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Who's
in
the
Garden?
illustrated by Jill McDonald
Barefoot Books, 2010
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| From
the
book jacket: |
Who's coming to see
how my garden grows?
Peek
through the holes to see what creatures are busy in the garden.
There are moles dig-dig-digging, rabbits hop-hop-hopping and
frogs leap-leap-leaping in every corner.
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| A little
about the book: |
This is my first peek-a-boo book. I didn't plan it that way, but I do
love
peek-a-boo books! The surprise is always a thrill, and
looking for the surprise is a great visual exercise.
Speaking of visual "literacy," one of the
many wonderful things about a picture book is that you can return to an
image at
will. It won't vanish from view at the speed of film. How nice to take
your time, explore, savor, repeat the experience over and over, AND
discover more and more as you keep looking. The artist of Whos in the Garden,
Jill McDonald, created a zillion fun things to stop and look at in her
garden
wonderland.
The idea for this book actually began with an activity song David and I
wrote (I'll post the tune here once I figure out how!).
Meanwhile, the words:
Who’s coming to see
how my garden grows
my garden grows, my
garden grows?
Who’s coming to see
how my garden grows?
Rabbits
hop-hop-hopping between the rows!
Children could keep the song going, adding more garden animals "between
the rows," the ones in the book--plus. Examples:
Inchworms inch-inch-inching between the rows.
Grasshoppers jump-jump-jumping between the rows.
Lizards dart-dart-darting between the rows.
Fireflies flit-flit-flitting between the rows.
Activities for getting up and moving around:
Children form two lines, facing each other. The child at the head of
each line takes the part of the animal named, and hops, skips, jumps
down the middle with his/her partner, then take his/her place at the
end of each line.
OR sitting in one
place for storytime: hand motions could
describe the action: creeping,
digging, flying.
In a choral performance, part of the group could sing the questions,
and
the rest of the group could sing the response.
As a possible playlet, there are plenty of parts for gardeners,
hoppers,
leapers, crawlers.... Creating the props would be fun too. Jill's use
of patchwork and collage offer some good clues on how to make a
memorable environment for the action.
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