Skippyjon Jones and Imagination in the Classroom

image from Barnes and Noble

Skippyjon Jones is a character created by Judy Schachner.  He is a Siamese kitten who thinks he is a Chihuahua that is a super-hero.  His imagination is huge and he can help children tune in to imaginative play. 

Skippyjon is the star in a series of books about the adventures that take place inside his closet.  In Skippyjon Jones in the Doghouse, our hero is sent to his room for drawing Chihuahuas on Mama Junebug Jones' freshly painted walls.  When he enters the magical world he finds inside his closet, he discovers that he must save his friends' doghouse from the evil Bobble-ito.

Read the review of Skippyjon Jones in the Doghouse by clicking here.

Skippyjon is a lovable character that young children will love reading about.  He is highly imaginative, a trait that children need cultivated in today's society where video games, tv, and internet seem to do all the thinking for them.  Listed below are links to Skippyjon Jones activities and other suggestions for tapping into your child's imagination.

*Read any of the Skippyjon Jones books and then act out the story with your child.

*Discuss the story with your child and examine ways the story could have ended differently.

*Paint or draw Skippyjon Jones and his friends.

*Skippito Friskito Mask

*Curriculum Connection Guides for all the Skippyjon Jones books

*English/Spanish Language Activity

*What Do I See in the Mirror activity

*Where is Skippyjon Going Next? activity



The Lorax by Dr. Seuss; Lesson Plans for All Ages

image from wikipedia

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss is one of the most controversial of the many books written by the man born as Theodore Seuss Giesel.  It tells the story of greed, destruction, and hope that happens when one of the earth's natural resources is exploited. 

 As with Dr. Seuss' The Butter Battle Book, this story for children is more than just a tongue-twisting tale of contraptions and strange creatures.  This is the story of the Truffula Tree and how there were once forests of them.  The air was cleaner, different sorts of animals lived among and near these forests, and how they came to be destroyed.  Told by a Once-ler to a boy who must pay 15 cents, a nail, and a great-great-great grandfather's snail shell to hear the tale, it is a lesson that all who hear it will never forget.

From the first line of this book to very last one, the reader knows this is serious business.  The opening pages are dark and dreary, with shriveled and dead plants dominating the space.  The sky is clouded and smoky as the boy walks up to the lone structure that remains outside of town.  Only when the tale of what used to be is begun, do the pictures turn colorful and cheery.

Read a full review of The Lorax at Examiner.com where I write a column about children's fiction.

Although The Lorax is written for children ages 4 - 8, the lessons that can be learned from this book are appropriate for both children and adults of all ages.  Below are links to some of the various lesson plans available to both teachers and parents concerning this book.

Homeschool Share - social studies, language arts, math, science, art

TeacherLink - 3rd grade social studies

Earth911.com - environmental science

Seuss Dude - reading comprehension

Seussville - take part in the Lorax Project

Other ideas

*Write letters to newspapers, public officials, and corporations in support of environmentally-friendly policies and business practices

*Plant trees

*Volunteer to help pick up litter in a park

*Design posters urging the community to care about the environment

*Put on a play about the Lorax to raise funds for an environmental organization

Hush, Little Alien by Daniel Kirk

image from Barnes and Noble

Hush, Little Alien by Daniel Kirk is the sixth book of 365 children's books I will be reviewing.  It is a reworking of the lullaby Hush, Little Baby written for the extra-terrestrials among us.  It is both colorful and witty and children of all ages will enjoy hearing it read aloud and reading it themselves.

You can read a full review of this book at Examiner.com by clicking on the title of this post.

When children are fascinated with outer space and aliens, there are sometimes not many choices out there for well-written children's literature.  Below is a selection of children's books that are both factual and fantasy that deal with these very topics.

Larry Boy and the Fib from Outer Space!

God Made Outer Space

A is for Astronaut: Exploring Space from A to Z

The Outer Space Mystery: A Boxcar Children Mystery

The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System

Moon Walk: The First Trip to the Moon

Exploring the Solar System

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont and David Catrow; book 4 of 365

image from Barnes and Noble

Every parent has walked into the room to discover their little angel has decided to use the wall as a canvas.  Using the song It Ain't Gonna Rain No More as the basis for the rhythm of her story, Karen Beaumont has written I Ain't Gonna Paint No More about a young budding artist and what happens when his mother discovers his artwork.

Kids will love the rhyming text of this story and David Catrow's illustrations are perfect for conveying the enthusiasm of the young artist.  Parents just need to make sure the paints are put away before reading this book or their walls may too become covered in all the colors of the rainbow!

The full review of this book can be read by clicking on the title of this post.


There are lots of ways to extend the learning with this book.

Colors: In the story the boy uses black to paint his back and red to paint his head.  Make a chart or a piece of artwork with the children in which they name things that could be painted with a color that rhymes with the item.

Body Parts:  Have children assemble a person using parts cut from different colors of paper.  Ex. Green Leg, Yellow Arm, etc.

Mixing Colors:  Using the three primary colors of red, yellow, and blue, have children combine two colors to determine which colors result.

Painting to music:  Play the song It Ain't Gonna Rain No More and let children paint freely in time to the music.

Alternate Endings:  Discuss with children how the book could have ended differently.  Perhaps the mother joined the son in painting or the son grew up to be a famous artist.

Please feel free to add your ideas or thoughts of this book in the comments section!

The Butter Battle Book; Dr. Seuss, the Cold War, and book banning, book 3 of 365

To read my full review of The Butter Battle Book by Dr. Seuss, click on the title of this post.

Everyone has a favorite Dr. Seuss book and most likely, it is one of his sillier titles that is your favorite.  Who doesn't love reading Green Eggs and Ham, Hop on Pop, or And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street?  I can't say that The Butter Battle Book is my favorite Seuss book, but it certainly is thought-provoking.

The theme of this book is definitely anti-war and the ridiculous reasons countries often go to war.  In this story the ridiculous reason concerns which side of the bread should be buttered.  It doesn't matter that to butter either side is equally the same, the Yooks and the Zooks have declared war against one another over this very issue.

Although this book is written for children ages 4 - 8, the following lessons could easily be used with older children.

Learning to Give lessons - includes vocabulary, art, critical thinking

MAISK-6 Science - making butter

PBS/Independent Lens - Politics and Seuss for grades 7 - 12

Utah Education Network - 5th grade

G - I, the 365 BCBE list continues

Click on the title of this post to view the next section of the 365 Best Children's Books Ever list at Examiner.com.  The book reviews are on their way!

The List - Part 2

This is a big list.  365 titles; alphabetized, with all the authors included, chapter books noted, a list like that takes a while to put together.  I used an alphabetizer, but I won't even mention which one because it was a giant pain in the hiney!  Suffice it to say, it took me hours when I know it shouldn't have.  But I never said I was a technological wizard.  So... if you click on the title of this post, you will be transported to the article in which part two of the list is made known.  Enjoy and you may even find one of your favorites on the list.

The List

I really am not sure how all of this started except that it began when I read about a movie reviewer who intended to watch the best 150 classic movies over the course of one year.  At about the same time, I started really adding a lot of books to my account on Good Reads. 

Anyway, before I knew it I was asking readers of my children's fiction column to submit their favorite children's books and Boom! I was putting together a list of 365 children's books and beginning to read them.  So there you have it...the reason behind the madness.  Enjoy, there is more to follow!

If you click on the title of this post, The List, it will take you to that article where I listed the first portion of the 365 Best Children's Books Ever.