I just discovered BigUniverse.com today, and I had to share. This is a great site — a great companion to ICDL. BigUniverse is dedicated to children's picture books, and the quality is very high.
BigUniverse let's you do a number of cool things. First off, you can create your picture book. Next, you can read popular press picture books from well know authors. (In their media press releases, BigUniverse reports that this feature has increased book sales.) You can, of course, purchase books right from the site. Next, you can connect with children's book authors and experts who blog through the site. Finally, you can create your own bookshelf of books from BigUniverse. This would be a great way to keep up with the books you really like or want to use in your classroom.
AUTHOR: Audrey Wood
AGES: Preschool to Beginning Readers
REVIEW: The Napping House is a rhyming tale of a house where everyone is sleeping on a rainy afternoon. The story begins with the napping granny, and one by one the other characters join her in the bed for a nap, each piling on top of the others until there is so many that inevitably, they will all be woken from their peaceful nap. When the energetic flea wakes the dog, chaos ensues and everyone is abruptly woken from slumber. Throughout the story there is a repetitive rhyme that builds with each character that joins the pile.
What I enjoyed the most about this story is how the rhyme scheme built up the intensity of the plot while also making it very easy for a young child to follow. The book is simple yet charming and is a great book for nap or bed time of course! However, I cannot discuss the book without acknowledging the illustrations. In my opinion, they are one of the best features of this book! The images are whimsical and dreamy, which goes along perfectly with the story. They really brought the characters to life in such a beautiful way. For another short review, Family Reads offers this post on taking naps, and Lauren's World Literature for Children also comments on the building nature of the story. Lauren also offers this teaching idea:
This book is a great way to get students involved in writing. They could write cumulative stories themselves, along with drawing the pictures. Students will enjoy that because it is a very simple method of writing. For younger students, there are great activity pages on Audrey Wood's website. There is one worksheet that students complete to find shapes inside the house.
This book was created by a husband and wife team, the wife Audrey writes and her husband Don illustrates. This book won several awards when it was published in 1984 including the New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book, the Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers, a National Council of Teachers of English 1984 Teacher’s Choice, as well as several others.
Guest Blogger: My name is Sara H., and I am a student at the University of Memphis. I graduated with a BA in history in December of 2007 and I am currently working towards my Master’s of Arts in Teaching. I hope to teach history at the secondary level and cannot wait to start!! I have a real passion for history, but I also enjoy spending time with my family, my boyfriend, and my feisty American bulldog puppy.
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