. What a great way to introduce point of view!

Once you are out in the rain, take some time to explore mud. Mary Lyn Ray's Mud is a joyous romp through this sticky playground.

November Boots by Nancy Hundal follows a young boy who is waiting for the rain so that he can try out his new boots - from searching for puddles to the eventual drip, drip on the window pane. Hundal's book is easy for children to relate to and a good start for text to self connection discussions.

Another gem from Ucluelet, Melissa Stewart's When Rain Falls explores what animals do when it rains. It could be used for a point of view exercise or extended to create a book about creatures you see on your outdoor excursions. I can imagine some nice art projects with water colours too.

Raindrops Roll by April Pulley Sayre is filled with close-up photographs of raindrops. Each photo is accompanied by rhyming text to describe the action of those particular raindrops. Sayre includes "A Splash of Science" section at the end of the book reveals more facts about raindrops. Did you know an ant can drink by putting its mouth into a raindrop as big as its head? This book could provide inspiration for some student photography uploaded to Animoto, some raindrop art, a rhyming book....

Laura Purdie Salas' Water Can Be... explores the many states and functions of water through rhyming text and the descriptive illustrations of Violeta Dabija. Each phrase is explained further at the end of the book - and there is a glossary. "Water is water - it's ice, snow and sea. Now go and discover what else water can be!" This text is a perfect starting point for a class book about water reminiscent of Not a Stick. It could lead to some great water play too - both indoors and outdoors.

Trees

Our Coastal Kindergarten class used Our Tree Named Steve by Alan Zweibel to inspire a round of show and tell about each child's special tree. This book follows the life of a family as they interact with the special tree in their yard. Useful for inspiration for writing about a special tree, too.

On the tree theme, Solomon's Tree by Andrea Spalding (local author), in collaboration with Tsimpshian master-carver Victor Reece, is beautiful book about a boy's relationship with the tree outside his bedroom window (and all the creatures that use the tree) and how he comes to honour the spirit of the tree after it falls. This book is also useful for starting conversations about sadness and loss. The uncomfortable silence when I was reading about the tree falling turned to sighs of relief when I told the class that it is all right to be sad sometimes and that some people actually like sad books.

In The Tree House by Andrew Larson explores another special relationship with a tree, and the importance of that place in the memory of two brothers as they grow up. An empathetic exploration of the relationship between two brothers as growing up divides them and memory brings them together. This book would also work well for Adrienne Gear's 'connect' strategy.


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These lovely books by Lori Nichols follow two girls, Maple and her sister Willow, who each has a special tree planted for her when she is born. The girls have a relationship with their trees as well as with each other.

Naoko Stoop's award winning Red Knit Cap Girl returns in Red Knit Cap Girl and the Reading Tree. In this story the animals decide to create a library in a tree in the woods so that they can all share books.

As well as people's attachment to trees, there are several great books to introduce all the animals that live in and around trees. A Log's Life uses cut paper illustrations to show the different animals that use an oak tree throughout it's life cycle. The short text makes is accessible as a read aloud for even very young students.

In Alison Formento's This Tree Counts! a teacher makes his class stop before planting new trees to listen to the old oak tree already in he clearing. Although the text initially seems like an early primary counting book, it reveals many different animals that use the oak tree. Formento continues the conversation in the stream of consciousness style of young children's discussions to explore the many ways people use trees. Finally, the students are ready to plant trees with understanding. This text could be used in multiple ways - counting, listing animals that use oak trees, exploring human use of trees....

This book follows the life of an oak tree over a century as the countryside around it changes. A poster included shows historical events in relation to the rings in the tree's trunk.

The Tree Book for Kids and Their Grow-ups by Gina Ingoglia is an American book and includes some trees not native to our area, but is useful as a resource book to look up answers to specific questions. I used the page about types of leaves for a very successful lesson which included collecting, sorting, describing and classifying leaves outdoors. My kindergarten students soon knew all about categorizing leaves by shape (spoon, lance, palm/hand, needle) or edge type (toothed, wavy, smooth).

