A Teaching Guide to Using the Books Written by

NANCY CARLSONGuide developed by PEGGY SHARP

Viking Children’s Books / Puffin Books • Divisions of Penguin Young Readers Group

FOR PreSchool-

Grade 3

IFEELGOOD!

Viking Children’s Books / Puffin Books • Divisions of Penguin Young Readers Group

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Suggested Activities by Title

KINDERGARTEN KIDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Henry’s Show and TellLook Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!Henry’s 100 Days of Kindergarten

I KNOW I’M SPECIAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6I Like Me!ABC I Like Me!

RULES FOR LIFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8Life Is FunHow to Lose All Your Friends

ARNIE’S ANTICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Arnie and the New KidHooray for Grandparents’ Day!

HOW ABOUT A HUG? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

MY BEST FRIEND MOVED AWAY . . . . . . . . .15

THERE’S A BIG, BEAUTIFULWORLD OUT THERE! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

IT’S GOING TO BE PERFECT! . . . . . . . . . . . .18

SNOWDEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

About Nancy Carlson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Complete Listing of Titlesby Nancy Carlson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .back cover

TABLE OF CONTENTS

All illustrations © Nancy Carlson. Text © 2004 Penguin Young Readers Group.

Pages may be photocopied for classroom use only.

NANCY CARLSON’Sbooks are about issues that are important tokids. These books can help young childrenunderstand their world and learn of someappropriate reactions to the situations theyface. This guide includes many activities forthe books by Nancy Carlson. However, themost important strategy for these books is toread them to young children. The activitiesin this guide are intended to help readersappreciate the books and enhance theirunderstanding of the concepts the authoraddresses after they have enjoyed the story.

The books by Nancy Carlson that aredescribed in this guide can be enjoyed bychildren in grades preschool through three.Young readers and listeners will relate to thestories as the animal and children charactersexperience situations they have encounteredin their own lives. The strategies and sug-gestions can be used to encourage readers tofurther relate the characters’ experiences totheir own.

The organization of the strategies in thisguide varies. In some cases, there are sever-al books about the same characters; thesebooks have been grouped together. Firstthere is a brief summary of the books, fol-lowed by a description of strategies for thegrouping, followed by ideas developed specif-ically for the individual titles. The ideas areintended to help readers make connectionsfor the books that feature the same charac-ters in different situations.

Additionally, there are some books thatfeature characters and situations unique tothe individual title. In these cases, each bookis first summarized then followed by strate-gies for that individual title.

The easy-to-implement strategies in thisguide can be connected with many areas ofthe curriculum—language arts, social stud-ies, science, math, art, health. Use the ideaswith your students in the manner that bestreflects your students’ connections with thebooks.

Share Nancy Carlson’s books with yourclass. The combination of good stories andmeaningful activities can only lead to morebooks and more reading. Have fun!

For more information on Nancy, visit her website: www.nancycarlson.com

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KINDERGARTEN KIDSUSING Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!, Henry’s Showand Tell, AND Henry’s 100 Days of KindergartenHenry is in kindergarten, and he loves it, butthat doesn’t mean he has no concerns. Inthese three books Nancy Carlson points outthat kindergarten is lots of fun, and that ifthere are any problems, they can be resolvedfairly easily.

Overall Ideas:

SUPPLIES FOR A SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL YEARAs a class discussion, students can identifythe physical and mental supplies that areneeded for a successful school year—pencils,paper, markers; enthusiasm, energy, hardwork. They then draw or paint pictures ofthe physical supplies, and cut them out. Oneach of the physical supplies, write one of the

mental supplies theyhave identified. Put thesupplies in a construc-tion paper backpack sothe students are allready for a successfulschool year.

KINDERGARTEN ABC’SDuring the final quarter of their kinder-garten year, students can make an alphabetand/or counting book or frieze that identifieswhat they learned during the year. Forexample:• ABC book/frieze

I learned about animals.I learned to read books.I learned to count to 25.

• Counting book/friezeI went on 1 trip to the aquarium.I read 2 books all by myself.I learned about 3 community helpers.

With the students’ permission, make copiesof some of the books/friezes to share with nextyear’s incoming students (and parents) tointroduce them to some of concepts/activitiesthey can expect to learn/do during their yearin kindergarten.

KINDERGARTEN IS FUNHenry had fun in kindergarten after hisinitial uncertainty. Kindergartnerscan identify what they think isfun about kindergarten.

At the end of each week, askstudents to draw a picture to repre-sent something they especially likeddoing in class during that week.Have them dictate to you asentence describing the funactivity, and include this inthe student’s “KindergartenFun Portfolio.”

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Ideas for individual books:

Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!Henry is really looking forward to kinder-garten, but everything is so new that at firstit is a little bit overwhelming.

GETTING READY FOR KINDERGARTENStudents can draw how they get ready forschool. Have them place their three main get-ready techniques on a traffic light—the firstthing they do is pasted on the red part of thelight, the second thing is on the yellow, and thelast thing they do is on the green. Students cancompare how they ready themselves for schoolto what the other students do.

