Abiyoyoby Pete Seeger
Illustrated by Michael Hays
The folk singer Pete Seeger wrote this story-song based on a South African story and lullaby. The main characters are a young boy who plays the ukulele and his father who has a magic wand that makes objects disappear. The townspeople become weary of the constant strumming of the ukulele an
d of things disappearing all the time. The bay and his father are ostracized by the townspeople until they prove how valuable their talents are in vanquishing the local monster, Abiyoyo. The story became so popular that Pete Seeger wrote a sequel, "Abiyoyo Returns"with another author, Paul DuBois Jacobs, also illustrated by Michael Hays.Do Not Open
by Brinton Turkle
Although this book is only available used, you may find it in your library as well. The morning after a st
orm, Miss Moody and her cat find a mysterious bottle on the beach near their home. On it is a note that says "Do Not Open". Of course, the bottle is opened in exchange for a wish, and an evil monster emerges. Miss Moody outwits him by refusing to believe in him and convinces him that she is only afraid of mice. The monster turns himself into a mouse in order to intimidate her, but the cat catches him and eats him. Miss Moody and the cat return home to find that the wish she was promised was granted after all.Story Props for the Abiyoyo books and "Do Not Open"
written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel are enormously popular with children and very useful for teaching reading and writing skills. As beginning chapter books, they can be read aloud or read independently by beginning 2nd grade level readers. Frog and Toad have distinct personalities: Frog's role is like an older sibling, relatively more knowledgeable and experienced, while Toad is like a younger sibling, less informed and more naive. Both are charming, though, and to a great extent the stories are made up of dialogue between the two.
