Classic Monday: How to Eat Fried Worms

How to Eat Fried Worms, by Thomas Rockwell, was first published in 1953. You might think that a book this old just wouldn't translate well for modern kids, but the premise -- a bet between some boys that one of them will eat fifteen worms in fifteen days -- possesses just enough of that gross-out factor to still be attractive to kids everywhere.

Billy accepts the challenge from his friends Joe and Alan. On the line is Alan's savings -- $50. Most of the book is consumed with Billy eating worms and Alan and Joe trying to trick or otherwise prevent him from doing it so they won't lose the bet.

This isn't a long book, only about 145 pages, and in some ways not a lot happens. A full chapter is devoted to the first worm Billy manages to eat, and it's mainly description of him chewing and swallowing with great determination. Other chapters are similarly devoted to Alan and Joe's tactics -- sometimes straightforward, sometimes underhanded -- as they try to keep Billy from eating his worms. Worms are boiled, fried, slathered in horseradish sauce, buried in ice cream -- whatever necessary for Billy to get them down. And he can't just swallow them: he has to chew them up.

I read this one aloud to my 6 year old about a month ago and he really liked it. Our edition had the original illustrations in it, line drawings of some of the events, and that helped him stay on track with the story. He was particularly fascinated with the idea of eating the worms and we talked quite a bit about whether or not we would be willing to eat a worm to win a bet, what we'd need to put on it to eat it, how it should be cooked, etc. It's revolting stuff like this that just reels boys in and my kid was no exception.

This one worked well as a read-aloud, although Rockwell sometimes tends to write in loose fragmentary sentences that can get kind of confusing as you're reading along. I probably wouldn't go much younger than 6 for read aloud. Accelerated reader puts this one at a 3.5 for grade level and that seems about right for independent reading. It is a book often recommended for boys since all the characters are boys and the subject matter is one that appeals to boys, but my 8 year old daughter read it last summer and liked it too. There's no swearing, no violence, nobody gets killed or blown up and yet it's still a good book. Go figure.

Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa

I have a pony lover at my house. Because of that, I have endured countless hours of My Little Pony books and videos. As books go, My Little Pony isn't going to win the Caldecott Medal any time soon. It might win the Fast Pass to a Headache Award, or maybe the Crushingly Boring Medal, but great literature it ain't.

Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa, by Erica Silverman, has been a lifesaver in a world otherwise populated with pink and purple ponies that all have hair like Pamela Anderson.


This is a nice little series that works well as either read-aloud books or as early chapter books for emerging readers. It's on a par with Henry and Mudge or Mr. Putter and Tabby -- short line lengths, easier but not babyish vocabulary, lots of colorful pictures. Each book is broken into 4 chapters and the situations the characters deal with are on a fairly simple order.


What I like about these books is the character of Cocoa, Cowgirl Kate's horse. He's miffy, a little selfish, always hungry, prone to misunderstanding and just generally kind of a pill. My 3 year old daughter loves him and even my 6 year old son laughed at some of his antics when I was reading aloud one day (he says he didn't but I heard him giggle).

The illustrations are so nice -- bright and fun. You may recognize the style: Betsy Lewin has also illustrated Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type and the Duck books that it spawned (Giggle Giggle Quack, Duck for President, etc.) She lends a nice touch of whimsy to the books.

The situations have a nice balance of friendship and humor and respect. In Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa: Partners, Cocoa doesn't want new horseshoes. He'd rather have cowboy boots like Cowgirl Kate. She patiently lets him try on one of her boots until he admits it doesn't fit. Later in the same book, Cowgirl Kate has to coax Cocoa (say that three times fast!) into doing their chores, reminding them that they are partners and must stick together. When he splashes into the pond with her after their work is done, she says "Couldn't you go swimming without me?" and he reminds her that they are partners "through wet and dry." It's sweet, but with a light touch.

It's a lovely series that makes a welcome change from the sugary world of the pastel ponies. The stories have actual content, rather than mindless activity (read enough MLP books and you will know what I mean). This one is good as a read-aloud from about age 3 and up, though I think you could go younger if you had a real horse lover. It should be good as an early chapter book through age 6 and possibly through age 7 (Second Grade) depending on your reader. It should be readily available at your library or in paperback through your favorite bookseller.

