Weekly Book Series: Halloween
We’ve saved up our themes for the last few weeks to give some more options for this week. Check out our Halloween-themed book picks below!
Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman
From the publisher:
The witch has grown the biggest pumpkin ever, and now she wants to make herself a pumpkin pie for Halloween. But the pumpkin is so big she can't get it off the vine. It’s so big the ghost can’t move it, either. Neither can the vampire, nor the mummy. It looks as if there’ll be no pumpkin pie for Halloween, until along comes the bat with an idea to save the day. How can the tiny bat succeed where bigger and strong spooky creatures have failed?
Frequent speech sounds in the book include:
initial and medial /p/ (e.g., pull, pumpkin)
medial /k/ (e.g., pumpkin)
initial /w/ (e.g., witch)
initial /v/ (e.g., vine)
initial “dr” (e.g., drat)
final /ch/ (e.g., witch)
Kay language concepts in the book include:
Sequencing: order of characters
Vocabulary: boasted, sprout, vine
Figurative Language: onomatopoeia
Grammar: conjunctions, past tense verbs
Text Features: dialogue, ellipsis, exclamation points, italics, rhyming
Problem Solving: The witch’s friends try to pull the pumpkin loose
Predicting: make some guesses - Who will get the pumpkin loose? How many characters will it take to get the pumpkin loose?
Inferencing: make some guesses - Why do they think of pumpkin pie and step aside? Why do they laugh at the bat?
Character Analysis: Each character boasted that they were bigger and stronger than the others
Social/Emotional: It is better to work as a team, than on your own
Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
From the publisher:
The witch and her cat are happily flying through the sky on a broomstick when the wind picks up and blows away the witch's hat, then her bow, and then her wand! Luckily, three helpful animals find the missing items, and all they want in return is a ride on the broom. But is there room on the broom for so many friends? And when disaster strikes, will they be able to save the witch from a hungry dragon?
Frequent speech sounds in the book include:
initial /r/ (e.g., room)
initial /w/ (e.g., witch, whoosh)
final “sh” (e.g., whoosh)
final “ch” (e.g., witch)
/r/ blends (e.g., broom)
Key language concepts in the book include:
Sequencing: order of animal friends or items dropped
Vocabulary: bog, bounded, cauldron, clambered, ditch, eagerly, feast, flapped, fluttered, frightful, ginger, glee, grateful, grinned, keen, leapt, magnificent, politely, purred, searched, shriek, spluttered, thundering, tumbling, wailed
Grammar: adjectives, prepositional phrases, past tense verbs
Text Features: change in font size, exclamation points, dialogue, rhyming, alliteration
Problem Solving: The broom breaks in two leaving the witch alone with a hungry dragon. Her friends save her by disguising themselves as a scary beast and the witch finds a way to make the broom big enough and strong enough for everyone.
Character Analysis: The witch is kind and inclusive and says “yes” to the animals needing a ride on her broom
Social/Emotional: friendship, kindness, inclusion, fear, bravery, teamwork
This book is a great option to get into the season even if you don’t celebrate the holiday as it doesn’t mention Halloween directly. You can also extend your reading by comparing and contrasting with the movie (currently available on AppleTV).
Disclaimer:
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