If You Love Honey: Nature's Connections by Martha Sullivan / Illustrated by Cathy Morrison

Plot Summary 

The book provides a detailed overview of the complex ecosystem surrounding the production of honey linking bees to dandelions, ladybugs, goldenrod, butterflies, clover, soil, earthworms, mushrooms, oak trees, blue jays, and black berries.

Critical Evaluation

The art is detailed and realistic, which given the book's status as nonfiction is useful: we get a real sense of what the subjects of the book look like.
Sullivan shows how deeply interconnected seemingly heterogeneous elements of nature truly are.
The book feels as though it has a main text (in a larger and bolder typeface) that is sparse enough to make the book a candidate for a read aloud, and secondary informational text that explains the connections between item. The book loses a lot if the secondary text is excluded. But with the secondary text, teh book may feel a tad long for storytime. Takeaway: experiment.

Genre

Picture Book: nonfiction

Information About the Author

http://www.dawnpub.com/our-authorsillustrators/martha-sullivan/

Story Time Ideas

Honey & berry tasting; nature viewing

Early Literacy

Vocabulary 

-- specific names of animals and plants; scientific and technical language: nectar, pollination, sprout, chrysalis, etc.

Phonological Awareness 

-- repeated phrase "if you love" provides a potential speak aloud for story time goes; providing phonological pronunciation.

Print Conventions 

-- nothing in particular leaps out, but could underline words with a finger as reading.

Print Awareness 

-- the repeated phrases could be used to draw awareness to the spelling of the words. The "story book-ish," "primary" text is bolder than the informational text.

Background knowledge 

-- scads of information about the ecosystem surrounding honey

Letter Knowledge 

-- alliteration could inspire talking about words that start with the same sounds.

Reader's Advisory

Nature, Bees, Science, informational texts

Program/Craft Ideas

Taste honey & berries; go on a nature walk

Reading Level/Interest Age

Preschool, First Grade, Second Grade?

Read Alike / Pair With

Title(s) TK

How to Share With a Bear by Eric Pinder; illustrated by Stephanie Graegin

Plot Summary

Thomas builds a blanket/couch fort.  When he attempts to enter the fort to read, he finds a bear inside.  He uses a variety of techniques to lure the bear out to no avail.  Eventually the bear starts crying and it is revealed that the bear is Thomas' brother in a costume.  The boys proceed to build a bigger cave where they can read and enjoy blueberries together.

Critical Evaluation

• The story is comical and educational at the same time as Thomas uses his knowledge of bears to lure the bear out: creating a trail of blueberries, setting out his mother's back scratcher, filling the sink with water and bath toys to replicate a stream for the bear to fish in.  
• The drawings are carefully executed to withhold the identity of the bear until the precise moment it is necessary, which should provide a nice moment of surprise for children.  
• The language is sparse enough to make the book a candidate for a read aloud.  
• The book includes strong action verbs that children may not encounter outside of books—words like peered, rushed, shuffled—and also includes onomatopoeic words that add humor and can also be used to focus on phonological awareness: Sniff, snort, snuff, scritch, scrooch, scratch, achoo, splish, splash splink.

Genre

Picture Book

Information About the Author

http://ericpinder.com/?page_id=2221

Story Time Ideas

Making Blanket Forts, discussing phonological awareness.

Early Literacy

Vocabulary -- action verbs like "peered, bustled, bumbled"

Phonological Awareness -- onomatopoeic words like "sniff, snort, snuff, scritch, scrooch"
Print Conventions -- nothing in particular leaps out, but could underline words with a finger as reading
Print Awareness -- focal character is interested in reading in the cave; onomatopoeic words are bold
Background knowledge -- information about the habits of bears, sharing, making a cave or fort out of pillows and cushions

Letter Knowledge -- alliteration could inspire talking about words that start with the same sounds.

Reader's Advisory

 Siblings, Reading, Bears, Play

School Tour Ideas 

Siblings, Reading, Bears, Play

Program/Craft Ideas

 Build a fort, eat blueberries

Reading Level/Interest Age

Preschool, First Grade, Second Grade?

Read Alike / Pair With

Title(s) TK