Scientists in the Field

Every so often, I run across a series that just wows me. Scientists in the Field is just such a series. These are rich books -- full of scientific and natural information, as well as information about scientific process.




The series, which is published by Houghten Mifflin Harcourt, has about 15 books in it. It's hard to get an exact number because Houghten Mifflin Harcourt's website doesn't list all their titles and a search by series title on Barnes and Noble or Amazon doesn't bring up all the titles. But, suffice it to say that there are quite a few of them and they are diverse enough to appeal to a wide range of interests.

There were so many possiblilities for us to check out. Tree Kangaroos --so sweet! This was a nice one about the difficulties in tracking this very shy and elusive animal. Stunning photography, too.

Like frogs? Here's one for you that will tell you tons of cool stuff about frogs and how scientists study them.

Here's one for older kids. It's a little more abstract, but highly interesting. If you have an 8-12 year old who is studying pollution or the ocean, this would be a good one.

Now, you may be wondering whether Bookivore has read all of these. The answer is no. I let my children pick one from the library and the one they picked was this:

They did this on purpose because they know I hate spiders and they think it's funny to make me read books to them about spiders. ESPECIALLY books with pictures like this:

Oh my. What I have to do when I read stuff like this is keep my eyes on the text and pretend the other stuff just isn't there. BUT, I will say that the scientific information was so interesting, and so well presented, that I was completely reeled in, in spite of my severe arachnophobia.

The book profiled an Arachnologist from Hiram University in Ohio as he traveled through French Guiana in search of Goliath Birdeater Tarantulas. Not just spiders -- big, hairy spiders. There was lots of detail about how scientists ask questions and frame experiments and I found myself kind of fascinated. I didn't know that spiders molt -- shed their skins -- and that this is kind of a delicate and dangerous procedure for them. Do I enjoy looking at molted spider skins as pictured in the book? No. But it was interesting to learn about it.

If spiders aren't your thing, there are thankfully many other options. Whales, for example. Whales I can really get into.

Or maybe the Great Apes. Love Gorillas.

Yikes! More bugs. Why do people let them crawl on their faces? Makes me shiver. However, this is just the kind of gross-out factor that appeals to my almost-7-year-old son, so this one will be coming home with us soon.

I am not particularly freaked out by snakes, but some people are. These books are loaded with photographs, many of them close ups, so if you tend to flip around snakes, you might want to avoid this one.

It's got pictures in it like this:

The range of interests and habitats is impressive -- there are even books about searching for extra terrestrials and anthropology -- the study of human groups. I find the whole idea of learning about what specific scientists do a refreshing change from all the books we've read about animal species.

The age range for this series is listed as 8-12, and it would be that for independent reading, but my 6 and a half year old was riveted by the tarantula book, which I read aloud. My 8 year old could have read it easily herself.

We borrowed the hardcovers, but they are available in paperback. The hardcovers are $15, the paperbacks are $8. I think they'd be a valuable supplement to a homeschool science curriculum.

They are anywhere from 60-80 pages in length and at the back they include glossaries of the terms used (waaaaayy more spider terms and factoids than I ever wanted to know. I now know what pedipalps are and that spider fangs are white like walrus tusks after they molt --bleah).

These could also be used in the summer as a way to keep those little brain cells working. The way the information is presented really gives kids a model to follow in testing their own hypotheses. They could be used in conjunction with nature hikes or other outdoor experiences. If you're brave, you could let them study spiders in a jar. Or snakes. Or frogs.

We will continue to check these out of our library (because why would I want to own a huge, hairy spider book?). A truly wonderful series -- go give 'em a try.

All pictures courtesy of BarnesandNoble.com

Mama Gets A Mulligan

Before Christmas, I shared a post about buying devotionals for my kids. I had chosen one for my 3 year old that I thought was a little over her head, but possibly one she could grow into.

Turns out I was way wrong.

There's nothing wrong with this book, except that it's just too mature for her. We tried reading it a couple times, but there weren't enough pictures and the lessons, while excellent, just went in one ear and out the other. She'd get about two-thirds of the way through one and say, "How 'bout Pinkalicious, Mama?"

Sigh.

The book languished on her shelf for a few weeks, and then we decided to start doing dinnertime devotions again. I grabbed her book for lack of anything more family friendly, and that's what we started reading.

