Carl and the Meaning of Life (Deborah Freedman)

Title:  Carl and the Meaning of Life 

Author:  Deborah Freedman  

Illustrator: Deborah Freedman

Target Ages:  5 and up

Genre:  Picture Book

Publisher Summary: 

This is Carl.

Carl is an earthworm.

He spends his days happily digging, tunneling, turning dirt into soil, until one day, when a field mouse asks him…Why?

Carl does not know why he does what he does, but now he needs to find out!

First Lines:

Carl was not a bird.

Carl was not a bear, or a beaver.

Carl was…an earthworm.

Memorable Moment:

All of them (the animals) are able to do what they do…

How?

Well, why not ask Carl?

Evaluation:

As a child, I often wondered: What is my gift?  What makes me special?  I did not have any talents or skills that stood out.  I was pretty average.  However, through hard work and divine direction, I found my—what makes me special. It is likely that many children (and adults) have similar questions about their significance. 

Carl and the Meaning of Life is an excellent springboard for that conversation.  Though a seemingly insignificant living creature, Carl realizes he has a vital purpose. His story reveals how small actions and roles in life are the foundation of a great organization or society.  On a deeper level: If an earthworm has a purpose, how much more does a human being have one? As the image-bearers of God, all people have a purpose and an opportunity to glorify their creator with their actions—no matter how seemingly small the actions.

Freedman’s soft watercolor illustrations are vibrant and warm.  They help capture how Carl feels as he is pictured small and insignificant compared to the other animals.  However, as he has his epiphany and grows in his understanding, he becomes more prominent.  On the last page, he is equal or greater in size to the other creatures.

One of the highlights of the book is Carl’s quest to answer the tough questions.  He does not stop until he finds the answer.  Multiple questions are presented—How? What? Who? and Why?  Teaching children to ask questions and to pursue the answers is the foundation of true education and understanding.  Carl symbolizes the internal quest within each person.

Carl and the Meaning of Life is a perfect picture book, ripe for many questioning and thinking opportunities.

Activities and Extension Ideas for Lesson Plans:

• Writing:  Answer the question How? through Carl's perspective at the end of the story.
• Science:  Read one or more non-fiction picture books about the earthworm.
• Drawing:  Create a flow chart to show how the animals in the story are connected.  Read and/or brainstorm another flow chart of interconnectedness, such as related to bees or plankton. 
• Creative Writing:  What is the meaning of life?
• Characterization: What motivates Carl to answer mouse’s initial question: Why?  How does Carl change over the course of the story?
• Character:  Create a poster with pictures, drawings, and words that show why you are special.
• Community Outreach:  Work together as a class or family to do a small action that has big consequences, like recycling, picking up trash outside, or setting up for an event. 
• Grammar:  Discuss the difference between a question and a statement.   Identify examples of both in the story.

 Perfect Picture Book Friday

 

 
 

Spotlight on Friendship and Compassion in Books by Cori Doerrfeld

Today, I am highlighting two amazing picture books by author-illustrator Cori Doerrfeld.  The first title, The Rabbit Listened, has been on my to-review list for a while.  When I discovered Goodbye, Friend! Hello, Friend! I decided to discuss these books together.  While they are diverse in their subject matter, they have some noteworthy commonalities. 

The Rabbit Listened 
Publisher Summary 
When something sad happens to Taylor, all the animals think they know how to help.  One by one they come, but nothing they say makes Taylor feel better.  Until the rabbit arrives…and the rabbit knows just what to do. 

Evaluation 
This book can be read on multiple levels.  On the one hand, it is a simple picture book about a child’s experience with pain.  However, it resonates as an allegorical tale for adults as well.  

Out of nowhere, life often comes crashing down. This idea of the unexpected in life and sense of things falling apart is a universal experience at all ages.   In the story, this idea is illustrated when a pack of black birds knock down an elaborate building the protagonist, Taylor, has built.

Various animals attempt to “comfort” Taylor.  Each animal parallels the types of people we encounter in life.  These people are often more concerned with their own agendas rather than genuinely helping someone.  In the story, the chicken just wants to talk, talk, talk about it. The bear wants to dwell on angry feelings while the elephant tries to fix it.  When their approach doesn’t work, they walk away.

The rabbit in the book is the only one concerned with just being present.  He is true to his nature:  He sits and listens.  Everyone needs someone just to be present sometimes.  The rabbit allows the protagonist to go through all the emotions he feels.  The rabbit represents what a true friend acts like—compassionate, supportive, and selfless.    

Goodbye, Friend!  Hello, Friend! 
Publisher Summary 
Every goodbye brings a new beginning.  Goodbye to snowmen means hello to stomping in puddles!  Goodbye to the sun means hello to the stars!  Sometimes goodbyes are especially hard, and sometimes new beginnings take time but tomorrow always comes. 

