Okay, so this has not been a "typical" summer for us so far… but one of the things I love most about a "typical" summer is all the time you can spend outside.
As a child, I remember slapping on the sunscreen and spending hours outside. We'd literally be out there from sun-up to bedtime. We'd play all day, splash around in the community pool, read books in the shade, take naps in a hammock under a tree, barbecue for dinner and catch fireflies at night. It is amazing how many games you can come up with outside with the help of mother nature and your imagination.
One of my favorite games was (and still is) "what does that cloud look like to you"? Come on, you know what I'm talking about. The game where you look up in the sky at all the beautiful puffy cumulous clouds that perhaps resemble a UFO, or a dolphin, or a chef's hat, or Grandma? We used to spend hours on that one as kids. Talk about free, safe fun for the whole family it doesn't get better than that.
Well, this week's book, takes this game to a whole new level- a place called..."Sector 7".
So, book #3 is…..
This book is unlike any I've read in years. Here's why… IT'S A PICTURE BOOK! But it's appropriate for any age. Really, any age, even adults!
The Tulsa City-County Public Library suggested this one. So, I checked it out, and read it with my little sister, Keke. The pictures steer the story, but we went ahead using our own words to actually tell it. Each of us took a page and became the narrator. Laughing and ping-ponging our way back and forth, we told quite a tale. It was a fun way to "read" a book together, and work on storytelling too.
Here's the basic story, a little boy takes a field trip with his classmates to the Empire State Building in New York City. While on the Observation Deck, a mischievous cloud befriends him, and takes him on a trip high in the sky to a big cloud making (train station looking) factory called ( you guessed it) SECTOR 7.
This is a great book to talk to kids about clouds.
For instance:
What are Clouds?
A cloud is a large collection of very tiny droplets of water or ice crystals. The droplets are so small and light they can float in the air.
How are Clouds formed?
All air contains water, but near the ground it is usually in the form of an invisible gas we can't see called water vapor. When warm air rises, it expands and cools. Cool air can't hold as much water vapor as warm air, so some of the vapor condenses onto tiny particles of dust that are floating in the air and forms a tiny droplet around each dust particle. When billions of these droplets come together, they form clouds.
Why are clouds white?
Clouds are white because they reflect the light of the sun. Light is made up of colors of the rainbow and when you add them all together you get white.
What makes a cloud turn gray?
If the cloud gets thick enough or high enough all the light above the cloud does not make it through, hence they look gray or dark. Also if they are surrounded by other clouds, their shadow can add to the gray appearance.
Of course, you can always talk about cloud types, classifications, folklore, etc. Frankly, with this one, the sky's the limit ( pun certainly intended).
Speaking of the skies.. come on, play the game with me.
What does this cloud look like to you? I think a muffin top. Any one else?
Thanks to Jeff Chandler who sent this one to us from Jenks on July 12.
Happy Reading! Hope you love this one as much as I do.
Julie