Digital Literacy Narrative

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Book Review

The Grumpus Under the Rug

by Ellen Jackson

The Grumpus Under the Rug was written by multiple award winning author Ellen Jackson. Jackson has received awards for most of her books including, Earth Mother, Scatterbrain Scam, Looking for Life in the Universe and many more!

The Grumpus Under the Rug is about a strange Grumpus man who pulls silly tricks around the house while no one is watching. After he makes his mess, he runs and hides under the rug, where no one can see him. He does things like putting marshmallows in the typewriter and toothpaste in the phone! The boy’s mother thinks her son is the one who is making these big messes. So she punishes him every time he denies he made the mess. “Oh mother, cried the little boy, I didn’t do it! It was the Grumpus who lives under the rug!” But the mother doesn’t believe in the Grumpus under the rug!

The artwork in this book is my favorite thing about it. Growing up, The Grumpus Under the Rug, was my absolutely favorite book. I loved the pictures because they were so silly. I remember thinking about how much trouble I would be in if I had tried to do the things the Grumpus did.

I think this book is terrific! I absolutely give it two thumbs up. It has a great story line, for kids of all ages to enjoy. I read it to every class I substitute for, and all of the kids have been crazy about it. If you’re looking for a wise tale, it is a wonderful and fun way to explain where the moon came from.

This review was posting on amazon.com November 6, 2008.

Ruby Lu Brave and True

by Lenore Look

Ruby Lu Brave and True, was definately not a favorite read of mine. I had a really hard time reading it, and I even had to reread things over because I had trouble paying attention to the book. I did, however, love the glossary in the back of the book. I think it is a great way for kids to learn how to use things like the appendix's, dictionary's and even phonebooks. It is important for kids to know how to use these sources. I do not think I would use a book like Ruby Lu Brave and True in my classroom.

Video Book Talk #1

The Grumpus Under the Rug

by Ellen Jackson

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Craft Lesson # 3

The Grumpus Under the Rug by Ellen Jackson

Retelling the Story

Recourses and Materials Needed
· The Book: The Grumpus Under the Rug by Ellen Jackson
· Scissors
· Copy Machine
· Laminator
· Tape
· Construction paper
· Markers

Discussion
The Grumpus Under the Rug was my absolute favorite book as a child. I really loved the pictures in the book, especially the ones that showed all the silly things the Grumpus had done. I think reading a silly story should be more than just for laughs. In this assignment, I want to make sure the children are able to comprehend the story well enough to retell it back to me.

How to teach it: (3rd- 5th grade)
(Before beginning discussion, place class in groups of four to five students.)
Today we are going to read my favorite books when I was a child. I am going to read it to you two times and I need you to listen and pay very special attention to what happens. After we have read the book once, I am going to pass out these laminated pictures from the story. I want you to talk about what we just read in your groups, and put the pictures in order according to when the Grumpus did them.

After reading the book the first time, explain to the kids that every time the Grumpus did something, the little boy got in trouble. Ask them to keep that in mind as you read the story to them again. Also, you should explain that because the boy gets in trouble each time, you are only going to have them retell the events in the story where the Grumpus makes a mess.

Next, pass out the packets with the laminated pictures in it. Give the students about ten minute to talk about the story and put the pictures in order of which they occurred in the story. After the kids have finished putting their pictures together, have another set of pictures set aside for you to do with the class as a whole. Take your pictures and place tape of the back side of them. Discuss the story again with the kids, and have them tell you which order to tape the pictures to the board. Then read the book again, and as you are doing so, place the pictures in order on the black board.

If you have any free time after you have finished reading and placing the pictures on the board, pass out the construction paper and markers. You can have the kids draw their favorite picture of the Grumpus, or of him doing something else to get the boy in trouble.

Stuart Goes To School

by Sara Pennypacker

I did not enjoy the book, Stuart Goes to School. I thought it was very hard to follow and I found myself confused the entire time. This book really needs to be listed as the sequal to Stuart's Cape. I was a little confused why you had us read the second book of the serious, but I'm guess it's because you have the same idea that it should be listed at he sequal on the book. I think I might have enjoyed the book more if I read Stuart's Cape first. I don't really see myself every using a book like this in my classroom. I feel like it would be really hard to explain what is going on.

Video Book Talk #1

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

by Judith Viorst

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What Would You Do With Tale Like This

by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page

I think this book is a great way to teach students how to make predictions or educated guesses. It would be a good idea to read the first page aloud and then let each child guess what he/she thinks which animal the body part is a part of. I also love the way there is more information about the animals and what they do with those body parts in the back of the book. I, myself wanted to check out to back of the book to see what in the world something would use a nose like the moles for?!

Craft Lesson # 2

Matching Text with Illustrations




Materials
· book: Good Night Pillow Fight
· construction paper
· crayons, markers, colored pencils
· thinking cap

Discussion
Good Night Pillow Fight is a great book for young children because the illustrations are so elaborate. I think, when teaching a child to read, it is important for the pictures to go along with the text so that they have visual cues. In my craft lesson, I would like to have my class read the book together and discuss what exactly is going on in the pictures, and then decide if it follows the text.

