Title: Hey, Little Ant
Author: Phillip M. Hoose, Hannah Hoose,
Illustrator: Debbie Tilley
Published By: Tricycle Press
"Hey, Little Ant," by Phillip and Hannah Hoose is one of my children's books I used in my Social Studies lesson plan showing respect. However later I found out that this book is based on a real-life experience the author had as he watched his toddler squishing ants one day, this book is as powerful a teaching tool as I've seen come along in a very long time.It is an older book however in this classic book, a Kid threatens to squish the book's hero Ant and a clever dialogue evolves. The ant is allowed to plead its case, so he explains to the boy that he, too, has a special reason for being. Through cleverly rhyming verse, set to musical notes if you'd rather sing it, they are located in the back of the book, the Ant tries to negotiate for its life, reciting the "Golden Rule" to help his case. The beauty of this tale is that it ends with a dilemma: "what do you think that Kid should do?" Leaving it open-ended is a tremendous way to generate dialogue with children. It gives them the opportunity to think the problem through and offer problem-solving solutions; it serves to empower them by giving them a voice. At a time in our society when schools are reluctant to teach values through character education, along comes a little book with a powerful message. As a future educator I will use this book to show students how to deal with the people who are ANTS in their lives - who might bite them with their words or try to poison them with their actions - focusing on characteristics we might need like Awareness, Negotiation, Tolerance and Sensitivity. I give "Hey, Little Ant" as many stars as it can get and more. Don't miss this one; you will NOT be disappointed!
Oh as for the illustrations they are very wonderful. In several sequences, the two page spreads are developed vertically rather than horizontally. Ms.Tilley does this very well to portray the giant kid looming over the ant, and later the imaginary giant ant dominating the kid. Each illustration has a sense of movement and presence that makes them seem to come off the page.
"Hey, Little Ant," by Phillip and Hannah Hoose is one of my children's books I used in my Social Studies lesson plan showing respect. However later I found out that this book is based on a real-life experience the author had as he watched his toddler squishing ants one day, this book is as powerful a teaching tool as I've seen come along in a very long time.It is an older book however in this classic book, a Kid threatens to squish the book's hero Ant and a clever dialogue evolves. The ant is allowed to plead its case, so he explains to the boy that he, too, has a special reason for being. Through cleverly rhyming verse, set to musical notes if you'd rather sing it, they are located in the back of the book, the Ant tries to negotiate for its life, reciting the "Golden Rule" to help his case. The beauty of this tale is that it ends with a dilemma: "what do you think that Kid should do?" Leaving it open-ended is a tremendous way to generate dialogue with children. It gives them the opportunity to think the problem through and offer problem-solving solutions; it serves to empower them by giving them a voice. At a time in our society when schools are reluctant to teach values through character education, along comes a little book with a powerful message. As a future educator I will use this book to show students how to deal with the people who are ANTS in their lives - who might bite them with their words or try to poison them with their actions - focusing on characteristics we might need like Awareness, Negotiation, Tolerance and Sensitivity. I give "Hey, Little Ant" as many stars as it can get and more. Don't miss this one; you will NOT be disappointed!
Oh as for the illustrations they are very wonderful. In several sequences, the two page spreads are developed vertically rather than horizontally. Ms.Tilley does this very well to portray the giant kid looming over the ant, and later the imaginary giant ant dominating the kid. Each illustration has a sense of movement and presence that makes them seem to come off the page.
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