One Leaf Rides the Wind
(Puffin-2005)
By: Celeste Davidson Mannis
Pictures by: Susan Kathleen Hartung
Grade: 1-3
One Leaf Rides the Wind is a counting book about the Japanese garden, which also introduces haikus. It is a simple but fun adventure of a small Japanese girl who is traveling through the Japanese garden. This book leaves an educator with many possible ways to tie it into their curriculum (counting, poetry, etc.). The best part for me was the small captions under the haiku that give historical background of the Japanese culture. I love this book because it is different from a lot of books I have read and I assume different from books my students have read. It provides background into a different culture as well as a different style of writing.
Theme/Skills Taught: Adventure/Haikus & Counting
About the Author: Celeste Davidson Mannis, the award winning author of several books for children, is convinced she has the best job in the world. "Writing for children is one of my greatest joys. Children are wonderfully open to new ideas. My goal is to explore aspects of our world - its people, cultures, history, and natural wonders - in a way that fuels their amazing intelligence and curiosity. Knowledge is power, and it's my fondest wish that through my books I can help provide children with a sense of their own potential and unique place in the greater world community." This book was great because it didn't just teach one thing. It had a lot of "teachable moments". Celeste Davidson Mannis' Bio
About the Illustrator: Susan started drawing as soon as she could hold a crayon. She said she drew all the time on anything. Practice makes perfect I guess because after she started focusing her ideas on paper she was ready for a career in the arts. She attended the School of Visual Arts in NYC and decided she wanted to draw for children's books since there was more room for creativity. After college she worked at numerous part time jobs in advertising, design, and photography – at the same time doing various illustration jobs and trying to break into children's books. Eight years after graduating from SVA, Susan was finally able to make illustration a full time career. Susan has done a great deal of work for the educational market, as well as for advertising, design, and magazines. Susan's Bio
Pre-Reading Activities: What is a Haiku? What is the significance of the Japanese Garden? (both can be found in the back of a book for an introduction to this book.
Post Reading Activities: Have students write their own haiku. Give them the rules of a haiku and give plenty of examples. For students who may struggle, give them a theme to write about to get them started. Or, another possible differentiation is to have children copy a poem and create their own illustration.
No comments:
Post a Comment