How to teach it (Kindergarten- 3rd grade)
I will start off with having the class gather around me in a circle. I will then read the book, Good Night Pillow Fight, to the class without any discussion. After the first reading I will then go back and have the kids look and analyze the pictures. For example, on page one, the text reads “Good night.” I will have each student in the class share something that they notice going on in the picture. Then I will ask them questions like, “Is this something that happens in your bedtime routine?" "What are some of the things that you are seeing that you, yourself do at home?” We will then go through each page, analyzing the pictures and discussing whether or not we think the illustration fit with the text.After our discussion, I will then have the students go back to their desks. I will pass out paper and coloring utensils and have the students illustrate their favorite part of their bedtime routine.

Take Me Out Of The Bathub

by Alan Katz

I really enjoyed reading and singing along to Take Me Out Of The Bathtub. I especially liked the one, I've Been Cleaning Up My Bedroom. It reminds me of something I would have loved to have sung when I was cleaning up my bedroom. I used to have such a messy room, and everytime I cleaned it I would set everything out in the hall, sometimes for days at the time. I would love to see the kids reactions, when singing the songs. I bet it would be fun for the older kids, maybe 4th or 5th grade, to put the words up on the overhead and have everyone sing it together.

He's Got The Whole World In His Hands

by Kadie Nelson

This book is fantastic and the pictures are brilliant! I cannot get over how detailed and defined they are, as well as how wonderful they illistrate the story. This has always been a favorite song of mine since I was a child. It was nice to sing along to and reminising about my childhood. I know this book will be read in my classroom a lot! I am glad you required it!

Craft Lesson # 1

Learning to be an Illustrator

Recourses and Materials
· Book: Ruby Lu, Brave and True
· Construction paper
· Markers, colored pencils, crayons
· Great imagination

Discussion

Art is a great example of how someone can express themselves, or a situation that they are in. Children’s books are wonderful because there is a picture on every page. Each picture allows the reader to view the feeling of the story that the author is trying to portray. Not all books are picture books. Books without pictures leave the illustrations up to our imagination. In this craft lesson, we will be reading a portion for the text, Ruby Lu, Brave and true, and drawing an illustration we think best fits the reading. Not only will it work on our creative skills, it will stretch our reading comprehension skills at the same time. Ruby Lu uses a lot of details to describe why she loves her street. I want for them to be able to read what she is saying, and to show me that they understand what they read, not by words, but through with own unique illustrations.

Actual Reading from the Text:
The best thing about living on 20th Avenue South was everything. Ruby liked her house. She had lived there since kindergarten. Tomato slugs lived at the bottom of the front steps. A plum tree lived in the backyard. The kitchen smelled like jook and ice cream. Ruby liked the rain. It rained often on 20th Avenue South. The rain sprinkled diamonds on spiderwebs and poured silver of the sidewalks. At night the rain was a lullaby of a billion grains of rice falling on the roof. Ruby liked the sunshine. It was not often sunny on 20th Avenue South, but when it was, all the bottle caps in the street played like coins. Windows opened. Radios played. Laundry dried. Plums ripened. Mothers rook their babies out.

How to teach it: (3rd-5th grade)

Today we will be reading a small portion of chapter 1 in Ruby Lu, Brave and true. The first two paragraphs explain, in great detail, why Ruby Lu loves living on her street, 20th Avenue South. There is only one problem; there are no pictures to show us what her street looks like!

Next, I will instruct the students to pretend that they have been hired to be the illustrators for this portion of the book. I want them to use their imaginations, and draw the best picture they can of what they think Ruby Lu’s street looks like. I want them to put on their thinking caps and draw exactly what they were imagining when we were reading Ruby Lu’s description. I want this assignment to be a fun exercise to get to draw and color. While using their imaginations they can work on their reading comprehension by reading the text, and putting in on paper with an artistic twist.

Henry's Freedom Box

by Ellen Levine

I think this is a wonderful book, but I have no idea how to present it to a group of elementary schoolers. I've been around kids enough to know that they would point out other kids in the class who are African American and ask questions about them. I guess I just feel like racism is still such a touchy subject. I do love the way this is a true story, everyone needs to know their history. The illustrations in this book were beautiful and very moving. I would love to share this book with students, because I think history is so important, but I think this book would be better suited for older kids in middle school.

La Mariposa

by Franciso Jimenez

I love the story of La Mariposa! I think it is very educational for children to be exposed to different languages. I even learned some Spanish myself! I can see this story being really easy for kids to sit and listen to, especially with the colorful pictures to look at. Not only do I think it's a good thing for the kids to be exposed to, I think it's good for me, as a teacher, to understand what it's like to be a child in the classroom. I am sure it is frustrating, as a teacher, to have a child in your class who can understand not a word of your instructions, but even more than that, it is frustrating for the child. I think it is good for teachers to realize that it is hard for everyone, but in that we can learn how to make things easier for each other at the same time.

Goodnight Pillow Fight

by Sally Cook

I can only imagine the giggles from young children as they are listening and reading along to "Goodnight Pillow Fight". I absolutely love the pictures in this book! With such few words, the pictures really need to stand out and tell the story, and they do. Everything in the pictures remind me of something I would have tried when I was a kid. I hated going to bed, and I did everything I could to keep from it. I enjoyed this book, and look forward to reading it to some youngsters and see how they react.