Chicken Soup with Rice: A Book of Months

Author Maurice Sendak

Publisher Scholastic Inc.

ISBN 0-590-45452-8

I am very excited to post this blog on one of my favorite stories that I grew up on.  Chicken Soup with Rice: A Book of Months by Maurice Sendak was a book that I enjoyed reading when I was younger.  I still enjoy reading this story today and I think it is one that you will equally enjoy.  When I recently read the story again, I could not help but think of my Aunt Babe.  She was the one who introduced me to the book since she owned a copy, and would let me read it whenever I went to visit.  Whenever I went over to my aunt’s house, I would ask her if we could read the story together.  Many times my aunt would make me her specialty which happened to be chicken soup with rice.  To me, it was the best soup ever, of course.  I can still remember what it taste like and wish she was still here to make some for me.  It is a time in my life that created some of the fondest memories of my aunt, who was more like a grandmother to me.  This is a great poetry book that you can have fun reading aloud with or without the soup.

            When you read the story, you will hear the rhythmic poem that you can sing as a song.  My Aunt Babe and I would sing the song together while looking at the pictures on the accompanying page.  Each page has a poem about one of the twelve months.  This book is a fun way to teach the months of the year, while singing a catchy song.  Children will want to sing along with you as they hear “In January it’s so nice while slipping on the sliding ice to sip hot chicken soup with rice.  Sipping once sipping twice sipping chicken soup with rice.”  The illustrations are fairly simple.  They look like pen or ink drawings with only a few colors used to accent the pictures.  When I went back to read this story as an adult, I could not help but think of how much this story reminded me of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault.  If you enjoyed the book One Was Johnny: A Counting Book, you will definitely want to get a copy of Chicken Soup with Rice: A Book of Months.  

Chicken Soup - lyrics - CAROLE KING

Tar Beach

Author Faith Ringgold

Publisher Scholastic Inc.

ISBN 0-590-46381-0

            Tar Beach is an imaginative story that takes place on the tarred roof top of a building in 1930’s Harlem.  No you will not need your bathing suit if you go to tar beach, only your imagination.  Here, Cassie Louise Lightfoot and her family spend many nights hanging out on their rooftop, overlooking the city lights.  I picked this book because I used to hang out on the rooftop of my cousins apartment building in Manhattan.  How wonderful it was to look at all the bright, twinkling lights.  There is a feeling of freedom that comes with being out there, over looking the city.  I think that is why Faith Ringgold gave Cassie the ability to fly.  What can be freer than that? As Cassie flies over the city, she dreams of many things that she wishes for herself and her family.  I have often had dreams in which I was flying, and who wouldn’t want the ability to fly.  Just think of the possibilities.  For Cassie, she wanted to own the George Washington Bridge because her dad helped to build it.  It did not matter to her that her dad was not allowed to join the union because of the color of his skin; Cassie would just fly over the union building and give it to him.  With Cassie’s flying, she could fix all of her families’ problems and make everything right. 

            You can tell from reading this story how Cassie idolizes her dad.  Her dad that builds bridges and buildings, called the Cat because he can not fall from the steel girders.  I can relate to Cassie, I too always looked up to my dad.  To me, my dad is Superman, someone who can fix anything.  He did not build any buildings however, to me there is nothing that my dad can not do.  I always favored my dad over my mom and I said that I would stay with him forever.  That sentiment has of course matured since I have grown from a child to an adult.

            The book shows a picture of the Tar Beach quilt since the story was originally written on fabric strips around the border of the quilt.  Faith Ringgold gives the book more a storybook quilt feel by including fabric borders on the pages.  Brightly colored canvas paintings are used as pictures to tell the story of Tar Beach.  The illustrations in the pictures are wonderful; no wonder it won the 1992 Coretta Scott King Award for outstanding African American authors and illustrators.  Tar Beach also won the Caldecott Honor, given to worthy runners-up for the Caldecott Medal.

Little Red Riding Hood

Retold and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman

Publisher Holiday House

ISBN 0-8234-0470-6

            I absolutely adore this book.  Trina Schart Hyman did a wonderful job of retelling Little Red Riding Hood a classic fairy tale originally written by The Brothers Grimm.  There are many versions of this story, most keep to the original. The story is of a girl named Elizabeth, nicknamed Red Riding Hood, because she always wore her red cloak. She was bringing a basket of food to her sick grandmother who lives in the woods.  Her mother made her promise to stay on the path and mind her manners.  Red Riding Hood followed her mom’s advice until she met a sly wolf along the way.  Maybe her mom should have told her not to talk to strangers instead because the wolf gave her an idea to pick flowers for her sick grandma to cheer her up. 

