I love the picture book, Make Way for Ducklings, written in 1941 by Robert McCloskey because he “noticed the traffic problem of the ducks” in Boston when he returned there to work. He had heard stories about them, and so he wrote and illustrated this timeless picture book.

Why should you still use this book with preschoolers, kindergarteners, and first graders? Because they will love it. First, the illustrations are priceless. My favorite is when the ducks want to cross the street, and they are all quacking at the cars. Which one is your favorite? What about your students? What do they think of Robert McCloskey’s style? What about the brown and white pictures in Make Way for Ducklings?

If you teach or live in Boston, you have to share this book with your students or your children. Do they recognize the places drawn or mentioned in the book? You can even talk about rhyming words and make up silly names with this book. Just look at the names of the ducklings–they all end in -ack. That’s pretty appropriate, don’t you think?

Have fun with Make Way for Ducklings! Show your students this Caldecott Winner, and then a Caldecott Winner from recent years. Ask them to compare and contrast the books.

The thing I love about Timeless Thursdays is that I get to revisit all these old books and realize why I still remember them.

Reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com

Picture book for Prekindergarten through 1st graders, contemporary
Young child as main character
Rating: A truly beautiful and peaceful book.

Short, short summary: The text in this book is simple but clever and tells a beautiful story with wonderful illustrations about a child, who enters the world of a book. The child flies on the back of a bird, over the hills and through the night sky. The bird lands back in the book, and the child goes to bed.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. This is a circle story. A circle story simply means it begins and ends at the same point. Another circle story you may be familiar with is If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. After reading The House in the Night, draw a large circle on a piece of chart paper. Ask your students to tell you what happens first and so on. Draw small pictures or use phrases to record the events as you go around the circle. The first event in the book and the last event should both be at the top of the circle.

2. Study the illustrations with your students since they are award-winning and beautiful. Talk about the words on each page and how the illustrations help to tell the story. Ask students why they think most of the pictures are in black and white, but some of the objects are yellow in the illustrations. Is there any pattern to the color yellow in the book? Your students could try to draw a picture in this same style if you want to take this activity to the next level.

3. Read the author’s note at the end of the book to your students and talk about what it means. If you have a copy of either of the stories she mentions, read them to your children or your students. Compare and contrast The House in the Night with the other stories you read, especially pointing out the circular pattern.

If you have used this book with your students or your child, please leave a comment here and tell us what you did!

Reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com

Picture book for preK-3, contemporary
A very talented dog and her police officer as main characters
Rating: Wonderful illustrations and a cute story that make safety lessons fun!

Short, short summary: I always used this book when I had to teach safety lessons to my students. There are so many safety tips in this book, you can cover it all–water safety, home safety, electronics safety, bike safety, and so on. Officer Buckle is BORING with a capital B, and the kids pay no attention to his dull safety assemblies until . . .Gloria, the dog, comes along and steals the show. As Officer Buckle stands on stage and recites safety tips, behind his back, Gloria acts them out, and she is a scream! Anyone who loves dogs will love this book. Not to mention, it is a Caldecott winner.

So, what do I do with this book?

1. Illustrate the safety tips that are listed in this book. Each one of your students can pick a different safety tip. They should write it on a piece of paper, and depending on their age, they can write a few sentences explaining the tip. Then, they can illustrate the tip with either pictures of Officer Buckle and Gloria or their own characters. Safety education is often a large part of an elementary health curriculum, so check out your objectives, and see which ones you can hit with this book.

2. Officer Buckle’s speeches were boring until Gloria came along. You can use this book to talk to your students about what makes a good speaker. If students can practice public speaking from a young age, they can get over some of their fears and bad habits before they get older. Talk to your students about projecting, not leaning on the wall, eye contact, excitement in their voices, props, and speaking slowly when they are addressing a group. Let your students present their safety illustrations from activity one above to the class to practice public speaking.

3. Many safety tips are taught as DON’Ts, meaning we tell students and our children what NOT to do. Take some of the don’ts and turn them around. For example, take the safety rule, “Don’t go swimming during a storm,” and make it positive. “During a storm, you can play inside, read a book, or eat a snack. You can go swimming when the storm stops.” or Take “Don’t run in the hall,” and turn it around to say, “Walk in the hall.” You can make a list of these more positive safety tips on chart paper and hang them in your room.

If you have used this book in your classroom or with your child, please leave a comment here.

If you have a suggestion of a book for me to read and review, please email me at margodll@aol.com or leave a comment here.

photo by creative bloke, www.flickr.com