The Princess and the Pea

The Princess and the Pea
By: Hans Christian Anderson

The Princess and the Pea is about a prince who travels around the world in order to find a princess he can make his wife.  However, every princess that the prince meets has something wrong with her.  The prince then returns home without a suitable wife.  One night it was raining, and windy but there was a knock on the door.  The king answers the door where there is a young woman standing at claiming to be a princess.  The queen was not convinced though.  The woman was offered a bed for the night where the queen placed a single pea underneath 20 mattresses and 20 feather beds.  When the woman woke the next morning she was asked how she slept.  The woman responded that she slept terribly because there was something underneath her mattress.  The queen was amazed because only a true princess would have such sensitive skin to be able to feel a single pea through all those mattresses. 

Genre/Theme

This children's book is a fairytale that was written back in 1835.  The story focuses on the princes quest in order to find a wife and the evilness the queen had to rely on trickery in order to find out if the woman was a true princess.  The illustrations in the book though have pale colors reflecting the time the book was written in.  The illustrations also helped tell the story because while reading the story you were able to see what was happening through the illustrations so it was not just through imagination.  

Discussion Questions

1. What do you think the prince was looking for in a princess?

2. Why do you think the woman showed up at the door the night of the storm?

3. Why do you think the queen was in disbelief of the woman's story?

4. Do you think the woman could really feel the pea through all those mattresses and beds?

Activity

Each student in the class would receive a small flannel throw blanket to place on the floor.  As a class we would place 20+ blankets on the floor.  After all blankets are placed on the floor a small pom pom ball would be placed underneath.  The children would then be able to come up one by one to sit on top of the pile of blankets.  The children would be asked at the very end if they are able to feel the pom pom ball through the pile of blankets.  After each child has had a chance to sit on the blankets they would have to go back to their seats and draw a picture of themselves sitting on the pile of blankets.

Good Reads Similar

Thumbalina                                                                        Hanzel & Gretel 
By: Brad Sneed                                                                  By: Ian Wallace

I Love Saturdays y domingos

I Love Saturdays y domingos
By: Alma Flor Ada 

I Love Saturdays y domingos is about a little bilingual girl who spends Saturdays with her english speaking grandparents and Sundays (los domingos) with her Spanish speaking grandparents.  Both house holds offer love and caring for the little girl with their traditions and culture.  The little girl explains the different things that her and her grandparents do on the weekends when she spends time with them.  The story ends with both families coming together to celebrate the little girls seventh birthday.

Genre/Theme 

This particular children's picture book has a very appealing cover when looking at it.  The illustrations in the book are very well done with bright colors.  The pictures could also be independent from the text because through the out the story you can see what is going on with the main character directly through pictures.  Each page shows exactly what is going or what the main character is trying to tell the reader.

Discussion Questions

1. Does anyone speak more then one language? 

2. Does anyone have any family members who speak more then one language?

3. Would anyone like to learn another language?

4. Do you think it is good that both families came together to celebrate even though they are from different cultures?

Activity 

After reading the book "I Love Saturdays y domingos" the children would discuss the book and share as a class their feelings about different cultures.  The homework for that night would be paper that goes home for students to have their parents help them name the different ethnicities they are.  When the students come back in the next day the students would get a large piece of construction paper in a color of their choice.  The child would be assisted to transfer their ethnicities from their homework to the construction paper.  The children would then decorate the paper with things that describe them as a person like what they like, things they like to do, things their family does that they think are special.  After the children are done creating their posters we would share the posters with the class.  This activity would show the students that even though they are all different ethnicities that they still are alike in other ways. 

If you enjoyed I Love Saturdays y domingos you would also enjoy

Abuela                                                                                          Too Many Tamales 
By: Arthur Dorros                                                                          By: Gary Soto 
Illustrated: Elisa Kleven                                                                 Illustrated: Ed Martinez 

The Kissing Hand

The Kissing Hand
By: Audrey Penn

Chester the raccoon is afraid of leaving his mother to attend school.  Then his mother shares an old story with him by kissing his hand and telling him that anytime he feels home sick to put his hand to his face so he will feel her warm love from the kiss.  She assured him that no matter what that her kiss will never rub off.  Chester then repaid the favor and kissed his mother's hand so when she missed him she could do the same and know that Chester loves her.  Chester then left that night for school. 




Genre/Illustration Evaluation

The kissing hand is in the genre of fantasy because the characters in the book are raccoons who tell a story about an old tale named the kissing hand.  These animals can talk, they have feelings and their own thoughts, and they have their own jobs like being a mom, a son, going to school, or something else that is normally custom to a human.  The illustrations in the book are very bold and distinctive for you to know exactly what they are.  Also, the story could be told with or without the words because the pictures show exactly what is being talked about with pictures in-between for more detail.  The colors that the illustrator uses are more on the dark side because it is suppose to be night time in a forrest.

Discussion Questions

1. Have you ever had to go somewhere where you would feel homesick?

2. Is there an object or saying that makes you feel better when you are sad?

3. Do you think a kissing hand would make you feel better?

4. Would you ever tell a story to someone you love to make them feel better about leaving home?

Activity

After reading the book "The Kissing Hand" each student would pick a color construction paper where there hand would be traced and then cut out.  The students would then pick a colored felt heart that they would place in the middle of their hand.  After writing the student would be helped to write something about someone they cared so much about they would either give or need a kissing hand from. 

Other Good Reads:

Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes

             &

First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg 

Books like The Kissing Hand. (n.d.). Retrieved January 29, 2015, from https://www.goodreads.com/book/similar/265988-the-kissing-hand

The Name Jar

The Name Jar was written and illustrated by Yangsook Choi.  This children's literature is a good resource for children in the 5-8 age range.  The book starts out with a young Korean girl named Unhai who moved from Korea to America.  When leaving Korea Unhai's grandmother gave her a red pouch with her name in it on a wooden stick stamp.  Unhai was concerned that american children would not be able to pronounce her name.  When Unhai was introduced to the classroom she told her classmates that she had not picked a name yet.  One day when Unhai entered the classroom there was a glass jar on her desk with pieces of paper in it with names written on it.  Unhai believed that she needed a american name in order to not be different from the other children.

The illustrations on each page of the book helped to tell the story without even reading the words.  The illustrations also help the reader know exactly how the main character is feeling during that particular part in the story.  The text in the book told the story in a way where each child can relate to what the character is going through.  Each child has the feeling of not wanting to be different from their peers whether it be because of their name or if they are left handed.

Discussion Questions:

- Has anyone every felt that they needed to change something in order to be like classmates?

- Should Unhai feel that she must change her name to fit in?

- What would you say to a classmate if they told you they haven't picked a name yet?

- Is there anything about you that makes you feel different from the rest of the class?

- Did Unhai's name make her unique?

Activity:

The students in the classroom would all receive a plain glass/plastic mason jar.  Each individual would put their initials on the jar with sticky letters.  The students would then have to bring in a few different small objects to place inside their mason jar.  The objects that are placed inside the mason jar are objects that explain things about the individual student and what makes then unique.  The students would then have to present their mason jar with it's objects to the classroom telling different things about themselves that makes them different.  Whether it be about their family, their culture, or anything else they feel makes them unique. 

If you enjoyed reading "The Name Jar" here a few other books you would enjoy that are similar:

My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvitis, Illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowaska (2003)

Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts and Illustrated by Noah Z. Jones (2012)