Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep

Todd Tarpley reverses the roles of a boy as he parents his robots. Time for bed, the boy tries to usher the bots to bed.  Each time they snuggle down, one of they needs to do something. How long does it take them to get to sleep? Kids can have fun writing their own go-to-sleep books. I love the little mouse that pops up on each page. Read the author’s note in the back. Cute!

Mr. Pieri from the Elkhart Public library reads the book to you in this 3:23 minute video.

Savorings for Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!:

• Personification
• Rhyming
• Everyday happening – getting ready for bed
• Reverse roles
• Speech bubbles
• Repeating line/ structure
• ing verbs
• Love of Reading
• Technical terms – infared

I Need My Monster/ Hey, That’s My Monster!

Amanda Noll has created two awesome fun reads. In I Need My Monster, Ethan wonders how he will sleep without his monster. Substitute monsters arrive, but they don’t have all of the traits that Gabe, his monster, has. Hey, That’s My Monster, Ethan has a bigger dilemma – his sister won’t go to sleep and his monster plans to camp out in her room. Emma doesn’t seem to be rattled by the visiting monsters. She giggles. She plays. She is not sleeping. Howard McWilliam brings the monsters to life in a fun, not scary, delightful tale of childhood bedtimes.

View the book trailer:

Storyline graciously reads both books. Click on the title to show your students. I Need My Monster. Hey, That’s My Monster.

Savorings for both books:

• Kid perspective
• Vivid verbs
• Power of 3
• Story tension
• Siblings
• Every day happening

Flying Frogs and Walking Fish

Steven Jenkins and Robin Page collaborate to peak your interest. They share the most interesting facts about ordinary and unique creatures. In Flying Frogs and Walking Fish, the focus is on the animation of the animals.

The sections are divided by questions about the animal featured. For example, A Walking Octopus? sheds light beyond the understood eight legs. “They use two of them to walk on the sea floor.”

Other animals are then featured on a two-page spread highlighting their unique ways to walk (Marching, strolling, tiptoeing...). Additional facts are shared in the back of the book.

To learn more about the making of this book, go to stevejenkinsbooks.com/flyingfrogs. Have fun learning new synonyms and interesting facts!

Savorings for Flying Frogs and Walking Fish:

• Compare/ Contrast
• Questions as SubTitles
• Alliteration
• Synonyms – whirling, tumbling, somersaulting
• Fun Facts
• Verbs

Will You Read to Me?

Denys Cazet pens an adorable narrative that will capture an book lover’s heart. Hamlet, the pig, loves to read and write. With a notebook in hand, Hamlet notices his surroundings and writes. His sensory description captures the beauty of the moment. His sentiment for literature is not shared by his family, though. As Hamlet consistently asks, “Will You Read to Me?‘,  his pig parents seem to be interested in other daily activities, such as eating.

Searching for someone to share his poetry with, Hamlet takes to interacting with his reflection. Unbeknown to him, an animal audience listens and asks for more. Surprised, yet pleased, Hamlet obliges.

Savorings for reading and in writing for “Will You Read to Me?”:

• Hybrid text – narrative with poetry inlaid
• Sensory Detail
• Living like a Writer
• Child-like conversation
• Past-tense verbs – shouted, shoved, pushed
• Magic of 3 – “The breeze rattled the cattails, brushed Hamlet’s face, and then it was quiet.”