Well, it was a hit.

Turns out it is perfect for family devotions -- it hits our 6 and 8 year old just right, has thought- and discussion-provoking questions for them and a clear, biblical tie-in that makes sense to them as well. They love stories about animals and animal behavior, so that's a good fit, too.

And what about the 3 year old? She is so proud that we are using her book for devotions, she actually pays attention. I'd say most of it is still way over her head, but she listens with interest to her siblings' answers.

I would love to pat myself on the back here, but it's really kind of a fluke that it worked out this way. But, lesson learned: sometimes a book in one context doesn't work. In that case, try a different context.

Classic Monday: Nate the Great

"I, Nate the Great,

am a detective.

This morning I was a cold detective.

I was standing in the snow

with my dog, Sludge,

building a snow dog

and a snow detective.

They looked like Sludge and me.

They were cold and white and wet.

And so were we."

Nate the Great and the Snowy Trail

You gotta love Nate the Great: his hard-boiled monologue, his love of pancakes, his determination to solve the case. He's been around for nearly 40 years and still stands as a classic chapter book for readers beginning to read independently.


Kids today aren't going to get the Joe Friday tone to Nate's speech, the short, clipped sentences, the just-the-facts-ma'am attitude, but parents who grew up on Dragnet re-runs or have caught them on cable will recognize the similarity.


Line lengths are short, but there are quite a few per page. Often an entire page is covered in text. The stories are accessible, always involving other kids and their mysteries. The stories offer the opportunity to stop and predict what might happen -- a good higher-order thinking skill. The books are usually under 50 pages.


Lots of sight words here, and lots of repeated words, mainly because of how Nate talks. The repetition is nice for early readers because they get practice with the same words. However, this repetition makes them not a good choice for reading aloud -- you, the parent, will find yourself getting either a little bored with or annoyed by the text -- wonderful practice, but a slow read for competent readers.




There are about 25 books in Marjorie Sharmat's series, though several since the 1990s have been co-written with Craig or Mitchell Sharmat, who are presumably her sons. Nate the Great remains a good choice for beginning readers.

Usborne Young Reading

After my last post, I got to thinking about good transitional books and wondering why I don't have more of them. So I dug into my stash of readers, which I have handily sorted into plastic shoebox bins and keep stored on top of a bookcase in my bedroom. In my box labeled "Level 3 Readers & Early Chapter Books" I found a couple Usborne Early Reading books.



These are much like the Stepping Stone Full Color Chapter books, in that they are true chapter books with full-length sentences, but they have brightly colored pictures on every page. They come in two levels -- Series One and Series Two, with the text length in the series two books being a little longer and more complex. There is a Series Three, but the subject matter is definitely for older kids -- not so much transitional.

Most of the titles in either series are remade classics -- books like Beauty and the Beast, and Sleeping Beauty, as well as The Adventures of King Arthur, Robin Hood, The Prince and the Pauper, The Wind in the Willows, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Phantom of the Opera and so on. There are a few original titles, some informative, like The Story of the Olympics and The Story of Castles, and some original titles like The Incredible Present and Mystery Mansion. The titles in Series One are overwhelmingly fairy tales, while Series Two seems to be mainly classical literature and informational.

Usborne is a British company which publishes a lot of great kids books, and they are particularly well know for their illustrations. These books are no exception -- not great art, but highly colorful and inviting pictures compliment the stories well. They are well suited to their target audience of 6-8 year olds. The example below really highlights what Usborne does so well: provides pictures with a lot going on in them. Kids will enjoy poring over them to pick out details. Not all the books are illustrated like this, but many are.


This is a big series -- the list of titles in the two series numbers well over 100. You can see the full list at Usborne's website, but keep in mind that this site is located in England and some books won't be available here. Amazon and Barnes and Noble have several of these books, but not nearly as many as Usborne actually publishes. I feel fortunate to have stumbled on a couple hard-bound copies at my local used book store. They are wonderful examples of their type and well worth searching out if you have a child who needs a nudge to the next level of reading.

Weslandia: An Oldie, but Such a Goodie

Writing about the Dunderheads yesterday got me thinking about another Paul Fleischman book that's been in demand around here for many years. Weslandia, published in 1999, came to us via a Scholastic Warehouse Sale. It became an instant favorite.

