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School Library Monthly/Volume XXVIII, Number 4/January 2012

Picture Books Featuring Months, Calendars, and Seasons

by Carolyn S. Brodie

It's the beginning of a brand new year—2012 is here! This month's column focuses on books that feature calendars, teach about the months of the year through stories or poetry, and look at the changes in seasons in a variety of ways. A few versions of the old Slavic tale of the "Month Brothers" are also included.

So, it is, indeed, time to get organized and plan the next 12 months or 52 weeks or 365 days. One of the best ways to get organized is by using a calendar. Free printable calendars for young people (and educators) can be found on these sites: DLTK, various themes, a variety of languages, and available through 2020 (http://www.dltk-cards.com/calendar); Super Teacher Worksheets (http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/calendars.html); and Enchanted Learning (http://www.enchantedlearning.com/calendar).

Poetry Books Featuring Months and Calendars

Barner, Bob. Parade Day: Marching through the Calendar Year. Holiday House, 2003.
Torn paper and fabric collages feature a parade for each month of the year. The book includes information on calendar history, an assortment of factual information about each month of the year, and directions on creating a calendar.

• "How to Make a Shoebox Parade Float" has directions for a fun activity (http://www.ehow.com/how_5171010_make-shoebox-parade-float.html). Have a parade and play marching band music over the intercom.

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Days to Celebrate: A Full Year of Poetry, People, Holidays, History, Fascinating Facts, and More. Illus. by Stephen Alcorn. Greenwillow, 2004. 112 p.
Divided into twelve sections, each begins with a monthly calendar that has details such as the month’s flower, birthstone, a quote, and a "weather report" with information about an associated weather event. This is a poetry book that can be used all year by children, teachers, and librarians.

• Download the Little Giraffe’s Handprint Calendar that has a poem for each month of 2012 and places where children’s handprints can be added (http://printables.atozteacherstuff.com/334/2012-handprint-calendar).

Katz, Bobbi. Once Around the Sun. Illus. by LeUyen Pham. Harcourt, 2006.
One poem for each month of the year follows a young African American boy and his little sister as they enjoy the seasons of the year in a neighborhood park.

• A page at The Poetry Foundation website features a teaching guide from Dr. Maya Angelou that includes resources for teaching African American poetry (http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/article/179160).

Lewis, J. Patrick. July Is a Mad Mosquito. Illus. by Melanie W. Hall. Macmillan, 1994.
This book offers a sensory experience through twelve original poems, one for each month of the year.

• J. Patrick Lewis is the 2011 U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate. Find out more about him and his many children’s poetry books (http://www.jpatricklewis.com/) and read an interview with him about his new title (http://www.poetryfoundation.org/children/article/242020).

Livingston, Myra Cohn. Calendar. Illus. by Will Hillenbrand. Holiday House, 2007.
Originally published in 1959 (in Wide Awake and Other Poems), this poem is now the feature in Hillenbrand's picture book format with double-page spreads for each month of the year.

• Hillenbrand's website features a lesson plan focused on writing activities using Calendar (http://www.willhillenbrand.com/content/lesson_plans/calendar_lessonplans.pdf).

Rylant, Cynthia. Long Night Moon. Illus. by Mark Siegel. Simon & Schuster, 2004.
"Long ago Native Americans gave names to the full moons they watched throughout the year. Each month had a moon. And each moon had a name…" and thus opens this book in which Rylant's poetry describes each of the twelve moons of the year and Siegel's luminescent illustrations capture each perfectly.

• Extensive activity ideas that correspond with Long Night Moon are available online (http://www.homeschoolshare.com/long_night_moon.php).

Sendak, Maurice. Chicken Soup with Rice: A Book of Months. Harper & Row, 1962.
One of Sendak's classics, this title is perfect to teach the months of the year through catchy rhymes and fun illustrations. It follows a little boy as he and his friends enjoy chicken soup with rice during every month of the year.

• Hear Carole King singing the classic verses from Chicken Soup with Rice (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I5fYC8EXKk/).

Singer, Marilyn. Turtle in July. Illus. by Jerry Pinkney. Macmillan, 1989.
This title presents a poem about various animal activities for each month of the year beginning with a deer in January and concluding with a cat in December.

• Students may each choose an animal that has a connection to a particular month or season of the year, write a poem, and then illustrate the poem.

Updike, John. A Child's Calendar. Illus. by Trina Schart Hyman. Knopf, 1999. (2000 Caldecott Honor)
Twelve poems share the life events of a child throughout a calendar year from January to December.

• A cross-curricular guide can be found at Live Oak Media’s site (http://www.liveoakmedia.com/client/guides/29311.pdf).

Additional poetry books

Bruchac, Joseph, and Jonathan London. Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back. Illus. by Thomas Locker. Puffin, 1997.

Bunting, Eve. Sing a Song of Piglets: A Calendar in Verse. Illus. by Emily Arnold McCulley. Clarion, 2002.

Otten, Charlotte F. January Rides the Wind: A Book of Months. Illus. by Todd L. W. Doney. HarperCollins, 1997.

Prelutsky, Jack. Dog Days: Rhymes around the Year. Illus. by Dyanna Wolcott. Knopf, 1999.

Rylant, Cynthia. Bless Us All: A Child’s Yearbook of Blessings. Simon & Schuster, 1998.

Picture Books Featuring Months and Calendars

Gravett, Emily. The Rabbit Problem. Simon & Schuster, 2010.
In Fibonacci's Field, Lonely and Chalk Rabbit meet, snuggle together, and then spend a year trying to cope with their ever-increasing brood and the seasonal changes that bring a new challenge each month. The book is presented in an inventive calendar format with one pop-up illustration and many additional special features.

