Grandad's Tree

Title: Grandad's Tree
Compiled by: Jill Bennett

Illustrator: Julia Cairns

Publisher and date of Publication: Barefoot Books, 2003

Genre: Poetry, Picture Book
Age Range: K-2nd Grade

Summary: This is a picture book of poetry for young children about different families. The poems are written by different authors but compiled by Jill Bennett. Most, if not all, of the poems rhyme. The poems talk about what a family is; they're about moms, dads, grandparents, sisters, and hobbies that families do together.

Response: I really enjoyed these poems for younger elementary students. The illustrations are bright but look sort of like children drew them. The shapes are blunt and jagged but I still enjoy them. I like that the poems rhyme and I think children will like that too. I remember that when I was young, poems that didn't rhyme were scary. I still enjoy poems that rhyme better. I think that this book will show children that families can come in any shape or size. The way families are now, children grow up in all sorts of situations and I think that children will feel more comfortable about their family after listening to some of these poems. They may also hear a poem, and think "hey, my mom/dad does that!"

Teaching Connections: I think this collection of poems would be wonderful to read to a k-2 classroom and talk about the different types of families. Lower elementary social studies study families and this would be a great way to intergrate the two subjects. Middle to upper elementary students may also write a poem about their family.

Happy Birthday

Title: Happy Birthday
Poems Selected By: Lee Bennett Hopkins
Illustrated by: Hilary Knight
Publisher and date of Publication: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1991
Genre: Poetry, Picture Book
Age Range: K-2nd grade

Summary: This is a variety of different poems about birthdays and how exciting they are. Each poem has a different author. At the beginning, a little boy wakes up and it's his birthday and the whole book is a day long. It's all poems and they start at the beginning of the day and end at bedtime that night.

Respomse: I like this small book to use in lower elementary schools. There's not a lot to say about short poems like these but I think children would love to read them, especially on their birthday. The illustrations are bright and happy. All the poems rhyme, which is what I like and what small children are used to.

Teaching Ideas: I think it would be wonderful to use this book during the whole school year and read one poem on each student's birthday and maybe have each student write the poem and draw a picture. The birthday student could keep all the drawings. You could also revisit poetry each time you read a poem to review.