It's the story of a boy who doesn't fit in -- wrong interests, wrong haircut, just...wrong. But instead of trying to make himself over in the image of the crowd, he veers off in his own direction for the summer, starting a garden full of a single mysterious plant. From this plant (which a neighbor tells him is a weed that should be pulled) Wesley begins to create a fantastic world. Shelter, food, clothing, ink, utensils, a sport and even a language all grow out of this beautiful (and huge) plant in his backyard.

Wesley's world is helped along by Kevin Hawkes' lush paintings. They're so inviting, you just want to step into them and hide in the cool shade of Wesley's plants. Wesley's imagination is equally attractive...by the end of the book, all the neighborhood kids who used to bully him, are lining up to be Wesley's friends.

Yeah, it's fantasy, but it's fantasy of the best kind. Wesley stays true to himself, pursues the course he's decided on, and reaps the rewards at the end. And you can't help rooting for him and wishing you could do something similar.

Weslandia is still available in paperback, and should be readily available at your public library.

Alphabet Week -- 5 Days of Great Alphabet Books, Day 5

Since the holidays will be upon us before we know it, I wanted to include an alphabet book that is a special favorite at our house. We use it around Christmastime not really to learn our letters, but to recount the story of Jesus' birth. If you've been reading all week, you'll know that I am biased toward alphabet books that tell a story so that the letter-learning is embedded in some context. Also, I am a sucker for beautiful artwork. B is for Bethlehem, by Isabel Wilner, has both.


The story of the nativity is told in rhyme, each rhyme beginning with a letter of the alphabet. It's a lucid and lovely retelling of the Christmas story -- perhaps not the one you'd want your kids to hear if it's their first time hearing it, but more than adequate for children who are familiar with the biblical account.


The pictures, by Elisa Kleven, are pure joy -- mixed media collage and drawing in vibrant colors that really bring the story to life. Like Steve Jenkins, I don't know anyone else who does collage quite like Kleven does. Her style is unique and gorgeous. These are pictures that I and my kids never get tired of looking at.

It's been around for a while -- long enough to be out in boardbook format -- but if you can track down a hardcover it would be worth it for the larger picture size and the durability. Especially if you, like me, want it to last for many Christmases to come.

Alphabet Week -- 5 Days of Great Alphabet Books, Day 4

This post is a bit of a cheat because I'm not going to talk about a single book. Rather, I'm going to talk about a category of books called Special Interest Alphabet Books (SAIB): books built entirely around a particular area in which your child has a marked interest. And yes, I just made that up.

This particular book, The Beetle Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallota, is a great, and at our house much-loved, example of this genre. The entire book is devoted to beetles. If you have a bug lover at your house, this is the book for you. Pallota's books are for older kids, 4 years and up. Even my 8 year old occasionally picks this one up because it's loaded with interesting factual information about beetles -- beetle characteristics, weird stuff beetles do, exotic beetles -- it reads like a children's encyclopedia. Because it's so rich with information, my children come back to it again and again. It was an excellent tool for my son's kindergarten year to reinforce letter and sound recognition and it was the hands-down choice for Bring Your Favorite Book To School Day.

Pallotta is probably the king of this kind of book. By my very unscientific count, he's got something like 21 different alphabet books, all highly specific. Here's an example from the text of The Construction Aphabet Book:

The subjects he covers range from airplanes (2 books) to boats to flowers. Vegetables, furry animals, birds, reptiles, the desert, frogs, dinosuars, the ocean, even skulls and extinct animals have their own books. You can visit his website for a complete list of books (he does some neat stuff with math concepts, too).

Two warnings about Pallotta's books: he uses different illustrators for each volume, so the quality of the artwork can sometimes be uneven. The Beetle Alphabet Book has gorgeous pictures, but The Yucky Reptile Alphabet Book has a couple pictures which are dark and make it hard to pick out detail. For this reason, it might be better to go to the bookstore or library and see what you're getting. Also, on occasion he chooses something to represent a letter which doesn't make that letter's sound. This happens twice in The Yucky Reptile Alphabet Book: once with Knob-Tailed Gecko (which he notes is a silent K and adds Komodo Dragon to rectify) and again with Gila Monster for G. If you grew up in the Southwest, as I did, you know that Gila is pronounced "hee-lah." Not at all an English G sound.