Henry’s Show and Tell Henry really liked kindergarten, but he wasanxious about show and tell—he didn’tknow what to share.

SHOW AND TELL PREPARATIONBefore your class’s first event, discuss theappropriate kinds of things to bring for showand tell. The students can each draw a pic-ture of something appropriate to bring, andanother of something that would be a prob-lem. Put the pictures on a Show and TellYES! and a Show and Tell NO! display.

GRAPHIC SHOW AND TELLMake a show and tell graph. Identify cate-gories for the types of things that studentsbring to share, using the sharing items inthis book as a starting point—toys, pets,family, travel souvenirs, collections, etc. Yourstudents may want to suggest additional categories.

Make a bar graph that shows the varietyof items the students bring in to share. Asthe students share, they can identify theappropriate category, and extend the bargraph. Use symbols that are appropriate for

the category to extend the graph. Someappropriate symbols for categories might be:a picture of a dog for “pets;” a picture of ahouse for “family.”

REMEMBERING SHOW AND TELLStudents can keep a visual record of what theybring in for show and tell. Using a digital camera, photograph the students as they sharewhat they brought. Paste the photo on construction paper, and ask the student to dictate a sentence describing what was shared.Combine the pages into a show and tell scrap-book as a visual and written reminder of whateach student shares during the year. At the endof the school year, encourage students toidentify their personal best show and tell item;put a gold star on that page.

THEMATIC SHOW AND TELLSelect a different theme for each week ofshow and tell, incorporating different sub-ject areas. Some possible themes include:Science — animals, weather, outdoor activitiesSocial Studies — family, travel, communityLanguage Arts — books, words Math — recipes, measurement, collectionsArt — pictures, movies

Henry’s 100 Days of KindergartenHenry and his classmates need to keepthemselves busy before their 100 days ofkindergarten celebration.

CELEBRATING THE 100TH DAYCount off the days until the celebration with agiant wall calendar. On the day of the event,students can bring in their own “100 things”collections for a special show and tell day. Orconduct a class collection, as Ms. Bradley doeswith her jelly bean jar. As a party souvenir, create a certificate template or button thatreads, “_____ has survived 100 days of kinder-garten.”

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I KNOW I’M SPECIALUSING I Like Me! AND ABC I Like Me!Nancy Carlson reminds her readers thatthey are unique and special and have everygood reason to like themselves very much intwo books featuring a self-confident littlepig. Share these exuberant books with yourstudents to remind them of all the reasonsthey should celebrate themselves.

Ideas for both books:

I’M UNIQUEStudents can identify whatit is about them that is dif-ferent than everyone else—what makes them trulyunique and likable. Whatdo the students like bestabout themselves? Theycan introduce themselveswith their unique featureto the other students.

Students can make a fold-out book with construction paper about themselves, featuringthe personal experiences that have shaped whothey are. The book can be entitled, “I Am Special.”Each page can tell personal information suchas: favorite food, favorite day of the week,where and how they like to spend their freetime, how they have fun, favorite memory,favorite book. Your students can determinetopics for the pages, but everyone in theclass will use the same topics for their books.

YOU’LL LIKE MEStudents can make a “Wanted” poster forthemselves. The poster includes a self-por-trait and the most wanted features of thestudent—the attributes that they feel makethem most likable. Students can also bepaired, with each student creating a“wanted” poster for their partner. It wouldbe an opportunity for students to get toknow a little more about a classmate.

Ideas for individual books:

USING I Like Me!The narrator pig is her own best friend forseveral very good reasons.

WE LIKE OURSELVESMake a “We Like Ourselves” heart tree. Onconstruction paper hearts, students writewhat they like about themselves. Hang thesehearts on a tree branch secured in a large con-tainer with plaster of paris, or on a tree out-lined on a bulletin board. Other students canthen see why their classmates are worth lik-ing. Students do not need to write their nameson the hearts, thereby making the likablecharacteristics more general, and not limitedto the student who wrote the characteristic.

Students can make their own “I Like Me”mirrors. Cut out oak tag or cardboard in theshape of small hand mirrors. On one side,paste a piece of mylar or aluminum foil sothat children can “see” an image of them-selves. On the other side, they will put a pic-ture of what they like best about themselves.The students can then “see” themselves forwhat they really are by looking at either sideof the hand mirror. You can also use the mir-ror available with the I Like Me!/ABC I LikeMe! mini books and mirror set and base yourlesson on these.

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PATTERNED PERSONALITIESNancy Carlson uses many different patternsin the wallpaper in her illustrations, often toreflect the activities in the illustration orreflecting something about the character inthe picture. Students can design wallpaperthat suits their personalities. Remind themthat wallpaper design is simple, and isrepeated over and over again.

First the students make an appropriatedesign for themselves on a 2” x 2” square ofpaper, drawing it in pencil. After they aresatisfied with the design, they outline thedrawing with a black felt tipped pen.Photocopy the design sixteen times to coveran 8” x 8” sheet of paper. Students thencolor in the design to make a piece of wall-paper that suits their personality.

