November 2006 Children’s Books by the Month

This month we feature titles from HarperCollins Children's Books

Thanksgiving Day
by Anne Rockwell, illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell
Mrs. Madoff's class performs a play to reenact the first Thanksgiving, giving thanks for the things that made that
historic celebration possible.

ACTIVITY
WE ARE THANKFUL
After reading the book to the class, chart the characters and list what they were thankful for.Add columns to the chart for props and costumes used in the play to practice reading for detail.Use the letters for the word THANKS to create acrostic poems about Thanksgiving Day. For information about acrositc poems, visit www.readwritethink.org/materials/acrostic Illustrate the poems and post students' "thanks" as a mural in the school hallway.

Thanksgiving on Plymouth Plantation
A Joanna Cotler Book
by Diane Stanley, illustrated by Holly Berry
Follow the Time-Traveling Twins back to 1621 for the four-day feast of the first Thanksgiving at Plymouth Plantation.

ACTIVITY
THANKSGIVING THEN AND NOW
The Time-Traveling Twins can teach your students a lot about the history of the first Thanksgiving. Assign students different pages of the book, then send them on a fact-finding mission to list all the historical facts they can find using the text and the conversation balloons throughout the illustrations. Start a First Thanksgiving Dictionary of 1621 food words like relic (for food leftovers). Students can have fun teaching these "first Thanksgiving" synonyms at their family Thanksgiving dinners.

This First Thanksgiving Day
by Laura Krauss Melmed, illustrated by Mark Buehner
Weaving together a mix of science, history, culture and folklore, Albert Marrin welcomes you to the fearsome and fascinating world of these astonishing creatures of survival.

ACTIVITY
A COUNTING HOLIDAY
Let numbers make this first Thanksgiving book even more fun! Challenge students to select numbers from the pages of the book to create word problems. Example: How many foods are there to choose from with six rabbits and four fish in a basket on the first Thanksgiving table? Answer: 6 + 4 = 10.

In pairs, students can write and illustrate their own counting book for today's Thanksgiving. One turkey purchased fresh from the grocery store, two cars traveling to grandma's house, etc.

Molly's Pilgrim
by Barbara Cohen, illustrated by Daniel Mark Duffy
Molly is a Russian immigrant who uses a "Russian Pilgrim" doll to help her third grade classmates understand the true meaning of "pilgrim."

ACTIVITY
PILGRIM DIVERSITY
This heartwarming story based on a true incident from the author's family is a great introduction to cultural diversity and immigration. Using the Russian Pilgrim doll as a model, assign students different immigrant groups to research. Their stories should include reasons for coming to America. Create clothespin dolls to represent different pilgrims who've immigated to the United States since the first Thanksgiving in 1621.

I Know It's Autumn
By Eileen Spinelli, illustrated by Nancy Hayashi
The fall season is brought to life for primary students as each page paints a new picture of signs of autumn.

Writing Assignment
THE 5 W'S OF AUTUMN
As you read each page of I Know It's Autumn, stop and have students explain the seasonal signs that the words describe. "I know it's autumn when the morning light comes late," is a good way to begin a discussion of sunrise and sunset and the shorter days for fall.With every "when" in the story, ask students to explain the Who, What, Where and Why that let us know it's autumn. This book is filled with jumping-off points for science.

www.harpercollinschildrens.com

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To see the October 2006 Children's Books by the Month click here.

To see the September 2006 Children's Books by the Month click here.

To see the August 2006 Children's Books by the Month click here.