Evaluation 
Several life experiences are represented through this straightforward text all while exemplifying the saying: When one door closes, another one opens.

Initially, Stella is reluctant to go to school.  She learns to make friends and to follow a new routine.  Another aspect of change is having to transition from an activity she enjoys to another one.  

Stella deals with loss.  Her pet dies.  Later, her best friend Charlie moves away.

With each potentially negative experience, Stella learns to see the rainbow on the other side of the storm.  Sometimes optimism is a relatively easy choice,  like having to come inside when it gets dark or having to go to bed during a sleep over.  Other times, she learns this lesson in more challenging experiences like falling down while trying something new or losing a loved one.  

Goodbye, Friend!  Hello, Friend! illuminates the importance of resilience and optimism no matter the circumstances.  The story reminds us that a closed door isn't the end.  Instead, there is an opportunity for a new beginning.

Cori Doerrfeld demonstrates exceptional skill in both picture books.  She shows the complexities of life and friendship while keeping it all on a concrete child’s level. The Rabbit Listened and Goodbye, Friend! Hello, Friend! are must-reads for home and the classroom.  They illustrate the importance of compassion, friendship, feelings, and optimism in challenging times. 

Yellow Elephant: A Bright Bestiary (Julie Larios)

Title:  Yellow Elephant: A Bright Bestiary

Author: Julie Larios

Illustrator:  Julie Paschkis

Target Ages:  2-7

Genre:  Picture Book Poetry Collection

Publisher Summary: 

Have you ever seen a yellow elephant, glowing in the jungle sun?

Have you seen a green frog—splash!—turn blue?

Or a red donkey throw a red-hot tantrum?

In this bright bestiary, poet Julie Larios and painter Julie Paschkis color a menagerie of animals in brilliantly unexpected hues—encouraging us to see the familiar in surprising ways. 

Poem Sample:

“Brown Mouse”

Little brown clown,

looking for crumbs,

comes sneaking, sniffing, skittering

all around—sounds

like she jitterbugging

on tinfoil, sharp toenails

clicking and clacking

through the house.

She’s in a hurry

that’s for sure,

this brown mouse.

Evaluation:

This collection of 14 colorful poems are sure to surprise and delight young children.  The lyrical words capture the real and wonder of the animals while the vibrant pictures illustrate the fantastic and unexpected.  

Yellow Elephant: A Bright Bestiary is a wonderful poetic experience.  I recommend it  for preschool and primary classrooms. 

Activities and Extension Ideas for Lesson Plans:

• Colors:  Practice or review colors and color words. 
• Poetry:  Using a favorite color and animals, children can write their own creative sentence or short poem.
• Sound Devices:  Identify and discuss sound devices like rhyme and alliteration.
• Grouping:  Discuss ways to put the animals in groups like ones the students have seen in real life or touched.  Other groups can be based on type of animal (reptile, mammal, etc.) or where it lives (trees, water, house). 
• Art:  Create one or more animals using unexpected colors, patterns, or textures.
• Fantasy vs. Reality:  Use the pictures as a spring board to discuss the difference between fantasy and reality.  Which parts are realistic?  Which are imaginative?  For older students, ask them to guess why the illustrator used some of the imaginative elements. 

Visit Live Your Poem for more Poetry Friday fun!

Also visit Suzanne Leonard Hill's Perfect Picture Book Round Up.  

There Are No Bears in This Bakery (Julia Sarcone-Roach)

Title:  There Are No Bears in This Bakery

Author:  Julia Sarcone-Roach

Illustrator:  Julia Sarcone-Roach

Target Ages:  3-9

Genre:  Picture Book

Publisher Summary: 

There was a low rumbling noise in the night.

Muffin is the whiskers of this neighborhood, so she steps out to investigate.

She tracks down the usual suspects—the mice, the raccoons, the bats.

But no, this sound is new.

And the window to the bakery is open.

It’s called the Little Bear Bakery.

But there are no bears there.

Not real bears.

Not ever.

Not usually.

But maybe…?

First Lines:

Each night, the moon rises,

the bread rises, and I rise.

The air cools, and the sounds get interesting.

That’s when the night shift begins.

Memorable Moment:

Suddenly it was

LIGHTS-OUT!

Everything went dark, and I couldn’t move.

I was smooshed, like a muffin between the couch cushions.

Evaluation:

The rich language and endearing illustrations are a delicious combination.  The characters are sweet.  The setting and plot combine a sprinkle of mystery, a dash of suspense, and a pinch of humor. This light-hearted and entertaining book is delight! 

Add There Are No Bears in This Bakery to your must read list!

Also from Julia Sarcone-Roach, The Bear Ate Your Sandwich.