TAKING CARE OF MEAsk students to keep a “How I Take Care ofMyself” journal for one week. They can record(either through words or pictures) what theydo in the following categories—eating, physi-cal exercise, mental activities, recreationalactivities, quiet time, and time with others.

They can then review their activities anddecide what they do that is really good forthemselves and what they could do to treatthemselves better. Students then makeaction plans, indicat-ing one thing theywill do to take bettercare of themselves—e.g. I will eat morefruit and less candy.

USING ABC I Like Me!An alphabet of attributes and activities thatthe characters like about themselves.

I’M APPRECIATEDDo an oral group alphabet book of specialpersonal characteristics. The students eachbegin their statements with the phrase, “I like me because . . .” Begin with “A”, andask the first student to identify a positivepersonal characteristic for “A”— “I like mebecause I’m artistic.” The next student tellswhat s/he likes about her/his self that beginswith the letter “B.” Continue in this mannerfor a quick group review of positive personalattributes for each letter of the alphabet.

Students can identify personal positiveattributes and activities, one for each letterof their own name: N—nice; A—artistic; N—never late; C—caring; Y—yoyo champion

Students can also do the same based on afriend or family member.

COUNT ON METhe author has written an alphabet book ofpositive attributes/activities. Students canmake a counting book, identifying ten rea-sons why they like themselves, and whatmakes them special. Remind the studentsthat each reason needs to incorporate thenumber in its explanation. For example:

I like myself because I am one special kid. I have two brothers. I eat three meals a day. I can make four different types of sand-

wiches.

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RULES FOR LIFE USING Life Is Fun AND

How to Lose All Your FriendsNancy Carlson suggests rules for a happierlife in two books with specific instructionsfor readers to follow.

Ideas for both books:

RULES FOR THE CLASSROOMStudents can suggest five to ten rules thatthey would like to see followed in their class-room. As a group, discuss what needs to hap-pen to make the classroom a positive placefor learning. Discuss whether the rules willbe written as what to do, what not to do, ora combination of both.

After the rules have been selected, divideclass into groups of two or three children soeach group can create a poster illustratingone rule.

HAPPY / GRUMPY SELVES As a class discussion, compare the covers onthese two books. Students can identify howthe children look different. Discuss how theface changes with these two moods.

Take happy and grumpy photos of the stu-dents with a digital camera. Students canthen identify a time when they feel happyand a time when they are grumpy. On onehalf of a folded piece of paper, they paste thephoto of their happy self and briefly describethe situation that made them happy. They dothe same on the other half of the paper fortheir grumpy photo. Students can also drawself portraits of their happy and grumpyselves in place of the photos.

Ideas for individual books:

USING Life Is Fun The author suggests that life is fun, espe-cially if kids follow her simple rules.

THE GOOD LIFEEncourage the students to share examplesfrom their own lives that reflect the sevenrules that the author identifies in Life Is Fun.Divide a large piece of paper into 8 sections,and write one of the rules in each section:• Be Nice to Others• Be Nice to Yourself• Be Healthy• Stay Out of Trouble in School• Stay Out of Trouble at Home• Have Fun• Do Your Own Thing

The eighth space is for a rule that yourstudents identify for their own happiness.The students can then draw a picture ineach space that shows an experience they’vehad that illustrates/exemplifies the rule.

Focus on one of the author’s rules eachweek. Post the featured rule on a bulletinboard, and ask studentsto post pictures on thebulletin board to illus-trate the rule. Theycan find pictures inmagazines that illustrate the rule,and/or draw pictures of experi-ences they have that relate to therule. Photos can be taken toillustrate the rules as well.

Students can identify the funin their lives. Staple two largepieces of construction papertogether to make a folder/portfolio for each child.Label the folder “Life IsFun.” Each student

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decorates the folder with a picture to showsome of the fun in his/her life. Students thenput pictures they draw, photographs, itemsthey collect—anything that represents some-thing about their own happy life—to helpthem remember how much fun life can be.

SING A HAPPY LIFEStudents can orally share their examples ofa fun life, focusing on the author’s rules.Enliven the sharing by separating each ofthe students’ stories with a class chorus.After a student shares an example fromhis/her life to illustrate a rule, the class singsthe following refrain to the tune of Row,Row, Row Your Boat:

Life, life, life is funIt’s easy once you knowTo follow very simple rulesTo laugh and learn and grow

USING How to Lose All Your FriendsUnpleasant-looking children illustrate theauthor’s suggestions of what to do if youdon’t want friends in this tongue-in-cheeklist of friendship suggestions.

RULE REVERSALThe author tells how to lose friends.Students can reverse the author’s guidelinesand write a book of personal guidelinesabout making friends entitled How to WinFriends.

First the students identify six activitiesthat are likely to win friends. They thenwrite or discuss how each activity/guidelinecan be used to win friends. Next they draw apicture illustrating the guideline, and writea one-word suggestion—e.g. smile, share.Combine their suggestions into a class book,or feature the one-word suggestions onfriendship buttons.

