Learning about the Métis culture - MÉTIS LIKE ME

One of the things I love about reading children’s books is the opportunity to learn new things. I was delighted to find this book. It gave me a chance to learn more about the Métis culture. I discovered this book after seeing it mentioned in the children’s book recommendation feed on Bluesky. (Find me on Bluesky: @andreamack.bsky.social).

Why this book?

At first, I was first drawn to the playful illustrations, but I especially loved the way the book shows how different children experience their culture and celebrate their heritage. It's unique in the way it honors different perspectives and experiences. 

My thoughts as a creator:

I haven't seen a picture book told with the perspectives and voices of several different children. I thought this structure was a good way to bring in the idea that individuals experience their culture and heritage in different ways. 

My thoughts as an educator:

This book provides a window into a culture and heritage that I don't know much about myself, so I'm looking forward to sharing it with my grade 1 students. I think they will find many different ways to connect to this story. I also really liked the positive approach to learning more about your own cultural background, even if you don't know much about it. I think this would inspire some young children to ask questions about their own heritage. 

Ages: 4 - 9

Grades: K - 3

Connections: Metis culture, Indigenous learning, individuality,  

Activities:

Social Studies:  Make a list with students: What are some of the elements of Métis culture that you noticed in the story? What are some important aspects of your own culture? Encourage students to draw or write about an aspect of their own culture. Why is it important to you?

STEAM: Explore some Métis dot designs. I found this really interesting explanation and demonstration of Metis dot art with some background information from Lacombe Tourism (click HERE) . I also found a shorter video with a dot art drawing activity from Richmond Art Gallery (click HERE). 

Visit the author online (click on the name):

Tasha Hilderman 🍁

Visit the illustrator:

Risa Hugo 🍁

Visit the publisher:

Tundra Books (Penguin Random House) 🍁

I also found this news interview with the author from CITL CKSA:

OLIVETTI by Allie Millington - a typewritten mystery

 A story from the perspective of a typewriter is a first for me! I heard about this one from the #kidlit chat on Bluesky and had to check it out.(Visit the Bluesky Kidlit/YA Book Recommendations Feed to see many more book recommendations).

Why this book?

I remember using a typewriter ages ago. I used one to type out one of the first stories I wrote for a writing contest. It might even have been an Olivetti. I was curious about this story because we hardly ever see typewriters anymore. I also wondered whether the story would interest kids who may have never seen one before. There was a lot to the story!

My thoughts as a creator:

The structure of alternating points of view between the typewriter and human boy was an interesting choice. I enjoyed thinking about how the author used a different voice for each of these characters. There's a lot of humor in the writing, but it evokes a great deal of emotion, too. Plus, how cool is it that a typewriter types messages to communicate?

My thoughts as an educator:

This story doesn't have as much action as some stories, but I still think it would hold the attention of readers. It deals with some challenging topics and issues. There is interesting vocabulary to talk about as well as a mystery that Ernest, the boy, is trying to solve. He is also dealing with anxiety, a familiar issue for many kids. This story also provides an opportunity to learn about the writing technique of "flashbacks."

Ages: 10 - 14

Grades: 5 - 7

Connections: typewriters, mysteries, family, anxiety, memories, grief

Activities:

Literacy: Think about the characters of Olivetti, Ernest and his friend, Quinn. What is the same or different about how they solve problems? Which one is more like you?

Literacy:  Brainstorm some ideas for what an inanimate object might want to say to someone (e.g., perspective of your phone or pencil case). Write a story where the object needs to solve a problem. Try to stay in the object's perspective. 

Visit the author online:

Allie Millington

Visit the publisher:

Feiwel & Friends 

Inspire young gardeners with MILLIE FLEUR'S POISON GARDEN

I'm always on the lookout for charming and unique picture books and I recently discovered this one through a recommendation on Bluesky. I'm looking forward to sharing more of my Bluesky book discoveries along with tips and ideas for using them in the classroom. 

(Find me on Bluesky: @andreamack.bsky.social).

Why this book?

I love hanging out in my garden, so I couldn’t pass up the chance to check out this delightful picture book by author-illustrator Christy Mandin. This story is such fun for curious young gardeners! It will no doubt inspire some interesting STEAM and writing projects. 

My thoughts as a creator:

I love the unique twist on the theme of gardening with Millie's very unusual plants. The title made me curious! It was a bit of a surprise that the story in this picture book was charming and not at all scary. I can imagine the illustrations were a lot of fun to work on as there are lots of creative garden possibilities like “tentacled tansy.” The color scheme is in natural tones and reminds me of nature.

