CHUBBO'S POOL

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lewin, Betsy. 1996. CHUBBO’S POOL. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN: 039592863X.

PLOT SUMMARY

A selfish hippo will not allow other animals to enjoy his pool of cool water. Soon, the water dries up in Chubbo’s pool and he goes looking for another water hole. When he finally finds one, all of the animals he dismissed are enjoying the pool together. Chubbo turns away from the water hole feeling unwelcome and ashamed of his greedy actions and returns to his mud wallow. Suddenly, he is surprised by a band of elephants that fill his pool with their trunks. The animals all drink from the pool, and Chubbo is now happy to share his pool with his compassionate new friends.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The story of Chubbo is a simple one that teaches the moral of sharing and friendship. The adjectives and strong verbs Lewin uses make the book a good choice to read aloud to model during writing mini-lessons. The illustrations are done in soft watercolors with great detail. They create a very realistic quality to the book which doesn’t really match the personified animals of the story. However, they are dramatic illustrations that compelled me to flip through the book several times and appreciate the artistry.

REVIEW EXERPTS

School Library Journal (September 01, 1996 )- “This minimal story is maximized by Lewin's brilliant, dramatic, and softly realistic watercolor paintings of the wildlife and landscape of Botswana.”

Booklist (August 01, 1996)- “Inspired by the author's experience in Botswana, this is a delightful tale that humorously conveys the value of sharing and the joys of friendship.”

CONNECTIONS 

• Have students make a list of the strong verbs used in the book (trudged, bolted, beamed, etc) and add them to their word wall in the classroom 
• Visit Betsy Lewin’s website http://www.betsylewin.com/.
• Science connection- discuss evaporation and how it contributed to Chubbo’s pool drying up. Use a non-fiction text to explore evaporation and do an evaporation experiment.
• Non-fiction text suggestion: Harman, Rebecca. THE WATER CYCLE: EVAPORATION, CONDENSATION, AND EROSION. ISBN: 1403470669
• Science experiment: http://www.easy-science-fair-projects.net/water-evaporation.html