FRIENDSHIP ADVICEThe author gives advice for not makingfriends. Students can provide their ownadvice for making friends. Encourage stu-dents to write a letter about a problem theyare having related to a friendship (for priva-cy, suggest that they change their friend’sname in the letter). Randomly distribute theletters to other students. Then, after readingabout the problem, students write a letteradvising how the writer can solve the identi-fied problem.

An alternative is for a panel of students todiscuss potential solutions before determin-ing how the letter writer should solve his/herproblem.

IRONIC SUGGESTIONSIn this book the author uses irony to givereaders guidelines about friendship—whatshe really intends is for readers to do theopposite of what she suggests. Discuss theeffectiveness of this technique, and what thestudents really understand about each sug-gestion. Your students can then write anironic suggestion for behaving in the class-room or library.

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ARNIE’S ANTICSUSING Arnie and the New Kid AND

Hooray for Grandparents’ Day!Arnie, a human-like cat, behaves as childrensometimes do, with consequences, positive andnegative, that are deserved and appropriate.

Ideas for both books:

ANIMAL BEHAVIOR AND CHARACTERISTICSArnie is a cat in these books. Students canlist the behaviors that they know are truefor cats, based upon personal experience aswell as research. Based upon this informa-tion, they can discuss why Arnie is depictedas a cat, and whether they think the cat isthe best animal for Arnie’s personality.

The characters in these stories are allanimals—beavers, cats, dogs, rabbits.Students can research to learn more aboutthese animals, specifically their commonexpected behaviors.

The students then make paper bag puppetsof one of the animal characters in the twobooks. They draw the face of the animal onappropriately colored construction paperusing markers. Cut out the face and paste itto the bottom flap of a lunch sized paper bag.Attach the face so that when the bottom flapof the bag moves, the animal’s mouth is mov-ing. The students then color the bag and adddetails—fur, tail, etc.—to complete the pup-pet. The students then introduce their puppetcharacter to the class, explaining the animalcharacter’s role in the story compared to theanimal’s true natural animal behavior.

Students can tell how they are like theirpets or other animals. They can make amask from tag board of the animal selected.Color the mask with markers, using black asan outline.

The students then introduce themselveswith the animal mask in front of their face.They begin by saying, “Hello, I am (name ofstudent) the (name of animal)” and thencontinue by explaining how they are similarto the animal selected. Remind the studentsto select an animal that is appropriate forthem because of physical or behavioral char-acteristics. For example, certain types ofdogs like people, so a child who likes to bewith other children might choose to be thatdog; cats can be independent, so a child wholikes to do his/her own thing might choose tobe a cat, etc.

An alternative is for students to find photosof animals in magazines and books. Theyselect one, and describe how the animal inthe picture is like themselves.

COMMUNITIESIn these books, the artist has shown detailsabout the classroom and school communityas well as the neighborhood community.Students can identify the details in the illus-trations that show how their classroom andcommunity is similar to and different thanthe ones drawn by Nancy Carlson. Remindthem to look for specific details such as therecycling bins in the school and the brickstore fronts in the community. Students canidentify any basic requirements for schooland neighborhood communities that seem tobe or should be true for all—e.g. schoolshave fenced playgrounds, libraries, etc.

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Ideas for individual books:

USING Arnie and the New Kid When Arnie has an accident and must usecrutches, he begins to better understand thepossibilities and limitations that Philip hasbecause he is confined to a wheelchair.

NO LIMITATIONSThe children in Arnie and the New Kid did notknow how to play with Philip, as they hadnever been around anyone in a wheelchair.Invite people with various disabilities to talkwith students about what they can and cannotdo as a result of their condition. After talkingto and learning from people who are confinedto wheelchairs, blind, deaf, etc. the studentscan identify one thing that they like to do thatthey could do with someone with a particulardisabling condition—play video games withsomeone in a wheelchair, listen to music withsomeone who is blind, etc.

Invite someone from an agency that worksfor and with the disabled to talk with theclass about what one can do to help peoplewith physical limitations. Encourage the stu-dents to identify something they or someoneelse could do to make life easier for peoplewith a disabling condition. AcknowledgeNational Inclusive Schools Week in the firstweek of December with a celebration kit thatcan be requested from the IDEA Practicesweb site: (www.ideapractices.org).

Take a walk around the school and/orneighborhood to look for situations thatmight be difficult for someone confined to awheelchair. Encourage the students to iden-tify some of the things that have been doneto improve access—ramps, cut away curbs—and some things that could be improved—lower counters in restaurants and stores,wider aisles in certain stores.

TEASING HURTSThe author dedicates Arnie and the New Kidto someone who also learned a lesson afterteasing someone, just as Arnie did in thisstory. Discuss how teasing hurts, encourag-ing the students to identify a situation whenthey were teased and how they felt at thetime.

Make your classroom a “No TeasingZone.” Students can make posters and but-tons that show a teasing situation. Cover thepictures with the red slashed circle, theinternational “do not” symbol, to remindeveryone that teasing is not allowed.

Arnie was not kind to Philip. He didreceive a type of punishment for his behav-ior, however. Students can decide an alterna-tive consequence for Arnie as a result of hisbehavior.

