Throwback Thursday

Don't you just love when you find a great book, the text is easy to read, the pictures are beautiful, everything just seems to go together so perfectly, and then on top of that it teaches a reading or writing skill?  That is how I feel about one of my favorite childhood books, Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood. 

When I was a child I loved this book for its simplicity.  I loved looking at the pictures and pretending that I was the child in the book.  I loved listening to my mom read the words and imagining being "as wild as a chimp." It was a book that I always cherished. 

Then I became a 4th and 5th grade teacher and it was time to teach figurative language.  I thought what better book than Quick as a Cricket.  There are similes on every page and an illustration to go with it so that my students could actually see what figurative language was. But the learning with the book did not stop there.  It was used with primary children to find rhymes and it was used with even younger children for opposites.  You will be hard pressed to find a better book that works across ages to teach a range of skills. However, I would recommend just reading the book for pure enjoyment.  After all that is the purpose of a great book!

What book was your favorite when you were a child?  I would love to share in on Throwback Thursday!

Happy Reading!

Laura