The Alphabet Tree is another "thinking story" from the author/illustrator Leo Lionni. (We read his book Swimmy at the beginning of the school year.) In this story, the letters in the alphabet tree are not very stable and the wind can easily blow them off. Then two insects come along to help the letters. The word-bug is a bee that shows the letters how to become stronger by working together to make words. The caterpillar comes along and shows how to put the words into sentences to make thoughts. The message of "peace on earth, goodwill toward men" is also a wonderful way to continue our ongoing discussion of how to treat others. This is a great link to our current study of insects through fiction. We will also be doing an activity linked to this book next week.
Bugs is a great non-fiction resource to read to young children to teach them about insects. We read this book over several days. The clear illustrations and easy language help to convey complex ideas easily. The children learned about where insects are found, what they eat, what they look like and what makes an insect different from other animals. This came in handy when a child called one of our caterpillars a "worm" and the class used what they learned to reason why a worm is not an insect.
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