Instrucciones para que el hipopótamo duerma solo

PreS-Gr 3—What do you do when you're grown up enough to sleep alone but your pet hippopotamus wants to share your bed? Just follow the simple instructions presented in Instrucciones para que el hipopótamo duerma solo. The combination of the formal, impersonal style of the text and the sly humor of the illustrations will keep readers laughing and eagerly turning pages. There isn't a lot of text, but the small size of the font may make this a challenging read-aloud for storytime. Instead, plan to share this funny and skillful introduction to the challenges of sleeping in one's own bed one-on-one or with a smaller group of older preschool or early elementary students. In the fablelike De cómo les creció el cuello a las jirafas, the gods have given early giraffes the gift of speech and intelligence but also a strong sense of pride. These characteristics lead to many difficulties. The animals do not want to eat food off the ground (it's "beneath them"), but they can't reach the delicious fruit that grows on the trees. After many wildly ill-fated plans, they consult with the gods and come to a wonderful solution. The text is a bit dense for preschool listeners, but the silliness of the story will appeal to early elementary school groups. This is an engaging title to start a discussion about animal characteristics or fables.