Flannel Friday: Hats, Cats, & Bats

I was inspired by Jbrary's post about Little Mouse, Little Mouse Renditions to make my hats, cats, and bats. I decided to make both cats and bats so I could use the set at different times of year and with different themes. I used free clipart from clker as my patterns. I made 10 hats, 9 cats, and 9 bats. When we're looking for the cat, bats will be under nine of the hats and vice versa. I made them small so I can also use just five hats with my smaller flannel board. There are no puff paint details and the cats and bats were very finicky to cut out. Before I start the game, we count the hats and identify the colors. 

Important Links:
Flannel Friday Blog/Website
Flannel Friday Tumblr
Flannel Friday Pinterest
Flannel Friday Facebook Group

An Ambush of Tigers: A wild Gathering of Collective Nouns by Betsy R. Rosenthal

The first page sets this story up: "Do you ever wonder what animals do when they gather in groups of more than two?" Using collective nouns, Rosenthal creates a fun story about animals.

Thoughts: While you do learn collective nouns in the reading of this book, it's more of a story book  than an informative book. If I use this book again with kids, I'll read it through and then go back and point out the collective nouns. The glossary in the back will help with this. Like A Curious Menagerie, this book has the potential to be a story starter. Jago's digital illustrations have the texture of paintings or fabric. The colors are bright and inviting. My favorite illustrations are a shiver of sharks, a sleuth of bears/a murder of crows, and a troop of kangaroos.

Themes: Animals, Names Elementary

(Illustrated by Jago. Millbrook Press, 2015.)

A Curious Menagerie by Carin Berger

A monkey and a cricket serve as your guides as they introduce you to numerous collective nouns for groups of animals.

Thoughts: I've been intrigued by collective nouns or animal group names since I was a child. This book is great. The dialogue format is engaging and informative. I love the extra collective nouns of the end papers and the extra information at the end of the book. I shared this book with first and second graders and I started with that extra information first so they would understand what collective nouns were. After reading A Curious Menagerie I read An Ambush of Tigers: A Wild Gathering of Collective Nouns by Betsy R. Rosenthal. A Curious Menagerie would be a great book to use as a story starter with kids. For example, write me a story about a gaze of raccoons. The illustrations are colorful and interesting. My favorites are a tower of giraffes, a flamboyance of flamingos, and a barrel of monkeys.

Themes: Animals, Names, Elementary

(Greenwillow, 2019.)

Old MacDonald Had a Boat by Steve Goetz

In this sequel to Old MacDonald Had a Truck, the farmer and his wife are doing a little building with all sorts of tools and help from the farm animals.

Thoughts: Just as fun to read as the first book. Some day I'd like to read these together making them the focus of a storytime. This is a great book to share during a summer or construction themed storytime. Again, it would be nice to read the book right through to the kids and then go back and focus on the pictures.

Themes: Boats, Construction, Summer, Farm

(Illustrated by Eda Kaban. Chronicle Books, 2018.)