A Stick Is an Excellent Thing

A Stick Is an Excellent Thing
Author: Marilyn Singer
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2012-02-28
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0547677669

A paean to play from an award-winning poet and a New York Times best-selling illustrator. The trappings of childhood change from generation to generation, but there are some timeless activities that every kid loves. Marilyn Singer and LeUyen Pham celebrate these universal types of play, from organized games such as hide-and-seek and hopscotch to imaginative play such as making mud soup or turning a stick into a magic wand. Lyrical poems and bold illustrations capture the energy of a group of children in one neighborhood as they amuse themselves over the course of a summer day. At a time when childhood obesity rates are soaring and money is tight for many families, here is a book that invites readers to join in the fun of active play with games that cost nothing.


Tap Dancing on the Roof

Tap Dancing on the Roof
Author: Linda Sue Park
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 55
Release: 2007-10-15
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0547394128

A sijo, a traditional Korean verse form, has a fixed number of stressed syllables and a humorous or ironic twist at the end. Like haiku, sijo are brief and accessible, and the witty last line winds up each poem with a surprise. The verses in this book illuminate funny, unexpected, amazing aspects of the everyday--of breakfast, thunder and lightning, houseplants, tennis, freshly laundered socks. Carefully crafted and deceptively simple, Linda Sue Park's sijo are a pleasure to read and an irresistible invitation to experiment with an unfamiliar poetic form. Istvan Banyai's irrepressibly giddy and sophisticated illustrations add a one-of-a-kind luster to a book that is truly a gem.


All Year Long!

All Year Long!
Author: Diana R. Jenkins
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2007-08-30
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0313363846

This reader's theatre compilation of contemporary, humorous plays that deal with the problems middle-school students face is similar to the author's previous Teacher Ideas Press title, Just Deal With It! The plays in All Year Long! are themed to fit special times of year such as the beginning of school, holidays, and spring vacation and address problems experienced by this age group—peer pressure, fear of failure, jealousy, and more. Each reproducible play offers at least eight roles (boys and girls). Each includes a plot summary, prop list, and costume and presentation ideas, as well as ideas for further student reading on the topic or theme. This engaging collection (which can be adapted to small group or whole class presentations) will be useful to teachers and librarians who are looking for fun things to do with kids to promote reading fluency and discussion. Grades 6-8. This reader's theatre compilation of contemporary, humorous plays that deal with the problems middle-school students face is similar to the author's previous TIP title, Just Deal With It! The plays in All Year Long! are themed to fit special times of year such as the beginning of school, holidays, and spring vacation and address problems experienced by this age group—peer pressure, fear of failure, jealousy, and more. Each reproducible play offers at least eight roles (boys and girls). Each includes a plot summary, prop list, and costume and presentation ideas, as well as ideas for further student reading on the topic or theme. This engaging collection (which can be adapted to small group or whole class presentations) will be useful to teachers and librarians who are looking for fun things to do with kids to promote reading fluency and discussion. Grade 6-8.


Mirror Mirror

Mirror Mirror
Author: Marilyn Singer
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 36
Release: 2010-03-04
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1101648430

With 6 starred reviews, 8 best of the year lists, and over 20 state award nominations, everyone is raving about Mirror Mirror! "Remarkable."—The Washington Post "This mind-bending poetry is accompanied by Masse's equally intelligent, equally amusing art."—Time Out New York for Kids What’s brewing when two favorites—poetry and fairy tales—are turned (literally) on their heads? It’s a revolutionary recipe: an infectious new genre of poetry and a lovably modern take on classic stories. First, read the poems forward (how old-fashioned!), then reverse the lines and read again to give familiar tales, from Sleeping Beauty to that Charming Prince, a delicious new spin. Witty, irreverent, and warm, this gorgeously illustrated and utterly unique offering holds a mirror up to language and fairy tales, and renews the fun and magic of both.


It's Simple, Said Simon

It's Simple, Said Simon
Author: Mary Ann Hoberman
Publisher: Turtleback Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2003-06
Genre:
ISBN: 9780613929851

After successfully meeting the challenges posed by a dog, cat, and horse, Simon meets a tiger that is much harder to satisfy and that he must outwit before he becomes the tiger's dinner


Every Day's a Dog's Day

Every Day's a Dog's Day
Author: Marilyn Singer
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 36
Release: 2012-03-15
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1101644214

Poems perfect for a year in the life - a dog's life, that is! Day in, day out, our dogs are there for it all. But they see holidays quite differently than we do - Halloween, for example, is when you can't tell the real cats from the costumes! And, of course, dogs have special days of their own, like Hole Digging Day or the dreaded Visit to the Vet Day. Perfect for dog lovers of all ages, this clever book by one of the leading children's poets celebrates all those days and more, looking at a whole year in the life of our canine companions.


Forest Has A Song

Forest Has A Song
Author: Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2013-03-26
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0547680996

A spider is a “never-tangling dangling spinner / knitting angles, trapping dinner.” A tree frog proposes, “Marry me. Please marry me… / Pick me now. / Make me your choice. / I’m one great frog / with one strong voice.” VanDerwater lets the denizens of the forest speak for themselves in twenty-six lighthearted, easy-to-read poems. As she observes, “Silence in Forest / never lasts long. / Melody / is everywhere / mixing in / with piney air. / Forest has a song.” The graceful, appealing watercolor illustrations perfectly suit these charming poems that invite young readers into the woodland world at every season.


No Dogs Allowed!

No Dogs Allowed!
Author: Sonia Manzano
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 38
Release: 2007-05-08
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1416938389

When Iris, her family, and the neighbors take a trip to Enchanted Lake, everyone brings what they think is needed, but the family dog turns out to present a problem.


Find Fergus

Find Fergus
Author: Mike Boldt
Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2020-11-03
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1984849042

Play the funniest game of hide and seek ever with Fergus, a bear who's very, very bad at hiding. The hilarious illustrator of I Don't Want to Be a Frog brings picture book fans a super-silly, interactive story that will have children giggling from start to finish. Follow huge, loveable Fergus and see all the many ways in which he is TERRIBLE at playing hide-and-seek, such as standing behind a VERY tiny tree ("Found you, Fergus! That was too easy!") or trying to camouflage in a giant crowd of bunnies and squirrels ("Try bears, Fergus. Bears!"). But wait! The game isn't over yet! The last two pages fold out into a giant panoramic look-and-find scene, where Fergus is well and truly hidden, and young readers can have fun looking for him and lots of other details in the the crowd. There are hours and hours of play value in this adorable book. Children will want to come back to it again and again.