• Emily Gravett's webpage has these two great activities: "Spot the Difference" (http://www.emilygravett.com/activities/Rabbit_Spot_The_Difference.pdf) and "Rabbit Dominos" (http://www.emilygravett.com/activities/Rabbit_Dominoes.pdf).

Katz, Karen. Twelve Hats for Lena: A Book of Months. Margaret K. McElderry, 2002.
Through a rhyming text, a young girl named Lena (Katz's real-life daughter whose birthday is mentioned on the June page of this book) loves arts and crafts and decides to create a hat for each month of the year. Hat instructions are included.

• Connect to The Village Hat Shop's webpage for a terrific list of "hat books" (http://www.villagehatshop.com/hats_childrens_literature.html).

Lillie, Patricia. When This Box Is Full. Illus. by Donald Crews. Greenwillow, 1993.
As each month unfolds, another object corresponding with the month (such as a red heart for February) is added to an empty wooden box that becomes filled with a variety of colorful things. Endpapers of the book include photographs of other wooden boxes from the illustrator’s personal collection.

• Download a matching game that corresponds with this book (http://curry.virginia.edu/go/wil/When_This_Box_is_Full_Activity_Card.pdf).

Lionni, Leo. A Busy Year. Scholastic, 1994.
On a snowy day in January, two mice mistake the branches of a tree for a snowmouse's broom. The tree, named "Woody," changes month by month, watched over by the mice. After a full year of friendship, the mice and tree rejoice together, looking forward to the next busy year.

• Scholastic offers a wonderful "organization" activity (http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3750253). This is a great way to start out the year.

Provensen, Alice, and Martin Provensen. The Year at Maple Tree Farm. Atheneum, 1978.
This book follows a farm and the farm's animals through nature’s cycles and the seasons during each month of the year.

• A fun vocabulary building exercise was created by the Virginia Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom (http://www.agclassroom.org/directory/pdf/virginia/vocabulary_builder.pdf).

Tafuri, Nancy. Snowy Flowy Blowy: A Twelve Months Rhyme. Scholastic, 1999.
Taking the text of a poem by Gregory Gander, Tafuri depicts each month of the year with natural scenes that primarily feature birds and verse on double-page spreads.

• Visit Nancy Tafuri's webpage to learn more about her art and her forty-five published children's books (http://www.nancytafuri.net).

Additional picture books

Gerstein, Mordicai. The Story of May. Harper­Collins, 1993.

Henderson, Kathy. A Year in the City. Illus. by Paul Howard. Candlewick, 2006.

Lobel, Anita. One Lighthouse, One Moon. Greenwillow, 2000.

Murphy, Stuart. Pepper's Journal: A Kitten's First Year. MathStart series. HarperCollins, 2000.

Peters, Lisa Westberg. October Smiled Back. Illus. by Ed Young. Henry Holt, 1996.

Seasons and Changes

Carle, Eric. A House for Hermit Crab. Picture Book Studio, 1987.
As a hermit crab outgrows his shell, he searches for a new home over the next year with the assistance of fellow sea creatures until he finally finds just the perfect one.

• Be sure to visit the Caterpillar Exchange, a bulletin board where teachers and parents describe using Eric Carle's books in creative ways (http://www.eric-carle.com/catexchange.html).
• Check out the maze at the Franklin Institute's site and find hermit crab a home (http://sln.fi.edu/fellows/fellow8/dec98/games/maze.html).

Grimes, Nikki. A Pocketful of Poems. Illus. by John Steptoe. Clarion, 2001.
Paired poems of lyrical free verse and haiku embrace the urban setting in young Tiana's life as she ventures from spring to December. It is especially notable due to Javaka Steptoe’s inventive collage illustrations.

• The teacher's guide provides questions and discussion points based on Bloom's Taxonomy (http://www.nikkigrimes.com/teacher/pcktfltg.html).

Hall, Donald. The Ox-Cart Man. Illus. by Barbara Cooney. Viking, 1972.
This Caldecott Medal winner describes the day-to-day life of an early 19th-century New England family through the changing of the seasons.

• Live Oak Media features an activity guide (http://www.liveoakmedia.com/client/guides/27971.pdf/).

Sidman, Joyce. Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors. Houghton Mifflin, 2009.
This offers a unique approach to the seasonal picture book selection through using verse colors prevalent during that time of the year. "Singing" and glowing mixed media illustrations on every page won this book a 2010 Caldecott Honor.

• Learn more about the book and click on the Lesson Plans link at the bottom of the page (http://www.the-best-childrens-books.org/Red-Sings-from-Treetops-lesson.html).

The Month Brothers

De Regniers, Beatrice Schenk. Little Sister and the Month Brothers. Illus. by Margot Tomes. Marshall Cavendish, 2009.
The classic Slavic fairytale is presented in a new edition.

Marshak, Samuel. The Month-Brothers: A Slavic Tale. Morrow, 1983.
Using their magic, the Month Brothers help a young girl outsmart her stepmother and stepsister.

Sturges, Philemon. Marushka and the Month Brothers. Illus. by Anna Vojtech. NorthSouth, 1996.
A girl named Marushka fulfills the impossible requests of her mean stepmother and stepsister when the Month Brothers come to her aid time after time.

• A list of "read-alikes" for Little Sister and the Month Brothers can be found at the King County (WA) Library System's webpage (http://www.kcls.org/goodreads1/kids/view_book_detail.cfm?read_id=6464).
• A shortened version of the "Month Brothers" is also available (http://www.amidonmusic.com/PDFs/MonthBrothers.pdf).