Not every tree book, or every outdoor lesson, needs to be serious. Oliver Jeffers' Stuck is a fun read about a boy whose kite gets stuck in a tree and his hilarious, and crazy, attempts to get it down. This book is great inspiration for outdoor dramatic play. (Available in French).

The Name of the tree is one of my favourite read alouds. The musical language and story of the importance of persistence and humility (7 Sacred Teachings) makes it a hit with children and adults alike. The students love to chant "The name of the tree is Ungali" and would certainly transfer it to "The name of the tree is cedar".

Antoinette Portis' Not A Stick is a perfect book to read outdoors before a free play time. Yes, with sticks. Upon returning to the classroom (or outdoors if you bring the supplies with you), the class can make their own "Not a Stick" book about their outdoor experiences.

Once you have bonded with the trees, it is time to play with their leaves. Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert is another example of her wonderful illustration style. The illustrations created completely with pressed leaves are perfect for inspiring student leaf art. Lois explains how she collected and chose the leaves for this book in a postscript at the back of the book.

Laura Purdie Salas' rhyming book explores the many roles of leaves from fine healer to snake concealer. Although many pages only contain two words, Violeta Dabija's illustrations clearly explain the meaning. There is a more wordy explanation of each phrase at the end of the book as well as a glossary (librarians love to teach about glossaries). "A leaf is a leaf - a bit of a tree. Now go and discover what else it can be!" This book leads seamlessly to a writing exercise. Hmmmm, reminds me of Not a Stick.

The Little Yellow Leaf by Cain Berger is fits here as a fun, short story about a leaves falling. The clever illustrations incorporate recycled print and lined paper leading to an art lesson about line and texture. This book is also mentioned under Social Responsibility.

Denise Fleming is one of my favourite illustrators. This book includes her beautiful art coupled with rhythmic verse describing the animals inhabiting the wood. The book ends: "Where once there was a wood a meadow and a creek sit houses side by side twenty houses deep." Fleming includes a postscript with ways to welcome wildlife to backyards, school yards and community spaces. This book is a perfect conversation starter for discussing how the class can care for their environment.

Plants

Even on a paved playground, you can find weeds making their way to the sun. Cindy Jensen's Weeds Find a Way is a lyrical exploration of the tenacity of weeds. She illustrates common weeds and describes their adaptations and concludes that, in the end, "weeds find a way to be loved...making a place sing with bees and birds exhaling breath as sweet as sleep". Her use of similes could lead to a lesson on how to incorporate this form into student writing. At the end of the book, includes an illustrated guide to common weeds including Latin names and historical uses.

This is an easy to use pictorial guide to local wildflowers organized according to colour.

Charlie follows the parade of neighbours to the compost day at his local park, but Charlie doesn't have a garden. The Park worker gives Charlie a pot of soil with a seed to grow on his windowsill. The following year, Charlie plans his own balcony garden. A good read to introduce class composting or a class garden.

Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals is a rhyming alphabet romp through decomposition. This recipe for creating compost ends with a quiz about what should and should not be included in compost (and why). This is a great book to introduce students to composting - and talk about letter sounds.

Illustrated with photos of children composting and gardening, Linda Glaser's Garbage Helps our Garden Grow: A Compost Story is narrated by the children. We dug into the school mulch pile to see if it was warm inside just like the children in the book.

The Beach

Marisa Hochman's A Walk in Pirate's Cove pairs rhyming verse with soft watercolour illustrations to describe a family's day at the beach. The endpages include beach finds with labels like "pink heelsplitter mussel", "alien stones" and "dragon's teeth". A good book to use for text to self connections, journal writing, poetry units or creating descriptive personal names for beach finds.

This field guide by J. Duane Sept has been in my family's beach backpack for years. Sept's photographs are clear and easy to use to identify shells and creatures often found along our seashores. The notations are divided into other names, description, size, habitat, range and notes.

