Mama, Will it Snow Tonight? by Nancy White Carlstrom was a perfect read aloud last night as the Midwest is waiting for another snow fall to come. I think this book would also be a great book to read while discussing winter with kindergartners. The reader follows a mother and offspring pairing while they each ponder will it snow tonight - a pair of foxes, a pair of rabbits, and a pair of humans. As they wait and ponder they observe their environment for signs of winter...
"The wind is brrrr.
The bushes bare.
The berries picked."
After some more pondering, which uses the same repetitive phrase allowing for a shared reading experience in the classroom the pairings each share how they have prepared for winter.
"Our fur is thick.
Our brown turns white.
Our jam is made."
I grew up with my Grandmother making jam and I've been known to do that once in a while. I wonder, how many children know you can make jam. I honestly don't know if I thought about it as a way to prepare for winter. Yes, it does snow and before the book concludes with a snowfall the reader is provoked to think about the smells, sounds, and how it feels to snow. The simplistic text uses many sight words my students have been reading and so I can imagine the detective work they will do finding them. I also think two children could easily navigate the text as a buddy reading book, after we've engaged with it several times.
Thanks for sharing this book. It sounds perfect as I sit by the French doors watching the snow fall. Snow day!
ReplyDeleteI love getting book ideas from you. We do some research into how pond animals adapt to the winter. This book sounds like it would be great to introduce and support our learning.
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