My thoughts as an educator:

There can never be too many stories with the theme of celebrating being yourself and following your own passion! This picture book would work well as part of a unit about growing plants and also would be a nice book for talking about developing creative writing ideas.  

Ages: 4 - 7

Grades: K - 2

Connections: plants, individuality, being yourself, creativity 

Activities:

Social Emotional Learning:  Millie's passion was her garden, but what are other things people might care strongly about? Encourage students to draw a picture of one of their own unique interests. What makes you special?

STEAM: Design your own unique and weird plant for Millie's garden. Will your plant be creepy or interesting? What unique features might it have and how will they help the plant survive? 

Students can make weird plants in 3D! Provide paper scraps in a range of colours, along with scissors and glue. Demonstrate different ways to tear, bend and fold the paper and encourage students to create different features of the plant.

STEM/Science: Provide "mystery seeds" (e.g., beans, lentils, marigolds, sunflowers) for students along with flower pots and soil. What might grow? Students can make observations and predictions about their growing plants. 

Literacy: Retell the story. Question to discuss: Why did the people in the town get upset about Millie's garden?

 

Visit the author-illustrator online:

Christy Mandin

Visit the publisher:

Orchard Books/Scholastic

Check out the trailer for Millie Fleur's Poison Garden:

3 in 3 (and tea) Episode #4

It's time for another episode of 3 in 3 (and tea) with Debbie Ridpath Ohi and me!  We feature 3 children’s books by Canadian authors and/or illustrators and share a few tips and resources for using them in the classroom. 

In Episode 4, we explore a picture book and a middle grade novel about girls taking on new challenges, and a bonus middle grade novel with a touch of bling! (If you want to catch up on other episodes, you can find them on Debbie's 3 in 3 playlist -- or click here: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3). After you watch the video, click on the titles or book covers below to find out more about the books and a few teaching ideas. 

Picture Book:

Lucy Tries Hockey

Summary:   Lucy learns a new sport and a little about being brave and the importance of practice. With lots of hockey vocabulary, this story will inspire kids to talk about their own adventures with one of Canada's traditional sports. 

Learn about the book creators:

Author: Lisa Bowes 🍁

Illustrator: James Hearne🍁

Visit the publisher:

Orca Books🍁

Activities & resources HERE.

Middle Grade:

Alice Fleck's Recipes for Disaster

 

 Summary: Alice tries a new experience when she enters a Victorian cooking show with her dad. She soon finds out someone is sabotaging the contest and has a mystery to solve with her new friends. A fun and tasty read with lots of learning about friends and family relationships.

Visit the author online:

Rachelle Delaney 🍁  

Visit the illustrator:

Morgan Goble 🍁

Visit the publisher:

Tundra Books/Puffin Canada 🍁

    

Activities & resources HERE.

 

Bonus Middle Grade Novel:

Nikki Tesla and the Fellowship of the Bling

Summary:  Nikki Tesla and her friends have a mystery to solve and it involves a mysterious ring. I love the way this story blends science with action and a cast of characters that all have their own special skills.

Visit the author:

Jess Keating🍁 

Check out the illustrator:

Lissy Marlin

Visit the Publisher:

Scholastic

Activities & resources HERE.

 

**Want to know more about Canadian author/illustrator Debbie Ohi? Visit her website where you'll find lots of great downloads for teachers!

**We're very grateful to The Faithful Sidekicks for writing and performing our theme song! You can learn more about them at their website. 

SCRIBBLE by Ruth Ohi -- a picture book about shapes, friendship and imagination

I'm happy to share this wonderful story about friends, imagination and making marks! I read this book every year in my kindergarten class, because it has so many possibilities to connect to learning. 

Why this book?

I love this gentle story about three friends whose play is changed by a newcomer. The expressions on the shapes have on the cover intrigued me! This book is a great one for inspiring art as well as discussions about friendship.

My thoughts as a creator:

This is another example of a picture book with many layers. It's so clever to use shapes (there's math) in this story about friends (social emotional learning) and imagination (art). What happens when the scribble comes along, anyway? 

My thoughts as an educator:

This is a wonderful story for talking about characters and how they have different personalities. How are the three shapes different? How are they the same? It's also another story we can read to encourage discussion about friendship and feelings. I especially like to use this one before art activities with shapes. My students enjoy using this story and their own creations as inspiration for creating their own stories. 

