And finally for the older kids:
I recycled Block City because it's important for kids to have exposure to classics and to poetry, so even though it's a bit juvenile for this group, I'm doing it anyway. Everybody should have the cultural notion of playing with blocks and creating something wonderful in your mind.
Finishing us out for the day (I'm doing three today, despite the heat, because they were sad that I only did two last week) are:
Building Our House
Jonathan Bean
ISBN: 9780374380236
Dense, but really interesting. Gail Gibbon's How a House is Built for the older set, with the bonus that it's actually a true story! The photographs at the end of the story (of the real house during construction) were confusing to the kids - they thought they were looking at the ruins of the old house! Otherwise, they enjoyed the idea of building their own home, and the idea of having "parties" to work just blew their minds.
Dinosaur Dig!
Penny Dale
ISBN: 9780763658717
Brightly colored dinosaurs work with realistic earthmovers in a vibrant, gritty environment to create something cool for themselves. The kids liked the idea of a pool, but they thought that the author should have called it a water park because it had slides and fountains in it.
Showing posts with label engineering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label engineering. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Summer Reading Program 2014. Week 5: Engineering (Storytime)
So with the AC out, we had a bit of a change of plans.
Instead of our original line-up, we did a grouping of shorter stories, to save everyone from heat exhaustion.
Engineering Program, The Short Version:
Block City
Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Daniel Kirk
ISBN: 0689869649
Brightly-colored blocks and imaginative backgrounds bring a classic poem into modern experience.
I discovered this book a few weeks back, and fell in love. It was perfect for this program, and I'm so glad I got the chance to use it (despite being sad about the other books that I had to leave out). The poem is the classic version, no cuts or changes, and the pictures are joyful and creative, but still very grounded in reality - a young boy is playing inside with his blocks while it rains, and creates a city both in blocks, and in his imagination. When the blocks go tumbling down to clean up, the block city may be physically gone, but the memory city will last. Excellent intro for littles to classic authors and really good poetry. A new favorite storytime book.
Dig Dig Digging
Margaret Mayo, illustrated by Alex Ayliffe
ISBN: 9780805068405
Cartoonish construction equipment and diverse workers go through their routines in this set of rhyming overviews.
Each spread covers a different type of equipment, and while I may be a little confused at the inclusion of Fire Engines, Long Distance Trucks, and Rescue Helicopters, again, I seriously doubt that my young audience cares a whit that none of those particular vehicles are in fact construction equipment. Each vehicle has a short repetitive poem, none of which have anything to do with each other (in rhyme or in illustration) which makes skipping segments a real possibility if necessary or desired. Due to the short rhymes, even with all of the vehicles covered, the read is very short, ending with a construction zone and "sleeping" equipment after a hard day of work.
Dig, Dogs, Dig: A Construction Tail
James Horvath
ISBN: 9780062189646
A colorful crew of cartoon hounds often appear super-imposed against the backdrops, but the story and illustrations appeal.
These are some busy, hardworking dogs. I like most that they have hard-hats and plans and more equipment in and out on a schedule. Even the text focuses on the precision of construction work: "Unpack the boxes. / Follow directions. / Make sure it's built right / so it passes inspection." I like that the craft and science of this work is covered, in addition to the usual "yay earthmovers and playing in the dirt and building/destroying things!" that we usually have. The progression is great, watching the project move from earthmoving to final touches like trees and wildlife, and ends with all of the dogs enjoying the park they've just constructed.
Instead of our original line-up, we did a grouping of shorter stories, to save everyone from heat exhaustion.
Engineering Program, The Short Version:
Block City
Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Daniel Kirk
ISBN: 0689869649
Brightly-colored blocks and imaginative backgrounds bring a classic poem into modern experience.
I discovered this book a few weeks back, and fell in love. It was perfect for this program, and I'm so glad I got the chance to use it (despite being sad about the other books that I had to leave out). The poem is the classic version, no cuts or changes, and the pictures are joyful and creative, but still very grounded in reality - a young boy is playing inside with his blocks while it rains, and creates a city both in blocks, and in his imagination. When the blocks go tumbling down to clean up, the block city may be physically gone, but the memory city will last. Excellent intro for littles to classic authors and really good poetry. A new favorite storytime book.
Dig Dig Digging
Margaret Mayo, illustrated by Alex Ayliffe
ISBN: 9780805068405
Cartoonish construction equipment and diverse workers go through their routines in this set of rhyming overviews.
Each spread covers a different type of equipment, and while I may be a little confused at the inclusion of Fire Engines, Long Distance Trucks, and Rescue Helicopters, again, I seriously doubt that my young audience cares a whit that none of those particular vehicles are in fact construction equipment. Each vehicle has a short repetitive poem, none of which have anything to do with each other (in rhyme or in illustration) which makes skipping segments a real possibility if necessary or desired. Due to the short rhymes, even with all of the vehicles covered, the read is very short, ending with a construction zone and "sleeping" equipment after a hard day of work.
Dig, Dogs, Dig: A Construction Tail
James Horvath
ISBN: 9780062189646
A colorful crew of cartoon hounds often appear super-imposed against the backdrops, but the story and illustrations appeal.
These are some busy, hardworking dogs. I like most that they have hard-hats and plans and more equipment in and out on a schedule. Even the text focuses on the precision of construction work: "Unpack the boxes. / Follow directions. / Make sure it's built right / so it passes inspection." I like that the craft and science of this work is covered, in addition to the usual "yay earthmovers and playing in the dirt and building/destroying things!" that we usually have. The progression is great, watching the project move from earthmoving to final touches like trees and wildlife, and ends with all of the dogs enjoying the park they've just constructed.
