Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday 10.22.14

We know that a big part of the CCSS is to include more informational texts into ourstudents' reading.  I quickly discovered I had a "gap" in my reading diet - the genre of informational texts!  To help me fill the gap this year, I am going to participate in Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesdays!  This is a great link-up hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy.  Please visit this website to see other educator's link-ups.  My goal is to read at least one informational text each week and post information on the blog.  The more books and subjects I read, the more I can encourage (my #OLW for 2014) other teachers to use in their classroom! 

Several bloggers have written about this recently published book, Fall Leaves, written by Loretta Holland and illustrated by Elly MacKay.  After reading this book, it's one that needs to be talked about and shared again!

This gorgeously illustrated book begs to be read over and over.  Young children will enjoy the quick read of the 2 word phrases on each two-page spread.  "Fall leaves" and "Apples fall" are examples of phrases that are accompanied by beautiful illustrations that are done with ink, yupo paper, light and photography that make you see the illustrations from different perspectives.  The phrases also include homonyms, such as leaves ("Fall leaves" with an illustration of gorgeous fall leaves) and leaves ("Fall leaves" with an illustration of a bare landscape starting to show signs of winter).  

Ready for a longer read?  Then go back and read the fall facts that accompany each page, detailing what happens in nature as the Northern Hemisphere slowly rotates farther away from the sun.  Each page gives additional information about what happens during this season - how the weather, trees, leaves, vegetation and daylight changes.

This book would be a fabulous story to use every fall.  It will be a perfect book to include when teaching the 1st grade NGSS standard "Space Systems: Patterns and Cycles".