A teacher's secret weapon

This sophisticated picture book is a godsend! This story is useful for teachers and parents alike in teaching children about perspective, culture, and the environment.

Brother Eagle, Sister Sky.
Susan Jeffers.

How the story goes: The introduction states that this is a retelling of a speech made by Chief Seattle to the leaders of the USA on the signing of treaty agreements back in the day (1850s). So that's what the story is. It is a Native American take on how to treat the environment, why it's important, and what the effects of (for lack of a better term) raping the land would have.

Set out in philosophical terms; "How can you buy the sky? How can you own the rain and the wind?", the retelling takes the reader (or listener) to account for their own actions and as a whole, the human race's. The images are graphically surreal and kids have fun finding the spirits hidden in them. The message is obvious: treat the land better.. or else. However, the links you can make from this book are varied: political, historical, cultural, and environmental.

It's a teachers dream (I made a HUGE unit around this book lol) and can be read to and read with all ages, although I would recommend it for ages 7-12. This is based around the length, which is rather long for a picture book. Parents: this book is useful for exploring perspective and looking at cause and effect (personal responsibility).

Genre: [Sophisticated Picture book] [Historical] [Native American Culture]
Jeffers, S (1991). Brother Eagle, Sister Sky. Dial Books: New York, NY.

One for the littlies now…

This book in particular is not mine but rather my Mother’s favourite:

Green Eggs and Ham

Dr. Suess

Basic plot outline (as per usual):  Sam-I-am meets his friend and starts raving on about how much he likes green eggs and ham, he eats them everywhere , in many positions, and with numerous acquaintances. Twist, his friend doesn’t like green eggs and ham! (shock horror!!) So the story is one loving them, one hating them. Until… the end… I’ll leave you in suspense here.

Rife with Suess’ memorable illustrations (he was an artist before he became an author) and imaginative rhyme, this story is perfect for children who are either learning to talk or need help with their reading. The rhyme uses the same layout repeatedly throughout the text, making it easier for children to chant along, or if reading, help predict what is coming next, as well as coupling rhymes (house/mouse, fox/box, train/rain).

All of Suess’ works have an underlying theme to them in this case, as in most of his work, it’s about prejudice and pre-judgement (or keeping an open mind… which is the same thing really). So using Suess (any Suess) with children is always a good idea, hey, it even pays to use it with teenagers and adults if they’re of the mind to follow along.

Do you like
green eggs and ham?
I do not like them, Sam-I-am.
I do not like
green eggs and ham.

An awesome page for immersing yourself in the world of Suess (and rummaging for teaching resources):
http://www.seussville.com/

Genre: [Fiction] [Picture books]
Suess, T (1988). Green Eggs and Ham. Random House Books for Young Readers: New York, NY.