The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot by Margaret McNamara and Mark Fearing

  

The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot

McNamara, Margaret and Fearing, Mark.  New York: Schwartz & Wade Books, 2011.  9780375866890

Quantitative Reading Level: Reading Level 2.1

Qualitative Reading Analysis:

I would rate this as Middle Low on the “Text Complexity: Qualitative Measures Rubric for Literary Text”.  This is a fairly simple text but readers should be familiar with the original “Three Little Pigs”.  It would also be helpful for readers to recognize the planets because that certainly adds to the experience of the book.

Summary:

 

In this version of “The Three Little Pigs” the three little aliens set off from their home on Mercury to make their way in the “worlds”.  Their mother warns them to watch out for the Big, Bad Robot.  They pass by Venus and Earth and then Bork settles on Mars in a rover.  Gork and Nklxwcyz pass by Jupiter and then Gork settles on outside of Saturn on a satellite.  Nklxwcyz finally settles on Neptune.  Of course, the Big, Bad Robot comes after the three little aliens one by one but Nklxwcyz is prepared and they defeat the robot.

Content Area: Reading/ELA

Content area standard:

 

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.2 Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.3 Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.9 Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.

Curriculum Suggestions:

Compare and contrast this version of “The Three Little Pigs” with other versions.

Personal Thoughts:

This was a very fun version of the “Three Little Pigs”.  I like how the author and illustrator incorporated planets in our solar system.  

High Interest Annotation: The three little pigs in our Solar System.

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

 

I Want My Hat Back

Klassen, Jon.  Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2011.  9780763655983

Quantitative Reading Level: Reading Level 1.4, Lexile 90

Qualitative Reading Analysis:

I would rate this as Middle Low on the “Text Complexity: Qualitative Measures Rubric for Literary Text”.  On the surface this book is very simple but at the end the reader really needs to make some inferences and use the picture clues to figure out what happened.

Summary:

 

Bear has lost his hat and goes looking through the woods asking various animals if they have seen it.  All the animals say no including a rabbit that is wearing a red hat and seems a little nervous.  Finally, bear realizes he saw his hat on one of the animals (the kids have all figured it out and are saying “duh”) and goes back to get it.  The next thing we know Bear has his hat and a squirrel comes looking for the rabbit.  Hmmmm.

Personal Thoughts:

This book is so simple and yet so funny.  What is great about this book is it could almost be read deadpan.  I can just hear the kids roaring with laughter as they figure out what happened to the rabbit.  

Awards: 

 Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor Book 2012

 Is also a nominee on many state book award lists and best of 2012 lists.

High Interest Annotation: Bear really wants his hat back.  What will he do to get it?

One Upon a Time, the End (asleep in 60 seconds) by Geoffrey Kloske and Barry Blitt

  

Once Upon a Time, the End (asleep in 60 seconds)

Kloske, Geoffrey and Blitt, Barry.  New York: Athenum Books for Young Readers, 2005.  9780689866197.

Quantitative Reading Level:  Reading Level 3.0

Qualitative Reading Analysis: 

I would rate this as Middle Low on the “Text Complexity: Qualitative Measures Rubric for Literary Text”.  What makes this book more challenging is the allusions to so many different fairytales and nursery rhymes.  Readers need to be familiar with those stories so they appreciate the humor in this book and understand what the dad is doing.

Summary:

 

Dad really wants his child to go to sleep but of course the child needs just one more story.  In desperation the dad tries to shorten the stories.  What follows is a romp through “Chicken Little”, The Two Little Pigs, and so many more.  Children will have fun comparing the dad’s versions with the originals.  The dad gets more and more desperate as the story goes on and each tale gets chopped more and more.  This is a fun book.

Content Area: Reading/ELA

Content area standard:

 

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.2 Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text. 

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.3 Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.9 Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters (e.g., in books from a series)

Curriculum Suggestions:

Compare and contrast the versions of the fairytales and nursery rhymes with the originals. 

Describe the father and talk about why he was telling stories that way.

Personal Thoughts:

This book is quite funny.  I can relate as a parent.  There are a lot of other “bedtime” story spoofs that could be tied with this including Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein.  This book has a lot of possibilities.

High Interest Annotation:  An exhausted father totally mangles the fairytales in order to get his child to sleep.