Teri Sloat

The Hungry Giant of the Tundra is a traditional story with a giant similar to that of Jack and the Giant Beanstalk. The story is about Yupik children playing in a field who chose to not listen to their parents and go inside when it was getting dark. Consequently, the giant was able to find them and takes them to be eaten. With the help of animals, the children were able to escape and the giant falls into the ocean and is swept to see. The illustrations are rather dull in regard to color, but they capture a lot of traditional Yupik clothing and Alaskan scenery and animals. The tone of the book feels cautionary, like a warning to children who do not follow directions. It’s not a book I would pick up again unless I was doing a compare and contrast lesson between tales of different cultures.

Alaskan Connection: Yupik children, Alaskan animals
Activity: Compare and contrast tales across cultures featuring giants, discuss following rules, safety, and consequences.… (meer)

I like this one. Each letter gets one page, in which illustrations spill out of the capital letter to form a scene surrounding the lower-case letter. The bottom of the page lists the words beginning with the letter, but not all of them: that's where the search-and-find aspect of the book comes in. Then there is an appendix listing further words with the letter in question, but it's sometimes possible to find one or two more words in addition. Beautifully illustrated and fun to share with a child.… (meer)