Feelings by
Aliki (William Morrow, 1984.)
Theme: feelings, including jealousy, sadness, fear, anger, joy,
love, and others.
Summary: Pictures, dialogs, poems, and stories portray various
emotions we all feel.
Early Preparation: Provide older children (4th grade
and up) with copies of the book. Assign small groups of children a section
of the book to dramatize.
Procedure: (one example) page 8 shows a picture of an elaborate
structure that Tom built from blocks. A group of children compliment him
on his work. Page 9 shows the same structure, knocked down by John. The
same children respond to what John has done.
Older children prepare a dramatization of these two pages for
younger children to watch. Characters might include Tom, John and a group
(as large or small as you have children) of onlookers. Following the dramatization,
ask for responses from the younger children. "Why do you think John knocked
down the blocks? What are the different ways that Tom might choose to respond?
What could John do to make things right?"
Peach
& Blue by Sarah S. Kilbourne, paintings by Steve
Johnson with Lou Fancher [Alfred A. Knopf, 1994.]
Theme: death, new life
Materials: old piece of fruit
Summary: A frog helps a dying peach see the world, and the peach
shows the frog sights he has never seen before.
Procedure: Hold up an old piece of fruit, preferably an old,
bruised peach. Ask the children to help you describe the fruit. Draw a
picture of it or make a list of descriptive words. (Old, yucky, not good
for anything, needs to go in the compost.) Read the book aloud.
Say, "When she became old and near the end of her life, Peach was able
to see new things for the first time. She showed Blue things that he had
never noticed. They experienced these new, beautiful things even during
a time of sadness, her approaching end. Yet even as her life ends she will
bring someone joy as they taste her sweetness."
Additional Notes: For us, this is like the season of Lent. As
we remember Jesus’ death, we have feelings of sadness even as we realize
that new and beautiful things are to come. God showed us new things through
Jesus’ death and resurrection. Heaven is the sweetness that awaits us after
death because Jesus makes us new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new
has come!"
Thunder
Cake by Patricia Polacco [Philomel, 1990.]
Theme: fear, newness
Summary: A child’s fear is dispelled as her grandma helps her
collect ingredients and bakes a cake while a thunderstorm approaches.
Procedure: Talk about your own past fear/experience with a thunderstorm.
Read the book aloud.
Additional Notes: If you are talking with older children, you
may wish to make a direct connection to the Liturgical Season, relating
how the characters in the story are counting down to something that seems
foreboding; yet when the storm arrives, something new and wonderful—the
cake—arrives. Likewise, we count down to Jesus’ death and resurrection
during the time of Lent. It is a sad time; it may even be a scary time—yet
something new and wonderful, new life in Christ, comes out of this time.
A recipe for Thunder Cake is included. Try making some together.
FIAR Connection: Storm in the Night, Volume 1, or The Wild Horses of
Sweetbriar, Volume 3.
My
Rotten Redheaded Older Brother by Patricia Polacco
(Simon & Schuster, 1994.)
Theme: sibling rivalry, jealousy, love
Summary: After losing running, climbing, and throwing competitions
to her obnoxious older brother, a young girl makes a wish on a falling
star. Although her wish comes true, and she is able to ride the merry-go-round
more times than her brother, he shows the spirit of brotherly love, carrying
her home after a nasty fall.
Procedure: Briefly recall a time when you experienced sibling
rivalry. Read the book aloud.
Additional Notes: If time allows, you might ask the children
to help you recall instances of sibling rivalry in the Bible: Cain/Abel,
Jacob/Esau, Rachel/Leah.
Alexander
and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by
Judith Viorst (New York: Aladdin Books, 1972.)
Theme: Feelings, bad days
Summary: Nothing goes right for Alexander. His brothers get the
prizes out of the breakfast cereal boxes. Gum gets stuck in his hair. He
gets a cavity. His mom reminds him that everybody has a bad day sometimes.
Procedure: Ask, "Have you ever had a really terrible day?" Read
the book aloud.