Stage a mock trial for Arnie with one stu-dent as Arnie, another as a questioner, andthe class as the jury. Depending on the ageand ability of your students you can add anattorney for Arnie and a judge, as well. After

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questioning Arnie about his behavior andwhy he acted as he did, the class can decideupon an appropriate punishment. Remindthe students to make the punishment appro-priate for the original behavior.

I’M SORRYArnie understood Philip’s condition betterafter he had to use crutches, and theybecame friends. However, Arnie never didapologize for his earlier behavior.

Students can write a note of apology fromArnie to Philip, signing the note with thename Arnie as well as their own—i.e. Arniea.k.a. Carson Dean. Randomly distributethese notes of apology so that every studentreceives one. Then, each student “becomes”Philip and writes a note accepting the apolo-gy which is delivered to the appropriateArnie.

Most students have done things for whichthey are sorry afterwards. They can draw apicture of the activity for which they aresorry, and write a line indicating why theyare sorry for what they did. Combine thesedrawings and statements into a booklet enti-tled, “Apologies Accepted!”

USING Hooray for Grandparents’ Day! The school is celebrating grandparents, andArnie thinks that he doesn’t have anyone toinvite.

GRANDPARENTS ARE GRAND“Grand” means something that is higher inimportance or rank, something that is mag-nificent and splendid. Students can writewhy their grandparents are grand to them inan acrostic; they identify one reason for eachletter in the word grand:My grandmother is…

GenerousReally sweetAlways there for meNiceDear

GRANDPARENTS ARE WORTH MORE THAN A GRANDExplain to the class that “grand” is a slangexpression for $1000.00. Students can iden-tify why their grandparents are worth morethan one thousand dollars. Students canmake a construction paper thousand dollarbill, using a one dollar bill as a model for theinformation to include. On the side of thebill where the picture of the President or his-torical figure usually is, they draw or paste apicture of their grandparent(s) or olderfriend. On the reverse side of the bill, theywrite why their grandparent(s) or olderfriend is worth more than a grand to them.

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OLDER PEOPLE IN OUR LIVESArnie was disappointed because he had nograndparents to invite for Grandparents’Day, but many of his older friends came tothe celebration to support him. Encourageyour students to identify some of the olderadults who are an important part of theirlives. The students paste their school photoin the middle of a large piece of paper. Theythen surround their portrait with photosand/or pictures of these people who areimportant in their lives. They can add a sen-tence indicating why these adults are specialor grand. Title this circle of friends, “MyWorld Is Grand.”

IN MY GRANDPARENTS’ DAYShare photos and pictures that show anappropriate activity or situation for thechildhoods of the students’ grandparents.Students then draw pictures of themselvesin a similar situation today. For example,both groups have probably ridden bicyclesbut the designs might have changed. Discusshow some things have changed while othershave stayed the same since their grandpar-ents’ youth.

GRAND OBJECTSOn the left side of a folded piece of paper,students can draw a picture of an item thatreminds them of a grandparent or otherolder person who is important to them. Theycan explain why the item is significant tothem. Students then identify an object thatwould remind their grandparent(s) or olderfriend of them. They draw a picture of thatitem on the right hand side of the paper, andindicate why it has special significance intheir relationship. Items selected for thisproject could be something they use togeth-er, something the other person alwayswears, etc.

GRANDPARENTS’ DAY CELEBRATIONPlan a celebration of grandparents in yourown classroom. Your students can identifyappropriate activities and plan a schedulefor the morning or day. Some possible activ-ities to consider:• interview grandparents about their child-

hoods and draw comparisons with today• play a bingo game about items from the

past• demonstrate the use of new instructional

technologies• read a picture book about grandparents• read papers that the students have writ-

ten about what grandparents mean tothem

• do an art activity together• share a school lunch

The students can write invitations for thecelebration, and make their grandparents apersonalized keepsake of the day such as aphoto bookmark made from a copy of theirclass picture.

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USING How About a Hug?Different types of hugs are needed at differ-ent times, and they always help someone tofeel better.

CATEGORICAL HUGSStudents can count the number of hugs thatthey receive in a week, and put them into theauthor’s categories. As they identify aninstance when they received a hug, add asquare to a bar graph, with one bar for eachof the hug categories:

A Good Morning HugA Have a Great Day HugAn It’ll Be Okay HugA Boy Am I Glad to See You HugA You Did Great HugAn I’m Sorry HugAn Anytime, Anywhere, I Love You Hug

HUGS FROM SPECIAL PEOPLEThe author has dedicated this book to heruncle Bill who always gave her big hugs.Students can identify the people from whomthey like to receive hugs.

Students can draw a self-portrait or pastea photo onto the middle of a piece of drawingpaper. They then surround themselves withthe people from whom they like to receivehugs—again, they can use photographs ordraw pictures. Under each person’s picture,the students can write a short description ofthe situation when the hug from the identi-fied person was so special.

Hugs go both ways. Discuss the impor-tance of giving as well as receiving hugs.Encourage students to give at least one hugper day. In their “hug log” they can identifywho they hugged, the category of hug, andwhy the person needed/deserved the hug.

