Theme: Use the book, Around Town to introduce your students to city life.

Pre-reading: Show students the cover of the book. Ask them what they think the book will be about. Then, show the class all the illustrations in the book.  Ask them again what they think the book will be about. Has anyone in the class been to New York City. Where did they go? Does the subway in the book look like the one they rode on?

This story takes place in New York City. Have students look at a map and find this city. What is the name of the closest city to your classroom?

Reading: As you read and show the illustrations to the class, have the students look closely at the paintings. What details can they find in the pictures? Can they see the hidden doll faces? Have them look closely at the expressions on the faces of the characters. Ask the students how they think the characters are feeling. Can they tell by the illustrations?

Fun activity: Find out what are your classes’ favorite places near your school and start a project called: Around (the name of your school). Have the class research the project by going to these places to make notes on what they see or experience. Then, ask students to make a book with a page for each place. Use a small paragraph or sentence along with a drawing or painting to describe each location. Picture books involve many different characters. Students may draw themselves as the main character and hide objects throughout their pictures. Example: “I like to show my mom around the school library”, accompany that with a drawing.

Geography: Have the students plan a trip to New York City. Will they need a plane, train, car or bus to get there? Maybe they can walk or bicycle. Ask them to estimate the miles, how long will it take, what would they need to bring – food, clothes, entertainment items, books etc. What do they want to see when they arrive in New York City? The Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Chinatown, Little Italy, South Street Seaport, Brooklyn Bridge or one of several museums?

Science: Plan meals for a proposed trip to New York City.  New York is famous for its bagels, pizzas and hotdogs. Introduce the Food Pyramid to the class and find out what famous food and vegetables will satisfy their daily nutritional requirements. Are there any foods that the class would need to bring on the trip, or can they find everything they need in the city?

Literature: Find out more about New York City by reading a New York City tour guide. There are many history books on New York in the library and you can download free maps on nyctourist.com. Look for other books by Chris Soentpiet. If you really enjoyed Around Town write a review of the book on the book pages at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com so others can enjoy your reading experience.

Art: In the book, Around Town, a girl buys a doll in Coney Island. Make a life-size paper doll. Have the students trace and outline the doll on a piece of paper. Now have the students cut out the tracings and color the dolls with scraps of paper, fabric, yarn, and other craft items.

Bulletin Board: Ask students to write a list of what they see around their school. Post or write them down on your bulletin board with a big headline: AROUND OUR SCHOOL!