Monday, February 4, 2008
Title: What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
Author: Page, Robin
Illustrator: Jenkins, Steve
Type of Artwork: cut paper collage
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books, 2003
Genre: Picture Book, Concept Book
Awards: Caldecott Honor Book 2007
Age Range: k-1
Summary: This book talks about different animals and their parts. The authors set it up so that readers can guess which parts belong to which animal. Noses, ears, tails, eyes, feet, and mouths are all parts that the authors explore. As the reader continues through the book they learn what distinct differences animals have in these areas. At the end of the book there is an index with more information about each animal.
Response: This book is definitely in a different category than just "picture" book. This book falls under the category of "concept picture book." In this category, the picture book goes a step further to present information and "convey knowledge" on a particular topic. This book conveys info about animals. I really enjoyed this book. In fact, I learned something myself! A girl in my foundations class last week said that teachers couldn't learn from their students. First off, I believe she is wrong. Secondly, if a student read this they could tell me many things! This book is very informative and very interesting. The information in this book was conveyed very nicely. The way Jenkins and Page formatted the text made this book seem different than other information texts. The pictures are very eye-catching. Some of the pictures look so life-life I had to take a second look (like the bat and bush baby.) This is a great text to learn from and see wonderful artwork! The text and artwork go hand in hand in "What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?" This book is unique in the way that the text alone may not be very pleasing to young readers. The text is just informational. The pictures pull the reader in. The artwork for this book was cut paper collage. That is such a great and unique technique!! At points in the book, the paper actually looked like it was painted, for example the scorpion. I think that by using paper for the artwork instead of actual pictures Jenkins drew (not intended as a pun!) more attention to the animals. If the artwork for this book was just pictures of animals, young readers would be bored. Readers have seen pictures of animals all over the place! This technique is new!
Teaching Ideas: This book could be used for several different purposes. In smaller grades, this book could be used as a game. Have students guess which nose belongs to which animal (before the page is flipped.) Younger students could benefit from understanding identification. Older students, first/second grade, could use this book as an intro to research on animals. Each student could choose a different animal and research it. For high school students, teachers could use this book as an intro to creative writing or research. In my high school room, I want students to write children's book. This would be a wonderful example to show to students, especially students who are very artistic. They could try to follow the same format. High school students could also reference the back of the book as a way to understand how to write up research.
This is a great book! Go check it out, then check out some cool animals!
--jeana
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