LIFE IS FUNThe pig in this book has a poster over herbed with six illustrations and the words, LifeIs Fun! Students can make their own fun-filled “life” poster.

Fold or mark a large piece of paper (atleast 12” x 18”) into six sections. In each sec-tion, students can use family photos or makea drawing that shows an activity that is funfor them. Add a banner at the bottom of thepaper that says, “Life Is Fun.” Encouragestudents to place their posters in their ownbedrooms.

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USING My Best Friend Moved Away When her best friend moves away, the youngnarrator knows that she will miss her verymuch.

FRIENDSHIPThe narrator and her best friend are likemany best friends—they like each other verymuch, but also have disagreements.Students can identify three times when theyhad a good time with their best friend, andone disagreement they had.

Fold a piece of drawing paper into quar-ters. Students draw and briefly describetimes when they got along with their friendin the first two sections. In the third sectionthey draw and describe a disagreement theyhad with their friend. In the fourth sectionthey show that they are still friends in spiteof the disagreement.

GOODBYES AND HELLOSWhile the girl in this story is saying goodbyeto her old friend, she is saying hello to some-one new. Your students can illustrate a good-bye and hello situation in their own lives.

Fold a piece of drawing paper in half. Onthe left side of the paper, ask the students todraw a picture of a time they had to saygoodbye to someone. On the right half of thepaper, they draw a picture of saying hello tosomeone else. Discuss whether it is easier tosay goodbye or hello.

Nancy Carlson lives in Minneapolis.Students can research the author’s homecity to determine how it is similar to and dif-ferent than the place where they life. Make alist of what students can compare aboutwhere they live and Minneapolis. Somespecifics on the list might include: popula-tion, weather, special events, cultural events,sports teams.

HOW FAR AWAY?The students can calculate how far awaytheir best friend would move if they movedto a different town or state.

Put the names of towns/cities in yourstate in a container. Students randomlyselect a town. They then consult an atlas todetermine how far away their friend’s newtown is from their town. Share results anddetermine which town is the farthest awayfrom where they actually live. Students canmake up additional math problems such as:• How much farther away is one town

from another town?• What is the greatest distance between

two towns where the friend could havemoved?

Do the same procedure comparing distancesof cities in different states to your originalhometown. Students select a city and stateand determine how far it is from where theylive. Some questions to consider include:• Where could their friend move that would be

the farthest away from where they currentlylive?

• Where could their friend move that is outof state but the closest?

• Are there any cities out of state that arecloser to where they live than cities thatare in state?

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SEND A LETTERStudents can become one of the friends inthis book and write a letter to the otherfriend. Ask half of the students to be thefriend who moved away and the other half tobe the friend who stayed behind. Discusswhat they would want to know from or tellto their friend if they moved away.

SCALLOPED PASTS, STRAIGHT PRESENTSNancy Carlson generally differentiatesbetween the present and the past in herillustrations—the illustrations of the pasthave scalloped edges and the pictures of herpresent have squared edges.

Fold a piece of drawing paper in half.Students can draw a picture from their paston one side, putting it inside a scallopedframe. On the other side they draw a picturefrom their present, drawing a straight-lineframe around it. Encourage the students tohave the two pictures—the past and thepresent—related to each other.

USING There’s a Big, Beautiful World Out There! There are many scary things in the world,but even more important are the wonderfulthings that make the world so special.

IT’S SCARYThere are some situations that should befrightening. As a class, make a list of realis-tic fears and discuss what students could doto avoid and/or address those fears. Forexample, it is appropriate to be afraid if youare separated from your family in the mall.A good response to the situation is to go to astore clerk and tell that person you are lost.The class may want to list these situationsand remedies in a self-help booklet entitled,“What to Do When You’re Afraid.”

NEVER FEARStudents can make posters that identifywhat they should never be afraid to do. Some“never-be-afraids” include:

Do not be afraid to be yourself.Do not be afraid to do what you

know is right.Students can make posters to illustrate

their “Do Not Be Afraid” situations.

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SOME THINGS ARE ALWAYS GOODSometimes when something really bad hap-pens, people believe everything is bad.Encourage students to identify what isalways good such as a family member’s love,and how that good can lessen the intensity ofa bad situation.

On a piece of paper, they can draw a pic-ture to illustrate what they have identifiedas good; encourage them to almost fill thepage with their picture of the positive. In thelower right corner of the paper, they candraw a very small picture of something thatis scary or bad. The drawing visually showshow good dominates.

IT’S A BEAUTIFUL WORDDiscuss with the class what beautiful meanswithin the concept of their world—some-thing physical, something that is done to/forothers, etc. They can keep a “beauty log” inwhich they identify something that they seeor do that is beautiful—a look at a physicalbeauty, a kindness. Discuss how what isbeautiful to someone may not be beautiful tosomeone else.

After completing the log, students canidentify something specific they are going todo to make the world a more beautiful place.Perhaps while they are working on theirlogs, you can play a recording of LouisArmstrong’s song, “What a WonderfulWorld” as background music.

BEAUTIFUL ACTSThere is an old adage, “Beauty is as beautydoes.” Discuss the meaning of the sayingwith the students.

