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

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sendak, Maurice. 1963. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 0060254920.

PLOT SUMMARY

Max is wearing his wolf suit as he pursues some mischief, but instead his mother sends him to bed without supper calling him, “wild thing”. His room transforms into a forest, and then an ocean appears with a boat for him to sail away. He sails until he comes to the place where the wild things are. He tames the wild things and they make him their king. Max’s first act as king is to initiate a wild rumpus. Afterwards, Max sends the wild things off to bed without supper as he begins to think of home. He realizes he wants to go back to the comfort of his room, and it is here where he finds his warm supper waiting on him.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Sendak’s magical drawings lure readers into Max’s dream world. It is a place where a mischievous young boy can escape his consequences and have power over the wild things as their ruler. Sendak’s use of run on sentences emphasizes the dreamlike sequence of the story. The description of the wild things sounds frightening. Sendak writes, “they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws.” However, the pictures of the wild things as they participate in Max’s wild rumpus are whimsical and entertaining. In the end, Max realizes that he is ready to face his consequences in order to delight in the comforts of home.

REVIEW EXERPTS

Booklist starred review (November 01, 2007)- “This simply written but subtle book became a classic not only because it legitimized children's angry feelings and their ability to use their imaginations to deal with those feelings but also because it showed punishment and love coexisting in a parent-child relationship”

Winner, 1964 Caldecott Medal

Notable Children's Books of 1940–1970 (ALA)

1981 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Illustration

CONNECTIONS

• Pre-reading activity: Have students illustrate what they believe a wild thing would look like.
• Lesson plan for a texture and pattern art lesson: http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/early/Jeryl-Wild.htm
• Other picture books with a theme related to consequences:
• Numeroff, Laura. IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE. ISBN: 006024586
•  dePaola, Tomie. STREGA NONA. ISBN: 1442416661
• Henkes, Kevin. LILY”S PURPLE PLASTIC PURSE. ISBN: 0688128971

FLOTSAM

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Wiesner, David. 2006. FLOTSAM. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 0618194576.

PLOT SUMMARY

In this wordless picture book, the pictures tell the story. In the beginning a curious young boy is exploring sea creatures next to the beach when suddenly a wave washes an intriguing artifact on shore. As the boy examines it closer, he realizes that it is an underwater camera. He quickly rushes to have the film from the camera developed, and he waits impatiently to see what the pictures will reveal.

Once he has the pictures he is shocked to see scenes of underwater life such as an octopus family relaxing in their living room, a group of fish flying in a blowfish hot air balloon, and a group of aliens trying to communicate with sea horses. In the final picture the boy sees a picture of a girl holding a picture with many children holding pictures spiraling all the way back to a sepia colored picture of a boy on the beach. The boy takes his own photograph holding this last picture and sends the camera back into the ocean where it came from. The creatures of the sea carry it along until it washes onto the beach to find a curious little girl.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The rich, vivid watercolors Wiesner uses to create this story establish a realistic feel to the story despite the fantasy elements of the underwater photographs. The main story is told using panels much like a comic book or graphic novel. The photographs the boy has developed, however, are more dramatic taking up a page or spreading across two pages. These larger pictures encouraged me to stop and explore the details of each underwater picture. Another noteworthy element to this story is the setting itself. The bottom of the ocean is a mysterious, undiscovered habitat which makes the photographs even more amusing and the adventure more intriguing.

REVIEW EXERPTS

Publisher’s Weekly (July 24, 2006), starred review-“New details swim into focus with every rereading of this immensely satisfying excursion.”

School Library Journal (September 01, 2006), starred review- “Filled with inventive details and delightful twists . . . a mind-bending journey of the imagination.”

Booklist (August 01, 2006 ), starred review- “this visual wonder offers an invitation for viewers of all ages to rethink how they see, out in the world and in their mind's eye."

Winner of the 2007 Caldecott medal

CONNECTIONS

• Allow students to narrate the story. For younger students they could narrate orally, as you write their words, and older students could write their own stories. 
• Have students create their own 2-3 photographs that could have been developed from the underwater camera’s film. Provide them with rich pastels or watercolors to create vivid pictures. 
• Watch the book trailer from Houghton Mifflin’s site: http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/authors/wiesner/books/books_flotsam.shtml 
• A fun tech project!:  http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/newsletters/newsletterbucketextrahelping/886657-443/a_class_project_inspired_by.html.csp
• Other wordless picture books 
• Wiesner, David. FREE FALL. ISBN 0061567418 
• Blake, Quentin. CLOWN. ISBN 0805059334 
• Lehman, Barbara. MUSEUM TRIP. ISBN 0618581251