The very itchy bear

Written synopsis: write an overview/synopsis of the selected book in your own words.

The Very Itchy Bear by Nick Bland is a fantastic fiction book for children aged 5-6. With bear’s final acceptance of flea it teaches children about scale, communication, miscommunication, overcoming misunderstandings and friendship. By having an almost matter of fact approach “This is bear”, “This is flea” (Bland, 2013) it adds a comforting predictability to the storyline, perfect for younger children who are just getting used to picture books with somewhat of a more detailed storyline.

By using syntax that flows smoothly, readers are able to clearly define and recognize the emphasis on phonemes and determine the appropriate intonations needed to decode the correct semantics of the story. For a children’s book, The Very Itchy Bear incorporates numerous parts of speech such as verbs, nouns, pronouns, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions and onomatopoeia.

Whilst with great visual cues, the book is very stimulating with the excellent use of scale, colour, space and sense of movement throughout the expressive illustrations. The clear rhyming text, repetition and humour makes this book ideal for group storytelling as it encourages group participation.

Image and reference for the book: include an image of the front cover of the book as well as the correct reference for the book.

Bland, N. (2013). The very itchy bear (2nd ed.). Lindfield, New South Wales: Scholastic Press.

Justification for the choice of the book for the children with at least one academic reference to support the choice of book.

Nick Bland’s use of clear illustrations and rhyming text uncovers the story of a very itchy bear who is being bitten by a flea and his intent...

... middle of paper ...

...ound out the word whilst clapping out the correct number of syllables and the children would either stay where they are if correct or move themselves to the correct number. The last person to the correct number would be out and I would call out another word, depending on maturity and ability the student who last got out could call out a new word from a list of words.

Re/min/ding

Bit/ing

Ev/ery/where

O/ver/com/ing

References

Bland, N. (2013). The very itchy bear (2nd ed.). Lindfield, New South Wales: Scholastic Press.

Board of Studies New South Wales. (2013). Suggested texts for the English K-10 syllabus. Retrieved from Board of Studies: http://syllabus.bos.nsw.edu.au/assets/global/files/english-k10-suggested-texts.pdf

Fellowes, J., & Oakley, G. (2010). Language, literacy and early childhood education. South Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford University Press.