The Little Island
Written by: Golden MacDonald
Illustrated By: Leonard Weisgard
Intended Grade Level: Second
This Website was Created By: Rachael Carson
Summary: The story is about a very small island in the ocean. The book describes the seasons, animals, and plants that are a part of the island. One day a small kitten comes to the island on a small boat. The kitten wonders how the tiny little island is a part of the world even though it seems to be cut off by water. The kitten gets a very satisfying answer from a fish that lives around the island.
About the author:
Golden MacDonald, was a name that Margaret Wise Brown used when she wrote The little Island, and a few other childrens' books. She wrote other famous books like, Goodnight Moon. She loved animals and tried to put an animal in every story she wrote. Many times she would dream of ideas for stories, and she tried to write stories the way that children would want to hear them. Follow the link to her official website by clicking on her name above to get more information.
About the illustrator:
Leonard Weisgard was a famous illustrator, who illustrated over 200 children's books. he is most famous for The Little Island. Weisgard became an illustrator for childrens' books, because he did not like the illustrations that were in books when he was a child. He wanted for childrens' book illustrations to have more color and not to be a boring black and white. If you would like more information, and to see some more of his work, follow the link by clicking his name above.
Fun Sites To Explore:
Pictures of Island Animals:
http://tourismmall.victoria.bc.ca/PhotoAlbums/Island%20Animals/index.html
Pictures of East Coast Lighthouses:
http://lighthouse.cc/menu.html
Before starting activities, click on the link and print off your Rubric.
Pre- Reading Activities:
Activity 1:
Go to: <http://www.enchantedlearning.com/coloring/oceanlife.shtml> to find Five Animals YOu WOuld find in the ocean or on an island, and write an interesting fact about each animal.
Activity 2:
Print off the vocabulary worksheet and complete it to learn new words from the book.
During Reading Activities:
Activity 3:
Make a venn diagram of animals from the story, and group them according to where they live on the island. Ask yourself, do they live in the water, on land, or both?
Activity 4:
choose a form of weather to study, and write a paragraph about it. Don't forget to show what this weather looks like by drawing a picture to go along with your paragraph!
These websites will help you:
<http://www.weatherwizkids.com/>
Post- Reading Activities:
Activity 5:
Brainstorm how the island in the story is different from your own backyard, and write these differences on a poster- board.
Activity 6:
Think about Seasons, draw pictures and describe the different seasons.
Check out this website:
<http://www.wxdude.com/page19.html>
Activity 7:
Write what you think would have happened if the kitten would have been able to swim with the fish,
Or Write why you think the little island is still a part of our big world.
