Alyssa and the Spider

St. Jean, Alan.
Alyssa and the Spider.
October 2009.
Oren Village, LLC.

Alyssa and Ralphie are your typical, everyday siblings! It's summer vacation and do you suppose the two of them can get along and play nicely together? Ralphie is content to watch TV and scary movies. Alyssa wants to play with her dolls. They bicker back and forth throughout the day before meeting on common grounds - starting with Alyssa's discovery of the dreaded spider in her bedroom and ultimately ending up with Ralphie fixing Alyssa's one-eyed doll after she defends her brother from the great big spider that teases him.

This is a wonderful books that children and parents alike will enjoy! Children will find the rhyming text humorous and will easily be able to connect with the story being told, especially if they have siblings! Parents will appreciate the story of children overcoming their differences to locate common ground before learning to work and play together!

Learning/Reading Activity:

• After reading this book, discuss with children the different activities they like to participate in. How are these activities different than the activities their friends/siblings like to participate in? How can we work together to be fair? If the children you are working with are siblings, discuss areas that might be of common interest among them and how they can work together throughout the summer so as not to drive Mom and Dad (and themselves) nuts!
  

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