Activities and Extension Ideas for Lesson Plans:

• Similes:  Tie this book in with an simile activity or use it as a spring board to discuss them.
• Onomatopoeia:  Students can identify the sound words.  Discuss other night sounds.  As an independent practice activity, fold a sheet of paper in half.  On the front, the student can write a night sound.  Inside, draw a picture of what is making the sound.  Students can share their sounds.  Others can guess who or what is making it!
• Science:  Read about other nocturnal animals or pick one to learn about further. 
• Cooking:  At home, bake an item commonly found in a bakery.  For the classroom, bring in an baked good item to share.  For instance, bring in cupcakes.  Give the student sprinkles and small candies to decorate theirs.
• Art:  Complete an art project where the students create a bear.  Here is an adorable and easy one.  Provide paper plates in big and small to make one or both bears from the story.
• Dramatic Play:  Create or provide puppets of a cat and two bears.  Students can act out the story or new adventures with the characters.
• Irony:  Discuss examples of irony, and explain how they make the story humorous.

Visit the Perfect Picture Book Round Up HERE.

The Girl Who Thought in Pictures (Julia Finley Mosca)

Title:  The Girl Who Thought in Pictures:  The Story of Dr. Temple Grandin

Author:  Julia Finley Mosca

Illustrator:   Daniel Rieley

Target Ages:  5 and up

Genre:  Picture Book Biography

Publisher Summary: 

Meet Dr. Temple Grandin—one of the world’s quirkiest science heroes! 

When young Temple was diagnosed with autism, no one expected her to talk, let alone become one of the most powerful voices in modern science.  Yet the determined visual thinker did just that.  Her unique mind allowed her to connect with animals in a special way, helping her invent groundbreaking improvements for farms around the globe!

First Lines:

If you’ve ever felt different,

if you’ve ever been low,

if you don’t quite fit in,

there’s a name you should know. 

TEMPLE GRANDIN’S that name.

In her tale, you’ll find glory.

So, get ready, get set,

for this cowgirl’s TRUE story.

Memorable Moment:

So, here is the lesson:

Feeling odd or offbeat?

Being DIFFERENT might just

be what makes you so NEAT!

Don’t let doubt hold you back,

Not for one minute more.

STAND TALL, and like Temple,

MARCH RIGHT THROUGH THAT DOOR!

Evaluation:

Julia Finley Mosca's uplifting text perfectly brings Temple Grandin’s moving story to life for young readers.   

Temple was a leader in a STEM field in a time when few women were included.  Many ignored her ideas, but she was persistent.  As a result, she slowly changed minds.  Her influence is vital not just for science, but for the humane treatment of animals.

Parents, teachers, and students—especially those who do not act and think like mainstream kids do—will be inspired by Temple’s early years. Because she was autistic, she had extra challenges.  She dealt with sensory issues and delayed speech.  Interpersonal interactions were a difficult. Her mind processed information in a unique way.  Fortunately, her parents and teachers concluded she was “different, not less.” Her story encourages children to internalize that “different” is positive, not negative.

After repeated bullying, she moves to live on her aunt’s farm. Not only did Temple feel solace and acceptance there, her unique way of thinking allowed her to understand and to connect with the animals.  This experience and realization led her toward her professional path, illustrating that good outcomes can come from bad occurances.

The teachers in her life are often the source of inspiration. For instance, one of them told her,  “You’ll never fall short when you find what you’re good at, like science—you’ll soar!”  Her teachers’ encouragement and faith in her helped her to begin imagining solutions to problems on farms. 

Today, Temple teaches and speaks all over the world, illustrating that setbacks and, even, disabilities do not prevent people from doing great things.  Instead, it is her differences that make her uniquely created to help solve problems and to make the world a more humane place.

One of the personalized touches is a letter from Temple.  In it, she encourages children to find something they are good at it and to develop it.  In addition, she tells them to “keep learning, especially from your mistakes.”   

Fun factions and tidbits, a time line, additional background information, and bibliography are resources included for educators and parents.

Add The Girl Who Thought in Pictures:  The Story of Dr. Temple Grandin to your women in STEM biography library.  The text and illustrations are engaging.  The warm colors, animated expressions, and creative action are perfect for young readers.  

Also check out The Doctor with an Eye for Eyes by this author-illustrator duo. 

For other Amazing Scientists books, visit Innovation Press.

Activities and Extension Ideas from around the Internet for Lesson Plans:

Multiple Printing Resources from Innovation Press

Amazing Women in STEM Printable

Visualizing FREEBIE

Reading Skills and Strategies Activities (Multiple)

Meta Cognition Printable Freebie

Profile Portrait Craft Idea

Book Study Printables ($1.95)

Check out other excellent recommendations at Perfect Picture Book Friday.