Our family spent the afternoon watching (via cable television) the Golden Gophers skate against the Wisconsin Badgers on an outdoor ice sheet on Soldier Field in Chicago. The boys spent many hours in their younger years (and one still does) skating and shooting pucks at the nearby outdoor rink, and certainly the college skaters we watched today did more of the same thing. They most definitely were as enthusiastic as the bunny in Johanna Wright's new book Bunnies on Ice. Thanks to Sketchbook Wandering's Rita for the recommendation of this charming story.
The very confident narrator waits for just the right conditions to practice her champion ice-skater moves. The seasons pass until falling snow means ice formation on the pond. Being a champion ice-skater means she needs lots of clothes and a big breakfast before performing in front of numerous fans (birds perched in tree bleachers and branches). She does figure eights, spins (which end up enveloping her in her lovely pink scarf), and leaps and gets tremendous help from her support team. Johanna Wright's art so perfectly supports her story! I love this book.
For a glimpse into the author/illustrator's creative process, go to http://johannawright.com/about/ and click on the Oregon Art Beat link on the right side.
Yay!! for Bunnies! I love the way you narrate it. I love looking at those cozy illustrations. Our 2 M states share an ice culture. Ice hockey is big here, but we girls focus more often on figure skating. Here's a book to go with Bunnies: Slip! Slide! Skate! by Gail Herman. It's an early reader, but could well be read aloud, with elaboration.
ReplyDeleteI loved hearing about your famiy enjoyment & memories that you all have of ice hockey.
Do you know This Place in the Snow? I read it to mostly pre-schoolers on Sat. Great for improv & interactive reading. Will write more, have stuff to share...! Thx for fortune teller & card: LOVED them!!
We loved THIS PLACE IN THE SNOW and found a "new" used copy for the library! Thank you for this recommendation!
DeleteI reserved both books from the public library as we do not have them in our library collection. I just love sharing book ideas back and forth with you, Rita. If you want the story-gami template for one of your story times, I will ask Lauren if it is okay to share it.
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