Dorling Kindersley is always a good bet for non-ficion. This edition includes close up photos of sea creatures (not all found on our coast, but many) and text boxes with interesting facts. Our class used this book as to jog our memories after a beach program with local naturalists, then the students created plasticine sea creatures. It was amazing to see the detail included in kindergarten crabs and sea stars.

NOTE: DK has also launched a new primary database: DKFindOut It is in beta testing right now and so free - well worth a look!!

This book by First Nation author Willie Sellars describes a boy's first traditional dip net fishing expedition with is father and grandfather. A good conversation starter about natural resources and First Nation use of local resources (primary PLO).

Creatures

My colleague, Susanna Solecki, introduced me to Elise Gravel's new series about "disgusting creatures" including The Worm, The Slug, The Fly and The Rat (The Spider, and Head Lice coming in Feb. 2015). Using appealing cartoon characters and speech bubbles, Gravel introduces basic facts about each creature, making them more appealing than disgusting. A great read before searching for worms and slugs and for a writing starter for expository writing about a creature.
(Available in French)

It is always difficult to find good non-fiction suitable for early primary audiences. Part of the Backyard Animals series from Weigl, this non-fiction book is suitable for primary audiences and contains a surprising number of worm facts. It also includes some audio visual links downloadable with a code in the front of the book. This book has been a great companion to our classroom worm habitat. Students looked up facts during our student-led conferences this week and then dug up a worm to illustrate to their parents.

Wiggling Worms at Work by Wendy Pfeffer is illustrated by Steve Jenkins (a talented non-fiction illustrator!). The images engage students as they learn new worm facts and the clear, descriptive language helps them to understand some more complex concepts. Quiet text heavy for kindergarten, so best read in a couple of sittings. This is perfect book to read before going on a worm hunt and another indispensable book beside the classroom worm habitat.

Cover that science PLO for observation while you are outdoors. Anthony Fredericks' On One Flower: Butterflies, Ticks and a Few More Icks describes two boys' discoveries when they look closely at a flower. This repetitive, rhyming text in a cumulative form like 'There's a hole in the bottom of the sea' is a fun read aloud and a great conversation starter about the importance of looking closely. Bring some magnifying glasses along on this walk and have fun!

When caterpillar season arrives, I always pull out the beautiful book by Clare Jarrett based on the traditional poem. The final pages include an illustrated life cycle and some additional caterpillar facts.

In this fun story by Alan Madison Velma Gratch is overshadowed by her two older sisters but when the grade one trip to the butterfly gardens arrives, it is Velma who knows the most about butterflies - and who is chosen by a butterfly! I read this book before releasing our butterflies each year. There are a lot of butterfly facts woven into the imaginary story of a butterfly who stays with Velma for several days before flying off to freedom.

Linda Glaser appears again with another great non-fiction picture book about looking closer. Where do all those insects go in winter? Glaser explains.

My colleague, Susanna Solecki, discovered this book by Nicola Davies. For those of us that teach near water, this is a treasure trove of information about ducks woven into a story about a girl's walks around her neighbourhood. Lovely water colour illustrations match perfectly with the added text boxes of information about ducks. Eventually, the girls decides that maybe these creatures are not 'just ducks' after all.

Another great primary non-fiction book from the Backyard Animals Series by Weigl, Raccoons is a perfect book to read after encountering that raccoon poop (or other evidence of this mainly nocturnal visitor) on your walk.

Integrated Curriculum

Mathematics

As part of my outdoor resolution, I aim to teach all strands of curriculum outdoors, not just science. Math suits outdoor explorations so well. Here are a few picture book inspirations from Carole Fullerton that can be adapted for math outdoors.

I learned about One is a Snail, Ten is a Crab: A Counting by Feet Book by April Sayre. Students love adding creature feet to make math sentences - on paper, or written with sticks in the dirt.

