What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?

Back for round 2 of Informational Fridays.  This week I want to dispel the myth that all informational books are wordy, technical and difficult to read aloud.  Steve Jenkins is a very popular author of children's informational books.  His book What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? is a great example of informational books that can be used for primary children.

This book has a question and answer format.  On the first two page spread a question is posed and on the next two page spread the question is answered.  For example, on the page, "What do you do with a nose like this?" there are pictures of 5 different animal noses.  It is fun for kids to try to guess which animal the different noses belong to.  When you turn the page it shows each of the 5 animals in full with a fact about how that animal uses its nose, "If you're a hyena you find your next meal with your nose."

The book is perfect for younger children because of the short facts and their ability to interact with the text by guessing what animals the author might be getting ready to teach you about.  It also gives children many opportunities to connect with the book by sharing their own knowledge of any of the over 30 animals that are represented.  As an added bonus, if the child or class you are reading to has a particular interest in one of the animals you can turn to the back of the book to find out more information.

So I will leave you with one question for the weekend.

What do you do with a tooth like this?

Happy Reading!
Laura