Book Log & Wiki Checklist

Genre / Titles you read 

             I.      Non-fiction/Informational (1 chapter book or photo essay book reflection required on blog)

1)      My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen

          II.      Poetry (1 chapter or picture book reflection required on blog)

1)      Hate that Cat by Sharon Creech. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant: and Other Poems  by Jack Prelutsky

3)      Songs of Innocence by William Blake

4)      Chicago Poems by Carl Sandburg

5)      Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

6)      Revolting Rhymes by Ronald Dahl

       III.      Modern Fantasy (1 chapter book reflection required on blog)          

1)      I, Jack  by Patricia Finney. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

3)      The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

4)      The Giver by Lois Lowry

5)      A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

       IV.      Historical Fiction (1 reflection required on blog –can be a picture book)     

1)      The Teacher’s Funeral by Richard Peck. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

          V.      Multicultural/Traditional (2 reflections required on blog – one can be a picture book)         

1)      Hiroshima: A Novella by Laurence Yep (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      Her Stories by Virginia Hamilton

3)      Why Mosquitoes Buss in People’s Ears by Verna Aardema

4)      M.C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton

       VI.      Realistic Fiction (1 chapter book reflection required on blog)

1)      Baby by Patricia MacLachlan. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      So B. It by Sarah Weeks

3)      Frindle by Andrew Clements

4)      Judy Moody by Megan McDonald

5)      Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

    VII.      Picture Books (5 reflections required on blog during the first two weeks of class. There should be a total here of at least six.)

1)      The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting. (required for discussion – do NOT use on blog)

2)      –The Sweetest Fig by Chris Van Allsburg

3)      –So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George

4)      –The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

5)      –Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg

6)      – Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

7)      The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco

Wiki Checklist

Instructions: Write the number of entries for each category you posted into on the Course Wiki (requirement is two total posts, in two different categories)

____ Social Studies

____ Science

____ Math

____ Music

__1__ Art (Poetry genre) Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant: and Other Poems  by Jack Prelutsky

__1__ Reading/Language Arts (Multicultural/Traditional Literature genre) Her Stories by Virginia Hamilton

____ Physical Education

____ Other

Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant

Prelutsky, J. (2006). Behold the bold umbrellaphant. China: Greenwillow Books.

     Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant is a collection of poems in a children's picture book written by Jack Prelutsky and illustrated by Carin Berger.  Inside this appealing title and front cover illustrations, there are seventeen poems with creative illustrations that fill each page.  The author Jack Prelutsky was chosen as the first children's poet laureate in the United States in 2006 when Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant was first released. 
     In these poems, the author puts together animal names with object names to create new kinds of creatures that you wouldn't likely see in any zoo!  For example, "the umbrellaphant".  This animals' trunk ends with an umbrella on top.  The author also makes up creatures such as:  The Clocktopus, Shoehornets, The Pop-up Toadsters and The Bizarre Alarmadillos!  His wordplay in these poems are very creative; however, the illustrations are JUST as creative!  Carin, the illustrator, uses newspapers and book pages to create collages as her illustrations.  The author and illustrator work together to come up with these silly animals, so that all readers are engaged throughout the book. 
     This picture book/poetry book I selected has been my absolute favorite book so far.  The author uses catchy rhymes throughout each poem; however, he uses a variety of rhyme schemes.  Each poem is very short, in between 2-4 stanzas long.  This poetry book would be great for all of elementary grades (K-5).  I use a poem a week to work on fluency in my Reading class and I have found these poems would be a great resource to use for our weekly poetry reading. tlg