Summer Reading Program 2014. Week 5: Engineering (My Original Plan)
Still no AC this week. Very warm, despite fans. Families still great, kids still lovely.
Because of the heat, I switched things up a bit. My original plan was to read Willy and the Cardboard Boxes by Lizi Boyd, How a House is Built by Gail Gibbons, and Demolition by Sally Sutton (all of which I'll review below, because they are awesome books, and I'm sad I didn't get to do them this time.) Instead, I had a whole different line-up of shorter, easier books, which I'll also review in the next post, because they are also quite nice, and the kids enjoyed them.
My Original Plan:
Willy and the Cardboard Boxes
Lizi Boyd
ISBN: 9780670836369
A boy goes to work with his dad and spends the day with a set of empty cardboard boxes, which turn into many imaginary things.
I like this story for a lot of reasons. First, we have a dad taking his son to work, which is nice. Next, we have the dad being supportive and helpful towards his son's self-play activities (offering advice, giving scissors and tape, checking in on him but not interrupting). After that we have Willy himself, creating an awesome stream-of-consciousness adventure fueled pretty much entirely by some boxes and markers. The story is longer, but it flows well, and the ending where Willy and his dad head back home is surprisingly touching.
Demolition
Sally Sutton, illustrated by Brian Lovelock
ISBN: 9780763664930
Pencil and watercolor? illustrations of oversized but realistic construction equipment, lots of sound effects.
A really good pick for the middle, because it's so short and lively, unfortunately it was out of place in my replacement (oh my lord it's so hot) line-up of reads today. Despite the fun of the book, and the great rhymes and word-play, I would have preferred that it either stick with the theme of demolition, leaving an empty bare place for the next construction, or that the creation of the park at the end was more integrated into the story. Have to say that I like Roadwork (same author/illustrator) a little better for that exact reason, even though my go-to book for road-building is Easy Street by Rita Gray, illustrated by Mary Bono (which I also need to use again and review). Niggles aside, I doubt that toddlers obsessed with construction equipment are even going to notice, and it's great fun to read.
How a House is Built
Gail Gibbons
ISBN: 9780823412327
Simple primary-colors and clean lines show off the process of constructing and moving into a house.
Extremely similar to Byron Barton's Building a House, but with more text and the illustrations are slightly more sophisticated, and often show chronology through inset panels (like a comic strip or "classic" graphic novel). The small pictures can present difficulties for larger groups, but despite that, I prefer this one unless I specifically need a short read because it has much more information and more specific construction details. I find that kids are really interested in the details, so they're willing to sit longer when they're hearing bits they haven't learned about before (plumbing and wiring especially seem fascinating).
So, I'm a bit sad that I didn't get to use these good books today, but they're a great program all together, and I'm going to hit them up again probably in the fall when school starts back up.
Because of the heat, I switched things up a bit. My original plan was to read Willy and the Cardboard Boxes by Lizi Boyd, How a House is Built by Gail Gibbons, and Demolition by Sally Sutton (all of which I'll review below, because they are awesome books, and I'm sad I didn't get to do them this time.) Instead, I had a whole different line-up of shorter, easier books, which I'll also review in the next post, because they are also quite nice, and the kids enjoyed them.
My Original Plan:
Willy and the Cardboard Boxes
Lizi Boyd
ISBN: 9780670836369
A boy goes to work with his dad and spends the day with a set of empty cardboard boxes, which turn into many imaginary things.
I like this story for a lot of reasons. First, we have a dad taking his son to work, which is nice. Next, we have the dad being supportive and helpful towards his son's self-play activities (offering advice, giving scissors and tape, checking in on him but not interrupting). After that we have Willy himself, creating an awesome stream-of-consciousness adventure fueled pretty much entirely by some boxes and markers. The story is longer, but it flows well, and the ending where Willy and his dad head back home is surprisingly touching.
Demolition
Sally Sutton, illustrated by Brian Lovelock
ISBN: 9780763664930
Pencil and watercolor? illustrations of oversized but realistic construction equipment, lots of sound effects.
A really good pick for the middle, because it's so short and lively, unfortunately it was out of place in my replacement (oh my lord it's so hot) line-up of reads today. Despite the fun of the book, and the great rhymes and word-play, I would have preferred that it either stick with the theme of demolition, leaving an empty bare place for the next construction, or that the creation of the park at the end was more integrated into the story. Have to say that I like Roadwork (same author/illustrator) a little better for that exact reason, even though my go-to book for road-building is Easy Street by Rita Gray, illustrated by Mary Bono (which I also need to use again and review). Niggles aside, I doubt that toddlers obsessed with construction equipment are even going to notice, and it's great fun to read.
How a House is Built
Gail Gibbons
ISBN: 9780823412327
Simple primary-colors and clean lines show off the process of constructing and moving into a house.
Extremely similar to Byron Barton's Building a House, but with more text and the illustrations are slightly more sophisticated, and often show chronology through inset panels (like a comic strip or "classic" graphic novel). The small pictures can present difficulties for larger groups, but despite that, I prefer this one unless I specifically need a short read because it has much more information and more specific construction details. I find that kids are really interested in the details, so they're willing to sit longer when they're hearing bits they haven't learned about before (plumbing and wiring especially seem fascinating).
So, I'm a bit sad that I didn't get to use these good books today, but they're a great program all together, and I'm going to hit them up again probably in the fall when school starts back up.
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