Dazzle the Dinosaur

Dazzle the Dinosaur

Author: Marcus Pfister

Genre: Fiction

Grade Level: Grades K-3

Year Published: 1994

Summary

This is the story about an unusual dinosaur that was born with shiny, dazzling spines along his back. The dinosaur and his family live in a place where there are safe from the other dangerous dinosaurs, but Dazzle and his sister one day go to look for the cave where they used to be able to live safely. After meeting many dinosaurs on the way, they find the cave and chase away the dinosaur living in there using Dazzle’s spines. 

About the Author

Marcus Pfister was born in Switzerland on July 30, 1960. He went to the Art School of Bern (Switzerland) and became trained in the field of graphic design. After he completed school and had worked as a graphic designer, he traveled for a bit across the world. When he returned, he began working for himself as an independent graphic artist. He became an author/illustrator along with pursuing graphic artistry, and it wasn't until The Rainbow Fish that he became known internationally. He has published 49 books! He has four children, and currently resides in Switzerland. In his free time, he enjoys basketball and photography.

Source: http://www.marcuspfister.ch/biography.htm

How to Use it

The main idea of this book is that even though Dazzle was different from the other dinosaurs, he still saved the day in the end, and found his family a safe place to live. This shows the children that even though sometimes people are different, they can still do special things with their differences.

Pre-Reading: Ask these questions: What can all of you tell me about dinosaurs? What kinds of dinosaurs do you think are dangerous? When did dinosaurs live on the earth? What kind of dinosaurs do you think are normally nice? Have you ever heard of a dinosaur with shiny silver spines?

Post-Reading: With this book, a large group discussion involving differences would work in order to make sure the message hits home for the kids. Also, for a younger age, a coloring activity with shiny foil for the back of the dinosaur would assist them in remembering the message of the book. 

What do I Think?

I think that this is a great book to use in an elementary classroom. It can lend itself to an excellent art project for Pre-K or K students, and also can be used as a character education theme for older students. I will definitely be reading this in my classroom this year!

Officer Buckle and Gloria

Officer Buckle and Gloria

Author: Peggy Rathman

Genre: Fiction

Grade Level: Grades K-2

Year Published: 1995

Summary

This book takes place in a place called Napville, and it centers around a policeman, Officer Buckle, who knows more about safety than anyone else in the town. No one listens to his safety tips until he brings the police dog Gloria with him. Without Officer Buckle knowing, Gloria acts out the safety tips in a way that grabs everyone’s attention, and all of a sudden Officer Buckle and Gloria are requested everywhere. When Officer Buckle discovers that everyone is watching Gloria and not him, he stops doing the safety tips. Eventually, Gloria and the children convince him to come back and help after Napville has its worst accident ever!

About the Author

Peggy Rathman was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was one of five children. She attended many different colleges with many different majors, and eventually received a B.A. in  psychology from the University of Minnesota. She then studied children's book writing and illustration at Otis Parsons School of Design in L.A. She says, "I spent the first three weeks of my writing class at Otis Parsons filching characters from my classmates' stories. Finally, the teacher convinced me that even a beginning writer can create an original character if the character is driven by the writer's most secret weirdness. Eureka! A little girl with a passion for plagiarism! I didn't want anyone to know it was me, so I made the character look like my sister." This resulted in her first book, Ruby the Copycat. Since then, she has written many more books, including Good Night, Gorilla, and Ten Minutes till Bedtime. She resides in Nicasio, California with her husband.

Source: http://www.peggyrathmann.com/peggyrathmann.html

How to Use it

The main idea of this book involves the safety tips that Officer Buckle gives. Also, it shows how two people (or, in this case, a person and an animal), can work together to get across an important message. 

Pre-Reading: Talk to the children about safety rules. How important are they? What are some examples of them? Make a list with the children about some rules that they are aware of in their school. What makes some rules more important than others? What kinds of things would happen if there was no rules? Discuss this with the class as a whole group.

Post-Reading: Each child should individually make up a rule that they think would be the most important rule in their school. On a star-shaped paper, they should write the rule and illustrate Gloria acting out the consequences if the rule isn’t followed, as she does in the book.

 

What do I Think?

This book fits in quite nicely with our first grade social studies unit of rules/laws. I will definitely use it in my classroom this year. I think that the book is entertaining, informative, and thought provoking.