Author/Illustrator: Karen Beaumont/David Catrow
Plot Summary: In a simple plot, a young boy loves to paint much to the chagrin of his mother. She tries to hide the paints but he finds them and continues to paint his body, part by part, as well as his dog's body.
Comments: A silly book with funny illustrations. The words are large and easy to read but the author does use some slang which may be confusing for new readers - gonna, ain't, mama, holler, ya, heck. It would make a really fun read aloud and would be a good book to have in the classroom. Call me biased but I think the illustrations are what make the book have any substance whatsoever. The pair teamed up again to write another book, "I Like Myself" which I am also going to read. It is about children and self-esteem.
Extensions:
1. As one of my favorite illustrators is David Catrow, I would do an illustrator study of him. There is a book called, "Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road" that presents an illustrated answer to that difficult question by 14 different artists including David Catrow. This would be a way to demonstrate the styles of various illustrators and introduce the illustrator study. I would pull all of the books I could by David Catrow including, "The Boy who Looked like Lincoln."
2. It seems that children love face painting. Perhaps I would set up a small face-painting station in the library after reading the book. As the children finished, Lori and I(she is very artistic) could do some small, quick face-painting. Or, I would read the book in the classroom on a day when the library was closed - like for MAP testing - and do the painting in the classroom. This would make it a special treat that perhaps we wouldn't be able to do in the library.
3. We obviously can't let the students paint themselves at school but perhaps with the art teacher we could design a lesson around them painting something that is non-traditional - a rock, a tile, some sort of recycled item that would be otherwise thrown away. I would have to think about this some more.
Themes/keywords: painting fiction, stories in rhyme
Age/Reading Level: Interest level - k-3; Reading level - 1.6
Standards:
ELAKR1 The student demonstrates knowledge of concepts of print.
ELAKR4 The student demonstrates the ability to read orally with speed, accuracy, and expression. The student
a. Reads previously taught high frequency words at the rate of 30 words correct per minute.
b. Reads previously taught grade-level text with appropriate expression.
ELAKR5 The student acquires and uses grade-level words to communicate effectively. The student
a. Listens to a variety of texts and uses new vocabulary in oral language.
b. Discusses the meaning of words and understands that some words have multiple meanings.
Publisher's Info: Harcourt, Inc. New York. 2005
ISBN-13: 978-0-15-202488-8
ISBN-10: 0-15-202488-3
Awards/Review Sources:
Wilson's Children 10/01/06 | School Library Journal starred 05/01/05 |
| Notable/Best Books (A.L.A.) 01/01/06 | Book Links (A.L.A.) 09/01/07 |
| Publishers Weekly 04/18/05 | Horn Book 04/01/06 |
| Kirkus Review 03/15/05 | Reading Teacher 05/01/06 |
Genre/Dewey: Fiction; Easy/Everybody
Websites:
David Catrow's website
A biography of the illustrator
Author's website
Notes for Booktalk: This is a good, short book(sometimes if the story is too long, the children are rushed to pick out their own books.)
Take Me Out Of The Bathtub (2001) - another David Catrow book that the students would like
Vocabulary:gonna, ain't, mama, holler, ya, heck
Comments