Memoir- Will I have a Friend?by Miriam Cohen

Will I Have a Friend? by Miriam Cohen

Illustrated by Lillian Hoban
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's publishing
ISBN-13: 9780689713330

This book reminds me of my first day in kindergarten. I was like Jim, the little boy who was afraid that he will not be able to make any friends on his first day of school. I remembered that when I first went into class, I was confused and worried about how I was going to make friends in a place that I have never been before. All the children seemed to know each other already except for me. I was sitting alone and sobbing. Although I didn't made any friends on the first day.
I remembered that by the end of the year I was one of the more popular ones in class and had made a lot of good friends.
I enjoyed this book very much and believe that this is a very good book for which teachers and parents can find great advice to give their children on how to socialize with people or when their children are having trouble making new friends.

Poetry- A Child's Book of Poems illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa

A Child's Book of Poems illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa

Reading Level: age 4-8

ISBN: 1402750617

Publisher: Sterling (September 1, 2007)




Through my own experience, I've learned that all children enjoy the rhythms, rhymes and imagery to be found in poetry. The poetry book that I picked is "A Child's Book of Poems" illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa. I love this book very much. It was my sweet sixteen birthday gift from my uncle who studies English literature in Hong Kong. This book includes a variety of poems and is filled with simple but meaningful poems that are written by many well known authors. The poems in this book are straight forward and simple. As I read the poems in this book to my students, they are very excited and interested in relating to the experience and daily lives. Although they might not understand every single word in the poems, but I can see some of them are already able to use some words in the poems and describe how they relate to themselves. For example, when I read the poem which is about dog, one of the girls she told me about her father had brought her a puppy for her birthday. She was telling me about its color and size, I was suprised at how much children can learn through poetry. In addition, I think if a poem is written in a simple and straight forward way, it will be easier for children who are just begining to develop their reading skills to understand and increase their interest in reading books that are in this genre, and I believe this is why my students loved when I read this book to them.

One of my favorite poems in this book is "I had a Little Doggy". As I read through every word in this poem, I was holding back my tears as I thought about my little dog "Cash". When he was a puppy, Cash fell down from the chair and broke his leg. I took a month off from work to take care of him. Tt that time he only had me and there is no one else in his life that will love and treat him as I do. Another poem that I like and that I can make a connection with is the poem "The Pancake" By Christina Rossetti. I am a pancake lover, the way that I make pancake is exactly the way that described in the poem. It seems like while the poet was composing this poem, she was watching me to make pancake.

Fairy Tale - The Three Little Pigs retold and illustrated by Barry Moser

The Three Little Pigs retold and illustrated by Barry Moser

Reading level: Baby to preschool

ISBN: 0316585440

Publisher: Little, Brown Young Reader

The story we all know, The Three Little Pigs retold by Barry Moser is another children book that I would like to read to all of my daycare children and recommend to all of you. I would like to use this book to introduce a lesson on the topic of learning alphabet- letter P . My aim in teaching this lesson is to help my students begin to develop the skill of sound recognition (phonemic awareness). In addition, I would also encourage them to paint or draw their own pigs and have them to think about the question "If there have been a windstorm that blew their house down, what will be the first thing they would do" ? I believe teaching ESL students (especially when they are in early childhood stage and still developing language skills) in a fun way through reading such a lovely, full of illustrations and well known children story will make it easier for them to learn English.

When the story starts out the mama pig would like her three little pigs to seek their fortunes in the wide, wide world. Each pig decides to set out on their travels alone and gets ready to experience their first adventure. Then, each of them builds his own house with different materials and tools - one out of straw, the next out of sticks and the last out of bricks. Unfortunately, while they are still seeking their fortunes, there is a hungry wolf which they have to encounter.

I like this story very much because it reminds me of a similar situation that happened to my aunt in Hong Kong when I was a little girl. Although there were no little pigs or wolf involved, there was a little house made out of old wood. As I remember, one night my parents and I were sitting in the living room trying to keep far away from the windows to avoid and protect ourselves from a bad storm, suddenly we heard someone knocking at the door and shouting "open, open". To our surprise, it was my aunt and cousins. After letting them in, we were told that their house was destroyed completely by the storm and the wind that came with it.

The situation that happened to those little pigs in the story, it reminds me of my aunt. Although her house was not destroyed or blown away by the wolf; but the strong winds and the outcome of their houses were the same.

Picture books- Peanut by Linas Alsenas

Peanut by Linas Alsenas
Age Range: 3-6
ISBN: 0439779804
Published: August 1st 2007 by Scholastic Press

I have read this book several times and I still love it very much. The cover of this book is just as attractive as the story itself. When I see this book at the bookstore, I know that I am not going to leave the store without it.

The story starts out with the old lady named Mildred who looks very lonely and sad. We then see her find as stray which she believes is a puppy. Since her "puppy" (which actually isn't a puppy - it's an elephant) was different from the other dogs because he couldn't roll over, fetch or bark but loves to eat peanuts, she named him Peanut. And now, Mildred is not lonely anymore. One day, a man came from the circus and told Mildred that her "puppy" belongs to their circus and he took Peanut away from her. Mildred once again becomes lonely and sad, sitting on the park bench and soon she finds a stray which she believes is a kitten. However, of course it is not.

I enjoy this book so much that I am not only read it to my daycare children, but I also read it to all the other children that I know as well. I love this book because it is a story about companionship and feelings. As I am the only child in my family, I understand how being alone feels like. Although I do not need a lot of attention nor require a great number of siblings and friends around me to be happy, sometimes I still wish for an older brother or sister whom I can talk to, play with and share my feelings with.

In short, I recommend this book to all of you because it is a fun story that will bring many joyful moments for both children and adults.

Multicultural literature

Thanksgiving Day by Anne Rockwell
Pictures by Lizzy Rockwell
Age 2-5
ISBN: 0060277955
HarperCollins Publishers (1999)

I read this book to my three year old students every year when it comes to Thanksgiving. Since the majority of my students are Asian immigrants, this is a great story to teach them some great things about this wonderful holiday. I love this book because it demonstrates the diversity of students in today's classrooms and the pictures are very colorful and has details that allow both teachers and parents do discuss and point out to their children. Every year my students love to hear this story over and over again and they also enjoy the illustrations very much. I would recommend this book to all of you if you are teaching young children or if you have your own.

EDE 652

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