Home



Last updated Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Author: Carson Ellis
Date of Publication:
ISBN: 0763665290
Grade Level: Kindergarten    (GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.)
Date(s) Used: Jun. 2019

Synopsis: The picture book debut of Carson Ellis, acclaimed illustrator of the Wildwood series and Lemony Snicket's The Composer is Dead, this is a gorgeous, imaginative celebration of the many possibilities of home. Home might be a house in the country, a flat in the city, or even a shoe. There are clean homes, messy homes, sea homes and bee homes. Home resides on the road or the sea, in the realm of myth, or in the artist's own studio. This loving look at the places where people live brims with intriguing characters and is a visual treat that demands many a return visit.

Note to readers:
•  This book explains different types of homes and there are few words/sentences. During your picture walk, point out the different homes on the page and where there is a door or window.

Discussion topics for before reading:
•  Looking at the cover, what place would you like to live in?
•  Where do you live now (in an apartment or a house)?
•  What do you like about your home?
•  If you could live anywhere, where would you live?

Vocabulary

•  wigwam - an American Indian dwelling, usually of rounded or oval shape
•  lair - a den or resting place of a wild animal
•  folks - people in general
•  hollow - an empty space within anything
•  Norse - of or relating to ancient Scandinavian
•  Atlantians - natives of the legendary island of Atlantis
•  babushka - an elderly Russian woman

Discussion topics for during/after reading:
•  What do you think it's like to live on a boat?
•  Would you want to live underwater? in space? in a tree?
•  Is your home clean or messy?
•  Do you want to live in a different place? Where?

Craft ideas:
•  Draw a picture of the home you want to live in.
•  Cut out a shoe house, boat house, tea cup house etc out of construction paper and draw your family in their rooms on the backside. Decorate the front of your house too!
•  Make a Father's Day card. (for father, uncle, grandfather, someone who is like a father to you.)
•  Check our craft ideas on Pinterest!
https://www.pinterest.com/readingtokids/june-2019-people-places-around-the-world/

Special activities:
•  Sing a song like "This land is your land" words and music by Woody Guthrie. Each bullet is a verse:
•  This land is your land This land is my land From California to the New York island; From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters This land was made for you and Me.
•  As I was walking that ribbon of highway, I saw above me that endless skyway: I saw below me that golden valley: This land was made for you and me.
•  I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts; And all around me a voice was sounding: This land was made for you and me.
•  When the sun came shining, and I was strolling, And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling, As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting: This land was made for you and me.
•  As I went walking I saw a sign there And on the sign it said "No Trespassing." But on the other side it didn't say nothing, That side was made for you and me.
•  In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people, By the relief office I seen my people; As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking Is this land made for you and me?
•  Nobody living can ever stop me, As I go walking that freedom highway; Nobody living can ever make me turn back This land was made for you and me.

*Note: These craft ideas are just suggestions. You can use them, but you don't have to use them. You can expand upon them, or add your own twist. Remember, though, that the focus of your time should not be on the development and execution of a craft; the focus should be on the read-aloud and the enjoyment of the book!