25. My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss

Bibliographic Citation: 
Seuss. My Many Colored Days. Illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. New York, NY: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 1996. 40 p. ISBN 978-0679875970. 

Awards/Selection Lists:
None

Format Examined:
Hard cover

Annotation:
Different colors are used to describe different emotions that are felt by the narrator of this non-traditional Seuss book.

Personal Reaction:
The text of this Dr. Seuss book lay in wait for a color artist to illustrate it for more than 20 years. While the text of the book rhymes, as do most of Dr. Seuss' books, the subject matter has more of a serious tone, and the rhythm does not follow Seuss' typical style. The soft, chalk-like illustrations each work well to portray the emotions that are personified by each of ten different colors.  

Age Recommendation:
I would recommend this book for children 3-5 years of age.

Themes/Issues:
Colors, emotions, rhyming text

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge: 
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book.

Narrative Skills: 
Narrative skills are encouraged through rhyming text and familiar objects that are included in the illustrations to reinforce color identification. 

Phonological Awareness: 
Letter sounds are highlighted through rhyming words and words that are written to symbolize sounds, such as "Wheeeeeeeeeee" and "WHAM!".

Print Awareness:
Words are written in different font types, sizes, and changing boldness to show how the text should be read to match the different colors and the corresponding emotions.

Print Motivation: 
Attention is drawn to text that changes with each page of colorful illustrations through different fonts and sizes of text. This print method encourages a child's interest in print. 

Vocabulary:
Words portraying different emotions and colors are introduced through rhyming text.

Author/ Illustrator Website:
Author website: http://www.seussville.com/
Illustrators' website: http://www.johnsonandfancher.com/

22. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Bibliographic Citation:
Carle, Eric. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. New York, NY: Philomel, 1981. 32 p. ISBN 978-0399208539.

Awards/Selection Lists:

National Education Association "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children", 2007
School Library Journal, "Top 100 Picture Books", 2012

Format Examined:

Hard cover

Annotation:

A little caterpillar is born, then eats holes through all sorts of food until he becomes a large caterpillar who spins a cocoon, and turns into a butterfly.

Personal Reaction:

This classic books uses Eric Carle's tissue paper collage to tell the story of a small green caterpillar who is born from a tiny egg. The reader experiences the caterpillar's path of eating holes through different types of food on different days, until, at the end of the week, he eats through so many different foods that he develops a stomachache. The caterpillar then spins a cocoon and takes a long rest. When the caterpillar finally emerges, he is a beautiful butterfly. The combination of all the parts of the story teaches counting skills, days of the week, food types, and the stages of the life cycle of the butterfly. 

Age Recommendation:

I would recommend this book for children 3-5 years of age.

Themes/Issues:

Colors, food, days of the week, life cycle of a caterpillar/butterfly, counting

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge: 
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book.

Narrative Skills:
Children are encouraged to help tell the story through naming types of food, counting, naming days of the week, and predicting what will happen to the caterpillar. 

Phonological Awareness: 
Phonological awareness is not a direct focus of this book.

Print Awareness:
Each day that the caterpillar eats through different pieces of food is accompanied by supporting text that includes the day of the week and the number of pieces of food that the caterpillar eats. All of this works together to draw a child's attention to the connection between the illustrations and the words that make up the story. 

Print Motivation: 
This classic book has been a favorite of preschool children for many years. The colorful artwork and the text based on counting pieces of fruit as the caterpillar moves through the days of the week provides an interesting story to support a child learning about the life cycle of a caterpillar/butterfly. The illustrations encourage children to be excited about this book.


Vocabulary:
Children learn the names of the days of the week, types of fruit, and the names of each stage of a caterpillar's life leading up to becoming a butterfly.



Author/ Illustrator Website:
www.eric-carle.com