Readers in Action

For Educators

Tips for Classroom Reading
Tips for Books of Excellence
Tips for Developing Poetry Experiences

The following Books of Excellence can be utilized in many ways in developing experiences for children.

Mommies Say Shhh!
By Patricia Polacco

• Play with words through rhyme
• Build vocabulary using words from the book such as:
  • Animals: bunny, squirrel, sheep, geese, chickens
  • Sounds: quack, meow, cluck, meow
  • Investigate sounds that different things make

Yesterday I Had the Blues
By Jeron Ashford Frame

• Explore painting while listening to music
• Develop a project on feelings; have children describe their feelings and moods using colors
• Develop a project exploring the blues music genre, including the history, musicians, and instruments

Diary of a Worm
By Doreen Cronin

• Develop a project on homes or habitats
• Develop a project on worms such as creating a worm farm
• Develop a journal or diary writing project

Everywhere Babies
By Susan Meyers

• Play with words through rhyme
• Build vocabulary using words from the book such as:
  • Body parts: tummy, toes, ears, fingers
  • Animals: puppy, kitten bunny
  • Verbs: bang, clap, cry, dig, climb, swing
  • Prepositions: in, on, up, down
• Play games described in the book such as:
  • Peek-a-boo
  • Roll the ball

Knuffle Bunny
By Mo Willems

• Play a game making up a new language.
• Explore combining photographs and drawings by having children take photos of their family, center, and community if possible; together create a photo collage and add children’s drawings to the collage
• Develop a project writing stories about what children did with their families on the weekend, creating books with illustrations

Li’l Dan the Drummer Boy
By Romare Bearden

• Develop a history project on The Civil War or slavery
• Develop a project exploring African American artists such as Romare Bearden
• Explore drums and drumming from around the world