Anything you can do inside, you can do outside - as long as you pack the necessary supplies. You need a some little mice (dollar store, counting and sorting kit, keen parent helper...), a snake and a large plastic container, preferably see through. After reading Mouse Count by Ellen Walsh, give the children chance to act out the story with different variables. (Available in French)

Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson follows in the footsteps of Herve Tulle's Press Here as it invites students to interact with the book to effect what happens on the next page. As leaves and apples grow and fall from the tree, the book provides many opportunities for creating or acting out math sentences. Try re-creating the book with a pine tree as cones fall or a maple tree as keys float down.

Lifetime: The Amazing Numbers in Animal Lives by Lola Schaefer

Lizann Flatt's Counting on Fall is part of her Math in Nature series published by Owl Kids Books which includes Sorting Through Spring, Sizing up Winter, and Shaping up Summer. Each page contains a rhyming verse and a text box with a specific math challenge for that page. Using one page at a time to initiate math play with natural materials (acorns, chestnuts, leaves etc.) could span many trips and cover a whole set of PLOs. Photographing these math stories and making a digital class book to share with parents or big buddies would also be fun. Reading the whole book with a document camera back at school could make a fun class game.

Social Responsibility

This lovely book by Pixar animator Steve Pilcher is a sweet exploration of the importance of friendship and of taking risks to find what you need. This book could be a nice February (Valentine's Day) discussion starter about what it means to be a good friend. Shredder's decision to go out into the big world is also a great example of bravery and self-regulation. Although the animals are anthropomorphized, there are some facts about voles and moles included in the plot. Re-enacting Shredder's eventful ride down the river in an old tart tin could lead to some fun water play, too.

I mentioned this book above in the leaf theme, but I think it has potential as an exploration of the 'late bloomer' theme. The little yellow leaf is just not ready to fall when all her peers do. She holds out until she is ready - and finds a true friend. Come to think of it, this book could lead to a discussion about peer pressure, tolerance and being different.

Bear Has a Story to Tell by Philip Stead is a lovely tale about a bear who wants to tell a story but just can't remember where to start. As his friends gather round and patiently support him, he eventually decides to tell the story of a bear who cannot remember the beginning to his story.... This book affords an opportunity to explore the importance of giving each other time to think and continuing to try even when a task is difficult - self-regulation, anyone? (Available in French).

This insightful story by First Nations author Diane Silvey describes a little bear whose wilfulness and thoughtless actions result in his banishment to a lonely island. During his exile, the little bear comes to realize that his problems are of his own making and that he does want to be part of his community. This is perfect book to explore the Seven Sacred Teachings, especially humility. While this is a long story with text heavy pages, I have read it to an enthralled kindergarten class who made many personal connections. (Available in French).

The Little Hummingbird by First Nations author Michael Yahgulanaas is a traditional story about a hummingbird that does her best to combat a forest fire when the other, larger, animals are fleeing to save themselves. This story is good for starting the conversation about each person doing his/her best and that 'every little bit counts'. It also links to the PLOs about caring for our immediate environment. The bold black and white illustrations could be inspiration for an art lesson too. (Available in French).

This beautifully illustrated tale is written in both English and Dogrib. The story is engaging and a perfect lead in to discussions of oral history tradition and the importance of storytelling to make sense of the world. (Available from Theytus Books. Check this link for other First Nations publications).

In Too Tall Houses by Gianna Marino:
"The animals are full of heartfelt emotions, from anger and frustration to happy contentment...This story about friendship and togetherness contains a great lesson without being didactic or moralizing and should be welcome in most collections." —School Library Journal, starred review
A clever book about competition gone wrong and the importance of considering others' point of view. This book could lead to reinactments with blocks or outdoor building materials. How about writing about Rabbit and Owl's next disagreement and how they work it out?

I almost weeded this book but after reading it decided to recommend it again. Finding a dead bird (or squirrel) is inevitable during nature walks and Margaret Wise Brown uses her usual common sense approach to acknowledge children's feelings of sadness and move on.

Note: While many of these book cover images are from Amazon, I encourage you to support your local book store when purchasing classroom books. Most local retailers offer school discounts - ask at your favourite neighbourhood book store.

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