#104 - If a Monkey Jumps Onto Your School Bus by Jean Cochran


SummaryWhat do you do if a monkey jumps onto your school bus . . . or a hippo shows up for breakfast . . . or an elephant wants to run the bases at your ball game? Find out in this hilarious guide on what to do if the animals escape from your local zoo.

Suggested Activity How Far Can You Jump?


Place a short piece of masking tape on the floor. Have a child place both feet at the tape mark and jump from a standing start. Use yarn to measure the child's standing jump distance. 


Cut the length of the yarn and give it to the child. Repeat the procedure, only this time let the children have a running start. Measure this jumping distance with a different color of yarn. Ask the children to compare the yarn lengths.
 
Curriculum Area: Logical Thinking (classifies objects, compares/measures)


Appropriate Age Group
: 5 and up

#103 - Sunshine on My Shoulders by John Denver



Summary:  In this heartwarming adaptation of one of John Denver’s best-loved songs, a girl and her dad bask in the warmth of nature and each other’s friendship.

Suggested Activity:  Fading Fast


Direct sun will bleach most construction paper in a very short time. All you have to do is lay pieces on a shelf near a window.  After a few days, have the children collect their squares. Talk about how the front of the paper looks and how the back of the paper looks.

Curriculum Area: Learning and Problem Solving (observes objects and events with curiosity, explores cause and effect)

Appropriate Age Group
: 4 and up


 

#102 - Julie the Rockhound by Gail Langer Karwoski


Summary: When Julie finds a shiny quartz crystal, her dad shows her how to dig for minerals--like a "rockhound." Combining clever wordplay with earth science, young readers learn about Earth's most abundant mineral "treasure."

Suggested Activity: Geology Expedition

 
Head outside and collect rocks! Back in the classroom, have children sort the rocks by color, shape, size, markings, etc.  Are they hard or soft? Scrape the rocks with nails to see!
   
Curriculum Area: Logical Thinking (classifies objects, compares/measures)


Appropriate Age Group
: 5 and up

#101 - Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley

Summary: This clever series of die-cut pages lets children construct and then deconstruct a big green monster. The book starts with a black page, and two round eyes gleaming through the text. "Big Green Monster has two big yellow eyes." Each page adds a new adjective-laden element, including a "long bluish-greenish nose" and "scraggy purple hair"

Suggested Activity: The World in Different Colors


Begin this activity by giving each child a cardboard tube, rubber bands, and different colors of plastic wrap. Show them how to use the rubber bands to hold the plastic wrap over the end of the tube. 

Curriculum Area: Learning and Problem Solving (observes objects and events with curiosity, explores cause and effect)

Appropriate Age Group
: 4 and up