Book Spotlight: Sciezka & Smith

So by now you may know how I love fun picture books with colorful illustrations that support content. Today I want to share two books by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith that support science and math. If you have read anything from Scieszka than you know that he writes in a fun, silly, unique way that children LOVE! Lane Smith’s illustrations compliment Scieszka’s style wonderfully. I took one of their books off my shelf today and before I could reach my desk two students recognized the book, ran over, and asked if I would read it aloud.

Math Curse
In this book a teacher remarks that everything could be viewed as a math problem. This sends one student into overdrive and everything in his life for the next day becomes a math problem. This book has a lot of silly, unsolvable math problems, but it also has many real (still funny) math problems that you could have students figure out during or after you read.

Reading Extension Idea:

• Have students figure out the answers to the math problems in the book.
• Have the students create their own books where they create and solve math problems about their life.

Science Verse
This book is a continuation of Math Curse. In this book the Science teacher comments on how if you listen closely you can hear the poetry in science. This comment causes one student to hear everything about science in poems. This book has many different poems that covers different topics in the science curriculum. I would read this entire book to my students for fun but highlight and spend time on the poems that talked about our curriculum.

Reading Extension Ideas:

• Have students memorize the poem(s) that deal with your specific curriculum.
• Have students illustrate the poem(s) that deal with your curriculum.
• Have the students create their own poems about your curriculum. 

The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales
This book features many fractured fairy tales with a fun narrator who often interjects into stories to talk to the main characters. Jack, the narrator, interrupts the first tale to place the table of contents, which he states that he forgot to do! It is a really fun book that your students will love.

Reading Extension Ideas:

• Have students pick (or draw from a hat) a traditional fairytale to fracture.
• Discuss POV and have the students write a story from different POV.