Values are something to bear in mind: A humble review of Two Greedy Bears

Two Greedy Bears is a lively tale about two bear cubs whose selfishness will teach them an important lesson.  Captivating readers with these childlike characters, Mirra Ginsburg’s adaptation of a Hungarian folktale manages to work with some important values which are essential in children’s development. Besides, the illustrations help to achieve a fantastic representation of emotions.

After bickering over who can drink more water from a brook, the two bears find a big round cheese and another reason to quarrel about. Driven by their covetous desire to get more cheese than the other, the bears begin to fight. A clever fox approaches and promises to help the bears to solve their problem. Tricking them with the promise of getting two equal pieces of cheese, she starts eating it. Finally, when this crafty fellow feels she has satiated her appetite, she leaves the two bear cubs with two tiny crumbs.

Ginsburg’s narrative is clear and comprehensible. She uses simple vocabulary and short dialogues. Thus, it is easy to focus on the conception of values rather than grammatical or lexical aspects. In the development of the story, several values such as generosity, self-hood and self-interest arise.

In addition, Jose Aruego and Adriane Dewey’s illustrations mirror the characters' feelings perfectly, adding more expression in tense moments. As a result, the characters embody different personality features and this heterogeneity triggers an interesting topic to work and discuss with children: diversity.

Ginsburg’s ideas, together with Aruego and Dewey’s illustrations, create a vivid story. Two Greedy Bears is the proof that positive values are always worthy.

Review: Seuss´s unique touch! in "The foot book"

Seuss´s unique touch!

Author: Dr. Seuss

Illustrator: Dr. Seuss

Publisher: New York, Random House, 1968.

Review by Mariela Barletta

Simple as it is, “The foot book” blows your mind away. Theodore Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, surprises us once again by writing and illustrating his own books. Without letting us down, he introduces us into the world of opposites with his unique and witty way of rhyming. And of course, let’s not forget his amazingly peculiar illustrations. The main characters of this book are feet. YES! You got it right! Feet that will teach you a number of lessons. The many different kinds of feet, young children may meet everywhere.

What is it that makes Dr. Seuss´s stories so wonderful? You may find the answer as soon as you open one of his books. In this particular case, repetition of words and phrases such as “Foot” “Feet” and “How many, many different feet you meet” strongly engage children´s curiosity to find out which are the different kinds of feet Dr Seuss mentions. In addition, there are different pairs of fun opposites he uses, like “Front/Back feet” “Trick/sick feet” “Slow/quick feet” “Clown/pig feet” to show how different we all are.

Dr. Seuss’s illustrations are colorful, rounded and languid. His skillful way of drawing shows motion very vividly. Since there is not a particular story to follow, illustrations turn into something essential to understand and accompany Seuss´s words wisely. In fact, the artwork is what makes the book hilarious.

The book has a great potential to be exploited by teachers as well as parents. On the one hand, teachers can find this book as a very useful resource. In order to teach vocabulary, adjectives, parts of the day, colors, possessives, prepositions, and plurals. On the other hand, parents can teach a very meaningful lesson to their little children: “One should never judge others by their external appearances”. Moreover, it gives you the great opportunity to show your kids how to be inclusive, supportive and not discriminatory.

In conclusion, this is an entertaining book containing simple words and straightforward illustrations. Because I am, as you may have noticed, a Seuss’s fan I strongly suggest to give this book a chance. It perfectly combines learning and fun. If you already own some of this author´s books, surely you will want to add this one to your collection as well. But if this is your first Seuss book I assure you it won´t be your last.

Review: Are you my mother?

“Are you my mother?” It’s a lovely and simple story about a little newborn bird that goes on an adventure searching for his mother.  On his way, the little bird encounters different kinds of animals and ways of transports. He asks them the question “Are you my mother?” and he gets upset when the answer is “no”. This story was written and illustrated by P.D. Eastman and it is a good source at the time of teaching because it is very rich in content, especially if you want to teach your students about nature and animals.  The amount of repetition in the text helps children to memorize sequences, for example: “The cat wasn’t his mother. The hen wasn’t his mother. So the baby bird went on”.

Little children would love this story because it reinforces the link with their mothers. The story teaches them that their mother will always be there for them. Another good thing about this narration is that the little children will feel identified with the little bird because of the bird’s fear of being separated from his mother.

The book has beautiful illustrations that help a lot when reading and they are very colorful. The illustrations make the story enjoyable and easy to follow. The facial expressions of the animals are very vivid and they are very well represented.

The story is highly recommendable and children will love to read it more than once. It’s very simple to understand and children will enjoy it.

Children can do everything!