Additional Notes: This book is a wonderful read aloud. Talk with
the children about bad days that they've had. Brainstorm with them about
what they do on bad days to try to feel better. Make a list.
Too
Many Tamales by Gary Soto (New York: Putnam, 1993.)
Theme: Feelings (worry/fear of getting in trouble); Christmas;
Mexican American Families
Summary: Maria tries on her mother's wedding ring as the family
is making tamales for a Christmas get-together. When she realizes the ring
is missing she panics and enlists the help of her cousins to eat the tamales
in search of the ring. The illustrations are of exceptional quality. The
children's predicament is highlighted with an illustration of their huge
eyes as they look at the heaping platter of tamales.
Procedure: Ask, "Can you remember a time when you were worried
because you lost something that belonged to someone else?" Read the book
aloud.
Additional Ideas: During the Christmas season invite a Mexican
American family to talk about holiday traditions that are a part of their
culture. A whole family event could be built around this book. Families
could participate in tamale making as they explore another culture.
Lisa
and the Grompet by Patricia Coombs (New York: Lothrop,
Lee and Shepard, 1970.)
Theme: Feelings (anger/love)
Materials: Make a Grompet: cut a small (1 1/2 inch) heart
from tagboard. Glue a pom pom ball to the base of the heart, near the point.
The rounded parts of the heart are his feet. You now have a little fluffy
creature, a grompet. Use fabric paint to give him eyes and a mouth. Optional:
make enough grompets so that each child can have one.
Summary: Tired of being told what to do, Lisa walks away from
home and meets a little creature, a grompet. Since no one tells the grompet
what to do, he feels unloved. Lisa is happy to tell him what to do. The
grompet feels loved. Lisa develops a new understanding for what it means
when her parents tell her what to do.
Procedure: Ask, "Do you ever get tired of big people telling
you what to do?" Read the story aloud. When you read the part about the
grompet, pretend to be Lisa and talk to your homemade grompet.
Additional Notes: After the story, I talked with the children
about how adults tell children what to do because they love them and want
to keep them safe. I gave them each a grompet. They enjoyed the idea of
having a grompet to love. . .and tell what to do!
The
Quarreling Book by Charlotte Zolotow (New York, Harper
& Row, 1963).
Theme: Feelings (Anger), Families
Summary: In a domino effect, each character makes another feel
bad. When anger is mistaken for playfulness by the dog, the pattern is
reversed until all are happy.
Procedure: Ask, "Have you ever been angry at someone?"
Additional notes: An inspirational professor used candles to
tell this story. A lit candle represented each character. Candles were
blown out one by one and then relit by another character’s candle.
Why
Are Your Fingers Cold? by Larry McKaughan (Herald
Press, 1992)
Theme: Love, caring, family
Materials: cinnamon roll (or something similar), bandage strip,
flowers, tissue, glass of grape juice.
Summary: Each page asks and answers a question, showing caring
among family members. For example: "Why are your fingers cold? So I can
warm them with my own."
Introduction: Do you love someone? How do you show that love?
(Have children share examples of how they care for people they love.)
Procedure: Have two volunteers to dramatize the scenes in the
book. If possible, give some older children an opportunity to act. Read
the story aloud. As each page is read, have the two volunteers act out
the scene. Have a tray handy with all the necessary props (listed above).
Additional notes: At the end, ask again, "Why are you hungry?"
Answer with "So we can share ______." Then pass out a snack to share with
the children.
Love
You Forever by Robert Munsch (Ont., Canada, Firefly,
1986)
Theme: Love, Mother or Father’s Day
Summary: Through each stage of life a mother expresses love for
her son by singing to him and rocking him. When the mother is too old,
the son rocks his mother before going home to rock his own baby daughter.
Procedure: Ask the children whether they think their parents
will still love them when the children grow older. "Will your parents still
love you when you’re ten? Eighteen? Thirty? Sixty?" Read. If possible,
sing the "Love You Forever" song with your children as you read. |