Fold a piece of construction paper in half.Paste an enlarged copy of the student’s photoon the outside front of the folded paper.Under the photo, they write the phrase, “Iam Beautiful!” On the inside, they thendraw/write about something they have donethat was beautiful—their beautiful deed.

THERE IS BEAUTY IN THE WORLDStudents can list what they think is beautifulabout the world, what they think is special.They then select one of their identified beau-ties and describe it using a diamante form:

1st line: one word identifying what isbeautiful2nd line: two words that describe thebeauty3rd line: three words that describe thebeauty4th line: two words that further describethe beauty5th line: same word as first lineBecause the finished poems are shaped

like a diamond, ask the students to write thefinal copy of their poems on diamond-shapedsilver, white or blue piece of paper.

USING It’s Going to Be PERFECT! A mother anticipates that her daughter isgoing to be perfect at every stage in her life,but her little girl shows how imperfectioncan be even better.

A PERFECT WRITING MODELStudents write their own story using theauthor’s model. They can use the followingformat, identifying a situation they thoughtwould be perfect, how they thought it wouldbe perfect, and the actual reality of the situ-ation.• Before (name the situation or event),

I knew it would be perfect.• (Identify three details that indicate how

the situation or event would be perfect)• But (describe what really happened).

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REALITY: PROJECTED AND ACTUALProjected reality and what really happensare not always the same, as this book illus-trates. Students can identify an experiencethey’ve had that turned out to be much differ-ent than they anticipated—for example, thefirst day of school, the first trip in a car, etc.

Fold a long, narrow piece of drawingpaper into four sections. In the first sectionon the far left, the students identify theexperience they are going to illustrate—firstovernight with grandparents, first trip tothe beach, etc. In the next section, they drawa picture of what they anticipated the expe-rience would be like. In the third section,they illustrate the actuality of the experi-ence. In the final section, they draw how theexperience would have looked if it were per-fect. Older children can write a brief descrip-tion of the experience in each of the reali-ties—projected, actual, and perfect.

How much have people changed inappearance since they were babies? Studentscan bring their baby pictures to school.Write the students’ names on the back of thephotos before displaying them on a bulletinboard. Number each photo and challengeothers to identify the student in each babypicture.

Teachers, librarians, the principal, andother adults working in the school can bringin their own baby photos for similar display. Students try to guess the identityof the adults in each baby picture.

PERSONAL TIMELINEWith the help of their families, students cancomplete a timeline of the first five years oftheir lives. On a long piece of paper, theydraw a horizontal line. They then divide theline into six sections, the first being theirbirth date, second “One Year Old”, the third“Two Years Old”, etc. After discussing withtheir families the ‘milestones’ of their firstfive years, they then draw pictures or bringin photos/mementos for their timeline thatreflect some of the significant experiencesthey had at each age.

CLOSE TO PERFECTIONNobody is perfect, but people can strive to beas close to perfect as possible. Students canidentify something at which they are notperfect and why they would like to be betterat the activity. They can make a list of whatthey can do to get to the more perfect state.Call their lists “Perfect Plans” and encour-age students to work toward their goals.

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USING SnowdenA magical snowman helps Kelly gain herself-confidence through a little magic and alot of practice.

READ A SNOWMANSnowden showed Kelly that practice improvesskills. Snowden can motivate readers toimprove their reading skills.

During the winter, encourage students tobuild their own Snowdens. Create anunadorned Snowden outline. Identify theparts of Snowden that each student can addon—a hat, two eyes, a nose, a smile, two rosycheeks, a scarf, and two buttons. As the stu-dents read books, they can add a piece totheir own Snowden. Encourage them to readenough books so that Snowden can be com-pleted by the end of the winter season.

As a class activity for the winter season,have the students record the titles of all thebooks they have completed within a set timeperiod. Each title is written on a small whitecircle “snowball.” To celebrate the end ofwinter, combine all of the snowballs to makeone giant bulletin board Snowden.

Snowden reminds readers that they canimprove through practice. Students canpractice their reading by using Snowden tohelp them select books to read. Use the let-ters in Snowden’s name to guide your stu-dents’ winter reading in several ways:• Read a book with a title that begins with

each letter in Snowden’s name.• Read a book written by an author with a

last name that begins with each letter inSnowden’s name.

• Read a book illustrated by someone witha last name that begins with each letterin Snowden’s name. After the studentshave completed the seven books as partof their Snowden reading activity, theycan receive a certificate from Snowdencongratulating them on a job well done.

PERSONIFICATIONSnowden is an inanimate object that hasbeen given the characteristics of a person.Encourage your students to personify afavorite inanimate object of their own.

Students can make a list of the humancharacteristics they want to give their object—name, personality traits, likes and dislikes,etc. They then create a “birth announcement”poster for their new “person.”

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECTIn order to learn a skill, practice is usuallyneeded. Encourage students to identifysomething they would like to learn—iceskating, jump roping, knitting, etc. Theythen make a learning plan, indicating howthey will receive instruction (from anotherperson, through a book, etc.) and a schedulefor learning the skill. After a reasonablelength of time (a week to a month), invitethe students to demonstrate or talk abouttheir new skills to the rest of the class.During their presentation they can show ortalk about what they learned and how theylearned the skill.

