THURSDAY'S Cherished Picture Book of the Week & Lesson Plan

City Dog, Country Frog, by Mo Willems Ill. by Jon N Muth 

Publication date: June 8, 2010, ages 3 and up.

This is one of my favorite books, both because of the message and the gorgeous watercolor pictures.  I could eat the dog and the frog up, they are so cute!

The front cover flap tells part of the story!  City Dog needs a friend and in the Spring he meets Country Frog and they play country games.  In the Summer, they play City Dog games, but in the Fall, they only play "remembering" games, because Frog is tired.  In the winter, the frog is not there.  (Thus the sad doggy face above.)  In the Spring though, he meets a chipmunk and a brand new, different sort of friendship forms.

This is such a lovely book.  The story is so simple but it speaks volumes about love, friendship, loss, and change ... and living a life full of memories.  To view a delightful video of Mo Willems talking about his inspiration for writing this book, visit the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/v5co8FZXz0o

HERE IS A SIMPLE LESSON PLAN IDEA: 

TOPIC:  Seasons
Text-to-Text Connections: City Mouse, Country Mouse

Life Cycle of a Frog:
This book is a great one to show the seasons. During the season of winter, frog does not come out to play. He could be hibernating since frogs hibernate. I think the reader can read this book on many levels. For the youngest child, the focus on the seasons, hibernation, and playing is enough. For the older reader, a discussion about meeting new friends, coping with change, and enjoying life as it comes to us can happen. Maybe the frog did diec but the reader is not told. I choose to think he is just hibernating and will join dog and chipmunk later.