From: JuneCL at aol.com <JuneCL>
Date: Mon, 27 May 2002 09:48:00 EDT

The third graders in the school where I work study the human body as a science unit. During this time, I have a popular booktalk program on strange things happening to the human body. The titles included cover the wide range of reading levels present in our classes and are mostly humorous. Some of them are Imogene???s Antlers, Shrinking of Treehorn, Freckle Juice, Chocolate Fever, Chocolate Touch, Top Secret, and Freaky Friday.
    My all time favorite read aloud for second graders at the end of the school year here in New York is Mahy???s Great White Man Eating Shark. It is a
???cautionary tale??? and I always tell the kids that it's advice for their vacation. The situation of a failed actor (Norvin? Norvil?) posing as a shark to have the cove for himself is ridiculous, and the language and voice of the text add greatly to the feeling that one needs to take this ridiculous situation seriously. The illustrations extend the humor--Norvin/vil does indeed resemble a shark. When the real shark romantically sidles up to him at the end, the kids are hysterical. June Locke Librarian Belle Sherman El. School Ithaca, NY
Received on Mon 27 May 2002 08:48:00 AM CDT