And the Winner Is ... Gaston!

85 students chose from among
9 Mock Caldecott finalists, and
1 came out on top with
  18 votes:

Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Christian Robinson

Mock Caldecott Review - Rooms 1 and 2

Voting for the Monday kids was delayed by snow days, but they finally got to choose their winner ... which will be revealed in my next post! Here are the first grade students giving the contenders one last read:

Mock Caldecott: Voting is Open!

We've narrowed down our list of potential Mock Caldecott winners ... which one is YOUR favorite?

You can vote via Google form.

Mock Caldecott Finalists - Final Batch

source: simonandschuster.com

Gaston

Words: Kelly DiPucchio
Pictures: Christian Robinson

Mrs. Poodle has four children: Fi-fi, Foo-foo, Ooh la la, and Gaston. He doesn't really look like his sisters. He doesn't really act like his sisters (although he tries). When they meet Mrs. Bulldog and her four children - three boys and a girl - at the park, the two families think that maybe there's been a mixup. Or has there?

I was so happy that a student in each class was able to articulate the message of the book: just be yourself, and accept others for being themselves as well.

source: simonandschuster.com

Some Bugs

Words: Angela DiTerlizzi
Pictures: Brendan Wenzel

Rhyming text, vivid verbs, and fantastic illustrations add up to a fun readaloud. I may use it in the future to kick off a first-grade insect classification unit.

Mock Caldecott Finalists - Batch 3

Circle, Square, Moose!

Words: Kelly Bingham
Pictures: Paul O. Zelinsky

source: harpercollins.com

If you've read Z is for Zebra, then you've already met Moose. He LOVES to be the center of attention, and he thinks that he deserves to be included as a star character in every book. This one got a lot of belly laughs from first graders.

The trailer below includes the voices of lots of famous children's authors and illustrators ... make sure to watch the credits.

source: harpercollins.com

Go, Go, Go, Stop!

Charise Mericle Harper

When I started going through picture books getting "Caldecott buzz" over the summer, this was one of the first ones I put in the "my kids will like this" pile. I was not wrong. It could be because of the construction vehicles; it could be because the kids got to yell "Go!" and "Stop!" Either way, I'm glad they liked it.

Mock Caldecott Finalist - Sam and Dave Dig a Hole

source: macbarnett.com

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole

Words: Mac Barnett
Pictures: Jon Klassen

I had so much fun reading this one, because the text NEEDS the pictures to give the full effect: Sam and Dave keep JUST missing "something spectacular" as they dig their hole. The students were FREAKING out as they dug next to, around, and below humongous jewels.

Here are Mac and Jon acting out some of the book:

And if you'd like tips on How to Dig a Hole, check out this episode of "Digging Deep with David Rees."

Mock Caldecott Finalists - Batch 1

Each January, the American Library Association awards the Caldecott Medal to the artist of "the most distinguished American picture book for children." Who will win in 2014? Well, first- and second-graders are going to make their pick in library, and we'll see how our choice lines up with the national award. After round one, the following were cleared to move on with near unanimity:

Don't Play With Your Food!
Bob Shea

Bob Shea wrote and illustrated last year's winner, Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great. I let him know via Twitter, and he appreciated it ... here we are meeting in person at the Lincoln school author event back in October:

source: bobshea.com

His latest starts Buddy the Monster, who is determined to eat the cute little bunnies he comes across ... but they seem to be able to outwit him. The book started out slightly differently. Here is his original storyboard (with narration):

My Teacher is a Monster! (No, I am Not.)
Peter Brown

peterbrownstudio.com

I LOVED that in every second-grade class, at least one person recognized Brown's style from last year's finalist Mr. Tiger Goes Wild. It's very different from the one he used in Creepy Carrots, which I ready to the first-graders last year in kindergarten.

One thing I like about this book is that the pictures help to tell the story. The moment when the kids realize that the teacher is changing color and shape is awesome!

You can download a parent/teacher kit that goes with the book.

Grade 1 Teeth on the Loose!

First graders' mouths are full of loose teeth, so I do a lesson on the topic. First we read one fiction and one nonfiction book about loose teeth. Then students wrote down one fact they learned. Here are some of them:

• Kids have 20 teeth. 
• Grownups have 32 teeth.
• Roots hold your teeth in your mouth.
• The top of your tooth is called the crown.

Finally, the kids each placed a tooth on a chart showing how many teeth they've lost so far. Can you use it to answer the questions below?

• How many kids haven't lost any teeth yet?
• What is the most common number of lost teeth?
• Have more kids lost a total of 1 tooth or a total or 5 teeth?

Three of These Things with Room 2

We talked about sorting and categories in first grade, since the students are learning how the library is set up so they can choose their own books. After sorting some objects, we watched this classic video:

Then the students created their own "Three of These Things" game board. After viewing their creations below, you can play an online game to see how good you are at figuring out what is different. The link is at the end of this post.

Click here to play the game.

Grade 1 E Book Covers

First graders are learning about call numbers, which work like addresses for books. Although they're called "numbers," most only have letters ... kind of confusing. We're starting with the E (for Everyone) section. Every picture book call number has "E" as the first line, and then the first letter of the author's last name as the second line.

For example, if I wrote a book, the call number would be

E
M

What would YOUR call number be?

Students figured out theirs and created an E book they "wrote." Here are some of their book covers:

Room 2 Checkout Day

On checkout days, I like to have activities for the kids to participate in once they've selected their book(s). Today, we had two options:

1. Practice your alphabet skills with this game from Learning Planet

2. Work on puzzles.

Some kids opted to read their books with their friends, which is great too. I read Creepy Carrots to the kids last year, and Mrs. DeMarzo read Duck Soup, both of which were in demand today.

The Z Was Zapped! as redone by 1st Grade

I read Chris Van Allsburg's The Z Was Zapped to the first graders this week. Each page features a letter having something done to it; the kids tried to guess the action, which started with the same letter (e.g., the M melting or the E evaporating). Then the students drew their own letters, which will be used to decorate the windows next year:

This C is riding away in a carriage.

The E was eaten by an elephant!

... and it turned green!

The L was attacked by a lion.

Loving the perspective of the snake!