Picture Books, Poetry, and Halloween
One of the great things about Halloween is the many fun books I get to share with my students. For some (not so strange, I guess!) reason, I have two overflowing GIANT storage tubs of books for the month of October. Two favorites that I read this month:
Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman, Illustrated by S.D. Schindler and
My Monster Mama Loves Me So by Laura Leuck, Illustrated by Mark Buehner.
Big Pumpkin is a Halloween version of the traditional tale, The Big Turnip. In addition to fine illustrations by S.D. Schindler, and a fun story with all the traditional Halloween players (ghost, vampire, witch, mummy, bat), Silverman’s skillful use of rhythm, internal rhyme and alliteration are a source of great delight each time I reread this book. Pure and simple, I love the *sound* of this book and the way each line rolls off the tongue – a delicious treat!
My Monster Mama Loves Me So is another fun read that’s a clever twist on the human kid/monster kid theme. Told in couplets, this story, written in first person, is about an adorable monster kid and his loving monster mom. It’s easy to get lost in Mark Teague’s engaging illustrations. But it is the first person telling, I think, that makes this story work so well. Kids immediately connect to the narrator. True, he’s (I suppose the monster could be a she, but I’m going with “he” ) a monster, but children completely understand the way in which the monster child loves his mama. That’s how they feel about their moms, too!
