BELLA AND BEAN- Rebecca Kai Dotlich

For the past few weeks, I've been writing poetry in a kindergarten class. Today will be our last day together, because I will spend the next few weeks administering the CSAP to a group of fifth graders. I've found the perfect farewell read aloud- BELLA AND BEAN by Rebecca Kai Dotlich.

I first read about BELLA AND BEAN on the Year of Reading blog two or three weeks ago. Franki said, "A book about poetry and a book about being a friend. What could be better?" I couldn't agree more!

Bella is a poet. She likes sitting in a chair, thinking of beautiful words, and writing poems. Bean, on the other hand, is a going kind of gal. She likes walking to the pond and planting snow bushes. The fact that these two good friends care about such very different things causes more than a little "friction" in their relationship. 

This would be a great read aloud for a unit on poetry. Or for teaching kids about word choice. Or when you are talking about friendship or conflict resolution. Or when you just need a great read aloud…