The Pineapple Pages

Author: Nancy Pulling Best Illustrator: Mathew S. Capron Awards: Ages: Pre-K-1st Grade Pineapple Points:1/5 🍍 Summary: A silly poem about a girl and her spider friend, who enjoys gum very much. The spider ends up being stepped on by the mother and the girl is left with her pal's gum. Evaluation: It is a short, sweet, and silly poem. The author explains it was written as a school assignment when she was younger, which explains a lot. It would be good for a very young reader.

Author: Jack Prelutzsky Illustrator: Brandon Dorman Awards: 2006 U.S. Children's Poet Laureate Ages: Kindergarten- 4th Grade Pineapple Points:4/5 🍍🍍🍍🍍 Summary: The wizard uses sorcery to turn a from into many objects. From flea, to rats, to a cockatoo, to chalk, the frog is transformed by this magic man. Who will he transform next? Evaluation: The illustrations look like they are created by a wizard themselves. I really enjoyed thinking of all the possible writing prompts you can create with this book.

Author/ Illustrator: Shel Silverstein Awards: Ages: Pre-K- 3rd Grade Pineapple Points: 4/5 🍍🍍🍍🍍 Summary: A young boy takes a giraffe and equips him with many outrageous zany items that fill his arms. After you think the giraffe can not handle more, the boy devises a plan to get rid of everything, all the while rhyming. Evaluation: This is a great book to read at the end of the day or even a good book to include the class in due to the repetition. This can be turned into a sequencing lesson or even an opportunity to familiarize the children with the well-renowned Shel Silverstein.

Author/Illustrator: Tony DiTerlizzi Awards: Caldecott Honor Ages: Kindergarten- 3rd Grade Pineapple Points: 3/5 🍍🍍🍍 Summary: A cunning spider lures a fly into trusting him. Once trusting, and the most vulnerable, the fly finds herself captured and eaten. Evaluation: Kind of an eerie book, but it would be beneficial to teach children about stranger danger and other deceitful dangers that they can not discern from on their own yet.

Author: Reeve Lindbergh Illustrator: Kathy Jakobsen Awards: Ages: Pre-K -4th Grade Pineapple Points: 4/5 🍍🍍🍍🍍 Summary: This poem was about the tall tale of Johnny Appleseed. His real name was John Chapman, but Johnny Appleseed was a bible toting, apple seed planting, friendly and docile pioneer. He traveled around to preach the gospel and plant his seeds until the day he died. The planter may have passed, but his impact on American settlement still grows along with his apple trees. Evaluation: This would be a great story to share on a poetry lesson especially because alot of children have prior knowledge of Johnny Appleseed. It can be turned into a history lesson, or a lesson about tall-tales. With ample opportunities, there is still artwork to admire. The beautiful painted illustrations compliment the traditional American tall tale the poem is depicting.