In Pictures and In Words

Check it out at Amazon!

I usually spend June and July reading only for pleasure.  I love that so and spend very little time doing it during the year...  But I found this book at a few blogs, and Melissa at Joyful Learning in KC

decided to do a book study, so I was in!

What a great book.  I highly recommend it and suggest you head over to her blog (click above) to get motivated. 

I am moving back to Kindergarten from 2nd grade this fall.  So I was intrigued.  What a find!  Here are some of the simple things I will be doing!

•  Adding pictures of the author and illustrator in each book (that does have that included.)
• I will talk about the decisions writers and illustrators make in the books.  It sounds so simple but I just never thought about how that could help get the minds of the students to see themselves as making decisions just like the writers and illustrators we "study" in class.
• Get my students illustrating right away at the beginning of the year in empty page books. (Honestly can't wait.)
• Looking at all of my picture books in new ways!
• Encourage my class to look at illustrations and see things like, perspective, background, close-ups, emotions, inside/outside, above/under, in new ways.

Here is a great book to think about and to talk about perspective with your class.  It is a wordless book and a Caldecott winner!  The author is Barbara Lehman.  It is one of those books that says so much with so little.  The boy finds a book and when he opens it, the page shows a page that shows a page... deeper and deeper you go.  It is great for talking about where we are: in this classroom, in the city of ..., in the state of..., in the country of ... and more!  Do check it out.

More about this book.

Good luck!