Water Is Water ~ Picture Book & KID KANDY

Water Is Water

By Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

Water Is Water, A Book About the Water Cycle
By Miranda Paul
Illustrations by Jason Chin
(Roaring Book Press, 2015)

Water Is Water, A Book About the Water Cycle, is a beautifully illustrated picture book featuring poetic text that invites readers to live the life of water.

I discovered this book during March Madness for picture books, ReFoReMo (Read For Research Month) and fell in love. Water is the main topic, but the storyline is about children playing throughout the seasons in the different forms water takes.

Fog, rain, snow, hail, water, steam, clouds, puddles, ice. Don't fear, this book does not read as educational but is engaging and full of rich language. Fun water facts and more about water features at the end of the book add drops of trivia about water for interested readers.

Water Is Water is the perfect book for easy reading and fun learning at home or in a classroom.

KID KANDY:

Take a Bath

Really. Take a bubble bath. Play for a bit with plastic scoops, cups, and funnels.

~ Observe the water. How does it move? What does it smell like? How does it feel? Taste a little bit from the faucet.

~ Look for different forms of water. Do you have drips falling from your hair (like rain), fog on your mirrors (steam), and puddles on the floor? You probably won't find ice or snow, but that's ok.

~ Hang your towel after you dry off. How does it feel? Come back the next day. How does it feel now? Where did the water go?

~ List the different forms of water you see around your house.

Water is pretty amazing, isn't it?

What is your favorite form of water? Why?
I'd love to hear your answers.

Winter Is Coming ~ Picture Book & KID KANDY

Winter Is Coming
By Tony Johnston
Illustrated by Jim LaMarche
(Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2014)

Winter Is Coming is a beautiful book that chronicles the changing of the season from fall to winter.

A young girl quietly and carefully perches on a platform in a tree and takes note of the many wild animals that pass beneath her. She sketches pictures of them and thinks about how they prepare for winter. Patiently, she learns from the animals - lessons of nature. Throughout October and November, she watches the changes taking place around her. And then winter comes.

The captivating illustrations and engaging text inspire, amaze, and teach much about the natural world. Readers both young and old will love to read and reread Winter Is Coming.

KID KANDY:

Observe Fall Changing to Winter

1. Go out for a walk (take a friend or parent or older sibling). You might want to do this walk the same day each week all through October and November, and maybe even into December.

2. Notice what is happening in nature. What are the animals doing? (Check the air and ground.) What about the plants? Look at the colors, textures, and changes that are taking place.

3. If you like to draw, take along a sketchbook and a few pencils. Or remember what you see and draw when you get home. Put the date on the page so you can tell how things change over time.

4. Repeat your walk several times all the way through the fall months. You will have to be quiet and patient and observant - like a scientist!

5. Each time you go, look at the same things, but also try and find new plants and animals to notice.

Isn't watching fall change to winter amazing? Seasons are a wonderful gift for us to enjoy.

My Autumn Book ~ Picture Book & KID KANDY

My Autumn Book
By Wong Herbert Yee
(Christy Ottaviano Books, Henry Holt and Company; 2015)

My Autumn Book simply and beautifully encapsulates the essence of fall, my absolute favorite season.

A young girl joins the joy as nature races towards winter. Is it really fall?

In gentle verse, the story of fall as seen through the eyes of a child is shown through her exploration and enchantment with the natural world.

My Autumn Book is a great book to read together with young children.

KID KANDY:

Make a Fall Picture Book

Just like the girl in the story, you can make your own fall picture journal.

1. Ask an adult to help you use a camera.

2. Go on a fall nature walk. Take pictures of the signs of fall you see.

3. Print the photos.

4. Tape or use a glue stick to attach fall photos to cardstock or construction paper.

5. Label your photos - spider, leaf, rain, tree, and so on. Decorate the pages around the photos.

6. Staple pages together on one side to make a book.

Now you can read your own fall book!

What is your favorite fall book? I'd love to hear.

Crinkle, Crackle, CRACK It's Spring! ~ Picture Book & KID KANDY

Crinkle, Crackle, CRACK It's Spring!
By Marion Dane Bauer
Illustrated by John Shelley
(Holiday House, 2015)

I know it's a little bit late for the crinkle crackle of spring, especially in the northwest where we did not have much crinkling or crackling this winter, but I couldn't help it. I just found this great NEW picture book about spring and I had to share it. It is after all, still spring for another 2 months or so.

Crinkle, Crackle, CRACK It's Spring! is a wonderfully illustrated picture book with an imaginative child finding out what Bear is talking about when he says, "Come. It is time."

A child wakes to the sounds of crinkle, crackle, CRACK. This child then goes to the door where Bear is spotted in the middle of the yard. As the two walk through the woods (I'm not sure where the parents are, and perhaps this would be a good time to talk about leaving the house alone in the middle of the night), other animals join the walk saying the same thing, "It is time."

Time for what? Loosely interpreted, it is time for spring to burst forth with glorious flowers, insects, birds, animals, and green. The child and the animals witness the crinkle, crackle, CRACK explosion of the spring egg. (Really, a giant egg explodes, wiping out all of the muddy, icy, snowy evidences of a cold winter.)

Crinkle, Crackle, CRACK It's Spring! provides vocabulary and opportunities to discuss the changing of the seasons.

KID KANDY:

Compare Two Seasons

Just for fun, divide a large paper or chalkboard in half. Print winter on one side, spring on the other.

~ Think back to winter, maybe as far back as January. What did you see, hear, feel, touch (and maybe taste)? List what you remember under winter.

- ice, mud, snow, no leaves, no flowers, snowflakes, frost, cold air, crows

~ Jump forward to spring. How did you know it was spring? What did you see, hear, feel, touch (and maybe taste)? List those things under spring.

- daffodils, tree buds, mud, rain, warm air, asparagus, bees, grass, birds


~ Compare the two seasons. Which is your favorite? Why?

Go outside and play in the spring weather!

Cat and Mouse in the Snow - Winter Picture Books

Cat and Mouse in the Snow
By Tomek Bogacki
(Scholastic Inc., 1999)

Cat and Mouse in the Snow is the story of two animal families, natural enemies, that meet up in a snow covered meadow. There, in the no longer green meadow, the cats and mice explore and enjoy snow, all the while playing with friends. But they have one big question - where is the green meadow now?

Younger readers and listeners will enjoy this picture book. Preschoolers who love animals will have fun watching the snow play. Read Cat and Mouse in the Snow and see if your child can figure out the answer to their question.

KID KANDY:

Do you live in an area with snow? Visit a favorite summer park. Encourage your child to share how the park is different in the winter - sights, smells, sounds, and feel. Compare the two seasons. Find a hill or a slide and enjoy the ride.


Angie Quantrell writes picture books, blogs, takes photos, and chases her naughty kitties off of the counters. Books come to life in her imagination and litter all spaces in her home. If it weren't for all of her books, Angie could live in a one room house.