Subscribe to our Free Email Newsletter.
Sign Up!

Advertisements:

Learn Reading
Comprehension ,
Language Arts,
Phonics & more!

Time4Learning -
Online Education
For Preschool,
Elementary &
Middle School

Lesson Demos
Screenshots
Scope & Sequence

In Times Past
an eBook on CD
by Carol Hurst and Rebecca Otis

Integrating US History with Literature in Grades 3-8.

Enliven your US History curriculum!

Teach US History using great kids books.

More Info

Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing

by Judi Barrett. Illustrated by Ron Barrett. (Macmillan, 1970 ISBN 0689708076. Paperback. Library Binding. Cassette.) Picture Book. Grades Pre-K+.
This review by Carol Otis Hurst first appeared in Teaching K-8 Magazine.

Review

Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing is really one sentence with multiple alternative phrases. Why should animals not wear clothing? " because it would be very messy for a pig" and the illustration shows a pig in shirt and tie eating in a pig's usual manner; "because a sheep might find it terribly hot" and the sweating sheep is attired in sweater, muffler and hat. The book is funny, easily understood and easy to interpret. The why/because pattern helps the reader get a running start on finding meaning here.

The book has large print which makes it easier for those children who are beginning to notice how print works. These children are a step beyond those who are still working on plot alone. Big print obviously makes the letters clearer and more distinctive. Some children don't seem to need it so it's not a prerequisite for early books. For others it helps so a few such books should be in the early readers' library.

Related Areas within Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site

• First Books for Emergent Readers (an article).