Thursday, November 24, 2016

Learning from Picture Books – PIRASAURS!

Another fun book about pirates! And who doesn't love dinosaurs? I really enjoyed reading this one -- it begs to be read aloud.

Summary from the Publisher:

Meet the Pirasaurs, a ragtag team of seasoned pirate dinosaurs looking for adventure and treasure! There's fearsome Captain Rex, golden-toothed Velocimate, one-eyed Bronto Beard, and more fearsome, buccaneering beasts....as well as one new recruit who may be small, but who's eager to prove he can learn the ropes and find his place on the team.

But when a trap is set upon the Pirasaurs while looking for buried treasure, it's up to the littlest recruit to show the team that there's more to a Pirasaur than meets the eye patch!

Pirasaurs! written by Josh Funk and illustrated by Michael Slack, was published in 2016 by Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic.

Opening:

“We're Pirasaurs! We're Pirasaurs!
We rule the open seas!
We'll cannon-blast you to the past!
We do just what we please!”

My Thoughts as a Writer:

The rhymes in this story are clever and keep the rhythm going, so it’s a great example to study if you’re writing a rhyming picture book. I love the concept of pirate dinosaurs, which I bet is very appealing to young readers. There are some really fun characters in this story, like “Bronto Beard” and “Triceracook”. The big, cartoony illustration style really brings out their personalities. 

My Thoughts as a Teacher:

This is a fun read for the classroom. There’s lots of wordplay and language to engage students. I also like the message about cooperation instead of fighting! In my kindergarten classroom, I’d leave this book at a centre with some toy dinosaurs and perhaps some blocks for building a pirate ship.

Ages: 3 - 7

Grades: K - 2

Themes: dinosaurs, pirates, cooperation

Activities:

Draw your own pirate dinosaur character. What would you name it?

Make a treasure map on thick paper. Cut it into pieces and see if a partner can put it back together.

What words rhyme in this story? See if you can hear them as your teacher reads aloud.


Talk about some ways to cooperate in your classroom “pirate ship”.



10 comments:

  1. What a great combination -- dinosaurs and pirates. I wish I'd thought of that! This one is bound to be a hit with kids. I will check it out.

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  2. I finally got to read this during the last book fair. I can see why kids will love it. The illustrations are really terrific. Thanks.

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  3. What's the cute orange one?

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  4. What a fun story to read aloud - and I LOVE your treasure map puzzle activity!

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  5. Josh does it again. Such a fun read aloud.

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  6. I also love to write in rhyme, Andrea...so thanks for pointing out that it would be a good mentor text for that. I'll definitely try to get a copy.

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  7. This looks like a very entertaining story. I love the rhyme and illustrations!

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  8. Yes this certainly looks an entertaining book and kids will love to know what is going on inside. I do love your activity suggestions.

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