Review: SCHOOL (Emily Arnold McCully)

Emily Arnold McCully's SCHOOL is the winner of a CALDECOTT MEDAL.  Originally it was published without text but later on a few sentences of explanation were added. Whether you get a book with or without text you and yours should enjoy the cute story and adorable mice.

The story is cute.  The first pages show a passel of young mice in the kitchen with mama. They are getting ready for school and if you have the text version you will see the text: "School Time!"

The following pages have all the little mice heading off to school with their books and backpacks... all but Bitty.  And Bitty mouse doesn't like this at all.  So she sneaks out to follow her siblings.  When she gets to school everyone is busy, but of course the teacher doesn't leave her outside.  She enters and watches all the classroom activities. And when the teacher finds her getting restless, she asks Bitty to be her helper.

And Bitty does help, but while occupied the teacher calls mom to let her know what is going on.  And by the time mom gets there, Bitty is tired and ready to go home.

You might also be interested in:
------------------------------------------------------------------
 Topic: SCHOOL at the Kindergarten reading level
 Topic: THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL - books at the Kindergarten reading level
 Topic: SCHOOL at the 1st Grade reading level

 Review: TINY GOES BACK TO SCHOOL (Carl Meister)
------------------------------------------------------------------

USE:  Perfect for the first days of school or to read before school starts.  SCHOOL can be used to remind children of what school is like, or to show some of the activities that take place at school so little ones will know what to expect on their first days.

SCHOOL can be used as a Primer/practice reader (see level below).  Even by children too young to read. It's been shown that pretending to read is a beneficial activity for pre-readers.  Looking at the images and then constructing a story exercises children's imaginations and gets them ready to interact with the world of print.

WHAT I REALLY THINK:  Children will enjoy the cute artwork and the fact that this book has lots of mice!  The simple sentences are there for practicing, but the original text-less use is just as useful.  A good book for school book baskets/shelves. 

Pam~


SCHOOL

Reading Information:
This book comes in two versions -- with and without words

With Words -- 105
Page Count: 32
Accelerated Reader: 1.0 / points: 0.5
AR quiz:  100005
~ library find

MICE by Lois Ehlert

Rose Fyleman's MICE was my favorite poem as a child.  I remember sitting in my footie-pajamas and asking my father to read it one more time.   And I remember later sitting down by myself working to memorize it;  and to this day I still know it by heart. 

What Lois Ehlert brings to this great kid-friendly poem is her wonderful whimsical artwork. In this case a multi-media collage of paper, string and drawings. So you'll get to see the two toothy mice with combs and toothbrushes --the latter obviously one of the ways they keep their teeth so white.

Great read-aloud. Great poem for children to memorize. This book can also be used to inspire an art project. With very young children you could cut out the triangles, teeth and string and let them create a montage of their own.  Older children can do the cutting for themselves.

Pam T
Somewhere in the X-burbs

MICE 
words by Rose Fyleman
art by Lois Ehlert

I think mice
Are rather nice.

Their tails are long,
Their faces small,
They haven’t any
Chins at all.
Their ears are pink,
Their teeth are white,
They run about
The house at night.
They nibble things
They shouldn’t touch
And no one seems
To like them much.

But I think mice
Are nice.”

No reading information
Page Count:  40

• Publisher: Beach Lane Books (October 16, 2012)
• ISBN-10: 1442456841