The Brainstorm 52: Similar picture books for compare/contrast & other activities

In honor of Picture Book Month, here are three sets of picture books that lend themselves nicely to compare/contrast activities (and other activities too). And no, these aren't just for the younger grades.

Picture Book Resources

Set #1

My Grandfather’s Coat by Jim Aylesworth, ill. by Barbara McClintock

Based on the traditional Yiddish song, the tale of a thrifty immigrant who makes a coat, then when it is worn continually remakes it into other smaller pieces of clothing until it is completely used up.

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback

Joseph's coat gets worn so he turns it into a jacket, and when that gets worn it becomes a vest, and so on and so on until it is gone.

Activity Tie-ins:

• Compare/contrast: There are many points to compare and contrast, from the way the story is told and illustrated to the setting to the way the books make you feel as you read them.
• Patterns (& Prediction): Both of these books follow a specific pattern in what happens to the coat over time and word choice. Ask students to identify patterns in the story, or predict what will happen next as you read.
• Jewish Culture: Both books are based on a traditional Yiddish song, so both are good options when doing a study of Israel, Judaism, or looking at different cultures.
• Immigrants: The Aylesworth book portrays grandfather as an immigrant coming to America. The back of that book has some great personal stories from both the author and the illustrator on immigrants in their own families.
• Music : Both of these books are inspired by a song, and the Taback version has a copy of the music so you can sing the song too.

 Set #2

The Crayon Box That Talked by Shane DeRolf, ill. by Michael Letzig

A little girl comes across a box of quibbling crayons who dislike each other in the toy store. She decides to buy them, take them home and teach them how well they go together by drawing a picture with them.

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, ill. by Oliver Jeffers

Duncan's crayons have decided to go on strike. They've left him letters explaining their complaints. Duncan really wants to color, so he finds a way to make everyone happy.

The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt, ill. by Oliver Jeffers

 More of Duncan's crayons are sending him communications. Several send out pleas for recovery from various parts of the house in which they have been lost. Pea Green crayon is giving notice that he's changing his name and leaving for a grand adventure since no one likes peas. Hot Red crayon is giving updates on his journey home after being abandoned at the pool of the hotel on vacation. And Jumbo crayon is sending an SOS for rescue from the horrors Duncan's baby brother is putting him through.

Activity Tie-ins:

• Compare/contrast: All three stories feature disgruntled communicative crayons, but the object of their frustrations is different. Students can compare and contrast the stories, the messages of each book, the illustration styles, the text (one is in rhyme and the others are not), etc.
• Opinion vs. Fact: Have students look back at their compare/contrast points and determine which ones are fact-based and which ones are opinion-based.
• Plagarism: When Daywalt’s first book came out, there were several people saying it was plagiarizing DeRolf’s book. Obviously, no lawsuit was filed, so it was decided it didn’t. These two do provide a good opportunity to discuss what plagiarism is, how to make sure you aren’t plagiarizing in your works, and when similarities are acceptable.
• Conflict Resolution: All three books focus on various conflicts that need resolution and provide an opportunity to talk about how to resolve differences and problems in healthy ways.
• Responsibility: The most recent Daywalt book has a subtle message about needing to be responsible with your things. It’s a good opportunity to talk to kids about why this is important.
• Geography: In the second Daywalt book Hot Red crayon has horrible geography skills. Have students see if they can use the clues in the illustrations to identify where he really is, versus where his postcards say he is.

Set #3

(Any traditional nursery rhyme book will work for this, but here’s one we have in our library.)

My Very First Mother Goose edited by Iona Opie, ill. by Rosemary Wells

A collection of traditional nursery rhymes.

Mary Had a Little Jam: and other silly rhymes by Bruce Lansky, ill. by Stephen Carpenter

Bruce Lansky puts a new twist on many classic nursery rhymes and poems. They're very clever, and most all of them make the rhymes funnier, nicer (for example, the blind mice are kind mice and give the farmer's wife a slice of cheese instead of losing tails to a knife), and overall are more relevant to modern kids.

Activity Tie-ins:

• Compare/contrast: The challenge in comparing and contrasting traditional nursery rhymes with Lansky’s versions will be finding similarities, but they can be found.
• History of Nursery Rhymes: Many of Lansky’s rhymes make more sense to modern readers, but at one point in time, most of the original nursery rhymes had deeper meaning for the original hearers. Have students research the origins of some nursery rhymes. (This is probably a better activity for older elementary or secondary students as the roots of many nursery rhymes are rather gruesome.)
• Creative Writing: Have students follow Bruce Lansky’s example and put their own twist on old rhymes.
• Humorous Read Aloud: Mary Had a Little Jam is a great, fun read aloud that can be read in short segments when you need a filler.