 Author: Allan Ahlberg

 Illustrator: Colin McNaughton

 Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton, 1985 in Sydney

 First Published: Walker Books, 1985 in London 

 Review by María Cecilia Morilla

             “So Can I” is a short book that has a delightful and simple way to show that every child is able to do everything. Allan Ahlberg has worked with the illustrator Colin McNaughton on a number of books and they both have the amazing ability to integrate each other’s work very well. The colourful and non-complex pictures enhance the short simple sentences and repetitive structures on each page. And they are really useful for teachers to work with children in their classes.

            As soon as the book starts, there is a picture of a girl brushing her teeth and a corresponding sentence about what that girl can do. It simply says “I can brush my teeth”. On the following page there is a picture of a crocodile brushing its teeth and saying “So can I!”.  Pictures of the same girl doing different habitual actions go on appearing with their corresponding sentences. And so do different animals saying that they can also do those actions. Lastly, the girl lists all the things that she can do and an octopus appears doing them altogether and saying “So can I!”. As it can be seen, not only the repetition of the same structure but also the introduction of some habitual actions are presented in a rhythmic and funny way, in order to make little children acquire that new vocabulary very easily. Teachers can also work with the names of the animals and their descriptions while reading this book, as well as asking for predictions throughout the story. But as mentioned above, the value of self-confidence is a crucial issue to work with little children in the class. Reading this book repeatedly in many classes will allow teachers to encourage their students to show their abilities. In consequence, the children will feel free and confident enough to do more things day after day.

            So I highly recommend this book to be on the school shelf and use it many times because its didactic potential is really broad enough. Remember that no sooner is this book read than children will be captivated by the rhythm it shows specially through the repetition of that amusing structure. And moreover, the well-drawn expressive animals will make children keep their eyes on the pictures. What is more, this book will also help teachers to have more self-confident children, and I could assure that those children will be anxious to show a new ability every class!

Review: "When the Elephant Walks" by Keiko Kasza

When the Elephant Walks

Written and ilustrated by Keiko Kasza.

Published in 2004 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers.

Review by Jimena Iglesias.

       “When the Elephant Walks” is a short story for young children. Keiko Kasza, who writes and illustrates this book, shows through colourful pages and simply phrases how anyone can feel fear. The main characters are animals which do different actions after feeling afraid of something. This story can be a useful tool for teachers who can teach children new vocabulary, and also feelings.

      The story starts with an elegant elephant that is peacefully walking. While doing so, he scares a bear. The bear escapes from the elephant and scares another animal. This situation is repeated many times with different animals. By the end of the book, a little and insignificant mouse appears. In spite of its small size, the elephant, who is a really big animal, feels afraid of it. In this way the author shows us how fear can be felt not only by small animals or children, but also by big animals or adults. Everyone feels afraid of something, but nobody has to feel ashamed of it.

      As regards language, there are some simply verbs like ‘run’ or ‘swim’, but there are also some more complex and less common verbs such as ‘scurry’, ‘flee’ or ‘dash’. If these verbs were unknown by children, the colourful and funny pictures would help them to understand the meaning. Besides, the grammar structures are repeated like in many children’s stories. This book is a helpful tool to use in the classroom. Teachers can introduce new vocabulary and also play with fun and creativity.

      To sum up, “When the Elephant Walks” is an excellent book. I highly recommend it. Children can learn a lot of it, not only vocabulary but also about accepting their own feelings without being ashamed of them.

Review: When the Elephant Walks

When the Elephant Walks                                

Keiko Kasza

G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, 2004

Review by Agustina Veneziale

 Even the biggest and strongest animal feels frightened in ‘When the Elephant Walks,’ by Keiko Kasza. In this lovable animal story, every character is scared by another one. The simple plot of this book is accompanied by attractive and comic illustrations which young students will adore. By being read this story, children will learn an important message about fears.

When the elephant walks, a sturdy bear feels threatened and immediately runs away, scaring a crocodile. While escaping, the crocodile scares a wild hog who also scares a raccoon. As a result, a little mouse rushes in terror, and who do you think will be scared by this little mouse? In the last pages of the book, it is revealed that the mouse scares the main character of the story. 

 ‘When the Elephant Walks’ is a good story for teachers to work with, since it carries a valuable message. Young students can learn that everyone (whether big, small, strong or weak) feel fear of something, even of the silliest or smallest thing. The story also creates a good atmosphere in the classroom in which children can share what things scare them.

Soft colours and funny illustrations will catch children’s attention. They are painted with watercolours, a technique which characterizes Kasza’s paintings in all her books. Kasza’s appealing story is written in the present tense and it includes repetition of simple present statements. This repetition lets students anticipate what is going to happen and so they can participate actively when the teacher reads the story.

