Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Building Teamwork with - UP THE CREEK by Nicholas Oldland

UP THE CREEK by Nicholas Oldland was a book I discovered this week at the pubic library and is perfect for community building.  I was drawn to it by the front cover.  Its summer and three characters a beaver, a moose, and a bear are in a canoe together.  This seems to be quite the unlikely combination to be canoeing together and I had to know more.  

Come to find out this canoe trip wasn't so peaceful looking at the beginning.  Each character had their own ideas which led to the canoe over turning, tipping up, and completely capsizing.  If you've ever canoed yourself with someone else you can appreciate the struggles for finding a paddling rhythm and sharing of the workload.  They have a few obstacles and each time there are further disagreements.  

Finally, there's an agreement. They agree to TEAMWORK and take each animal's strength to ride the rapids and return to shore.  This review does not do the humor justice. The humor is achieved by the wonderful pairing of words and illustrations by Nicholas Oldland.  I found myself smiling along the way a bit more and I can see younger students especially giggling with delight.  I also think this would be a great piece to discuss showing action via illustrations.  


3 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this book! I too came across Up the Creek this summer on my vacation to the Upper Penninsula of Michigan. I'm sure it was stocked in the little gift shop because of the north woods animals. I picked up a copy and will be using it with my second graders this school year, too. There were several of his other books in the store as well, all having a message of friendship, caring, and/or teamwork. Love the illustrations!

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    1. Thanks for endorsing his other books, I will have to look for them. He's an new author to me.

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  2. I love this series, and when I went to check on this one, I found that I have missed a few! Thanks for reminding me!

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