Thursday, September 26, 2019

Fall Reading 2019 A Different Story

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It's all too easy to focus on differences, especially those that deal with outer appearances. Consider the rhinoceros and the rhinoceros beetle. Rhinos can grow to weigh 5,100 pounds. The rhinoceros beetle is one of the largest beetle species, but still only reaches a length of about 6 inches. The beetle is found on every continent but Antarctica, while the rhino only lives in Asia and Africa. 

But what if we look for similarities instead? They are both herbivorous. They both have that distinctive horn. They both use that horn for defense. They both live here on planet Earth, jut like the rest of us. Aren't the things they have in common just as important? Don't they tell a different story?

This deceptively simple book explores what it is like to sink or soar, to feel like the world is very small or incredibly large, calm or busy. The illustrations use a mix of collage and drawing to show both creatures as they go about their day and then encounter each other. An image of the beetle perched on the rhino's tail serves to emphasize the difference in their sizes, while another spread shows just their horns.

If you are looking for stories to introduce the concept of similarities and differences, this would be a good starting point. Perhaps young readers could think of other unlikely pairs and do their own comparisons.

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