This book is perfect for story time in the classroom. It encourages young students to participate and its charming illustrations will catch their attention. In addition to this, the message given by the author shows children that fears are natural. Teachers can use the story as a trigger for sharing the fears that students experience in their lives. In this way, students will feel more confident and may overcome their fears. 

My Review: "When the elephant walks"

Review:  “When the elephant walks”

Author: Keko Kasza.

The entertaining book “When the elephant walks”, written and illustrated by Keko Kasza, tells a short story in which an elephant starts to walk, apparently through the woods, unleashing a funny chain reaction that affects other animals. The story has many didactic uses and an important message that teachers might find very useful in their lessons.

In the story, all the animals are influenced in a certain way by an action performed by another animal. As a consequence, they all react in the same way, running away from another bigger animal. In the story’s ending, we find the first character again, the elephant and at this point is very interesting to see how it reaches its climax but now using only illustrations. The author tries to show that everybody gets scared of something and reacts as a consequence. No matter how old or big we are, the point is that fear is one of the most natural feelings. Teachers can take an advantage of this message, using it in their lessons, helping children to work in their own fears and to assimilate them as something natural.

This book is a good tool for teachers giving lessons in fourth and fifth grade. They can work with the vocabulary about different animals and the repetition of 3^rd person-singular structures to help students to incorporate them. Besides, the illustrations are colorful and expressive. As a recommendation, teachers can read the story aloud while students see how the animals perform each action. This will provide a suitable anchoring about the new content.

Don’t miss this wonderful book, it will change the way in which you deliver your lessons, giving them a more dynamic perspective. The students will enjoy and have fun as they learn.  

Review: Old Hat New Hat

Review: Old Hat New Hat

Authors: Stan & Jan Berenstain Series: Bright & Early Board Books(TM) Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (1997) Language: English Pages: 24 Hardcover $8,26    Board book $4,49

One of the best books I have ever read is the one I read a few weeks ago. It is called “Old Hat New Hat”. This book was written and illustrated by the American Stan and Jan Berenstain, well-known worldwide. While the main character is walking along a street, he is fascinated by a new hat displayed in a window shop but he cannot decide which hat to buy. The primary school reader will really enjoy this lovely story.

It is part of the children’s book series named The Berenstain Bears. As usual, the main character is one of the members of Berenstain Bears’ family. In this occasion, Brother realizes that he needs a new hat because he is wearing an old one. Inside the shop, a huge amount of different types of hats are showed to him by an insistent shop owner and his three shop assistants. Brother refuses all the suggested items. Finally, the bear does not purchase a new hat because he thinks his old hat is the best option.

 “Old Hat New Hat” has didactic potential to be exploited in an EFL classroom. Due to the use of repeated structures, the students will easily incorporate the adjectives of the story. Your students will deal with different colours, sizes, textures and shapes.

The illustrations are charming and clearly portrait the characters’ feelings and emotions. Moreover, “Old Hat New Hat” is not merely a simple-plot story for children. In fact, it reflects an obvious and strong answer to over-consumption and the unnecessary waste of money. In the classroom, it may help teachers to involve the students in accepting their classmates just as they are.

This story for children is simple and charming but at the same time, the book offers the readers great insights into everyday life issues. It is not surprising that this book has become a best seller. The illustrations are gripping and intelligent. I highly recommend this book to all English teachers who want their students to enjoy learning.

Review: "Brave dog"

“Brave dog”, well-written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Sucie Stevenson, is a funny and nice story about a boy called Henry, his father and his lovely dog Mudge, who are spending a pleasant time in the beach. This book can be used in the school for different didactics purposes.

In this story, the family plays and eats hot dogs. Then Henry and his father built a sand castle with towers and moats while Mudge sleeps. When the castle is finished, Henry’s father puts a big lobster on the tallest tower. Suddenly, a giant and harmful wave destroys the castle and wakes up the dog. However, Mudge runs and recovers the lobster turning into a hero.

From the didactic point of view, since the language used is clear and not complicated, English teachers of 4^th and 5^th grade of primary school can use this book to teach vocabulary about junk food. Besides, the illustrations are colourful and the author uses onomatopoeias to describe the dog’s reactions. Moreover, they can use this story to teach the different types of families because, in this case, Henry’s mother doesn't appear. It absence can be because of two different situations. On the one hand, Henry’s parents could be divorced. On the other hand, Henry’s mother can be at home. According to this situation, children can participate telling their own experiences.

Don’t miss this book! It is a sweet and entertaining story to share in the classroom. Children will be engaged with the characters and with the topics. I would recommend this story because the readers will enjoy it.