            While Red Riding Hood is off the path, picking flowers, the wolf shows up at grandma’s house and eats her up.  Once Red Riding Hood gets there, she walks in to find the wolf dressed in grandma’s nightgown.  My favorite part of the story is when she meets the wolf the second time and questions him “Grandmother! What big, hairy ears you have grown!” she said.  “The better to hear you with, my dear.” Red Riding Hood continues to ask questions like these and then suddenly the wolf springs out of bed and eats her up too.

            The wolf, tired after his big meal, decides to take a nap.  The huntsman hears the wolf snoring, thinks it is the grandma, and goes to see if she is alright.  When he finds the wolf instead, he shoots the wolf, and saves Red Riding Hood and her grandmother.  Red Riding Hood learned her lesson, not to wander off the path and wished she listened to her mother.  This book teaches children a valuable lesson in the end and parents are still trying to teach their children that lesson today; the dangers of talking to strangers.

            The illustrations in this book are absolutely fabulous.  The detail in every drawing on every page is so realistic.  This book is truly a work of art.  One of the things I love most about Trina Schart Hyman’s illustrations is her attention to detail.  On the opposite page, the story is framed with borders that are done in different patterns and pictures that coincide with what is going on in the story.  The colors used in the pictures are dark, giving the story a more eerie feel to it which is another reason why I love this version of the story.  If you are a fan of classic fairy tales and I am not referring to the Disney song singing fairy tales; I mean the dark, original Brothers Grimm stories, you will definitely enjoy reading this book.

Color Zoo

Author Lois Ehlert

Publisher Harper Collins

ISBN 0-694-01067-7

            Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert is a wonderful picture book with good picture to text match. What I love most about this book is the way it was designed. Each page has a picture of an animal made out of layered geometrical shapes with the name of the animal under the picture.  On the first page, there is a tiger’s face made out of several shapes and vibrant colors.  The pages are a series of stacked cut outs, so when you turn the first page, the tiger becomes a mouse and there is a circle on the back of the previous page.  Children can see how the shapes are used to configure the animals in the story. When you turn the next page, the cut out square is on one side, and the next animal, the fox, is on the other side.  Children will enjoy reading this book and naming the new animal on each page as well as naming the shapes in the story.  If you are worried about the cut outs on the page getting ripped while children read this book, it is also available as a board book. 

This is a great interactive book.  When you read aloud to your students, you can have them tell you the names of the nine animals, nine shapes and sixteen colors used in the story.  After reading this book to my students, I would follow up by doing an art activity. I would have them make their own animals out of shapes and have the class make their own color zoo.  What a cute idea for a bulletin board.  I love the fact that Lois Ehlert did not just use the shapes that most children are familiar with, such as the circle and square. They have a hexagon and an octagon which I find my Pre-K students mistake for a rectangle.  This book can be paired with another book by Ehlert, Color Farm, which is done in the same fashion.  Color Zoo won the 1990 Caldecott Honor for best illustration in a children’s book.

Kitten's First Full Moon

Author Kevin Henkes

Publisher Greenwillow Books

ISBN 0-06-058828-4

Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes is a wonderful children’s book about a cute kitten that sees a full moon for the first time and thinks there is a little bowl of milk in the sky.  The kitten tries everything she can to get to this bowl of milk, but the little bowl of milk is still up in the sky, waiting for her.  Her attempts leave her tired, wet, and hungry.  When the kitten finally gives up chasing the moon for what she thinks is milk, she goes home to find a great big bowl of milk waiting for her on the porch.  Looks like kittens luck has changed as she falls sleep after drinking her milk under the moonlight. 

            This book was an easy pick for me because I am a cat lover. The kitten in the story is so cute in her attempts to get to what she believes is a bowl of milk.  What caught my eye was the cover of the book and the fact that the cover is in black and white.  I have not read many children’s books that were done completely in black and white, normally your are drawn to books which have drawings done in vibrant colors.  The illustrations in Kitten’s First Full Moon are detailed drawings done in shades of black and gray.  Do not let that discourage you from reading this book.  It still has wonderful illustrations that give you a feeling that you are out in the dark, at night, with this persistent kitten in her quest for milk.

            Repetitive phrases make this an excellent book for a read aloud as the narrator repeats, “Still, there was the little bowl of milk, just waiting.”  Pre-school children will find humor in the story when the kitten tries to lick the bowl of milk only to get bugs on her tongue. In the end, children will clap when the kitten returns home and finds a bowl of milk on the porch waiting for her.

            This is the first book I read by Kevin Henkes who has published many other books including Chrysanthemum. After reading this book, I am interested in reading more books by this author. I recommend that you follow this story with Frank Asch’s Happy Birthday, Moon, a story about a bear that mistakes his echo for the voice of the moon. Kitten’s First Full Moon won The Caldecott Medal in 2005.