Thursday, June 10, 2010

Noah's Bark

Use literature to teach children animal sounds!

Krensky, Stephen.
Noah's Bark.
April 2010.
Lerner Publishing Group.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.


Krensky introduces readers to the concept of Noah and his ark in this exciting adventure that is sure to have children chuckling. While Noah undertakes building an ark, the animals that surrounded him were loud and silly, making whatever sounds came into their heads, leaving Noah with a great deal of confusion and frustration. However, he kept building, and soon enough had completed the ark. As Noah coaxes the animals on to the ark at the onset of the forty-day and forty-night rain, he quickly realizes that something must be done to put an end to the chaos aboard.
"QUIET!" Noah barked. And for once, the animals grew silent. "We'll never survive this way. Something has to be done. And then Noah had an idea. He borrowed a turkey feather to write a list of all the animals sounds he had ever heard.
The list of sounds was then cut apart, and one sound was distributed to each group of animals. That sound would later come to be the only sound made by those specific animals... hence the sounds that animals make today!

A pourquoi tale (written to explain why things are the way they are - why the animal sounds are what they are) of sorts, Noah's Bark makes for wonderful reading and likely very engaging conversation with your little one! The book is ideal for young children, ages 1-6 and would likely be very beneficial when teaching about animal sounds!

Learning/Reading Activities:
  • Have your child review the sounds made by animals by playing the game found here.
  • A great resource for parents/teachers - list of animals and their sounds
  • And, a worksheet in which children are asked to match the animals to the sound they make. This could also be used with pre-readers as an assessment tool, by having an adult read the sound and the child point to the animal that makes that sound!


If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!

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