Ages: 3 - 6

Grades: Pre K - 1

Connections: 2-D shapes, friendship, imagination, identity 

Activities:

Social Emotional Learning/Drama:  Use simple puppets with shapes to act out friendship scenarios, such as making new friends, sharing toys or hurt feelings. Have children suggest ideas for social problem solving and act them out using the shape puppets.  

Literacy/Art: Provide students with shape cut outs and have them use lines and their imagination to create a shape-inspired art project. Another great art activity is to talk about how the faces on the shapes are created with simple lines and dots, and encourage children to choose a feeling to show on their own shape drawing.

Literacy/Writing: Prompt students to create a new story about one or more of these characters through drawing! Begin by drawing one of the shapes and showing how they are feeling. By asking "why" questions students can build their own story.

More resources:

Canadian author-illustrator Ruth Ohi tells us about the story and demonstrates how she starts drawing her characters:

Visit Ruth Ohi's website (click here) for activities based on the book and examples of student art work. 

Description from the publisher:

"Do you want to play?" said Scribble.

Circle loves to roll — around and around. Solid Square likes to sit still and strong. Triangle can celebrate all her good points, and always knows which direction to go. But when Scribble suddenly dashes through their ordered world — all messy lines and energy — Circle, Square and Triangle don’t know what to think.

But turns out just a zig zag here and a wavy line there are all that’s needed to stir imaginations, and soon the shapes find themselves working as a team, on a course for adventure!

Award-winning author and illustrator Ruth Ohi’s energetic art shows young readers that anything is possible with a splash of colour and the most basic shapes. This wonderful picture book will spark creativity, and encourage young minds to identify and draw the Circle-Square-Triangle-Scribbles in their worlds too!

Scribble was written and illustrated by Ruth Ohi and published by Scholastic Canada in 2016.

Visit the creators (click names for links):

Ruth Ohi

Scholastic Canada

 For more wonderful picture books, visit Perfect Picture Book Friday!

Don’t Hug Doug (He Doesn’t Like It), written by Carrie Finison and illustrated by Daniel Wiseman

I'm so excited to share this story with you! This is a great book to read at the beginning of the school year -- it's humorous and also gets across an important concept related to social emotional learning.

Why this book?

I'm always looking for entertaining stories to get across important concepts for early learners. I'd heard about this book before from my 12 x 12 writing group, and I was delighted to find it in my library. The simple cover design with the big title grabbed my attention right away.

My thoughts as a creator:

I love how Carrie Finison took a potentially serious topic and made it into a fun story! This is a wonderful example of how to include different layers in a picture book—including social emotional learning and rhyme! I also like the use of repetition which encouraged my students to read along. Illustrator Daniel Wiseman used a bright, cartoon style that is both attention-getting and suits the humorous tone of the story. 

My thoughts as an educator:

Early years educators and teachers will love this book for a lead-in to helping young children understand that they have a say in who can give them a hug. It’s also great for discussing individual differences and preferences. I also loved the spread with different ways to give a high five. Other elements to discuss include rhyming words, collections and different ways to show you care about someone. 

Ages: 4 - 7

Grades: K - 2

Connections: bodily autonomy, consent, individual differences, friendship

Activities:

Social Emotional Learning:  Make a list of different ways you could show you care about a friend. Revisit the page with different types of high fives. Turn to a partner and try five different ways to high five. Can you think of another way?

Math: Doug has a striped shirt. How many other children in the book are wearing stripes? How many are wearing dots? How many kids in your class are wearing stripes? How many are wearing dots? You can use these questions to model how to record data in charts or graphs.

Literacy/Phonics: Talk about the short "u" sound. Try this game from Fantastic and Fun learning to practice reading short "u" CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words.

Short U CVC game

 

More resources:

Visit author Carrie Finison's website for book related colouring pages and activities such as "Invent Your Own High Five."

Description from the publisher:

Doug doesn't like hugs. He thinks hugs are too squeezy, too squashy, too squooshy, too smooshy. He doesn't like hello hugs or goodbye hugs, game-winning home run hugs or dropped ice cream cone hugs, and he definitely doesn't like birthday hugs. He'd much rather give a high five--or a low five, a side five, a double five, or a spinny five. Yup, some people love hugs; other people don't. So how can you tell if someone likes hugs or not? There's only one way to find out: Ask! Because everybody gets to decide for themselves whether they want a hug or not.

