First graders have been reading a mix of great old books and terrific new books. Old favorites include Mike Mulligan, (ask your daughter how they solved the problem of Maryann the steam shovel being stuck in the hole of the new town hall in Popperville), William Steig's Rotten Island with its gruesome creatures and fantastic vocabulary (why were they afraid of the flower?), and Kumak's House, a Tale of the Far North (How does Aana Lulu solve the problem of the too small house? And doesn't she remind you a little of Strega Nona?)
Newer books include The Little Red Pen (who helped her out of "the pit"?), The Big Red Lollipop (how does Rubina navigate the expectations of her family and of her friends? Who goes to the second birthday party?) and Loula is Leaving for Africa (how does she escape her triplet baby brothers and travel to Africa all in a day?)
We will read a few more books by William Steig this month, paying close attention to describing words. (Rotten Island has spiny, thorny twisted plants, a boiling sea seething with serpents, sharp-clawed crabs and electric eels of high voltage, and monsters - huge or miserably stunted, fat or scraggly, dry or slimy, with scales, warts, pimples, tentacles, talons, fangs, extra arms, eyes, legs, tails, and even heads, all in ridiculous arrangements)!
