We have one more post that looks at a picture book with a volcano focus for preschool and kindergarteners.
by Lola M. Schaefer; Illustrated by Cathie Felstead
Greenwillow Books (August 1, 2006)
Read Aloud: Prek to First Grade
Independent Reading: First Grade
Source: Purchased
Description of the book from GoodReads:
This is the story of the birth of an island, from the first red-hot glow of magma at the bottom of the ocean, to the flowing lava that hardens and builds up higher and higher until, finally, it breaks through the water′s surface.
And then, life comes to the island. First come the small plants and animals, and later, people. This is a tale as old-and as new-as the ground we walk on.
My thoughts on this book:
An Island Grows by Lola M. Schaefer may be a simple look at how an island is created from a volcanic eruption but it is quite effectively executed. Schaefer uses minimal text in verse to explain the process from the start of the eruption to the creation of the island. She further continues the story to show children how seeds root and begin to grow, life begins to arrive, and eventually settlers come to work the land. The end notes provide teachers with further information on how a volcanic island grows and provides a few additional resources to investigate.
It is not easy to take the process of how a volcanic island develops and make it understandable to very young children; however, Schaefer finds just the right words to be successful with her story. Additionally, the illustrations by Cathie Felstead maintain the simplicity of the book while providing just the right visual images to help children follow the process.
This would make a nice addition to a collection of books on volcanoes and provide a nice balance to books that may be more text driven. Additionally, as part of the common core standards, you can have children compare the text and illustrations of this book with the text and photographs in other early readers about volcanoes.
Since this is a slightly older book (2006), you may need to order this book from your local bookstore, or request it from your city library.
Common Core connections:
Here are some of the kindergarten Common Core State Standards for reading informational text that can apply to this book:
Key Ideas and Details:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.K.2 With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.K.9 With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic (e.g., in illustrations, descriptions, or procedures).
Craft and Structure:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.K.4 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
Check out these other posts from the Common Core IRL: In Real Libraries.
- KidLit Frenzy: Volcanoes for beginning readers
- The Nonfiction Detectives: The Krakatau Eruption for middle grade readers
- Great Kid Books: Multimedia resources for elementary students
- The Nonfiction Detectives: The Day the World Exploded - for upper elementary readers
Don't forget to link up your nonfiction picture book reviews below.