Don’t Hug Doug (He Doesn’t Like It), written by Carrie Finison and illustrated by Daniel Wiseman, was published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons in 2021.

Visit the creators (click for link):

Carrie Finison

Daniel Wiseman

G.P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Random House

 For more wonderful picture books, visit Perfect Picture Book Friday!

NO HORSES IN THE HOUSE by Mirielle Messier & Anna Bron

 During my summer reading, I discovered this wonderful book which is too good not to share! I love stories about strong girls but this is a great book for anyone who wants to follow their own dreams.

Why this book?

I found this story in my library's online collection when doing some research for one of my own writing projects. Was I intrigued! I’d never heard of this artist before but I was captured by her story. I loved learning about her life and the perseverance she showed in working towards her dream of becoming an artist. A great story for all ages!

My thoughts as a creator:

Even though I don’t write biography, it was interesting to see how Rosa’s life experiences were selected to create an attention-getting story. I love how the colour palette the artist chose makes me think of history and the past. The characters have such great facial expressions and there are lots of interesting details and movement in the illustrations that bring a playful feel to the story.

My thoughts as an educator:

What a great book for discussing the idea of breaking down barriers and considering different perspectives! This is a good story to read anytime in the classroom, with opportunities for discussion about following your own dreams, not giving up when you face something challenging, or times when girls weren’t allowed to do things. Also a nice book for showcasing a little art history.

Ages: 5 - 9

Grades: Gr 1 - 4

Connections: gender roles, animal painting, perseverance, artist biography

Activities:

Art Discussion:  Show several examples of Rosa Bonheur’s art work to students. Discuss questions such as: What do you notice about her artwork? What subjects did she like to paint or sculpt? How does the art work make you feel? Prompt: If you could ask the artist a question, what would you ask?

Art Activity:  Trying out texture, From Suzanne Tiedemann on Artsonia.com

https://www.artsonia.com/museum/gallery.asp?project=380844

Watch this video about visual texture:  https://vimeo.com/9284044  Talk about textures in the classroom.  Provide black paper and oil pastels for students to create their own textured lion face drawing.

Literacy/Persuasive Writing: This book could be a springboard for persuasive writing activities. For example, have students generate a list of things they aren’t allowed to do. Create a speech to persuade an adult with three reasons why they should be allowed to do it. Or, pretend you are Rosa Bonheur and design a poster to explain to others why you should be allowed to have a horse in the house.

Literacy/Alphabet: Create a class alphabet book! Encourage students to choose a letter of the alphabet and draw an animal to represent the letter. Or, make a list of the letters of the alphabet and encourage students to think of an animal to go with each letter.

STEM: Provide opportunities for students to research horses. Question/Prompt: If a horse can’t live in a house, where could it live? Design an ideal home for a horse using found materials such as straws, popsicle sticks, cardboard, and tape.

 

More resources:

• Links for background information:

http://linesandcolors.com/2014/03/16/rosa-bonheur/

https://smarthistory.org/rosa-bonheur-plowing-in-the-nivernais-the-first-dressing/

https://www.theartstory.org/artist/bonheur-rosa/

https://www.artnews.com/list/art-news/news/who-is-rosa-bonheur-1234643325/ploughing-in-the-nivernais-1849/

• Hands On Art Activity ideas:

https://craftwhack.com/19-animal-art-projects/

• Other reviews (click title for link):

Canadian Review of Materials, reviewed by Julia Pitre

Description from the publisher:

Based on the incredible life of the pioneering, feminist and queer artist Rosa Bonheur, this charming story depicts Rosa's early years and her drive to fight for her dreams.

Rosa Bonheur loved to draw animals. She was good at it too! Unfortunately, in nineteenth-century France, girls were not allowed to be artists. But Rosa didn't let that stop her. In this fictionalized account of her early life in Paris, Rosa studies art at home, bringing a menagerie of animals into the apartment to study up close. When she is kicked out of the horse market for sneaking in wearing boys clothing, Rosa must think creatively to challenge the rules in pursuit of her dream of becoming a world-class realist painter and artist.

No Horses in the House! The Audacious Life of Artist Rosa Bonheur, written by Mirielle Messier and illustrated by Anna Bron, was published by Orca Books in 2023.

Visit the creators (click for link):

Mirielle Messier

Anna Bron

Orca Books

 For more wonderful picture books, visit Perfect Picture Book Friday!