If You're Hoppy by April Pulley Sayre

Reviewed by Lori
If You're Hoppy

Title: If You're Hoppy

Author: April Pulley Sayre

Pictures: Jackie Urbanovic

Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 48676

Description: In rhyming text reminiscent of the traditional song, "If you're happy and you know it," present various animals that are hoppy, sloppy, growly, flappy, or slimy, scaly and mean.




Curriculum Links: 

  • Character Education - Integrity
  • Drama
  • Kindergarten
  • Music
  • Physical Education
  • Reading - Visualizing
  • Science - Animals
  • Writing - Lyrics

Lori's Notes: 

Design: This is a lovely picture book.  I love how the bunny and frog are hop/stretching their way toward the side of the book - like they're about to reach out and turn the page.  The front and end pages are animal tracks with the animal feet appearing on the title page - the feet are at the top of the page mid hop!  The font is large and rather round and should be readily readable from a distance.  The use of colour to highlight the call and response text was a nice addition to the text.

Content and Illustrations: This is a very colourful book with many animals appearing including an adorable frog that hops his way through many of the pictures.  I most enjoyed the growly tummy and the slimy and scaly and mean illustrations!  You can't help but sing along to the story and while the rhythm takes a bit of practice the rhyme and meter do work quite well.  This is a fantastic read aloud and is fun to read over and over.  Additionally, there are many opportunities to incorporate physical play as students can pretend to be the various animals in the book and hop, growl and flap their way through the story.  

Recommended Audience: Kindergarten to Grade 3
  • Fun Read-Aloud
  • Good Title to incorporate DPA
  • Good links to music curriculum

Inquiries and Activities: 
  • What was your favourite animal or action?  
  • List other animals that are hoppy, growly, flappy, or slimy.
  • Create your own hopping foot prints.  Spread out a roll of paper and have students take off shoes and socks.  One at a time paint the bottom of your students' feet and have them hop along the paper.  (Have a sponge and water available at the other end to clean up!).  Does everyone hop the same way?  Who has the longest hop?  Does anyone hop on one foot?  Who has the biggest footprint or the smallest? Put your footprints up on the wall!
  • Draw and paint your own hoppy frog!
  • Listen to and sing along with "If you're Happy and you know it".  Which version of the song do your students prefer?

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for Reading!

Popular posts from this blog

Bluffton by Matt Phelan

Reviewed by Lori
Image
Title:  Bluffton: My Summers with Buster Author:  Matt Phelan Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 138305 Description:    Henry bonds with a young Buster Keaton over games of baseball while the latter summers locally with a troupe of vaudeville performers. Rubric Rating:   Level 3 - Laud It Why I Read It:  A growing interest in Graphic novels and a fascination with silent films. Notes:   I really liked this graphic novel.  The images are soft – softly coloured and softly focused.  This is the story of Henry Harrison and the summers that Buster Keaton and the Vaudeville troop come and stay at Bluffton.  While Henry is a fictional character Buster Keaton is not and the novel is based on his autobiography. The arrival of Buster brings excitement to Henry’s life.  They fill their summer days with baseball, pratfalls, and pranks. When Buster leaves for the show, Henry’s life returns to normal, helping his father at the har...
Read more

Cardturner by Louis Sachar

Reviewed by Lori
Image
Title: Cardturner Author: Louis Sachar Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 43908 Description: When his wealthy uncle, a champion bridge player who has lost his vision, asks seventeen-year-old Alton to be a cardturner for him, Alton has no idea how much he will ultimately learn from his eccentric relative.  Includes appendix by Syd Fox with information about bridge. Rubric Rating: Level 3 - Laud It Why I Read It: I really enjoyed the novel Holes and this book is by the same author. Lori's Notes: Alton's rich uncle, a champion bridge player, is blind and needs a cardturner for him to play.  A fantastic story about families and relationships, it weaves together the storylines of Alton and his uncle and first loves.  It does delve a little into the paranormal/ghostly but it wasn't distracting to the overall sense of the novel.  It also touches on the idea of how relationships change and change us.  I'm not a bridge player at all and had no idea how the game was p...
Read more

Finding Reading a Challenge During a Pandemic

Reviewed by Lori
Image
I love reading.  I have always loved reading.  But reading during a pandemic has been more than a little bit challenging.   Between worries and distractions my mind is constantly somewhere else.  I've found that I can't sustain my focus for more than a chapter or two.  I pick up a book, I put it down.  Then I struggle to remember what I just read, so I have to start all over again.  I've tried new books, old favourites, audio books, and ebooks.  The result is always the same, another book added to the "to be finished" pile.  And it isn't like I don't have the time to read, I have scads of it.  But then I'm never alone and the moment I pick up a book to try again, someone and/or something needs my attention and whatever little time I had to myself has now blown away like dandelion seeds in a stiff breeze.   You'd think given the situation, with multiple lockdowns and unending time at home, I would use reading as an escape -...
Read more