Author: Eric Carle
Publisher: Philomel Books
Publication Date: 2006
Genre: Concept Book
Audience: Gr. Pre K-2
Overview: This is a book that the pages are divided into halves. The bottom half has the number of fruits that match up with the top half that has the correct number.
Activity: Have cards with numbers on them and cards with pictures of fruit on them. Have the children try to match up the card with the number of fruit with the card with the numbers.
Reviewer’s Name: Erin Mazzatta
Author: Josephine Barrymore
Illustrator: Lauren Wilhelm
Publisher: Little Aussie Pty, Ltd.
Publication Date: 1994
Genre: Concept Book / Picture Book
Audience: Pre-K - 2
Overview: This story takes place in Yardie Creek, which is a real place on the Northwestern side of Australia. It is the story about five Monitor Lizards who are known on the land as the Bungarra Five. It is fun-loving story that teaches readers about manners and morals while exposing them to many interesting creatures found throughout Australia.
Activity: After reading this book to class, have the students write three sentences about a lesson they learned and to write one polite manner that they will try to abide by for the rest of the school year.
Reviewer’s Name: Corri Deegan
Author: Rod Trinca and Kerry Argent
Illustrator: Kerry Argent
Publisher: Omnibus Books
Publication Date: 1982
Genre: Concept Book / Picture Book
Audience: Pre-K - 2
Overview: This is a fun, classic Australian counting book which uses numerous Australian animals, including koalas, wombats, dingoes, platypuses, emus and more to count from one to fourteen. The rhyming text and watercolor pictures help bring the beautiful Australian scenes to life.
Activity: Re-read the book to the class and have the children count the numbers with you while you read. Then, give the students other animals and have them count from one to fourteen on their own.
Reviewer’s Name: Corri Deegan
Author: Eve Bunting
Illustrator: Diane De Groat
Publisher: Clarion Books
Publication Date: 1992
Genre: Concept, Picture Book
Audience: Gr. K-2
Overview: Mrs. Neal’s first grade class is excited and anxious when they learn that their teacher is going to be having a baby. Warm illustrations depict the children as they do activities that help them learn about having a baby, while exploring children’s fascination with babies.
Activity: After reading, have students design a baby’s room, and list things that a baby needs.
Reviewer’s Name: Alison Jacovics
Author: Chris Raschka
Illustrator: Chris Raschka
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: 2005
Genre: Concept, Picture Book
Audience: Gr. 1-3
Awards: Bank Street Best Book
Overview: New York City throws a party and invites other unique cities from around the United States. An interesting exploration of the derivation of American City names, with colorfully costumed characters dressed in clothing according to their name origins. This is an entertaining and humorous book that teaches the diversity of cultures from which our cities were named.
Activity: Find out what the name of our city means and draw a picture of a person dressed according to the name origin.
Reviewer’s Name: Alison Jacovics
Author: Ruth Horowitz
Illustrator: Kate Keisler
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publication Date: 2000
Genre: Fiction, Concept, Science and Nature
Audience: Gr.1-4
Awards: NSTA (National Science Teachers Association) Children’s Book Council Outstanding Science Trade for Children
Overview: 7 year old Daniel is vacationing at the seashore with his family. On a night of the full moon, Daniel's mother wakes him up to take him to the beach to see the Horseshoe crabs spawning. Daniel sees hundreds of crabs on the beach. What does Daniel see the next morning when he walks down to the beach? Readers will learn about horseshoe crabs, their history and spawning in a fictional story. The illustrations are done in oils with beautiful detail. Each page is a two page spread which bring the story to life.
Activity: Have the students write a poem about a horseshoe crab that they found on the beach.
Reviewer's Name: Paula Pavon
Author/Illustrator: Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Publisher: http://us.macmillan.com/oneboy
Publication Date: 2008
Genre: Concept Book, Picture Book,
Audience: Gr. Pre-K-2
Awards: American Library Association Notable Children's Books; NCTE Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts; Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year
Overview: One lonely boy paints his story in this inventive counting book. This book also introduces to the idea of words within words, a great resource for teaching how to see words within words.
Activity: Have the students look at there first and last names to try and identify other words within them. Have students share the words the discovered with the rest of the class.
Reviewer’s Name: Kristin Gowing
Author: Shel Silverstein
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers
Publication Date: 1964
Genre: Concept Book
Audience: Gr. 3+
Overview: This love story between a boy and a tree, with a slight air of sadness, teaches children about giving and feeling love. The tree gives and gives to the little boy and the little boy takes and takes. Every time the tree gives to the little boy it makes the tree happy, but as the boy gets older he keeps asking for more and more and when the boy leaves the tree is unhappy. The moral is left to the readers interpretation whether you should take and take or give and give.
