My Friend Rabbit
by
Eric Rohmann
Bibliography:
Rohman, E. (2002).
My friend rabbit. New York, NY: Square Fish.
Summary:
Mouse and Rabbit are friends. Rabbit is always getting into trouble or causing trouble without meaning to. This time, rabbit throws mouse's toy airplane (with Mouse in it) and after Mouse falls to safety, the airplane gets stuck in a tree. Rabbit has an idea to get the plane out of the tree involving all the other animals and a tower to the high branch that holds the airplane. Though is idea works, the animals are not happy with him- and another problem immediately follows. But don't worry, Rabbit has an idea!
My Take:
I like this book! It is a great one for beginning readers because the text is minimal and simple and the pictures do a tremendous job helping to tell the story. The premise is funny and kids will identify with it. It would be easy to extend in the classroom or library.
Review:
PreS-Gr 1-- A simple story about Rabbit and Mouse, who, despite Rabbit's penchant for trouble, are friends. When Rabbit launches his toy airplane (with Mouse in the pilot seat at takeoff) and it gets stuck in a tree, he convinces his friend that he will come up with a plan to get it down. He does so by stacking animals on top of one another (beginning with an elephant and a rhinoceros) until they are within reach of the toy. The double-page, hand-colored relief prints with heavy black outlines are magnificent, and children will enjoy the comically expressive pictures of the animals before and after their attempt to extract the plane. The text is minimal; it's the illustrations that are the draw here.
Jones, T. E., Toth, L., Charnizon, M., Grabarek, D., Larkins, J., & de Lacoste, K. (2002). My friend rabbit (review). School Library Journal, 48(5), 126.
Use in a School Library:
I would use this book in the library to start a story extender- what might happen next in this story? Or what might the next book in the series be about? I would have kids talk in small groups about this, then work with a partner to develop one of the ideas the group came up with. I wold have the pairs practice an oral story that they would share with the group after some practice. We could vote on our top three favorites and record them for the library website. I could even ask kids to watch them on the website and vote on their favorite to be played on the video announcements.
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Floatsam
by
David Wiesner
Bibliography:
Wiesner, D. (2006). Floatsam.
New York, NY: Clarion Books.
Summary:
While enjoying a day at the beach, a young boy
finds an underwater camera that washed up onto the sand. No one knows quite what to make of it, so the
boy gets the film that is still in the camera developed. What he gets back from the One Hour Photo
shocks and amazes him. Photos of all
sorts of fantastical creatures doing impossible things. He also finds a photo of a girl holding a photo
of a boy who is holding a photo of another boy and so on and so forth. After using magnification, he sees that the
pictures go back to the olden days! The
boy decides to follow suit and take a picture of himself holding that photo. He then throws the camera back into the ocean
where creatures carry it to have more amazing underwater photos taken and to
finally wash up on a new beach to a new child.
My Take:
I love this book so, so
much. David Wiesner is a genius and I
would like the opportunity to dig around in his brain- I am sure it would be
endlessly entertaining and fascinating!
Flotsam deserved the Caldecott Medal more than any book since Wiesner’s
own Tuesday. The pictures are so
amazingly detailed and surprises or unexpected tie-ins can be found on almost
every page. This story is told better
through his incredible artwork than it could be through anyone’s words. It is absolutely one of my favorites and one
that I cannot wait to share with students when they come into my library. (Did I mention that I love it??)
Review:
K-Gr 4-- A wave deposits an old-fashioned contraption at the feet of an
inquisitive young beachcomber. It's a "Melville underwater camera,"
and the excited boy quickly develops the film he finds inside. The photos are
amazing: a windup fish, with intricate gears and screwed-on panels, appears in
a school with its living counterparts; a fully inflated puffer, outfitted as a
hot-air balloon, sails above the water; miniature green aliens kowtow to
dour-faced sea horses; and more. The last print depicts a girl, holding a photo
of a boy, and so on. As the images become smaller, the protagonist views them
through his magnifying glass and then his microscope. The chain of children
continues back through time, ending with a sepia image of a
turn-of-the-20th-century boy waving from a beach. After photographing himself
holding the print, the youngster tosses the camera back into the ocean, where
it makes its way to its next recipient. This wordless book's vivid
watercolor paintings have a crisp realism that anchors the elements of fantasy.
Shifting perspectives, from close-ups to landscape views, and a layout
incorporating broad spreads and boxed sequences, add drama and motion to the
storytelling and echo the photographic theme. Filled with inventive details and
delightful twists, each snapshot is a tale waiting to be told. Pair this visual
adventure with Wiesner's other works, Chris Van Allsburg's titles, or Barbara
Lehman's The Red Book (Houghton, 2004) for a mind-bending journey of
imagination.
Fleishhacker, J. (2006). Flotsam (review). School Library
Journal, 52(9), 186-187.
Use in a School Library:
This book could be used to prompt children to create a detailed picture-
just one- that told part or all of a story.
I would use it in conjunction with Tuesday and The Mysteries
of Harris Burdick, one of Wiesner’s other wordless picture books, and one
of his genius-twin’s- Chris Van Allsburg.
They are great example of this technique. Then I would have students tell a partner the
story their picture tells. The partner
will then share the story with the group using the document camera so all can
see the picture that goes with that story.
It would be something that would take several library periods, but would
be so fun and would hopefully influence and enhance kids’ creative writing.
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