Beyond Pallotta, there are any number of other SIABs out there.

There's this one, above, for the dancer in the family. And this one, below, for the dog lover.

W is for Woof is part of a series of SAIBs, which are shown below. It covers some unsual interests, like travel and camping, along with more common interests like cats and horses.

The point of all this is that children always learn more when that learning is embedded in something they're already interested in. It's more than worth the time to seek out alphabet books that will build on that interest.

All images from Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com

Alphabet Week -- 5 Days of Great Alphabet Books, Day 3

This is one of our favorite alphabet books. What sets it apart from other alphabet books is the stunning quality of its artwork. The rhyming text detailing all sorts of beautiful and exotic sea life also makes it worth adding to your home collection.

The pictures are all by Steven Jenkins, collage artist extrordinaire. Every time I read this book, I am struck again by the beautiful layers of torn and cut paper that make up the pictures. There just isn't anyone who does collage art like Jenkins.


The rhyming text, by Deborah Lee Rose, will introduce kids to all manner of interesting ocean life -- anemones, grey whales, dolphins, manatees, jellies, narwhals, umbrellamouths and viperfish and my favorite page, zooplankton. There's a nice balance between animals children will know (crabs, penguins, octopus) and those that will probably be new (narwhals, zooplankton, umbrellamouths). There's also a nice correspondance between the letters represented and their beginning sounds. For the letters W and X, "...blue Whales eXhale..."; maybe not the first letter of the word, but certainly a better representation of the sound X makes than the all-too-common "xylophone."

At the back of the book, as with all Jenkins books, there's a section with extra information about all the animals in the book. Excellent for older kids who are interested in ocean critters, or to incorporate this book into a larger unit about ocean life.

This book is out in paperback, but I think it's worth tracking down in hardcover; if your kids are anything like mine, this book's going to get a lot of repeat use.

All pictures via BarnesandNoble.com

Green Light Readers

photos courtesy of BarnesandNoble.com

Anyone with a child beginning to read knows that not all "readers" are created equal. For starters, the levelling system will vary greatly from brand to brand -- a "1" from one company might be more or less the same as a "2" from another, while a "2" from that company might look more like a "3" from still another company. Sometimes there's variability within a company -- not all "2s" are at the same level of difficulty. Frustrating if you don't have time to run out to the bookstore and thumb through books to see just how complex the text is.

Green Light Readers, therefore, were a welcome surprise for us. I was looking for something my son could read independently, but something that wouldn't intimidate him with a lot of small text. He's past most of the true #1 readers -- the kind with only 5-10 words per page, often staring Dora the Explorer or someone else that he considers "babyish." I needed something with perhaps 5-7 sentences per page, but with vocabulary he could manage, and it had to have a story he could follow and appreciate. It couldn't be Dora saying "Hop across the rocks! Hop! Hop! Hop!"

Daniel's Mystery Egg by Alma Flor Ada had a story that was interesting to my 6 year old. A boy finds an egg. His friends all predict what kind of egg it is (ostrich, alligator, duck) and what problems he's going to encounter because of it (not enough room, reptile trying to eat him, noise). Finally the egg hatches and we get to see what was in it. Daniel is quietly confident throughout the book and the pictures on each page clearly cue the reader about the content of the text. This is great for emergent readers -- if they aren't sure about a word, like ostrich, they can look at the picture and make an educated guess. If they've read it before, they can look at the pictures to remind them what that new word is. Many books do this, but this series seems particularly good at dovetailing the illustrations with the text.

The text is larger than normal, which is good for 5-6 year olds whose eyes haven't yet developed to the point that they can comfortably read smaller print (normally, this occurs between ages 6 and 7). We liked this book so much, we bought another one called Did You See Chip? by Wong Herbert Yee. The story in this one was perhaps not as compelling, but the text and illustrations were again well-coordinated for beginning readers. Both books are level 2 readers.

Another nice feature is that many of the Green Light Readers are available in Spanish, making them applicable for Elementary foreign language teachers, Bilingual teachers, bilingual families and those who just want to expose their children to another language. All the books come with suggested activities at the back of the book. While we chose not to do them, they are a nice feature for enrichment or possibly for homeschoolers.