Monday, July 13, 2009

Gobble It Up



Arnosky, Jim. Gobble It Up! Scholastic Press: 2008. ISBN: 9780439903622.

With rhythm and rhyme this song turned book, Gobble It Up!, captures the imaginations of young readers while introducing them to the concept of interconnectedness of nature, who eats what and how we all have that in common. Readers can’t help but smile as the story line reassures they that they would “gobble them up and they’d taste good!!” Illustrations, created by using semi-opaque style acrylic paints on acid-free watercolor paper are realistic enough to reinforce the informative nature, but just slightly cartoonish enough to be reassuring and appealing. The accompanying CD gives even the reluctant reader confidence to tackle the print which displays the words to the catchy song that they will want to play again and again.
This is a book I will use in my classroom. The illustrations make it less frightening than a photo production, but are not so babyish and cutesy as to offend older students who are experiencing processing delays. It is clear in the concept, but presents it in an amusing, captivating way- especially once the CD is utilized. I found this useful book to be a great way to cover concepts required without the trauma sometimes experienced by young readers who had never given thought to the process before.


Beth Ebinger, Bowling Green State University, EDTL 6950

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