Activity: After reading have the class write a brief paragraph about their interpretation of the book.
Reviewer’s Name: Alison Jakovics
Author: Hannah Giffard
Publisher: Frances Lincoln Limited
Publication Date: 1993
Genre: Concept Book
Audience: Pre-K-K
Overview: A great first board book for emergent readers. This book is filled with pictures and words describing what sound each animal makes. This is a great beginner book to help children associate animals with their sounds. It can be used as a fun and interactive learning tool for parents and their children.
Activity: Ask the students think of three animals and the sounds they make that were not depicted in the book.
Reviewer’s Name: Corri Deegan
Author: Leslie Patricelli
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publication Date: 2003
Genre: Concept Book
Audience: Gr. Pre-K-2
Overview: Blueberries are yummy, but blue crayons and other gross things are yucky! Yummy Yucky uses brightly colored and comical illustrations to teach children opposites.
Activity: Have children look around the classroom and identify things that are yummy and things that are yucky.
Reviewer’s Name: Alison Jakovics
Author: Bill Martin Jr.
Illustrator: Eric Carle
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Publication Date: 1992
Genre: Picture Book, Concept Book
Grades: Gr. k-2
Overview: With Eric Carle’s simple and brightly colored illustrations, this picture book is the perfect learning tool for young children. Not only does it teach them colors and animals, but it also uses repetition to help the child fully understand what he or she is learning. It is a full circle story about different animals – wild and domestic alike – that all come across each other. It is a good book to use on a light-hearted conversation about acceptance. The ending makes it easy to tie into a classroom lesson, as it ends with children sitting around a teacher looking at all the different animals in the story. It is a good interactive book.
Activity: This book can be used in a lesson of color recognition. Simply print out black and white pictures of each animal and have the children color the pictures according to what color each animal is in the story.
Reviewer’s Name: Sarah Garretson
Author: C.C. Cameron
Illustrator: Grace Lin
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Publication Date: 2003
Genre: Concept Book, Math, Picture Book
Audience: Gr. Pre-K-2
Overview: Two friends, a hippo and an alligator, learn the fundamentals of counting and the concept of sharing in this vividly illustrated book. Using familiar items, cookies and cars, the two friends learn what happens when you give and take away and the value of sharing things equally. The simple illustrations leap off of the page and excite the reader.
Activity: After reading the book, use physical objects such as cookies and cars to illustrate the math concepts of addition and subtraction and the idea of keeping things equal to share.
Reviewer’s Name: Alison Jakovics
Author: Lauren Thompson
Illustrator: Buket Erdogan
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: 2003
Genre: Concepts
Audience: Gr. 2,3,4
Overview: It is the first day of school and there is a new friend in the class, a mouse¡ Together, the children and the tiny mouse can discover lots of new things.
Activity: Ask students about what they can see in class and besides, they can draw them with different colors.
Reviewer’s Name: Jose Morales
Author/Illustrator: Tomie De Paola
Publisher: Holiday House
Publication Date: 1978
Genre: Concept-General, Myths, Legends & Folklore, Science and Nature
Audience: Gr. K-4
Overview: A fun look at the history of popcorn in the United States with historical facts that are probably not well known, stories and even a popcorn recipe. The illustrations are fun and really draw the reader into the story. This book is informative and enjoyable. The facts would be very useful in a report about popcorns history.
Activity: Make popcorn with the class using the recipe in the book while discussing the history of popcorn.
Reviewer's Name: Paula Pavon
Author/Illustrator: Victoria Harvey
Publisher: DK
Publication Date: 2009
Genre: Concepts
Audience: Gr. 2, 3
Overview: What children should know when they are in their Bathtime? This book enables them to connect both, senses and concepts in an early learning.
Activity: Try new materials in other parts of the house. Learn the process of having a bath and the adjectives that can come across in this practice.
Reviewer’s Name: Jose Morales
Author: Priscilla Cummings
Illustrator: David Aiken
Publisher: Tidewater
Publication Date: 2002
Genre: Concept Book
Audience: Gr. Pre K-2
Overview: This book introduces beginning readers to the numbers one through ten. It uses colorful illustrations of objects found in or around the Chesapeake.
Activity: After reading the book pass out one Chesapeake animal or object and have them color them in. Once they are finished put the pictures together to make a Chesapeake scene for the classroom!
Reviewer’s Name: Alex Corbutt
Author: Janet Schulman
Illustrator: Meilo So
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf.
Publication Date: 2004