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MELTING SNOWMENSnowden stayed around for several days.Students can experiment to see how longthey can make a snowman last. After thefirst snowfall or by using crushed ice, askstudents to make several small Snowdens,snowmen no taller than 6”. They then exper-iment to determine what they can do tomake the Snowden snowmen last as long aspossible. Some of the strategies studentsmay identify include: put him in the freezer,wrap him in tin foil, leave him in a dark cor-ner, wrap him in a sweater. Put one of theSnowdens in a pan on the classroom counter.Students then compare how long the count-er-top Snowden lasts compared to theoptions they used on the other Snowdens.Make a list of what the students learnedfrom this experiment—their hypotheses asto what is needed to keep a snowman frommelting. Put this list on a chart in the shapeof Snowden.

WINTER WEATHERSnowden lives where there is lots of snow.Students can track winter weather on adaily or weekly basis in several statesthroughout the country. Pick a minimum ofsix states (including your own) geographicallyspread out across the country. Select thelargest city in each state for weather obser-vation. Assign a group of students to beresponsible for learning about the weatherin each of the identified states. (For youngerstudents, you can read the weather reportsto them.)

The students will be looking for threemajor types of weather—snow, rain, sun-shine. Throughout the winter the studentswill select the appropriate symbol for theweather occurring in their assigned state.

Make a bar graph to show the trackedwinter weather. Each state will have threebars on the graph, one for each type ofweather. Create small symbols to representeach of the types of weather—snowflake,raindrop, run. As the groups identify eachstate’s weather, they then paste the appro-priate symbol in the appropriate spot on thebar graph.

At the end of winter, students can com-pare the lengths of weather bars to deter-mine which city/state had the most of eachtype of weather. Discuss where Snowdenwould most like to live based upon this win-ter weather project.

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LET IT SNOW!Students can identify one thing children dowhen it snows. They can paint a pictureshowing the activity, and write what a childmight say in that particular situation (i.e.sledding with the caption “Watch outbelow!”). Place the paintings and statementsinto a book or on a bulletin board entitled,“Snow!”

Snowden appears because it is snowing.Your students can make snow appear bymaking their own snowflakes:

Materials needed: • snowflake pattern• wax paper• black, medium felt-tipped pen • craft glue with applicator tip• glitter• scissors• fishing line cut into strands

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Instructions for snowflakes:1. Each student cuts out his/her own

snowflake pattern. 2. Put large sheets of wax paper on the

tables, making certain that the paper issmooth and flat.

3. Students place the snowflake pattern in acorner of the wax paper, and tracearound it with the felt-tipped pen. Repeat this tracing process to fill the waxpaper with the designs, making certainthat there is at least 1" between eachsnowflake.

4. Trace the black lines of the snowflakeswith an even stream of glue, and thencover the glue with glitter. Let the glitterdry.

5. After the glue is dry, lift the wax paperand pour off the excess glitter. Cut thesnowflakes apart, and then carefully peel the wax paper from the snowflakes. Putthe snowflakes, glitter side down, on aclean piece of wax paper.

6. Coat the unglittered side of eachsnowflake with glue, then cover the gluewith glitter. Allow to dry.

7. Tie fishing line around one tip of eachsnowflake, wrapping it several times andtying a double knot to make a hanger foreach snowflake. Snowflakes can be dis-played throughout the classroom or bywindows.

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NANCY CARLSONhas known since kindergarten that she wanted to “makepictures and tell stories.” A native Minnesotan, she nowhas more than fifty books published for children. Drawingupon her own children’s experiences and kids in her past,Nancy addresses life’s concerns and celebrations from achild’s point of view. Her goal is to provide an optimisticmessage to readers encouraging them to interact withtheir world and address their challenges with care andenthusiasm.

Whether the characters in Nancy’s books look like peopleor animals, young readers will recognize them and relateto their behaviors. When she is not writing and illustratingbooks or visiting classrooms, Nancy is an avid sports enthu-siast, and creator of artwork that appears on posters, mugs,t-shirts and other items.

GUIDE WRITTEN BY PEGGY SHARPDr. Peggy Sharp is well-known for her presentationsand writings about children’s books and motivatingchildren to read. She is an experienced teacher andlibrary media specialist and has received nationalawards for her creative teaching ideas. She has been aprofessor at Portland State University where she taughtaspiring teachers and librarians. A national presenterfor the Bureau of Education and Research (BER), shegives workshops and seminars throughout NorthAmerica about the best of the latest children’s litera-ture and specific strategies for incorporating the books

in library and classroom programs. Her articles aboutteaching with children’s books, motivating reading, andenhancing instructional programs have appeared inevery major professional magazine. She is the editor ofNew Book News, a subscription service that recommendsnew books and strategies for using them with children.She is the author of more than twenty books for teachersand library media specialists featuring practical, field-tested ideas for motivating children to read and encour-aging learning with the best children’s literature.

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