Thursday, April 14, 2011

Our Singing Plant by S. Foresman

Foresman, S. (1997). Our singing planet. HarperCollins Publishers: Glenview, Ill. pp119 (Grade Level: K-3).

Our Singing Planet is a compilation of short stories, poems and songs written to familiar tunes. There are many topics, but the central themes are singing, music, friendship, and family. Each piece of literature is very different from all the others in the book, and would gain the attention of young listeners/readers very quickly.
Each of the stories have various types of illustrations. Some are in light colors, others in bold colors, some are photos of children, and one looks like a quilt. The variation would help keep the attention of younger children. In the photos of children playing instruments, diversity is shown through different ethnicities shown, and one child is in a wheelchair. This will help show children that just because they look a little different does not mean that they cannot do and play the same things. The last story is about a young Chinese boy who learns some words in Chinese to write a letter for his grandmother. One nice thing about this book is that each story can be read individually whenever the class needs a quick story to settle them down, or as a transition between subjects. The prose is fairly simple, and children will soon know when to chime in with the correct words.

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