Label and color a spider 

The Spider Life Cycle 

Spider craft…Make a spider that can climb a waterspout! 

Brought to you by the letter S!

Spider Pop-up Card

Units, themes, and lesson plans! 

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Spiders, Spiders, Everywhere!

But, when did we, as children, start learning spider tales? Well, there are the pre-school versions of the Itsy Bitsy Spider, There was an old lady…, etc.

And apparently, October is the month for SPIDERS! Classrooms all over the country are building webs, singing spider songs, and counting legs. Over the next few days watch our site for spider resources…lesson plans, printables, and of course, the best books.

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October is Spider Month!

His first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, published, however, required a great degree of persistence – it was rejected 27 times before being published by Vanguard Press. The Cat in the Hat, perhaps the defining book of Ted’s career, developed as part of a unique joint venture between Houghton Mifflin (Vanguard Press) and Random House. Houghton Mifflin asked Ted to write and illustrate a children’s primer using only 225 “new-reader” vocabulary words. Because he was under contract to Random House, Random House obtained the trade publication rights, and Houghton Mifflin kept the school rights. With the release of The Cat in the Hat, Ted became the definitive children’s book author and illustrator.

As a teacher or as a parent you can use Dr. Seuss to help teach Word Families and reading.

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Dr. Seuss Teaches Word Families

(Although Julie & The Lost Fairy Tale isn’t specifically a time travel novel, like others we’ve mentioned duing Time Travel Week, it does take the reader back into the childhood of Julie’s grandmother and we learn about another era.)

 Stories published as serials in newspapers before they’re compiled into book form dates back to Charles Dickens and other early novelists. Janie Lancaster, author of Julie & the Lost Fairy Tale,  experienced this.   Her book was available in numerous newspapers for the enjoyment of young readers before it appeared in book format this spring, published by Star Publish, LLC.

According to the synopsis, “In Julie’s story, you come across a mysterious travel chest, a lost fairy tale, Miss Eagle Eyes, an editor with a squirrel and kindred spirits. You travel back in time, go to an Extravaganza, and meet Cordelia Grimm, great, great granddaughter of one of the Brothers Grimm.”

While visiting her grandmother, Julie discovers in a travel chest, a manuscript in an old language. Supposedly it’s a fairy tale and getting it translated and published leads Julie into more adventures and discoveries. 

This is a tale I enjoyed from a reader, writer, and teacher’s viewpoint. It offers many opportunities, too, for teachers and parents to use it as a springboard to study literature, history, immigration, genealogy, and writing.  You’ll enjoy the illustrations, too.

Ms. Lancaster has free teacher’s lesson plans for the book available at her web site.  Also see a more detailed synopsis and excerpts.

(Amazon image; click on book cover for details)
©2008 Mary Emma Allen

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Julie & The Lost Fairy Tale, a Story by Janie Lancaster