Welcome to the Jungle!

There's a rumble in the jungle,
There's a whisper in the trees,
The animals are waking up
And rustling the leaves.

It's a jungle in here!


     Come along with our kindergarteners while we take a walk on the wild side and explore the animals of the jungle! But make sure you hold on tight because you never know who you might come face to face with!

      This rhyming book, Rumble in the Jungle, is all about animals that live in the jungle.  It starts out by telling you where to look for the animals....the hippo's at the water hole, the leopard's in his lair, the chimpanzees are chattering and swinging everywhere! However, on the first page we are given a glimpse of some of the animals as they are hiding.  For instance, there's a spotted tail hanging from a tree and a huge horn sticking out from behind a bush. One fun thing to do with this is to stop and let the students "find" the animals and try to guess what they are! Then after you meet the animals, you can go back and see if they were right!

     On the first few pages we meet chimpanzees, lions, zebras, snakes, and giraffes.  The pictures are very bright and colorful.  The stanzas are filled with onomatopoeia like when the lion roars or the gorilla thuds on his chest.   There is plenty of alliteration like the galloping, gorgeous gazelle, or the slippery snake who squashes and swallows his prey.  There are facts about each animal included in the rhymes, and students will love verses like

       It's great to be a chimpanzee

     swinging through the trees,

          and if we can't find nuts to eat

        we munch each other's fleas!

     This book is good to introduce kindergartners to standard SKL1.b.Students will sort living organisms and non-living materials into groups by observable physical attributes. Group animals according to their observable features such as appearance, size, motion, where it lives, etc. It can also be used for standard SKL2.a.Students will compare the similarities and differences in groups of organisms. Explain the similarities and differences in animals ( color, size, appearance).

 So wouldn't you like to take a walk on the wild side with us?!  We won't let anybody eat you, we promise!

Circus Shapes

The book that we have chosen to share with everyone this week is called Circus Shapes.  The circus is in town and all of the children are excited to go, and really can you blame them?  The chance to see elephants, tigers, lions and bears, oh my!  Have you ever taken time out of your busy day to look at the world around you?  Have you ever noticed the different shapes that make up our homes, schools, or places of business?  Well, Circus Shapes is a great book that not only tells a story, but also teaches students the basic two dimensional shapes such as triangles, circles, squares, and rectangles.  This book not only teaches students about shapes, but it also allows them to see that shapes are all around us. 

 

We decided that this book would be a great book to teach to a kindergarten class.  The standard that we thought tied in most accurately with this book is MCCK.G.3 Identify shapes as two-dimensional (lying in a plane, “flat”) or three-dimensional (“solid”).  Circus Shapes does everything that this standard talks about and more.  “Some monkeys make a square.  The four sides are all the same.”  “White horses make a triangle, three corners and three sides.” While reading  this book to the class the teacher could ask the students to describe what is going on in each picture and ask direct questions such as “What shape are the horses making?”  During the closing of the lesson the teacher and students can together retell the story using the names of the shapes: “circle,” “triangle,” “square,” and “rectangle.” Reading this book to young students is a great way to get them engaged and excited when learning about shapes. 

Love at First Bite

It's Valentine's Day, and many people are still searching for their SOULmate.  There are many different ways people try to find love: some will meet at church, some will look online, and some will put ads in the newspaper.  Would you respond to this ad?

TALL, DEAD, & HANDSOME

If you like taking walks in the graveyard

And falling down in the rain.

If you're not into cooking,

If you have half a brain.

If you like waking up at midnight,

horror films, and voodoo,

Then I'm the guy who you've looked for

And I'm dying to meet you!

Saturday, Cupid's Ball

Punch Bowl

I guess you figured out by now that whoever wrote this ad is not your average guy. And you've probably guessed that no one answered his ad.  That's sad because he is lonely, and he cannot help the fact that he wants to be a.......

   ZOMBIE IN LOVE!!!!

     This fictional book, by Kelly DiPucchio, tells the story of Mortimer.  Mortimer is a zombie.  He has very few teeth, tattered clothes, removable limbs, and eats brains for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, this zombie is not scary at all.  In fact, he is a very likable zombie.  He gives the mail carrier a shiny red heart (real and beating, of course) and the lady at the diner gets a stunning diamond ring (complete with finger still attached), but the girls are still not interested. The setting of most of the book takes place in the graveyard where Mortimer lives. His house is very much what you would expect from a zombie's house; it has a casket for a bed, the computer monitor is a tombstone, the keyboard has bones as keys, and a real mouse serves as the computer mouse!

      The plot of the book is very relevant to today's love affair with zombies.  It is recommended for ages four and up, and it is very age-appropriate. This book allows young kids to get in on the zombie craze without getting scared.  In fact, my five-year old loves this book, and I must admit that I do, too.  The story unfolds naturally, with Mortimer trying several different ways to meet girls until he finally finds his true love. He walks his dog in the park, he reads self-help books for advice on finding love, he takes ballroom dancing lessons, but he still cannot seem to meet girls! The ending is predictable, but done in a way that keeps readers interested. In fact, the happy couple rides away in a hearse marked, of course, His and Hearse, with cans of dead bull,  baked brains, and cranbrainy juice strung to the bumper.

     It is written in limited third-person with the narrator telling the reader only what Mortimer is thinking or doing.  We do not know what other characters say or feel.  The style of the book is simple with words that many young readers will know.  Lines are filled with humor and sarcasm; for example, "Suddenly it was clear that nobody was dying to meet him". There are only one or two sentences per page and vivid illustrations accompany the sentences that will give young readers visual clues if needed. The pictures are also hilarious! There are pictures of Mortimer and his girlfriend holding hands (not their own) and Mortimer going to the funeral home (to shop for a new suit)!   

 

     The conflict in this story revolves around person versus society.  Mortimer is having to battle the typical stereotypes of zombies. The theme of the book is about getting along with others: friendships and accepting differences.  You see, even though Mortimer is a zombie, he just wants to be loved for the wonderful person, er zombie, that he is!   After all, isn't love and acceptance what we are all looking for?

      Macy introduced me to this book, and I must say that I am glad she did.  This book is cute, sad, funny, and mind boggling all in one.  Not only are the pictures in the book remarkable but the story within itself, made me fall in love all over again.  Zombie in Love is a fantasy book that is filled with elements that are not considered possible in our world.  A man that is dead looking for love, a woman with half a brain, and a dog that walks around with one eye hanging out  is not something that I expect to see anytime soon in this lifetime.  The main character Mortimer is looking for love, but it seems as though all of the ladies he meets are mortified of him.  Maybe it’s because he’s tall, dead, and handsome.  I just don’t see why any ghoul wouldn’t want a guy who likes taking long walks in the graveyard.  Me personally I’m not up to taking long or short walk’s in the graveyard, but if I was then Mortimer might just be my guy.  If any ladies out heir are interested in meeting Mortimer just go to stalemate.com and he’ll be waiting that is if he hasn’t found his true love.